Pumpkin Cheesecake

My cousin Billy, who is in the Army, is currently stationed in Hawaii. He was able to come home for Christmas. He arrived yesterday for a 2-week stay! He told us that Thanksgiving is his favorite, and he was sad to have missed Thanksgiving and his birthday, so we held our second Thanksgiving last night for his arrival home.

I, of course, had to make cheesy potatoes, by popular (and menacing) demand of my family. I was also asked to make a cheesecake. I haven't made a cheesecake since I made my Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake back in April. I was actually surprised that it has been that long, since I love making cheesecakes. I did get a little lazy with this one though. I was all set to set it in the water bath to prevent it from cracking, but at the last minute I decided I'd just bake it and if it had cracks then it had cracks. I reasoned with myself that it would look very homemade that way.

Turns out, the cracks did bother me. Especially since this cheesecake is only covered with a chocolate drizzled, and not topped with something to cover the cracks. Oh well. It was delicious either way.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Double Chocolate Drizzle
adapted from Cooking Classy

For the crust:
1 and 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tbsp. butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
3 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 and 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks

For the chocolate drizzle:
1 bar Ghirardelli white chocolate baking chocolate
1 bar Ghirardelli milk chocolate baking chocolate
(you can use any brand of melting chocolate, they just happened to be on sale)

To make the crust:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar in a food processor and pulse until mixed. Add in the melted butter and mix until combined.
3. Press into a springform pan, covering the bottom and up the sides, about an inch from the top.
4. Bake for 8-9 minutes until golden and let cool.

To make the cheesecake filling:
1. Lower oven temp to 325.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combined the cream cheese, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined and smooth.
3. Add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and mix.
4. Add in the pumpkin and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined.
5. Add the whole eggs, one at a time, until combined. Scrape down the sides if needed.
6. Add in the egg yolks and mix just until combined.
7. Pour on top of the cooked and cooled crust.
8. Bake over a water bath (see note) for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and let it sit in the oven for an additional 30 minutes (don't open the door and peek at it!).
9. Remove from oven. Let cool a bit, then cover and chill for at least 5 hours in the refrigerator.

To top the cheesecake:
1. Melt the white chocolate and milk chocolate in two small separate bowls. I microwaved mine in 30 second increments until melted and smooth.
2. Place each chocolate into a small ziplock bag and seal, making sure there is no air trapped in. Cut off a tiny tip of a bottom corner of each bag and use them to pipe to chocolate over the cheesecake.

** Waterbath note.
If you want to prevent cracks when making a cheesecake, most people will use a waterbath. Here is how I do mine.
1. Wrap your srpingform pan in foil so that it covers the bottom and comes up the sides, making sure no water could get into the bottom of the pan.
2. Place your wrapped cheesecake into a roasting pan or a pan that is deep enough to hold an inch or two of water and big enough to sit the springform pan in.
3. Pour warm/hot water into the roasting pan.
4. Put the whole contraption into the oven and bake according to directions.

I've seen people do it several ways, including this way, but I've also seen people heat the water bath while the oven is preheating, and then bake the cheesecake on a rack above the water bath. A little less prep for this way I guess. I've never tried it. I will have to experiment sometime.

Triple Layer Delight

Two Yankee Swap parties in one day is pretty draining. The first one is an annual ladies Yankee swap we have every year. This year 56 women participated. Yes, 56. It takes about two hours to go through everyone. I was going to make a trifle, but then happened to stumble upon a recipe that looked good on Pinterest. For the night swap party, I made my shepherd's pie, but mixed the gravy in with the meat before baking it. Everyone loved it, but I think it's better with the gravy on top, it didn't have as strong a taste when mixed in with the meat. Yesterday was a good day for cooking, and a good day for a midday nap, which I fully took advantage of.

I just finished making my shrimp and corn chowder for dinner tonight. I really should re-post the recipe sometime. The one I originally posted (follow that link!), is for one that I made with chicken and shrimp, and only made a quick reference to adding in the shrimp. I've modified and adapted this recipe a few times, between the veggies I've used, the spices I've used, and today I swapped out the veggie broth for chicken broth. Not to experiment, but because I forgot to buy veggie broth. I think it came out pretty good. It adds another bit of flavor that veggie broth tends to leave out. I find veggie broth to be pretty bland most of the time.

Before you attempt to make today's featured recipe, make sure you pay attention to the size package of pudding you need. I point that out because I didn't pay attention. I had planned on making two of these dishes, but then realized I bought the smaller packages. Luckily my mum came to the rescue with extra pudding, but then as I kept re-reading the recipe, I realized I was going to need the double batch ingredients for one batch. So annoying! Hence me making a shepherd's pie this weekend also. I used a 9 x 13 dish, so the recipe that follows is the recipe I used. I even think that more is needed, the layers were somewhat thin. If you want thicker layers of pudding, double what I used, other than the cheesecake layer, I already doubled that. The original recipe calls this chocolate delight, but it's a layer of cheesecake filling, vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding and cool whip. The chocolate is only one-third of the dish. So, I took upon myself to rename it.

Triple Layer Delight
Adapted from Little B Cooks

For the crust:
1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, melted

For the layers:
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding
1 (3.4 oz) package instant chocolate pudding
4 cups of milk for making the pudding
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 packages of cool whip (you will need 2 cups for the cheesecake and 1 pkg for the top)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, flour and butter together until combined (to really mix them well, throw everything into a food processor) and press into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13" glass baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool.
3. Prepare the puddings according to the package directions and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
4. Once the crust is completely cooled, prepare the cheesecake filling.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar until combined and smooth on medium speed. Add in the cool whip on low speed and mix until combined.
6. To assemble, spread the cheesecake over the graham cracker crust. Then, spread the vanilla pudding over the cheesecake. Next, spread the chocolate pudding on top. Last, layer 1 package of cool whip on top. I also topped mine with crushed candy canes

** Remember, for thicker layers, double the pudding recipes, not the cheesecake recipe!

I forgot to take a picture when it was finished and pretty. Here's a low-quality picture of it half eaten with the candy canes melting into the cool whip...lovely, I know.

Roast Chicken

The original name of this recipe is "Marry Me Roast Chicken". While this recipe is great, I wasn't overly wowed, so I certainly wouldn't have gotten down on one knee for myself, however, this recipe is very simple and very good. I guess you could call it the Good Wife's Roast Chicken, or something homemaker-ish or domestic-ish, because it's a perfect recipe for a weeknight meal for a couple.

Next time, I would definitely opt for a bigger chicken. The recipe calls for a 3-4 lb roaster, but I would go bigger. I like having leftovers and the garlic, lemon and herbs just barely fit inside. I think I'd like to add more to the rub on the outside as well, rather than just the plain old salt and pepper. I'm all about flavor. The chicken did come out juicy, slightly dry at the surface, but good enough for me. Also, the 50 minute cook time...not so much. My chicken cooked for an hour and a half and then I kept it on warm as I prepped my sides and Dan and I brought in the Christmas tree! I served it with jasmine rice and butter and brown sugar carrots.

Roast Chicken
from Family Style Food

3-4 lb roasting chicken ( I recommend bigger)
salt and pepper
1 lemon, punctured about 10 times with a skewer
1 small head of garlic, cut in half
handful of herbs (I used thyme, sage and rosemary)

1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
2. Sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Fill with the garlic, herbs and lemon.
3. Rub the chicken with salt and pepper.
4. Place in a roasting pan, breast side down. Let the chicken sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 425 for at least 20 minutes.
5. Roast for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip the chicken over. Set the oven to 350 and roast for 25 more minutes. I ended up keeping mine in at 350 for about an hour, I'm not exactly sure how long, I just kept checking on it. Then I kept it on warm until the sides were done and cut it served it!

An easy side to add are butter and brown sugar carrots. Just boil baby carrots and drain. Mix a few tablespoons of melted butter with a few tablespoons of brown sugar.

Raw chickens are gross.

Roast chicken birthing a lemon

Double-Chocolate Pudding

When you read about baking, you tend to read things like "baking is a science", "you have to be precise", "meringues", "temper", and other fun, yet intimidating terms. I sometimes forget how simple baking can be, though. Well, the right recipe. Often times, I choose recipes that look fancy and are time consuming, or that are mini (mini cheesecakes, mini tarts) and time consuming, or I find a recipe that sounds like it's super easy, but then you have to make swiss meringue something and use a candy thermometer and whip egg whites, and yadda yadda yadda.

Last night, I was going through my bon appetite Desserts cookbook. By the way, this cookbook is great if you are a beginning baker and want to work your way up. They give each recipe a whisk rating, from 1-4 in terms of difficulty.

I decided to look through all the one-whisk recipes and see what things I could make, then maybe make some of the two-whisk, then the three-whisk...

I would say "and so forth", but the four-whisk recipes are pretty demanding, and I like my baking to be a challenge but fun. I hate when you make a time-consuming difficult recipe and then when it comes out you're eating it with a little bit of scorn...where's the fun in that?

Anyways, as I was browsing the recipe, I noticed that this Double-Chocolate Pudding recipe required ingredients I had in my cabinet. I would've made it last night, but it was 10:30 already. Normally, I would've chosen a fancier recipe to make, but it's been a busy week already and chocolate pudding does sound pretty good.

