Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes

Halloween may be over... but for me, pumkin season is at the peak! I bought 3 sugar pumpkins this year and so my freezer is full of goodies.  1 pumpkin makes about 4 cups of pureed pumpkin so we have a lot of pies in our future.  This morning I made pumpkin pancakes.  Ever since a visit to a good friend of mine in Boston, I've loved the idea of this breakfast food.  And as a bonus, it's an extra boost of veggies in your breakfast!

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Sift together, add:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tbsp veggie oil

Stir together with wet ingredients. Makes about 4 servings.
I serve with a simple raspberry sauce - 1/3 cup frozen raspberries (about $2 at Trader Joe's for a 12 oz bag), and 1-2 tbsp sugar, cooked at medium heat for about 5 min until thickened.

The combination of raspberry and pumpkin is astonishingly delicious! I'm a sucker for raspberries though.

Adapted from Allrecipes "Simply Pumpkin Pancakes".

Flavorful Beef Stew

I recently started getting the Cooking Light Magazine - it's actually the first copy that came to my house and so far I love it.  One of the first recipes I pulled from it is the "Beef Marsala Stew" in the slow cooker.  Here are my modifications.  Serve over fluffy mashed potatoes - hint, warm up the milk and use a whisk while the butter is melting in your potatoes..mmm

olive oil
2 lbs beef chuck
salt

1 1/2 medium white onions
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup beef broth
black pepper
fresh thyme
8 oz baby bella mushrooms
4 large carrots
1/2 tsp paprika
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp flour

Saute the beef with olive oil, salt, and pepper (about 1 tsp salt) until browned but not cooked all the way through.  Place into crockpot.  In the empty skillet, quickly saute roughly chopped onions.  Add to crockpot.  Add tomato paste and 1/2 cup water.  Whisk until incorporated; add in broth and bring to simmer.  Carefully pour over beef/onions in pot.  Chop carrots into 1 inch pieces, add to pot.  Put whole small mushrooms or sliced in half large ones on top.  Sprinkle in a little more salt and pepper and add in paprika and bay leaves.  Nestle fresh thyme (3-4 small springs) into the liquid.

Cook on Low for about 7 hours, stirring once in a while.

Once cooked, take most of the liquid from the pot and pour into a skillet.  Add in 2 tbsp flour and whisk into the liquid.  Bring to simmer and return to the pot.  Keep on low until the liquid is simmering once again.

Serve with fresh bread, mashed potatoes, and a veggie.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Cooking Light Beef Marsala Stew.

Salsa Time!

Salsa time is... all the time!

I haven't bought store bought salsa in years.  When you have a food processor, why would you?

Here's my secret to awesome salsa every time:

In a food processor add...

A chunk of red onion (about 1/3 of a medium one)
1/3 of a bunch of cilantro

Process until chopped. Add..

4-5 good quality tomatoes (stay away from beef steak and roma.  I always use "on the vine")
Chop them into quarters.

1/2 of a lemon, squeezed and zested
1/2 of a lime, squeezed
salt to taste
any peppers (I like banana but if you like spicy, go with the other kind)
I also add in a little bit of a salsa mix.  You generally find these next to the guacamole mix packets somewhere near the tomatoes in the fresh food section.

Process until the desired consistency and add more salt to taste.  Salt will really make or break your salsa.  You need to add enough to balance out the acid from the lemon and lime.

P.S.  We had burritos for dinner last night.  If anyone wants that recipe, let me know.

Pizza Pizza!

We love making pizza at home.  With the right ingredients, it turns out 1000 times better than delivery.
We do use a pizza stone and paddle.  It just makes the crust that much better.  I highly recommend getting one.  Just place it in the oven while it is preheating so it's nice and hot when you put your pizza on it.

Here's the tried and true method:

Crust:

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water

Mix and let bubble for 5 min.  Then add:

1 tsp salt
2 1/2 + cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil

Mix in a kitchenaid for about 7 min until the dough is in a ball not sticking to the bowl.
This recipe usually yields us 3 personal pizzas.  One for each, and one for lunch for my husband at work.

Favorite toppings (in this order)"
Trader Joe's pizza sauce (it's the best, don't buy anything else)
Spinach
Red Onion
Bell pepper
Thinly sliced tomato
Salt and pepper slightly on veggies
Prosciutto (also from Trader Joe's)
Fresh basil ($2.99 for a huge package at Trader Joe's)
Fresh mozzarella
Pizza mix cheese (just to top off any spots without mozzarella)

Bake on preheated stone at 450* for 15 minutes or until the middle cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

If you do the math, I probably spend about $15-20 on the ingredients and I usually make the dough twice for a total of 6 pizzas - $3 per pizza? You can't get that with delivery.

Enjoy!

Lemon Zucchini Cake Loaf

After making zucchini bread, I ended up with still MORE zucchini.  A quick Pinterest search lead me to this recipe:  http://lilluna.com/glazed-lemon-zucchini-bread/ so I decided to try it out!  I absolutely love lemon.

It was a good choice.  I ran out of regular flour and I never have cake flour on hand, so I used bread flour.  The result was definitely like a soft cake.  You could probably eat this with frosting!

I've been experimenting with almond milk - bought my first carton at Trader Joe's last week - and I substituted for regular milk in this recipe.  I couldn't taste the almond but I think it's a good alternative.

Lastly, I definitely had to bake mine for much longer than the 45 min the recipe suggested at 350.  Mine took about 1 h 20 min - but it just depends on your over and pan so keep an eye out for it.

Greek Steak Gyros - Shaking Things Up

Ever just get bored of the same meals that you rotate through?  This definitely happened to me a few weeks ago so I went on a quest to find fresh new recipes.  This gyro is a great dinner idea if you are looking for something fresh, veggie filled, and delicious!

The special ingredient here is the Tzatziki:

1/2 cup of grated cucumber
1 cup of plain greek yogurt
about 4 tbsp fresh dill
1 clove garlic
salt to taste

My gyro comprised of grilled steak, onions, and bell pepper, spring mix, tomato, tzatziki, and feta.  Try it out! 

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Lava cake is one of our favorite desserts ever.  It's relatively simple to make and turns out great every time.  You can really vary the level of sugar and chocolate based on your preferences.  We like it not ridiculously sweet so I always lowball the sugar and chocolate chips in this recipe.

Don't leave the kitchen for the 14 minutes these are baking!  Ovens differ and yours could be done in 12 and at 14 could be a fully cooked cake - which is no fun when there is no lava!

From: Paula Deen/Food Network

Makes about 6-8 servings

6oz bittersweet chocolate
6oz semisweet chocolate
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
vanilla

Melt chocolate with butter in the microwave until completely melted and smooth.
Add flour and sugar.  Stir in eggs and vanilla.

Bake at 425 for 14 min (or less depending on your oven).

Zucchini Bread - it's what's in season!

We are Cat/House/Garden sitting for some friends for the next few weeks.  They graciously let us have the spoils of their garden while they are away.  Today we found this MEGA zucchini that probably should have been picked a few days ago.  I immediately thought of zucchini bread.  I ended up only using half of the zucchini.  I wish pictures could capture smell - the cinnamon/nutmeg combo in this bread is delicious.  I added craisins and pecans.

From:  http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/07/summer-of-the-bats/

Zucchini Bread 
Adapted from several sources

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally.  Alternately, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Perfectly Flavorful Pork Potstickers

Feeling adventurous, I decided to try to make potstickers yesterday for the first time.  I've only had them a few times at restaurants but I loved the texture of crispy outside and the flavor of the delicious filling.

I used the recipe found here, but below are my amendments to the filling and flavor.  I hope you enjoy them!
(recipe makes about 35)

1/2 pound ground pork

1/4 cup finely chopped green onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons ketchup

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp sesame oil

35 to 40 small wonton wrappers

Water, for sealing wontons

3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying

1 1/3 cups chicken stock, divided

Mix together pork through sesame oil. To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package. Brush 2 of the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over, seal edges, and shape as desired. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone. 

Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without touching. Once the 2 minutes are up, gently add 1/3 cup chicken stock to the pan, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for another 2 minutes. Clean the pan in between batches by pouring in water and allowing the pan to deglaze. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.

Cupcakes! Cupcakes! with Whipped Cream Frosting

I've been baking up a storm this week for a YW activitiy.  Of course I ended up making way too many cupcakes than I probably needed but it was fun and I found some great recipes I will be using from now on.

I used the "Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes" recipe from glorioustreats.com.  

http://www.glorioustreats.com/2010/04/recipe-perfectly-chocolate-cupcakes.html

The batter was very thin but that made the cupcakes so light and fluffy!  Loved it.  I frosted them with a whipped cream frosting mixed with some strawberry purree.  I bought a pastry bag and tips and this was my first go at it! It turned out pretty well.

Whipped Cream Frosting:

1 package cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

vanilla

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Once combined well add cream as mixer is still beating.  Beat until mixture forms stiff peaks.

My other flavor was "Orange Creamsicle".  I waned something fruity and not so sweet.  These turned out delicious.  They were quite heavier than the chocolate and I'm thinking this would make a great regular sized cake.  I used the recipe from cookingclassy.com:  http://www.cookingclassy.com/2012/12/orange-creamsicle-cupcakes/

I used the same frosting but added some food coloring to make them a nice peachy color, with some orange zest and pieces of orange.

Overall great flavor combinations and I highly recommend!