Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree,canned or fresh

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

2 eggs,lightly beaten

1 cup evaporated milk,undiluted

2 Tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 unbaked pie shell (9inches)

Combine pumpkin,sugar,salt,spices,and flour in medium mixing bowl. Add eggs,mix well. Add evaporated milk,water and vanilla, mix well. Pour into pastry lined pie pan.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake about 35 minutes or until center is set.

After the first 15 minutes of baking I covered the edge of my pie crust with foil so the crust didn't burn.

This pie was good warm, but was even better cold!

Fruit Tart

CRUST

6-tablespoons butter softened

1/4- cup sugar

1-cup flour

2-tablespoon cornmeal

2-tablespoon lemon juice

in a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in flour, cornmeal, and lemon juice to form a ball of dough. Press onto bottom and up sides of a greased 9 inch tart pan with removeable bottom. Bake at 425 for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Leave in pan and cool completely.

*Also we mixed the dough in a food processor,think Martha Stuart. Thanks mom for teaching me that trick.

FILLING

1-package (8ounces) cream cheese softened

3-tablespoons sugar

2-tablespoons milk

2-cups fresh assorted fruit

For Filling beat cream cheese, sugar, and milk until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. Arrange berries or fruit over filling. Refrigerate while preparing glaze.

FRUIT GLAZE

1/3- cup apricot nectar (or Peach)

2-Tablespoon sugar

1 &1/2-teaspoons cornstartch

2-teaspoons lemon juice

For fruit glaze, in a small saucepan, combine nectar,sugar, and cornstartch. Cook stirring until mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Cool; brush or drizzle over fruit. Refridgerate for 1 hour before serving. Refridgerate any leftovers. This is a very yummy treat and really easy to make.

I got this from a Taste of Home cook book.

February Taster's Night - Chocolate!

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES submitted by Julie Roberts

Make Brownies (I use a mix) for first layer. Let them cool.

2nd layer:
1 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1tsp vanilla

mix together and spread evenly over brownies

3rd layer:
melt 4-5 semi sweet chocolate squares
with 1/2 stick of butter

stir and poor on top of peanut butter.

I refrigerate to have the choc. harden!

Really easy and yummy!!


Serves 16. Published December 14, 2006.

Although you can substitute natural cocoa for Dutch-processed, the cake won't rise as high. If you don't have baking spray with flour, mix 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon cocoa into a paste and brush inside the pan.
CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE
This recipe was published in The Best Light Recipe. Submitted by Elizabeth Nielsen

Ingredients

Nonstick baking spray with flour
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (2 1/4 ounces)
1 cup boiling water
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups packed light brown sugar (14 ounces)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Confectioners' sugar , for dusting

Instructions
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a standard 12-cup bundt pan with the nonstick baking spray



2. Combine the chocolate and cocoa in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate mixture, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk the chocolate mixture until smooth, then set aside to cool slightly, about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.



3. Whip the melted chocolate mixture, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth, about 1 minute.
Sift half of the flour mixture over the batter and gently whisk in. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and continue to whisk the batter gently until most of the lumps are gone (do not overmix).



4. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top. Wipe any drops of batter off the sides of the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 50 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking (do not overbake).



5. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely, 1 to 2 hours. When cool, dust with confectioners' sugar (if using).



PER SERVING:
Cal 320; Fat 11 g; Sat fat 2 g; Chol 25 mg; Carb 51 g; Protein 6 g; Fiber 5 g; Sodium 170 mg


CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH BROWNIES
Submitted by Stacy Eagar - courtesy of Betty Crocker

1 box Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting


1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan. Make brownie mix as directed on box, using oil, water and 2 eggs. Spread in pan.
2. Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Frost with frosting. For brownies, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows.

I made a chocolate ganache frosting, but any chocolate frosting recipe will work. I do have to admit that I think next time I'll skip the frosting. It's such a rich recipe...good but rich and I think I'd like it better sans frosting.

Chinese Dumplings - aka Potstickers

Happy Chinese New Year tomorrow!

Ingredients:
Dumpling Dough*
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
Filling:
8 ounces celery cabbage (Napa cabbage)
3 tsp salt, divided
1 pound lean ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions, with tops
1 TB white wine
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
Dash white pepper
Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Other:
2 - 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preparation:
Cut the cabbage across into thin strips. Mix with 2 teaspoons salt and set aside for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess moisture.

In a large bowl, mix the celery cabbage, pork, green onions, wine, cornstarch, the remaining 1 teaaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and the white pepper.

In a bowl, mix the flour and 1 cup boiling water until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough on a lightly flour surface about 5 minutes, or until smooth.

Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a roll 12 inches long and cut each roll into 1/2-inch slices.

