Crunchy Pumpkin Parfait

While I was still in the middle of my pumpkin craz this fall, I happened upon this recipe on Pinterest. I wanted to make it as soon as I got home. Well I am also in the mood to use up any leftovers I have so I made it a little different and a lot easier. And everyone in my house loved it. We ate the entire recipe while we sat around the counter deciding if we really loved it or just liked it. Such good times. Here is what I did. First I made some Pumpkin pudding:

Pumpkin pudding:

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 pinch of salt

3 cups cold whole milk

3/4 cup canned  pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Measure cornstarch, sugar, spices and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk to combine. Measure milk into a sauce pan. Turn heat to medium high. Stir in dry ingredients and whisk until mixture starts to boil and thicken. Add pumpkin and whisk until completely smooth. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool.

Now to assemble the parfait. I didn't have any granola so I found some granola-like cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats. I wanted it to be a little healthier than a normal dessert and since I had some vanilla yogurt that I needed to use up I quickly had my other 2 layers. When the pudding was cool I layered the pudding, then the yogurt, and topped with the cereal and repeated those three layers. So delicious. It was great for a dessert and breakfast the next morning was easy and yummy. I wouldn't suggest that these be made very far in advance as the cereal will go soggy.

Corn Salsa

Nothing like home grown garden tomatoes. I didn't used to say that but I do now. I can remember my grandparents walking out into their gardens, picking tomatoes off the vine and then taking a big bite out of one. As a kid I thought that was so gross. Now I can't eat a hamburger or salad without one. What would be the point of a hamburger or salad without their favorite sidekick! This corn salsa is not something I had as a child but with all those tomatoes needing to be used up it is a creative, delicious and fun dish. You can use any fresh veggies you have in your garden and any spices from your garden or cupboard. You might even like to add fresh fruit even though the corn itself is quite sweet. Right now my favorite spice combination is cumin, lime and cilantro so that is what I used. Have fun making your own combinations but try mine first.

1 1 pound bag frozen petite white corn - thawed

4-5 tomatoes diced in large pieces

2-3 avocados cubed

2 15 oz. cans black beans - drained and rinsed

cilantro

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/3 teaspoon onion salt (or 3 green onions diced)

1/3 teaspoon garlic salt 

2 tablespoons lime juice

Mix all ingredients together and try to let it sit for 30 minutes. If you're like me you won't be able to wait that long. But if you start eating it right away don't add more salt of any kind or it will be too salty in 30 minutes.

Eat with your favorite tortilla chips.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Here we go again with another pumpkin dessert. This time for pumpkin cupcakes. They are very light and fluffy. And with cream cheese frosting you'll have a hard time deciding between pumpkin and carrot cake. This a recipe by Sue Case with only a few adjustments.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 cups white sugar
3/4 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon

In your mixer combine sugar and oil. Add vanilla and pumpkin then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine all the remaining ingredients and gradually add to the mixer. Spray 12 large muffin tins or 24 regular muffin tins with cooking spray. use cookie scoop to evenly proportion batter into cups. Bake 350ºF. Large cupcakes 18 minutes, regular cupcakes 13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting.


Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

Mix together until creamy. Spread over cooled cupcakes.

Pumpkin Bars

What would we do without our girl friends. One of mine gave me this recipe. These are probably my favorite thing made into a sheet cake. Moist, flavorful and delicious. Whenever we cater anything together these little yummies are always on the menu.

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups pumpkin
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour

Mix together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, oil. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Mix well. Pour into greased sheet cake pan (cookie sheet with sides). Bake 350ºF 17 - 20 minutes. Cool and frost with :

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

Mix together until creamy. Spread over cooled pumpkin bars.

Pumpkin Bread and Muffins

Fall is in the air and so pumpkin is on my mind and taste buds. There are so many things I love to make with pumpkin. Desserts, breads, soups. WOW it is so great. So I am starting off with a recipe from a dear friend who is a fabulous cook. Thanks Carol. It's a good old standard pumpkin bread that I always make into muffins for breakfast. I love to add raisins and oatmeal to mine but the rest of my family loves chocolate chips in theirs. So sometimes I add oatmeal and chocolate chips to compromise. But you could probably have fun and add whatever sounds good to you. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Bread

1 large (40 oz) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs (beaten)

3 cups sugar

3 1/3 cups flour*

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

1/2 teaspoon cloves (optional)

Nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, craisins, white chocolate chips, etc. (optional)

*For breakfast I use 2 3/4 cups flour and 1 scant cup oatmeal.

