Pumpkin Bread with Caramel Icing…. November 3, 2010

Holy Moly this is AMAZING!!!!!! I used the pumpkin bread recipe that I just love and then added this caramel Icing to it! Can I just tell you how awesome it is…. haha!

Rose’s Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh grated nutmeg is best!)
2/3 cup water
2 cups pumpkin (1 15-ounce can pumpkin will work)
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 large loaf pans (9″ by 5″) and set aside. (- Mine always makes 3 loafs)

In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together and beat for 2 minutes with electric mixer until smooth. Divide into the loaf pans. Each pan will be about 2/3 full.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Make sure center is done – a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

Note: This bread freezes very well.

Note: For muffins, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Caramel icing

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 dash salt
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Caramel Icing: In a small sauce pan melt the butter, brown sugar and milk. Cook for one minute until everything is melted and mixture starts a slight boil. Remove from the heat and add remaining ingredients and beat on low until all items are combined. Cool slightly. Using a plastic storage bag with the corner cut off or a cake decorating bag drizzle caramel icing across the top of the pumpkin bread.

Go to finger foods October 15, 2010

So I have had these pictures on my phone for ummm about 8 months now, and I am just now blogging them! WOW am I behind! I guess that is what a new baby added to 2 other kids and a husband that works super hard to support our family does to you 🙂

These are two of my favorite easy go to party foods for when we have people over… I don’t have a CLUE where I got these recipes because it was so long ago, so if they are yours will you comment so I can give you credit? Thanks!!!

Bacon Appetizer Crescents

1 pkg (8 oz) low fat cream cheese, softened
8 slices bacon, crisply cooked & crumbled
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c onion, minced
2 tsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp milk
2 cans (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix cream cheese, bacon, Parmesan cheese, onions, parsley and milk until well blended; set aside.

Separate each can of dough into four rectangles; firmly press perforations together to seal. Spread each rectangle with 2 rounded tablespoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture. Cut the dough lengthwise into 4-5 equal pieces. Roll up and place on baking sheet.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Spinach and Artichoke Bites

• 30 wonton wrappers
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 4 ounces marinated artichokes, drained and chopped
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• dash of salt
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat mini-muffin tins with cooking spray.

Mix cream cheese, spinach, artichokes, shredded cheese, mayo, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.

Line prepared mini-muffin pan with wonton wrappers, lightly pressing into place to form a cup. Using a small spoon, fill each cup with mixture almost to the top.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are browned and crisp and the filling is hot and melty. Top with Parmesan cheese and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving

 

Not Pictured but AMAZING as well:

 

Jalepeno Popper Spread

INGREDIENTS

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
4 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
panko bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375

Stir together cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in green chiles and jalapeno peppers. Pour mixture into a 8×8 dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs.

Bake until bubbly and panko starts browning…about 20 minutes.

Stuffed Mushrooms
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Ingredients:
24 whole fresh button mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. vegetable oil
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Bread crumbs and minced fresh herbs, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully remove the stems from the mushroom caps, setting the caps aside for later.  Add the stems to the bowl of a food processor.  Add the garlic to the food processor as well, and pulse in brief bursts until them mushroom stems and garlic are finely chopped.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped mushroom stems and garlic and cook until all the moisture has disappeared, about 5-7 minutes.  Lower the heat to medium-low.  Stir in the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and spices.  Stir together until the mixture is smooth and creamy; remove from the heat.  Using a small spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of filling.  Arrange the mushroom caps on the prepared baking sheet.  Top with bread crumbs, if desired.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are hot and liquid starts to form under the caps.  Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with fresh herbs if using and serve immediately.

 

 

Pumpkin Cake Truffles

So I finally started catching up on my Reader and came across this AMAZING recipe from www.madeinmelskitchen.com …. Seriously one of my new favorite pumpkin things to make!!

Pumpkin Cake Truffles

• Pumpkin Cake, cooled completely (recipe below)
• ~ 3/4 of a can of vanilla or cream cheese frosting, or ~1.5 cups of yourfavorite cream cheese frosting
• 1.5 pounds of white chocolate —– (I used white chocolate for 1/2 of the truffles and white almond bark for the other half and I liked the way the almond bark tasted and coated better)
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Crumble cake into a large bowl. Add 3/4 of the can of frosting and mix well. If mixture seems crumbly or dry, add remaining frosting. Mix well, you shouldn’t see any streaks of frosting.

Using a small cookie scoop, portion cake mixture onto prepared cookie sheet and shape into small balls.  Refridgerate or freeze until firm.

Melt chocolate in a small mixing bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Remove 6-8 balls from the refrigerator at a time, and dip balls in melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet and refrigerate until firm.

Melt the butterscotch chips in a small bowl in the microwave. Stir ~ 1/4 cup of the remaining melted chocolate into the butterscotch chips. Transfer to a squeeze bottle, or a small plastic baggie with the corner snipped off. Drizzle the butterscotch over the cake truffles. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes approx. 60 cake truffles.

Pumpkin Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9×13 cake pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the  brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Beat on medium speed until well combined.  Add dry ingredients, and mix on low until smooth. Fold in pumpkin puree.

Pour the batter into prepared cake pan.  Bake until the cake springs back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cake cool completely.

Cake adapted from MarthaStewart.com.

As far as tips goes for truffles/cake balls…. I use my slotted spoon to dip the cake balls into the chocolate. Tapping it on the side of the pan drains the extra and then they just slide right off onto the cookie sheet to cool 🙂

Baby Breckin is here! January 29, 2010

I have been MIA for a while… with being pregnant and nothing sounding good to eat at all… and now with a 5 week old life has been crazy! I did want to update on my baby girl though 🙂

She was born December 22 at 2:46pm and was 6lbs 14oz and 19 inches long!

Here are a few pictures of our last 5 weeks 🙂

Leaving for the hospital

First Family picture

4 Days old

1 week old… modeling for http://www.oopsydaisybaby.com 

1 month old with brother and sister

 

Rose’s Pumpkin Bread November 19, 2009

This is a recipe I found in my google reader and it has been a HUGE hit with not only my pregnancy craving… but alsom my husband 🙂 It is sooooo simple to make and freezes great which is a plus!

http://www.vintagevictuals.com/2009/09/pumpkin-bread.html

 

Rose’s Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh grated nutmeg is best!)
2/3 cup water
2 cups pumpkin (1 15-ounce can pumpkin will work)
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 large loaf pans (9″ by 5″) and set aside. (- Mine always makes 3 loafs)

In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together and beat for 2 minutes with electric mixer until smooth. Divide into the loaf pans. Each pan will be about 2/3 full.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Make sure center is done – a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

Note: This bread freezes very well.

Note: For muffins, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Crockpot Roast September 8, 2009

Here is another favorite at my house! I make this roast with the mashed potato casserole that is in my blog and my family loves it! (again, no pictures but this is on the list to make this week 🙂 )

Crockpot Roast
3lb roast
salt and pepper
onion-sliced
1package brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c red cooking wine
2 tsp dijon mustard (I leave this out because my husband wont eat anything with mustard…but its better with it)
1 t. worcestire
1/3 t garlic

put all in crockpot and cook on low 8 hours…. I double liquid stuff to make more juice 🙂

Sloppy Joes

I have been cooking a lot lately as we are working on our budget… and this has been a great one that my family loves! (sorry no pictures… when I make it again I will add them)

Sloppy Joes
1lb ground beef
3T A-1 steak sauce
15oz tomato sauce
1/4 c. ketchup
1/2t garlic salt

Brown meat, drain grease, add all ingridents and simmer for 20 minutes.

Garlic Brown Sugar chicken July 30, 2009

I made this tonight and the family loved it! And I loved that it only took me 30 minutes to make dinner! I found this as I was sorting through my google reader from http://jdsegarr.blogspot.com/2009/07/garlic-brown-sugar-chicken.html#comment-form and I am so happy I starred it. This will for sure be going in my quick and easy dinner section of my recipes!

Sorry for the horrible picture… I took it with my phone 🙂

 

You will need:
4 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons butter
1 pound boneless chicken tender cut breast meat
Salt (I prefer Sea Salt)
Fresh Ground Pepper
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar (I only used 4)

Begin by melt the butter in a frying pan. Add garlic and allow to slowly brown and then add chicken tenders to garlic and butter. Cook thoroughly, adding salt and pepper to taste. When chicken is fully cooked, add brown sugar on top of each tender. Allow brown sugar to melt into the chicken (about 5 minutes). I served this with fresh corn and mashed potatoes and it worked quite well together.

Worst blogger ever award goes to…

ME!!!!!! I have been on a blogging slump lately… and I am trying to get back into it… Life has been busy… I am 18 weeks pregnant, kids are out of school, and my amazing husband is working overtime so life is CRAZY!!!!! Lets see if I can get motivated to take pictures of what I cook!

Strawberry Cake April 10, 2009

I got this recipe from a girl on a local message board…. http://adamandmonika.blogspot.com/ and it is a great cake! I served it at our Bible Study group last week and it was gone in a second!

 

Cake:

1 package french vanilla cake mix

1 package strawberry gelatin(3oz)

1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

 

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 9-inch round baking pans.

 

Place cake mixm gelatin, strawberries, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop machine and scrape down sides of the bowl. Increase mixer spead for 2 minutes. divide the batter into the prepared baking pans.

 

Bake the cakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 25-30 minutes. Remove from pans and and let them cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

 

FROSTING:

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, room temperature

4 tablespoons butterm room temperature

3-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup mashed and drained strawberries (make sure you dran the strawberries or otherwise the frosting is too runny)

 

Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electic mixer on low speed until combined. Stop machine and add 3 cups of powdered sugar and the drained strawberries. Blend the frosting on low until the sugar is incorperated. Increase mixer speed to medium and blend another 30-45 seconds.