Creamy Pumpkin Soup

My mother-in-law makes this every fall for me, because she's awesome. Absolutely heaven and perfect for this time of year!

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 (16 oz) can pumpkin puree
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt or more to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add onions and cook until soft. Add curry powder and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add chicken stock, pumpkin, cinnamon and salt and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat. Using an immersion blender, process until smooth. Add half-and-half. Stir until heated through. Top with extra cinnamon, a dollop of sour cream, and chopped parsley.

Cindy's Chocolate Cake

My Aunt Cindy makes the BEST chocolate cake.  She used this recipe to make cupcakes for my birthday this year and I enjoyed each and every one that I ate (the number of which will not be disclosed).  When she bakes a cake with this recipe, she likes to add cherry or strawberry pie filling to the center, but I prefer just the chocolate cake and whipped cream icing.  This recipe is the perfect chocolate fix!

The Cake

1 cup buttermilk (use whole buttermilk)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat all ingredients together.  The add the following:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

½ cup cocoa

1 tbsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients together together until batter is smooth.  Then add 1 cup boiling water.  Mix until smooth.

Pour batter into (3) greased and floured 8 or 9 inch round baking pans.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour.  

Whipped Cream Frosting

Add 1/3 cup powdered sugar for every 2 pints of heavy whipping cream.  You can adjust the sugar to taste.  Whip until spreading consistency but be careful it doesn’t turn to butter.  To frost the cake, you need 3 pints of heavy whipping cream if you use the fruit filling in the center.  You'll need 4 pints if you don’t use the filling.

Nancy's Chicken Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is delicious and has a yummy, subtle Asian flavor. I got the recipe from Rob's cousin, Nancy. It is perfect for summertime!

• 12 oz rotini pasta, cooked al dente and cooled
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 3 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups cold, cooked, shredded chicken
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 cups torn spinach leaves

In a small frying pan, toast the sunflower seeds in oil over medium low heat. Stir together oil, seeds, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper. Pour over pasta and chicken. Add spinach and onion an hour before serving. Serve cold.

Chicken Enchiladas

I have been looking for a good recipe for chicken enchiladas and I got one by combining two different recipes. With Cinco de Mayo around the corner, this is a perfect Mexican meal at home.

• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2-3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 1-1/2 cup sour cream, divided
• 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth/stock

In a large bowl, stir together chicken, 1 cup cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, and green chiles. Spoon chicken mixture into tortillas, sprinkle with shredded cheese, roll up, and place seam-side down in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat, stir in flour to make a roux; stir and cook until bubbly; gradually whisk in chicken broth then bring to boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in 1-cup sour cream. Pour sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.

I served these with cilantro lime rice.

White Pizza Dip

Not sure how I lived my first 37 years without this dip! A friend of mine from church made it and I immediately demanded the recipe. Now I take it everywhere. Perfect dip to keep going back to over and over again. And so easy to put together!

1 package Lipton garlic and herb soup mix (comes in a box)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
mini pepperoni (I use about 15 of 'em)
cubed Italian bread for dipping

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine soup mix, sour cream, ricotta cheese, pepperoni and 3/4 cup mozzarella. Transfer mixture to a 1-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over the top. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve warm with the bread.

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

The kids and I decided we wanted breakfast for dinner. :)

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup pure pumpkin purée

1/3 cup maple syrup

2/3 cup milk

1 medium apple, diced

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Combine oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, syrup, milk, and egg. Mix with oat mixture. Fold in diced apples. Bake in an 8x8 baking dish at 350 for 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with brown sugar on top. Yum!

Cindy's Tabouli

My Aunt Cindy made this last week's for my cousin's baby shower. It was a huge hit! It is the perfect summer salad!

1 cup bulgar wheat (look for it in the International aisle)
1 cup boiling water
2 large carrots, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 medium cucumber, diced
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup green onions, sliced
1/4 cup mint leaves
feta cheese (optional)

Dressing:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Put bulgar wheat in a large mixing bowl and pour boiling water over it. Let it stand for 10 minutes, then stir gently. Mix together dressing and pour over bulgar wheat. Add remaining ingredients annd toss gently to mix. Cover the salad and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

Corn Flake cookies

I'm sure you've all had these before, but to me they're extra special. My maternal grandmother doesn't like to cook or bake (she's obviously NOT from West Virginia). But she always wanted us to have a sweet treat so she would make us these cookies. My mom just made a batch with Emma and so it brought up all those happy memories.

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of white Karo
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups Corn Flakes

Bring sugar and Karo to a boil. Remove from heat. Add in the peanut butter and stir. Add in the vanilla and stir. Add in the corn flakes, stir and then drop by tablespoon on to wax paper.

* I like to add in mini M&M's too ... but grandma doesn't know that. You can also melt a little chocolate and drizzle over them.

Crockpot Chicken Soft Tacos

This is so simple! We use it as a filling for soft tacos with a little cheese sprinkled on top. You could also use it for enchiladas.

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup medium or hot salsa
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream

Spray your Crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Add in chicken. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cook on low for 6-7 hours. Add sour cream during the last 30 minutes and stir. Shred chicken, serve as you please and ENJOY!

Maryland Steamed Shrimp with Homemade Cocktail Sauce

I made this for both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve this year. My mom always made it on special occasions growing up, especially after we left the east coast and moved to Illinois. There is no other way to eat shrimp, in my opinion!

*2 lbs uncooked, deveined shrimp (works well with or without shells)
*2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning (no substitutes!)
*1 cup beer
*1 cup apple cider vinegar
*1 tsp salt

In a large pan or soup pot, combine Old Bay, beer, vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp. Cover and turn off heat. Wait until there all of the shrimp turns pink. (If your shrimp is too cold, you may need to turn the heat back on and return to a boil for a couple seconds.) Drain. Serve immediately or chill for several hours and serve cold. I prefer it cold.

For the cocktail sauce:
*Ketchup
*Pure Horseradish
*Lemon Juice
*Worchershire sauce

Combine all ingredients to taste. I like mine spicy, so I add lots of horseradish.

You could buy prepared cocktail sauce, but as a seafood snob, that goes against my beliefs. It tastes so much better when you make it yourself.

Use the directions for shrimp to make Maryland Shrimp Salad. Chill the shrimp, chop it into chunks, add mayo, chopped celery, a little lemon juice, pepper and more Old Bay to taste. Serve on wheat toast with lettuce and tomato. My favorite sandwich ever!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I almost jumped for joy today when I spotted the return of Libby's 100% pure pumpkin puree in the baking aisle at Giant Eagle. I frantically jammed can after can in my cart and rushed home to make a big batch of muffins. Ah, fall is here. My favorite baking time of year.

- 3 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 cups sugar

- 2 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 2 tsp ground nutmeg

- 1/2 tsp ground ginger

- 1/2 tsp ground cloves

- 1/2 tsp allspice

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 3 eggs

- 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together pumpkin, vanilla, eggs and vegetable oil until smooth. In a seperate bowl, combine dry ingredients. (You could sift but I just use a small wire whisk until there are no clumps.) In batches, add flour mixture to pumpkin and stir until just combined. Add to muffin cups; bake for 18-20 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins. I did 1 dozen plain, then added raisins to the rest. Threw 6 of each in the freezer for quick breakfasts.

Apricot Curry Chicken

This is simmering away in the crockpot right now. :o)

- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

- 1/2 medium onion, chopped

- 1 (12 oz) jar apricot jam

- 1/4 cup chicken stock

- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder

- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

- 1/4 tsp ground ginger

- 1/4 tsp salt

Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Mix together onion, jam, stock, curry powder, cayenne pepper, ground ginger & salt until well blended and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

A trick if your sauce is too thin - after chicken is done cooking, remove chicken from crockpot. Turn heat to high. Mix 1 tbsp (or more, depending on how much you want to thicken it up) of cornstarch with 1 tbsp of water together until smooth and add to the sauce. Leave the top off for a few minutes until it's thickened. A bit quicker, but messier - remove cooked chicken and pour sauce into a saucepan. Add cornstarch/water mixture and heat on high (uncovered) until thickened. Add chicken back in and serve.

You could also add chopped, dried apricots to this dish for a little texture. I couldn't find any that are peanut-free, so skipped it.

Serve chicken over rice. Yummy with stir-fried veggies on the side!

Lemon Raspberry Bars

Found this recipe on PW's Tasty Kitchen site and made them for my mother-in-law's birthday last night. She is a lemon/raspberry fanatic. Even though I believe all desserts should include SOME element of chocolate, I must admit these were pretty good. Below is a modified version of how I will make it next time. I followed directions to the letter and the crust was a little tough, and I didn't use the full amount of lemon juice and it was VERY lemony. Here's the original recipe if you want to compare.

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• zest of one lemon

Filling

• Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 pkg fresh raspberries

To make the crust, combine all ingredients and press into the bottom and sides of an 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temp.

For the filling, whisk together egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add lemon juice and zest and whisk until thick. Gently fold in raspberries. Pour over crust and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Chill for at least two hours before serving.

Fresh Strawberry Cake

I made this to celebrate Ellie's birthday with family tonight.

1 box white cake mix
1 (3oz) box strawberry Jell-O
2 cups fresh (or thawed frozen) strawberries
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Beat together cake mix, Jell-O mix, strawberries, flour & eggs, on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add vegetable oil and beat an additional minute. Bake in a bundt pan at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

You could ice this, but it's such a pretty pink that I am going to just dust some powdered sugar on top.

Banana Bread - Take 4,359

But by golly, I think I'm getting there. This is an adaptation of about 700 recipes I've tried over the last 5 years plus my own little tweaks.

-2 tbsp sugar
-1 tsp cinnamon
**
-1 1/2 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-4 very ripe bananas, mashed
-1 cup vanilla-flavored greek yogurt
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp baking soda
-2 1/4 cups flour

Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray for baking. Mix 2 tbsp sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon and dust the pans. Beat together butter and sugar until crumbly; add eggs 1 at a time. Add bananas, yogurt, vanilla & cinnamon and beat together. Mix flour, salt & baking soda together in a seperate bowl; add in batches to banana mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Add to loaf pans. Bake at 325 for about 1 hour.

'Smores Bars

Smores... without the campfire and the mess. :o)

3 cups graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup melted butter

1/3 cup sugar

3 cups mini marshmallows
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine graham crackers, sugar and melted butter. Grease a 13x9 pan and press graham cracker mixture. Top with marshmallows and chocolate chips. Bake at 357 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and press marshmallows and chocolate down with a spatula. Cool and cut into bars.

Potato Cheddar Soup

1/4 cup butter
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
3-4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use sharp)
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add in the garlic and cook until softened (doesn't take long). Stir in the flour. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Stir in the milk.

Place the potatoes in a slow cooker. Pour in the soup mixture. Cover and cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Remove the cover. Puree part of the soup with a mixer. (I just use a hand mixer and put it right in the slow cooker) Stir in the cheese. If you need to thin it out, add some milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I serve mine with the bacon and sour cream. You could also add chives for color.

Totally Bitchin' Blondies

Did you know that Friday is National Blondie Day? You MUST make a pan of these to celebrate.

-1 1/2 sticks butter

-2 cups brown sugar

-2 eggs, beaten

-2 tbsp vanilla

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 tsp baking powder

-1/4 tsp baking soda

-1 tsp salt

-chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter, mix with brown sugar until sugar begins to dissolve. Add beaten eggs and vanilla; mix until smooth. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together with a fork until there are no lumps. (I NEVER sift... too much work. Do you?) Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray (I use Pam for Baking) . Add batter and smooth evenly into the pan. Top with chocolate chips (as many as you want!) and lightly press into the batter. Bake for about 35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Made this tonight, swapping out full-fat ingredients for fat free. I really never use fat free cream cheese, but figured it couldn't be too bad in a recipe. It was yummy, but I felt a little funny eating it because... well, fat free cream cheese really just shouldn't exist. Next time will use just plain old low fat, which is an OK substitute for the real deal. I do think the butter is important in this recipe. It gives a nice texture and flavor.

-3 tbsp butter

-1/2 large onion, chopped

-1-2 cloves garlic, minced

-3 tbsp all-purpose flour

-46 ounces V8 juice

-1 can fat free evaporated milk

-1 (8oz) block cream cheese, chopped into pieces

-salt & pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a soup pot, add onions and garlic and saute until soft. Add flour and stir, allowing the flour to cook out for a few minutes. Add V8 and evaporated milk and bring to a soft boil. Simmer about 10 minutes, then stir in cream cheese. When it melts, use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Serve with croutons, fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

Perfect with grilled cheese!

Cheesy Potatoes

Is there anything better, really? I don't think so. This recipe is tried and true. I've seen lots of different variations of it, most of which include melted butter in with the cheese mixture. I've made it that way before, but honestly, this recipe does not need any extra fat to taste good. It's got plenty even with my lower-fat version. :o) I use bread crumbs instead of corn flakes because I always have them on hand. So, here's how I roll:

-2 lbs frozen hash brown potatoes
-2 cups 2% cheddar cheese, shredded
-2 cans 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
-1 cup low fat sour cream
-1/2 small onion, chopped
-salt & pepper to taste
-2 tbsp butter, melted
-1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425. Mix cheese, soup, sour cream, onion, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Add frozen potatoes; mix well. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and add potatoes. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Toss melted butter together with seasoned bread crumbs and add to top of potatoes. Bake an additional 10 minutes until bread crumbs are browned and cheese is bubbly.

*I have to give a shoutout to my friend, Tonya, for inspiring me to make this tonight. She was serving cheesy potatoes with ham for her family tonight and upon hearing that, I had to make this for dinner. :o)