Pumpkin Pie Squares

I got this yummy recipe from my good friend Jen and it has served me well many times.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Ingredients:

Crust - 1 pkg yellow cake mix (less 1 cup)

½ C. butter, melted

1 egg

Filling – 1 lg. Can of pumpkin

2 eggs

2/3 C evaporated milk

2 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

½ C brown sugar

Topping – 1 C cake mix

¼ C sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ C butter, softened

Whipped topping

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Grease bottom of 9x13 pan. Mix crust ingredients, press into pan. Prepare filling and pour over crust. Prepare topping and sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min, or until knife placed in center comes out clean.

With an electric mixer whip together heavy cream, sugar and vanilla.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger Snap Crust

This year for Thanksgiving my only assignment was my pumpkin cheesecake. It turned out great and was a big hit.



Pumpkin Cheesecake in a Gingersnap Crust

Ingredients:

Crust

1 1/2 cups Gingersnap cookie crumbs

3/4 cups ground hazelnuts

3 Tbsp brown sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling

3 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 Tbsp vanilla exract

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

4 eggs

Whipped topping

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 9" springform pan.

2. Using a fork combine gingersnap crumbs, hazelnuts, brown sugar and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the pan to form the crust.

3. With an electric mixer beat cream cheese and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the pumpkin. Mix in the cream, syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and allspice. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, or until center is set. Allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight.

Let's get "purse"-onal

We had a Relief Society retreat with the theme "Let's get 'purse'-onal" and were asked to bring a purse cake to be judged. Here's the Chanel handbag I made.

Pretty cute right? I just made 2 9 inch round cakes, cut them a little more than half way and glued them together with buttercream then stood them up. I iced them in buttercream then covered in fondant. For the handle I strung some beads on a wire and poked it in. Even though I was super rushed, I was happy with how it turned out. If I would have had a little more time I could have focused more on getting the lines straight, but I was late as it was, so crooked lines it was. For the cake, I found a recipe that you use a regular box cake mix, but make it a little differently than the box directions to make a fine, moist crumb texture, like a pound cake. You use a cake mix, with 1/3 cup softened butter, 1 cup of milk and 4 eggs.

Shrimp Tacos

A couple weeks ago I tried Rubios Grilled Shrimp tacos and loved them! I decided I would attempt to recreate them at home. I don't know how close they were to Rubios, but they were pretty delicious.

Grilled Garlic and Herb Shrimp

4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons ground paprika
• 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions

1. Whisk the paprika, garlic, Italian seasoning, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, basil, and brown sugar together in a bowl until thoroughly blended. Stir in the shrimp, and toss to evenly coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, turning once.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. Lightly oil grill grate, and place about 4 inches from heat source.
3. Remove shrimp from marinade, drain excess, and discard marinade.
4. Place shrimp on preheated grill and cook, turning once, until opaque in the center, 5 to 6 minutes. Serve immediately.

Creamy Chipotle Chile Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup Mayonaise
• 1/4 Cup Sour Cream
• 2 teaspoons canned chipotle chiles in adobe
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon lime juice

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Citrus Habanero Salsa

Ingredients

• 1/2 habanero chile (more/less depending on tolerance)
• 1/2 small red onion
• 2-3 mini sweet peppers
• 1 1/2 Cup grape tomatoes
• 1/2 can mandarin oranges, drained
• handful of cilantro
• juice of 1 lime
• salt to taste

Directions

Pulse chili, onion, and sweet peppers a few times in food processor.

Add tomatoes. Pulse 1-2 times.

Add cilantro and oranges. Pulse until salsa reaches desired consistency.

Transfer to serving bowl and stir in the juice of one lime. Salt to taste.

Refrigerate in non-reactive airtight container for up to three days.

Other ingredients for assembly

Bacon

Tortillas

cheese

avocados

Cook bacon and crumble. Combine cooked shrimp and bacon. To assemble tacos, melt cheese on tortilla, spread creamy chipotle chile sauce on tortilla, fill with shrimp/bacon, add salsa and quacamole, eat! Yum!

White Chicken Chili

I've been on a soup kick with the cold weather and found this yummy recipe here. It is super easy and turned out pretty dang good.

INGREDIENTS

3 cans of Great Northern White Beans (drain and rinse)
1 jar 24 oz Pace Mild Salsa
4-6 Chicken Breasts (*cooked and shredded)
1lb Hot Pepper Jack Cheese (shredded)

*
DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a pot and cook on low heat until cheese has melted. Stirring occasionally. Serve with a dallop of sour cream and tortillas chips.

*To cook the chicken breasts, set them in a large pot, fill it with water, then bring to a boil. After the water comes to a rolling boil, reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Kacey's wedding cake

A few months ago Kacey entrusted Stacy and I with the task of the wedding cake. I'm not gonna lie, it was stressful! But so much fun! And it actually turned out pretty good! She picked the design, which was simple and elegant. Simple is good because we didn't have to get too tricky, but simple also means not a whole lot of room for fondant errors because you can't just cover up mistakes with a flower or perhaps fondant figurines of the bride and groom :) When all was said and done, I'd say it was a success and I think they were happy with the outcome!

Kacey isn't a big fan of cake, so she requested that the bottom layer be made of rice krispy treats! So fun!





The middle layer was yellow cake with a bavarian cream filling and the top layer was lemon cake with a lemon cream filling. Congrats guys!

My latest obsession

Ever since I had my first taste of Red Mango frozen yogurt, I haven't stopped thinking about it. I dream about it! I crave it ALL THE TIME! I don't know what it is about it, it's so fresh, not super sweet, and I can't get enough of it. Not everyone appreciates the simplicity of it, but I certainly do. Trent says he gives them (Red Mango) 8 months before they're out of business. They don't have a wide variety of flavors, just lots of different toppings to choose from. I've never been a huge fan of white chocolate, but the first time I had it the girl working there suggested I try white chocolate chips and fresh strawberries for my toppings, so I gave it a whirl. And boy am I glad I did. Heaven!! A few weeks ago I went searching the internet for a recipe to rival Red Mango's original frozen yogurt and found one that is pretty dang close. We had some friend's over to test it out. Along with the frozen yogurt, we had a spread of toppings which included white choc. chips, chocolate chips, fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and Heath candy bar bits. Delicious! This simple recipe is wonderfully tangy, and not too sweet.

Frozen Yogurt

3 cups (720g) strained yogurt (see below) or Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla (if using). Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

To make 1 cup (240g) of strained yogurt, line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheese cloth. then scrape 16 ounces or 2 cups (480g) of plain whole-milk yogurt into the cheesecloth. Gather the ends and fold them over the yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours. So, for the above recipe start with and strain 6 cups of yogurt.

Makes about 1 quart.

I use Plain yogurt, and leave out the vanilla because I prefer the sweetness of the tangy yogurt, and serve with any variety of toppings you can come up with. Enjoy!

Corn Chowder

As soon as the weather starts cooling down I instantly get the itch for yummy soup. To celebrate the first day of fall a few weeks ago, I made this yummy corn chowder.

Corn Chowder

INGREDIENTS

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 3 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the bacon and onions together until onions are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the corn, potatoes, soup, milk, and salt and pepper. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 25 to 35 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

I love fall!!!!

Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas

Stacy made some yummy fajitas when we were out at the cabin a couple weeks ago, so I got the recipe from her and made them a few days ago.

Slow-Cooked Steak Fajitas

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (1 1/2-pound) beef flank steak
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped*
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 medium green pepper, julienned
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• 12 (6 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• sour cream
• salsa
• Avocados/quacamole

DIRECTIONS

Thinly slice steak across the grain into strips; place in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic, coriander, cumin, chili powder and salt. Add onion, peppers and cilantro. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. Using a slotted spoon, spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture down the center of each tortilla. Add sour cream, salsa and quacamole. Fold bottom of tortilla over filling and roll up.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Nothing beats coming home from church on Sunday to a house that smells like dinner cooking in the oven (or in this case, a crock pot). I love roast and potatoes on Sunday, takes me back!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Recipe from adapted from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 4 pounds chuck roast *seasoned with Montreal Steak seasoning*
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 packet dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup water
• 1 (10.5 oz) can beef broth
• 1 bag baby carrots
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6-8 red potatoes, cubed
• 
  
• DIRECTIONS

Take the chuck roast and rub Montreal Steak seasoning on all sides then season with salt and pepper to taste. Brown on all sides in a large skillet over high heat.

Pour water, beef broth and soup mix into crock pot. Add browned roast to crock pot, cover and cook on low setting for 3 hours.

After roast has been cooking for 3 hours, add carrots, onion and potatoes to crock pot and continue to cook on low setting for another 5-7 hours.

Good ole Sloppy Joes

Everyone loves a good sloppy joe in the summer time. Last week I decided since summer is ending I needed a sloppy joe. I've never made them from scratch, but decided most things are better from scratch so I'd give it a go. They were yummy!

Sloppy Joes - recipe from Sweet Life in the Valley

• 2lbs ground beef
• 1 large onion chopped
  
• 1 large green pepper chopped
  
• 2 -8oz cans tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup Heinz organic ketchup
• dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbs brown sugar
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Brown beef and chopped onions-season with salt and pepper. Add green pepper, tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Let simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes. Serve on wheat bun or wheat bread with a good cheese.
Will make 4-6 good sized Sloppy Joe sandwiches

Oreo Truffles

Last Christmas we were introduced to Oreo truffles by a neighbor and fell in love. I didn't know what to expect when I bit into one, and wasn't expecting anything spectacular, but what I found inside was a little piece of heaven. One day Trent and I figured out how many calories were in each one, but I'll just go ahead and keep that to myself. Last week my mom put me in charge of dessert for Deco and Kera's open house so I decided I'd make some and they were a big hit as they always are.

OREO Truffles

Ingredients

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. The best way I've found to do this is to put all the Oreo's into a food processor until totally crushed. Then add the cream cheese into the food processor. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour. DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. I also like to drizzle white chocolate over some and dip some completely in white chocolate, just for variety.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Try to eat just one, I dare you!

Bajio's Green Chile Chicken Salad

If you've never tried Bajio's green chile chicken salad, I highly recommend it. It's a green chile chutney sauteed with shredded chicken, piled on top a bed of lettuce. It doesn't need much dressing because of the chutney, but I like to add just a little drizzle of the tomatillo ranch. Top with cheese and tortilla strips and you've got a delicious salad! Trent and I both love the salad so I found a recipe for the green chile chutney and made the salads last night. Turned out pretty dang good. A little different from Bajio's version, but still delicious!

Green Chile Chutney

3 large annaheim peppers, halved, seeds removed

1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, halved, seeds removed
4 oz. can diced green chiles

5-7 tomatillos, husks removed

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

dash of chili powder

dash of cumin

dash of salt

1 large sweet onion, halved

Directions:

Place peppers, tomatillos, and onion on baking sheet/rack. Roast in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove from oven and place tomatillos and about half the roasted onion in blender and process until mostly smooth. Dice peppers and remaining roasted onion. Add all ingredients except the remaining raw onion into a large pot. Cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until thickened and reduced. Add more sugar/peppers to adjust the spiciness/sweetness to taste.

For Carmelized Onions:

Slice the remaining onion and saute with a little bit of the green chile sauce over medium-low heat until carmelized.

For chicken, marinate 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves in 1 cup lime juice and 1 cup oil for at least 2 hours. Remove chicken and discard marinade, season chicken and grill with a little balsamic vinegar until cooked through. Shred chicken.

To assemble salad take about 1 cup of chutney, desired amount of chicken and caramelized onions, and saute until well heated. Place on top of lettuce, add pico, shredded cheese, tortilla strips and tomatillo ranch and dig in!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream and Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I found this recipe and couldn't stop thinking about it so I had to make it last night. With Trent being a lover of all things peanut butter, and all things ice cream, I knew I couldn't go wrong. It was pretty yummy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Makes roughly 3-4 cups of ice cream

Ice Cream
2 cups half &half

¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

½ cup sugarPinch of salt

½ cup smooth peanut butter

Peanut Butter Patties
6 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Combine the half & half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir the mixture frequently until it comes to a full, rolling boil. Remove from the pan from the heat and stir in the peanut butter until well blended.Chill the mixture covered overnight in the refrigerator.

In the meantime, make the peanut butter patties. Stir together the peanut butter and sugar in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Cover a dinner plate with plastic wrap. Using a spoon and your finger, scoop up small pieces of the peanut butter mixture, about ½ teaspoon each, and drop them onto the wrap covered dinner plate. It may help to refridgerate the peanut butter for a few minutes, to make it less sticky. Once you’ve used all of the mixture, put the plate in the freezer overnight.

The following day, freeze the ice cream mixture according to your ice cream maker’s directions. After you’ve removed the ice cream from the machine, stir in the peanut butter patties by hand. (I don’t recommend adding them to the machine, it can result in a sticky gooey mess.)

As if the ice cream wasn't sweet enough, I decided to make some chocolate sugar cookies to go along with it. Thought it would make a yummy ice cream sandwich (and it did!).

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Makes roughly 3 dozen 4-inch cookies

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups sugar, plus a few tablespoons for decoration

½ cup plus

2 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter

1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a food processor or electric mixer, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and then the egg on low speed, or while pulsing. Continue mixing until dough comes together. Measure a couple of table spoons of sugar into a small bowl. Roll about a tablespoon of dough between your hands to form a ball, then roll the dough in the bowl of sugar, coating the outside. Place on a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart and slightly flatten the dough with your hands. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 3 to 4 minutes on the baking sheet, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

For dinner I made this Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

It was really easy to make and turned out pretty good. I got the recipe from here.

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

¼ box Mrs Cubbison’s dressing mix

1 egg, beaten

Sliced HamSliced

Swiss Cheese

1 pint Sour Cream

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

DIRECTIONS
Dip chicken in egg and dressing crumbs and place in bottom of 9x12 baking dish. Place slices of ham and Swiss cheese across top of chicken. Top with soup and sour cream mixture. Sprinkle a little dressing mix on top. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.

Maxon's Rocket Cake

For Maxon's birthday this year I tried to redeem myself from last year's mishap. He loves Little Einsteins so I decided on a "Rocket" cake. It tuned out pretty good. Definitely not 100% satisfactory, but at least edible. I had a little bit of a hard time with the fondant covering Rocket, but eventually got the job done. For the cake I didn't do anything fancy. Just a Funfetti box cake (every kid loves Funfetti right?). I did 2 round layers, with just buttercream in between the 2. Rocket is cake too, covered in MMF.

Pesto pasta with chicken and sundried tomatoes

This dish has become a favorite to make of mine. I love pesto, so fresh and somewhat healthy. And I love sundried tomatoes. But my favoite part has to be the toasted pine nuts. For some reason they just really make the dish for me. I've eaten it without them, and it just wasn't the same. It makes a lot, so it'll feed us for a couple days. Maxon even loves it!

Pesto Pasta with Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta 1 teaspoon olive oil (or oil from sun-dried tomatoes) 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips 1 cup pesto sauce (store bought, or recipe follows) Parmesan cheese ½ cup pine nuts

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2.	Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender, then stir in chicken. Cook until chicken is golden, and cooked through.
3.	In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto. Toss to coat evenly. Toast pine nuts (400 degrees for a few minutes until golden brown) Sprinkle parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts on top. Pesto Sauce INGREDIENTS: ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 cup fresh basil leaves ½ tsp salt 2 cloves garlic ½ cup toasted pine nuts ½ cup parmesan cheese Blend all together in a blender or food processor. Makes about 1 cup.

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies!

A favorite treat of mine when I was little was Little Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pies! A while back a friend of mine mentioned she'd found a homemade version of these at a bakery and said they were to die for. I decided I'd better find the recipe! I searched and found one on another cooking blog and let me tell you, it did not dissapoint!


Oatmeal Cream Pies
Cookie Ingredients
1 cup margarine
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups quick oats

Cream Filling Ingredients
2 teaspoons very hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

1. In large bowl, cream margarine, sugars, molasses, vanilla, and eggs.
2. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
3. Add to the creamed mixture; mix in the oats.
4. Drop dough by TBS on ungreased sheets. (I used a small cookie scoop.)
5. Bake at 350 degrees F.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes,or until just starting to brown around the edges.
7. They will look moist; don’t overcook.
8. While the cookies bake prepare the filling.
9. In small bowl, dissolve the salt in the hot water.
10. Allow this to cool.
11. Combine marshmallow cream, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla in med bowl; mix on high until fluffy.
12. Add the cooled salt water and mix well.
13. Spread filling on flat side of one cookie, press 2nd cookie on top.

Try them out and let me know what you think!

Cake decorating class

I took a cake decorating class with my sisters and this is the cake I made for my final project. It was fairly simple, but I thought it turned out super cute. The cake was Carribean Coconut Lime, recipe from wilton.com. It's a white cake with lime ream filling, iced with vanilla buttercream then covered in MMF (marshmallow fondant).

Nicole's topsy turvy cake

For Nicole Redd's bridal shower we wanted to make a fun whimsical cake for her. Stacy and I picked out the design and got to work.

The bottom layer was a yellow cake with a strawberry cream cheese filling. The middle layer was a chocolate cake with bavarian cream filling. And the top layer was white cake with raspberry filling. It was a hit and tasted even better than it looked!