Pumpkin Cookies

In keeping with the spirit of all things pumpkin, here is another fabulous cookie recipe that I got from my cousin, Kylie. These cookies are really soft and literally melt in your mouth. Happy Halloween!!
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
*Mix together, then add:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
*Mix well, then add:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional but recommended)
*Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 9 minutes. (My oven took about 12). Let them cool and then frost with:
3 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
*Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then add:
1/4 cup milk
*Beat until smooth, then add:
2 cups powdered sugar

Pumpkin Pie Dessert Squares

I love pumpkins. I love carving and decorating with them. I love pumpkin cookies, cakes, rolls, cheese cake, ice cream, shakes, soups...shall I keep going? But mostly I LOVE pumpkin pie. By far, in my opinion, the best pie at Thanksgiving. Anyway, this dessert is for all you pumpkin lovers.

Crust
1 pkg. yellow cake mix - minus 1 cup
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 egg

Filling
1 lb. can pumpkin (it has to be Libby's-it's the best)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
2/3 c milk

Topping
1 c cake mix
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c butter

Grease 9 X 13 in. cake pan. After taking out 1 cup cake mix for topping combine remaining cake mix, butter and egg. Press in bottom of pan. Prepare filling, mix until smooth, pour over crust. For topping combine ingredients and sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 , for 45-50 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cut in squares and top with whipped cream. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Chicken

I got this recipe from my cousin, Debbie, a few years ago. It puts a new twist on spaghetti and it's really good.10-15 frozen chicken tenders

1/2 onion, chopped

1 envelope spaghetti sauce seasoning (I like Lawry's)

*Put in crockpot on high for 3 hours

*Melt in saucepan:

1/4 cup butter

2 cans cream of chicken

8 oz. cream cheese

*Add to crockpot and cook for a few more hours. (I turned mine to low). Serve over Angel Hair pasta or spaghetti noodles.

Fabulous Pumpkin Cookies

Holly got this recipe from her beautiful friend, Brittney, and we have fallen in love with these cookies. These are a must have in the Fall.
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup butter, soft
*mix then add:
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups pumpkin
*mix then add:
2 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cloves
5 cups flour
1 bag chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool before frosting with...

1 cube butter, soft
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt

Red Velvet cupcakes

Food Networks Red Velvet Cupcakes courtesy Paula Dean

**Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

**Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter , softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

**Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.
Cook's Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.

Green Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe off the Rachel Ray show. It was very flavorful and light. It was my first time cooking with tomatillos and it went pretty well. I'm not scared of them anymore!

2 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 frozen, white corn
3 or 4 chicken breasts, diced
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. cumin
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
10 to 12 tomatillos, washed, cut in half and pureed in blender
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
zest and juice of 1 lime
cheese
tortilla strips or chips

Put all of the ingredients except cheese and tortilla strips into crockpot. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Serve with tortilla strips or chips and cheese. Top with a dollup of sour cream.

Do you believe in Magic Bars?

1 cube butter, melted

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 bag milk chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups coconut

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

*Combine butter and crumbs and mix well. Press into the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Pour milk evenly over crumbs. (I don't use the whole can). Spread last three ingredients over milk and press down lightly. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool before cutting.

*Can also use a combo of semi-sweet and butterscotch chips.

Pumpkin Muffins

My sister in law Missy told me about these... easiest muffins you'll ever make! And they are acutally quite tasty for how little effort is put into them.

Ingredients:

-1 Spice cake mix

(just the mix, DON'T add the egg, oil, etc.)

-15 oz. can of pumpkin

-chocolate chips (optional)

Mix and put in muffin tins, or bread tins, or whatever shape you want!

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. More for the small bread pans.

Pear-Raspberry Jam

My mom and cousin, Debbie Stapley, used to make this jam every Fall. It is, hands down, my favorite homemade jam! I could eat it by the spoonfuls. And sometimes I do! Last year, my cousin Katie and I decided to carry on the jam-making tradition started by our cute mothers. We haven't quite mastered the art of jam making, but we get better each year and have fun doing it!

3 1/2 cups pureed pears (puree in blender)
1 cup pureed raspberries
1 1/3 packages sure-jell

Heat all of the above ingredients over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Then, add 5 1/2 cups sugar and, again, bring to a boil. Cook and stir for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir constantly for 5 minutes while cooling. Pour into HOT, clean jars. (We put the jars in the dishwasher and did a hot steam on them). Boil lids and rings in large pot of water. Place lids and rings on jars right out of boiling water. Screw on lids but do not tighten all of the way. Let sit until jars seal. If they do not seal, flip upside down for 5 minutes then turn right side up to finish cooling and sealing. YUM! These make for great Christmas presents. Your neighbors will love you!

Funeral Potatoes

1 bag frozen hashbrowns

2 cans cream of chicken

1 cup sour cream

chopped green onion, optional

2 cups shredded cheese

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 cups Cornflakes

*Mix hashbrowns, soup, sour cream and chopped onion in a bowl. Spread in a 9X13 pan. Cover with shredded cheese. In a separate bowl, mix Cornflakes and melted butter. Spread evenly over cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

MR Tanner's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Maury Tanner makes these cookies almost every Sunday. He is the master of this recipe and his taste perfect every time. They are chewy on the inside with a little crunch on the outside. There are a few details to the recipe that MUST be followed in order to get the perfect cookie. These might be my new favorite cookies!

4 sticks unsalted butter at room temp.
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
5 cups oatmeal
4 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars. Then, add room temp. eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, soda, powder, salt and oatmeal. Add cups of flour one cup at a time. Last, mix in chocolate chips. Bake at 400 for 11 min. Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 6 more minutes. Then place cookies on cookie rack to cool. Yum! I'm eating one as I type this!

*I halved the recipe and baked mine at 375 and still got a great result.

Caprese Sandwiches

I got this recipe off a really cute recipe blog called "Hold the Onions." The blog was created by the Bradshaw girls and their mom. They have some really good recipes and fun menu ideas. The address is www.pleaseholdtheonions.blogspot.com
1 loaf ciabatta bread

1 small jar basil pesto

2 large tomatoes

1 pkg. mozzarella slices

*Cut loaf of bread in 3 inch sections and then cut those in half. Place on cookie sheet, face up. Spread pesto on each slice of bread. Place 2 slices of tomato and some mozzarella on top. Broil in oven until cheese is melted and gets a little golden.

*The original recipe says to make these into sandwiches, with bread on top, and then grill them in a pan with a little olive oil, like a grilled cheese. You can place a heavy pan on the sandwich while grilling to make it flatter.

*I bought all the ingredients at Fresh and Easy...a.k.a. my new favorite place.

Man-Catcher Brownies

I found this recipe in the newspaper. Some lady, in search of the perfect brownie recipe, found this one and decided it was the best. You be the judge.
3 cubes unsalted butter

2 cups cocoa powder

6 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups brown sugar

2 Tbs. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

*Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Mix together the eggs, sugars, vanilla and cocoa mixture. Add flour and salt and stir until combined. Don't overmix. Spread batter evenly onto a greased jelly roll pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350, or until a toothpick, inserted into center, comes out clean.

*You can also cook these in a 9X13 pan. It takes about an hour and they are super thick. And if you want to add even more chocolate, throw in some chocolate chips...it never hurts.

Baked Chicken and Rice

4 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup rice
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup cheese

Butter 9x13 pan. Mix rice, water, soup, and seasonings. Pour into pan. Place chicken breasts on top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 45 min. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 3 more min.

SNICKERDOODLES

This is the time of year I want to start baking more. It's fall now and the days are cool, the nights are chilly.... oh wait, we live in Arizona!! Seriously, I do like to cook better when the weather is cooler. These are everyone in our family's favorites. I usually double the recipe because they don't stick around long.

SNICKERDOODLES

1 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
1 t. soda
1/4 t. salt

Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. In separate bowl add dry ingredients together, then mix well into sugar/shortening mixture. Form into balls (about the size of a large walnut) and roll in a mixture of 1 T. sugar and 2 t. cinnamon. I flatten them just a little. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 11 minutes. Do not overbake.

NOTE: These cookies stay a little softer than most Snickerdoodles, but be sure not to overbake. When doubling the recipe, I add an extra egg if the dough seems too stiff.

Cinnamon Rolls

I got this recipe from my friend, Tennille, and I promise you...you will not find a better recipe for cinnamon rolls.

1 can evaporated milk

4 cups hot tap water

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup potato flakes

3 Tbs. yeast

2 Tb. salt

12-13 cups flour

*Mix all ingredients until it pulls away from sides. Then mix for 6 minutes. The let it rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough in half or into thirds, depending on how big of cinnamon rolls you want. Roll out dough onto floured surface. Cover with melted butter. Sprinkle with a cinnamon/sugar mixture. Then sprinkle with brown sugar. Roll up tight and cut with string or floss. Put them on pan and let rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, depending on how big they are. Frost with buttercream frosting.

Buttercream frosting

2 cubes butter, softened at room temp.

2 boxes powdered sugar

dash of salt

2 tsp. vanilla

enough milk to make it spreadable

Teriyaki Beef Bowl

I got this yummy recipe from my friend Susie (I get all my good recipes from her, well and this blog of course:). It is super easy and oh so good!

About 2 cups chopped carrots
About 2 cups chopped broccoli
Steak cut into strips
8 oz Pasta (the recipe says linguini but I used the cute curly macaroni cause it's cute:)
¼ c Italian dressing
¼ c Teriyaki sauce
1 t ginger
Cook pasta, when there is about 7 min left add fresh vegetables. Drain when done. While pasta is cooking, heat 2 t oil in skillet, add steak and brown. Stir in Italian dressing, teriyaki sauce and1 ginger. Cook until sauce thickens then toss everything together.