Pumpkin Spice Muffins

A little muffin recipe I made up:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup pumpkin (from the can)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp molasses
Topping
1/2 cup quick oats
1 tbsp flour
1/4 ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped almonds (or pecans)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cold butter

Combine flour, soda, powder, salt and spices in a bowl.  In the bowl you'll be mixing from add the butter and sugar until combined, add the egg and vanilla and molasses, then the pumpkin and whip until mixed.  Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
For the topping add all ingredients except butter and stir and then with a fork - add about 1/2 tbsp on bottom of each muffin liner, fill batter about 3/4 full and then mash the butter into the topping mixture and distribute remaining topping mixture on top of muffins.
Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes - everyone's oven varies =)

Cinnamon Swirl Cake with cream cheese frosting

Keaton's birthday cake - I made this for the seminary kids this morning - it was a hit!

Looks like an average cake to me in the picture, but it is yummier than it looks - so moist and cinnamony ;)

I altered the ingredients from this cake recipe

1 cup+2 tbsp butter

2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

Cream butter with sugar until fluffy and combined. Add eggs 2 at a time.

6 eggs

2 tsp butter vanilla emulsion (can substitute vanilla extract)

1 cup sour cream

In a separate bowl, sift together:

2 cups flour

1 cup cake flour

1/3 cup corn starch

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 small pkg dry cheesecake jello pudding mix

Add to batter just until mixed.

Combine:

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tbsp ground cloves

1/2 tbsp nutmeg

1/2 tbsp ground ginger

**(had some left over, I just saved it for snickerdoodles)

Sprinkle 1/4 mixture on bottom of parchment lined cookie/1/2 sheet pan. Spread batter out over top and then remaining topping - swirl into cake batter with a knife. sprinkle a few handfuls of turbinado sugar for a crunch on top if desired.

Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

After cooled, frost.

Cream cheese frosting

1/2 cup butter

8 oz cream cheese

3 cups powdered sugar (or less - just taste it so it doesn't get too sweet)

1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp milk

Half this recipe for this cake because you don't need it all either - just drizzle it over the cake.

Quiche

I made these ones in 4 individual pie crusts, but usually do bake it in a 9-inch pie pan:

3 eggs

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt (pinch)

1 cup fat-free half and half

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese

1 can diced green chilies

3-4 artichoke bottoms, diced

Pie crust for 9-inch pan.

Beat eggs, seasonings and milk. Layer cheeses, chilies and artichokes on bottom of crust and pour egg mixture over top.

Bake 35o degrees for 40-45 minutes.

I have made this with cheddar and pepper jack cheeses and have also put broccoli and mushrooms in it too.

Cranberry Sauce Anyone?

Homemade cranberry sauce:

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 whole cinnamon sticks

Bring to a boil and then add:

4 cups fresh cranberries (rinsed)

4 Cuties ( or 1 orange) peeled, remove seeds if applicable

Simmer together until berries begin to pop 5-10 minutes - you will hear the berries popping!

Remove cinnamon sticks and add:

1 can pineapple with its juice
Blend into a puree:

Pour into dishes and chill for 2 hours or more:

So, does anyone want my 2nd dish of cranberry sauce? (I made a whole batch and should have halved this recipe for the amount of people I am having over for Thanksgiving this year - my boys won't touch the stuff - hehe) If you live nearby, leave a comment and I'll draw someone's name =) Maybe I'll only get one comment, then it'd be yours easily!

Oatmeal Spice Cookies

Here's a yummy oatmeal spicy cookie recipe:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup butter flavored shortening

Cream together, then add:

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup oat flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp salt

3 cups oats

Stir into the butter mixture and drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 36 cookies

Teriyaki Chicken

1/2 cup Yoshida's sauce

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 head chopped garlic (of course I heart garlic so you can use less)

1/2 cup brown sugar

Juice from 1 can pineapple chunks

Marinade chicken for an hour after poking it to let the juices in. Grill chicken breasts while basting marinade each time you turn the chicken over. Cook remaining sauce on the stove top to kill any remaining bacteria and serve over the top of rice & chicken.

Yummy Cheesecake Recipe

This is a recipe for cheesecake - trust me, don't lick the batter - you won't be able to stop ;)

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter

Mix together and press on the bottom of an ungreased pan - I use a Springform pan.

Beat together:

16 oz cream cheese

8 oz mascarpone cheese

Scrape bowl multiple times and mix until smooth and creamy.

