Thanksgiving Yummies...

These are the 2 dishes that I chose to take for Thanksgiving this year. The pumpkin crisp was a little "crispier" than I wanted it to be and I think the baking time/oven temp just needed to be tweaked on my oven. Just remember if this happens to you...it is after all called "Pumpkin Crisp!" The Perini's hominy is so DELISH...and when I tried it for the first time I had no intentions of liking it because I didn't think I would like hominy in the first place! I am so happy I tried it...and the dish was nearly emptied by the time lunch was over! I hope these dishes will bring joy and happiness to your homes and kitchens as well.... Enjoy! Perini Ranch Hominy Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped onion, sautéd
• 4 (15 ounce) cans white hominy (drain and reserve liquid)
• 1/2 cup hominy liquid
• 1 tablespoon juice from pickled jalapenos
• 1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, grated
• 10 slices bacon, fried crisp and chopped (reserve drippings)
• 1 cup diced green chiles 1 or 2 pickled jalapenos, seeded and chopped (optional)

Preparation:

Sauté the onions in a little of the bacon drippings and put aside. Heat the hominy in a separate sauté pan, stirring often. When heated thoroughly, add the hominy liquid and jalapeno juice bring back to high temperature and add 3/4 of the cheese. When the cheese melts, add half the peppers and bacon and all the onion. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, bacon and peppers. (At this point it can be refrigerated or even frozen, if you want to make it in advance.) Bake at 325 degrees F until cheese on top melts, about 15 minutes (or 40 minutes, if refrigerated).

Yummy Pumpkin Crisp

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin 1 cup evaporated milk 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 (18.25-ounce) package butter-flavored yellow cake mix 1 cup chopped pecans 1 cup butter, melted Whipped Cream (optional) Ground nutmeg (optional) Preparation

Stir together first 5 ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture; sprinkle evenly with pecans. Drizzle butter evenly over pecans. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature with Whipped Cream, if desired. Sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired.