Autumn Chopped Salad

Today was the day I tried this fabulous recipe I found on Pinterest...Go ahead and Thank Me...

This is the PERFECT salad for your Thanksgiving Meal. It is amazing....best side salad ever.....

I prefer a homemade dressing over the bottled dressing mentioned ...however this salad is great either way...ENJOY I know you'll love it.

Autumn Chopped Salad(Printable Version)

Ingredients
*6 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
*2 medium pears, chopped
*1 cup dried cranberries
*1 cup chopped pecans
*8 slices thick-cut bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
*4 to 6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
*Poppy seed Salad Dressing (I like T. Marzetti)
*Balsamic Vinaigrette (I like Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette)

Instructions
*On a large platter, combine the lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon and
feta cheese. Drizzle generously with poppy seed dressing, followed by some of
the balsamic vinaigrette. (I would estimate that I used about a cup of dressing:
70 percent poppy seed dressing and 30 percent balsamic vinaigrette) If you
prefer your salad to have more dressing, feel free to experiment with the
combination.

**** My Favorite Option for the dressing comes from Shannon Carlsen recipe to follow:

2 tsp Poppy seeds
2/3 C sugar
3/4 C. vegetable Oil
1/3 C. Red Wine Vinegar
3/4 TBSP onion
1/3 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp salt

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix until blended

Cake Pops or Cake Balls

Ingredients for Cake Pops
(Printable Version)
To make these cake pops, you will need:
1 cake baked in a 13x9 pan
1 tub of frosting, or about 2 cups
12 ounces of candy coating
lollipop sticks

Crumble the CakeBegin by breaking up the cake into fine crumbs. This recipe is really flexible, and you can actually use any flavor of cake, or even substitute muffins or quick breads instead. Whatever you use, work the cake until it's entirely crumbled.

Mix in FrostingTake your frosting, and again you can use any flavor you like, and mix it in. you can use a spoon, but I think it's easier, although messier, just to use my hands. I reserve a little of the frosting because I don't always need it. The exact amount needed will depend on the moistness of the cake.

You want the final mixture to be fairly moist and to easily hold itself together when you shape it into a ball, but not so moist that it's soggy or gooey.

Roll the Cake into Balls
Roll the cake into small balls, using a teaspoon or a small cookie scoop. You should get between 3-4 dozen balls depending on how large you make them. Set them on a lined cookie sheet.

Freeze the Cake Balls
Once they're all formed, put them in the freezer to harden for about an hour to make them easier to dip.

Melt the Candy Coating
While you're waiting for the cake balls to harden, melt the candy coating in the microwave and stir until it's entirely melted and smooth.
Put Lollipop Sticks into Cake Balls (or move on to the next step if not using sticks)

After an hour, remove the cake balls from the freezer. Use a skewer or a toothpick to poke holes in the balls, then dip the end of a lollipop stick into the melted coating, and stick it into the hole you just created. The melted coating will help hold the stick in the cake pop.

Dip Cake Balls into Candy Coating
Once all of the cake balls are on sticks, it's time to dip them. Hold one end of the lollipop stick and submerge the cake pop completely in the melted coating. Take it out and gently tap it and swirl it upside down to remove excess coating--if you don't it will drip down the stick and look really terrible.

Set the Cake Pops
Now you can just stick them upside down on a baking sheet to set, but this does give them flat tops.

So if you want rounded shapes, you'll need to find some Styrofoam or florist foam to stick your cake pops in while they dry. Continue dipping them until all of your cake pops are covered with candy coating. If it starts to get too stiff from the cold pops, re-warm it briefly.

Decorate the Cake Pops
If you want to decorate them, you can drizzle them with melted white chocolate, or add sprinkles or chopped nuts while the coating is still wet.

Parker's Pumpkin Bread

My soon to be 11 year old son has been asking me to make pumpkin bread since school started. Kind of a strange request from him. Today he asked again and I finally felt in the mood to honor the request................He was quite excited as he announced that he was going to take his teacher a loaf since it was her favorite. With a smug look on his face he declared that he LOVES being the teachers pet........so there you have it a GREAT pumpkin bread recipe that makes superb muffins as well. I made large muffins and baked them for 30 minutes . My loaves take the full hour. Enjoy!!!

Parker's Pumpkin Bread

Printable Version

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup water
29 ounces pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 
Directions In a large bowl, mix together ingredients in order given.
Divide mixture into 3 greased loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cakes

 Another fabulous recipe from Our Best Bites....make sure to have plenty of milk around when you serve these. They were great..

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
Recipe by Our Best Bites
(Printable Version)
1 Duncan Hines yellow or white cake mix
1 cup sour cream (full-fat or light, but not fat-free)
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
24 unwrapped mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Chocolate Frosting:
1/4 cup melted butter (real butter, not margarine)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 pound powdered sugar
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup  real butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons (or more) of milk (you can use some of the leftover evaporated milk; it’s awesome in this frosting)
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all the cupcake ingredients except for the peanut butter cups with an electric mixer on medium-low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl frequently. Turn the speed to high and beat for another 3 minutes.
Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full with batter. Top with an unwrapped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup , then fill the muffin cups with the remaining batter. Make sure the Peanut Butter Cups are covered and the cups are about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frostings. For both frostings, just combine all the ingredients for each one and whip until light and fluffy, adding additional milk as needed. Frost the cupcakes with the swirled frosting in this tutorial.

