Cinnamon Rolls

I made these cinnamon rolls a couple of times over the Christmas break, and they were quite delicious. I even had some people say they were the best cinnamon rolls they've ever had [insert me brushing the dirt off my shoulders]. Just kidding. They really were quite good, and I attribute it all to the recipe, not any of my own culinary skills. You can find the recipe, including a printable version, from Pioneer Woman Cooks. And, just because I'm nice, I'll include it below, too.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls
1 quart of whole milk
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 “scant” tsp baking soda
1 heaping tablespoon salt
1 ½ to 2 cups melted butter
1 cup of sugar
generous sprinkling of cinnamon

Mix the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a pan. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point.) Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. when the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.

Add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and the salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to splurge out of the pan, just punch it down.)

Sprinkle surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle ½ of the melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle ½ -1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam to the roll to seal it. Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in seven round, foil cake or pie pans. Then begin cutting rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Maple Frosting
1 bag of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons maple flavoring
½ cup milk
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup of brewed coffee (I omitted this, and just used a little extra milk)
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the frosting mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting!

Winter Fruit Salad with Honey-Orange Dressing

Well, last night was the Bradshaw's last Sunday dinner together before Kelli left us, returning to Salt Lake to put her nose back to the grindstone. Sunday dinners are something we all look forward to very much- especially this time of year when we are (almost) all together. Much brainstorming, deliberation and careful selection goes into the menu planning. We only have about two Sundays together, so they have to be outstanding. And were they ever!

Last Sunday we enjoyed a Mexican fiesta. Kelli did homemade salsa and fried tortillas for tostadas. Mom prepped all the toppins. Candice made the beans and shredded beef, and Maren took care of the fried ice cream balls. It was a feast fit for Mexican royalty.

For yesterday we decided upon Maren's breaded chicken (will post soon), Kelli and Emma headed up Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes (THE best) and Kelli's famous melt-in-your-mouth rolls, Mom roasted the asparagus, and Candice did Winter fruit salad with honey orange dressing and Molten Chocolate Cakes to wash it all down. We say it every Sunday, but it really might have been the best meal any of us had ever had. It doesn't get much better than feasting around the dinner table as a family- especially when everyone came together to prepare the feast.


This salad is meant to be plated on individual salad plates, but we just don't have that luxury with our numbers. Over-sized platters are our friends. You will LOVE this salad. Please do try.

Winter Fruit Salad with Honey-Orange Dressing

Red leaf lettuce
4 oranges, peeled and sliced
4 kiwi, peeled and sliced
3 bananas, peeled and sliced

Dressing:
2/3 C. orange juice
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 T. honey
1/3 C. sour cream

In small saucepan, cook orange juice, cornstarch, and honey over medium heat til mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Cool completely. Stir in sour cream. Cover and refrigerate til serving time.

To serve, place lettuce leaves on salad plates; arrange fruit on lettuce. Top each with 1-2 T. dressing.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Chris said today that these cookies are in the running for his favorite cookie. The chewy/crunchy texture is what makes them so amazing, according to him. I concur.

Easy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies For Your Entire Young Women's Organization:

3 boxes chocolate cake mix
3 sticks butter
6 eggs
a dozen candy canes or small bag of starlight mints, crushed

Mix cake mix, butter and eggs well with electric mixer. Drop with small scoop onto cookie sheets and flatten a little with back of a spoon. Sprinkle with crushed candies. Bake at 350 for ten minutes. Let rest on pan 5 min before transferring to cooling rack.

If you aren't making them for all the YW... OBFIESLY, you would use one cake mix, one stick butter, and two eggs. And 1/3 the box of candy canes. I used my calculator to check the math- it's right. No problem.

Cheddar and Cranberry Cheese Ball

Up until a couple years ago, cheese balls repulsed me. That was, until I learned that they could be made from the three best ingredients: cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and butter. Then I realized cheese balls were my favorite food. I sent a couple of these with Chris to the office- they didn't last long. This recipe is from Martha, and she also has a couple other variations I want to try. Here is the link for Cheese Balls, 3 Ways.

And here is the Cheddar and Cranberry version:

1/3 stick of butter, softened
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. lemon juice
a couple dashes salt
1 dash pepper
8 oz. finely grated cheddar cheese
1 C. dried cranberries (craisins)

With an electric mixer, mix butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper until well combined. With big spoon or spatula, stir in cheddar cheese. Form into a ball with your hands, and roll in cranberries to coat. Serve with crackers.

