Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!

It's FALL and I love, love, love cooking anything with pumpkins! Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, roasting pumpkin seeds.... I love it all!

:-)

Stuffed (Poblano) Peppers

Recipe from Real Simple

You'll Need...

3/4 cup long-grain white rice

4 poblano chili peppers (or green bell peppers, if you prefer not as spicy of a dish)

1.5 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)

15-oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

4oz. crumbled goat cheese

To Do...

1. Cook rice according to directions.

2. Adjust oven rack to highest position and heat broiler.

3. Cut peppers in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard seeds. Place skin-side up on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil until skin is blackened, 2-3 minutes. Let cool.

4. In a large bowl, combine the corn, beans, cooked rice, oil, 1 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.

5. Using a paring knife, peel the peppers and discard the skins.

6. Spoon the rice mixture into the pepper halves and sprinkle with the cheese.

Pizza Bites

We made these pizza bites to go along with linguine & meat sauce. Yum! They are very fun and easy to make as an appetizer or for a potluck.

Ingredients

makes 48 bites

2 (13.8 oz) cans Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 48 cubes

48 slices (3oz) of pepperoni (well, we used 2 slices in each bite instead of just 1)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

1 jar of pizza sauce, heated

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray.

3) Remove dough from both cans. Unroll dough, pressing out rectangle (one on each cookie sheet). Cut each rectangle into 24 squares.

4) Top each square with 1 cheese cube and 1-2 pepperoni.

5) Wrap dough around filling to completely cover, firmly press edges to seal. Place seam side down.

6) In a small bowl, mix oil, seasoning, and parmesan cheese. Drizzle over pizza bites.

7) Bake until golden brown. The recipe said 16-22 minutes... ours took only 10 minutes. Serve with pizza sauce. 

Chili

Fall weather can only mean one thing:

It's time to make CHILI!

My chili recipe is one that I have pieced together and changed around a variety of times. But now that Chris has had his hand in making it - having one of the strongest stomachs for spicy foods that I know - he says he loves it, so I can officially say this is THE recipe we'll be sticking with! This recipe makes a BIG batch but chili is great to freeze for later and save for lunches.

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground beef

1.5 cups chopped onion

olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup "Just My Taste" jalepeno marinade/ sauce (or you could use chiles.. something spicy!)

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)

15 oz chili beans - we used 1 small can of kidney beans and 1 small can of black beans (drained & rinsed)

1.5 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

tabasco sauce, to taste

Directions

Over medium heat, brown ground beef and onion with olive oil.

Add garlic and pepper and continue to cook for about 2 minutes.

Add jalepenos, tomatoes, beans, and spices.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Simmer covered for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Top with cheddar cheese :)

Sloppy Joes & Oven Fries

Sloppy Joes

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

3/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon steak sauce

1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon pepper

hamburger buns

In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper. Drain off the liquids. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Oven Fries

Cut 2-3 potatoes into slices. Put into large bowl. Toss with approx. 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons Old Bay, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well. Spread evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once.

Pumpkin Muffins

Words can not explain how much I loooove these muffins!!! Thank you, FoodNetwork.com (+some Dad alterations)!

Ingredients

Cooking spray

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk (add another 1/4 cup if needed, can use plain yogurt instead)

1/4 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, and eggs. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined - don't stir too much!

Mix in the pumpkin seeds.

Pour the batter into the muffin pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

(I obviously need one of these: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/muffin-pan-sponge)

Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

Recipe from Cooking Light

At the end of the summer, I decided I wanted to make a bunch of breakfast foods that I could freeze and take out a little bit at a time to make the mornings quicker. So, when Chris went off to the beach for a "boy's weekend" I headed to my parents' and did some baking with my dad :) Here is a delicious banana bread recipe we tried out! This should last me a few weeks through the school year (as I think I've mentioned, Chris is not much of a breakfast food fan) as the recipe says 1 loaf = 16 slices.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)

2 eggs

1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

cooking spray

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine dry ingredients into one bowl: flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. 

3. Combine wet ingredients into a second bowl: butter, banana, eggs, and yogurt. Beat with a mixer at a medium speed until blended. 

4. Add flour mixture to the banana mixture. Beat at a low speed just until moist.

5. Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave about 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup of the banana batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined.

6. Coat loaf pan with cooking spray. Spoon plain banana batter alternately with chocolate batter into pan. 

7. Swirl batters together using a knife.

8. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove and cool completely on wire rack.

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I decided that I wanted to make a special treat for my students for their first day of school this year, and since I luckily have no food allergies (at least not yet.. you never know with our high mobility rate) I decided what better than homemade chocolate chip cookies?! I used the recipe that I have used with my mom for years and years. Then I put two in a baggie with a monkey card (that's our classroom theme this year) for each kiddo :)

Ingredients

2/3 cup shortening

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs

3 teaspoons vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

12 ounces chocolate chips

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix thoroughly shortening, butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.

Blend in remaining ingredients.

Drop dough in teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown.

Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan is one of my favorite meals that my mom would make growing up. I even remember requesting it for a birthday dinner or two! It is so yummy - I can't believe it took me 8 months before thinking to make it with Chris.. I think I just get so excited to try new recipes when I buy magazines and cookbooks that I forget about old favorites that I/we have already made.

You'll Need:

-about 20 oz. frozen broccoli, cooked according to the package

-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small chunks

-2 cans low fat cream of chicken soup

-1 cup low fat mayonnaise

-1 teaspoon lemon juice

-1/2 cup+ (you know me and cheese.. hehe) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

-1/2 tsp curry powder

-1 tablespoon melted butter

-2 cups soft bread crumbs (I make by cutting up about 4 pieces of bread)

-approx. 6-8 servings of rice, cooked

1. Layer cooked broccoli in greased pan. Place chicken on top. 

2. Combine soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry powder. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle cheese on top. Mix bread crumbs and melted butter together. Top the dish with the bread crumbs.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the rice. Serve the chicken divan over the rice! :)

Blueberry Pancakes

Unfortunately, Chris is not a big fan of breakfast or pancakes.. but I definitely am! So during some of my free time during my last week of summer vacation (sniff, sniff) I decided to make blueberry pancakes for the first time from scratch.

This is a small batch, since I was just cooking for me, and didn't want a ton of leftovers.

1 cup flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup blueberries

1/ Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2/ Beat in the egg and milk until smooth.

3/ Add blueberries.

4/ Heat oil on skillet, then lower heat to medium-high.

5/ Cook pancakes! And, if you're a bored first grade teacher.... make them into a bear face :)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Chris and I have made this dip for multiple occasions now and everyone always loves it, so I figured I would go ahead and post it! It's nothing fancy - super easy. We most recently made it to eat before going to the Ravens vs. Redskins preseason game (and guess who won?? :))


10 oz can chunk chicken, drained
8 oz package light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup light ranch dressing
1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese




Mix all ingredients together and heat either in the oven or microwave!  It usually takes about 10-15 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees - whenever the edges start to bubble, it's ready!

Baked Ziti (No cans allowed!)

You could make ziti with a box of pasta and a can of pasta sauce.... or you could start off a grocery trip by saying "Chris, don't kill me when I tell you how many tomatoes we need.." 

We bought 8, to be exact. And they all got diced.

To make 4-ish servings, you're gonna need...

1/2 pound ziti

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella+ (ok, I love cheese)

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion (about 3/4 cup)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp pepper 

...and keep all those spices out, to add more as you'd like :)

2 bay leaves

1/8 cup red wine

6-8 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tbsp honey

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 pound lean ground beef

Follow these steps...

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cook pasta according to box.

3. Mix cheeses together in a bowl and set aside.

4. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent. Add garlic and brown slightly. Add spices listed above, bay leaves, and red wine.

5. Add chopped tomatoes and reduce heat to low. Simmer for one hour or until thickened.

6. While sauce is simmering, saute ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain. Add to sauce with honey and sea salt. Simmer and additional 15 minutes.

7. Layer cooked pasta, sauce, and cheese in a baking dish. Bake until the cheese melts and sauce is bubbling.

Mojito Marinated Fajitas

Oops - forgot to take a picture of the "finished product" for this one!


Marinade Ingredients
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup rum
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar


"Filling" Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1/2 sliced red bell pepper
1/2 sliced yellow bell pepper
1/2 sliced onion
1 diced jalepeno
4 whole wheat flour tortillas
Other toppings as desired (ie: salsa, sour cream..)

1. Combine the lime juice, rum, mint, olive oil, salt, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.


2. Place marinade and chicken in a sealed container or ziplock to marinate.


Note: The recipe only says you need to marinate the chicken for an hour, but I prepared the chicken the night before so dinner wouldn't be ready super late, so mine marinated for a whole day in the fridge and it was great that way! :)


3. Preheat the oven to either bake or broil the chicken (we chose to bake at 350, since it had been marinating for so long, the chicken came out very tender).


4. While the chicken is cooking, saute the bell peppers, onion, and jalepeno over medium heat until just tender.

5. Cut the cooked chicken into strips and then build your fajitas! :)

Apple - Cranberry Salad

This recipe from my Canyon Ranch cookbook actually includes salmon and a homemade Mongolian BBQ sauce, but I simplified it to make it a side-salad, rather than a full meal.

Ingredients

1/8 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp honey

pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

arugula

1 Gala apple

1/2 Granny Smith apple

1/4 cup cranberries

Directions

Combine the lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Toss the arugula with the lemon juice mixture.

Core and thinly slice the apples.

Add the apples and cranberries to the arugula.

Honey Balsamic-Glazed Chicken

A new recipe from my new favorite cookbook, Nourish: Indulgently Healthy Cuisine. It is one of the Canyon Ranch cookbooks and everything we have tried from it so far has been wonderful! Now if only I could spend a week or so AT Canyon Ranch.... :)

Honey Balsamic-Glazed Chicken

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup chicken stock

2-3 boneless chicken breasts

Sea salt, black pepper, and chili powder to taste

About a cup of all purpose flour

Nonstick spray

1. Mix together the vinegar, honey, and chicken stock. Set aside.

2. Pound or roll each chicken breast until 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt, pepper, and chili powder.

3. Cover each chicken breast in flour either on a plate or in a ziplock baggie.

4. Spray a saute pan with nonstick spray. Sear the chicken on each side over medium heat for just a few minutes.

5. Deglaze the pan with the honey glaze and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook the chicken for about 5 more minutes, flipping once more, until cooked all the way through.

Homemade pizza (the crust, too!)

Another exciting August project: homemade pizza! Pizza crust from scratch and all! We were very excited to share this meal with Chris's sister in law, Melissa (and the hungry baby boy in her tummy :)) at the last minute!


I got the pizza dough going after work one Friday afternoon (and made a MESS of my kitchen, I will admit) but it was a fun project! Very similar to my past bread-making endeavors, just bigger... and... messier... oh well! Maybe that's a good sign??


Anyways, after I got the dough formed, I gathered up the rest of the ingredients/ toppings and headed over to Chris's house so that we could design and bake the pies together.


We decided on, a little frantically,  two pizzas semi- divided in half. Due to Melissa's arrival, we weren't sure what she would be in the mood for or wouldn't be able to eat since she's preggo :) So we ended up with:
Pizza 1 - Half mozz & tomato, half pepperoni & jalepeno
Pizza 2 - Buffalo chicken pizza (half with chicken, half without)


So.... here's how I did the dough:


2 tsp pizza yeast (which apparently requires no rise-time, helpful when you're in a rush!)

2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
3/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 cups flour
oregano, basil, etc.


Mix yeast, sugar, salt, and water about 1 minute until blended.
Add oil, stir.
Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a ball is formed that is slightly sticky but stays formed. Continue to add flour as necessary. Add in Italian seasonings as desired.
Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Form back into a ball and place in an oiled bowl until ready to make pizza.


I baked both pizzas at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. The buffalo chicken pizza took a couple minutes longer.


We made fresh tomato sauce for pizza #1 and used a variety of Italian spices and topped with slices of tomato, pepperoni, jalepeno, mozzarella cheese, and grated romano cheese. To make the sauce for the buffalo chicken pizza (rather than using tomato sauce), we mixed bleu cheese dressing with Frank's Red Hot hot sauce, then topped with mozzarella cheese and shredded chicken.