Solar Penne Pasta, November Harvest, and Iron Foodie Follow-up

Solar Penne Pasta Casserole

Around the holidays, it's hard to get everything done and, knowing there's gonna be a never-stop-eating meal on Thanksgiving, we're catching meals on the fly, here. Had some left over roasted chicken that served as the protein in this casserole. We've been having some unusually sunny days for this time of year and I've been keeping the solar oven busy with drying herbs, roasting veggies for storage, and dinners. This little casserole, along with some toasted garlic bread, really hit the spot.

Pumpkin Soup in Its Own Bowl - Redoux - Solar Cooked

It's almost Thanksgiving and pumpkin soup is always great as a side dish -- especially when served in its own bowl! Up to my elbows with holiday crafting, I decided to repost this old blog that so many new followers haven't seen, as yet. It's a great presentation and very festive. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Soup In Its Shell Recipe in the Solar Oven

Fall weather means football, hockey, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and -- Pumpkin Soup in Its Shell.  With a God-given container, why not use it to serve your family as well as decorate your dinner table?  Solar cooking fills the bill with my Pumpkin Soup in its Shell Recipe.  Using your solar oven for slow cooking will guarantee a good solid pumpkin soup bowl and a way to keep it nice and hot until serving time. I like to use the mini-pumpkins so each diner has their own bowl.

Because of its bowl-like shape, many mini-pumpkins can hold up to four cups of liquid. That's a lot of pumpkin soup for anyone! Fill them to just a tad above the widest part of the pumpkin waist and let your guests decide if they want more. For this recipe, I used fairly large mini-pumpkins -- at least 10 inches round -- but there are plenty of smaller ones available that would be just perfect for an 8-ounce serving.  And, remember, anything you can do in a conventional oven, you can do with a solar oven.

Solar-Baked Tuna Cakes with Lemon Sauce

Solar-Baked Tuna Cakes, Brown Rice and Corn

Tuna Cakes With Lemon Sauce

Years ago, I fell in love with chunk light tuna canned in water, not oil. This economical recipe works, either way, and it's simply a personal preference. While I adore fresh tuna steaks, canned tuna works better, for me, if it isn't quite so, well, canned, in taste. These turned out delish, with a nice crispy top and bottom and lots of good-eating, in between. Served with brown rice and corn, this was a meal that was easy to prepare and easy on the pocketbook!



Large-Sized Muffin Tin Makes Light Work of Tuna Cakes
It's not the easiest thing in the world to crisp up canned meat or fish cakes, without cooking them through, because you're basically working with a "pre-cooked" item. I try to avoid frying in oils, whenever possible,

Check Out Hotpants's Eight Answers on Rockin' Reflections!

In trying to keep this blog separate from general blogging, I've put The Mom Chef's Pay It Forward Tagging post and my eight questions on Rockin' Reflections. Even though I have picked seven of my favorite bloggers to answer, I didn't put any pressure on them for instant responses.

Isn't she beautiful!

So, my first blogger to check in was Hotpants(tm) from Handbags and Handguns, and she's done a great job! The answers are wonderful.  Please check it out, then visit her fantastic site, come back and let us know what you like the most about her blog. Don't forget the comment love!

November Toast - A Time for Cheer

November Toast - A Time for Cheer

The year has flown by and so many new friends have become a part of my life. It's so exciting to visit their sites for new postings and then have them visit mine. It's hard to imagine how much the Internet has changed the way we seniors face our less active years. We have found friends from all over the world who share our interests, halve our sorrows, and double our joys, because we are able to touch each other even beyond the ways of the old kaffeklatch.

Blogging opens our hearts even more than the spoken word. Is it because the quiet tapping of the keys makes us feel as though we are sharing secrets? Does saying some things out loud make the reality too harsh? I don't know the answer but I do know that we have created a supportive world that was unknown just 20 years ago and is commonplace among the young. So, to you, my new-found friends:

Though miles prevent a warm embrace;
And avatars may hide your face.
You're not alone; how can you be?
The Internet has set you free.
And, 'though we've met in a world so new; 
Joy and Love, my friends, to all of you! 

Iron Foodie Contest! from Foodie Blogroll and Marx Foods

An Iron Foodie Contest from Foodie Blogroll and Marx Foods

25 Challengers - 25 Recipes - 3 Secret Ingredients - 1 Grand Prize Winner

Some of you may remember my winning original recipe using three random ingredients of champagne, mushrooms, and oranges here chosen by the previous winner of the The Royal Foodie Joust. There have been other contests, since then, but I've been busy and they've been revamping their site. Well, this Iron Foodie Contest is too irresistible, for me, because the winner gets a $200 certificate to spend at Marx Foods, which is just too good a prize to not participate. If you haven't visited the Marx Foods site, be prepared to drool! It's filled with wonderful gourmet foods from all over the world and they will be supplying eight mystery ingredients for contestants to use in original recipes. Three must be used in the recipe and the other five are gifts for entering the contest. There will only be 25 contestants chosen from entries based on

The Mom Chef's Pay It Forward Tagging Assignment Done!

The Mom Chef's Pay It Forward Tagging Did Me In

It all started with Chrisiane, The Mom Chef, when she got tagged with a list of eight questions and she decided to turn around and torture we innocent followers! Well, I did my assignment but posted on my other blog because I'm trying to limit this one to solar cooking, primarily.  Imagine my surprise to discover no one knows about my other blog -- at all!

Well, that's because I'm a dumb bunny! My other blog just won't show up on this one (even in my profile) because it's under a different, older, email address. So, I've given it a widget over there on the right and here in this post because I just know you'll want to find out if you've been selected as the next torturee.

Head on over to Rockin' Chair Reflections to get a glimpse. There are almost no pictures over there, just a bunch of this and that.  Enjoy.