Week before Christmas Menu

A couple of weeks ago I was staying with friend Laurel. She served us a delicious breakfast of oatmeal with honey and blueberries. Hands down the best oatmeal I've ever had. This is our breakfast of choice these days. Can be found at Trader Joes, and I also noticed it is available from amazon and drugstore.com. :)

Being a busy busy week I decided to keep it simple, keep it smart, keep it sweet, and most importantly, keep it semi-homemade: with recipes I have in my head.

Monday: Taco soup and caramel popcorn balls at Grannys
Tuesday: Green Pizza
Wednesday: out
Thursday: Ritz chicken
Friday: Hawaiian Haystacks
And Kelli and I are brainstorming for a most delectable Sunday dinner collaboration... still deciding what.

Happy week before Christmas!!

Blackberry Streusel Coffee Cake

This is truly one of my favorite desserts, no ifs ands or buts. I meant to take a picture after slicing it to show the pretty blackberries- but we were too busy scarfing it down to bother with such things. Recipe from Martha Stewie, introduced to me by Hillary, bless her soul.

Blackberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Cake:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temp plus more for pan
2 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 C. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C. sour cream
1 C. frozen blackberries
1 C. streusel
milk glaze

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a cake pan (bundt if you have it); set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on medium speed til light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Spoon about 1/2 the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle blackberries on the batter, avoiding the pan's edge. Top with remaining batter, and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Bake til golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Let cool, and spoon glaze over cake. Cake can be kept at room temperature, wrapped well in plastic, for up to four days.

Streusel topping:
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/3 C. packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, room temp.

Whisk to combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, til large, moist clumps form.

Milk glaze:
1 C. confectioners sugar, sifted
2 T. milk

Whisk together confectioners sugar and milk til completely smooth. Immediately drizzle glaze over cake.

Creamy Herbed Potatoes

I was wanting to try Pioneer Woman's creamy herbed potatoes, but seeing as how I do not own a mandolin and am not willing to thinly slice enough potatoes to feed the whole Bradshaw clan plus all the extra Sunday dinner guests, I decided to try the recipe but just swap out frozen hashbrowns. Maybe less pretty, but no less tasty. I hope it doesn't affect my standing in the church if I say I like these better than funeral pototoes.

Creamy Herbed Potatoes

1 pkg. frozen hashbrowns
1 stick (1/4 pound) butter
1/2 a small onion, grated (if you must)
8 ounces softened cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 T. finely chopped rosemary
1 T.. finely chopped parsley
1/2 T. finely chopped sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add butter to a large skillet over medium low heat. When melted, add onion. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream cheese to the pan and stir to melt. Pour in cream and milk, stirring to combine. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, then add chopped herbs. Place potatoes in a buttered baking dish. Pour contents of skillet over the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for 45 minutes. Allow potatoes to sit 15 minutes before serving.

Dec. 7 Menu

In the spring of this year, some of my Cali friends and I reunited for a weekend of play. Marilee brought us chocolate. From Germany. The best chocolate bars ever. And you can get them right close by. I get mine at Target, Trader Joes, or Cost Plus World Market. Butter Biscuit (knusperkeks) is my favorite, but there are a bunch of different kinds. Santa, I wouldn't mind a few (dozen) of these in my stockin' this year.

Here's Candice's menu:
Sunday: Ham, herbed potatoes, green salad, carrots, rolls, and blackberry coffee cake
Monday: Manicotti, green salad
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Roast turkey and thanksgiving sides (because I love it and want to)
Thursday: Green Pizza
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: Joe's BBQ

And Maren's:

And Kelli's:

..............

cricket, cricket...

Pot o' Chili

Tried a new chili recipe last week. Realized I like my old recipe best. I usually make this in the crockpot.

Pot o' Chili

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 ribs finely chopped celery
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 (15-oz.) can stewed tomatoes
3 (15-oz.) cans red kidney beans, drained
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
1 T. chili powder (if you like it spicy, do 1 1/2- 2T.)

Brown ground beef and celery, drain. Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cook 8 hours on low or 2-3 on high. Serve with warm cornbread, cheese and sour cream. And OLIVES! (Much to Chris' disgust.)

Jalapeno cheddar cornbread

Made this to go with spicy chili the other night. It was sooo light and fluffy, and very flavorful. Truth-be-told, I prefer a sweet cornbread, and this definitely falls into the savory category, but Maren said I had to post it anyway. Next time I try this I will double the sugar and leave out the scallions. I loved the jalapeno flavor (not spicy, just yummy), but thought the scallions were a tad overpowering, as onions usually are. BLAST YOU, ONIONS!! Why don't I ever learn?

