Pumpkin Pancakes

http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431875901439/

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 (15 oz) can Libby's pure pumpkin
3 cups buttermilk
3 eggs

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar, combining well.

Add pumpkin, buttermilk, and eggs to dry ingredients and mix gently. {If batter seems stiff, add water until it can be easily spooned onto a griddle.}

Heat griddle to medium heat and grease lightly.

Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter onto griddle and let cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Let other side cook again until lightly browned.

Repeat these steps until all the batter is gone.

These pancakes were pretty rich!  They were also really moist.  Some liked them and some didn't - I was kind of in the middle.   They were alright, but I haven't made them since (and it's been months).  But if you love all things pumpkin, then you might try them.  You'll probably like these pancakes. :) Personally, I think I'll keep searching for a pumpkin pancake recipe to keep.

The Last Word:  Rich fall recipe - for pumpkin lovers

Gooey S'mores Cookies

http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431877656425/

Gooey S’mores Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cups flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (7 full graham cracker sheets)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup Mini Hershey’s Kisses (or chocolate chips/chunks)

1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a food processor or blender to crush 7 graham cracker sheets into 3/4 cup fine crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Add the chocolate and marshmallows and stir to combine.

Place 1.5 tablespoon sized scoops of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

(I doubled the original recipe)

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the best cookie dough on the planet.  This stuff is AMAZING.  There may be raw eggs in it, but I'm not one who worries too much about that. ;) These cookies take some work to make because it's basically making chocolate chip cookies from scratch with some extra steps for the graham cracker and marshmallow bits.  But it's worth it!  I shared these with several other people and everyone enjoyed them.  

I've actually made them twice now and I doubled the recipe both times because the original recipe says it only makes 2 dozen - and 2 dozen isn't nearly enough! :)  The first time, it appeared that they weren't done after 10 minutes, so I added 1-2 more minutes to the time.  They were good warm, but they got hard really fast after they cooled.  The second batch I made, I took them out right at 10 minutes and they stayed soft!  So a tip for future baking: even if these cookies don't look done, they're probably done.  I also recommend creaming the butter and sugars for the full three minutes.  It makes the cookies really soft.

Note: I've made these cookies at both high and low altitudes without any changes to the recipe, and I didn't notice any difference in the dough or the cookies.

I recommend this recipe to everyone.  Now, if you're a s'more connoisseur, then you might say that you can't taste the graham cracker well enough.  However, these are still great cookies, so give them a try!

 

The Last Word:  Scrumptious cookies - both raw and baked!

Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Balls

http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431875541830/

Peanut Butter Graham Cracker Balls

Ingredients: 

1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy)

1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs

¾ cup mini chocolate chips or Heath bits (I didn't get the chance to try the extra coating, but I bet the mini chocolate chips would be perfect. :) )

1 – 1 ¼ cup chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate)

Directions:

1. Take your graham crackers and blend to crumbs in a food processor until you get 1 ½ cups. Add graham crackers crumbs to the 1 cup of peanut butter. Mix it up good. You want the mixture to be dry enough to be able to form balls. Add a little bit more peanut butter or cracker crumbs to achieve this consistency if need be. 

2. Form 24 even sized balls with your hands and place on a wax paper covered plate, cutting board or baking sheet. Freeze for 30-60 minutes.

3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave until just melted (do not overcook!) or use a double boiler and stir chocolate until melted. Placed mini chips or crushed Heath bits in a small bowl. Note: You can use whatever topping that you would like including nuts, crushed Oreo…etc.

4. Using a toothpick or fork dip the peanut butter balls in the melted chocolate, one at a time, and then toss in the topping until covered. Refrigerate or freeze until firm.

The inner mixture was REALLY messy.  My hands were covered and by the time I was through half of it, it was really hard to make the balls.  The colder/firmer it is, the better.

This recipe was a hit!  We had some extended family over and everyone liked it - and it was tested by at least 8 people!  I wasn't eager to like the end product at first because they were a bit of a hassle to make, but I have to admit that they were pretty darn good.  A few notes for the future...The ones that had a thicker layer of chocolate were the best, so I'm going to melt more chocolate the next time I make them.  Also, the inside was rather difficult to work with, so I may try making the graham cracker crumbs even finer (I used a rolling pin instead of a food processor - the old fashioned way ;) ) and adding some powdered sugar to help the texture, as well as the taste.  Another thing to know is that using a toothpick to chocolate-cover them only worked for the first 4 balls, so you definitely have to be willing to get messy.

As you can tell, not very many of them turned out pretty.

The Last Word: A Small and yummy treat, great for sharing :)

Fudge

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431875350617/

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 7 minutes

Yield: Makes about 2 pounds candy

Ingredients:

• 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon cream
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, if desired

 

Preparation:

     Place chips and milk in microwave safe bowl. (You can use just the one package of semisweet chocolate chips, or add the milk chocolate chips for a fudge that is slightly sweeter and creamier.)  Microwave on medium power for 2-3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Microwave, stirring at 1 minutes intervals, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth and thick. Stir in butter and cream until combined.  Pour into greased 8" square pan and cool. You can also melt the chips and milk in a heavy saucepan over low heat.

You can add just about anything to this easy recipe. Stir in a cup of chopped nuts, add a cup of marshmallows after the cooking time is done, stir in chopped dried fruit or some white chocolate chips, etc.

The ingredients! I used a whole bag of semisweet chips as well as 1/2 cup of milk chips

Adding the cream and butter to the chocolate/sweetened condensed milk mixture

All ingredients mixed together, before chilling

This recipe for fudge was very  simple and easy.  However, I wouldn't say that it was ready to eat in 7 minutes...it would've been somewhere between solid and liquid!  So I let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before I cut into it.  When I did, it was pretty sticky - definitely a stickier texture than most of the fudge I've tried before.  That was only thing I didn't really like about it.  But the taste was great and it was melt-in-your-mouth fudge. :) If I make it again, I'm planning on adding nuts to break it up a bit because it's really rich!
This pan of fudge went down pretty darn quick in my house...

After chilling for a few hours.  *I used a 9x9 pan instead of 8x8 and it was fine.

The Last Word:  Plain, chocolatey goodness :)

Eggless Cookie Dough

 

One day, I was craving something sweet.  So I was looking through my "FOOD" board on Pinterest and came across a recipe for cookie dough that you make to eat - not to bake, just to eat. :) Here's the recipe:

Eggless Cookie Dough
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
Pinch salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar and butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla and milk. Mix in the flour, salt, and chocolate chips until well blended. Chill in the refrigerator.

http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431875344526/

It was easy to make - just your normal cookie dough ingredients.  At first it was a little too thin, so I added a little extra flour.  I also added a shake more of salt.

Added flour

The texture was still a little different, but I ended up eating some before chilling it anyway. :)

Before being chilled

After it had chilled for over an hour, it had the texture of real cookie dough and tasted almost exactly like it!  I was pretty impressed.  If you leave it out of the fridge for too long, it gets thin again, so you have to eat it fast!  That wasn't a big problem for me... ;)

After being chilled longer

The Last Word:  Sweet snack to satisfy your cookie dough craving!

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Quick Bread

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431875562311/

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Quick Bread

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1/3 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup sugar. Add egg, milk, and oil to flour mixture.  Stir until just moistened.  Pour half of the batter into pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar. Cover with remaining batter.  Top with more cinnamon/sugar if desired.  Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil and let sit overnight before slicing.

I made this recipe the night before we left on our road trip since it requires letting the bread sit overnight.  It was really easy to make and it turned out great!  I made it in our 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 in. loaf pan and as you can see, it overflowed a little bit, but nothing bad.  I'm not very good at judging when half of the batter is in the bowl and half is in the pan, so I ended up putting 3/4 of the batter into the pan before adding the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Even with my mistake, it turned out fine!  I also didn't put enough of the cinnamon/sugar mixture in, so there was too much to sprinkle on top.  It made quite a mess when it needed to be taken out of the pan...  

 

I think I baked it a minute or two too long, as well - the top was slightly burnt.  But take out my mistakes, and this quick bread recipe is fantastic! :) The bread is moist and it tastes great.  We all enjoyed it as a snack on the road.  It would be great to give away as a holiday gift or to make for a brunch.  We're keeping this recipe and making it again soon!

(without all of the extra cinnamon/sugar mixture on top; slightly burnt :/ )

  

The Last Word:  Simple, yummy quick bread :)

 

Sweet and Sour Chicken

 

Here's another chicken recipe I tried, this time a Chinese dish:

 http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431875433616/

 Chicken Breading:
3-5 chicken breast
salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup canola oil

Rinse chicken, trim off fat or extras and then cut into 1 inch cubes. season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken into cornstarch and coat all the way and then into eggs. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook chicken until browned. Place in baking dish. 3 chicken breasts can be in a 9x9 but 5 chicken breasts fits better in a 9x13.

Sauce:
3/4 cups sugar
4 Tablespoons ketchup

1/2 cup white distilled vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Whisk until smooth. Then pour evenly over chicken. Turn chicken so the sauce gets on both sides and then put in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. turn chicken and then cook for 15 more minutes.

Breaded chicken before adding sauce

Sauce - garlic salt, soy sauce, white vinegar, ketchup, & sugar

Nothing special here - I simply fried the asparagus in some oil and seasoned with salt and pepper

 This was slightly more complicated to make than I usually prefer, but it was definitely worth it!  I'm sure that if I made it again it would be a lot easier, too.  I used 4 chicken breasts to serve 5 people and we had one serving of the chicken left over.  I made white rice in our rice cooker to serve with the chicken.  I also pan-fried some fresh asparagus to go on the side.  This meal was very well-received - everyone loved it!  The chicken was moist and we all loved the flavor of the sauce.  Some of the pieces of chicken lost their breading, but that was okay because it tasted good anyways.  The general consensus was that it was even better than Hyvee Chinese food.  I'm pretty happy with this recipe. :) Without a question, I'll be making it again soon!

The Last Word:  Tangy, tasty chicken - a recipe to keep

Chocolate Bowls

My whole family LOVES chocolate, so why not create a bowl out of chocolate?

To make a chocolate bowl, you blow up a balloon (depending on the size you want, you may decide to use water balloons).  We washed and dried ours before dipping because we didn't want any balloon germs on our chocolate bowls. ;) On a cookie sheet covered in wax paper, make a foundation for the bowl by spooning some melted chocolate onto the wax paper.  Dip the balloon in the melted chocolate and set balloon on the chocolate base.  Harden in the fridge, pop the balloon, and voila!  You have a chocolate bowl! :)

(Click to enlarge)

Unfortunately, it's not quite as easy as it looks. :/ We didn't make the layer of chocolate creating the actual bowl thick enough - I reccomend dipping it twice.  We also didn't let them harden long enough, so it was difficult to get the balloons out without ripping the bowl.  I love this idea, so I'm going to have to try this again and hopefully polish my technique. :)

The Last Word: Great idea - a skill to perfect :)

Oatmeal Breakfast in a Mug

One of the first recipes I tried out on Pinterest....oatmeal in a mug.  Again, I'm a sucker for easy recipes, and this was pinned as the "easiest breakfast ever!"  I had to try it.  Here's the pin:

http://pinterest.com/pin/247486941993105776/

Easiest breakfast ever! 1/4 cup oats, 1 egg, 1 tsp brown sugar, handful blueberries, splash of milk, dash cinnamon. Mix it all up. Stick in coffee mug in microwave for 2 minutes.

 

 

 

 

It was super easy to mix up and I was pretty excited to see how it turned out.  After just two minutes in the microwave, it was ready.

 

It. Was. Disgusting.

I thought it would at least be okay, but I was wrong.  The texture grossed me out - it was kind of spongy and it was obvious that there was a whole egg in there.  The only good part was the fresh blueberries and I had to pick those out if I wanted to eat them.  I ate maybe half of it before I talked myself into throwing it away - I don't waste food very often!  Unless you're starving and stranded at home with only these 6 ingredients and a microwave with you, don't make this.  (Notice, the pin isn't mine because I deleted it from my "FOOD" board)

 

The Last Word: Grossest breakfast ever!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Another easy recipe I tried is a Hellmann's Mayo recipe for parmesan crusted chicken:

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

(recipe courtesy of Hellmann's/Best Foods)

Serves 4

Oven 425 degrees F

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Hellmann's or Best Food's Real Mayonnaise

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lbs. total weight or about 5 ounces per breast

4 teaspoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Place mayo and cheese in a small bowl and mix. Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet (I line my baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy) and spread mayo mixture evenly atop each.

Next evenly sprinkle bread crumbs atop each. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear. Tops will be browned and chicken will be incredibly juicy. Season with a dash of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt, if desired.

 http://pinterest.com/pin/67624431875411616/

I was a little messy in spreading the mayo/cheese mixture on the chicken and forgot to cut the parchment paper to match the pan size. :/

I used four large chicken breasts (some cut in half) and it was a good amount for 4 people - we ended up with one or two servings left over.  They were big enough that it took quite a bit longer than 20 minutes to cook them thoroughly.  I was a little worried that the mayo would make it really greasy and that it would just taste like chicken covered in mayo.  However, I was pleasantly surprised!  The chicken was really moist and was not too oily, either.  The Italian bread crumbs and parmesan cheese hid the mayo taste and made it a nice meal.  Even the picky eaters in the family liked it. :) I fried some fresh squash to go on the side and cut up some fresh peaches, too.

The meal went over well - we're keeping the recipe!  Now that I've made it once, it would be a quick and easy fix for those busy days when there isn't much time to make dinner.

The Last Word:  Moist chicken - great for a quick meal