Pumpkin Bread

There seem to be two types of pumpkin bread - the very cake-like kind that often contains chocolate chips, and the denser spice-bread-like one with nuts. Both are delicious and I have a hard time deciding which I like better. I guess it depends on my mood. This is pumpkin bread of the denser variety and I think it is delicious! It doesn't have a ton of ingredients - which is great, it makes 2 loaves - so you can take one to a friend, and it seriously takes about 6 minutes to whip together. This would be great to include on holiday goodie plates or to serve at a holiday party or just to make for your long drive to California you have coming up - that would be my reason :). It will be delicious no matter what!

Pumpkin Bread

3 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. cinnamon

2 c. canned pumpkin puree

1 1/4 c. oil

1 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 loaf pans. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the pumpkin, oil, and nuts and stir to until fully incorporated. Spoon into prepared pans and bake at 350 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (check after an hour), or until done. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Snowball Cookies

These little gems are known by many names - Mexican Wedding Cakes, Russian Tea Cookies, Snowdrops, etc. Whatever you call them, they are delicious, and to me they scream Christmas! I was first introduced to these when I was dating my husband. They are his mother's favorite Christmas cookie and I see why. They have very few ingredients, but are so nutty and crumbly and delicious, and of course they look like little snowballs! The dough is not like your traditional sugar or chocolate chip cookie, so don't be alarmed. These are easy to make and look very festive on a plate of goodies. Give them a try!

Tips: As I mentioned, dough is not normal cookie dough. There are no eggs in this recipe so the dough is very crumbly - that's how it should be. Also, there is no baking powder/soda, so they don't change shape at all. If you want your cookies to come out as perfectly rounded, smooth-topped balls, make sure you shape them that way because they come out looking exactly the way they did when they went in. :) I've heard you can also make these with almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, etc., but this is the traditional way (with pecans).

Snowball Cookies

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened

2 1/2 c. sifted flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. very finely chopped pecans

additional powdered sugar, for rolling

Cream together butter and sugar. Add the flour, salt, vanilla, and pecans, and mix until fully incorporated. Refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form dough into 1.5" balls (you'll have to kind of squeeze the dough together) and place close together on an ungreased cookie sheet. I can fit the entire batch on one cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and roll in additional powdered sugar while still warm. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Source: Debbie Nowland

Baked Potato Soup

I LOVE this soup. It is perfect for winter. Although it has potatoes, it also happens to have plenty of bacon, sour cream, and cheddar cheese (hehe) so I try not to make it too often, but it's fun once in awhile! It's thick and creamy and delicious and perfect for a cold night - or even a warm night! What's even better is it's not very hard at all. You bake your potatoes ahead of time (or microwave them like I do), cook your bacon, and then basically throw everything together. Yum! Just remember to work out extra hard the next day. ;)

Baked Potato Soup

2/3 c. butter

2/3 c. flour

7 c. milk

4 large potatoes, baked

4 green onions, chopped

12 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated

8 oz. sour cream

In a large pot, melt butter. Add flour and let thicken until pasty (a couple minutes). Add milk and cook until thickened, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, peel skins off potatoes and chop into cubes. Add when milk has thickened. Add onions, sour cream, cheddar cheese and bacon. Heat through and serve!

Enjoy! Easy-peasy!

English Toffee

Tis the season for toffee! I have always been a big toffee fan, so when I married my husband and discovered that his family makes their own, I was very happy! Jeremy and I made it for the first time together 2 years ago and by now, after having messed it up almost as many times as I've gotten it right, I've finally figured out how to do it just right. :) Remember patience is key with any candy-making, so just give it time. This is a great thing to add to a goodie plate to take to the neighbors or to wrap up in cute little bags with a ribbon (which is what we plan to do tonight). Of course, I always have a hard time getting it to last that long. So don't be afraid to try it! It's sooo worth it.

English Toffee

1 c. butter (2 sticks)

1 c. white sugar

1 T. water

chocolate chips, or chocolate candy bars

chopped almonds

Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Set aside. Put butter, sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir over LOW heat until butter is completely melted and sugar is completely dissolved. Slowly turn the heat up to medium-low/medium. Continue stirring as it slowly comes to a boil (if it's not coming to a boil at medium-low, slowly turn it up to medium).

Insert a candy thermometer into the pan (clip it onto the side if you have a cool clippy thing). Keep stirring as it boils and thickens until it reaches about 300 degrees (the Hard Crack stage). Shortly before this it will change color from off-white to about the color of peanut butter. The texture will also start to change, so don't be alarmed.

When it reaches the right temperature/stage, quickly pour onto prepared cookie sheet and spread out to desired thickness with a spatula. I just spread mine into a large oval. It cools quickly, so move fast! After about 10 seconds, sprinkle chocolate chips or chocolate bars over the toffee. Wait a minute or two for them to start to melt, and then spread all over the toffee with a knife or spatula. Sprinkle chopped almonds all over. Let cool completely and then break into shards.

Extra tips: If the butter separates at the end, it means you brought it up to a boil too fast (trust me, I know from experience). Make sure the butter is all the way melted and the sugar is dissolved before you turn up the heat. Also, I know some people like chocolate and nuts on both sides of the toffee. Just wait until it cools and then flip it over, spread some already-warmed chocolate over the backside and sprinkle with additional nuts. You can also add chopped almonds to the toffee right before spreading it out on the cookie sheet. This would be more like almond roca. I've never tried it, but it sounds good!

Spinach Gratin

This picture does NOT do this dish justice, but trust me, this is the way you want to eat your spinach. :) My sister Wendy introduced this recipe to our family last year by giving it to another sister of mine. We ate it at Thanksgiving last year and then I made it this year as well. It's always a hit and really dresses up the spinach. I know it seems like there is a lot of cheese and cream/milk, but really, the star of the dish is the spinach. You can't tell from the top (my picture) but once you break into it, it's very green and spinachy. :) Try this at your next dinner party or holiday gathering. Everyone will love it!

Spinach Gratin

4 T. unsalted butter

4 c. chopped yellow onions (2 large onions)

1/4 c. flour

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

1 c. heavy cream

2 c. milk

3 lb. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed* (5 10 oz. packages)

1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 T. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 c. grated Gruyere cheese*

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add flour and nutmeg. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add cream and milk. Cook until thickened.

Squeeze as much liquid as possible from spinach*. Add spinach to sauce. Add 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish (I used an 8x8, but if you have some kind of round or oval dish near that size, that would be great too). Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

*A few notes: Allow plenty of time for your spinach to thaw and then really squeeze all the liquid out it. I set my spinach in a colander over a bowl to thaw on the counter and it took a good 14-16 hours to really thaw. Then I pushed down on it with a spoon to squeeze out the liquid and then, I stuck it all in a dish towel and rang it out. A LOT of liquid comes out of there, which is good.

Also, if you don't want to break the bank for the Gruyere cheese, you can use swiss - it's very similar in taste. My sister says she always just uses more Parmesan, so that's an option too.

Source: My sister Wendy, originally from Barefoot Contessa

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

Yummy! I love oats and coconut - put them together in a cookie and it's delicious! These are so soft, chewy, and buttery and they are definitely a new favorite of mine. If you bake them longer they would be more crunchy, but I prefer the soft chewiness. These are so good!

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

1 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 c. flour

1 c. shredded, sweetened coconut

1 c. quick oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl cream together the sugar, eggs, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are set but not overly browned.

Source: My Kitchen Cafe

Chicken with Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes

This made for a delicious Sunday dinner yesterday. I'd had my eye on this recipe for awhile and finally decided to try it. I'm so glad I did! It sounds fancy and tastes amazing, but it was really very simple. There aren't very many ingredients and it comes together really quickly. We ate this with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables and it made for a great hearty meal. Enjoy!

A couple notes: you can find sun-dried tomatoes in your local grocery store. Mine were near the canned tomatoes. The herbed goat cheese is also easy to find anywhere. Mine came in a 4 oz. package. It's shaped like a log and the cheese is white with green herbs all around it. Got it? :) I also doubled the recipe (so we'd have leftovers) and it was great!

Chicken with Goat Cheese & Sun-dried Tomatoes

2 chicken breasts, pounded thin

1 T. olive oil

3/4 c. chicken broth

2 T. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (and drained, if packed in oil)

2 oz. herbed goat cheese

salt & pepper

Heat skillet over medium heat. Pound out chicken breasts. I find the best way to do this is to set a piece of saran wrap on the counter, place the chicken on it, place another piece of saran wrap over the top, press down around the edges so the juices don't splatter, and then pound away with a meat mallet or a frying pan.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. When oil is hot, add chicken breasts. Cook through, about 6-8 minutes per side, depending on the thickness. Remove chicken onto a plate, cover with foil and set aside.

In the same skillet, add the chicken broth. Cook over medium heat until reduced by about half, being sure to scrape up the bits of chicken from the pan. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and heat through. Stir in the goat cheese and remove from the heat.

Top the chicken breasts with the sauce and serve.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats

Thanksgiving Recap

Success! I don't have much time, but I wanted to get some pictures up from our tasty Thanksgiving. I have several recipes I'm excited to share next year for Thanksgiving and I'm glad they all turned out! We had a wonderful time visiting with family and enjoying the holiday.

Hors d'oeuvres prepared by my mother-in-law:

Asparagus, feta, roasted garlic, kalamata olives

Havarti, Swiss, & Gouda cheese, fruit

My cute son eating hors d'oeuvres (we love that he loves feta as much as we do):

My hubby's dinner plate:

Our delicious brined & roasted turkey:

Stuffing:

Creamy Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

Mmm, rolls:

Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce:

Spinach Salad with strawberries, red onion & toasted almond (& raspberry viniagrette)

Spinach Gratin:

Blackberry Pie: