More pumpkin, I can't help it!

I am so in the holiday spirit right now, which means pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin. I don't think I have baked anything in the last month that didn't include pumpkin. It is just one of those seasonal favorites, that will seem out of place once fall is over, so I have to get my fill now! These pumpkin bars are amazing! So moist, they get rave reviews everywhere I bring them. I tried to make them a bit more healthy, so below in black you will see the substitutions I made this time. Please don't let the banana freak you out, you really won't taste it in the bars, all the spices mask the banana flavor really well. I know that right now my mom is thinking I should just leave her recipe alone, but at the rate I bake, I have to make things a smidgen healthier, or else I would be severely overweight! So without further commentary, enjoy!

Wait until they are cool to frost, otherwise they look like this!

Company Pumpkin Bars

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs ( I used 2 eggs and 2 bananas)
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil (I used applesauce)
I 15 oz can pumpkin
2 cups flour ( I used whole wheat flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon (I use about 2 tbl)
I also added 1 tsp cloves and 1 tbl pumpkin pie spice I like the spicy flavor, and I wanted to make sure it covered the banana flavor

Frosting
1 8 oz pack of cream cheese, room temperature ( I used RF cream cheese)
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter
2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan.
Mix eggs and sugar until well blended, and oil and mix, then add pumpkin and mix. Meanwhile combine all dry ingredients, then slowly add to wet mixture. Stir together, but DO NOT over mix.
Pour into pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until top springs back when touched or toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Set aside to cool and make frosting.

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar slowly. Spread over cooled pumpkin bars, sprinkle with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. ENJOY!

Hearty Chili

This is my go to chili recipe, which comes from my friend Cassy, back home in Washington. This was almost always my requested dinner when I went to her house, I loved all the veggies in it, and the nice spice that wasn't overpowering, but was certainly there. It was a big change from the chili I grew up on, which was honestly a can of chili beans, a can of kidney beans, a can of tomato sauce, some ground beef, and a chili seasoning packet. Sorry to out you mom, but that really isn't chili! Of course I took some liberties with it, as I do with almost all recipes, and my version didn't disappoint at all. If you are looking for another soup to add to your winter round-up, look no farther.

Chili

1 1/2lb ground turkey or beef (I used left over roast I had, shredded into tiny pieces, LOVED it!)
1 (15 ounce) can chili beans, not drained
1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can white kidney beans (cannelini), drained
2 (28 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup cooked and crumbled bacon or bacon bits
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 dash cayenne pepper (or more if you want it spicy)
1 or 2 tablespoon brown sugar

Optional Toppings:
shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
sour cream
onions
taco chips

* Cook the meat first then add the diced veggies until tender. Add all other ingredients to slow cooker and let simmer for the day. That is it, really. That simple! This makes enough for a crowd so you may want to half the recipe or plan to freeze some. It does freeze well and tastes just as good thawed and re-heated. Works perfect to have small tupperware portions to take to work, just take it out of the freezer the day before. ENJOY!

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

No pictures tonight, we were too hungry to bother to find the camera, but I though that I would share our meal with you anyhow. It fit the bill for easy and tasty, and sort of healthy. Prepare yourself for this please....it is a recipe off of the Campbell's soup can. Not gourmet, but gourmet isn't really me anyhow, now is it?

INGREDIENTS:
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken ( I use the 98% fat free of course)
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cups uncooked long grain white rice
pepper to taste
2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables ( I just used peas)
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Stir everything but chicken and cheese together in a 2 quart dish.
Top with chicken, seasoned as desired ( I used some rosemary and oregano).
Bake at 375 for 50 minutes or until rice and chicken are done.
Sprinkle with cheese and broil until cheese browns. Let sit for 10 minutes and enjoy.

Just a heads up, I actually made this the night before and left it in the fridge so it was ready to pop in the oven right when I got home from work. I did end up having to add a little extra rice to soak up some extra water/soup, which required about 15 more minutes in the oven.

Easy breakfast casserole

Please allow yourself a moment to picture this scene: My mom sitting on the couch at 9am with a bag of cheetos in one hand and a diet pepsi in the other. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Oh yea, of course not, only my mother finds cheetos and sugar water to be an appropriate breakfast. If only I had been home to make sure she had an appropriate meal. Unfortuantely I had to work, which left my mother and my husband alone to fend for themselves for breakfast. Mom, I promise I will always be prepared with this casserole for any future mornings with us. (please don't get me wrong though, my mother would rather eat cheetos and a diet pepsi for breakfast then real food, it just appaled my husband so much I made this for their future mornings together.) And just so you know that my mother didn't starve that morning, Michael took her to a sports bar for breakfast...please insert sigh here, if you knew my mother you would know she doesn't belong in a sports bar.

This recipe came about to prevent another morning like the above mentioned. My friend Lindsay had made a similar casserole, so this was my attempt to copy it without actually knowing what she put in it. The recipe below is with pretty basic, there are lots of ways to jazz it up. Think peppers and onions and bacon and/or sausage. Change it to suit your tastes.


Breakfast Casserole


INGREDIENTS:

cooking spray (PAM)

1 bag of cubed frozen hashbrowns

8 eggs (I used egg substitute)

1/2 cup milk

2 cans of diced green chiles

1/2 pound of thick sliced ham

1 cup of shredded cheese

1/2 cup diced onion (I saute them first)

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Spread frozen hashrowns in the bottow of a lightly sprayed 9x13 pan. In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over hashbrows, layer the diced chile peppers and onions over the top, followed by the ham and finally the cheese. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes, or until eggs are set and cheese is golden brown. Top off with a dallop of sour cream and enjoy.

The man sandwich!

This is not a healthy guilt free meal. It is also not a meal I should make again, but I will. Honestly, I have already made it again, this was round two. It is just that simple and good. Just a few ingredients and 30 minutes and dinner is on. If you are looking to please a red med meat eating man in your life, here is the ticket ladies, I nearly guarantee success. Michael liked it better last time with out the A-1 sauce, but I liked it better this time with the A-1, so you decide if you want it or not. I just learned he is not an A-1 kind of guy I guess. Please don't be shy with the butter, I have made it twice, and it was better with all of the butter instead of the scant amount I tried to get away with the first time. Just follow the recipe, you will be glad you did... until the next morning when you can't button your slacks for work!

Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich
(Marlboro Man is Pioneer Woman's husband, in case you wondered)
Pioneer Woman

INGREDIENTS:
2 to 3 pounds cube steak (tenderized round steak that’s been extra-tenderized
1 large onion OR 2 small/medium onions
4 French/Deli rolls
Butter, man
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco
A-1 sauce

DIRECTIONS:
Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.
Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with Lawry’s.
Heat 2 TBSP butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown.
Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides.
Add 1/2 a bottle (at least) Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and 2 TBSP butter and a few healthy shakes of A-1. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.
Butter halved French rolls and brown on skillet.
To assemble, lay bottom half of French roll on plate. Place meat mixture, followed by a spoonful of juice from the pan. Top with other half of roll, cut in half, and devour!

Fall is here!!!

Fake spider, I promise! I decorated for Halloween today, and I couldn't resist!

Okay not really. But we have cooled down to the seventies, and that is plenty of reason to bust out the pumpkin. I saw this recipe on Annie's Eats, who adapted the recipe from Bakespace, and knew that it would be my first pumping recipe of the year. They were amazing good, who doesn't love a little cream cheese filling when they bite into a cupcake! These were the perfect start to my fall baking, I can't wait to use the pumpkin left over in my fridge for something new. Or maybe I will just make these muffins again, they were that good. I brought them to my first day at my new job and made instant friends, so thanks Annie! Happy Fall baking friends!

Yummy cream cheese filling!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Yield: 24 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

For the muffins:
3 cups flour (I used white wholewheat flour)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil (I used 1/2 applesauce and 1/2 oil)
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

For the streusel topping:
½ cup sugar
¼ cup and 1 tsp. flour
4 tbsp. butter, cubed
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until smooth. Form into a log on plastic wrap or foil, making sure that the diameter is small enough to fit into the well of a muffin pan. Wrap the log up tightly and freeze until slightly hardened, 1-2 hours. (Alright, so you should know that I skipped this step, because I wanted to eat the muffins now, I didn't want to wait 2 hours, and it worked out perfectly. I just used my tiny cookie scoop to drop the filling into each muffin)

To make the muffins, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar and pumpkin puree. Mix until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.

To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two muffin pans with paper liners. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well halfway with batter. Remove the cream cheese log from the freezer and slice into 24 equal slices. Place a slice in each muffin well. Divide the remaining muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups, on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

Crockpot Potato Soup

This soup far exceeded my expectations. I have these two crock pot cookbooks that I have been trying recipes out of, and they have been pretty hit and miss. This one though, was wonderful. I prepped everything the night before so in the morning all I did was dump it in the crock pot and turn it on. The house smelled so good when we got home from work, and we so enjoyed the soup for dinner and lunches the next couple days. We served it topped off with some sour cream, cheese, and fresh chives from my newly cultivated herb garden. Oh, and the letters you see below, that was my husband asking if he could dice the potatoes. Next thing I know he had that spelled out instead in potatoes. He is not much help in the kitchen, but he sure is sweet! The recipe below contains some changes, but mostly it came from 101 More Things To Do With A Slow Cooker.

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups of potatoes peeled and diced
5 cups of water
2 cups chopped onion
4 cubes of chicken bullion or 4 tsp instant granules
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup of shredded cheese
1 tbsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Combine potatoes, water, onion, bullion, and pepper in greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or until potatoes are tender. Stir in crumbled bacon, cheese, and milk. Cover and cook an additional 20 minutes. Makes 10-12 servings.

One additional step that I took was to blend about 5 or 6 ladles of the soup before adding the bacon and cheese, just to give the soup a creamier thicker consistency.