Double-Chocolate Pudding
from bon appetite Desserts

1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
4 tsp. cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk (I used 2%)
1/2 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan until there are no more lumps.
2. Gradually whisk in half of the milk until smooth. Add in the rest of the milk and whisk.
3. Cook over medium heat until pudding thickens and comes to a boil, whisking constantly, about 5 minutes. Continue to boil for 1 minute longer, whisking constantly.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until chocolate melts and is smooth. Divide between 2 small ramekins or dishes of your choice. Chill for 3 hours.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

I don't know why I buy bananas. They never get eaten. I like my bananas still a little green; once they turn yellow I've lost interest. My interest comes back when they start to brown because I can make bread and muffins. I wanted to make this bread before Thanksgiving, but time was not on my side. Today was a lazy day, so to feel a little productive, I figured I would use up some (I still have 4 left!) of those bananas.

Don't get me wrong, plain old banana bread is delicious, but I always like to add some chocolate to it. When I saw the recipe for this bread I couldn't wait to make it. At first, I was apprehensive because it was a marbled bread and looked fancy so I figured there would be more work involved. I tend to do that, to overestimate the work that goes into some great recipes, but this one was very simple. To get that marbled effect you just swirl two batters together with a knife. No fancy steps to it.

The original recipe also gave the option to sprinkle more chocolate chips on top before baking, which I decided not to do. I kind of wish I had though.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread
from Alida's Kitchen

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
2 eggs
1/3 cup low fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat sugar and oil on medium until blended (about 1 minute).  Add banana, egg, buttermilk and vanilla, and beat until blended.
4. Fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture, gently stirring batter until just moist.  
5. Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute (on high) or until almost melted.  Microwave for an additional 30 seconds, if needed.  Stir until smooth and let cool slightly.
6. Add 1 cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined. 
7. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, alternating between plain batter and chocolate batter.  Swirl batters together using a knife. 
8. Bake for 1 hour and 10 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack and the remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Maple Whoopie Pies

The last recipe of Thanksgiving is the whoopie pies. I keep saying I need to expand my baking repertoire. Cupcakes are pretty much down pat and cheesecakes I can do. I need to work on cookies, pies and pastries. This is all in preparation for when I open my bakery, of course......

As I was making these, I discovered that my brown sugar was hard as a rock. I threw some in the microwave to soften it up a bit. It did soften up, but when I threw it in the mixer, little rock-hard pellets began to form. I then had to scrub my hands and break up those pellets by hand. This was after I attempted to crush them with a potato masher. I learned yesterday afternoon that apparently, you can throw a slice of bread into a container with brown sugar and let it sit overnight and it's like the sugar is brand new.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
from The Brown Eyed Baker

For the Whoopie Pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Maple-Cream Cheese Filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.
5. Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.
7. To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.
8. To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

The recipe said it could make about 4 dozen, depending on how big you make them. I made 2 dozen with my recipe.

I think it's time to invest in new serving platters...

Cheesy Potatoes

Every holiday or gathering, I get asked to make cheesy potatoes. It all started last Thanksgiving when I randomly came across a recipe for them and decided they were quick and easy to make. I didn't even end up making them because I was too busy Thanksgiving morning, so I gave the job to Dan to make them. Dan and I have each made this dish a couple of times for various occasions and it gets rave reviews. It is super easy to make.

Cheesy Potatoes
from All Recipes

1 bag frozen country-style hash brown potatoes\
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
2 cans cream of potato soup
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a greased baking dish. Cover and bake for 1.5 hours. Uncover and broil 2-3 minutes until top is browned.

That's it. Really, 2-step directions!

Simple Stuffing

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I'm not exactly sad to see it go. I think Thanksgiving is one of the busiest holidays, with not so much prep time on my part. This week found me with our end of season cheer banquet Monday night (where I made 50 cupcakes), the Kiss 108 Turkey Toss with my senior cheerleaders on Wednesday morning, which I got up at 4:00am for, then the afternoon to prep (after a nap of course), and then I was out for the night. Thanksgiving morning I was up for the high school football game, which left me with 20 minutes after I got home to get ready to head to dinner/lunch at my aunt and uncle's. Then after that, we headed off to Dan's parents for dessert. We got home about 8 and I was asleep by 9:30.

After the cheer banquet, we always have plenty of leftovers. I took home a lot of cupcakes, cake, cookies, brownies and bread. Desserts are easy to use up, but the bread was another story. We rarely go through a loaf of bread here, so I decided I would try and make a stuffing with it. I already had plans to make whoopie pies and possibly a banana bread (which I haven't made yet). I researched some stuffing recipes and decided on one that seemed quick and easy. This recipe could potentially be decently cheap as well, but I did my shopping at Trader Joe's, so a few of the ingredients were pricier than I would have liked. I think by Wednesday afternoon my kitchen was an absolute disaster, with dishes ready to tumble out of the sink from being piled so high. Thankfully, Dan knows that I am a messy cook and did all of the dishes! What would I do without him?

I deviated a little from the original recipe. I used ground turkey instead of sausage (only because TJ's didn't have ground sausage). I definitely recommend using only 1-2 cups of chicken stock when you make this. I used about 3.5 cups and my stuffing was too soft, almost soggy/mushy. It was still tasty, but not the texture I was hoping for, any I like my stuffing a bit softer.

Simple Stuffing
adapted from The Kitchn

1 lb loaf of bread (preferably artisan), cut into small cubes
1 lb. ground turkey (or sausage)
1 yellow onion, diced
3-4 celery stalks, diced
1 apple, diced (I placed my diced apple in a bowl with a little water and a squirt of lemon juice to keep them from browning)
2 tbsp. fresh sage, minced (or other herbs you prefer)
Salt to taste
3 large eggs
1-2 cups of chicken stock for drier stuffing, 3-4 cups for softer stuffing

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spread the bread cubes onto 2 cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Stir and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Turn oven to 400.
2. Brown the turkey in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink. Set aside in a large mixing bowl, reserving a tablespoon or so of the drippings.
3. Return pan to heat and add the onions with a sprinkle of salt. Cook until onions begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the celery and cook another 3 minutes until celery begins to soften. Add in the apple and sage and cook just until apples begin to soften. Transfer vegetables and apple to the mixing bowl with the turkey and sprinkle with salt.
4. Add the bread cubes. Add the eggs to the mix and combine until everything is well coated.
5. Transfer to a 3-4 quart baking dish. Evenly cover the mix with chicken stock.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Neopolitan Cupcakes

My Saturday has consisted of getting my broken glasses fixed (and by fixed, I mean the lady at the eye doctor super glued them), then attending a cheer competition with my JV team. Then a sushi dinner, a quick stop at my friend's for a bonfire, then baking cupcakes....at 10:30 at night.

I finished them just after midnight...or was it just after 11? Setting the clocks back throws me off. They always say "you get an extra hour to sleep", but not really since I just stay awake for an extra hour.

I also have to bake more tomorrow so my grandmother can bring them to a funeral. Which I will do after yet another cheer competition with both my JV and Varsity teams.

I know I'm not the first person to make Neopolitan cupcakes, there are a bunch of versions out there. However, I randomly thought up this week that I should make Neopolitan cupcakes and decided it would be chocolate cake, vanilla filling, and strawberry buttercream. I, of course, used my go-to chocolate cake recipe from Annie's Eats, and did my own strawberry buttercream recipe, and searched for a good vanilla cream filling. I decided on one that used mascarpone in it, and while I was making it I wasn't so sure how I felt about it. I had to really whip the mix to get it smooth, and in the end it somewhat separated making the filling sort of cottage-cheese like consistency. I also adapted it and added more powdered sugar and granulated sugar. It tastes good, though. This cake batter makes 24+ cupcakes. I made 24 regular sized ones and 24 mini cupcakes. I ate 2 mini cupcakes as my taste test. There isn't a lot of the mascarpone filling in them, so I'm not entirely sure how good it goes. I'll have to make Dan eat one and see what he thinks.

Neopolitan Cupcakes
adapted from various places, such as Annie's Eats and Cuisinart

For cake:
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature

For filling:
8 oz. mascarpone cheese, softened
2 tsp. milk
1-3 tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp. granulated sugar

For frosting:
3 sticks of unsalted butter, room temp
1 lb and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup pureed strawberries
1/4 tsp. strawberry oil ( I use LorAnn flavor oils)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cupcake tins with liners. (Or more if you want to make more than 24).
2. Melt the butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir to combine.
3. While that melts, whisk together the water and cocoa powder.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
5. Remove butter/sugar mix from heat when melted and transfer to the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until cooled, about 4-5 minutes.
6. Add in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time.
7. Add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, mixing until just combined.
8. Fill each cupcake liner half full (these rise quite a bit and I've learned that 2/3 full will rise and bake out over the edges of the cup.
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
10. To prepare the filling, beat together the mascarpone, vanilla bean, vanilla, powdered sugar and sugar (adding sugars one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency and sweetness is found). Chill in the fridge until ready to use (it may need a little mixing). Cut out a cone in the middle of each cupcake and fill with mixture.
11. To prepare the frosting,  beat the butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Add in the strawberry puree 1/4 cup a time. Mix until desired flavor is achieved. I added in the strawberry oil at the end, after the puree wasn't quite strawberry enough for me, I wanted it to be super strawberry.

Cupcake chaos. Special cameo by the spaghetti squash.

Wrapped and ready to go.

Mini!!

Chocolate Maple Bacon Cupcakes

We are in the second day of this Hurricane Sandy madness. Thankfully, we have not lost power or had any damage done to our home, though I know many people in town have no power and downed trees, etc. I had thought about buying cupcakes supplies over the weekend so I could bake while the wind and rain went on outside, but I didn't. Today, the sun finally came out and I ran out and grabbed some supplies.

