Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Here is what you need and what to do: (makes 12 cupcakes) I double the cupcakes and just made one batch of frosting worked great.

Cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature

3 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To make the cupcakes:

1/ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.

2/ In a small bowl, add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk until combined. 

3/ In a larger bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, vegetable oil and eggs. Whisk until combined. 

4/ Add the flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. 

5/ Fill each of the muffin cups about 3/4's of the way up. Ice cream scoops make this process much easier. 

6/ Bake for about 18-20 min or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from muffin cups and place on a wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the frosting...

1/ In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese for about 2 minutes on medium speed or until light and fluffy. 

2/ Turn the mixer down to low speed and add gradually add the confectioners sugar. Beat until just combined. Add the vanilla and cinnamon. 

3/ Turn the mixer on medium- high speed and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy - about 1 minute. 

4/ Frost the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!!

Fresh Blender Salsa -Jeanie

7 roma tomatoes

¼ head of cabbage

1 onion

1 bunch of cilantro

3-4 seeded jalapeno

Juice of 1 lime

Salt to taste

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Everything is chopped in a food processor.

First, chop up the tomatoes in the food processor.  Put them in a colander and drain a bit because they are a little too juicy usually.

Meanwhile chop everything else up in the food processor. 

Salt to taste.

Canning Salsa

Yields about 16 pints

6 pounds tomatoes or 12 large (one #10 can diced tomatoes)
9 dried hot chili peppers 
3 cups diced red onion
1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro, packed 
15 cloves of garlic, minced
6 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 TBS salt
3/4 tsp dried red chili flakes
3/4 cup red wine vinegar

Wash, Drain, peel, seed and dice tomatoes unless you use can.

Remove seeds from dried chili pepper; place in a bowl or blender and pour boiling water to cover them, seep covered with plastic wrap, 15 min.

Drain half the water and puree in blender. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickens. Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. wipe rims, secure hot lids and rings and process in water bath 15 min. 

It's not to spicy but really good can adjust the hotness by not removing some of the seeds or add more red chili flakes. 

Might need to water bath longer due to elevation? 

Cinnamon Twists

Grandma Lankford's Cinnamon Twists

4.5 tsp yeast
2 cups scalded milk
2 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. melted shortening
6 cups flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt

1. Scald milk, let cool, add sugar, then yeast to proof.
2. Add shortening and half of flour, mix until smooth.
3. Add eggs, salt and remaining flour.
4. Knead dough.
5. Let dough raise in a greased bowl for 1.5 hours.
6. Pinch off dough into the size of an egg, roll between hands until 5 or 6 inches long.
7. Dip in melted butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture.
8. Tie in a loose knot. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Let raise until doubled.
9. Let bake 16 minutes at 350.

Spudnuts

Yield: 50 donuts

1. Proof 2 packages yeast with 1/2 cup warm water and 1 tsp. sugar. 

2. Scald 2 cups milk. 

3. Add milk to 1 cup mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup shortening, 1.5 tsp salt and 1/2 cup sugar. 

4. Add proofed yeast to above mixture. 

5. Add 2 previously beaten eggs and 1 tsp nutmeg to mixture. 

6. Add flour to mixture until nice dough consistency, approximately 7 cups. 

7. Place dough in bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray, cover with towel, raise until doubled in size-1 hour. 

8. Punch down down, roll dough out, cut into donuts. 

9. Place cut donuts on a pan sprayed with cooking spray, let raise 30 minutes. 

10. While donuts are raising, mix glaze to dip donuts into-2.5 cups powdered sugar, 1.5 tbs melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla, hot water to thin to consistency. 

11. Heat oil to 400 degrees. 

12. Cook donuts

13. Dip in glaze, place on skewer over glaze bowl to let excess drip off. 

14. Place finished donuts on racks. 

Banana Bread

Banana Bread 

1 cup Sugar                                           1 tsp. Vanilla 

1/2 cup shortening/butter                       2 c. Flour 

3 medium bananas (over ripe)               1/2 tsp. Salt

3 Tbsp. Sour Cream                              1 tsp. Soda  

1 tsp. cinnamon                                     Nuts (optional) 

Cream Shortening, Sugar and add smashed bananas; Beat until creamy. Add sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, dry ingredients; Beat well. Bake at 325 for 1 hour.

White Sandwich Bread

Makes 2 loaves (can easily be divided in half to make 1)

2 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
6-6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened

Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl (preferably that of a stand mixer) and stir in the yeast and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes, unit foamy. (If the yeast doesn’t do anything, toss it out and buy fresh yeast.)

Add the rest of the water and about half of the flour. Stir until well blended. Add the rest of the flour, the salt and butter and stir with the dough hook (or by hand) until well combined and shaggy. Continue to knead (let the dough hook go for about 8 minutes, poking it down once in awhile) until it’s smooth and elastic. You could do this by hand, too. If you used the dough hook, turn the dough out onto the countertop and knead a few times to make sure it’s evenly smooth. Doesn’t it feel great?

Shape it into a ball and put it back into the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let it sit for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until it’s doubled in size.

Butter two 4″x8″ loaf pans. Punch the dough down (love that part!) and pat each piece into a rectangle that’s about 9″x12″ – or a bit bigger than a standard piece of paper.

Starting at a short end, fold it in thirds, like a letter. Place seam side down in the loaf pans, tucking the ends in. Cover with the tea towel again and leave them for an hour, until they puff right up out of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaves are honey brown. Immediately turn the loaves out of their pans and onto a rack to cool.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Yields 8-10 pitas

1 1/4 cups warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups bread (or all-purpose) flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer), sprinkle the yeast over the barely warm water and allow to sit about 5-10 minutes until activated (looks frothy). Mix in the olive oil, and salt. Gradually add bread flour and whole wheat flour, mixing until the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry and will not come together, add small amounts of water until it does. Conversely, if the dough is too sticky, add flour until it becomes workable; however, do not add too much flour or the bread will become dense.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 7-10 minutes, or until elastic. Alternatively, using the dough hook on a stand mixer, knead the dough on the slowest setting for 7-10 minutes, or until elastic. Cover dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough before turning out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough evenly into 8 to 10 pieces (depending on how large you would like the pitas) and roll into balls. Using a rolling pin, roll out the balls until they are 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick. If the dough resists rolling out, allow it to rest for 10 minutes and it will roll out easier. Cover the rounds with a kitchen towel and let rise for another 30 minutes or until puffy.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place a baking sheet in the oven and allow it to heat as well.

Toss as many pitas into the oven as you can fit onto the hot baking sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes. Once they are finished baking, wrap each pita in a damp paper towel or cloth to soften them. Press down on the pitas lightly to flatten.

Serve warm or store until later use.

Copy Cat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb. ground Italian Sausage
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 medium white onion
4 slices bacon
2 tsp minced garlic
6 C. chicken broth
2 C Heavy cream
5 potatoes
1/4 of a bunch of Kale

Directions:
Brown italian sausage together with red pepper flakes. Drain and set aside. In same pan, fry bacon, crumble once cooked. Then sautee onions and garlic in bacon grease until onions are soft. Bring chicken broth to a boil. Thinly slice potatoes, and add to boiling broth. Cook until soft through, 20-30 minutes. Add italian sausage, onions and garlic, and crumbled bacon to the soup. Add heavy cream and cook until just heated through. Chop Kale into bite sized pieces and add. Stir all together and serve!

Baked Ziti

1 Box Tortilini (or really any type of pasta, cooked and drained, we use penne a lot)
1/2 lb. spicy italian sausage (you can also use hamburger)
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 jar Classico Alfredo sauce

Cook and drain both noodles and meat. Add spaghetti sauce to meat and noodles and mix. Pour into a 9x13 pan, and pour the alfredo sauce over the top. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 until bubbly and warmed all the way through. You may want to cover it with foil towards the end so the top doesn't get too brown. When I make it for just Austin and me I don't always use a full box of pasta and just cook it in and 8X8, it reheats really well though!

Cafe Rio Salad Dressing

3 Garlic Cloves
3 tomatillos, peeled
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Dressing
1 C. Milk
1 C. Mayonnaise
1 C. Sour Cream
1/2 C. fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

Put all ingredient in blender and blend until smooth. We like it on salads and burritos. Tastes better if chilled in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu

4- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2- Tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2- Tsp. Paprika
4- Slices cooked ham
4 -Slices swiss cheese
1 -C. Bread crumbs (Italian style are really good)
1/2 C- Parmesan cheese
1/8- C. Mayo (I have used miracle whip and it works great)
1/4 -tsp. black pepper


Sauce:
1- TB Butter
1- TB Flour
1- C. Milk
1/4- tsp. Salt
1/2- C. Shredded Swiss cheese
2- TB Chicken broth

For Chicken:
Flatten chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness. Spread 1/2 tsp of mustard on one side. Sprinkle with paprika. Top with ham and swiss cheese. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and pepper. Brush chicken with mayo, and roll in crumb mixture. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Then top with sauce.

For Sauce:
Melt butter in saucepan. Then stir in flour. Once flour and butter is combined add milk, chicken broth and salt and bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once sauce is bubbly, add shredded cheese. (I usually just cut up a few slices of swiss and melt it in). If you sauce seems grainy or separated add a little more milk and flour at a time, and stir. That should smooth it back out.

Easy Chicken Parmesan

1.5 lbs Chicken breasts or tenderloins, thawed
1-2 sleeves saltine crackers, crushed
1- 1 1/2 C. Parmesan cheese
1-2 cubes butter, melted

Mix together crushed crackers, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Dip chicken in melted butter and then roll in  the  cracker mixture. Place in oven pre-heated to 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Obviously this recipe makes a lot of chicken but can easily be scaled down to just four or five pieces. I usually do tenderloins instead of breast, and just check them in between 35-38 minutes, watching to make sure they don't get too dark.

Super Easy Crock Pot Alfredo Sauce

1 cube butter
1 pint heavy cream
8 oz. cream cheese
1-2 Tbsp. Garlic powder
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Add ingredients to crock pot and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. (I usually start it on high until the butter and cream cheese starts to soften and melt then turn it to low) Stir occasionally scraping sides each time. DON'T COVER WITH LID!! It will curdle. If it starts getting thicker than you like add more heavy cream. Serve over fettuccine or you favorite noodle. We like to switch it up with bow tie sometimes.

Whole Wheat Honey Bread

Whole Wheat Honey Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients: 

1.5 tablespoons yeast

2 cups water

1/3 cup honey

3-4 cups whole wheat flour

1.5 tsp salt

Mix 2 cups warm water with yeast, let proof for 10 minutes or until frothy. Add honey and salt. Mix flour in slowly until dough is slightly tacky. Knead with mixer for 4 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled (one hour). Punch down, divide into two pans and let rise until doubles. Bake and 350 for 30 minutes. 

Roasted Red Pepper Bisque

 Adapted from the following... http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Red-Bell-Pepper-Bisque-with-Shrimp-and-Romano-Cheese-103119

Roasted Red Pepper Bisque
Serves 4
Approximately 370 calories per serving

Ingredients: 

-5 large red bell peppers
-3.5 cups of chicken broth
-1 tsp paprika
-1 tsp sugar
-3/4 cup whipping cream
-1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
-olive oil
-16 large shrimp, can be precooked or uncooked, peeled and coarsely chopped into pieces
-basil

Instructions: 

Char red bell peppers in broiler until blackened on all sides, this step will take 10-15 minutes. Watch peppers closely in oven.  Enclose peppers in paper bag. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed peppers. Cut 1 pepper into matchstick-size strips and set aside. Coarsely chop remaining 4 peppers. Combine chopped peppers and stock in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until peppers are very tender, about 5 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return puree to saucepan. Mix in paprika and sugar. Simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors.  Whisk in cream and Romano cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

If shrimp are raw, heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat, and sauté shrimp and reserved bell pepper strips  until sharp are cooked, about 3 minutes. Or if using precooked shrimp, heat with a small amount of oil until shrimp and peppers are warmed. Divide mixture into four bowls. 

Ladle soup into bowls and top with a small amount of shredded Romano cheese and basil. 

Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Makes 8 buns
219 calories per bun

These buns are awesome! They have a great flavor and are a new favorite. They freeze great as well. 

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon active-dry yeast

1/2 cup  warm water1/2 cup milk 1 large egg2 tablespoons olive oil2 tablespoons sugar1 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups  all-purpose flour 
1.5 cups whole wheat flour

In the bowl of your Kitchen Aid,  stir the yeast into the warm water and let it sit until dissolved about 10 minutes. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, oil, sugar, and salt. Add this to the yeast mixture and mix until combined. Add all the flour and stir until it forms sticky dough. Knead on the mixers low speed for 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and feel slightly tacky. 

Place dough in a greased bowl, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about one hour. If I am short on time I will sometimes turn the oven on to as low as it will go, let it heat up for 5-10 minutes, turn it off, and then place the bowl with the dough in the oven to rise. This will take about 30 minutes off of the time to rise. Be careful though, because if the oven is too hot it will kill the yeast. 

Next, divide the dough into 8 pieces, shaping into balls. Transfer the balls to a baking sheet and let rise until they look hamburger sized, about 30 to 40 minutes. 

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the buns 15-18 minutes.

Let the buns cool to room temperature before slicing and using. They are best if eaten within the next day or two.

To freeze the buns, wrap each individually in plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil, placing in a ziplock bag. To unthaw the buns, remove from freezer for one hour then reheat in a 350 oven for 5 minutes.

Chocolate Cream Pie

1/2 cup Sugar
3 tb Coco
2 tb Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg

Mix together in Blender until smooth then melt 1/4 tsp of butter in saucepan and add mixture. Whisking constantly until thick and pour into pre cooked pie crust. Chill

Coconut Cream or Banana Cream Pie

2/3 cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt 

2 1/2 tb Cornstarch

1 tb Flour

3 cups of milk

3 egg yolks

Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth. then melt 1 tsp butter in a saucepan and add the mixture. Whisk constantly until thickened then remove from heat and add 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp coconut or Banana extract. Pour into precooked pie shell and chill.