Mix in:

1 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

Add and mix until smooth:

1 egg

I am making a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, so next I add in a handful of white chocolate chips on the crust:

Spoon batter over the top of that and spread evenly:

I used frozen raspberries - I heated 1 cup on the stovetop with a bit of sugar. Then spooned some on top:

Using a knife, I blended it throughout the batter:Bake 275 degrees for 1 hour. This will still be jiggly, no worries - refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

What is it? Because it looks like a melted butter sauce ;)

It's my own Chicken Noodle Soup recipe (Jonathan & Keaton's fav):

3 grilled chicken breasts basted with olive oil, salt and pepper, juice from 1/2 lemon & thyme

(I used to only put in 2 chicken breasts, but it's not enough for my fam - might be for yours though!)

In a pan, combine:

4 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

1 med onion, diced

Cook together for 5 minutes or so, add salt & pepper and 2 tsp thyme.

Add in a pot:

10 cups water on high heat

when water is boiling, add 2 cups noodles

Boil noodles for 6-8 minutes (undercook them!) Do not drain.

Add to the water pot and cook together until warmed - 10 minutes or less.:

3 tbsp or so chicken bouillon paste

1 cup cream

1 cup half & half (I use fat free)

Onion, carrot, celery mixture

Chicken breast cubes

This picture just shows the stuff that was hiding under the broth:

Taste it - does it need more water or bouillon? Add it ;)

Takes about 1/2 hour from start to serve =)

Pumpkin Pie

Here's my pumpkin pie recipe:

Makes 1 9-inch pie or 26-28 mini ones.

I added in 1/2 of a caramel for the mini crusts - I think I'd do a whole one next time.

Combine:

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground clove

1 tsp ground nutmeg

In a mixer with above ingredients, mix in 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree until well blended.

Add 3 eggs, mix well

Add 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk, mix well

Pour pie filling into pie shell(s) over the caramel and then top it with turbinado sugar before baking for 10 minutes on 425 degrees, turn heat down to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30 minutes. Bake mini crust for only 20 minutes more.

I whipped 1 1/2 cups whipping cream with 1/2 cup powdered sugar for 5 minutes or so and then removed all of it into a separate bowl. Then I added 4 oz mascarpone cheese with 1/2 vanilla bean scraped and whipped it together until the cheese was smooth in the bowl that used to have the whipping cream mixture in it. Then I added the whipped cream back into the bowl and mixed together. Ummmm, yum!

If the pie is still hot, don't add the cream to it - I just did this for a picture:I put a dollop of cream, more turbinado sugar and also added a caramel apple candy corn on top for funness =)

Lemon Ricotta Muffins

Emily brought these yummy muffins to a RS potluck and shared the recipe - YUM!

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup rice flour and 1 cup all purpose)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup brown sugar (recipe calls for white)

1/2 cup butter (recipe calls for unsalted)

2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (recipe calls for 1)

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (recipe calls for 1)

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds (which are now sold at my Costco - yea!)

Line 12 muffin cups with liners and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk the flour, powder, soda and salt until combined. Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy, add zest and ricotta and mix well. Beat in the egg, juice and extract and then stir in dry ingredients. I will add in poppy seeds next time I make these!

Fill liners evenly - I sprinkled the tops of my muffins with turbinado sugar and then the almond slices - nice crunch to it! Bake 20 minutes.

Red Velvet Cupcake & Frosting

I altered a cake recipe for Red Velvet:1 1/4 cups cake flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Combine all the above dry ingredients well.

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream (or buttermilk or evaporated milk)

1 egg

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 oz - 3/4 oz red food coloring

Start beating the egg, mayo and oil in a mixer while chocolate chips and cream is melting in the microwave (takes about 1 1/2 minutes) and then add the chocolate/cream to the mix. Beat until blended and then add in the vanilla and red food dye. Add the dry ingredients and mix together for 3 minutes.

Makes 18 cupcakes - bake 350 degrees for 17 minutes.

And the frosting is my own:

1/4 cup butter

3 oz cream cheese

4 oz mascarpone cheese

1 vanilla bean - scrap out the insides

3 cups + powdered sugar (depends on the consistency you're going for)

Beat until blended and then frost when cake is cooled.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Cut 4 raw chicken breasts into big chunks, salt & pepper them, coat them with cornstarch and mix around with your hands and then coat with 1 beaten egg. Fry in a bit of olive oil until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels.

Sauce:

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tbsp soy sauce

Cook this all together and bring to a simmer on medium heat, add chicken to sauce and let it cook together until rice is done (of course start the rice first).

Serve over rice, I boil Jasmine rice with a 1:1 ratio and then pan fry it in a bit of olive oil.

Fried Rice Recipe

I used Shrimp this time, but I've also added chicken, pork, beef (sliced from a roast) and barbecue pork and they're all tasty.

2 cups cooked rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp ginger (fresh is best) or if using the powdered use 2 tsp

10 cloves diced garlic - we like a lot and so will you ;)

1-2 tsp thai seasoning (for spice)

1 onion, sliced

3 eggs

Sesame seeds, optional

Heat the olive oil and add the rice, stir fry for at least 5 minutes. In separate bowl, add sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, seasoning and stir together. Add onion to rice and stir fry for 8-10 minutes depending on how you like your onions. Pour sauce mixture into rice and fry for 3 minutes or so, make space for the eggs and scramble those babies up in the pan and then stir together in your rice. Add prepared meat of your choice (which should already be cooked and ready to eat). Top with sesame seeds if desired.

You can totally add more veggies - I'm mostly a fan of raw veggies that are usually great with fried rice, so I just don't add other stuff.

Easter Eggs dyed raw

Oh yes, you can dye all your eggs without hard boiling them first:

I've been dying raw Easter Eggs for 10+ years and it really just makes more sense to me - I mean how many hard boiled eggs can you eat in 2 days before they start tasting funny? I remember only getting like 4 eggs to dye because there were 5 kids. If you dye them raw you can dye all the ones you usually buy at a time. No, I've never hidden these eggs - that's what plastic eggs are for =) And the best part is opening your fridge and seeing all the happy colors for weeks because they just keep longer than the hard boiled ones ;) I've used vinegar coloring tablets and they don't make the eggs taste funny nor do they ever get colored on the insides.

Yup, sometimes you lose one or two because you drop them and they crack, but lower the eggs with a spoon and it should work beautifully for little helpers.

General Conference afternoon session on Saturday:
Better to do it at home than at the church building for Priesthood session I suppose ;)

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Crust:

1 box cake mix (white or yellow)

1 cube butter, melted

1 egg

Mix and press into bottom of lightly greased 9x13 pan on bottom and sides

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cube butter, melted

2 cups powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese until fluffy, add eggs and vanilla, then butter and last powdered sugar - beat until smooth. Pour into crust.

Bake 45-50 minutes

Add Sliced Strawberries:

Whip Cream:

Add some fat free half & half and devour ;)

Ummmm, yummy!

Happy 16th Birthday Keaton

Both Brady & Keaton are 16 until Brady's birthday April 19!

Keaton doesn't want to go to golf today since it's his birthday. And for YM tonight, they were going to do a service project and it got postponed, so they are meeting at the church to play games, but Keaton didn't want to go to YM's at the church. But if they would have done the service project tonight he would have gone! What a great kid =) But I made a huge oreo ice cream cake for the YM, so I asked him if he'd go so as to not waste it! So he agreed, although he did say he would eat a slice a day and assured me it would not get freezer burn - yeah right, I made this cake in a jelly roll pan and it's huge!

Unwrap 22 ice cream sandwiches and place in pan lined with aluminum foil:

Spoon out 1.5 quarts of oreo ice cream softened over tops of ice cream sandwiches:

Spread it around evenly & put in freezer:

Make Ganache - 1 cup heavy cream, 2 cups chocolate chips and 4 tbsp butter - melt, whip and cool:

Then spread ganache over ice cream layer:
Make whipping cream (or buy some): 2 cups heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla & 1/2 cup powdered sugar:

Whip together until fluffy:

Spread evenly over ganache:

Take 20 oreos and put them in a zip lock bag:

Crush by rolling a glass over the top (uhhh, yeah a rolling pin would be great!):

Sprinkle the oreos over the top of the whipped cream and place in freezer for 4 hours or more:

Soft Pretzels

We made Pretzels at my last AD, a little funny shaped, but still tasty!

Soft Pretzels

2 tablespoons warm water, plus 1  1/3 cups warm water
1 package dry yeast
1/3 cup brown sugar
5 cups flour
1/2 cup baking soda
Kosher salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 tablespoons warm water with the yeast to dissolve it. Then stir in the remaining warm water and brown sugar. Place bowl on a mixer and using a dough hook, gradually add the flour and continue mixing until it forms a ball. Turn it out onto a work surface and knead the dough to make it smooth.  Use enough flour on your work surface so the dough is not sticky.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.

Grease a sheet pan. Bring 2 quarts of water and the baking soda to boil in a large saucepan. Cut dough up into golf ball size pieces. Then roll them into 1/2-inch thick worms. Form a U then cross the ends, twisting at the middle. Fold the ends back down to meet the U (which is now an O) and press to secure the dough. Let them rise for 15 minutes.  Drop it into the boiling water for 30 seconds then fish it out and place it on the greased sheet pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown.  

Cranberry Sauce

I don't even like Cranberry Sauce - but I made this recipe and it is super tasty!  This recipe card is for a swap:

Smooth, sweet and yummy all year long!