Do you ever have an ingredient that just needs to be used, but there are few options? So it sits around and eventually you pull some other random things together and make some absurd concoction? Do you find that often results in a fail?
Well this time, I nailed it.

1 stick butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup bourbon
1 1/2 cups pecans

1 package Krustez Oat Bran muffin mix
1 cup warm water
1 self serve package instant coffee mix
2 vanilla beans

I started by melting the butter in a pan, and added the brown sugar. I didn't actually measure the sugar or bourbon or pecans, but instead just eyeballed it. When the butter was melted and bubbling, I added the bourbon. When it started to boil again, I lit the fumes on fire and let it cook down. I don't know if lighting the bourbon on fire did anything to the flavor, making a flambe as it were, but it was fun. I let this cook for a while. Mostly I was looking for a nice caramelly sauce that was decently thick, but not taffy.

In measuring cup, I mixed the water and coffee mix. I had a little package sitting around. The stuff tastes terrible on its own, but it did add a nice richness to the bread. I choose the Oat Bran muffin mix because I wanted something that was simple and maybe thick to support the decadence of the pecan caramel mixture. This stuff did just fine, and as per the instructions, required nothing but water and the mix. I also had two Madagascar vanilla beans sitting around that I needed to use so I seeded them and added the seeds to the bread mix. I pods I tossed into the caramel mix to extract the last of its goodness. I bet vanilla extract would be fine here, but the fresh stuff did make my kitchen smell like vanilla for a couple days. Amazing.

In a large baking dish, greased, I poured in the oat bran mix. Into the caramel mix, I added the pecan and stirred until coated. I let this cook down for a bit longer until it was a good consistency. I didn't want the liquid from the pecan mixture to disturb the oat bran mix and prevent it from cooking. (Also, this only went up about 2/3rds the side of the baking dish. Any more and it would have overflowed during the baking). I then added the pecans and caramel to the top of the oat mix and got it ready to bake.

In a 350 oven, I baked the stuff for about 55 minutes. During the baking, the pecan roasted up perfectly and got to a sweet lightly crunchy state. The buttery, bourbony, caramel soaked into the top of the oat mix, but mostly got crispy and stuck the pecans together. Wonderful texture.

After it was done, I tried to cut a slice at it crumbled to bits. That is the picture I took because I wasn't patient. I have since had it a second day, after it was allowed to cool, and the bread has become a lot more solid. It is so very good. And aside from the pecans, (and the price of bourbon which I didn't buy) it was pretty cheap.

I still have a cup or more of bourbon, so unless people can recommend other bourbon recipes, I'll have to make this 8 more times.

AKA (the orange dinner)
First the peppers:

6 -8 large peppers of whatever variety you choose, but those with thicker flesh might work better
1 package frozen corn
2 cans black beans
onion
garlic
cumin
salt
cayenne
paprika
Shredded Cheese
cilantro
hot sauce

I chopped 1/2 an onion and 4 cloves garlic and sauteed, then added the bean and simmered for 30 mins.
Next I added the frozen corn and spices and stirred until mixed and warmed.
 I then spooned this mixture into the peppers which had been sliced and de-seeded. I topped with some cheese and cilantro and hot sauce and baked at 425 for 25 minutes.

For the sweet potato fries:
4 sweet potatoes, sliced
2Tbsn corn starch
1 tspn salt
1 tspn pepper
olive oil

With the sliced potatoes in a big bowl, I tossed them with the corn starch, salt and pepper until they were evenly coated.
Then on a baking pan, with the fries distributed, I drizzled over some olive oil, and baked at 425 for about 30 minutes.

For the dipping sauce:
2 oz feta
2/3 cup sour cream
crushed fennel seed
coriander
garlic
red pepper
paprika

I mixed all these up in a bowl and heated on low stirring often until the feta started to dissolve.

I essentially just made pizza but instead of the dough, I used discs of sliced butternut squash. It was a bit sweeter than normal pizza, but very good.

2 large butternut squash
olive oil
1 18 oz jar of pizza sauce
4 cloves garlic
zest from 1 orange
package of peperoni
shredded mozzarella cheese


The proportions are really up to you here. I made a few dinners out of two large squashes.

I started by slicing the butternut squash into 1/4 inch thick slices. I pre-baked these at 400 for 15 minutes. During this time I sauteed the garlic just slightly, then mixed it with the sauce and as it warmed, I zested in the orange (I am sort of obsessed currently with orange marinara sauce).
Once the squash was just starting to get tender, I pulled them out, made sure the pan was greased, upped the heat to 500, and placed a couple peperoni sauce and cheese on each bit, then back into the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese was just getting about to turn golden.

 '


Set the oven to 350F
I browned up some hot breakfast sausage until it was fully crumbly done.
Then mixed up some pancake batter, to make about 1 1/2 cups batter.
In greased cupcake tins, I poured a layer of batter, making sure to only use a cup total.
I then sprinkled on some of the sausage, and topped with the final 1/2 cup of batter.
I then baked for about 30 mins, or until they were golden.
After letting the cool just a bit, I popped them out of the tins and covered with syrup.

When at one point I asked what a stereotypical dinner made by Hannah consisted of, she replied this:

Sauce:
1 large can diced tomatoes
4-5 sliced cloves garlic
1/2 cup red wine
1 Tbsn cayenne flakes
various other herbs and spices that hit your fancy

A variety of veggies, sliced and  covered in olive oil and roasted at a high temperature (I did 450F and used;)
1 butternut squash
1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange bell pepper
1 poblano pepper
1 Anaheim pepper
1 red onion
1 earn corn
2 red potatoes

They roasted up until the tips just started to crinkle up.
I topped with a healthy dose of Parmesan.
It ended up tasting like pizza. Amazing!

In hot oil I sauteed:
two handfulls of trimmed green beans
2 sliced zucchini
6 cloves, chopped garlic
1/4 button mushrooms, sliced

until they had scorched a little and were tender.

For the sandwich:
In a pannini press:
Whole grain bread
fig chutney
spinach
havarti

until melted and golden.

As a side, I sliced some fresh tomatoes from the garden and salted them.

So yeah, I copied this recipe from Epicurius, and just added about a cup of blackberries. But posting a cheat recipe is better than posting no recipe. Scones.