We just got a phone call from the superintendent telling us that the town officials/National Grid has given them no word on any updates in town since last night, and last night there were 27 lines down.

Let's go back to last year at this time. We had a freak ice/snow storm that left us out of school for a week. That same week, my cheerleading teams had their league competition, which although most schools competing had no school, and many had no power and weren't living in their homes, they still held the competition. Yeah well....our league competition is on Thursday. As in 2 days from now. As in if we don't have school tomorrow my girls can't practice before Thursday. Seriously, this is our curse apparently.

Anyways, I finally packaged up some cupcakes individually this time as a run through. Once competitions are over (you know, in about 3 weeks or so), I may devote my Sundays to baking 3 different kinds of cupcakes and possibly selling some. I say that now but who knows....

These cupcakes are pretty fabulous. I've been meaning to make them for quite some time, but for some reason never got around to it. They're not ones I would make for an event unless I had a request...not too many people are keen to trying bacon on/in a cupcake. I however will eat almost anything...except eel, plain mayo, and raw tomatoes...unless they're drenched in balsamic vinegar. The cupcake recipe is my go to recipe for chocolate cupcakes, from Annie's Eats. When I found this recipe I had decided that I was going to use my chocolate cupcake recipe, so I was thrilled to see that this blogger used the same one I had planned on using. Seriously though, if you're looking for a chocolate cake recipe, go with this one. It may seem a little more time consuming than a standard chocolate cake recipe (you know with the melting of the butter, etc), but it's consistent and it always gets rave reviews.

The only difference I made was I did not add the bacon into the batter, I just sprinkled some on top before baking. I also added a little more (maybe a tablespoon) of the syrup to the buttercream, and I added a few drops or LorAnn maple flavored oil to the frosting as well. It needed a little more maple flavor and too much syrup would've changed the texture of the frosting. I also candied some bacon (instructions below) to put on top as a garnish.

Chocolate Maple Bacon Cupcakes
adapted from The Novice Chef Blog

For cake:
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
3/4 cup bacon, cooked and chopped

For frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup pure maple syrup; plus more for drizzling as a garnish
1 teaspoon salt

4 drops of LorAnn maple flavored oil (can be found here) (optional)
candied bacon for garnish (See instructions below)

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth.
3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined.
5. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.
6.  Remove from stand mixer and gently fold in bacon.
7. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

For the frosting:
1. Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and pure maple syrup and combine well.
2. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, give it a taste and decide if you want to add in more maple syrup. For thicker frosting you can gradually add in a little more sugar. This is where I added in the maple oil.
Garnish with chopped bacon, candied bacon, and a drizzle of maple syrup if you wish.

Directions for candied bacon:

3 or 4 slices of thick cut bacon (I used Trader Joes uncured Applewood smoked bacon)
1/2 cup (or so) dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325. Cover a rimmed cookie sheet with foil. Place a cooling rack over the sheet to lay the bacon on.
2. Spread the brown sugar onto a plate.
3. Take each slice of bacon and toss it in the sugar, rubbing it on both sides to coat nicely. Place in cooling rack on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Move to wax paper to cool.

When I went to package my cupcakes I remembered that I had these little cocktail forks (that I've had for about 2 years). I thought they'd be cute to put in the cups with the cupcakes. I then decided to add some outside the cups, which looked better.

Cocktail forks!

Adorable!

White Russian Cupcakes

Life has been crazy. Between a sinus infection and cheerleading competition, I haven't had much time for some serious cooking. I did however, have time to squeeze in some cupcakes for my twin friends' birthday gathering Saturday night.

I gave them an option of five different cupcakes, and they chose White Russian. I was pretty pumped since the others required a little more time, and time was certainly short on Saturday. Unless I bring them to a large party, I always end up throwing away a couple of cupcakes after a few days, but not these. The 16 I brought to the party were gone in 5 minutes and the other 8 were eaten by Dan at home. Maybe that's the key to not wasting leftovers...make them with booze in them. The original recipe makes 12, my recipe makes 24.

White Russian Cupcakes
from Baked Perfection

For the White Russian cakes:

2.5 cups all purpose flour

2.5 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.5 cup sugar

12 tablespoons butter, softened

2 large egg and 2 egg white

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1cup milk

1/4 cup Vodka

1/4 cup Kahlua

 

For the Kahlua Buttercream:

2 stick of butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 - 4 tablespoons Kahlua

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

2.In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl or in a stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until combined. Add eggs and egg whites, one at a time. Then add the vanilla, Vodka, and Kahlua. Gradually add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions, ending with the flour mixture.

