Pumpkin Cookies

These were cake like pumpkin cookies.  I made them as directed, but I would use a different icing next time or just omit the icing all together.  (I would suggest a cream cheese frosting vs the sugary frosting)  They were a huge hit in our house.

Cookie Dough Ingredients

• 1 cup of fresh cooked pumpkin (How to make your own pumpkin puree)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising flour)
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or hazlenuts (optional)

Icing Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 cups confectioners' (powdered) sugar, unsifted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup milk (just enough to make the mixture spreadable)
• chopped pecans or other nuts (optional)

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F  (190 C).
2. Lightly grease two cookies sheets (I used baking liners so that it would be an easy clean up)

Prepare the icing:

Carefully, lightly brown the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Be careful not to burn it. If you have trouble getting it to brown, down worry about it, it is mostly to add the color!
 
Remove the browned butter from heat.
 
Blend in the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla extract. It will start off think and lumpy, until you add the milk in the next step.
 
Mix in just enough milk to make the mixture smooth and spreadable.  It probably will only take a small amount, like 1/8 to 1/4 cup.
 
Set aside

Prepare the Cookie dough
In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter and brown sugar together until light and smooth.

Mix in the eggs, pumpkin and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices (cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg).

Combine the two bowls (just pour the smaller bowl into the larger) and stir until blended.

Stir in the chopped nuts (optional).

Use a ordinary spoon (table, soup) or small ice cream scoop to drop the cookie dough onto the greased cookie sheet (you can also use the silicon cookie sheet cloths on a regular cookies sheet, the cookies will come off more easily).

Bake pumpkin cookies in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
 
Cool the cookies on racks and while they are still warm (but not hot)
Spread the butter icing on them!

They're great warm, or later when cool!

Recipe from here

How to make Pumpkin Puree

This past weekend we were at the pumpkin farm with the kids.  When we were looking at pumpkins and we found one that was a perfect "baking" pumpkin.  I have never cooked with fresh pumpkin before and wanted to give it a shot. 

This is the pumpkin that we picked. 

I looked up different ways to make this pumpkin into the pumkpin puree that you can make into pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, cookies, etc.  You can bake it, microwave it, steam it, and boil it.  I started off with preparing it to bake, but then quickly switched to boiling it. 

I used a large pot and started boiling the water.  I cleaned the pumpkin off in warm water (no soap).  Then I sliced it up.  Here's the inside of the pumpkin.  You can save the seads, which you can roast if you like.  I diced the pumpkin into reasonable chunks.  I placed them in the water for about 45 minutes or until tender.  (Some recipes call for removing the skin before placing them in the water, but I tried that and it seemed to take forever, so I just tossed them into the water, skin and all)

Drain off the excess water and then let them cool on a cookie sheet. This is what mine looked like.

Then I used a spoon and removed the pumpkin from the skin.  This was very quick and ease!  I put all the pumpkin into a bowl and then used a blender to puree the pumpkin.  My pumpkin yielded about 5 cups of puree.

You can freeze the puree for about a year.  Use freezer ziplock bags to ensure freshness. 

This can be used as a replacement for pumpkin in a can.  It's the same measurement.  You do not need to add anything to this puree to use in a recipe.  I used it right away for pumpkin cookies and pumpkin bread. 

Apple Muffins with Streusel Topping

These scrumptious muffins are great whether made with pears or apples. This muffin recipe is easy to make and the muffins will stay moist for a few days...not that they will last that long.

Serves 1 dozen

First preheat your oven to 400° F (205° C).

Step 1: Measuring the Wet Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Whisk in the sour cream and oil until smooth. Set aside

Step 2: Measuring the Dry Ingredients (Sift all of the ingredients into a large bowl.)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda

Step 3: Gathering the Streusel Ingredients
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cold butter
In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry knife or fork. Once the mixture forms coarse crumbs, set aside.

Step 4: Preparing the Fruit
1 cup chopped apples (or pears)
For this recipe, it is best to use pears that are still a bit firm and are not fully ripened.
Wash and peel the pears. Cut into roughly 1/2-"inch cubes and set aside.

Step 5: Mixing the Batter
To make the batter, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir until nearly combined. It is ok if you see a bit of dry ingredients as the batter will be mixed a bit more when you incorporate the fruit. Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough.
Fold in the apple until just incorporated.

Step 6: Filling the Muffin Tin
Divide the batter evenly in the muffin tin and then sprinkle with the streusel topping. Place directly into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.

Step 7: Checking the Muffins for Doneness
To check if the muffins are done, insert a wooden skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, remove from the oven.

Step 8: Serving the Muffins
Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes. Remove and serve.

Lasagna

I got this very easy and wonderful recipe from a friend.  I have made it a couple times and it's a big hit with the family.

1lb ground beef, 1 med onion chopped stir together and simmer for 15-20 mins (you want to cook the ground beef all the way)

1tsp basil leaves
1tsp oregano
1tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sugar
2 cups slightly blended tomatoes (I use 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
mix the ground beef and onion with those above.

separate mixture
1 egg slightly beaten
1tsp dried parsley flakes
2Tbs parmesan cheese
2 cups cottage cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

8 lasagna noodles

in a 9x13 baking dish layer 1 cup of sauce, 4 noodles and half of the cottage cheese mixture. Repeat the sauce, noodles and cottage cheese mixture. Top with remaining sauce. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 50-60 min. sprinkle with cheese and serve! This is so yummy!

The verdict:
Everyone loved it. Very easy and there was enough for me to take as left over’s the next day. It reheated very well. I added a salad and bread sticks with the meal.

Chicken Piccata

I received a free cookbook in the mail from Kitchen Basics.  I found this recipe and thought I would give it a try.  It was wonderful and very easy as well.  It has a great lemon taste, but not over powering though. 

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients
½ cup flour
3 Tbsp. olive oil
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup drained capers
1 cup Kitchen Basics® Unsalted or Original Chicken Stock (I used a different brand)
4 boneless skinless chicken breast, butterflied & pounded thin
1 Tbsp. softened butter
1 Tbsp. flour
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dip chicken into flour to coat; shake off excess. Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in heavy large skillet. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to platter and keep warm. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding more butter and oil as needed.

Add chicken stock, wine, lemon juice to skillet and boil for 5 minutes. Mix 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. flour in small bowl until smooth. Whisk in butter-flour mixture and boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in capers and parsley. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Note:

I did increase the sauce since I wanted to use it over my pasta as well as the chicken.  My family loved this recipe.  They asked when I was going to make it again.  I served it with a spinach, garlic and basil pasta (my daughter sold pasta with her cheer squad, the pasta was a 100 calorie serving).  This was a great compliment to the chicken piccata.

Nutritional Information - click here for nutritional key.

One serving of Chicken Piccata provides:
Calories:	234
Fat:	14 (g)
Saturated Fat:	3 (g)
Protein:	16 (g)
Carbohydrates:	8 (g)
Dietary Fiber:	1 (g)
Sodium:	193 (mg)
Potassium:	185 (mg)
Selenium:	15 (mcg)
Folate:	24 (mcg)
Phosphorus:	133 (mg)

from: Kitchen Basics (if you want the free recipe booklet, you can fill this out. Free Cookbook)

Nutella Brownies

I haven't tried these yet, but they look really good. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter
2 cups of sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup Nutella
1/4 chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

On a low heat, melt the butter and add in the sugar and vanilla while stirring to combine.  Remove from heat and cool completely.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well to combine after each addition.

Add the flour mixture, a bit at a time, to the egg mixture until completely mixed in.

Heat the nutella in the microwave for a little bit until you get it to a runny consistency.  Add the nutella to the batter and mix well.  Now add the chocolate chips and mix to combine.

Pour into a square baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I wanted to venture into cooking more chicken breasts.  I thought it would be yummy to find one that was stuffed.  I really liked the ingredients in this one.  Christine helped me make it as well.  Very good!

Chicken breasts are stuffed with mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs, and herbs.

Cook Time: 1 hour - personally I would reduce. Check your chicken around 45 minutes. Mine turned out a little dry, but still very yummy!

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

•6 boneless chicken breast halves
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil
•1 tablespoon butter
•1 medium onion, sliced
•4 ounces sliced mushrooms
•1 rib celery, thinly sliced
•1 egg, beaten
•1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
•2 tablespoons fine dry breadcrumbs
•2 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese
•3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
•salt and pepper
•1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed tomato soup
•1/2 cup water
•1/2 teaspoon leaf basil, crumbled

Preparation:

Place chicken pieces between sheets of plastic wax; gently pound with a meat mallet to flatten evenly. Be careful not to tear or break through.
In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil and butter; sauté onion slices, mushrooms, and celery until tender. Add egg, parsley, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Stir to blend well.
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper; fill with even portions of the filling mixture. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. Arrange chicken breasts in a shallow 3-quart baking dish, spooning any extra filling around the chicken rolls. Mix soup with 1/2 cup water and the basil; pour over chicken.
Bake at 350°, basting occasionally with sauce in the baking dish, for 1 hour (see note above). Remove toothpicks and serve with rice or potatoes. Serves 4 to 6.

Before baking:

After baking: