TIME TO COOK

I know this is an outside picture, but it is so pretty and it is how my day started.  I had a day at home and spent a lot of it cooking and trying to prepare some things for company that will be coming over the Thanksgiving weekend. 

I found an interesting sounding recipe on the internet.  It was for pumpkin brownies.  So I decided to to try it. 
You Will Need:
Filling
4 oz cream cheese (from 8-oz package), softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 egg
2 tablespoons organic dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Brownies
1 box Immaculate Baking Co.™ brownie scratch baking mix
Butter and eggs called for on brownie mix box

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom and sides of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. In small bowl, beat Filling ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Set aside.
2. Make brownie batter as directed on box. Spread three-fourths of batter in pan. Pour filling evenly over brownie batter, making swirl design (brownie mix is thick). Drop remaining brownie batter by tablespoonfuls over filling. Cut through batter several times with knife for marbled design.
3. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted 1 inch from side of pan comes out almost clean. 

They turned out pretty good.  I froze most of them and will pull them out for compnay in a couple of weeks.  
Next I tried a new recipe that I saw on one of my favorite cooking shows, Pioneer Woman.  It is for spicy pulled pork.  
Here is what you will need:

Cut up an onion into large chunks and place in a large cast iron pot.

Next put the pork roast into pot and add the chipotle peppers, brown sugar and dr pepper.

Bake covered in a 300 degree oven for about 6 hours until it pulls apart with a fork.    Before shredding and freezing, I chilled the pot of meat and skimmed off the fat. Then I shredded the meat and put it in a storage bag and added some of the juice to it.  I froze this as well for my upcoming company.

Next I am going to make a big pot of ham and bean soup.  I lost the recipe I used last time so I will see what I can do.  
First rinse about 2 cups of beans and add them to a pot with about 7 cups hot water.  Bring beans to a rapid boil.  

While the beans are boiling, sear the ham or ham hock in a pot. To do this, put about a table spoon of oil in the bottom of the pot on high heat, add the meat.  Cook it on each side until it is brown. It only takes a few minutes.  Remove the meat, turn down the heat and add chopped onions, celery and carrots.  Cook for just a couple of minutes then add a can of chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste.  (I didn't have celery today)

Cook mixture for a few minutes then add it to the pot of beans then add the ham hock.   You can continue to let this simmer on the stove for a couple of hours until the beans are soft, or do like I do and put it in the crock pot for several hours.  This way you don't have to worry about it burning or boiling over and it is ready for dinner when you are.  I plan on freezing this batch to add to my "Meals for company."