3.Bake 17 -20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcakes comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

4. For the frosting: Beat butter until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add Kahlua 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

 

 

Pumpkin Bars

I've been meaning to make these bars for almost two weeks. Last week, I was exhausted and had headaches every day. Turns out, I have a sinus infection. I suspected once I had a migraine for 6 straight days that it might be a sinus infection, and then the seventh day, every part of my face hurt. I finally got to doc and got some meds, so I am on the mend. Though I still have headaches and some sinus pain. I've been lucky enough to have a boyfriend who knows I'm miserable when I'm sick and takes care of me as much as he can.
I made my shepherd's pie today, and tried a milk stout in the gravy this time. It came out just as fantastic as it always does. That gravy recipe is seriously fool-proof, any stout or porter you use still tastes great.

Funny thing is, when I went to go to the grocery store today, I asked my mom if she needed me to grab anything for her. She asked me to grab some cream cheese frosting for pumpkin bars she was currently baking. Seriously?! On the day I'm going to make pumpkin bars she beats me to it. I decided I would compare my bars to hers since hers were from a basic box mix. Hers came out firmer (which seems more like a "bar" to me), almost brownie-like. Mine came out super moist and cake-like, which almost makes me want to call these pumpkin cake squares, not bars. I think of bars as being firmer.

Anyways, if you decide to make these, follow my frosting recipe, not the original. The original calls for 4 cups of powdered sugar, which is wayyyyyyyyy too much sugar. My bars had a very thick layer of frosting and I threw a lot of leftover away.

Pumpkin Bars
from The Breadman's Wife

 Cake
2 cups of flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1. tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
1 and 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix!)

Frosting
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1/3 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix all dry ingredients (flour to baking soda) in a bowl.
3. Mix eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin together until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients gradually and mix until well combined.
4. Spread mix into a greased baking dish (I used a 13 x 9 inch dish). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. It took me about 35 minutes.
5. Let cool completely.
6. To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Mix in the sugar, vanilla and milk.
7. Frost the cake and serve.

There's no fancy pic to go with this. I frosted the cake, cut it immediately, put it on a paper towel and straight into my mouth. No time for plating, just time for eating.

Butternut Squash and Corn Soup

Fall is easily my favorite season. The temperature is better, the foliage is prettier, and the food is yummier. You can start making things like soups/stews, chili, pot roast, things with pumpkin and apple...

I randomly came home a butternut squash on my counter and my immediately thought:

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Rigatoni with Butternut-Gruyere Sauce

Butternut Squash Lasagna

But we all know I always want to try something new, and I only had a small bit of squash, so I decided to try my hand at soup. This soup didn't come out how I wanted it to. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't what I wanted it to be (which was something similar to what Trader Joe's sells).

I veered off the recipe a bit, so maybe the original would be a little better? Also, my hand me down immersion blender did not work.

Butternut Squash and Corn Soup
adapted from Ezra Poundcake

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes (about 5 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 can sweet corn kernels, drained
1.5 tsp curry powder
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup milk or heavy cream (I used 2% milk)
pinch of chili powder
pinch of paprika

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large stock pot over med-high heat. Add the squash, onions and garlic. Cook for 6 minutes until onions start to become tender.
2. Add corn and curry. Cook for 2 minutes until the scent of curry becomes fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add broth and simmer for 25 minutes until squash is tender.
4. Blend half of the soup with a food processor, blender or immersion blender.(I blended all of it because I didn't want any chunks of corn or squash in my soup). Return to pot.
5. Add milk or cream and stir until soup is warmed. Do not boil.
6. Serve with chives, greek yogurt, or bacon on top.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

It's pumpkin season! Now, I could've made pumpkin things all year long since I stocked up on pumpkin last year. After stores began running out of pumpkin, once I found some I kept it at home just in case. I'm glad I did, because now I have plenty and can make all the pumpkin goodies I want. I also want to roast my own pumpkin....we'll see if that happens.

I had planned on making these a few days ago for Dan's sister's birthday, but we ended up going out for her birthday. I now have an abundance of cupcakes in my kitchen....

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
from Taste of Home

 For the cupcakes:
3/4 cup butter, softened 
2-1/2 cups sugar  
3 eggs 
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin 
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 cup buttermilk 

For the frosting: 
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 
1/2 cup butter, softened 
4 cups confectioners' sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin. Combine the flour, pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and ginger; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.  
3. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 
4. For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 2 dozen.

This is how I like them, without those god awful Brachs pumpkin candies. Those are completely gross. But they're cute decorations, therefore I used them.
 

 

All decorated.

Some of the reviews of the original recipe claimed they thought they were too sweet. You could cut the sugar down to 2 cups instead of 2 and half. Also, some people added a 1/2 cup of apple sauce to keep them moist, but mine were super moist as is.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I don't know why I don't make cupcakes more often. I always feel very accomplished when I make them. I almost didn't make them. Friday I asked my brother what kind he'd rather have, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or White Russian. He chose the cookie dough. I had planned on baking the cupcakes yesterday, then filling and frosting them today. However, my mum, Colleen (brother's girlfriend), and I spent the day antique hunting. I had a headache that wouldn't quit, so I took a nap after. By that time, it was dinner time and we went out for the night. So, that put all of the work into today before the BBQ. The steps are all very easy, they just take some time. The only changes I made to the recipe was using mini chocolate chips in the cupcakes, and only 1/4 cup of them, like in the filling. I also didn't sprinkle chocolate chips on top to decorate. They are super sweet and super delicious. There's also an absurd amount of butter in everything.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
from Blissful Tastes

For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract 

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips


Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.

Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir together to blend.  Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated.  Blend in the vanilla.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners.   Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake.  Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture. 

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.  Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth.  Beat in the flour and salt.  Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Artsy photo

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

My brother and his girlfriend flew in from California on Friday. We had a family BBQ today for everyone to get together and visit. That meant I had an opportunity to cook. I knew I wanted to make cupcakes (that recipe is coming soon) and I wanted to make some sort of finger food. At first, I was going to go with deviled eggs since that's where my taste buds were taking me, but I knew the cupcakes would be time intensive, so I didn't want to spend all that time to boil the eggs and peel all of them (I hate peeling eggs!), then filling them.

I decided to make the pizza puff recipe that I've had stockpiled in my 'need to make these soon' list. Everyone really liked them. The one thing I didn't do was put out marinara sauce to serve them with. I completely forgot. I think that would've make them better. They are good, but the pepperoni is the only thing that stands out, the batter was kind of bland I thought.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
from The Way to His Heart...


3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
pinch of salt 
pinch of red pepper flakes 
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cubed pepperoni
1/2 cup marinara sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24 cup mini-muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and red pepper flakes. Whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan, and pepperoni and let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Serve the puffs with marinara sauce for dipping.

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli

I am in super lazy mode right now, and have been all day. This post will be short and sweet, so I can get back to being lazy and watching more Law & Order.

I was underwhelmed with this recipe. Maybe it's because I'm in a ho-hum mood or it just wasn't all that special. I'm posting the original recipe, but when I made it, I left out the sour cream because Dan doesn't like sour cream. Maybe the sour cream would have made a profound difference. I also left out the cajun seasoning.

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli
from Tasty Kitchen 

3 chicken breasts
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1.5 cups chicken broth
garlic salt
cajun seasoning
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup sour cream
White rice (if you'd like to serve it on rice)

1. Place chicken, soups, chicken broth and seasonings into the crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hours.
2. Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot and add broccoli. Cook for another 30 minutes.
3. Prepare rice according to directions if serving over rice.
4. Spoon over rice and serve.

Sorry for the crappy picture....

Chicken Soup Noodles

Facebook is abuzz with comments like "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?" and "P-A-T-S PATS PATS PATS!".

And while everyone is all amped up to watch Gronk and the boys dominate, I'm all amped up for tailgating food. Don't get me wrong, I'll watch football if it's on, and I'll get into the Super Bowl if the Pats are playing, but I don't entirely enjoy football. But, I will go to any Sunday football gathering just so I have an excuse to cook and eat other people's food. The fall and winter definitely make for the best recipes.

I didn't go to any football gatherings today. I was too busy with picking up mums for my cheerleaders' fundraiser, delivering some, grocery shopping and cooking. On my delivery route, I stopped by my friend Jaime's and they had crock pots and the smoker going.... that's my kind of Sunday, football or no football.

Tonight I decided to make something that I've wanted to make for a while. It was pretty simple and very yummy. I just wish the broth for the noodles had thickened a little bit more, almost to a gravy consistency, then it would be perfect.

As I finished cooking, my dad arrived with a whole bunch of steamer clams from the local clambake that went on yesterday. So not only did I enjoy lobster and steamers yesterday, but I had some today as well. And some of these noodles. AND I'm about to go make a dessert....

Chicken Soup Noodles
from Pinch of Yum

1 tbsp. olive oil
3 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 stalks celery sliced
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 (49.5 oz) can of chicken broth
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1 lb. egg noodles
2 tbsp. butter
parsley
thyme
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
diced green onion (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the veggies and saute 3-5 minutes until crisp-tender.
2. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water and pour into soup pot. Add the noodles and bring to a rolling boil. Stir every few minutes until noodles are just about cooked (think al dente).
4. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, parsley and thyme. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. The broth will thicken as the pot cools an the noodles will continue to cook a bit.
5. Mix in the green onions (if using) and serve.

Chocolate Chip Banana Blondie Cake

School has begun again. I am once again caught up in the turmoil of a new school year with mounds of never-ending planning and paperwork.

Cheer season has also started and we are in the midst of competition choreography. It adds hour to my day, but at least it's fun. My teams are so talented and such hard workers, I can't wait to see how our season unfolds!

I wanted to come home and do nothing. I came home to Dan cleaning the entire apartment. He also offered to cook dinner. Not much more I could ask for after a long day. I then saw the bananas on the clean counter and remembered that I had wanted to remember to find a new recipe to use them up. A quick search on Food Gawker led me a simple recipe that I could whip up in minutes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Blondie Cake
ever so slightly adapted from Evil Shenanigans

1 and 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup mashed banana (I used 2 smallish-medium bananas)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I had mini chips, so I used those)
powdered sugar for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8-inch baking pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, cream the sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth.
4. Mix in the eggs and banana.
5. Add to dry ingredients and mix together until combined.
6. Add in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
7. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let cool, top with powdered sugar and eat!

They are sooooooo gooooooooood!!!!

Barbecue Country-Style Ribs

The madness begins.

Cheer season officially started today. School officially starts next Tuesday. My summer has come to an end. I have stopped setting cooking goals for this blog, because they never work out. My schedule changes on a daily....more like hourly, basis. I go grocery shopping and buy what's easy...which usually comes in a box or a bag from the freezer. It depresses me most of the time. 

When it comes to ribs, I prefer them on the bone. I've only made ribs in the crock pot before, never in the oven. The country-style pork ribs were a decent price, so I grabbed them and figured I was going to make them in the crock pot. Then I came across a recipe I had saved forever ago and decided the oven was the way to go.

I still prefer the crock pot, but these were good too. I really liked the homemade barbecue sauce recipe. I left out the allspice, because I still haven't bought any. I realize I can make my own, and probably will, but I didn't feel like it today.

Barbecue Country-Style Ribs
from About.com Southern Food

2 to 3 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
pepper
dash garlic powder
1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole Seasoning Blend ( I used a sweet & smoky rub)

For the barbecue sauce:
1 cup ketchup
4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
dash salt
dash black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Line a roasting pan with foil. Wash the ribs and pat dry.
3. Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder  on the ribs. Rubs the ribs with the Cajun seasoning.
4. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 and a half hours.
5. Mix the ingredient for the barbecue sauce together. Spoon over ribs coating evenly.
6. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Spicy Roasted Zucchini

Have you ever read a recipe and read something as 'tablespoon' when it actually says 'teaspoon'. Yeah...I thought 2 tablespoons of salt was a bit much in this recipe.....

I figured I'd cut it down to 1 tablespoon in the first place, but it should have only been 2 teaspoons of kosher salt....

Don't make my same mistake...

Spicy Roasted Zucchini
from Overtime Cook 

1 medium zucchini, cut into wedges
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Mix the spices into the oil.
3. Toss the zucchini with oil and spice mix to coat.
4. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Zucchini Bread

Tomorrow is National Zucchini Day. I'm gonna consider it Zucchini Week though, because I got two zucchinis from my aunt today and one of them is enormous. I have TONS of zucchini recipes. I wish I could make them all, but I just don't have the time...or the zucchini.

When I was leaving my aunts from picking up my produce supply (a summer squash and two cucumbers too!), my uncle asked me to send her a recipe for zucchini bread if I had one. I knew I had a pretty simple one saved somewhere, so I sent her the recipe. Then, as I reread the recipe for the fourth time, I realized that I had all of the ingredients...and the motivation. The one ingredient I didn't have that the original recipe called for was all spice, but all spice is essentially cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The recipe already called for each of those, so I just added in a heaping amount of each spice that the recipe called for.

Let me tell you, this bread smells phenomenal while it's baking! I don't think I've ever made bread before. I'm pretty sure I must have in 7th grade home ec, but not in my adult life. I have a fear (or moreso lack of skills) to work with dough. I fail with pizza dough and whenever I see a bread recipe I just kind of shy away from it...same thing with homemade pie crusts. I need to take a baking class.

The bread is delicious! I've only eaten a small piece off the end, but the cinnamon and spices are strong enough without the use of the all spice. It's also nice and moist from the zucchini.

Zucchini Bread
adapted from Kitchen Runway

2 cups grated zucchini (could be about 3 small to medium zucchinis)
2 cups flour, sifted
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp all spice (I didn't use any)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350. Oil a 10-inch loaf pan.Wipe up any excess oil and flour the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
3. In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), whisk together the oil, eggs and vanilla. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon (or on the "stir" setting on an electric mixer). If mixing by hand, it may be tough, don't worry!
4. Add in the grated zucchini. The moisture from the zucchini will make the mixture easier to stir.
5. Mix until combined and pour into prepared loaf pan.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let the loaf stand for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool.