A Little Taste of Fall: Pumpkin Granola

Fall has arrived in Utah! I am frequently playing the heat in the morning/AC on the drive home game, the leaves are changing color and road construction is at full power. :) To celebrate my favorite season I thought I would share a delicious new recipe. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Granola
Makes about 16 cups

10 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup *
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or tinfoil and set aside. 

In a large bowl combine all ingredients. Mix well. Oats should be moist and evenly coated. Spread the mixture evenly between the two prepared baking sheets. 

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven, stir and rotate pans to opposite racks. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the granola is golden and crisp.  Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container. 

Serve with milk, yogurt or enjoy it by the handful.

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

* I am spoiled and used some of the Grade A New Hampshire Maple Syrup Brett sent us for Christmas, but I am sure regular pancake syrup would work too.

Inside-out carrot cake

I found an online recipe for inside-out carrot cake muffins right before Easter. I though the idea was genius! Since I love this pumpkin recipe so much, I was sure that the recipe would become a favorite. However, after following the poorly written recipe (which yielded dry not-worth-the-calories muffins) I decided to combine two loved recipes into my own version. Below is the tasty result.

Carrot Cake:

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
3 cups grated carrot

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. Cream oil, eggs, sugar together, combine with dry mixture. Stir in grated carrots.

Filling:

1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs all-purpose flour

1 large egg

Mix together filling ingredients. Grease tart pans or muffin tins. Fill pans 1/4 way with cake mixture, layer another 1/4 filling on top, finish with 1/4 more carrot cake on top of filling. Bake 25-35 minutes.

P.S. Jeanelle thanks for the recipes! :) The filling is from your pumpkin bread. I am not sure on the carrot cake portion, but Anna thought it was yours as well.

Eating Leftovers and Loving My Life

Stephanie and I tried a new recipe last night and both decided it was a bit of heaven. You must try it for yourself!!

Williams-Sonoma Chicken & Artichoke Skillet Lasagna

1 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
each 4 to 5 oz. (125 to 155g)
1 red onion, diced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 jar (1 lb, 8 oz./684g) artichoke & lemon pasta sauce *
2 1/2 (75g) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
5 1/2 oz. (170g) fresh goat cheese, crumbled
8 dried lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

*Williams-Sonoma supposedly sells this, but I could not find it on their site anywhere. It's possible that they do not sell it anymore. I picked up the recipe a few years back and forgot about it until I bought a lemon artichoke pesto at the farmers market - which is currently over and leaves me searching for a website or a location where I can buy more yummy pesto...I will try to report back.

Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C).

In a large nonstick fry pan over high heat, warm the oil. Add the chicken and cook, turning over once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, bell peppers, salt , back pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Add half of the pasta sauce and 1/4 cup (60ml) water. Cover, bring to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 13 to 15 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into small chunks. Reserve 1/4 cup (90g) of the remaining pasta sauce and stir the rest of the sauce into the pan.

Transfer half of the chicken mixture to a small bowl. Spread the remaining mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle one-third of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on top, then sprinkle with one-third of the goat cheese. Cover with a single layer of 4 lasagna noodles. Repeat with the remaining chicken mixture, one-third of each of the cheeses and the remaining noodles. Spread the reserved 1/4 cup (90g) pasta sauce on top, making sure to coat the edges of the noodles to prevent them from drying out during baking. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top.

Cover the pan, transfer to the over and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 15 minutes more. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley, cut into 8 pieces and serve warm. Serves 8

p.s. we improvised a little to make this more affordable. i.e had no garnish, used chicken tenderloins, and just regular parmesan cheese. I can only imagine what the suggested $9 cheese would have made. Maybe some day. :)

** I e-mailed M.C.Rossi and they said you can find their pesto at the Good Earth stores, Emigration Market, and soon Winder Farms and Smiths.

Photo by Williams-Sonoma

Happy Haloween!

Made these cookies again last night and thought I would put the recipe up here since I have had so many requests for it. :)

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

makes 3 1/2 dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, pumpkin, and vanilla. Mix. Stir in dry ingredients until well mixed. Drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet. bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove, cool, then drizzle with icing.

Icing

2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
3 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In addition to the recipe I wanted to mention that I listed some of my twisted nursery rhyme prints on etsy. My friend Katie convinced me that trying to get some money off my doodles was worth a shot. I think it would be fun to frame three and hang them over a child's bed. So we will see if anyone is interested.

My summer wrap up

As I was buying ingredients for this amazing pumpkin bread the other day, I realized that it is officially fall! Due to this, I decided to post a summer summary.

went to the Ogden Valley Balloon Festival

visited the fair

and went to my 1st demolition derby

attended this beautiful girl's wedding reception in Rexburg

took pictures of this great family

and went to Cats.

Not to mention swim parties, concerts in the park, camping, a big murder mystery date, the rodeo, and of course turning 23! Talk about a fun summer!

Impressing the In-laws

I came across this delicious dinner recipe in one of the many cookbooks I checked out earlier this year. Since then, it has become one of my favorites and one that Steph claims she will eventually use to wow her new in-laws. You should all give it a try. It’s quite tasty, not to mention simple.

Oven-Baked Apple Barbecue Chicken

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 min
Baking time: 35-45 min

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup or honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)
1 large apple, cored, peeled, and cut into large chunks
1 large onion, cut into large wedges

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a large bowl, combine: tomatoes, soy sauce, chili powder, vinegar, honey, and garlic. This will be your homemade barbeque sauce. Spread over the chicken, apple, and onion, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Note: For a fruity twist, pineapple can be substituted for apple.

Free Sale

I love garage sales! In fact, I think the only thing better than a great garage sale is a FREE sale. Meaning that people who are having a sale decide they are sick of sitting outside and give away all the unsold items for free. Pretty wonderful I must say! It was thanks to Saturday's free sale that I got the recipe for these tasty cookies. You should all probably try them...

Rocky Road Fudge Bars

Base:
½ cup margarine or butter
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
¾ cup chopped nuts

Filling:
8-oz. package cream cheese softened (save 2-oz. for frosting)
¼ cup margarine or butter
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
¼ cup chopped nuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
2 cups mini marshmallows
¼ cup margarine or butter
¼ cup milk
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13x9-inch pan. In large saucepan over low heat, melt ½ cup margarine or butter and 1 oz. chocolate, stirring constantly until well blended. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Add 1 cup flour and remaining base ingredients; mix well. Spread in prepared pan.

In small bowl, combine all filling ingredients except ¼ cup nuts and chocolate chips. Beat 1 minute at medium speed until smooth and fluffy; stir in nuts. Spread over chocolate mixture; sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips. Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Immediately sprinkle marshmallows over top. Return to oven and bake an additional 2 minutes. In large saucepan over low heat, combine ¼ cup margarine, milk, 1 oz chocolate and reserved 2 oz. cream cheese, stirring until well blended. Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Immediately pour frosting over marshmallows and lightly swirl to marble with knife. Refrigerate until firm; cut into bars.