Cinnamon and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

About this picture...I forgot to take pictures of the 5 dozen cookies I had made.  There were 2 cookies left one morning when I was about to leave for work.  I grabbed the biggest and most attractive looking one of the two.  I was eating it in the car (that's right, a cookie for breakfast) when I realized there was only 1 cookie left and I hadn't taken any pictures (immediately regretting leaving the small, lame one for John, not good for a picture).  Anyway, I called John and said "please do not eat that cookie!  I need to take a picture of it."  That is why I put this tiny cookie beside a pumpkin.  Don't let the appearance of the photo sway you though!  These cookies are truly delicious!

I went grocery shopping last week and now my shelves are semi re-stocked with canned pumpkin.  I bought 5 cans but as I was driving home I began to worry that I didn't get enough!  I mean you never know.  There are just so many pumpkin things I want to make.  And I don't want the stores to run out!  Which was a problem last Thanksgiving...

Speaking of stores not having things...I could not find cinnamon chips!  I went to Giant Eagle (this areas huge grocery store) and thought I was just blind when I couldn't find them anywhere.  I was on my way to Target to see if they had them when I randomly saw a 'Shop & Save' so I quickly stopped.  And wouldn't you know, they had cinnamon chips!  And every other chip under the sun!

These cookies were delicious: cakey, with pumpkin, chocolate, and cinnamon goodness in every bite!  They were a hit with our Bible Study and at John's work (the first time I ever made cookies for John to bring to work...I felt like such a wife)

I got the recipe from keepitsweetblog.com.  I love this blog because it is filled with delicious baked goods!

Cinnamon and Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
From Keep it Sweet 


1 c butter
1 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 c canned pumpkin
3 1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
2 c semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together dry ingredients.

With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin.

Stir in dry ingredients until combined, then add chocolate chips and cinnamon chips.

Drop teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Mexican Chicken Chilli in Slow Cooker

So Halloween weekend!  I've never been 'gung ho' Halloween.  I mean I love candy and parties...But dressing up is just a pain for the most part and it stresses me out!  We are going to a Halloween party tomorrow and I do have my "costume", except for my wig  If it's not in the mail tomorrow, I don't know what I'm going to do.  Also, my costume is kinda silly and people (except for the people at this party) won't even know who I am until they see me with John, and even then, it's very much a 2011 costume.  I'm doing it for John though based on his "favorite" song (Don't ever say I'm not a good wife :P).  Maybe I'll post a picture later if it all works out.  Are you dressing up for Halloween this year?  If so, what are you being?

I totally failed in posting this on Wednesday like I had planned. Oh well, regardless of when I posted it, it is still delicious!  This is modified from a Weight Watchers recipe that I found on Photo a Day, so that goes to show that it is low in calories too!  But still so hearty and fulfilling!

Mexican Chicken Chili in Slow Cooker

-1/2 c onion
-1 16 oz. can black beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 16 oz. can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
-1 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce
-1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
-3/4 c chicken or vegetable broth
-2 c frozen corn
-2 chicken breasts
-1 packet taco seasoning (If you have an ethnic aisle in your grocery store, there are so many options)
-1 tbsp cumin
-1 tbsp chili powder
-a dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook for about 5 hours on High, or 8 hours on low.  Shred chicken, then cook for an additional 15 minutes or so.

The Perfect Fall Food for a Lazy Fall Night

Hi Friends!  I had mentioned in my previous post that I was going to make butternut squash soup, pumpkin bread, and apple cider floats for a chilly fall night and I did just that.  It was all so delicious and comforting.  The kind of food you want to eat when you're wearing your Pajamas, and ready to just relax for the night and not have to worry about all of the things you should be doing. 

The recipes for these three things are each in separate posts below.  Enjoy!

Butternut Squash soup

This is my all time favorite comfort food.  I could eat it everyday.  I love that it is sweet, yet also spicy and so creamy (without adding cream).

Butternut Squash Soup

1 Butternut Squash peeled and chopped (about 4 cups)
3 peeled and chopped whole carrots (about 1 cup)
1 medium white or sweet potato peeled and chopped
1 small chopped onion (about 1 cup)
3 tbsp Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
2 c vegetable broth (or more, use your best judgement)
1/2 to 1 cup skim milk

Preheat oven to 425.

Toss squash, carrots, potato, and onion in a baking pan with olive oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper (use as much spices as you think are needed.  I use about equal parts salt, pepper, and cinnamon, but less nutmeg.)

Bake for 45 min-1 hour

When squash is soft, transfer everything in baking pan to a soup pot, add vegetable broth and simmer for 1 minute.

Use an immersion blender (or regular blender if you don't have an immersion) and blend until smooth.

Add milk to desired thickness and stir.  Add more salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg to desired taste.

I serve this with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, but you can use sour cream as well!


Part 1 of 3 in The Perfect Fall Food for a Lazy Fall Night

Pumpkin Bread

I made this bread quite a bit last fall, so I thought I would try it again.  As I thought, I wasn't disappointed.  It's moist and flavorful!   This pumpkin bread is modified from a recipe I found on delish.com.

Pumpkin Bread

1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c honey
2 egg whites
1 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c canola oil
1/3 c non-fat plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c whole wheat Flour
1/4 c ground flaxseed
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the sugar and wet ingredients in one bowl.

Combine the dry ingredients in another.

Mix both of these together. 

Pour into a greased or sprayed metal loaf pan.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until toothpick (or small knife) inserted comes out clean.

Cool, slice, then eat.  You may not be able to stop. 


Part 2 of 3 in The Perfect Fall Food on a Lazy Fall Night

Apple Cider Float with Homemade Cinnamon Caramel Sauce)

I have a lot of favorite things, but hot apple cider is definitely on my top 10 list.  With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and homemade cinnamon caramel sauce on top of that, you just can't beat it.  It is the perfect end to a chilly fall night.

Apple Cider Float
Serves 2 (But can serve more if you have more cider and ice cream!)

2 c apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
vanilla ice cream
caramel sauce (or Homemade Cinnamon Caramel Sauce, see below)

Heat apple cider with cinnamon sticks and cinnamon on stove until hot, but not boiling.  

Pour into 2 mugs

Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and caramel sauce.

Mmmm....the ice cream melts a little and gets all frothy and creamy!  Yum 

Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 c hot water
1 tbsp butter1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, mix together sugar and flour.  Then stir in the hot water and cook until slightly thickened, making sure all of the flour has dissolved.

Add butter and cook an additional 10 or so minutes until thick and bubbly.  Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon and vanilla.

This can also be used as an ice cream topping, or as an apple dip.  I used my leftovers on some apple cinnamon baked oatmeal before I put it in the oven and that was delicious as well.


Part 3 of 3 inThe Perfect Fall Food for a Lazy Fall Night

Caramel Apple Crisp

I am so glad it's Friday!  Recently the weeks have seemed to last forever and when Friday rolls around it's just such a relief.  Plus I get to sleep in on Saturday which is a definite plus.  This weekend my friend Jen is coming to Pittsburgh so I'm really looking forward to that.  I'm not quite sure what we're doing yet, but I know we'll find something good.  I love it when people come to visit! I think tonight we're just going to relax with some butternut squash soup, pumpkin bread, and hot apple cider floats.  Perfect food for this cold fall day.

I have been enjoying taking full advantage of fall foods and flavors recently.  Johns parents came to visit last Sunday, we had a nice time relaxing and playing Phase 10.  For dessert I made Caramel Apple Crisp.  I'd never had apple crisp with caramel before so thought it would be a nice touch.  Not to much caramel though, but just enough!

Caramel Apple Crisp

-1 1/2 c oats
-1 c flour
-3/4 c brown sugar
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 c butter
-4-5 c apples
-1 (4.5 oz) bag soft caramels chopped (I used Werthers)
-3/4 c apple cider

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 8x8 pan.

Mix together oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until crumbly.

Slice apples.

Press 1/3 oat mixture into pan.  Add half the apples and half the caramels.  Follow with another layer of oat mixture, apples, caramels, then the remaining oat mixture. 

Pour 1/2 c apple cider on top.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Pour rest of cider on top, then cover with foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, or in a bowl with milk on top.  So good!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Oh my goodness!  I wasn't going to post tonight...seeing as I just posted this afternoon.  But we just had a DELICIOUS dinner.  I was unsure about it because I've never made Acorn squash, or eaten it as far as I know except for maybe a bite or two.  I think it's one of those things that my mom made occasionally and we all said "ewww" so she ate it herself.

But this was seriously good!  John even loved it.  He kept saying how good it was. And he scraped his acorn squash clean.  I Googled different things to do with an acorn squash and I found all sorts of recipes, I kinda mixed and matched from a lot of different recipes and came up with this.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Squash:

-1 Acorn Squash
-1 tbsp butter
-2 garlic cloves minced
-1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
-salt and pepper

Filling: 

-olive oil
-2 small links Turkey sausage, casings removed (or sausage of your choice, I used Hot and the flavors were really complimentary)
-3/4 c chopped onion
-1 c chopped carrots
-1 medium sized apple cut into chunks (I used Stayman because they are my favorite, but you can use any baking apple)
-2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
-4 tbsp cheddar cheese
-salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut acorn squash in half and get rid of the seeds and gunk on the inside.  Put in pan face up.

Melt butter, garlic, and sage and spread on both pieces of acorn squash. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 1 hour.

Melt olive oil, add onions and carrots.  When onions are soft, add sausage without casings and break up into pieces.  Cook until sausage is no longer pink.

Add chopped apple, sage, salt and pepper.

Fill already roasted acorn squash with the sausage, apple mixture, then sprinkle each with 2 tbsp cheddar cheese.

Put back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

The spiciness of the sausage, with the sweetness of the apple, and the sage on top of the acorn squash really was a winner.  I am definitely looking forward to trying a new recipe with acorn squash soon.

You can easily make this vegetarian by omitting the sausage and using quinoa instead, which would also be delicious.

This is John's scraped clean squash.  Definitely impressive for him!

Spicy Chicken Sauce in the Slow Cooker

I'm writing a post for crock pot Thursday...on Wednesday.  So you can make it on Thursday.  I started crock pot Thursday because I don't get home from work until about 6:30 and thought it would be nice if dinner was pretty much ready when I got home.  Also, our favorite TV shows are on that night so it gives me more time to relax and enjoy the good ol' TV.  The Big Bang Theory and The Office are the shows I am referring to by the way.  They just crack me up every time.  We have also been watching Whitney.  I'm still not sure what I think about it but it's funny enough.  I watched one of her stand up routines earlier this summer and thought it was pretty dang good, so thought why not watch the show?  I'm still eh about it though.

So as I was just reading the word "crock pot", I wondered if I should use the "slow cooker" instead?  It's kind of like the whole tissue/Kleenex thing.  I don't even know if my slow cooker is actually a crock pot or not.  So I will just say slow cooker from now on.

Anyway, I made this Spicy Chicken Sauce for dinner last Thursday.  I got the inspiration from the September 2011 issue of Rachael Ray.  However, that recipe wasn't in a slow cooker, and I made quite a bit of changes.  I also would typically serve this dish over quinoa, but this time I served it over whole wheat pasta with spinach because I knew John was hankering for pasta (he always is).  So do whatever you are hungry for...it was delicious with pasta, but it would be with quinoa, rice, plain, or wrapped in a tortilla as well!  This recipe served 2 of us with leftovers.  And we eat a little more than a normal serving size so it could potentially feed a family of four.

Spicy Chicken Sauce

-2 chicken breasts, chopped
-1 small onion sliced, about 1 cup
-1 jalapeno chile chopped (seeded and de-ribbed unless you want it super spicy)
-3 cloves garlic minced
-1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles (You can also use plain diced tomatoes if you prefer)
-1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
-Salt and Pepper
-Juice from 1 lemon (about 1 tbsp)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.

My slow cooker cooks pretty fast so this was done in about 5 1/2 hours on low.  However, all slow cookers cook differently.  Typically I would cook this on high for 5 hours and low for 8.  You probably know how your slow cooker works so do what you think would work best based on how your slow cooker cooks and your schedule.

