Baked Pull-Apart Pumpkin French Toast

I had my doubts about this recipe, but I made it this morning and loved it! It is really rich, so I didn't eat too much. My kids weren't big fans, but if you love pumpkin, this would be a fabulous Thanksgiving morning breakfast--tastes almost like pumpkin pie!

Baked Pull-Apart Pumpkin French Toast

adapted from SimpleBites.net

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 loaf hearty whole wheat bread, sliced
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup milk or cream
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
• 2 Tablespoons molasses
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions

The night before…

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, 2 Tablespoons melted butter, molasses and 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice blend.
2. Dip each slice of bread into the mixture to coat well, then place, one layer thick, on a 13×17 baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining pumpkin mixture on top of the bread.
3. Place plastic wrap over the soaking bread slices and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

In the morning…

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter an 8 x 11 baking dish. Mix together brown sugar with remaining teaspoon of spice blend.
2. Remove plastic wrap from the soaked bread and brush tops lightly with remaining 2 Tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle French toast tops all over with cinnamon sugar mixture.
3. Starting with the smaller pieces, arrange the slices of bread in the buttered baking dish, propping them up on top of each other until the pan is full. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops are crispy.
4. Serve at once with pure maple syrup and whipped cream.

EASY Chicken Lettuce Wraps

picture courtesy

EASY Chicken Lettuce Wraps

adapted from Katie Worthington

Cook two chicken breasts in 1 T sesame oil. in frying pan (you can use veg.oil- the sesame just adds a lot of flavor). Chop (I use my food chopper). Return to pan.

Add
1 c. fresh mushrooms - chopped small
1 can water chestnuts drained - chopped small (I use a food chopper for these things as well)
5 green onion stalks sliced 3/4 of the way up
1 T. minced garlic
salt and pepper

Sauce for Stir Fry
8 tbsp. soy sauce
8 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. rice wine vinegar (I substituted white wine vinegar and it was great!)
Pour on top of stir fry and saute for another couple of minutes.
Spoon mixture into washed and dried iceburg lettuce cups and top with rice noodles prepared as directed on package (optional).



24 Hour Italian Beef ( a.k.a.French dip)

picture courtesy



We are such a chicken family. I don't really like red meat for various reasons. But on occasion I like to throw a little variety into my kitchen. I went for this Italian beef recipe that Katie gave to me and I was SO glad I did. Definitely will become a family favorite and will be on our rotation. Don't let the 24 hour thing scare you- it was a beautiful thing! I put the roast in on Saturday night and then we ate on Sunday. It was great, easy and a big crowd pleaser (not to mention impressive!). Recipe adapted from Katie Worthington.

24 Hour Italian Beef
3-5 lb roast (bottom or butt)
2 c water
1pkg Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix
1 pgk. Au Jux Gravy mix (McCormick makes it)
1 t. Italian seasoning
Buttered and toasted french bread or buns
Provolone cheese (optional)

Mix water, dressing, au jus mix, Italian seasoning in bowl. Put roast in crock pot and pour mix over roast. Cook on low overnight. In morning shred and discard any fat. Return shredded roast to crock pot and cook on low until served. Serve on toasted and buttered buns (optional) with a bowl of au jux (the juices from the crock pot) on the side. I also served this with provolone cheese. YUM!

Poppyseed Lemon Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Photo from indiansimmer.com

So, don't let the fanciness of this recipe scare you.  I never sift anything and it all turned out great.  I only used lemon juice from the little plastic yellow lemon and it turned out great.  The frosting on these is spectacular!  These were super good, please make them--but only when you're having friends over because you want to share these, I promise.

Poppyseed Lemon Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe from Indiansimmer.com
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
zest and juice of one meyer lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup poppy seed

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 cupcake tins with paper or silicone liners.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a small bowl.
3. In bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about five minutes.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time, ensuring they are completely incorporated before continuing to the next one.
5. Mix in the zest, lemon juice and vanilla.
6. Add flour and buttermilk to batter in two separate additions, beating completely between additions.
7. Fold in poppyseeds.
8. Fill cupcake liners 7/8 of the way to the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating half way through baking time.
9. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2  cup butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract (or one vanilla bean + 1 tsp vanilla extract)
1  1/2-3 cups icing sugar

1. Beat butter and cream cheese together until fluffy.
2. Slowly add in vanilla.
3. Slowly stir in icing sugar on low speed one cup at a time.
4. Pipe onto cupcakes and serve immediately.

Lemon Cupcakes

To watch this video recipe Click HERE!

Hi Everyone!

Sorry about the delay in this recipe! My vacations are a week away and I'm very busy making sure everything is ready.Also my microphone broke, so I had to get a new one! I hope you like this recipe! Enjoy!

Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter soften
1/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs room temperature
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Lemon Cream Frosting: (makes enough to frost 6 cupcakes)
8 ounces cream cheese, soften,
1/2 stick unsalted butter, soften
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Chocolate Mousse Frosting (makes enough to frost 6 cupcakes)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate sprinkles for garnish
(this Mousse frosting needs to be refrigerated before using as a frosting)

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Combine flour with baking powder, salt and the zest of the lemon, mix together and set aside.

In two different bowls, separate the egg whites from the yolks and set aside.

In an electric mixer blend butter, sugar and sour cream together until well combined and fluffy, for about 2-3 minutes on medium high.

Reduce the speed to low and add the egg yolks one at time,make sure to beat each yolk for about 30 seconds before adding the next one, scrape down the sides if you need it to, reduce the speed to medium low and add the lemon and vanilla extract, also add in the lemon juice. Blend for 30 seconds, on medium high.

Reduce the speed to the lowest and add the flour mixture a little at a time, scrape down the sides again if you need to. Once the flour is thoroughly combined you can remove the batter from the mixer, and set aside for a minute, remember do not over-mix your batter,
if you do over-mix, the cupcakes will be hard as a rock, and we don't want that.

In an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until very think and fluffy. Once the egg whites are ready, we are going to combine them with the cake batter. Add a third of the egg whites into the batter and slowly fold them together, take your time, this step will make the cupcakes super moist and delicious so do not skip it. By folding the egg whites into the batter we will have a perfect cupcake, rich, moist and fluffy in the inside. Continue to slowly fold in the egg whites with the batter until you are done.

Spray your cupcake pan with cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan, bake at 325º for 25-30 minutes. When you insert a toothpick in the middle of your cupcake, you want the toothpick to have little crumbs on it, if it comes out clean, it means you over cooked your cupcakes, and they will just get drier as they cool. So just cook your cupcakes until the top feels springy and toothpick comes out with few crumbs on it.

Let them cool completely before you put on the frosting.

Chocolate Mousse Frosting:

Microwave 1/2 cup of the heavy cream for about 40 seconds, mix in the chocolate chips, stir together for 15 seconds, cover the cream and set aside, for 5 minutes so the chocolate continues to melt completely. If the chips do not melt completely, you can microwave again
for about 30 seconds.

In an electric mixer, blend the rest of the heavy cream, vanilla extract and the powdered sugar, blend until the heavy creamy is light and fluffy, for about 3 minutes on high speed.

Now we are going to fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, make sure the chocolate is cold and completely melted. Add 1 third of the whipped cream into the chocolate
and slowly fold them together with small circular motions, keep on doing this until the whipped cream is well combined with the chocolate, refrigerate for about 20 minutes before frosting the cupcakes.

Lemon Cream Frosting:

In an electric mixer on medium, blend the cream cheese and the butter blend until well combined, for about3 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, and the the vanilla extract, blend for 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add in the powder sugar, blend at low speed until the sugar is
completely dissolved, for about 2-3 more minutes.

That's about it, the frosting is done, now we have to make sure the cupcakes are cold before frosting them.

You can decorate your cupcakes any way you want... you can use a pastry bag
a Ziploc bag or a butter knife to decorate the cupcakes. It is all up to you,

I'm using my pastry bag with a large round decorating tip.

Fill the pastry bag with the frosting, and start frosting from the outside and swirl into the center of the cupcake. So start on the outer edge, and slowly circle the cupcake until you reach the center. That's about it. Keep on repeating this step until you are done!

I garnish the lemon cream frosting with lemon zest and garnish the chocolate frosting with chocolate sprinkles.

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

picture courtesy

My cousin Katie and I get together-if we are lucky- about once a year. Something that we have done over the past couple years is exchange recipes and cook and of course eat together! She is visiting me now in Augusta and I will be posting several recipes from her over the next couple days. This recipe I would definitely rate five stars. Does cinnamon bun popcorn sound weird? Yeah, kinda. Try it. I promise you will LOVE it. Its not something that would catch my eye and so I am so glad she made it for me. To die for. AND how perfect for a Christmas gift!

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn
Ingredients:
2 regular size bags of popcorn, de-kerneled ( you can used air-popped or something NON buttery. I have used Orville Redenbacher's "Tender White")
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
3 squares of white almond bark
1/4 c. Karo syrup
1 stick of butter
1 t. vanilla

Combine the following in a large glass bowl:
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 t. cinnamon
Add:
1/4 c. light Karo syrup
1 stick butter
Melt in the microwave  for 30 seconds, then take out and stir. Microwave for 2 minutes then stir. Two minutes again. Bowl will be very hot! Stir well.

Now combine in a small bowl:
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. baking soda
Add this to the caramel mixture. It will foam and fizz. When fizz goes down, quickly pour over popcorn mixed with chopped pecans in a very large bowl (maybe even two bowls to have room to mix). Work quickly here. Mix well. Microwave for another 30 seconds and stir again.

Melt three squares of almond bark in a mocriowave safe bowl stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Spread popcorn out over a sprayed cookie sheet and then drizzle on melted almond bark.
*I like to toss it ALL in almond bark although the recipe calls for a drizzle. I use the same amt.- 3 squares.

Pumpkin Streusel Bars

Pic courtesy Google images

My SIL, Macy made these for dessert a few weeks ago and I fell in love with them. So much so, that I made them a week later for a dinner party we went to. I'm not usually a huge fan of pumpkin, but these were amazing. Seriously. I think I'm going to forgo the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving this year and go for these instead.

Pumpkin Streusel Bars

Macy Bell

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg

Stir together cake mix, melted butter, and egg until well combined. Reserve one cup for topping. Press remaining mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 egg

2/3 cup sugar

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

Whisk together pumpkin, egg, sugar, vanilla, salt and spices. Spread filling over pressed crust.

1 cup reserved cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

1 T. cinnamon

3/4 cup old fashioned oats (I used quick oats with great results)

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

whipped cream , for serving

Stir together reserved cake mix, sugar, cinnamon, and old fashioned oats. Cut in cold butter with a fork or pastry cutter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle over filling and bake in a 325 oven for 35-40 min.* , or until topping is lightly browned (do not over bake). Serve with whipped cream.

*Mine took more closer 50 minutes to bake.