Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just for fun, here is the easiest recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies you have ever seen. Be careful or you might eat them all day long.

Ingredients:

1 box spice cake mix

Chocolate Chips

15 oz. can of pumpkin

No really that's all the ingredients.

Mix the pumpkin and cake mix together till combined. You don't need to add anything else. No eggs, no oil, no nothing. Just the pumpkin and the spice cake mix. Then mix in the chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 until cookies are dry like a cake. This could take 15 minutes, maybe longer, depending on your oven.

You are welcome.

Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread

Fall = Baking. I would bake every day if the calories didn't count. Unfortunately they do, so you have to add things like vegetables to make yourself feel a little bit better. The vegetables in this bread make it even better though!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil (or substitute part for applesauce for less fat)

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini

1 1/2 cups peeled and grated sweet potato

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 5 x 3 bread pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Whisk together the first 7 ingredients in a bowl. In a larger bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla and then mix in the zucchini and sweet potato. Add the other bowl of dry ingredients to the larger bowl and mix until just combined. Fold in the nuts.

Transfer the batter to the bread pan and bake about an hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Old-fashioned Apple Cake

Not only does this cake turn out super pretty, it is a lot of fun to make. The entire thing is actually made in a skillet. You cook it up, then flip it over. I don't know about you, but if the directions call to flip something over, I pretty much have to make it. I think it's because I always wanted to learn how to do a backflip on my own. That will never happen, so I'll stick to this I think. On to the recipe!

Ingredients:

Apples--

5 Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored, and cut into wedges

1 1/2 sticks butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Cake:

1 stick butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. plus a couple shakes cinnamon

1 more Granny Smith Apple

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium oven proof skillet, melt stick and a half of butter for the apples. Swirl around both sugars in the melted butter until they are a bit dissolved. Place the apple wedges in the pan with the fat side down and the skinny side up. Cook all of this over low to low/medium heat so the butter and sugar simmers its magic all over the apples. While it's simmering, bake the cake.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the 1 stick of (softened) butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and eggs and then add the sour cream and milk. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the remaining Granny Smith apple (which has since been peeled, cored, and chopped into cubes).

Remove the skillet from the heat and spoon the cake mixture gently over the top of the now caramelized apples. Spread it evenly and try not to leave any holes in the top. Set skillet on a tinfoil covered baking sheet to catch any drips. Put the skillet and the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cake is nice and brown on top.

When finished, remove from the oven and let sit for five minutes. Then FLIP onto a pretty plate! Then do a real backflip yourself. If you can...I dare you...

Chicken Tikka Masala

And now, from the land of Bollywood and bindis, I present for your consideration a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the actual food, but it turned out so well I had to post it anyway.

Ingredients:

1 large diced onion

2 Tbs. finely chopped ginger (fresh not dried)

3 cloves garlic

1 diced jalapeno

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. garam masala

1 1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. coriander

1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup half and half or plain yogurt

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, chunked

salt and pepper

2 Tbs. butter

Basmati rice (I used quinoa cause I had it)

Combine onion, ginger, jalapeno, and a little olive oil in a large saute pan. Heat over medium-high until the onion is lightly browned. Stir in garlic, garam masala, chili powder, cardamom, and coriander and saute about a minute until the spices become aromatic.

Pour this mixture into a blender and add the tomato paste and chicken broth. Blend it up until smooth. Pour this back in to the saute pan and add the half and half or yogurt and bay leaves and bring to a gentle boil. If you have a spatter shield put it on top of the pan or it could get a little messy. Simmer and stir often until the mixture is reduced to a thickness of your liking. Pour the sauce into a bowl.

With the same pan (rinse it out), add olive oil and heat. Salt and pepper the chicken and saute until the chicken is no longer pink. Add the sauce back to the pan with the chicken, and simmer until the chicken is done. Cut the butter into chunks and melt it into the sauce.

Serve over basmati rice or quinoa and watch a Bollywood movie while eating. I loved this dish!

Chocolate "Devil" Cake

So I rode a mechanical bull last night. Not a big deal. I'm pretty much a rodeo star. To commemorate the occasion I decided to post the recipe for Texas Sheet Cake, or as my mom calls it the "devil cake" because it's the devil and she literally can't stop eating it. It's also the devil cake because of the amount of sugar and butter in it, but I hear the calories don't count on Wednesdays and on the weekend.

Ingredients:

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
5-6 Tbs. powdered cocoa (depending on how chocolatey you want it)
2 sticks butter
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting: 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 3/4 stick butter
5-6 Tbs cocoa
6 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pound (less 1/2 cup) of sugar.

Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 then combine flour, sugar, and salt.

Melt the butter at medium high heat in a saucepan on the stove. Add the cocoa and stir it together. Add the boiling water and boil for about 30 seconds. Pour this chocolate mixture over the flour mixture and slightly stir to cool.

In another bowl, pour in the buttermilk, eggs, baking, soda, and vanilla. Mix it all together for a minute with a whisk then pour into the flour/chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Pour the batter into a sheet cake (jelly roll) pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Frosting: Chop the pecans finely. Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the cocoa (just like in the cake making step), stir, and turn off the heat. Add the rest of the frosting ingredients and stir it all together. Lastly, stir in the pecans and pour over the warm cooked cake.

Let it cool for just a few minutes, then dig in. This cake is best eaten warm, and just try to stop eating it, I dare you.

Many thanks to the Pioneer Woman for the recipe.

Gram's Deviled Eggs

In honor of my Papa, today I'm posting my Gram's deviled eggs. They are a favorite of our family and quite addictive.

Ingredients:

Eggs

Sweet Pickle Relish

Mayo

Paprika

Place the eggs (however many you want) and 2 tsp. salt into a large pan with hot water. Bring the water to a rolling boil. After the water is boiling, take the pan off the heat and cover the pot for exactly 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes are up, place the hot eggs in a bowl of ice water. Hard boiling eggs this way will give you pretty yellow yolks without turning the outside of the yolk that sickly gray.

Peel the eggs carefully and cut them in half. Scoop out the yolks with a spoon and put the yolks into a bowl. Scoop into the bowl sweet pickle relish and mayo to taste. Mash it all up and put the mixture into the hollow of each cut in half egg white. Sprinkle the tops of the eggs with a little paprika and eat them up.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

This salad is easy, refreshing, and delicious. It takes no time at all, but it's really really good. I don't have much else to say about it, because its simplicity should speak for itself.

Ingredients:
1-2 cans black beans
1-2 cans corn
Diced red pepper
Diced yellow pepper
Minced cilantro
Red Wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
Lime juice
Salt and pepper

Drain the beans and corn and dump them in a bowl. Throw in the diced red and yellow peppers and cilantro. Sprinkle the sugar over the top, and pour red wine vinegar and lime juice over the salad to taste. Salt and pepper to taste as well. Mix it all together and eat it in a big bowl with a fork and healthy appetite.

Stir Fried Zucchini

I know I know, it's been quite a while. I always think I'm going to post more often but then life gets in the way, but considering I have maybe 6 followers, I'm sure you will forgive me.

This stir-fried zucchini is quite the simple yet delicious little side dish (Mom you might not remember but you loved this one). I'm pretty sure my family didn't just eat it...they inhaled it like oxygen. Enjoy.

2 pounds zucchini

2 tsp. salt

4 garlic cloves

1 scallion

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. sesame oil

2 Tbs roasted sesame seeds

Wash and trim the zucchini and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut the halves into 1/4 inch slices and put the slices into a bowl. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and mix it up. Let this sit for 30 minutes, then drain it thoroughly and pat it dry. While the zucchini is sitting, peel and mince the garlic. Cut the entire scallion (white and green parts) into small rounds.

Set a skillet over high heat. When hot, put in the olive oil and the minced garlic. Let cook for about 40 seconds. Add the zucchini and stir fry until just done (4 to 5 minutes only; you don't want mushy zucchini). Pour in the remaining salt, scallion, and sesame oil and stir once or twice. Remove from heat and add the roasted sesame seeds. Stir once and serve. The beautiful thing about this dish is it is easy, quick, and can be served hot or cold.

Tip: Salting and letting the zucchini sit before frying is important because it releases many of the juices and makes the dish less watery/soggy.

Turkey Meatloaf with Brown Sugar-Ketchup Glaze

Sorry folks no pictures for this one, but my Dad said it's the best meatloaf he has ever tasted.

(Aimee this one's for you)

1 medium onion, chopped fine

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. olive oil

salt

1/2 cup 1% milk

2 large eggs

2 tsp minced fresh thyme

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2 pounds lean ground turkey

1 1/3 cups bread crumbs

1/4 minced fresh parsley

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup light brown sugar

4 tsp cider or white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on the top. Fold a piece of aluminum foil into an 11 by 6 inch rectangle and put it aside for later.

Mix the onion, garlic, oil, and a couple pinches of salt in a skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the onion has softened. Set aside. In another bowl, mix the milk, eggs, thyme, mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce, pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt together.

In a larger bowl, mix the turkey, bread crumbs, parsley, cooked onion mix form the skillet, and egg and milk mixture with your hands until it is all combined. Turn the mixture out onto the foil rectangle you folded before. Form the meat mass into a loaf from about 2 inches tall into a long rectangle.

Put the loaf and the foil onto the wire rack on top of the cookie sheet. Stir the ketchup, sugar, and vinegar together to make the glaze. Brush half the mixture onto the meatloaf and bake for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, pull the meatloaf out and brush with the rest of the glaze. Bake for another 20 minutes. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before you slice it into slices.

And for the best part: every 1-inch slice only has 260 calories.

Tilapia and a Chipotle-Orange sauce

I thought I would try something a little different tonight and make fish. I'm not a huge fish person, but we had some tilapia in the freezer so I thought why not? This dish is very good, but it's quite spicy so if you aren't a spice person I would skip this one. But, if you like things a little hot....

Sauce:

2.5 oz canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 TBS rice wine vinegar

10 oz orange marmalade

1 1/2 TBS fresh squeezed orange juice

2 tsp. fresh minced cilantro

1 TBS finely diced red onion

Blend the peppers and vinegar together in a blender. Put the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl and add the chiles from the blender. Set aside until ready for use.

Fish:

2 tilapia filets

flour

olive oil

Dredge the filets in a coating of flour. Heat some olive oil in a skillet on med-high to high heat. Sear the filets for 3-4 minutes per side until pink is just gone.

I served the fish over a bed of quinoa, but you can use steamed rice as well. Add steamed veggies of your choice such as carrots, zucchini, squash, or peas.

Sweet Potato Chowder

I love soup, all kinds of soup, but my mom especially loves this soup. There is a lot of chopping involved, but try not to be intimidated. Soup is generally easy as a rule, and especially this soup!

Ingredients:

8 large sweet potatoes, peeled, divided
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
8 cups chicken stock
6 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1 Tbs ground coriander
2 cups half and half
2 cans (16 oz each) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (16 oz) creamed corn
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot add 3 diced sweet potatoes to some salted boiling water. Boil until the potatoes are done; soft but not mushy. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, add a few teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots and the rest of the 5 chopped sweet potatoes. Saute for 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock and boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are soft and tender. Remove from the heat and add the Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, coriander, and half and half. Puree the soup in the pot using a hand blender or pour into a regular blender until creamy. Add the sweet potatoes in the colander, canned corn, and creamed corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Crostini Appetizers

This weekend was my grandma's 80th birthday party. We had most of the extended family over and I ended up cooking for a day and a half! One of the things I made, and one of the more popular things at the party, were crostini appetizers. I made two different kinds, but the possibilities are endless with these little treasures.

Ingredients:

Baguettes sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

Canned artichokes in water

Fresh basil

Goat cheese

Parmesan cheese

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Tomatoes, seeded and diced

Salt and pepper

Toast the baguette slices in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through to toast both sides evenly. Once toasted, brush with olive oil.

For the toppings:

Topping 1--

Drain water off the artichokes and roughly chop. Throw artichokes in a big bowl and marinate with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and freshly chopped basil. Place on top of the toasts and top with shredded Parmesan Cheese.

Topping 2--

Seed and roughly dice tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread a generous amount of goat cheese on the toasts and top with tomatoes. Sprinkle the top with freshly chopped basil.

Not only are these super easy, they taste delicious! The added bonus is everyone at your next party will think you are quite fancy.

Apple-Turkey-Curry Burger

This is an interesting take on a burger. Best of all it's low-fat with ground turkey! This burger is so full of flavor you don't even need mayonnaise, ketchup, or any of the other condiments you would normally put on a burger.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs mustard seeds

3 Tbs applesauce

1 Tbs plain yogurt

2 1/2 Tbs mango chutney

2 tsp curry powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 lb ground turkey breast

1-2 chopped scallions

1 tsp dried mint

3-4 Tbs peeled and freshly grated apple (Granny Smith)

Lettuce and sliced tomatoes

Hamburger buns

Put the mustard seeds in a frying pan over medium heat. Shake the pan over the heat until the seeds start to pop.

Transfer the seeds to a medium mixing bowl. Add the applesauce, yogurt, chutney, curry powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir. Add the turkey, scallions, mint, and apple. Mix together till just mixed. The consistency will be soft, but you should be able to shape into four patties.

Spray a frying pan with non-stick cooking spray and cook on medium to medium-low heat until cooked through. If the outside starts to blacken, turn down the heat. You can also grill the patties. Serve on a hamburger bun with lettuce and tomato.

Amazing Sugar Cookies

Sorry it's been so long! Christmas was crazy and the New Year has been just as busy. I'm back though, with two new posts tonight.

First, dessert. These are some pretty great sugar cookies. I made them about a month ago so no pic, but trust me, they will crumble in your mouth. No need for frosting because they are super tasty all on their own.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

1 cup canola oil

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

Cream together the eggs, oil, butter both sugars, and vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Add a couple more tablespoons flour if dough feels too wet. Refrigerate an hour.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll into balls to be placed on the cookie sheet. Flatten the dough into round disks (don't totally flatten the dough, just the top). Sprinkle the cookies with extra granulated sugar.

Bake 11 minutes at 350.