Brocolli & Potato Frittata

I finally got apples and cider!  From Beccari's Farm Market.  I will definitely be going back!  They have the best Apple Cider ever!  They actually call it liquid apple because there is no added sugar (it doesn't need it), no water, and no preservatives.  We finished 1 gallon in less than a week...of course we did have more guests than usual so it wasn't just us drinking it. I plan on making some apple desserts within the next couple of days...so I will probably be posting them on here.  Fall is delicious!

I also bought myself a bag of Chex Mix when I was at the grocery store last Sunday...a moment of weakness.  I thought John and I would share it...but he wasn't as interested in it as me, or maybe I just didn't give him a chance to eat it...who knows.  The bag lasted about 5 days so that's not to bad is it?  So with my Chex Mix in one hand and my hot apple cider in the other, I was a happy girl.

But Chex Mix and Apple Cider weren't the only things I ate last week, of course.  I found this frittata in the November 2011 issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray and adapted it just a little.  It was pretty delicious.  I've never thought to add potatoes to eggs before but it turned out well.  This can work for dinner, breakfast, brunch, or lunch so it's pretty versatile.

Brocolli & Potato Frittata

-Olive oil or coconut oil (I've been using this a lot recently because I got a jar while in amish country)
-2 white potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces 
-4 cloves garlic minced
-1/2 small onion
-2 cups broccoli florets
-4 whole eggs and 4 egg whites
-1 half c skim milk
-4 oz. pepperjack cheese
-salt and pepper

Heat oil in a skillet (preferably a cast iron that has been well seasoned).

Add the potatoes and onions and cook, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking until potatoes are tender.  About 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add a little more oil to pan.  Add garlic and broccoli.  Season with salt and pepper and cook until broccoli is tender.

Return the potatoes to the pan and smooth the veggies into an even layer.

Put rack in oven on the very top and preheat broiler.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cheese, salt and pepper.  Pour over the potatoes and broccoli.  Cook until the eggs are set around the edges but still wet on top.  Then broil until just set and starting to brown a little on top-about 4 minutes.

Slice and serve.  Can be served with a variety of different side dishes depending on what meal it is for, or just alone.  It has most of the food groups in it already.

Pumpkin Peanut Soup

Yesterday John and I did the Step Trek in the South Side slopes of Pittsburgh.  It was a walk that explored a lot of the different stairs around the area.  It was fun because we were able to explore an area of Pittsburgh that we otherwise wouldn't have, we saw some pretty cool views of the city, and of course we got exercise (1,322 steps..not counting the thousands of steps we took just walking to the different stairs).  Needless to say my calves are pretty sore.  After that we went to my favorite place, The Milk Shake Factory.  They not only have 55 milkshake variations, you can also come up with your own flavor. AND they have sundaes, plain old ice cream cones with probably about 12 ice cream flavors, and homemade fancy chocolates.

After we got home we relaxed for about a half hour then went on a bike ride at the North Shore.  We were hoping to see some filming of 'One Shot' so we could see Tom Cruise but they weren't there.  But it was still a nice ride because of the insanely beautiful weather.  We just had to take advantage of it!  And I think we did a good job.

Anyway, I thought this soup would be a good idea for a relaxing night after our busy day.  I've been loving cooking with pumpkin and squash and all of the delicious tastes that fall brings.  I may be overdoing it just a tad, but there are so many recipes and options that it's hard to not take advantage.  John hasn't complained yet...but we'll see what December brings after his 15th bowl of some variation of pumpkin or butternut squash soup.  This recipe was especially delicious because it had the peanut taste to compliment the pumpkin.  I got the recipe from the October 2011 issue of Women's Health.

Pumpkin Peanut Soup

-2 tsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
-1 small onion (about 1 c)
-3 cloves garlic
-1/2 tsp paprika
-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
-1 can pure pumpkin puree (15 oz.)
-1 1/2 c vegetable broth
-1 jar drained roasted red peppers (7 oz.)
-1/3 c smooth peanut butter
-1 tsp sugar
-1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
-salt and pepper

Heat oil and onion and cook until onion is slightly browned.  Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add paprika and crushed red pepper, pumpkin puree, broth, peppers, and peanut butter. Stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Blend until smooth.  Serve and enjoy!