Yes, not your typical pineapple upside down cake as I made it today with a twist. We never use the maraschino cherries with the red dye; instead I made mine today with chopped dates in the middle of the pineapples and added shredded coconut for a tropical flavor. It is DELICIOUS! Here's how I did it (photos of the steps at the end):

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 large can pineapple rings or crushed pineapple, well drained - reserve juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded coconut
4-6 pitted dates or dried cranberries
1 yellow or white cake mix or your own from scratch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour melted butter into a 9x13 pan. Add the brown sugar and mix well. Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded coconut over the brown sugar mixture. Place the drained pineapple rings or crushed pinapple on top of the coconut. Put chopped dates / dried cranberries in the center of the pineapple rings or sprinkle lightly over the crushed pineapple.

Make cake mix according to directions, substituting the reserved pineapple juice for all or some of the water required. When well blended, pour over the pineapple mixture in the pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until set in the middle. Allow to cool about 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a foil-covered cookie sheet or other serving tray. Serve warm or cold - we had ours with some whipped cream hot from the oven!

Enjoy!

Oh yes, if you find yourself out of brown sugar, as I did today - here's a quick substitute:

You can substitute white sugar for brown sugar 1 for 1 - you just have to add 4 Tablespoons of molasses to the white sugar for each cup used. Mix it well with a fork and proceed as usual. If it is very moist, you might want to decrease your other liquids by 2-3 Tablespoons. It worked just fine for me today and the flavor was delicious!

We like to have turkey throughout the year, not just at the holidays. When we have left-over turkey, as we always do, one of our favorite recipes is Turkey Enchiladas. You can also make these with chicken.

Here's how I put mine together:

2 cups diced turkey (approximately 2 cups - you can do more or less)
1 can cream of ____ soup. I use anything without MSG, like cream of broccoli, cream of mushroom or cream of chicken. All of these are good in this recipe.
1/2 to 1 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/3 cup milk
1 cup plus extra of shredded cheese. We like the Sargento 4 flavor Mexican blend8-10 flour tortillas. If you use packaged and they are smaller, you'll need about 10.
Salt and pepper and other seasonings to taste - I change this based on how I seasoned my turkey meat during baking. If you are using chicken, I boil the chicken with onions and garlic for extra seasoning.

Dice your turkey so you have about 2 cups and place into a medium-sized mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl mix the cream of soup, sour cream, milk and 1 cup of shredded cheese. You want a fairly thick mixture.

Place 1/2 of the soup mixture in with the turkey and stir well. Spoon this mixture into the individual tortilla shells and roll them up. Place them in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan.

When you have all of the turkey mixture in the tortillas and they are all in the baking pan, you'll spoon the remaining soup mixture over the top of the tortillas and sprinkle with extra cheese.

For baking, if your turkey was cold when you started, you'll want to make sure it gets heated through. So I bake mine on the Convection setting of my oven at about 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is very golden and I'm sure the middle of the tortillas is warm.

If you are doing this with chicken and have just finished boiling your chicken and have cut it up and it is still warm, you can bake it in a regular oven at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is very golden.

Spicy Oatmeal Cookies (not spicy as in hot, but containing spices)

1/2 cup shortening or butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I always add more than this!)
2 cups quick cook oats
1-1/2 cups raisins
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Cream shortening, sugar and molasses. Add eggs one at a time and incorporate. Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl, then stir into wet mixture. Add oatmeal, nuts and raisins. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. This recipe makes a chewy or crispy cookie, depending on the length of time that you bake them.

These are some of the best oatmeal cookies I've ever had. I love them chewy, so that's how we bake them. This recipe came to me from my dear friend, Mary.

Yes, this is the real thing, nothing at all artificial, red, green or gold in this one! DELICIOUS!

Ready for the adventure? Here it is:

2 cups raisins
2 cups currants
2 cups dried apricot halves
2 cups dried fig halves
1 cup pitted prunes
1 cup pitted dates
4 cups walnuts - large pieces
2 cups pecans - large pieces
3 oranges, grated - zest only
3 lemons, grated - zest only
1/2 cup candied ginger - chopped
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup molasses
2 cups brandy or apple juice
1/2 cup orange liqueur or orange juice
4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound butter (yes, the real thing)
3 cups brown sugar
8 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla (yes, the real thing)

The day before, combine all dried fruits, nuts and zest in a very large mixing bowl. Add the candied ginger and spices. Toss well to mix. Add the molasses and liquids and mix well. Oh yes, the scent will be heavenly! Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Grease (4) 9x5x3 loaf pans, then flour. Sprinkle 1 cup of flour over the fruit mixture and stir it in. Combine remaining 3 cups of flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift if needed. Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar and beat well. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Add all dry ingredients and beat until batter is blended and smooth.

Pour this over the fruit, mix well until everything is coated with the batter. Divide the batter among the loaf pans filling them to 1/2 inch below the top of the pan. Bake for 2 hours. Don't worry if they crack on top. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Added bonus: we sometimes make these the day after Thanksgiving and tenderly add a few teaspoons every few days of grand marnier or orange liqueur before we serve them or give them as gifts.

Here is one version of Cranberry Relish that we like with our Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.

Cranberry Relish (#1)

1 pound fresh, raw cranberries
2 large firm apples
1 whole navel orange
1 medium can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts.

Place cranberries, apples and orange into food processor or Vitamix and lightly chop. Add pineapple, sugar and nuts. Mix well and refrigerate overnight before serving. This will keep for several days in the refrigerator and gets better with age. It is also good on toast for breakfast!