Whole Wheat Pumpkin Poppers

Black Bean Chili with Avocado Salsa

Pumpkin Bars!

Pumpkin Bars
2 cups flour (I use one cup whole wheat flour)
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 cup oil (I use 1 cube (cup) melted butter and 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
16 oz. (2 cups) pumpkin (I prefer fresh pumpkin or butternut squash)
4 eggs
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8oz cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
lemon juice (I like to juice a whole lemon)
milk to thin (1 to 2 Tablespoons)

Mix all ingredients, pour into 13x9x2 greased pan. Bake 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool completely.
*For tips on cooking fresh pumpkin or butternut squash see this post.
*This makes a very thick pumpkin bar which is perfect for feeding a crowd (I half the recipe if I'm not sharing).

Prepare cream cheese icing by whipping softened cream cheese with butter and vanilla until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar until smooth. Add lemon juice to taste. Stir in milk to thin frosting to spreading consistency. Frost bars and serve!

Fabulous Apple Crisp

I love Autumn! All the beautiful leaves changing color, the smells of baking apples, cinnamon, pumpkin...YUM. One of my favorites is Apple Crisp. It is so simple to make and so delicious. This recipe makes one very large 9x13 pan!

Apple Crisp

5-6 apples peeled, cored and sliced (enough to fill a 9x13 pan)

1 cup flour (can use whole wheat)

1 cup oats

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cubes butter (3/4 cup) softened

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1. Peel, core and slice apples. I recommend the Back to Basics Apple Peeler it has a really cool suction  ottom that adheres anywhere on the counter so you don't have to try and secure it to the edge (works much better than my pampered chef one). Sprinkle chopped pecans over apples.

2. Combine butter, flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle evenly over apples.

3. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Variations:

Caramel Apple Crisp: Smother warm apple crisp with caramel syrup topping

Blueberry Apple Crisp: Mix with the apples fresh or frozen blueberries and use walnuts instead of pecans

Step 1: Fill 9x13" pan with peeled, sliced apples and chopped pecans

Step 2: Combine dry ingredients until crumbly

Step 3: Sprinkle evenly over apples and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or caramel sauce, Enjoy!

 

Soft Sugar Cookies

This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe. I've tried quite a few and have heard people swear by the sour cream kind, but I always come back to this one because it never fails and the texture is perfect, soft but not too crumbly. They taste similar to the store bought kind except sooo much better. I think they are best with cream cheese frosting. We make these cookies every Halloween and the boys have so much fun helping me decorate them.

Soft Sugar Cookies

2 cubes butter (or margarine), softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter, sugar, vanilla and egg. Mix in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate 45 minutes (I don't always do this, but makes rolling out much easier). Roll dough on floured surface and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 7-8 minutes.

*This recipe makes a couple dozen cookies but you'll be surprised how fast they disappear!

Cream Cheese Frosting

8oz cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
lemon juice (I like a whole lemon)
milk to thin (1 to 2 Tablespoons)

Prepare cream cheese frosting by whipping softened cream cheese with butter and vanilla until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar until smooth. Add lemon juice to taste. Stir in milk to thin frosting to desired consistency.

Roasted Chicken, with vegetables

I've posted a time or two before about how much I love rotisserie chicken...I decided to be brave and try roasting one myself. I was actually very intimidated by the thought until I saw an episode of the Food Nanny that featured someone with an even greater raw meat phobia than I.

I determined then to conquer my fear. And I'm glad I did, it turned out fabulous! Moist, juicy, tender chicken. Even better than from the store. Not only that but for less than $5 we had a yummy dinner, enough leftover for another dinner plus after making chicken stock and "picking the bones" had enough left to make our new favorite chicken taquitos, not to mention the chicken stock and gravy I will freeze and use for later. It's the tastiest budget meal, I just wish I'd known years ago how easy it was to do!

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

1 whole chicken

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon

3 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon thyme

1 cup water

1 onion, diced
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
5-6 potatoes, cubed

Pair of rubber gloves (if you're wimpy like me)
Large roasting pan (I picked mine up for only $30 at BB&B)

Chop all veggies and mix all dry seasoning ingredients in a small bowl. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Then don those gloves unless you're brave enough to touch raw meat (I finally am!) Now, remove and discard giblets from chicken (this is the gross part but fortunately I discovered mine were neatly packaged in a bag so I didn't even have to see them!) Rinse chicken cavity and pat dry with paper towel.

Give the chicken a good rubdown with some olive oil and then rub the seasoning mixture inside and out. Set chicken in roasting pan and place chopped veggies all around it. It's recommended to refrigerate this for a few hours or overnight, I didn't because I didn't plan ahead- and it still turned out perfectly tender and juicy, so don't worry if you miss this step.

It is recommended to place the chicken breast side down but honestly I have no idea which is the breast and which is the back and since you rotate it halfway through cooking it really doesn't matter (details, details). So just put the thing in however you want and after about 45 minutes turn it over. I also added a cup of water at this point to keep the veggies tender and help the chicken stay moist. I baked for another 45-50 minutes. It should take about an hour and a half for the entire cooking process. Just cut into the center to make sure the pink is gone- but do not overcook or it will be dry. The vegetables are flavored nicely by the drippings so no need for extra seasonings.

After spooning out the vegetables I poured the leftover drippings into a saucepan and made some delicious gravy by just adding some flour and thinning it with milk to make it creamy. There are some pretty good instructions for that here http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_gravy/

Then took the remaining chicken bones and skin and made some chicken stock to use later (see below. It freezes really well so you don't have to use right away and is much more flavorful than storebought stock). So there you go, a good 2-3 meals (soup, chicken taquitos, chicken salad sandwiches, etc.) for $5.

Chicken Stock

Chicken- bones, skin and all, including pan drippings

1 onion chopped- with skin

1-2 stalks celery roughly chopped

Other stray vegetable parts

I'm sure there are lots of ways to make chicken stock, but I'll share the way I do it.

After you've removed the meat you want to eat from the chicken, put the entire thing in the pot including any pan drippings and vegetable trimmings, and fill the pot to almost cover the chicken (the more water the thinner the stock will be).

Add all ingredients into large stock pot and fill to cover two thirds of the chicken.

Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer on low for 1-2 hours. You'll know when it's ready because your entire house will start to smell like chicken noodle soup. Turn heat off and let sit on the stove until cooled (just don't be like me and forget about it until the next morning!)

Strain the liquid into a container- it will look something like this (right). Throw away the vegetable trimmings and pick the meat off the chicken bones- it will be soft and come off easily. You'll be surprised- you should get around a cup or so of shredded chicken which is perfect for taquitos, adding to soups or making chicken salad sandwiches.

Put the liquid in the refrigerator overnight. It will solidify into a jello-like substance which looks /7kind of  gross- but that means you did it right. Now you can either freeze it or add water to thin it out and use in your favorite recipe- everything you make with this will taste SO much better than with storebought stock. Here are a few of my favorite recipes that use chicken stock:

Lemon Chicken Picatta

White Chicken Chili

Chicken Noodle Soup (simply add noodles and veggies!)

Barley Jambalaya

Chicken Tortilla Soup (perfect for using this leftover chicken)

Deep Dish Apple Pie

When I saw Grandma Ople's apple pie on Allrecipes had over 4,000 ratings, I knew it was a keeper. Here is the recipe with modifications. You can't go wrong with this one!

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

6-8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced (I also like macintosh)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Mix apples with 2/3 of cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour apples into pie crust, piled high.

Cover with a lattice work of crust. I roll mine out into a rectangle and cut with a pizza roller, pretty simple! Gently pour the remaining sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft

*I pre-bake my crust at 425 for 8 minutes before I add my apples so that it doesn't get soggy, you could brush it with egg whites instead.

Best Ever Whole Wheat Rolls!

Rolls are my favorite thing to make (and eat!) I have been making bread & rolls since I was a kid and I can pretty much guarantee you'll never find a better recipe. Below is whole wheat roll recipe.

My favorite white roll recipe is here and it is to die for. Potato flakes are optional on the white roll recipe but mandatory on the whole wheat- it really does make a difference.

Whole Wheat Rolls

4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil (or melted butter)
2/3 cup potato water (water used to boil potatoes) *optional
2 tablespoons dough enhancer (optional but it does make them lighter)
5 1/2 to 6 cups freshly ground white whole wheat

Combine yeast, water and honey, cover until foamy. Mix potato flakes with water and stir until dissolved (it should be watery). Add olive oil (or butter), salt and one cup of flour, mix. Add flour one cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and soft dough forms. Knead 10 minutes. Cover and let rise 1 hour until double in size. Form into balls, cover and let rise until double. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Brush with melted butter.

Pumpkin Pie with crumb topping

Read my post here on how to cook a pumpkin- seriously it only takes 10 minutes in the microwave and I promise fresh tastes SO much better than canned! I have never liked pumpkin pie until a few years ago when I learned how to make it with fresh pumpkin. It makes all the difference.

I won't say this is the best recipe because I have not liked pumpkin pie long enough to try many recipes, but I will say I like it, and that's saying a lot.

1 small pumpkin (2-3 cups once it's cooked and mashed)

1 can evaporated milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 9" unbaked pie shell see here for recipe

Crumb Topping

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, chilled

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook pumpkin in microwave for 10 minutes. Scoop out flesh and all pie ingredients into a blender. Mix until smooth. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts.  Sprinkle topping over pie. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40 minutes or until set.  

Lemon Meringue Pie

It's just not Thanksgiving without a piece of lemon meringe pie! 

1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 lemons, juiced & zested (about 3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons butter
4 egg yolks, beaten

1 9" pie crust baked

4 egg whites

6 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350. To make lemon filling, mix sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter.

Mix about 1/2 cup of hot mixture into the egg yolks, beat and stir back into saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until thick (about a minute). Be sure to continue to stir or the sugar will burn on the bottom of the pan.  Pour filling into baked pastry shell.

In large glass or copper bowl whip egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over warm pie, sealing the edges at the crust. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Cool completely.

Pecan Pie- no corn syrup!

I have always loved pecan pie but the sweetness almost made me sick. I've since discovered pecan pie without corn syrup is so much better and is still sweet but not over the top. Allrecipes has the best pie recipes and this one is pretty good and about the easiest pie you could make.

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

1 pie crust recipe (http://ldsbaker.blogspot.com/2010/11/pie-crust.html)

Preheat oven to 400. In medium bowl beat eggs, sugar, butter and flour until well mixed. Stir in milk, vanilla and nuts. Pour into unbaked 9" pie shell and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and bake for another 40-50 minutes or just until top starts to crack. Cool and serve!

New World Chili

To go along with my post on pumpkins- here's a yummy fall recipe to try. I've made it several times before but forgot how easy it really was to make. I whipped it up in less than 30 minutes and that includes the cooking of the pumpkin. Like all soups/chili's you can mix up the beans and veggies any way you like and it's so easy to shrink or expand the batch. If you follow my version of this recipe it makes a big batch enough for 2 meals (unless you have a really big family!) I like to freeze half and save for another day when I'm too busy to make dinner.

3 cans diced tomatoes (14.5oz)
2 cans black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 8oz can tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
1 small pumpkin or butternut squash, seeded, cooked, peeled and chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 onion chopped
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup dried cranberries
1 can green chilies (I didn't have any and it still tasted great)
1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic
4oz monterey jack cheese, shredded

Cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds and place cut side down on microwave safe dish. Cook 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in large stockpot add all remaining ingredients except cheese, and cook until heated through, 15-20 minutes. Peel skin off pumpkin and chop into cubes. Stir into chili mixture. Top each serving with cheese.

*original recipe stirred in 2 cups shredded fresh spinach, I have not tried this but bet it would be yummy
*original recipe includes chicken breast, I went meatless, but think shredded chicken or turkey would be a great addition

How to cook pumpkin or butternut squash

I'm posting this information because I used to be intimidated by real pumpkins but have learned how easy it really is. And since it's the time of year, I'll be posting several recipes with pumpkin. I highly recommend using fresh, it tastes sooo much better. Also, butternut squash is an excellent substitute for pumpkin, in fact I think it makes better pumpkin pie than pumpkin. So you can exchange butternut squash for pumpkin and vice versa.

To cook either of these, simply cut off the stem, cut in half, remove all the seeds, place cut side down on a microwave safe pan (the pampered chef small bar pan works perfect for this) and microwave on high for 10 minutes (if you're using a large pumpkin you'll need to increase the time- you can usually tell because the top will start to cave in and the flesh will be soft). That's it! Let cool a bit then scrape out the flesh, mash or puree and use in your favorite recipe. I prefer a bit of texture in mine just because it feels homemade. You can also scoop into freezer bags and freeze, makes it easy to pull out and make yummy recipes like these pumpkin muffins.

 

Pumpkin Muffins (whole wheat)

This is the best pumpkin muffin recipe! It is so scrumptious. And any muffin recipe with 100% whole wheat that tastes fabulous is totally worth making. I think my boys like muffins better than cookies- the batch was devoured in less than 30 minutes!

*NOTE: I've updated this recipe and reduced the sugar by more than half. This version is healthier and tastes just as fabulous, however if you want to double the sugar and use white flour, you can!

I prefer using butternut squash in place of pumpkin in almost all my recipes- it has a milder flavor and seems a bit more moist than pumpkin. We have a local farmer that sells them for 50 cents each in the fall. They can be stored in a cool place for 6-8 months or you can slice in half, sccop out the seeds, microwave for 10 minutes, mash and freeze in ziploc freezer bags. I freeze 1 cup at a time then it's easy to pull out and use in a recipe.

This recipe comes from my favorite Whole Grain Baking book by King Arthur Flour, but I've modified it to be a little healthier.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

1 cups whole wheat (I use freshly ground white whole wheat or King Arthur whole wheat flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup (1 cube) butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pumpkin (I use fresh pumpkin or butternut squash)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I love it with pecans)

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and spices in bowl. Cream together butter & sugars in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients mixing until evenly moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into 12 muffin tins, bake 22-25 minutes.