Roll 1 slice of dough into a 3-inch circle and place 1 tablespoon pork mixture in the center of the circle. Lift up the edges of the circle and pinch 5 pleats up to create a pouch to encase the mixture. Pinch the top together. Repeat with the remaining slices of dough and filling.

Heat a wok or nonstick skillet until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, tilting the wok to coat the sides. If using a nonstick skillet, add 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil. Place 12 dumplings in a single layer in the wok and fry 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook 6 to 7 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.

We served a dipping sauce of Yoshida's sauce (from Costco) warmed in a pan on the stove, cut 2 green onions finely, and sprinkled in 1/2 tsp. ground ginger in and voila - a delicious dipping sauce.

Hot Chocolate Mug Cakes

Bake your favorite chocolate cake batter in individual mugs for a warming winter dessert. RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

Cooking spray
Chocolate cake batter
Marshmallow creme

1. Simply coat the insides of oven safe mugs with cooking spray, then fill the mugs halfway with chocolate cake batter. We used a mix for German chocolate cake, which is a lighter color than regular chocolate cake and looks more like hot cocoa.

2. Follow the cupcake baking instructions on the cake mix package. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Allow the cakes to cool for about 15 minutes.

3. Top each mug with a generous dollop of marshmallow creme and serve with a spoon. One cake mix makes enough batter for 12 of our mugs; if you want fewer than a dozen, bake the remaining batter in a small pan.

Navajo "Fry Bread"

3 cups Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add 1 1/3 cups warm water. Mix well. Knead for about 5 minutes, adding a little flour if the dough is too sticky. Let dough rest for 30 minutes. Break off balls of dough and stretch into 1/4 inch circles (or you can use a rolling pin to flatten them out.) Fry in oil (about 1/4 inch in the bottom of a 10 inch frying pan), turning when you can see the bottom side turning golden brown. Drain on a pan lined with paper towels to remove excess oil. Top with honey or make a Navajo taco. Makes about 8 (six inch round) fry breads.

These are the real deal. My aunt got the recipe from a Navajo woman in New Mexico. There's no yeast in the dough and they're not sweet. They're exactly what you'd expect to get at the Flea Market.

Lindsey's Apple Dumplings

Over Christmas we updated our Eagar family cookbook. Needless to say I've been making new recipes all work. This one is very quick and fun too!

2 Granny Smith Apples

2 sticks butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 can Mountain Dew (I'm sure you could substitute Sprite/7-up if you'd prefer)

2 cans Crescent Rolls (just a sidenote - if you know me I hate Jack-in-the-Box toys because I think they're terrifying - well these stinkin pop cans are in the same category for me. Honestly, I jump and scream every time I open one. I know - I'm weird - at least I can admit it).

1 1/2 cups sugar

Cinnamon

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice into a crescent roll. Place in two rows of eight in a 9X13 buttered baking dish. Melt butter in saucepan, then add sugar. BARELY stir! The goal is to leave clumps of sugar. Add vanilla, barely stir. Pour mixture over dumplings in pan. Pour Mountain Dew around edges of pan and down the middles of the two rows. Sprinkle entire dish with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (my stove is gas and I had to bake it 50 minutes) - they were deliciously perfect and had just the amount of crunch on top. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

This recipe is one of those uniquely fun dishes that I think would be really fun to teach of one of my YW cooking camps.

Yummy Meatballs

Okay so I'm breaking my own rules and don't have a picture to post, but I still had to share this super easy and very tasty dish that I had at taster's night in December.

Take 24 oz. frozen meatballs (I used turkey...just as tasty...way less calories).

Put them in a crockpot and then add the following:

1 can of jellied cranberry sauce
1 jar of Heinz Chili sauce

Cook for 4 hours on low and enjoy them over rice. This meal is a great timesaver and guaranteed to please even your pickiest eater!

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

I was in the mood to try a new Thanksgiving sounding (non-pie) dessert and this turned out to be just perfect. It freezes well and would make an easy, yummy, and quick Thanksgiving day breakfast (along with Orange rolls at our house).

4 eggs

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 cup canola oil

4 cups sugar

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

4 cups cranberries , fresh (coarsely chop in food processor)

Combine the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients. Pour into 3-4 medium loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Southwest Shredded Chicken 3 Bean Chili

This recipe is quick and tasty and complements the cornbread recipe below. It's a match made in heaven. I especially enjoyed that though this chili had some bite, it wasn't too spicy yet still full of flavor all at the same time.

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 14 oz cans chicken broth
16 oz can black beans, drained
16 oz can red kidney beans, drained
16 oz can canelli beans, drained
15 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Tabasco hot sauce
1 fresh lime juiced
2 heaping Tablespoons chili powder
1 heaping Tablespoon cumin
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and shredded chicken breast; cook for 1 minute then stir in chicken broth, beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, hot sauce, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes then reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.

Green Chili Cheddar Cornbread

1 Cup butter (2 sticks)
1 Cup sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ Cups flour
1 Cup cornmeal
1 ½ Tablespoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ Cup ultra gel (optional)
1 4 oz can chopped green chilies
1 16oz can creamed corn
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until well combined. Slowly add eggs until well combined. Pour in remaining ingredients in no particular order until just combined. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish or 24 muffin tins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. If baking in 9x13 inch dish bake for 25-30 minutes, if baking in muffin tins, bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center.

I got this recipe off the Picky Palate blogspot. It's absolutely delicious! The one suggestion I have is to make the cornbread in muffin tins rather than the pan. It's so moist and delicious that it took me a lot longer cooking time to get the center of the 9x13 pan fully cooked. But, it was worth the wait!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

PICTURE COMING SOON!


My recipe was "Pumpkin Cheesecake" from Real Simple Magazine (Nov 2008). This is actually not a cheesecake. It is called "cheesecake," but in reality it is an icebox pie shaped like a cheesecake. This is unbaked (no eggs), and it just sets up in the fridge. It has a lighter, less dense, creamy texture, not a traditional cheesecake texture. When I gave my husband a slice, he didn't like it at all. But when I said, "Don't think cheesecake...think 'PIE'", he said, "This is great pie!" It cracked me up.Pumpkin Cheesecake

For the Crust 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from 14 graham crackers) 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling
1 .25-ounce envelope unflavored gelatin
1 8-ounce bar cream cheese, at room temperature
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make the CrustHeat oven to 400° F. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Transfer to a 9-inch springform pan. Using a straight-sided dry measuring cup, press the mixture into the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the pan. Bake until set, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.Make and Chill the FillingSprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup boiling water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until dissolved, about 5 minutes.Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin, sour cream, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla. Mix in the gelatin mixture until incorporated.Pour the mixture into the crust and refrigerate, covered, until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Yield: Makes 8 servings


NUTRITION PER SERVING -- CALORIES 458; FAT 29g (sat 17g); CHOLESTEROL 80mg; CARBOHYDRATE 44g; CALORIES FROM FAT 56%; SODIUM 233mg; PROTEIN 6g; FIBER 3g; SUGAR 32g


submitted by Elizabeth Nielsen

Creme Brule

Crème Brule
6-8 servings

Heat almost to a simmer:
2 c. heavy cream
In medium bowl, stir with a wooden spoon just until blended:
8 large egg yolks ½ c sugar
/or 3 large eggs (I do the 3 eggs)
Gradually stir into the cream strain through fine mesh into a large bowl. Stir in:
¾ tsp. vanilla
Pour into 6-8 4 inch custard cups or ramekins and place in a preheated water bath. Set in 250° preheated oven, bake until set but still quivery in center about 1-1 ½ hours. Remove from oven & water bath & cool to room temperature. Cover each one tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hrs or up to two days. Shortly before serving, gently blot any liquid that has formed on the surface with paper towels. Then caramelize the tops by using small kitchen blowtorch.





After it has sat in refrigerator over night.After you sprinkle sugar on top you caramelize it with a hand held torch.

As the sugar cooks it turns into this brown crispy crust. This one still needs more around the edges.
These are done, and ready to eat.

Pumpkin Caramel Corn

This was such a fun recipe to make - I mean c'mon who doesn't love caramel corn in all it's ooey goodness! :)

8 quarts of popped popcorn = 1 1/4 cups unpopped kernels

1/2 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup karo syrup

3/4 cup solid pack pumpkin

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

pinch of cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

Pop the popcorn into a large greased w/pam roasting pan. Melt butter in a medium saucepan and then add brown sugar, karo syrup, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cream of tartar. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Let boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add baking soda and vanilla. Bake in roasting pan (or you can use a big bowl and greased cookie sheets) at 225 degrees for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. When it's done cooking, pour onto waxed paper/foil and stir every 5-10 minutes as it cools. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Chili w/pumpkin

Submitted by Rebecca Cantwell

You will need the following ingredients:

2 large onions

4 cloves of garlic

1 large zucchini

2 large yellow squash (can substitute one small pumpkin for one of the squash)

2 large pepper of any color

2 cans diced tomatoes

4 cans black beans

3 cans kidney beans

2 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. red pepper/cayenne pepper

Dash of cinnamon

In a large pot:

Add 1 cup ow water, onion and garlic and turn on stove to medium heat. Add all the other veggies (peeled & diced), and cook for approximately 5 minutes until veggies are tender, but not yet cooked. Add cans and turn to low heat. Let simmer for1 hr.