Eclairs

 

I finally decided to try my hand at making Eclairs.( I am not sure what I have been waiting for. )This recipe was great!! The kids enjoyed helping. The filling made a little more than I needed so my grand daughter had a bowl of pudding while we waited for these to cool. If you think that making eclairs may be too time consuming or difficult then this recipe is for you. Try these today.

Eclairs:

(printable version)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter 1 cup water 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs Filling : 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix 2 1/2 cups cold milk 1 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  Chocolate Glaze : 2 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoons hot water

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
2.	In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition. With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a No. 10, or larger, tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.
3.	Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake 20  minutes more,(I only baked mine an additional 13 minutes more and they were perfect) until hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack.
4.	For the filling, combine pudding mix and milk in medium bowl according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Fold whipped cream into pudding. Cut tops off of cooled pastry shells with a sharp knife. Fill shells with pudding mixture and replace tops.
5.	For the icing, melt the chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until icing is smooth and has reached desired consistency. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and drizzle over filled eclairs. Refrigerate until serving.

Zucchini Bisque

 

I received this great recipe from my Mother In Law. It was a big hit at our house. It reminded the kids of a cream of broccoli soup . We added a little cheese to top it off and served it with corn bread. 

The following recipe and notes are courtesy of Jan King.

I turned 20 cups of zucchini from our garden into 5 quarts of yummy Zucchini Bisque yesterday.  I doubled the following recipe.

(Printable Version)
10 cups zucchini
1 large onion, chopped
1 cube butter
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half & half
salt & white pepper to taste
1 dash nutmeg

Simmer everything except the cream until squash & onion are tender.  Blend until smooth, add cream.

I used to make this in Mesa AZ, in the morning and served it chilled for dinner with Bacon Corn Muffins for a refreshing meal when it was hot.  However, Don actually prefers it warm.  I put 4 quarts in the freezer to enjoy later, and I will serve it with Corn Fritters.

Apple Cobbler

 

This cobbler is so easy to make. It can be made with any flavor pie filling. I make this with my home canned Apple Pie Filling. I would dare say that this is My husband's favorite dessert. Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it is hard to beat .

Pie Filling Cobbler

(Printable Version)

Ingredients :
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 (15 ounce) cans pie filling ( flavor of your choice)

Directions
Melt butter or margarine in baking dish.
Mix sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add milk and mix well.
Pour batter into melted butter-- do not stir.
Pour pie filling into batter (I drop it by spoonful and put several spoons in the middle and then divide the rest into the corners and sides-- do not stir).
Bake@ 350° for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown.

Oreo Cupcakes

I saw this recipe and knew I had to try it. Just as I thought it was a huge hit!!

Who doesn't cupcakes right? Go Ahead make them and then head straight to the gym:)

Oreo Cupcakes ( From Your Cup of Cake )

(PRINTABLE VERSION)

Cakes: 24 teaspoons Oreo crumbs ¼ cup water ½ cup buttermilk ½ cup oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup sour cream 3 eggs Devil’s Food Cake Mix Oreo Buttercream: 8 ounces cream cheese ¼ cup butter Oreo cream from cookies 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 ½- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk 1 cup Oreo crumbs, sifted Directions: 1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffins tins with cupcake liners 2.    Separate about 24 Oreos. Scrape off the cream centers and set aside for later, and put the cookies in the food processor.  Or if you are a poor college student, put them in a plastic bag to crunch by hand. 3.    Sift the crushed Oreos.  You will need 1 cup sifted cookies for the buttercream, so set that aside, and then add the extra sifted cookies to the larger pieces that did not sift.  4.    Place 1 teaspoon of larger/extra sifted cookie into the bottom of each cupcake liner. 5.    In a large bowl, use a whisk to combine water, buttermilk, oil, sour cream and vanilla extract.  6.   One at a time, add the eggs.  Be sure to stir well in between each addition, you do not need to beat the eggs though.  7.    Slowly add Devil’s food cake mix while stirring. 8.   Fill cupcake liners (with the cookie crumbs on the bottom) ¾ full and bake for 13-18 minutes depending on how hot your oven gets.  The tops should spring back when you touch them. 9.   Place into air tight containers as they cool to seal in moisture.  10. Oreo Buttercream:  For 5 minutes, beat cream cheese, butter and the Oreo cream centers you scraped off from the Oreos.  11.   Add vanilla, powdered sugar and heavy cream and let beat again. 12.  Stir in Oreo crumbs and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

This fabulous dressing goes well with mixed greens. It is a great addition to a summer meal.

Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Recipe by Our Best Bites

(printable Version )

1/2 c. white wine vinegar
1/2 c. honey (or sugar)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tsp. kosher or other coarse salt
About 10 cracks of freshly ground black pepper
1 c. raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries
2/3 c. canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

Combine the vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and berries in the jar of a blender. Blend until smooth and then, with the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Turn off the blender and whisk in the poppy seeds. If possible, refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Grilled Zucchini

 

We are starting to get some great veggies from our garden. This is a great way to use cook garden veggies. 

Grilled Zucchini (Printable Version)

If you take small zucchini and cut them lengthwise, you'll find that it's really easy to grill. You may also sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over them before you serve.

Ingredients:

·         3 medium zucchini cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         2 teaspoons oregano

·         2 garlic cloves, minced

·         1/4 teaspoon rosemary

·         salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat grill. Brush zucchini with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of zucchini with oregano, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Grill until zucchini is tender, about 4 minutes per side.