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
(from Barefoot Contessa)

3 C. all-purpose flour
1 C. yellow cornmeal
1/4 C. sugar
2 T. baking powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 C. milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated, divided
1/3 C. chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 T. seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just incorporated. Don't overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Almost Onion-free Thanksgiving

(Edible turkey from last Thanksgiving, which was also Adam's first birthday.)

We all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, although most of us feasted at seperate tables across the country.

Mom, Kelli and Emma feasted at Kelli's place in Salt Lake. They potentially had the best meal, considering it was all made by Kelli herself. See here for a good laugh and a more detailed account of the festivities.

Candice went to St. George to be with Chris' family. The only thing I made was the cranberry sauce. The fool-proof recipe: Stir together and bring to a boil 1 C. orange juice and 1 C. sugar. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add 1 bag fresh cranberries. Simmer ten minutes, til cranberries start to pop. Remove from heat and pour into serving dish. Sauce will thicken as it cools. YUM. Sidenote: I have only ever been in charge of the turkey once. I used this Barefoot Contessa recipe- and it was absolutely and utterly divine. The most flavorful turkey I've ever had. I am a little scared to brine a turkey after Kelli's experience, but I want to just to compare.

Maren had a {relatively} quiet Thanksgiving at home with their little family. She made Pinoeer Woman's mashed potatoes- and we all agree they're our new favorite.

Amanda and Mase had a Floridian pot-luck Thanksgiving (so fun) with fellow students and friends. Amanda made her cornbread stuffing (I am requesting she make us some over Christmas), 10 lbs mashed potatoes, and a berry pie. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing her famous stuffing recipe...

2 lbs. Owen's spicy sausage
3-4 large onions (?!?!) chopped :)
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2 recipes cornbread (already prepared)
2 cans chicken broth

Saute sausage, onion and bell pepper. In large bowl combine sausage mixture, cornbread, and broth. Mix well. Bake in greased 9 by 13 dish at 350 for about 1 hour. (Serves 20)

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm up for having another Thanskgiving dinner next week. Any takers?

Peanut Butter Cookies

Sick of cookies yet? It's been so long since I've made peanut butter cookies and I found this recipe in Martha Stewart's Favorite Comfort Food book. I just knew they'd be good! I added 1 cup peanut butter chips for extra deliciousness.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 2 dozen

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Dry-roasted, salted peanuts, for sprinkling (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, peanut butter, and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until well combined.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour and baking soda together. Add to the butter mixture, and beat just to combine.
4. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, shape into a ball, and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, placing scoops 3 inches apart. Dip the tines of a fork in warm water; press the dough balls lightly with the back of the fork to flatten them slightly (dip the fork back in the water for each dough ball, to prevent sticking). Sprinkle with a few peanuts, if desired.
5. Transfer to the oven, and bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets between the oven shelves halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Basketball Cookies

This year my friend and I decided to be the managers of the freshman boys basketball team. Today was their first game, and so we made them basketball cookies. They turned out pretty dang cute! :) I was impressed. The guys loved them and scarfed them down. They ended up loosing the game today against Freemont though. BUT the score ws 52:50. Only lost by 2 points! Overall it was a good game, and I had a lot of fun making these with my friend for them.

Sugar Cookies:
3/4c shortening
1c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp lemon flavoring
2 1/2c flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
(makes about 4 dozen SMALL cookies)

Mix together in order .

First mixing shortening, sugar and eggs

Cut out cookies

bake @ 4oo for 6 to 8 min

Frosting

In a mixing bowl, combine:

1 lb powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 c of milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 c butter

Then beat with an electric mixer or heavy spoon until smooth and creamy scrape bowl often.

Healthy cookies hu?

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

These are probably my very favorite cookies in the world. One of my mom's best friends makes these and once I had my first bite I was hooked! Thanks Debbie!

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup oats
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Add sugars, butter, egg, and vanilla and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in oats and coconut. Shape to form 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake 12 minutes or until tops are golden. Makes 2 dozen.

Oh, for cute!

Are these the cutest teensiest ice cream cones you've ever seen? Just wanted to do a little free advertising for JOY. Perfect size for dessert for my kids- and good portion control for me and Chris. You should have seen him with a spoon, packing it down in there to maximize cone space. :) Got mine at good ole Wal-Mart.

Individual Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

This was our Sunday night dessert- perfect for when you didn't make it to the store Saturday night, but you pretty much always have a yellow cake mix and a couple cans of pineapple in your pantry. Try serving this Charlestons-style; hot out of the oven and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Whoa.

Individual Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

2 20-oz cans pineapple slices (or chunks)
1/3 C. melted butter
2/3 C. brown sugar
1 yellow cake mix, plus eggs and oil the box calls for

Drain pineapple slices, reserving juice. Grease well 24 muffin cups. Stir butter and brown sugar together and spoon mixture into bottom of cups. Place pineapple slices over sugar mix. Prepare cake mix according to pkg directions, replacing water with reserved juice. Pour batter evenly into cups. Bake 350 for 20-25 min. Cool, invert onto serving platter. Try not to let Adam eat them all before getting to Granny's house.

Menu and Meatball Subs

This week's menu:
Sun- broccoli cheese soup
M- meatball subs
T- seared chicken salad with berries
W- TJ's mac-n-cheese
Th- white bean and ham soup
F- chicken fajitas
S- Adam's Birthday!!

We had meatball subs tonight- I gave them a 7 (probably because they have onions), but Chris said it was the best sandwich he's ever had. Mostly it was just fun to eat something so out of the norm.
Recipe here; from "For the Love of Cooking".

Williams-Sonoma Chicken Pot Pie

This is one of my all-time favorites. Maya and I loved it the most- she was going on and on about how much she loved this dinner. :) She said she wanted to eat the crust all day. Who can blame her?!

W-S Chicken Pot Pie

1 C. sliced peeled carrots
1 C. frozen corn
1 C. frozen peas
2 T. unsalted butter
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C. chicken stock
1/2 C. half-n-half
1 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 9-inch pie dough round (I used Pilsbury)

Preheat oven to 400. Boil carrots for 5 minutes, boil corn for one minute. Drain and set aside. In large frying pan with lid, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook, uncovered, for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally until browned on all sides. Sprinkle in flour and stir well. Stir in the stock, half and half, and parsley, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 6-7 minutes. Stir in veggies, including peas. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 9 inch pie dish. Brush some egg yolk in a border around edge of pie dough. Place dough, egg side down, over the filling and press dough to rim of dish. Brush surface lightly with remaining egg yolk. Cut a few slits in center of the top with the tip of a knife. Place pie dish on a baking sheet to catch spills. Bake til crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Pancakes with Blackberry Sauce

If you haven't noticed yet, I love breakfast foods. I would eat them for every meal. I've tried pancakes from scratch a few times, but they've never turned out that great; until now. I came across this recipe from For the Love of Cooking and they were delicious! The recipe called for rasberry sauce, but I had blackberries so I used those. So so good.

Pancakes with Blackberry Sauce

Pancakes:

1 cup of flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
Combine all ingredients together and mix thoroughly.
1 cup of milk
1 egg
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk wet ingredients in a separate bowl then slowly combine into dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly (there should be some lumps). Heat a bit of butter in a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Once hot, add a ladle full of pancake dough to the pan and cook for a few minutes; once you see bubbles forming on top of the pancakes, flip. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until done. Serve with fresh raspberry sauce or hot maple syrup. Enjoy!

Blackberry sauce:

1 cup of frozen blackberries
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon zest, chopped finely
1-2 tbsp water

Combine ingredients in a small pan over medium heat. Cook until raspberries have melted down and thickens slightly.

Corn Chowder

I clearly remember watching the Paula Deen show the day she made this chowder. She started the soup with a stick of butter, and when the soup was finished, she cut a whole other stick into pieces and stirred them into the soup, barely melting them, so the first few bites taken would be 1/2 butter, 1/2 soup. WHOA. Over the top even for me. I left out the second stick of butter, and it was still delish.

Corn Chowder
(Paula calls this "Chef Jack's Corn Chowder)

1 stick butter
1 small onion, diced (or not)
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 small celery stalk, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 C. white corn kernels, fresh or frozen
3 C. chicken stock
2 C. half-and-half
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
salt and fresh ground pepper

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic- saute for 2 minutes. Add flour and stir to make a roux. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, set aside to cool. Meanwhile, combine corn and chicken stock in another saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour stock and corn a little at a time into the pan with the roux, whisking briskly so it doesn't lump. Return the skillet to the heat and bring to a boil. Mixture should become very thick. In a small saucepan, gently heat the half-and-half; stir it into the corn mixture. Add nutmeg, and salt and pepper. (This is the part when Paula adds a whole other stick o butter, so go ahead if you have the gumption.)

I added one potato, diced small, and boiled it with the corn and chicken stock. It made the soup good and thick, and potassium-laden.
Also. Try fresh-grated nutmeg. I bought my first whole nutmeg (at Sprouts) for the butternut squash lasagna, and have been loving using it since. So fragrant and fancy- give it a try.

Pumpkin Dip

I came across this recipe and knew I had to try it. I thought it was a really fun way to have dessert- similar ingredients to pumpkin pie, but the filling is the dip and the crust is the cookie or graham cracker. Fun!

Pumpkin Dip

2 C. pumpkin puree
1 C. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Cream together pumpkin and cream cheese. Add in all other ingredients til well blended. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with gingersnaps and graham crackers. *Trader Joe's Triple Gingersnaps are amazing.

20-minute Chicken Parmesan

This, of course, isn't my photo, but I wish it were because it's so great (thanks Marth). This recipe comes from Tara Winward, my friend from dental school. It is so so good- I am so glad there are leftovers in our fridge at this moment. YUM.

20-minute Chicken Parmesan

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs (I use panko and then add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning)
2 T. olive oil
1 large jar spaghetti or marinara sauce (I like Trader Joes)
1/2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T. grated parmesan cheese
1/4 C. chopped fresh basil

Season chicken with salt and pepper, then coat with flour. Dip into eggs, then breadcrumbs to coat. In skillet over medium heat, in olive oil, brown chicken on both sides, 1 or 2 minutes. Add spaghetti sauce. Cover, simmer ten minutes, Sprinkle with cheese and basil. Cover, simmer for 5 more minutes til cheese melts. Yours won't look as pretty as the picture because it cooks in the sauce- but it is so tender and flavorful- a crowd pleaser. It pleased my crowd!

Strawberry Muffins

These are probably my favorite muffins so far. I had 4 in one sitting and probably could have polished all dozen of them off, but was nice enough to let my kids have some and save a few for Derek when he got home from work. Recipe from Martha Stewart.

Strawberry Muffins

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped (I just used 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped strawberries (you can substitute any fruit you like)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a standard muffin tin or use baking cups. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl; whisk to combine.
2. In medium bowl, combine butter, vanilla bean scrapings, sugar, milk, and egg; whisk to combine. Fold butter mixture and fruit into flour mixture until incorporated.
3. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each prepared cup. Bake until tops are golden, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool in pan 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Menus and recommendations

First, this week's menu:
(Candice)

Monday- Chicken parmesan over pasta (recipe to come)
Tues- corn chowder in bread bowls (recipe to come)
Wed- Orange chicken and rice
Thurs- Williams-Sonoma chicken pot pie (recipe to come)
Fri- leftovers
Saturday- out

A couple recommendations: Whatever you do, do NOT purchase a bag of Fresh and Easy salt and black pepper potato chips, unless you want to eat the ENTIRE bag in one sitting, and crave them forever more. They are the best chips I've had in all my life. Super crunchy, the right balance of salt and pepper, and a little sweet, too. Perfection.

On the flip side (and I am very sorry for what I am about to do), I have been very disappointed with the Martha Stewart line at Costco. So far I have tried the tomato soup (chunky, oniony, and all around yucky), and last night we tried her apple raspberry slab pie. Not good. Crust wasn't flaky, fruit wasn't flavorful... nothing to write home about. As one of Martha's biggest fans, I feel like a traitor saying these things about my dear friend. But I was genuinely disappointed and thought the information was worth passing along. I would be interested if anyone has different thoughts or has tried anything else from the line.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Much of this recipe blog is about trust. We are not kitchen pros, and we're no photo experts either (see picture above)...(it doesn't help matters that the sun goes down before 6 pm now). But, I think it's safe to say that we know and appreciate good eats. Maren and I have been laughing lately at the realization that we are becoming food snobs. Things we used to like are now below our standards. It can be frustrating. :) Point being- trust me when I say that this pizza, recipe by the amazing Amanda, makes the cut!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

1 ball pizza dough (Trader Joes, Fresh and Easy)
1 C. alfredo sauce (see below)
2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cooked, shredded chicken breasts
1/2 pkg. bacon, oven baked til crisp

Roll out dough (I used whole wheat) according to package directions. Top with sauce, chicken, cheese, and crumble the bacon on top. Bake according to package directions, at 450 for about 15-20 minutes. (I find that because the chicken is already cooked, if you put it on top of the cheese it can dry out, so I put it under.) Also, this dinner will come together much more quickly if you can bake your chicken and bacon in the morning, shred and crumble, and have them in the fridge ready to go. Please try this- you will not believe how good it is.

Alfredo Sauce:

I have yet to find a jarred alfredo sauce that tastes good to me (food snob), and making your own only takes a few minutes. Plus you can pronounce all the ingredients, so why not?

2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 C. milk
1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Melt butter over medium heat on stovetop. Add flour and cook for two minutes, stirring continuously- to get the starchy taste out of the flour, but don't let it brown. Whisk milk into flour mixture (the roux, for you Frenchies) and keep whisking a few minutes til thickened. Add parmesan and stir til melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(Recipe from the back of the Ocean Spray Dried Cranberries package)

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (6 ounce) package ocean spray original craisians dried sweetened cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate, chunks or chips

1) Preheat oven to 375°F.
2) In a mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs mixing well.
3) Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
4) Add dry ingredients a little at a time to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.
5) Stir in by hand the cranberries then the white chocolate chips.
6) Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
7) Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
8) Cool on wire rack.

Yield: Approx. 2 ½ dozen

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake

I'm not sure why pumpkin seems to be most popular during fall when you can buy canned pumpkin year-round, but I'll admit in the last couple of months I've gone through quite a few cans and I'm still not sick of pumpkin. This is one recipe you'll definitely want to try!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Drizzle

(recipe from Stephanie's Kitchen)

For the cake:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 15 ounce can pureed pumpkin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips

For the Drizzle:
2 ounces fat free cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer, beat the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the pumpkin and mix until well incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add chocolate chips.
3. Pour batter into a greased 9X13 baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes or until set. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Mix all ingredients for the drizzle until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over cooled cake.

White Chili

This is probably more like soup than chili, but still good! I love crock-pot recipes because you just throw everything in and it does the rest.

White Chili

2 cans white beans
1 can diced green chilies
1 cup green enchilada sauce
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used a Costco rotisserie)
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper
sour cream and cheese (opt.)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 2-3 hours, until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper and top with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

Chicken Enchiladas

(*My photography and presentation skills are lacking...my apologies)

I realize that we already have a recipe for enchiladas posted, and that enchiladas are a pretty basic meal to make, but I tried this recipe over the weekend and thought that they were quite delicious so I thought I should share it anyways.

8 flour tortillas

4 chicken breasts

1 lb grated cheddar cheese (I thought this was a little much, so halved the amount of cheese I used in the filling)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 4.5 oz can of diced green chilies

1/2 cup of sour cream (I may have used closer to a cup of sour cream...whoops :)

Boil chicken (around 20 minutes). Cut or shred chicken. In large mixing bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chicken, cheese, green chilies, and salt and pepper (to taste). Lay out 8 tortillas Evenly spoon chicken mixture onto each tortilla. Wrap tortillas and place into Pam-sprayed pan, crease down. Bake at 400 degrees covered for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 5 minutes with left over cheese sprinkled across top.

Serve with salsa below, or your favorite salsa. For presentation, spread chopped green onions, sliced black olives, avocados, etc. on the top.

Salsa:

10 Roma tomatoes (no other tomato works as well)

finely chop 1/2 bunch of green onions

finely chopped cilantro (add to taste)

1 can Marca El Pato Jalapeno hot sauce

lemon juice to taste

salt/pepper to taste

Pumpkin Dessert

There are a plenthora of pumpkin recipes out there this time of year. But just because something has pumpkin in it, doesn't automatically equal deliciousness. I don't care for those pumkpin blob cookies. And a couple weeks ago I tried a Martha recipe for pumpkin muffins- AWful. (Sorry Maya's preschool class.) But THIS one is a keeper. It is a cross between a crumbley cake and pumpkin pie. So so good.

Pumpkin Dessert

1 yellow cake mix (reserve 1 C.)
1/2 C. soft butter
1 egg, beaten

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
2/3 C. canned milk (not sweetened condensed)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg

1 C. reserved cake mix
1/4 C. soft butter
1/2 C. white sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
chopped nuts (if you must)

Mix butter, cake mix, and egg to make crust. Spread in lightly greased 9 by 13 baking dish. Mix pumpkin, canned milk, 2 eggs, cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg together to make filling and pour over crust. Mix remaining ingredients together to make topping. Mix only til crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve warm, and with good vanilla ice cream.