Crunchy Pumpkin Dessert (Tim ate seconds!)

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup milk
3 eggs
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup butter, chilled
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
2. Set aside 1 cup of cake mix. Combine remaining cake mix with melted butter and 1 egg and mix until well blended; spread mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
3. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, 3 eggs, and pumpkin pie spice; mix well and pour this mixture over the cake mix mixture in baking dish.
4. In a small bowl, mix reserved cake mix and sugar. Use a pastry blender to cut chilled butter into it, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Sprinkle pecans over all.
5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes until top is golden.

Kathi's Cornbread Stuffing/Dressing (OK, it's posted, now I can die in peace.)

Cornbread (make it the day before):

3 cups flour
3 cups white cornmeal
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cubes melted butter
3 cups buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients together, Make a well and add buttermilk, butter, and eggs. Lightly mix everything together until just moistened. Bake in greased cake pan at 400 degrees F. for about 25 minutes until golden brown, and not gooey in the middle. Cool. Cube it up and spread the cubes out to dry overnight if you can. They soak up more juices that way.

Stuffing1 lb. butter
1 loaf of Great Harvest white bread or 8 ciabatta rolls (sourdough is also great)
2 bunches celery
2 huge onions
3 teaspoons sage
6 teaspoons poultry seasoning
2 cans chicken broth


Spread the cornbread cubes out in two cake pans. Cube up the white bread and spread it in the next lager. Thinly slice celery (leave out the inner pale stems) and spread it in the next layer

Sautee 2 cubes of butter, 2 large chopped onions, 3 teaspoons sage, 6 teaspoons poultry seasoning until onions are soft. Spread half of the mixture over each pan.

Drizzle 1 can of chicken broth and 1 1/2  cube of melted butter on EACH pan. Gently toss all ingredients to mix thoroughly. Cover pans with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Every20 minutes, take it out and toss it. It tends to brown faster of the top and bottom. Toss it enough to get the browned part mixed in, and more of the pale part on the top.

If it is close to time to eat and it seems sort of soggy, I take the foil off for the last few minutes to toast it up and dry it out a little.

A Booklist by Kathi and Sarah

Jennifer wanted us to make a list of books for suggestions for her book club. So this is our starter list. Anyone can add suggestions!! Let's grow a big list here!!! This is the list for exciting but clean books that groups of women can discuss together. Someday we will do a kids list, and a fantasy list, and so on.


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows
The #1 Ladies Detective Agency Series by Alexancer McCall Smith
Death by Cashmere; Patterns in the Sand, Seaside Knitters Mystery Series by Sally Goldenbaum
The Mitford Series by Jan Karon, first book At Home in Mitford
Sorcery and Cecilia of The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Mary Russell Series by Laurie R. King, first book The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Desiree' by Annemarie Selinko
Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Mary Stewart mysteries: The Moonspinners, My Brother Michael, This Rough Magic, etc.
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

Marshmallow Brownies

2/3 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 squares baking chocolate, melted
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 bag minature marshmallows
Chocolate frosting

Cream butter, sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and chocolate and mix. Sift in dry ingredients and mix. Add nuts. Bake at 350 degrees F until done, about 30-35 minutes. Spread marshmallows on top. Return to oven for 3-5 minutes until marshmallows puff up from heat. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Frost. Frosting will marble with marshmallows.

Grandma Woods' Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 and 1/3 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans
12 oz. milk chocolate chips
No salt

Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla and beat. Mix flour and soda together, add, and stir in. Add nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls on baking liner. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Yield 7 dozen.

Well, is it pretty obvious that we need a new family portrait? Where are Kirsi and Avery? And those little wobbly, floppy newborn boys are now the stunningly brilliant and hilarious Mason and Broder. Jackson is almost done with first grade. And Granpa has handsome new teeth.

I woke up this morning with the urge to blog--something I have never felt before. So I am thinking of an organized place to post the stuffing recipe and the family history and reading ideas.......First I have to learn how to run this crazy program. I thought it would be like Firewords and Dreamweaver, but it's not. Guess I'll have to get tutored by Jen and Sherrie.