Mix all ingredients together until smooth (except the last ingredient i.e. nuts, raisins). Fold in nuts, raisins or whatever now. Pour into 3 greased loaf pans. Bake 350ºF for 50-60 minutes.

For muffins: Grease muffin tins. Use a medium size cookie scoop to fill cups. Bake 350ºF for 12-15 minutes.

Breakfast Sausage Crescents

I looked in my fridge and saw that I needed to use up some opened cream cheese, a 1/2 lb of sausage and a can of crescent rolls. Later in the day when I was perusing Pinterest I saw a pin of something yummy that looked like I could use all these ingredients.  So I went home and made it. Oh so yum and fun. I can't wait for my next brunch party to serve these little lovelies.

Breakfast Sausage Crescents

1 lb. sausage
2 cans crescent rolls
4 oz. cream cheese
1 cup cheese, grated
Pam or tin foil

Fry sausage. Drain.

Unwrap the crescent rolls. But do not separate.

Pinch diagonal seams together. (See bottom sections.)

Cream the cream cheese by microwaving for a few seconds. Stir until smooth.

Spread a thin layer over the rolls. Don't worry about using all the cream cheese. Too much is not better than to little. Besides if you have a little left over you can always pour a little salsa over it and eat with chips while this lovelies are baking.

Arrange the sausage in an even layer.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cut roll dough in half. Roll into a log. Cut each log into 4 pieces.

Place each piece onto a cookie sheet either sprayed with Pam or lined with foil.

Bake @ 350º F for 10 minutes or until dough starts to turn golden brown. Enjoy.

Buttered and Spiced Sweet Potato Bites

Buttered and Spiced SWEET POTATO BITES

I love sweet potato fries. Outback has fabulous sweet potato fries but there is a little rib place in the little town  just to the north of my city that beats them all. I think it is the combination of their fries and dipping sauce. Ummmmm. So I had been craving these fries when I came upon this recipe. I liked their idea but changed several things. Here is how I did it:

Buttered and Spiced Sweet Potato Bites

Ingredients:

• 3 Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size cubes
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp white sugar

Peel and cut up the sweet potato.

Make the sauce by mixing the oil, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. (I did not use the nutmeg or ginger)

Don't worry if it looks like just a little bit. It will cover the potatoes just fine.

Spread out on a lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350ºF for 40 minutes. Turn over once during baking time.

 Combine the sugar and salt. As soon as the potatoes are removed from the oven sprinkle with the salt/sugar mixture.

Enjoy with your favorite fry sauce. Here is what I use for mine:

Sweet Potato Fry Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp bbq sauce (I use Sweet Baby Rays)

Bread Stix like Pizza Factory

These are as addicting to make as they are to eat. Not even the grandbaby could resist eating them. He kept reaching for the pan. I only made half of a batch which made 14 twists. I guess I'll be making these again tonight because they are all gone. Thanks to my wonderful friend, Marilyn who gave me the Italian seasonings. She grew all the ingredients in her own little herb garden. A double treat having a good friend and a talented one as well. (I did make these again the next night only a whole batch. Some I turned into cinnamon stix by brushing with butter and sprinkling cinnamon sugar on top while still hot out of the oven.)

Recipe:

Bread:


4 1/2 cups warm water

3 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons SAF instant yeast

11 cups flour

Seasoned butter spread

3/4 cube butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

To make bread, combine all ingredients except only 5 cups of flour. Start kneading and gradually add more flour to achieve a soft dough. Knead for a total of 13 minutes. 

Spray, or grease a countertop, pinch off dough into golf ball sized balls and roll into thin ropes.

Make 2 or 3 ropes at a time before twisting together. This allows them to relax (shrink) before twisting together.

Begin placing one rope of dough across another.

Twist the 2 ropes around each other pinching the ends together to keep it from unrolling.

Repeat with the other side.

Place on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat the twisting process with all remaining dough balls. Let dough rise for 30 minutes or until double in size. Bake stix @ 375ºF for 14 minutes. While the stix are baking make the butter spread by combining all ingredients. As soon as stix come out of oven brush generously with spread and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. For a dessert stix, try brushing with plain butter and sprinkling with cinnamon/sugar. Serve with cream cheese frosting/dip.

Cucumber Snacks

If you have never had cucumbers on a sandwich you are missing out. These little appetizers highlight the yummy yeggie and are so easy to make but you do have to plan ahead. I use the Bucket Bread recipe from this blog made into baguettes for these but any baguette or small bread like a rye would work. I suppose even a large cracker would be yummy. But the spread does need to be made ahead of time for the seasonings to marinate with the cream cheese. Other than that they are Simple Simon to make. Be careful, they are very addicting.

Recipe:

8 oz. cream cheese room temperature
2 Tablespoons mayo or sour cream
1 Tablespoon Italian dressing dry mix
1/2 teaspoon dill
baguettes
cucumbers

Combine cream cheese, mayo, dressing mix and dill. Let sit in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight or up to a week. Slice bread and toast slightly. Spread on a small amount of cream cheese mixture, top with a slice of cucumber. Dill can be sprinkled on top of dill for added flavor and to look gourmet. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Here is the recipe for homemade baguettes.

Deon's Cheese Ball

Here is another one of our comfort foods that just makes the holidays special for us, Deon's Cheese Ball. Simple yet so, so delish.
Recipe:
2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature
2 pkgs. thin, chopped and pressed, sliced beef, diced and divided
2 Tablespoons finely chopped green onions.

Mix all ingredients reserving 1/2 cup diced beef. Form into ball. Roll ball in diced beef.

Karla's Cheese Ball

When it's the holidays you can never have too many cheese balls. This one is nutty and sharp, just like my friend Karla who is very smart and likes to enjoy life.

Recipe

1 5-oz. bottle Kraft Roka Blue cheese spread
1 5-oz bottle Old English sharp spread
2 8-oz. cartons cream cheese
1 cup pecans,  chopped and divided
1/4 cup parsley
1 Tablespoon green onion, chopped

Mix all ingredients together reserving 1/2 cup pecans. With spatula or wet hands from into balll. Roll in pecans. Serve with crackers.

Annie's Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

I needed a summer appetizer that had lots of fresh fruits. I found this recipe on All Recipes.com. I use whatever fresh fruit I have and use raspberry jam in the syrup. The tortilla chips are fun and easy. This is a fun activity to do with your grandchildren because it is so easy and delicious.

Salsa Recipe

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces of raspberries or blueberries or peaches
1 pound strawberries, diced
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

Thoroughly mix all ingredients. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes or until sugar has dissolved.

Cinnamon Chips Recipe

10 10inch flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix sugar and cinnamon together. Spray one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. cut into wedges with pizza cutter and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet that is either covered with parchment or sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Bake in oven 8 - 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Jill's Queso

My friend Jill introduced me to Queso years ago. I love it. The fun part is you start with a base and then add anything that sound good to eat with chips. Here is what mine has evolved into over the years.

Recipe:

32 oz. Velveeta Cheese
16 oz cream cheese
2 cans chili con carne with beans
salsa

Mix all ingredients in a pan on the oven over medium heat or put in a crockpot. When everything has blended together add more salsa to thin. Serve warm over chips or baked potatoes.

Kim's Apple Dip

One day Kim came to my house with a beautiful green apple and this little jar of some carmel colored yumminess. So simple and a great idea for a gift that just says I'm thinking of you.  So make a batch and give half of it away to the first person who comes to your mind. :)

Recipe

8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 Skor bars, crushed

Mix all ingredients throughly. Let flavors combine. Dip apples or whatever else sounds good.

Linda's Shrimp Cocktail

Every year at the neighborhood Christmas Party we would anxiously await the arrival of Linda and her Shrimp Cocktail.The avocados and cilantro make it so unusual and delicious. Most of the time I double this recipe because I eat half of it myself.

Recipe:

1 pound shrimp, fresh or frozen and thawed
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, wedged
1-2 teaspoons hot sauce (Tabasco sauce)
2 avocados, peeled and cubed
lime wedges, wafer thin

Mix 1st seven ingredients well. Chill for 2 -4 hours. Add avocados and lime wedges just before serving.