Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

Fall season is just around the corner!! I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!! This pumpkin bread recipe is just the thing to satisfy your sweet tooth...click here for the recipe!

I made these tonight, and they are sooo good! I didn't put them together into "whoopie pies" though. Instead, I just smeared icing on the top. They're for my mom's birthday party tomorrow! Hopefully everyone will love them as much as I do!

PW Chicken Spaghetti

I've been on this casserole kick lately... with a busy schedule (not getting home some days until close to 6pm!) I wanted to find some easy fast casserole recipes that I could make in a day and freeze for the upcoming week. This is one that I found. We ate it last night, and it was pretty tastey. :) Definitely something I'll be making again.

Click here for the recipe, and enjoy!

Rosemary Baked Chicken with Potatoes

I recently found this recipe and really wanted to try it, and boy am I glad I did!! Not only did it make my entire house smell heavenly, it tasted just as good as it smelled! Here is the recipe I used.

I did however add a couple things to this as well :) I added half of a bag of onion soup mix and about 1/4 cup water to also spoon over the chicken and potatoes before putting it into the oven. It was so good! I would have taken a picture, but my camera is still broken :/ I couldn't believe how easy it was to prepare!

BBQ Pork Ribs

This is one of Ian's favorites that I make. It's really simple, but it takes some time to cook the meat... so this recipe would be perfect for a Sunday at home when you have a couple of hours to cook dinner!!


Ingredients:

• Country Style boneless pork ribs (amount of meat varies for how much you are preparing for. I use one small package for Ian and I, and double it if we are having company.)
• Your favorite BBQ sauce

Take the meat out of the package and cut into large chunks. Bring a large pan to a boil and add your meat. Turn on medium-high and let this cook for around 1 1/2 hours. (the water should completely cover the meat, and if necessary, you may need to add more as it cooks due to the water evaporating.) Cook the meat until it is fork-tender. Set oven to 350 degrees. Drain meat and place on a cookie sheet/baking dish. Cover with BBQ sauce and cook in oven for 25-30 minutes. THAT'S ALL! Simple and delicious! I served this with a baked potato and steamed broccoli... yum!

Banana Bread Pudding with Rum

Ingredients:
3 eggs
4 Tbsp butter melted
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups bread diced (french bread works good) Although, all I had at the time was regular bread and it turned out good.
2-3 bananas chopped
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp Rum (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Start by adding the diced bread into 1 cup of milk and let it soak for a few minutes. While that is soaking get out a large mixing bowl and add 3 eggs, the remaining 2 cups of milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, nutmeg, salt, rum, and vanilla and whisk together. Now add your bread that has been soaking. Chop bananas and add them to the mixture as well. Grease baking dish and pour into dish. Sprinkle the top with 2 Tbsp sugar before it goes into the oven. Bake at 35o degrees for 40 minutes. Your house will smell AMAZING!

chicken and shrimp stir fry & grilled corn

Stir Fry: cooking for 2
1 cup rice cooked
1 chicken breast chopped
handful of shrimp (pre cooked)
1 1o oz bag of frozen brocolli
Teryaki glaze about 1/2 cup


cook chopped chicken in skillet, and then combine thawed shrimp, brocolli and glaze. Cover and let simmer 7-9 minutes. Very easy and good! :)

Grilled Corn on the Cob:

2-4 corn on the cob
2 Tbsp mayonaise
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
pepper to taste
canola oil


remove husks, and soak in cold water for about 5 minutes. Brush some canola oil on the corn and place on the grill. Turn and grill so it is seared on all sides. (about 2-5 minutes on each side) While it is cooking mix mayo, chili powder, garlic salt, and pepper in a bowl. Take corn off and brush mixture onto corn. Enjoy! I got this recipe from Sunny Anderson on foodnetwork.com

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Overview of what I did for the Shower:

I threw a Mad Hatter's Tea Party themed Bridal Shower for my friend Amanda. Below are pictures and recipes for the food that we had at the shower. It turned out really great, and I would recommend this idea for anyone who wants to do something a little different for a bridal shower. I had everyone wear a "Mad" hat, and I placed tea cups and tea pots all around for decoration. Each place setting had a colorful paper plate, napkin, and silverware. Cupcakes had little tags that said "Eat Me" and tea pots on tables had tags that said "Drink Me." I had everyone fill out an advice card for the bride-to-be, and place them in an advice box that was passed down the table. The adice card read "Advice from a Caterpillar" (as in Alice in Wonderland). The other two games we played were called "Mad Hatter's Hat Contest" where the bride chose who had the "maddest" hat, and "she knows him, she knows him not." This game is a game where the bride answers questions based on the groom, and we counted how many she actually got correct. (The groom answered the questions prior to the shower.) I had printed out characters from Alice in Wonderland, and also signs that I had cut out of cardboard labeled "this way" and "that way", "wrong way"...etc. Paper lanterns that I found at the dollar store were also hung. The tea cups were purchased at local thrift stores to save on money. Then, I painted them each a different theme to go with a coordinating plate. The paint is for ceramics (can be found at Michaels), where you paint it onto the plate or cup, and bake it in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. The paint is then dishwasher safe, and can be used time and time again. Below are pictures, and recipes. Enjoy :)



*A close up of the "drink me" signs and the place settings at the tea party*






The Foods:

Vegetable Pizza



2 packages cresent rolls
2 cream cheese (thawed)
1 ranch packet
broccoli, cauliflour, and carrots chopped fine


Spread both packets of cresent rolls onto a large sheet baking dish. This will be the crust for the pizza. Follow direstions for baking the cresent rolls on the back of the cresent roll package. While baking, mix both packages of cream cheese and 1 packet of ranch together. After the cresent roll crust has been removed from oven let it cool. Spread cream chese/ranch mix onto crust, and top with chopped vegetables.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip:
(I got this recipe from my brother)

10 oz bag of frozen spinach (thawed)
10 oz jar of alfredo sauce
1 can of artichokes (roughly chopped)
1 cup parmesean & italian cheese blend
1/2 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
8 0z softened cream cheese

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Cook for 30-35 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until mixture is bubbly. Top with some mozarella cheese and serve with chips or bread.

Cream Cheese Frosting for cupcakes:

1 8 oz softened package cream cheese
1 bag powdered sugar
5 oz softened butter
splash of milk (about 1/3 cup)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Start with adding butter and cream cheese to a mixting bowl and blend on low until completely incorporated. Add milk and vanilla and mix again. Add Powdered sugar a little at a time until frosting is the desired thickness. (add more milk if too thick, and add more powdered sugar is too thin) Use piping bag to put on cupcakes. I put one swirl on top of each cupcake.

Cream Puff Dessert recipe coming soon :)

Pork Chops

This is one of Paula Deen's recipes, and it really turned out good!! It is definitely a low cost meal too! For two people, I spent less than 10 bucks! You can't beat that!! :)

Ingredients:
Pork Chops ( I like the thick boneless pork chops)
Chili Seasoning
Salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
olive oil/canola oil/ vegetable oil

Mix a handful of chili seasoning and about a tablespoon salt together, and rub it on both sides of the pork chops. Toss them in the skillet with some oil and cook on both sides until done. In a saucepan put in vinegar and bring to a boil. Let the vinegar cook down to become a syrup consistency. Add chicken stock and maple syrup and let cook down for about 10 minutes on low heat. Pour over pork chops for a sweet and savory meal! I served it with mashed potatoes and peas, and Ian could not get enough of it. This is definitely something I will be making again. Sorry no picture.

Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Chicken

As you can tell from my plate... I love asparagus!! :)

I got this recipe from my brother, and it turned out really good. However, when I make it again I'm going to use mozzarella cheese instead of feta.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Italian breadcrumbs
olive oil
feta cheese
whole leaf spinach


Start off with butterflying your chicken breasts. Take a knife and cut all the way through the chicken breast so that it is very thin, but still held together at the end. Open it up and pound it out on a cutting board (I just used a rolling pin to pound it!) Then place chicken in breadcrumbs and brown on both sides in a skillet with a little olive oil. Take the chicken out and let cool. Take a handful of feta cheese and spinach and place in the center of the chicken breast. Roll it up and pin it with a few tooth picks. Place in a casserole dish and cook in the oven for15- 20 minutes on 350 degrees. This was really easy, and it looked mighty fannnncy too. :) Yumm!

Turkey meatballs

I got this recipe from Rachael Ray's Website, but I made some changes to it. Here is the recipe, and below are the changes I made.

Super-Sized Turkey Meatball Recipe

When I made it I left out the spinach and added some rosemary instead. It turned out really good!!

Smothered Sirloin Pork Chops

I just kind of threw this recipe together, and it actually turned out really good!

Ingredients:
1 package boneless sirloin pork chops
1 package onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
canola oil

There were three pork chops in the package, and a couple of Ian's friends dropped by...so I just cut each one in half to serve more people.
Start with putting each slice of meat in the beaten egg, and then the flour. Add a little bit of canola oil to a large skillet, and brown pork chops on both sides. Take the meat out, and set aside. Dump out the leftover grease. Add 1 cup water to skillet, and dump in one package of onion soup mix and stir together. Add one cup milk and a can of cream of mushroom soup to the skillet, and stir together. Add the browned pork chops to the gravy in skillet, and cover with a lid. Let cook on low heat for 35-40 minutes.

I served this with rice, but mashed potatoes would be good too!