Rotisserie chicken

I like to take time and cook meals entirely from scratch. There are some dishes that you simply can't make in a flash, they require time and attention. But on the other hand, when you have young children, a full-time job and many other commitments on your plate, it's always nice to take advantage of a few kitchen shortcuts. One of my favorites is the store-bought, pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. I've mentioned this before, but it's such a great helper that I think it's worth mentioning again!

This recipe was in the Kansas City Star recently. I would definitely recommend it. The soup is kind of southwest in flavor and you can kick up the "spicy factor" pretty easily if you like. Besides being tasty, it;s very simple to make quickly.

A few notes: I used smoky sun dried tomatoes and garlic flavored chicken broth. I substituted two cans of Rotel for the tomatoes and green chilies called for here and I cut the chicken broth back by about half a cup. Chips and avocado were great for garnish; we opted to pass on the pumpkin seeds.


Sun-dried Tomato Rotisserie Chicken Stew

Makes 8 servings
2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added whole tomatoes, chopped
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies
4 cups 99 percent fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups frozen corn
1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed and meat cut into small pieces
1 avocado, pitted and sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted shelled pumpkin seeds, toasted
1/2 cup crushed baked tortilla chips

Using kitchen scissors, cut dried tomatoes into fourths. Combine dried tomatoes and red wine and let stand at least 5 minutes to soften.

Place canned tomatoes, green chilies and red wine-tomato mixture in a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven. Heat 3 to 5 minutes, then add chicken broth, chili powder and cumin; bring to a boil. Add corn and chicken, and cook 7 to 8 minutes. Place in warmed bowls and top with avocado, pumpkin seeds and crushed tortilla chips.

Favorite Thanksgiving Dishes

By this time of year I am ready for turkey, green bean casserole and all the traditional favorites served at holiday meals. As Thanksgiving approaches, I always prepare to make my two favorite side dishes: Scalloped Pineapple and Sweet Potato Souffle (it doesn't really resemble a souffle). I don't fix either dish throughout the year, only around the holidays. They are both easy and guaranteed crowd-pleasers.

Scalloped Pineapple
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs
2 1/2 pound can crushed pineapple
1 quart fresh bread cubes, crusts removed

Cream sugar and butter. Beat eggs and add to creamed mixture. Mix in pineapple and bread. Spread in 13 x 9-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.


Sweet Potato Souffle
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cups melted butter
2/3 cup flaked coconut

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup softened butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the mashed sweet potatoes with the sugar, eggs, vanilla, melted butter and coconut. Spoon into a 2 quart oven proof baking dish.

Combine the brown sugar, flour, pecans and softened butter with a fork and sprinkle on casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Gooey Butter Cake

Paula Deen has a recipe for Gooey Butter Cakes that is delicious and can be easily modified to fit anybody's personal dessert tastes. The basic recipe involves a crust made of cake mix, eggs and butter. The filling calls for cream cheese, eggs, vanilla and other common cake-like ingredients. In the filling, the addition of one special mix-in makes this dessert so versatile -- you can add pineapple, pumpkin, peanut butter, or some other treat. The cake mix and the filling can be mixed up to create a variety of different desserts. Chocolate cake mix in the crust and peanut butter in the filling make a peanut butter cup dessert. Yellow cake mix in the crust and pineapple in the filling make lighter dessert.

Keeping with the time of year, the following is the recipe for Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. It's definitely one of my favorites.

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Cake:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling: 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Variations:
For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

Paula Deen, Paula's Home Cooking, Food Network