November's Supper Hour

Let's start with dessert since it is not the norm at our house

but guests always give a great reason for a treat, which was the case last night.

So what is a quick go-to when you suddenly realize 

there's nothing in the house and we need dessert?!

Banana Pudding!

Scald 3 cups milk

While it heats mix 1/4-1/3 cup of cornstarch with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt.

blend and add 1/3 cup COLD milk.

Add to scalded milk whisking briskly all the while.

Reduce heat to med-low and stir until mix says 'blub-blub-blub',

then add a splash of vanilla extract , stir

and pour over sliced bananas!

Serve warm or chilled and topped with fresh whipped cream.

This dish makes me feel like a little girl

on those rare nights when supper was either tapioca of cornstarch pudding.

Simple and satisfying.

The main course was a mix of Sunday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday's meals rolled into Thursday!

How does this happen??!!

Well, it started with Sunday, coming home from church, 

anticipating a crockpot holding nicely browned potatoes and roast beef.

Alas, because all the words are worn off the settings I had turned the knob too far 

and it was not set at high but on the 'keep warm' setting, 

leaving lukewarm, still hard potatoes.

All was not lost however because they still cooked

 (though not in time for lunch)

 and turned out to be a big help during fall housecleaning midweek.

On Wednesday I shredded them, added chopped chicken 

leftover from Tuesday night's roast chicken dinner 

( plus a bit of chopped ham), sprinkled in some corn, 

made a sauce with leftover gravy, 

leftover swiss-chalet-dipping sauce 

and a can of cream of mushroom soup+water.

Toss and pour in pan

(The crumb topping under the shredded cheese is ground up rosemary-cheese scones

 which Victoria tried a while ago but they were not edible! 

I was not home when she made them

or I might have told her that 1/2 cup dried rosemary is definitely a misprint!

But ground and used sparingly these 'flopped' scones are great as a savoury topping!

I named it Chicken Cordon Blu Casserole because of its richness and ham-chicken-cheese.

It was a big batch so we had enough for last night's main dish...

 

Monday's contribution; Cabbage Rolls... 

The Cabbage Rolls take a bit of time to prepare but are well worth the effort!

An autumn highlight at our house after the winter-cabbage is gathered.

(I use green cabbage in a LARGE pot of boiling water)

Last but not least...the salad, not leftover😊

consisting of a base of mixed spring greens, topped with thinly shredded red cabbage, 

shredded red beet, chopped cucumber, crumbled feta and roasted unsalted sunflower seeds.

Drizzle with dressing of your choice. (I prefer dressings on the side)

Something about the rain lashing at windows 

and the wind rattling at loose shingles and soffits (hopefully not!) and doors

makes us feel extra-humbly blessed to have a roof over our heads

and a place to call home-sweet-home!

 

These days the dark falls early

Deep blue turns to ebony

November’s rain taps windowpanes

The wind moans like a sea

And front-porch lights hail ‘welcome’

From heav’n-on-earth’s modest dome

And heavy hearts turns lithesome

At the sight of home-sweet-home

Where it is not ‘the dressing’

That makes this place so dear

But the precious, sacred blessing

Of gathering loved ones near

And thanking God for mercies

That we could never earn

Glad, as the dark falls early

For each loved ones safe return

© Janet Martin