Pumpkin Seeds Part 2

I went ahead and made some pumpkin seeds this afternoon. I made this recipe with a few modifications. I don't have any chipotle and my grinder broke so I didn't add any pepper. Also, I added in about 1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder. I cooked them for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for, but that's because I am easily distracted. They turned out wonderfully. I had made them with butter last year and as tasty as they were, they were too rich. I like the salty, sweet and savory combination that these have. I am actually tempted to buy a pumpkin just for the seeds!

Blueberry-Banana Pancakes 2

I finally got around to making these. Let me just say, SO YUMMY! I skipped putting the blueberries in because we didn't have any on hand. I did find that putting the banana in the freezer for 10 minutes made slicing the banana super easy. Everyone liked them. I took some of the random pieces of banana that I had left over and threw them in the pan with some butter after I had cooked all the pancakes. I stirred them in the pan until the bananas were slightly browned and used it to top some pancakes that I didn't put a banana in. I think that next time I will just do that instead of placing the bananas into the pancakes. I think the bananas tasted better that way. I have to admit that these were by far the best tasting pancakes I have ever made.

Hot Chocolate Part 2

I got to thinking about all the ways you can modify hot chocolate and personalize it. I decided to list all the different add in ideas that I have come across.


Grown Up Versions: Add in Kahlua, Vanilla Vodka, or Irish Cream


Top it: Roasted marshmallow, flavored whip cream, any type of sprinkles

Add extracts: ½ teaspoon of maple, orange, or almond after you remove the cocoa from the heat

Spice it up: with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, chili powder or pumpkin pie spice to the cocoa powder

Add in some coffee to make a lovely mocha!
 
Mix ins:

Marshmallows

Butterscotch Chips

Caramel

Chocolate shavings

Creamy Peanut Butter or Nutella

Mix in crushed candy: peanut butter cups, Butterfinger, toffee, Red hots, peppermints

Marshmallow Creme

Ice cream

Flavored syrups

Fun Stir Sticks:

Candy Cane

Cinnamon Stick

Chocolate coated spoons

How do you do your hot chocolate? I'm a sucker for all things chocolate and peppermint. You could make this for a holiday party and have a hot chocolate bar.
 

Smoky Paprika

I have smoky paprika amongst my spices. We bought it after searching several stores, and used it to make Smoky Split Pea Soup and it really shined in that soup. Now I see it, and yes, sometimes I open it and smell it because I am weird. And I think to myself, there HAS to be another use for this. Today I was reading about making deviled eggs and substituting Greek yogurt for mayonnaise. We always have Greek yogurt on hand. Hmmm... And then it hit me! I always have paprika on my deviled eggs! I put directions, just in case someone doesn't already know how to make deviled eggs. I found another recipe that added in sun dried tomatoes and had fried shallots on top, but I know I won't be doing that any time soon, so here is what I think would work.
 
Smoky Deviled Eggs


6 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt

Slice the eggs in half and scoop out the yolks into a bowl. Set the whites aside. Smash the yolks with the back of a fork. Add the Greek yogurt and stir until well combined. Add smoked paprika and salt. Put the filling into the eggs and EAT!

Pumpkin Dip

Pumpkin Dip. Served with ginger snaps and tart green apples. So yummy. And seriously easy. The recipe is forgiving. As in, I didn't put in the pie spice and added in vanilla. I sorta just mixed it all together. Well, actually kiddo did the mixing. It was fun. I used whipped cream cheese instead a regular block that needed to be softened. I also sifted the powdered sugar, but it might have been overkill. It was such a hit with my boy and the kiddo that I plan on making it for the next family get together. And I plan on putting the finished dip into a sugar pumpkin for a festive presentation.

Pumpkin Dip

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving. 

J-E-double hockey sticks-O

I bought a silicon jello mold. It had leaves and pumpkins and I thought it was lovely. I took kiddo to the store and he selected raspberry jello. We also grabbed a container of cool whip because we were doing this up right! I made the jello and the next day as I removed the tray from the refrigerator it hit me. How was I going to get the jello out of the mold? Here are my ideas, in no particular order:
-Butter knife around the edges
-Pressing them out from the back
-Swearing
-Scooping with a spoon
-More swearing
-Placing in warm water
-Smashing them out
-Inverting the tray onto a cookie sheet and banging against the counter

Let's just say we were a chainsaw shy of a jello massacre in my kitchen that night.

The picture above is the lone survivor. There was a nice heap of jello pieces and luckily the kiddo is not picky. And honestly, neither am I. We enjoyed our jello pieces with our cool whip and we were happy! And don't worry, I didn't try to feed any to my vegetarian boy. Because jello is delicious, but not veg friendly. Don't feel bad for him, he had a cupcake.

Today I had...

Yeah, I ate that today. As well as the stuff pictured below. First we have a cottage pie, which I consumed at the Renaissance Faire today. It's a pastry filled with beef, carrots, potatoes and onion. It was tasty. I've been trying to find a suitable vegetarian dinner type pie to make at home, but haven't came across a recipe that I've wanted to try. Kiddo wasn't interested once he found out that the pie wasn't sweet. Then we went to Pea Soup Andersen's for dinner. The bowl of soup below is what they are known for, and for good reason. It is lovely. I already have a go to recipe for Split Pea soup, but I can honestly say that this soup is different enough that I plan on spending some time trying to recreate it at home.

The last picture, which is slightly blurry *sorry*, is the roll that was our bread service. I should have thought to cut it open for the picture too, because there were poppy seeds in it. It was an onion roll, with poppy seeds and I think some cheddar cheese on top. Sounds weird, but they were actually pretty good.

Finishing up with a picture of the windmill at Pea Soup Andersen's because I think it is pretty.

Popcorn and other tales

I haven't been posting much this week. We have had a packed schedule and lots of day trips. I keep meaning to take pictures of the yummy food we have been enjoying, but I keep eating it before any pictures can be snapped. Today is my official day off, at home, doing nothing. That includes cooking! The kiddo and I watched 3 movies and went out for lunch. I did, however make the peanut butter popcorn. Let me just say, SO TASTY! It's super easy and impossible to mess up. I think I put more M&Ms than most people would, but I seriously think there should be 1 candy per bite. A note about the recipe, we use organic, all natural peanut butter. That means it's just peanuts and salt. If you use, say JIFF or Skippy, I think that it might be a little sweeter. Below is a picture of the popcorn cooling, before I added the M&Ms. I didn't have wax paper, so I just spread it out on a plastic cutting board. Then I just scooped it into the popcorn boxes that I had impulsed bought from World Market forever ago that I always forget to use. I sorta layered M&Ms and popcorn to try and get an even distribution. Reminds me of when I go to the movies and dump my candy into my popcorn.

Blueberry-Banana Pancakes

So, I have been on a french toast kick for awhile now. I don't think I have found the absolute best way to create it, but I know that I have greatly increased my ability to make it. And despite the fact that My Boy wouldn't mind french toast every week, I have to admit to a wandering eye. And after seeing the lovely pancakes pictured above on Food & Wine, I can't resist. I think my favorite part is the banana cut lengthwise and placed into the pancake. We have a rather busy and mixed up schedule coming up next week, so I might dish these up for dinner at some point. We usually have everything needed on hand except for the buttermilk. I think I might even sprinkle some chopped pecans over it. And a little tip, freeze your bananas for about 10 minutes prior to slicing.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup blueberries
2 bananas, sliced lengthwise 2/3 inch thick and cut to fit the pancakes
Confectioners' sugar and pure maple syrup, for serving

Directions
   1. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the buttermilk. Quickly stir in the flour mixture, then stir in the melted butter and blueberries.
   2. Heat a griddle or a large nonstick skillet over moderately low heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Ladle 1/4 cup of the batter per pancake onto the griddle, leaving room for the pancakes to spread. Gently lay one banana slice in the center of each pancake and cook until bubbles appear on the surface, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Generously dust the blueberry-banana pancakes with confectioners' sugar and serve with maple syrup.

*image and recipe via Food&Wine*

French Toast Muffins

New recipe time! I picked up a yummy loaf of cinnamon bread at the farmer’s market yesterday. I got up this morning and took a knife to it. I used part of it for the recipe that follows, and the rest was used to make perfect French toast. My kitchen was full of yum today. The recipe is pretty easy to follow. Mess rating: 4 bowls, spoons, a muffin pan and a few measuring utensils. The boys say: the topping is perfect but the muffin itself is not quite sweet enough. Final Verdict: Will make again (probably the next time I make French toast since it worked out so well today) and I will tweak the muffin a bit. I’m considering substituting vanilla extract for the maple and adding some sugar to the muffin mix. Also, as you can see from my pic, I didn't trim the crusts from the bread. Not on purpose, I just didn't realize I was supposed to until now.


French Toast Muffins

French Toast Topping

    * 3 tablespoons milk
    * 1 egg,slightly beaten
    * 6 slices cinnamon bread, crusts trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Muffins

    * 1 cup milk
    * 1/2 cup butter, melted
    * 1 egg, slightly beaten
    * 1 teaspoon maple extract
    * 2 cups flour
    * 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
    * 2 teaspoons baking powder
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping

    * 1/4 cup maple syrup
    * 2 tablespoons sugar
    * 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

   1. Heat oven to 375°F
   2. Combine all French toast topping ingredients in medium bowl; set aside,.
   3. Combine 1 cup milk, melted butter, 1 egg and maple flavoring in another medium bowl. Combine all remaining muffin ingredients in large bowl. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture just until mixed.
   4. Spoon batter into greased 12-cup muffin pan. Spoon French toast topping evenly over batter; press down slightly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
   5. Immediately brush muffins with maple-flavored syrup. Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Sprinkle over glazed muffins. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.