Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting- TRY

Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugars and butter.  Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.  Add remaining ingredients.  Drop spoonfuls onto non-greased cookie sheet.  Cook at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Frosting:

Boil 3 T. butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar until mostly smooth. (Approx. 2 to 3 min.)  Cool and add 1/4 cup milk and 2 cups powdered sugar or until desired consistency, and whip with hand mixer or whisk until smooth. Spread onto cookies.

These were amazing.  Addicting.  Flavorful.  SO good.  

EASY Crock Pot Vegetarian Chili and Taco Filling

Southwest Beans 


1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can refried beans
1 can diced stewed tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can green chilies
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 envelope ranch dip mix


Combine all ingredients in crock pot on low 2-3 hours or until beans soften.  Great as a dip, chili, burrito or taco filling.


Yum!  We loved this!  We used it as a burrito filling and surprisingly the kids ate it up (with ketchup and sour cream).  I liked it plain, too.  So healthy and easy.  Just open can after can and you're done.

Red Hot Cinnamon Popcorn

Red-Hot Cinnamon Candy Popcorn

• 8 quarts popped popcorn
• 1 package (9 oz size) red cinnamon candies
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup corn syrup

• Place popcorn in a large bowl; set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup and candies; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour over popcorn and toss to coat.
• Transfer to two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from pans and place on waxed paper to cool. Break apart; store in airtight containers. 

Fun!  It's not too hot, but it is a nice change from typical popcorn flavors.  Addictive.

Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Chocolate chip cookie layer:

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 T cider vinegar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cheesecake layer:

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temp
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, salt and vinegar. Beat in the egg, then the baking soda and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the dough into two equal portions and set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl cream the cream cheese with the sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla. 

3. In a 9x13 pan, spread 1/2 of the cookie dough mixture evenly across the bottom. (This is somewhat tricky to do. I find it easier to add dollops of cookie dough throughout the pan and then spread all the dollops together. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the top of the cookie dough. With the remaining cookie dough, flatten chunks of dough between your hands into discs, and then place on top of the cream cheese mixture. (The dough discs don't have to touch, just place them near each other so they cover the surface as well as possible.) 

4. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is brown and cooked through. Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.

(To make this in a sheet pan double the recipe and press into a 12x17" sheet pan. The cooking time is slightly shorter.)

Of course these are yummy!  And easy to make and very fun.  

Comforting food- Chicken Pot Pie Crumble

Chicken Pot Pie Crumble
(from favfamilyrecipes.com)

• 1 1/2 Lbs chicken (to save time I used my pre-cooked shredded chicken)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
• 3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 c. celery, chopped fine
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 c. milk
• 3/4 c. frozen peas

Crumble Topping:
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
6 Tbsp unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 c. heavy cream (I used half & half)
FOR THE CHICKEN: Bring chicken and broth to simmer in covered Dutch oven over medium heat (If you don't have a dutch oven, just use a stock pot). Cook until chicken is just done (8 to 12 minutes). Transfer cooked chicken to large bowl. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup and reserve. Do not wash Dutch oven.

FOR THE TOPPING: Combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne in large bowl. Sprinkle butter pieces over top of flour. Using fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in Parmesan. Add cream and stir until just combined. Crumble mixture into irregularly shaped pieces onto a baking sheet (I just spooned it onto the baking sheet, cooked it, and crumbled it onto the chicken in the baking dish- easier!). Bake at 450-degrees until fragrant and starting to brown (10-13 minutes). Set aside.

FOR THE FILLING: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender (about 5 minutes). While vegetables are cooking, shred chicken into small bite-size pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.

Heat butter in empty Dutch oven over medium heat. When foaming subsides, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring to simmer and stir until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir chicken-vegetable mixture and peas into sauce.

Pour mixture into 9x13 pan (or if you have small individual-sized oven-safe dishes, you can use those-- see picture above). Scatter crumble topping evenly over filling. Bake on rimmed baking at 400-degrees sheet until filling is bubbling and topping is well browned (about 12-15 minutes). Serve hot and enjoy!


This was a little complicated to make- it took a couple readings of the recipe to get what I'd be doing when, but next time will be even faster.  The recipe is so good, and it tastes clean, you know?  No canned stuff.  No cream of chicken stuff...FRESH.  And simple flavors.  But good.  The biscuit topping adds a lot too, and there is plenty of that on top!  

Chocolate Cream Angel Food Cake

Chocolate Cream Angel Food Cake
(melskitchencafe.com)

• 1 Angel Food cake, baked and cooled completely
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds (I didn't use these)

1. In a large glass bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until it begins to thicken. 
2. Carefully add the powdered sugar and cocoa gradually and continue whipping. The cocoa will look like it is separating and lumpy but continue to beat until stiff peaks form and by then, the cocoa should be evenly combined. (If you are worried about lumps you can sift in the cocoa and powdered sugar with a fine mesh sieve.) The frosting should be thick and spreadable - but not overly whipped or it will look a bit curdly. Just beat to stiff peaks.
3. When the angel food cake has been baked and cooled completely, cut the cake in half to form two round circles. Lay the top half to the side and gently remove pieces of the angel food cake to form a ditch in the bottom portion of the cake (taking care not to dig all the way to the bottom of the cake, you want a layer of cake on the bottom underneath the ditch). Spoon frosting into the ditch you made and lay the top circle of cake back on top. Frost the sides, top and middle of the cake. Top with toasted almonds. Refrigerate until time to serve. A serrated knife works best to cut the cake into slices.

I have had this recipe on my to-make list forever, but I should have trusted myself and made it way sooner than now!  Totally delicious....not hard to figure out why.  Real whipping cream, chocolate flavored?  Winning combo.  

Low-fat EASY Vanilla Ice Cream- surprisingly great!

• 
  
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• (from allrecipes.com)
• 
  
• 4 cups milk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 
  
• Combine milk, sugar and vanilla in freezer canister of ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.  Makes 1/2 gallon.

I was not sure this would turn out well!  I have the kitchenaid ice-cream attachment bowl, and I love how easy and fast it is to make your own ice cream.  This recipe had great reviews at allrecipes.com, and I decided what the heck...we'll try it!  It whipped up quite nicely, though it was very soft-serve, which I prefer anyway.  After being frozen over-night, it was a little more icy than normal ice cream, but still delicious.  A great guilt-free recipe.  It will be fun to try add-ins, or making this with chocolate milk.