Cheesy Vegetable Bake – Recipe

This is a simple make-ahead supper, easy to pop in the oven when company’s over.  It’s actually the first meal I prepared after Bean was born.  (That’s right – I went four weeks without doing anything more than reheating.  Don’t judge.)

I made this when my sister-in-law and her daughter stayed for the weekend.   With eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, and onions in the mix, I was nervous that my sixth grade niece would balk.  Perhaps she was just being polite, but she ate it.  (Disclaimer: She did pick around the eggplant and tomatoes.)

Cheesy Vegetable Bake

adapted from Real Simple
makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound dry, small-shaped pasta
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup pasta sauce
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled Feta
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella

Directions

1. In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, whisk together the vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small bowl.
2. Cut the zucchini, squash, eggplant, and onion into bite sized pieces and place on a baking sheet. Brush with the vinaigrette. Heat broiler on high. Broil until tender, 6 minutes per side.  Reduce heat to 350 if baking right away; turn oven off if freezing.
3. Place the empty pasta pot over low heat. Add the garlic and the remaining oil and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the drained pasta, vegetables, oregano, tomatoes, pasta sauce, Feta, black pepper,  and the remaining salt and toss.
4. Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the mozzarella. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 minutes longer.  Serve immediately.

To freeze: Assemble (but do not bake) the casserole. Cover tightly with two layers of aluminum foil. Store for up to 3 months

To reheat: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  Cover and heat in a 350° F oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and heat for 20 minutes longer.

Cheese Stromboli (a.k.a. Pizza Pinwheels)

We’ve never eaten stromboli before, so I can’t say this is an authentic recipe, or could even officially be categorized as stromboli.  Over at Fix Me A Snack Cindy affectionately refers to them as Pizza Pinwheels, and we just might steal that name.  They’re fun to eat (particularly with ranch dipping sauce), but the name stromboli just sounds so official.  Pizza pinwheels it is!

Cheese Stromboli

(a.k.a. Pizza Pinwheels)

recipe adapted from Fix Me A Snack
makes 10 stromboli

Ingredients

• 1 pound pizza dough
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• 1/3 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• sauteed mushrooms

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Allow the dough to come close to room temperature so that it is easy to work with.  Shape into a 6×14 inch rectangle.
3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Spread on the olive oil then the sauce, cheese, and mushrooms.  Tightly roll up the dough and pinch the loose edge to adhere it to the roll.
4. Using a serrated knife, slice the log into 2-inch segments. Gently reshape the segments into circles and place 2-3″ apart, swirl side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for 8 minutes or until the dough starts to brown. Allow the stromboli to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Serve or transfer to a cooling rack. The stromboli can be frozen in an airtight container for up to a month.

One Ingredient Ice Cream

When I heard about one ingredient ice cream, I was skeptical.  The basic gist: put a frozen banana in the food processor.  That’s it.

I figured we’d end up with a frozen treat – possibly tasty, possibly not so much – but I didn’t expect the texture or taste to be anywhere near the glory of  ice cream.

Three words that I don’t usually admit to: I was wrong.

It turned out to be creamy, similar to soft serve.  If someone offered me banana flavored ice cream, I’d laugh.  But somehow this turned out to be our new favorite dessert.

You’ll have to try it if you don’t believe me.

adapted from the kitchn
makes 2 small servings

Ingredients

• 2 bananas
• Add-ins (optional – see below)

Directions

1. Slice bananas.  Freeze for at least two hours.
2. Blend frozen bananas and add-ins in a food processor.  Scrape down the sides as necessary until smooth, creamy, and lump-free.

Optional Add-ins

• hot cocoa mix (possibly just cocoa powder?  I’m not sure on this one…)
• chocolate sauce and peanut butter
• honey
• fudgesicle
• vanilla
• pineapple juice, coconut, and rum
• Nutella

Earthquake Cake

Not wanting to be late for dinner, my mom attempted to quickly assemble a cake that she’d just pulled out of the oven… a bit too soon, apparently.  While she got teased quite a bit by the rest of the family, I thought it actually looked pretty cute!

recipe from Kate’s mom

Ingredients

• 2 nine-inch cakes, just out of the oven
• 2-3 tablespoons butter, melted
• about 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• milk

Directions

1. Make frosting by combining melted butter and powdered sugar.  Add milk until desired consistency is reached.
2. Overturn first cake onto cake platter.  Frost the top of the first layer.
3. Overturn the second cake on top of the first, unevenly, allowing it to break apart in several places.  Pull apart more if needed.
4. Pour remaining frosting over cake.

