Oktoberfest in the Ozarks

Hi, Everyone! Hope your brunch, lunch, munch, meal, snack, treat or whatever you ate last week end was a well planned and exciting event! How about that Savory Pumpkin Soup? So creamy and easy, 1-2-3! In fact, everything was super simple last week end. Love those kind of menus because it gives me and #3 time to do other things that we really do enjoy. For instance, have you seen the foliage in the Ozarks this year? Wow, and double wow! The trees have been turning all the traditional colors of reds, golds, yellows, bronzes, and oranges around our beloved Ozark Mountains. Forget the east coast! Come to Arkansas and experience fall color and small town charm as seen on our beautiful scenic routes all over the state! Catch Scenic Arkansas 7 for viewing Arkansas's colorful showcases as this familiar roadway winds through the Ozark Mountains, along the Arkansas River Valley and into the Ouachita Mountains and timberland. Check out http://forbestraveler.com/ as they have named this route one of their top picks for fall excursions. If you really want to see what Arkansas has to offer, just order an
Arkansas Vacation Planning Kit at 1-800-NATURAL or online at http://arkansas.com/.

Back to our menu for this coming weekend. Let's keep up the Oktoberfest Theme and stick with colorful and abundant choices as we celebrate the harvest of our traditional fall surplus! Invite some special friends over and have a grand ole time, as we will do at Brunch in the Ozarks! Copy this menu and use for your grocery list. Shop locally, seasonally, and green if you are able!

Menu
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Acorn Squash with Sugar Coated Cranberries
from Spinach1948 at http://grouprecipes.com/
Ingredients for Sugar-coated Cranberries:
2 cups fresh or frozen Cranberries
Granulated sugar
1 cup water
Acorn Squash:
3 medium-sized acorn squash
Hot water
2 Tbs .Margarine or butter
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. Ground ginger
¼ cup light corn syrup
Directions:
1)Prepare cranberries: Wash cranberries; remove any stems. ( If frozen, do not thaw.) Prick each berry two times with a pin. In a saucepan bring 1 cup sugar and water to boiling. Cook until syrup spins a thread when dropped from a spoon.
2)Add cranberries; simmer 20 minutes or until syrup jells when dropped from tip of spoon. Remove berries one at a time to waved paper, keeping them separate. Let stand at room temperature for several hours or until dry. Roll berries in granulated sugar and set aside.
3)Preheat oven to 375. Prepare acorn squash: Scrub squash and cut each in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds and stringy fibers. Arrange cut side down in a shallow baking pan. Pour hot water into pan around squash to ½ -inch depth. Bake 30 minutes.
4)In a small bowl, place margarine, salt, cinnamon, ginger and corn syrup; stir to combine thoroughly. Set aside. Remove squash from squash from oven; pour off any liquid remaining around squash in pan and discard. Turn squash cut side up and leave in baking pan.
5)Spoon the margarine-spice mixture into the cavity of each squash half. Return squash to oven and bake 15 minutes, basting frequently with sauce until squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
6)Remove pan from oven and arrange squash on a large serving platter. Fill cavities of squash with the reserved cranberries. ( By this time, the cranberries should have a crunchy sugar coating.) Serve immediately.
Serving Size is one half of squash.
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Eggs with Lox and Scallions
from Valinkenmor at http://grouprecipes.com/
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon butter or olive oil
1 dozen eggs
1 teas. fresh dill, chopped
Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
4 ounces smoked salmon, sliced into thin strips
1 large yellow onion, sautéed (prepared ahead of time)
1 bunch scallions
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease a large oven-ready dish with butter or olive oil and place in the oven to warm.
In a large bowl, whip eggs with salt and pepper until frothy, add salmon, onions and scallions. Whip again. Remove cooking dish from oven and add egg mixture. Bake until eggs are to your liking, keeping in mind that they will continue to cook for several minutes after they are removed from the oven.
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Pumpkin Muffins
from Henrie at http://grouprecipes.com/
Ingredients:
3 1/2 c. sifted flour
3 c. sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs (beaten)
1 c. oil
2/3 c. water
2 c. mashed pumpkin
nuts (optional)
Directions:
Sift together dry ingredients. In separate bowl, combine eggs, oil, water, pumpkin and mix well. Add to dry ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes in greased muffin pan.
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Something Fishy Dip
from Cuzpat at http://grouprecipes.com/
Ingredients:
2 cups grilled, smoked fish (shredded)
1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp cajan seasoning
1/4 tsp celery salt
1 8oz pk Philadelphia cream cheese
1/2 red onion (chopped)
Directions:
Grilled smoked fish is great with this, but any kind of fish will do. Mix cream cheese and seasonings, then add sheredded fish and onions, mix well. Serve with assorted crackers like Ritz or Club or fresh veggies, too!
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