Pumpkins Muffins

Source: Libby's

Time: 20 minutes prep - 20-30 minutes cooking

Yield: 30 muffins

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

2.5 cups white sugar

2 t baking soda

1.5 t salt

1 T plus 2 t pumpkin pie spice*

1 can (15 oz) Libby's Pure Pumpkin

4 Large eggs

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup applesauce (or vegetable oil)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Paper-line or grease 30 muffin cups.

COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store muffins in covered container or resealable plastic bags.

*I didn't have pumpkin pie spice, so I made my own using this recipe:

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
big pinch of cardamom (or you can substitute mace)
Blend all spices together, working out any lumps that might occur.

Verdict:

These were super yummy! Just enough pumpkin flavor and the homemade pumpkin pie spice was perfect. 

The recipe makes 30 regular muffins, or 24 regular muffins and 12 mini muffins. 

Nutrition (per regular muffin & using applesauce): Cals - 122; Carbs - 27g; Fat - 1g; Prot - 2g; Fiber - 1g

Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: <15 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients: 

4 peppers - green, red or yellow
1 lb ground meat - turkey or beef (this time i used turkey)
1-2 cups cooked rice - i used leftover rice
14.5oz can diced tomatoes with basil & oregano
shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat overn to 375. Cut the tops off peppers and remove the seeds. Place in dish, cover with saran wrap and microwave for about 3-4 minutes until crisp, tender.

2. Meanwhile, brown meat. Add rice and tomatoes. Season with italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir until warm throughout.

3. Spoon meat mixture into peppers about half way full. Srpinkle in some cheese. Fill the rest of the way up and top with more cheese. I say, the more cheese you can fit in those suckers the better!

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Verdict: 
This was pretty good. I feel like it was missing something, but i'm not sure what. I'm going to scour some other stuffed pepper recipes online and see what I can add to give it a little more flavor. Maybe pasta sauce? Any ideas?

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Source: Six Sister's Stuff

Time: 1.5 hours

This is my first dessert to make it on the website! I don't bake much so I don't make a lot of desserts. But since this one took me so long to make I thought I'd add it on the blog. Although I'm not sure if I'll actually make it again. Not because it wasn't good, but because it wasn't chocolate!

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup Smart Balance Buttery Spread Original Flavor, softened (could be substituted with butter or margarine) 

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8 ounce) packages fat free cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup, divided

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup Smart Balance Buttery Spread Original Flavor, softened (could be substituted with butter or margarine)

Caramel Topping:

1 cup Kraft caramels

1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, combine flour and brown sugar.  Mix in Smart BalanceButtery Spread with a fork until mixture forms crumbs.  Press crumb mixture into a 9x13 pan, lined with foil and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese  and 1 cup sugar until smooth.  Stir in eggs and vanilla.  Pour cream cheese mixture over warm crust.

In a separate bowl, mix together chopped apples, 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Spread mixture over your cream cheese layer.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats and Smart Balance Buttery Spread.  Mix until crumbs form and sprinkle over apples.  Bake for 50-55 minutes or until filling is set.  Melt caramels and heavy cream in a microwavable bowl in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until smooth.  Drizzle melted caramel over your cheesecake and let cool.

Verdict: 

Other people enjoyed this dessert. I thought it was just ok. But i'm not a great judge of desserts that are not chocolate. To me, any dessert worth the calories has chocolate in it and this does not. I was looking to make a more "fall" dessert and this fit the bill. But it would have been so much better if it were chocolate! 

Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

Source: all over the internet - google it!

Prep Time: about 5 minutes
Cook Time: 6-8 hours, mine cooked for low 9 hours then switched to warm for another hour or 2

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, undrained
1 can Rotel
1 ranch dressing mix packet
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8 oz package cream cheese
2 chicken breasts or 5 chicken tenders, frozen

Place chicken in crock pot, top with corn, rotel, and black beans. Top with seasonings and ranch mix. Place cream cheese on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir cream cheese into chili and use 2 forks to shred chicken. Stir together and let cook for 30 more minutes. 

