Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

 As the weather gets chilly, this is the perfect dessert!

• 1 Pillsbury single pie crust (or your own recipe if desired)
• 1 15-oz. can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 to 1-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 3 slightly beaten eggs
• 1-1/4 cups milk
• Sweetened Whipped Cream (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare and roll out Pastry for Single-Crust pie (below). Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. For filling, in a large bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Add eggs; beat lightly with a fork until combined. Gradually add milk; stir until combined.

3. Carefully pour filling in pastry shell. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie crust with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes more or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

4. To serve, top with whipped cream.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix, any kind you like

Bake the cupcakes according to package.

To make the Peanut Butter icing you will need.....

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp.

3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

chopped peanuts (optional)

Place the confectioner's sugar, pb, butter, vanilla, & salt in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down bowl with spatula as you go.
Add the cream & beat on high speed until mixture is light & smooth.

Frost each cupcake with pb icing & sprinkle chopped peanuts, if desired!

Banocolate Cookies

These cookies are like eating banana bread in the form of a cookie! I wasn't in a mood to add the chocolate, so instead I added butterscotch chips!

Delish!

1 ripe banana

4 oz. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup flour

½ tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup oats

4 oz. chocolate, broken into small chunks 

Preheat to 350. Grease 2 cookie sheets with butter.

Peel & slice banana & put in food processor. Add butter, sugar & egg until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, & oats & pulse until combined. Transfer to bowl & stir in chocolate chunks. Drop by spoonfuls onto sheets. Flatten then & bake 15-20 minutes.

Mini pizzas

I love making Mini Pizza's & I got this recipe from my sister in law!

all you need is:
4 or 5 tomatoes
EVOO (enough to coat the pan)
salt
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
oregano & basil
pinch of sugar
Mama Mia's personal pizza crusts (they come 3 in a package)
Sesame Seeds
Mozzarella Cheese
pizza toppings: pepperoni, bacon, veggies, pineapple, etc.



This is super simple,
for the sauce, dice up the tomatoes & put enough EVOO in pan to coat it. Then put diced tomatoes, chopped garlic, oregano & basil (however much you like), sugar, & a tiny bit of salt & mix together. Put on medium-high heat until the tomatoes turn into more of a sauce (8-10 minutes).

While the sauce is going, take the pizza crusts out of the package & place them on large cookie sheet. Brush them with EVOO & sprinkle sesame seeds on edges.

Then add the sauce to each pizza, cover with mozzarella cheese & add whatever toppings you like.
Then just throw in oven (the temp is on the pizza crust package) I believe it is 400 degrees.
Cook until cheese is melted & crust is slightly browned (about 7-9 minutes)

Enjoy!!

Fruit tart

I have tried a few different ways to make this,

but they required too many ingredients and this one worked out quite well. 

Such a quick dessert! Just grab a graham cracker crust, add some vanilla pudding, and any fruit you like!

You will need :

a graham cracker crust

vanilla pudding cups

kiwi

strawberries

blueberries

apricot jelly

*any other fruit you like*

To Make:

I bought a graham cracker crust (careful not to break it!)

Then vanilla pudding cups and emptied them into the center

then sliced up some kiwi, strawberries & added blueberries.

and this time around, it took NO TIME! 

Then I found a recipe for a glaze over top & it turned out great!

Take 1/2 cup apricot jelly & in a saucepan, melt jelly with 1 Tbsp. water

Brush glaze over fruit & serve!

Roasted Garlic

I how i LOVE roasted garlic. The stuff is amazing, really. On a fresh baguette, on pasta, in potatoes, you name it!

Here is all you need to know to do it yourself!

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

Place the garlic heads in a baking pan. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of EVOO over each head.  Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove.  Pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.

All finished! 

You can then add to mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, warm bread, anything! I've even known people to eat it right out of the skin! 

Easy Nachos

This is one of the FASTEST, easiest meals to make your family!

 You will need:
1 bag of Tostito's chips
1 Ib of hamburger meat
lettuce, chopped
tomato, diced
cheese, I use extra sharp & grate it
salt
Anything else you would like :  
sour cream, hot sauce, beans, guacamole, jalapenos'

Preheat oven to 350

Cook up the meat in a skillet & drain fat.

Then place as many Tostito's chips in a 9X13 pan as you want.

Place all the meat on top of the chips & then shred cheese over top.

Place

Grate fresh cheddar cheese over it all!

Place in oven just until cheese melts (4-6 minutes)

Pull it out & sprinkle with chopped lettuce & diced tomatoes & any other topping you'd like!

Pasta with shaved veggies

You will need:

1 lb zucchini, ends trimmed

1 ib carrots, peeled

1 box (1 lb) spaghetti

5 Tbsp butter, cut up

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 pepper

shaved parmesan

To make bring a 5-6 qt pot of water to a boil.

Use a vegetable peeler to shave zucchini & carrots. Cook pasta until al dente.

Then add the veggies to the pasta pot. Cook 1 minute or until veggies are just tender.

Remove & reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta mixture.

Meanwhile, melt butter in same pot used to cook pasta. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Return pasta & veggies to pot. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Add some of the reserved pasta water to create a thin sauce. Top with parmesan.

*Tip: You can always add melted butter & a little EVOO onto the pasta to enhance the flavor*

PB cup cookies

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

1 package (17 ½ oz.) PB cookie mix

36 mini pb cups, unwrapped

Prepare cookie mix according to directions. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place in greased mini muffin cups. Press dough evenly onto bottom & up sides of each cup.

Bake @ 350 for 11-13 min.’s

Immediately place PB cup in each cup; press down gently. Cool 10 minutes & then remove from pans.

Watermelon Cake

Watermelon Cake

This was a super fun idea that I made for a Youth activity!
I just bought a strawberry cake mix & followed those directions to bake.

Then I colored white frosting pink & some green.
After frosting the cake I put green jellybeans around the rim & topped the cake with chocolate chips on top to look like watermelon seeds!