Trail Mix

My go-to lunchtime filler is trail mix.  It’s easy, it’s filling, and it’s tasty.  There’s no official recipe, but my typical ratio is three parts nuts, two parts dried fruit, and one part treat.  The easiest way to toss it together is to layer the ingredients to fill about 3/4 of an empty peanut jar or other container and give a few shakes.  The picture below is way too full to be combined – I ended up splitting this equally into two containers.  (I also added a few chocolate chips, but we don’t have to tell anyone else that…)

Trail Mix Ingredients

nuts
peanuts
almonds
macadamia nuts
pecans
cashews
sunflower seeds (not technically a nut, I know…)

dried fruit
dried cranberries
raisins (regular or golden)
dried cherries
dried apricots

treats
yogurt-covered dried fruit
chocolate covered raisins or peanuts
chocolate chips
white chocolate chips
M&M’s

other
Teddy Grahams
Cheerios
Craklin’ Oat Bran cereal pieces
Goldfish Grahams

 

Strawberry Banana Smoothies

For a long time, I’d feel guilty about drinking an entire smoothie.  They’re so good they seem like an unhealthy treat.  I’ve since gotten past that, as there’s not a speck of unhealthiness in a glass.

We never measure this recipe.  I’ve written the formal recipe below, but it can be summed up in two sentences: Blend ice cubes, fruit, yogurt, and milk until smooth.  A few tips and tricks that we’ve discovered over the years:

• Add more ice cubes for thicker smoothies.
• Add more milk for a thinner smoothie.
• Any frozen fruit can be used in place of the strawberries/banana.
• If you add a hefty amount of ice cubes to begin with, you’ll over compensate with the rest of the ingredients, and end up with double the smoothie you’d like to eat.
• If the ice isn’t hitting the blades of the blender, add more milk or give the blender a good shake or two (while it’s off, of course).

similar recipe found at squidoo.com
recipe makes 2 smoothies

Ingredients

• 5-10 ice cubes
• 5-7 frozen strawberries
• 1 banana, broken into chunks
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Layer ingredients in blender.
   
2. Blend until smooth.

Garlic Knots

recipe from Cook’s Country

Ingredients

• 10 garlic cloves, minced (total of 2 tablespoons minced garlic)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon plus 3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
• 1 1/8 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, turn it off. Grease large bowl.
2. Cook garlic, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon water in small nonstick skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is straw colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Add remaining butter, stirring until melted. Let stand 10 minutes off heat. Strain garlic butter through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl; reserve garlic solids.
3. Whisk remaining water, 1 tablespoon garlic butter, reserved garlic solids, and yeast in liquid measuring cup until yeast dissolves. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour and salt until combined. With mixer on low, add water mixture in steady stream and mix until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is smooth and comes away from sides of bowl, about 6 minutes. Turn dough onto clean work surface and knead briefly to form smooth, cohesive ball. Transfer dough to prepared bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in turned-off oven until dough has doubled in size, 40 to 50 minutes.
4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down dough on floured surface. Roll dough into 12- by 6-inch rectangle and cut into twelve 6-inch strips. With flat hands, roll each strip into 12-inch ropes. Tie ropes into knots (see photos below), tucking tails. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and return to turned-off oven until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.
5. Remove knots from oven and discard plastic. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Return knots to oven and bake until set, about 5 minutes. Remove knots from oven and brush with 2 tablespoons garlic butter. Rotate, return to oven, and bake until golden, about 4 minutes. Brush knots with remaining garlic butter and cool 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack. Serve warm.

White Pizza Dip Recipe

This was a white dip, but there wasn’t anything very pizza-ish about it, aside from the pepperoni.  We brought it along to a gathering at my parents’ and people seemed to enjoy it, regardless of how un-pizza-like it was!

White Pizza Dip

recipe from Paul’s cousin; also found on Plain Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix
• 1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
• 1 cup (8 oz.) ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) chopped pepperoni
• 1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In shallow 1-quart casserole, combine Lipton Recipe Secrets Savory Herb with Garlic Soup Mix, sour cream, ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
2. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with bread.

Chunky Guacamole Recipe

How can something so healthy taste so good?  I suppose putting it on tortilla chips negates any healthy qualities… but I suppose it’s better than many other snacks you could go for.

Chunky Guacamole

from Cook’s Country

Ingredients:

• 2 thinly sliced scallions, green and white parts separated
• 1/2 minced jalapeno pepper
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp grated lime zest
• 2 tbs fresh lime juice
• 3 avocados, pitted, peeled, and chopped
• 3 tbs fresh cilantro leaves
• salt

Directions:

1. Combine white parts of scallions, jalapeno, garlic, and lime juice in large bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Add two-thirds of the avocado to bowl with jalapeno mixture and mash with potato masher until smooth. Gently fold remaining avocado into mashed avocado mixture. Gently stir in lime zest, green parts of scallions, and cilantro. Season with salt.

Bruschetta Recipe

This is one of the recipes we made for our Superbowl celebration.  It was only a party of two since Paul got home from a six day business trip in DC moments before the game began, but this snack made it feel a bit more festive!  I had to scale the recipe back a bit as the original recipe made 24 servings.  For the full recipe, see Our Best Bites.

from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup diced tomatoes (squeeze out seeds before dicing)
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp  olive oil, plus extra
• 1 dash kosher salt
• 1 crack black pepper
• 1 tbs chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 tsp dried basil
• 8 slices of fresh baguette (1/2 inch each)
• 1 large garlic clove
• fresh mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine tomatoes, onions, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and 1 tsp olive oil in a bowl and mix to combine.  Add basil and gently toss to distribute.  Give it a taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary.  Cover and chill.
2. Place baguette slices baking sheet.   Brush some olive oil on top.  Place in oven for 8 minutes until just lightly toasted.  Remove pan from oven.  Slice garlic clove in half and rub cut side down on each piece of bread.  Top with about a slice of fresh mozzarella and one tablespoon of the tomato mixture.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

There’s an extra secret ingredient in this recipe.  That may be an exaggeration, but I’ve never seen it in another recipe.  I feel like it’s “cheating” a bit, akin to baking a cake from a mix and calling it your own.  Nevertheless, I do take credit for these delicious cookies every time I bring them somewhere – and they’re typically a hit!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from Sarah; similar recipe found at Stephanie’s Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 (3.4 oz) package vanilla instant pudding*
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 8 oz chocolate chips*
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix flour and baking soda; set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugars in a large bowl.  Add pudding, vanilla, and eggs.
3. Gradually add flour mixture, chocolate chips, and nuts.
4. Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

*You can use vanilla pudding for traditional cookies or chocolate pudding for a different twist.  Just about any kind of chip or nut is tasty too!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Since I’ve learned to cook, we’ve been having significantly less macaroni and cheese.  Kraft mac & cheese has lost its appeal.  This is a completely positive change… however… I must admit I do miss the bit of comfort that a big ol’ bowl of macaroni and cheese brings.

Paul’s sister gave us a recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese that somehow blends that line between comfort food and adult dinner fare – and it’s not much more difficult than opening that blue box!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

based on recipe from Paul’s sister

Ingredients

• 2 cup macaroni noodles
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1-2 cups milk
• 8 oz American cheese, shredded or cut into small pieces
• chopped onions

Directions

1. Boil macaroni noodles according to package directions; drain.
2. In large saucepan, sautee onions in butter.  Add cooked noodles, 1 cup milk, cheese over low heat.  Add more milk to thin if needed.
3. Pour macaroni into casserole pan and bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes.

Artichoke Dip Recipe

Dump, stir, bake, eat, go back for seconds, thirds, fourths. It’s as simple as that!

Artichoke Dip

recipe from Paul’s aunt; also found on allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 can artichoke hearts (unmarinated)
• 4 oz green chiles, chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesean cheese
• 8 oz cream cheese
• chopped garlic

Directions

1. Drain artichoke hearts and break apart.  Mix all ingredients together.
2. Bake (uncovered) at 350 for 30 minutes.
3. Serve with Italian bread.

BLT Pasta

I initially chose this recipe its name.  Anything with BLT in the title will win me over.  As I looked more closely at the directions, though, I was puzzled.  Cook croutons, bacon, onions, and pasta separately; combine with Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, uncooked spinach, and boiling water?! I’d never made anything quite like this – either adding cold spinach to a hot dish, or, as the final step, dumping a cup of water over a meal.  I’m sure both are common practices, but as a novice cook, I was wary.

The ingredient list won me over, though, and thank goodness it did.  It was INCREDIBLE.  My husband had thirds.  (Those are his hands holding one of his three bowls below.  He’s trying to be a hand model… if anyone wants to hire him, give me a call.  Just kidding.)

adapted from Cook’s Country

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 slices hearty or artisan bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 12 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound pasta (small shape)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 bunch spinach
• 1 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out the skillet.
2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. While the water comes to a boil, cook the chopped bacon in the empty skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat. Cook the onion in the bacon fat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. After you begin cooking the onion, add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1½ cups cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in tomatoes, arugula, Parmesan, bacon, onion mixture, and 1 cup reserved pasta water (adding additional water as needed). Season with salt and pepper and top with croutons.

Oatmeal Cream Pies – Recipe

Yum, yum, yummy yum.  Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies are fabulous, but this recipe blows them away.  These are the essence of chewy goodness.  I can’t recommend them enough.  They’re best eaten at least a day after they’re made, if you can wait that long!

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Adapted from Beantown Baker

Cookie Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbsp boiling water

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp unflavored gelatin (about 1 1/2 packets)
• 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup water (divided)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 8 ounces vegetable shortening

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees . Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside or use parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the salt, flour, and baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture. Add the cinnamon and oats. Mix well.
3. In a small dish, add the baking soda to the boiling water, and then stir the mixture into the rest of the batter. Mix well.
4. Drop by the tablespoon onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Leave on cookie sheet until set; then move to a wire rack to cool.

Filling Directions:

1. In a small measuring cup, sprinkle the gelatin over 1/3 cup cold water. Let stand, stirring once or twice until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.
2. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup hot water until well blended. Continuing to stir, raise the heat to high and bring to a full boil. Continue boiling for 30 seconds. Immediately remove from the heat. Stir in the gelatin mixture until it dissolves completely.
3. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the vanilla.
4. With a mixer on medium speed, beat for 20 seconds. Gradually raise the speed to high and beat until the mixture is stiffened, white, very fluffy, and cooled to barely warm, about 7 minutes.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar.
6. Add the shortening and beat until completely smooth.

Assembly
Match similarly sized cookies.  Spread filling over one cookie and place a matching cookie on top.

 

Chocolate Cutout Cookies – Recipe

While iced pumpkin cookies may be more seasonal, chocolate cutout cookies are much more versatile.  This past week, I did make them quite seasonal with a set of autumn themed cookie cutters.   This was the result:

They can be either soft and chewy or crisp and crunchy, depending on their thickness and how they’re stored.  Delicious either way – especially with a mug of hot coffee.

Chocolate Cutout Cookies

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 egg plus 1 yolk
• powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and yolk.
3. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients to form a soft dough. Dough will be crumbly; stir until smooth or knead if necessary.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies onto cookie sheets.  They do not spread much, so they may be placed close together.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Move to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Put powdered sugar (about 1/2 cup – no need to measure) into a fine mesh sifter.  Tap sifter lightly over cookies until covered to desired amount.

Crispy Pepper and Parmesan Pork Cutlets – Recipe

Every time I go to Barnes and Noble, I sit in the magazine section and drool over the America’s Test Kitchen special editions.  Last time I went, my husband treated me to one such magazine:

The first (and so far only) recipe I’ve cooked from it is one of the best we’ve had in a while.  I tried Crispy Pepper and Parmesan Pork  Cutlets.  My pictures can never quite capture how good it looks in real life, but I try!

I nearly went for “Best-Ever Recipes” (how could I not?), but while I love America’s Test Kitchen dearly, their typical recipes are not the best for weeknight fare.  Many of their recipes are pretty labor intensive, which is not necessarily what I’m interested in after a long day of work.  I’m trying to finish the cooking, eating, and cleaning by 7:00, though, so 30-minute meals won out.  And really, I can’t complain, especially after the last meal!

Crispy Pepper and Parmesan Pork Cutlets

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs (we didn’t have these and I used regular – still delicious!)
• 1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (not from the green bottle)
• 6 thin-cut boneless pork cutlets, 3-4 ounces each
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Spread flour in a shallow dish.  Bead eggs in a second dish.  Combine panko, cheese, and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a third dish.
2. Pat pork dry with towels and season with salt.  One at a time, dredge cutlets in flour, dip in egg, and dredge in bread-crumb mixture, pressing to adhere.
3. Head 1/4 cup oil and additional 2 teaspoons pepper in a large nonstick skillet over medium head until shimmering.  Fry 3 cutlets until deep golden and crisp, about 3 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towel-lined plate.  Discard oil, wipe out skillet, and repeat with additional 1/4 cup oil, 2 additional teaspoons pepper, and remaining cutlets.

Just in time for Thanksgiving – Iced Pumpkin Cookies

These cookies are perfect for a potluck or special treat this time of year. You don’t see them everywhere you turn, but they’re a fantastic addition to any fall table.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup cooked, pureed pumpkin (fresh or canned)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg)
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla and mix well.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into butter mixture until well blended. Add walnuts.
3. Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment covered baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake about 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool.
4. For icing: Cream confectioners’ sugar and butter. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. (If icing is too thin, add more butter ; if too thick, add more cream.)  Drizzle over cookies.

Spinach Strawberry Salad – Recipe

I’m not a salad loving girl.  I’ll eat it for health’s sake, but I typically don’t enjoy it.  This salad on the other hand?  Unbelievable.  It’s sweet, crunchy, juicy, light… It’s my new favorite.  It’s actually the first salad dressing I’ve ever made from scratch (aside from a simple oil and vinegar mixture), and I’d say it’s a resounding success.

I first had this salad at a potluck that the PTA set up for us during conferences.  The fare is typically amazing – everyone contributes their best dish.  Even out of all of those foods, though, the salad was the star.  Luckily the mom who made it put her name on the dish, so I was able to track her down and beg the recipe off her.

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 T. sesame seed
• 1 T. poppy seed
• 1 1/2 t. minced onion
• 1/4 t. worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 t. paprika
• 1/4 c. cider vinegar
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1/2 c. sugar or Splenda
• 1 bunch spinach
• 2 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Place sesame seed, poppy seed, onion, worcestershire sauce, paprika, vinegar, and sugar in a blender.  Add oil in a steady stream with blender on low speed.  Blend until creamy and thick.
2. Combine spinach, strawberries and almonds in a large bowl.  Drizzle a moderate amount of dressing over the top; toss to coat.  Add more dressing if desired.

Extra dressing can refrigerated for later use.

Chunky Apple Sauce – Recipe

A bag full of pitiful looking apples has been sitting on my back porch for about four weeks.  Full of good intentions, I picked a couple dozen off of my cousin’s backyard apple tree.  They didn’t look so hot even right off the tree, but an apple is an apple.  Slowly but surely, as they always do, the days marched right past me and the bag of apples sat untouched.  A few more spots appeared on each piece of fruit; one turned to complete mush.  Armed with a three day weekend, though, I (along with my superhero powers) turned that half rotten bag of apples into this beautiful piece of art:

And 30 minutes of medium-low heat later:

And that is why I love cooking.  You start with something, anything, and turn it into a little bite of joy.

Yum.

Chunky Applesauce
recipe adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 8 cups apples, chopped and peeled
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• several shakes of ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, combine all ingredients.
2. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat; mash apples (a potato masher works well) until sauce achieves desired consistency.
4. Serve warm or cold.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Mayo

I enjoy french fries.  Who doesn’t?  Unfortunately, most fried foods don’t sit well with my stomach.  I suppose it’s a good thing — aside from taste, there’s no reason I should be eating fried food anyway.  That doesn’t take away my craving for french fries, though.  A happy substitute can be found, though.  Sweet potato fries hit the spot, and with loads of vitamin A, your body will thank you.

Unfortunately, at the present time, I don’t have a picture of the finished fries.  They were immediately devoured as soon as they came out of the oven!

Sweet Potato Fries

adapted from Paula Dean’s Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

• Olive Oil, for tossing
• 5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch long slices, then 1/4-wide inch strips, using a crinkle cut knife
• Oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a sheet tray with parchment.
2. In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat. Sprinkle with seasonings.
3. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes.
4. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Chipotle Mayo

Mix one part mayo with one part barbecue sauce.

Cheesy Wild Rice Soup – Recipe

Nothing says autumn like a hearty soup.  This one certainly fits the bill – it all but screams turtlenecks, new notebooks, and pots of chrysanthemums on the front porch.  While leaves aren’t falling yet, school starts this week, and it seemed fitting to make.

This recipe makes my all time favorite soup, ever.  I’m starting to tweak it to make it a bit more natural – the original recipe calls for both Velveeta and condensed cream of potato soup.  I replaced the processed cheese with colby jack with much success, and am working on a substitution for the condensed soup.  I don’t know where to start.  Possibly with a roux, and add flour/milk/potato cubes?  That’ll be an experiment for another afternoon!

And just to note… you’ll need a stock pot for this recipe – it makes quite a bit.  We freeze about half of it for nights we’d like comfort food in a hurry.

Cheesy Wild Rice Soup
adapted from Leanne’s recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long grain/wild rice mix
• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1-2 cups chopped celery
• 1-2 cups thinly chopped carrots
• 1-2 cups chopped onion
• 3 cans condensed cream of potato soup*
• 4 cups milk
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 lb shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Prepare rice with broth.  Meanwhile, steam vegetables on the stovetop until crisp-tender.
2. In a large pot, combine rice, vegetables, condensed soup, milk, half and half, and cheese.
3. Heat, but do not boil.

Beer Cheese Dip Recipe

You’ll never find an easier, more coveted recipe than this.  Mix four ingredients together, add a bag of pretzels, and wait for the compliments.

Beer Cheese Dip
from Hidden Valley Ranch

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces (2 packages) cream cheese
• 1 ounce ranch dip mix
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼- ½ cup beer
• Pretzels, bread cubes, or fresh vegetables

Directions:

1. Blend cream cheese, cheddar cheese and ranch dip mix.  Mix in enough beer to reach desired consistency.
2. Serve with pretzels, bread cubes, or fresh veggies.

Fruit Leather Recipe (no sugar added!)

Cherry apple fruit leather looks ugly, I’ll give you that much.  (My lackluster photography skills also play a large role in that picture.  I think it’s the direct lighting.  Thoughts?)  Fruit leather is really healthy, though, and it’s got the husband seal of approval.

I don’t have a “real” recipe to pass on today – more of an idea.  It’s infinitely adaptable – we just happened to have cherries so I thought I’d try that flavor.  Next time I’ll try peach, raspberry, or strawberry.  Go nuts, and let me know how it goes!

Fruit Leather

Ingredients:

• Applesauce (natural – check the ingredients list to make sure there isn’t any added sugar)
• Fresh fruit (I used cherries this time)

Directions:

1. Take stems, pits, etc. out of fresh fruit.  Heat in a saucepan until soft.
2. Blend fresh fruit and applesauce in a food processor.  (I used an equal amount of fruit and applesauce, but you could certainly try experimenting!)
3. Prepare a baking sheet with a thin layer of nonstick cooking spray.  Spread fruit mixture evenly over the pan.  You can put it on a bit thicker than you’d think.  I put a moderate amount and parts of it were so thin that I could see through them.
4. Put in a warm oven (140 degrees) for about 8 hours, or until fruit is no longer tacky and soft.  Alternately, you could use a food dehydrator if you have solid trays with sides.
5. Cut into strips or large squares.

Chocolate Eclair Cake Recipe

Yum, yum, double yum.  This is the tastiest dessert I’ve ever made, ever, by far.  That may say more about my cooking skills than the cake, but I promise it’s good.  Imagine a chocolate eclair with more filling, whipped cream, and chocolate.

The picture doesn’t do it justice – next time I make it, I’ll have to take a closeup of one piece, showing of all four of its glorious layers.  The base is made of eggs, butter, flour, and water.  The next layer up is the cream – pudding mix, milk, and cream cheese.  Then comes some whipping cream and sugar whipped to perfection, and to top it off, the chocolate layer (chocolate chips, butter, milk, and powdered sugar).  You do need to refrigerate it for a few hours before it’s ready for it’s debut, so starting this early in the morning or even the night before an event is to your benefit.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

I use a recipe from my husband’s aunt, but there’s a similar recipe at Big Oven.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 4 large eggs
• 1 large package vanilla instant pudding
• 2 1/2 cups cold milk
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
• 1 pint whipping cream
• 2 tbs sugar
• 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:

1. To Make Cake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring the water and butter to boil.  Add flour; stir.  Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition until smooth. Spread in an ungreased 9×13″ baking pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Cool.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the pudding mix, milk and softened cream cheese together until thoroughly blended. Spread pudding mixture over the baked and cooled eclair crust.
3. Using an electric mixture with a whisk attachment, whip together whipping cream and sugar.  Spread over pudding mixture.
4. Melt chocolate chips and butter. Remove from heat and add confectioners sugar and milk alternately until a thin glaze forms.  While still warm, pour or drizzle over whipped cream.  Refrigerate overnight.