Verdict: This is really good. Much like the Santa Fe Chicken recipe with cream cheese added. Adding cheese always makes things better! This will definitely be a staple to our crock pot selections!

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

Source: Everyday Food Magazine

Servings: 4
Total Time: 25 minutes
Nutrition per serving (not including rice): 295 cal; 17g fat (3g sat); 25g protein; 12g carb; 3g fiber

Ingredients: 
2 T soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
2 T oyster sauce
1 T cornstarch
1 t toasted sesame oil
2 T vegetable oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch strips
3 T minced fresh ginger (I used the bottled ginger to save time)
2 cloves garlic, minced (again, i use the bottled kind)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets
cooked white or brown rice, for serving

Directions:
1. In a wok, heat vegetable oil over high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned, 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, cornstarch and sesame oil.

3. Once chicken is browned, add ginger, garlic, scallions and broccoli to wok and cook until broccoli is bright green, 3 minutes.

4. Add 1/4 cup water, scarping up brown bits.

5. Stir in soy sauce mixture and cook until thickened, about 1 minutes.

Verdict:
This was super yummy and super easy. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it's all stuff that I typically have on hand. The sauce was really good. I was a little scared at all the ginger, especially using the bottled kind, but it was a really good flavor. I'll definitely be making this again. Both kids ate it up.

Beef Satay with Peanut-Ginger Ramen

Source: Everyday Food Magazine

Servings: 4 - 2 adults and 2 kids, not 4 adults though
Total Time: 25 minutes including marinating
nutrition per serving (not including cucumber): 443 cal; 18g fat (5g sat); 33g protein; 39g carb; 5g fiber

Ingredients:
3 T soy sauce, divided
2 T lime juice, divided
1.75 t sugar, divided
2 t grated fresh ginger, divided
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
2 packages (3 oz each) Ramen noodles, cooked according to package & seasoning discarded
thinly sliced cucumber, for serving

Directions: 
1. Soak 12 wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes. In shallow dish combine 1 T soy sauce, 1 T lime juice, 1 t ginger and 1 t sugar. Add beef, toss, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a blender, puree 1 T lime juice, 3/4 t sugar, 1 t ginger, 2 T Soy sauce with peanut butter and 1/3 cup water.

3. Heat grill or grill pan to med-high. Grill beef until charred and cooked through 3-4 minutes per side.

4. Toss Ramen with peanut-ginger sauce.

5. Serve with beef and cucumber.

Verdict:
I thought this was ok. Dave and the kids really liked it. I may have liked it more if one, I hadn't overcooked the meat and two, it was warm when I ate it. These days by the time I sit down with my plate after getting everyone elses, my food is cold. One day I'll get hot food again. It was really easy and the noodles were really good, but pretty peanut-y. I'll probably make it again.

Beef Macaroni

Source: simplyrecipes.com

Servings: 4-6
Total Time: 20 minutes
Nutrition per serving (based on 4 servings): 442 cal; 6 g fat; 61g carb; 35g protein; 5g fiber

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 t seasoned salt (I used lawry's)
Dash crushed red pepper
1/2 t celery seed
1-28oz can diced tomatoes (I used 2-14.5 oz can tomatoes with green peppers)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 cups uncooked macaroni

Directions:
1. Cook macaroni according to package.

2. In a skillet, brown beef in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once browned, add onion and cook until soft.

3. Add crushed red pepper, seasoned salt, celery seed, Worcestershire and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add cooked, drained macaroni and parsley. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Verdict: 
This was better than I thought it would be. I knew the kids would love it, and they did. But i'm surprised at how much I liked it. And looking back at the picture, I realize I forgot the parsley, and it was still really good. My parents first made this for the kids when Dave and I were in Mexico and they told me how much they liked it. I'm just now getting around to making it and am now wondering why I waited so long. It's a great alternative to regular spaghetti and will definitely have a place in our future menus!