Spreading Some Pumpkin Love

I roasted a pumpkin in my crockpot this week after following The Happy Housewife's directions here.

Pumpkin is soooo good for you and very much a part of Fall. I went around the web looking for some good recipes to incorporate into this Falls menu planning.

Sweet:
Pumpkin Pancakes
Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Spiced Pumpkin Waffles
Down East Maine Pumpkin Bread
Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Pumpkin Pie Crunch

Savory:
Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta
Pumpkin Stew
Smoky Braised Mexican Pumpkin
Curried Pumpkin Soup
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

Beverages:
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Treat for our four-legged friends:
Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

Hmmmm, maybe next up should be apple recipes...another favorite of mine.

This has been linked up with Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap HERE

Turning Over A New Leaf/Menu Plan Monday

I love Weight Watchers but have been finding the extra steps of finding points for products, logging points and trying to figure out what the points for recipes are very difficult. I have always been successful at Weight Watchers losing 20 lbs each time I have gone. This time, I am fluctuating up and down, up and down. I decided to try to count my calories instead. I am loving the free Livestrong Daily Plate App for my Iphone to count my calories. That paired with an abundance of recipes that have nutritional information is making me have a lot more success. That being said, my menu plan reflects a lot of calorie friendly choices for this week.

Monday: Confetti Meatloaf 273 cal per serving, Roasted New Potatoes, Broccoli.
Tuesday: Ham and Spinach Couscous 248 cal per serving
Wednesday: Turkey, Ham and Cheese Stromboli 125 cals per slice, Salad. For the stromboli, I used Whole Wheat and Honey Dough instead. Guilt Free Brownies 140 cal per serving
Thursday: Roast Chicken and Slow Cooked Mac and Cheese 300 cal per serving
Friday: Fiesta Bake, Salad
Saturday: Leftovers...A Mom needs a break!! :)
Sunday: Turkey, Potato and Veggie.

Also making Southwestern three bean and barley soup...for which I am using my beloved pressure cooker to make the beans fast, fast, fast!!

Weight Watchers No Crust Apple Pie

Just had to pass on this wonderful fall recipe. I love apple pie, but not the calories that comes along with it. I've been on Weight Watchers for about 3 weeks now. Came across this recipe on the web and wanted to pass it on.

No Crust Apple Pie
4 cups apples sliced
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (YOU COULD USE EGG SUBSTITUTE)
1/2 cup light biscit mix

Topping
1/2 cup light biscuit mix
2 tablespoons chopped nuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon margarine

Combine apples, cinnamon and nutmeg and place in a sprayed deep-dish pie plate. Beat biscuit mix, sugar, eggs and milk til smooth. Pour over apples. In a small bowl blend biscuit mix, chopped nuts, brown sugar and margarine till crumbly. Sprinkle on top of pie. Bake at 350* for 1 hour or till knife in center comes out clean. Enjoy!

5 points per serving, 8 servings

I used Heart Smart Bisquick and Light Blue Bonnet margarine and by my calculations on the Weight Watcher recipe builder, it was 4 points per serving.

Happy Thanksgiving

I thought I would take a little time out of the day to post the recipes I made on Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I did not cook and am very thankful for my aunt who opened her home up to family. I did, however, make some special things for my family for breakfast and made a pie.





For breakfast I made a Croissant Casserole and Quickie Cinnamon Rolls. I really would like to just make my own cinnamon rolls but knew I would probably not feel up to it, so this recipe was perfect. For the pie, I tried for the first time Jolean's Butterscotch Pie. I have to say that this pie is VERY good, but letting it sit out for a VERY long time is wise as putting it in the fridge makes the butterscotch pudding and meringue weep.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

Corn Fritters

2 cups fresh corn or canned corn (I used both creamed and kernal corn, adding probably more of the kernal than creamed)
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp baking powder
2 tablespoons cream
4 tablespoons butter, oil or margarine (I used my nonstick griddle and did not use any oil...it was better that way than using any oil)

1. Combine eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper with the corn.
2 Mix thoroughly
3 Add cream to mixture
4 Melt fat in frying pan and drop corn mixture by spoonfuls (used a standard table spoon) into the hot fat (as I said before I did not use anything and just used by large rectangular griddle set at 375).
5 Brown on both sides.
6 Serve with syrup (I did not try this, I only sprinkled some with a little sugar and others I dipped in Franks Red Hot sauce)

Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I found this recipe on Mrbreakfast.com. IT IS WONDERFUL!

(4 servings)

1 cup oats - old fashioned or quick
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter - softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For The Topping:
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2 Tablespoons white sugar
2 Tablespoon softened butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare 4 individual 1-cup ramekins by coating the inside generously with cooking spray.

Prepare the topping mixture by combining the three ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Mix all dry spices together in a small bowl.

Combine all other ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Mix well and slowly sprinkle in the spice mixture at the end so it's distributed evenly through the mix.

Divide the mixture among the four ramekins.

Bake for 10 minutes. Carefully sprinkle equal parts of the topping mixture over each serving. Bake for an additional 7 minutes.

Allow oatmeal to cool at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

To make this dish extra special, serve with a cool heaping Tablespoon of reduced-fat vanilla ice cream or whipping cream on top.

To see more great recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge here


Looking for a safe candle alternative, visit me HERE :)

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Found this keeper on Sparkrecipes :) It has already been requested again and I just made it for dinner.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup ketchup
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup water
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 lbs boneless pork roast

Directions
Combine all ingredients except roast in the slow cooker.
When well mixed, add roast.
Cover, cook on high for 6-7 hours.
Remove roast.
Shred the meat and return it to the sauce.
Note - You may want to thicken the sauce some.
Great for making sandwiches or using in other recipes. The sauce is good on rice too.

Number of Servings: 12 (I got 27 1/4 cup servings for sandwiches out of it!)


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Cheesy Kielbasa Bake (makes two, one to eat, one to freeze)

I got this recipe from Allrecipes. It was very good and I loved the fact that it makes two and I got to freeze one.

Cheesy Kielbasa Bake

INGREDIENTS
12 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
2 pounds kielbasa (Polish) sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onion, chopped
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
2 medium carrots, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS
Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, brown the sausage in oil over medium heat. Add the onions, zucchini, carrots and garlic; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15minutes.

In each of two greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dishes, layer a fourth of the macaroni and meat sauce. Combine the egg and ricotta cheese; spoon a fourth over sauce. Sprinkle with a fourth of the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Repeat.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve one casserole. Cool second casserole; cover and freeze for up to 2 months.

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Cantaloupe Bread

This recipe was taken from Recipezaar...it had almost five stars for all the reviews it got. I also tried it and it was very delicious...my husband loved it.

Cantaloupe Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cantaloupe, cut into 2 inch chunks and pureed (about 2 cups of puree, you can pulse so that bits of fruit remain)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1 Mix eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla.

2 Add pureed cantaloupe to mixture.

3 Sift dry ingredients; add to liquid.

4 Pour into 2 greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans (or spray them with Baker's Joy).

5 Bake 325°F for 1 hour or until done.

6 Check after 50 minutes.

7. Can also be made into muffins.

8 Bake for about 25-30 minutes.

To see more great recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge here

Bill's Birthday Menu

I wanted to do something for my husbands birthday but he has to work afternoons today so I was not sure how to make his birthday special. I decided that food was the answer....cause you know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach...if you want to try any of these wonderful recipes out, the links are located below their pictures :)



Apple Raisin French Toast Casserole










Pizza Braid








Darn Good Chocolate Cake

Cheerio Breakfast Cookies.....or Bars

The recipe was written as cookies but I made bars instead...just watch how long you cook them for so they cook through :)

Cheerio Breakfast Cookies/Bars(as seen on Recipezaar)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats or quick-cooking oat
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups Cheerios toasted oat cereal

Directions
1 Heat oven to 375°. Stir together sugar, butter, peanut butter, water, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except cereal. Gently stir in cereal.

2 Drop dough by rounded 1/3 cupfuls 4 inches apart onto ungreased large cookie sheet. Flatten dough to about 1 inch thick.

3 Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Store loosely covered.

4 If using spread, use only stick that has more than 65% vegetable oil.

5 High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Increase bake time to 14-16 minute.

6 (The recipe doesn't say how many servings it comes up with, but I went with 12 cookies, but of course, if you want Jumbo ones then they will be bigger and you will get less cookies).

To see more great recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge here

Banana Pancakes

Made these for breakfast this morning...also like the song by Jack Johnson!

Banana Pancakes (taken from Allrecipes)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or unsweetened applesauce)
2 ripe bananas, mashed


DIRECTIONS
Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.

Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat.

Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.


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Sounds Strange...BUT VERY GOOD...Vinegar Cookies

Vinegar Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C).
Cream butter or margarine and sugar. Add other ingredients. Drop by teaspoon on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.

For more recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge HERE

Best Oatmeal Cookies

Best Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions
1 This is a very important first step that makes the cookie: combine eggs, raisins and vanilla and let stand for one hour.
2 Cream together butter and sugars.
3 Add flour, salt, cinnamon and soda and mix well.
4 Blend in egg-raisin mixture, oatmeal, and chopped nuts.
5 Dough will be stiff.
6 Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet, or roll into balls and flatten slightly.
7 Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

This was found on recipezaar and it is going to be the one I always turn to for Oatmeal cookies :)

To see more great recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge

You Choose The Goo Brownies

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup melted butter
4 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350, Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
2. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, melted butter, and eggs in a large bowl. Add in sugar, cocoa powder and any options if desired (options can include 1/2 cup chocolate, vanilla or butterscotch chips., 1/2 cup mini marshmallows, 1/2 cup chopped or whole pecans or walnuts), Mix all ingredients thoroughly until well blended.
3. Spread the brownie batter evenly into the greased baking pan.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Depending on what special ingredients you add, cooking time may vary. Make sure you keep an eye on your brownies to keep them from burning. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Recipe came from Home Made Simple Coupon booklet.

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Lots O' Cookie Dough

I have been reading up on some great recipes. I was reading on one of my favorite blogs, Moms By Heart, about how she makes cookie dough and freezes it...so simple..don't know why I have not done it and so much better than store bought...and I am sure cheaper. Soooooo, I made A LOT! We are pretty set for a while on cookie dough.

The recipe is....

1 1/2cups brown sugar
1 1/2cups white sugar
2 cups shortening(No substitutes)
7 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
6 eggs , gently beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 tablespoons hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 lbs walnuts or pecans , chopped
3 lbs semisweet chocolate chunks

1. Preheat Oven to 325°F.
2. In a VERY large mixing bowl or largest bowl of your
Stand Mixer, add brown sugar, white sugar, and
shortening. Cream together very well.
3. In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder,
and salt. Set Aside.
4. Add flour mixture and eggs alternately to the creamed
mixture, mix well, scraping down sides of bowl as
needed.
5. Dissolve baking soda in the 4 tbs of HOT water. Add
baking soda mixture and vanilla to dough and mix well.
6. Stir in nuts and chocolate chunks.
7. Drop by heaping tablespoonful onto an ungreased
cookie sheet and bake at 325° for 15 - 17 minutes. I get 12
cookies to a standard sized cookie sheet.
8. VARIATIONS/TIPS:.
9. Nuts: Can use walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, etc. so
long as you have a total of 2 lbs. I measure each type of
nut used into it's own bowl, see reason below.
10. Chocolate Chunks: I seldom use just the chocolate
chunks called for in the original recipe. Instead I use a
combination of 3 lbs of a variety of baking pieces, and
put in separate bowls. Try chocolate chunks, semisweet
chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, mini M&M's, vanilla
baking chips, chocolate/caramel swirled chips, etc. so
long as you have a total of about 3 lbs (about 4 - 12
ounce packages) I have already used a little less than 3
lbs when I just didn't have enough available.
11. FUN TIP:. Before adding the nuts and chocolate to your dough,
divide the dough into 2 bowls. Since you have measured
out the nuts and chocolate (or variety of baking pieces)
into separate bowls, you can now create a variety of
cookie dough flavors. Add whatever combination you
would like so long as you add approximately equal
amounts to each bowl.
FOR EXAMPLE: Divide cookie dough into 2 bowls. To
first bowl add 1 pound chopped pecans, 1 pound
chocolate chunks, and 1/2 pound butterscotch chips. To
second bowl add 1 pound chopped walnuts, 1 pound
caramel/chocolate swirled chips, and 1/2 pound vanilla
baking chips. The possibilities are endless. Have fun
with this!
12. Wrap and freeze, take the dough out of the
freezer and put in the fridge the day before
baking.

For more freezer recipes you can visit Mom By Heart here

Homemade Hot Pockets

Hot Pocket Dough- makes six 6 inch pockets
1 C. Luke Warm Water
2 T. Olive Oil or Canola Oil
1 t. Sugar
1/2 t. Salt
3 C. Flour (I usually do Half all-purpose and half whole wheat or all whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 t. Yeast

Dough by Hand:
Dissolve Yeast in warm water. Add Oil, Sugar, and salt. Slowly mix in flour and knead. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

Dough in Bread Machine: (this is my favorite because you can throw all the ingredients in and set the dough cycle and get some other things done while it’s doing the work for you!)
Add ingredients in order your bread machine specifys (for example: for mine I need to add the liquid first, then dry ingredients, and then form a well and pour my yeast in). You don’t want your dough to raise for more than one hour. Most bread machine dough cycles will “beat” down the dough and you’ll want to take the dough out before it does that. Consult your users manual for timing and instructions on how to put the ingredients in.

1. Pre-heat oven to 375
2. When dough is ready, separate it in to 6 portions. If you want to be really exact, you can weigh the dough. I usually just eye ball it.
3. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick circles.
4. Let dough rest for 5 minutes.
5. Put 1/4-1/2 cup worth of filling. If you’re making all the same kind of hot pockets mix all your filling items together and use a scoop to fill the pockets.
6. Fold dough in half over the filling and clamp edges with fork.
7. You can brush the tops with an egg white wash (1 egg white beaten with 1-2 T. water) if you want them to look really professional!
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375.

I got this from everydayfoodstorage.net :)

Blueberry Drop Cookies

Blueberry Drop Cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup fresh blueberries


DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening, sugar, egg, milk, almond extract and lemon zest. Mix well after the addition of each ingredient. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; blend into the sugar mixture. Fold in the blueberries. Cover and chill for 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

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Basic Batter Waffles w/Maple Extract

I made these and froze them for use during week..very good.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups milk (I particularly like canned evaporated milk for some of it)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour (you can substitute wheat germ for 1/4 cup of white flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon maple extract

Directions

1Mix all dry ingredients together using a large whisk.

2Mix the wet ingredients together.

3Gently combine but don't overmix.

4Cook as your waffle maker directs.

Find more recipes at Grocery Cart Challenge recipe swap here

Strawberries And Cream Bread

Ingredients
1/2 cup soft butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided

Directions

1Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

2Beat in eggs one at a time, then add sour cream and vanilla.

3Mix well.

4Combine dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture just until moistened.

5Fold in strawberries and 1/2 c nuts.

6Pour into greased 8x4x2 loaf pan and sprinkle with remaining nuts.

7Bake at 350 degrees for 65 to 70- minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

8Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely

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