12 Days of Christmas Cooking Challenge: Day Three- Three French Hens

Perry Como singing The 12 Days of Christmas.  Because sometimes, Christmas should be delightfully laid-back.

And laid-back is exactly how I felt after making the following deliciousness.  Laid-back.  And full.  Very full.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me three French hens...


On the third day of Christmas, I made Stuffed Cornish Hens.
from Food.com
(serves 4)*

1 pkg long grain and wild rice mix
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbs butter, divided
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 4 oz can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
4 Cornish game hens
Salt
Pepper

Cook the rice according to the box directions.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Saute the celery and onion in 1 tbs butter until soft.

Combine celery and onion mix, cooked rice, soup, and mushrooms in a bowl.

Sprinkle salt and pepper both on and inside each hen.  Stuff with rice mixture, which is, by the way, extremely delicious.

Place in a greased roasting pan.  If you have a roasting pan with a rack, use that.  I do not.

Cover with foil or with the roasting pan's lid.  Bake for 40 minutes.

Melt the remaining 1 tbs butter.  Remove the foil/lid from the pan and brush the melted butter over the hens.  Bake for another 25-35 minutes, or until the temperature of the hens is 180 F and the stuffing is 165 F.

Let cool slightly, and enjoy!

*The original recipe calls for 6 hens, but I only made 4.  Since I still made the same amount of stuffing, I had some left over.  I baked that along with the hens in a separate Corningware dish and had it on the side.  Excellent, excellent idea.

... two turtledoves...


... and a partridge in a pear tree.

Hot Dates on Nights Alone

Simply because my husband works most nights (and I'm stuck at home with no car) does not mean I don't have incredibly hot dates.  They just happen to be with my kitchen stove.

You sexy beast, you.

The past two days, we've spent a lot of time together.  My goal for this year is to make a lot of edible Christmas gifts.  (My other goal is not to keep all of them for myself.  In my stomach.)  I'm currently working on making a blackberry-infused vodka, and yesterday I made two kinds of jam, and applesauce.  Well, the applesauce is for me.  Hey, it's not my fault that it doesn't keep very long.

Today, I fell a little bit more in love.

Why, you ask?  How could you fall even more in love with cooking?

Several reasons.

1) I'm continually finding new and amazing ways to enjoy pumpkin through the last vestiges of fall.
2) I caramelized onions for the first time.

Enough said.

I made Bacon and Pumpkin Pasta, and it was delicious.  Thank you, Pinch of Yum.  Thank you.  This is a thick, creamy, filling pasta.  And it has bacon.  I for one, needed nothing more to be said.  And for those among you who think that pumpkin and pasta should definitely not go together?  Well, you may be crazy.  And you also may not have heard the word "bacon."

Not just for pies, friends.

Bacon and Pumpkin Pasta, with Caramelized Onions
adapted from Pinch of Yum
(tripled original recipe to serve 6, because who doesn't love leftovers?)

6 c. dried pasta (original recipe called for shells, but I didn't have any and used rotini)
1 can pumpkin puree
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 c. evaporated milk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
3/4 c. cooked, crumbled bacon
2 small-medium onions, caramelized*

*Original recipe suggests sliced scallions or green onions (would need 3/4 c. to go with above proportions), but I really, really loved the buttery sweetness of the caramelized onions.  For me, it made the dish.

Cook pasta according to packaging, drain, and return to pot.  Turn heat to low.

Stir in pumpkin, cream cheese, evaporated milk, heavy cream, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Stir over low until cream cheese has melted.  Top with the bacon and onions.

For leftovers, keep the bacon and onions in separate airtight containers to maintain crispiness.

Tolstoy also approves this recipe.