*All the canned ingredients in this recipe are 14-15 oz. cans.*

Pumpkin Cheeseball

This cheeseball turned out quite tasty. It's an interesting assortment of ingredients that blended very nicely together. It's also festive looking as it's orange in color. The recipe doesn't call for the nuts, but the second time I made it I enjoyed rolling it in crushed pecans as pictured above.

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened - do not microwave, just let it sit out on the counter for a couple of hours

1/2 cup. solid pack pumpkin

1 jar (2 1/2 oz.) dried beef slices, chopped. This was very easy to find in the grocery store next to the canned meats. It's an ingredient I've never used before, but it was easy to work with and necessary for the salt in the cheeseball

2 cups (8 oz.) sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1 tbsp. chopped onion

Mix and form into a bowl. Roll in chopped nuts if desired and/or score the cheesball with a knife to look like a pumpkin and use a short celery stick to represent a pumpkin stem. Serve with crackers and enjoy.

Pumpkin Cobbler

I'm experimenting with new pumpkin recipes because I'm hosting a Taster's Night in October and pumpkin is the focus ingredient. This was very simple to make and quite tasty. It also looks more appealing in person than in photograph.

1 29 oz. Libby Pumpkin Puree (follow the pie directions on the back and mix the filling in one bowl).

In another bowl - mix a dry yellow cake mix with 1 cube of softened butter.

Pam spray 1 9x13 pan - pour in pumpkin puree and top with cake mix (optional - can chop some nuts and sprinkle on top).

Heat oven to 350 and bake for 1 hour.

ENJOY!

Pasta Salad

12 to 16 oz. bag tri-color rotini
1/2 green bell pepper, diced small
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cubed
4 oz cheddar cheese, cubed
1/2 container grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/4 carrot, shredded or chopped
5 oz. Wishbone Italian dressing or Ranch dressing

Boil pasta, make sure you don't over cook it. Drain and then add cold water & ice cubes to cool off, then drain again. Add the dry ranch dressing mix & bell peppers to the pasta. You can let this part sit over night or if you're eating it soon, add the rest of the ingredients right before serving. The cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes will get soggy if you let them sit too long in the dressing. I like to omit the Italian dressing and top mine with Ranch. If you plan on eating this over a couple of days, don't add the Italian dressing to the bowl, just add it when you are eating. You can make it a meal by adding some cubed grilled chicken to it. YUMMY!

Chicken Shish-Kabobs

2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes

1 medium zucchini cut into 1 inch cubes

1 red onion cut into 1 inch square pieces

1 green, red, orange or yellow bell pepper cut into 1 inch squares (or mix it up and use more than one color.)

Italian Dressing (I use Wishbone brand)

Wood or metal skewers (if you use wood, you need to soak them in a pan of water for at least an hour so they don't burn and if you use metal, spray them with cooking spray before you add the food to them.)

1. Cube chicken and place in a ziploc bag. Pour enough Italian dressing over it to coat. Let marinade for about 6 hours.

2. Cut up vegetables (make sure they're all about the same size as the chicken) and add them all to a different ziploc bag and coat with Italian dressing. Marinade for about 6 hours.

3. After everything is done marinading, alternate chicken and vegetables on skewers, making sure that you don't leave gaps on the skewer (the wood might burn between the food if it's exposed to the flames). The onions turn out best if you stack 3 layers together at a time.

4. Grill for approximately 3-4 minutes on each side on a Med-High heat, turning 3 times. The Italian dressing will turn black when you grill the kababs, but won't have a burned taste.

*These are great with the twice baked potatoes and corn on the cob.

Freezer Jam

Okay so I LOVE some good jam on a loaf of homemade bread. I've made lots of freezer jam and it always seem to be a hit and miss process for me. Sometimes it sets up, but other times it separates no matter what - even when I double the amount of sure-jell. Well, on my trip to Idaho my mom gave me this awesome product called Ultra Gel. It's AMAZING!!! There's no cooking involved at all - plus you don't have to let the jam sit out for 24 hours before freezing it. The jam will thicken within 5 minutes. My mom bought it at her health food store, but the website address is http://www.carnetfoods.com/ Again the product is called Ultra Gel - modified food starch. My mom paid $6.79 for 11.7 oz. This may sound like a lot of money, but you only use a little bit and it can be used in lots of different recipes. I've figured that it's cheaper than sure jell. Anyway, it's wonderful and delicious and without further adieu, I give you :

Never Fail Basic Freezer Jam

3 3/4 cups of fruit puree(any type you want - I just pureed mine in the food processor)
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup Ultra Gel

Combine crushed fruit, sugar and lemon juice. Gradually add Ultra Gel, stirring constantly. Let stand 5-10 minutes and stir until smooth. Add additional Ultra Gel if necessary for desired consistency (I didn't have to add any extra.). Put in plastic or glass containers and freeze immediately.

Enjoy!