Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

I am so thankful for all of my readers. I wish you all a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!

Our family Thanksgiving feast!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss

What flavors go together better than chocolate and peanut butter? After tasting this cupcake, nothing! And it's all because of the frosting. The frosting is so creamy and smooth and delicious. It totally makes this cupcake! I got 24 regular cupcakes and about 8 mini cupcakes out of the batch. I topped them with Mini Reese's and alternated cupcakes with chopped Reese's and halves. I know when I have something good when my husband wants to take half the batch to work (not sure if he's sharing or just keeping them all to himself!), he did say he could demolish the entire batch! I made these for a co-workers birthday and he ate 3 before lunch! He told me I "have outdone myself" and they were by far his favorite cupcake yet!

I love taking pictures of cupcakes, there just so cute!

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

Source: Hershey’s Website

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
  

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. For Cake:Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost. 10 to 12 servings.
4. For Cupcakes: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.
   

Peanut Butter Icing

Source: Ina Garten (Food TV)

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place the confectioners sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Stuffed Peppers

This was my first attempt at ever making stuffed peppers. I've actually only have had them once before, my mother-in-law introduced me to them when we were living with them while building our house. I liked this recipe because it is quick & easy and I didn't even have to turn my oven on! It only calls for 2 peppers but you could actually use 3-4 depending how full you fill them. There was definitely filling left over

No-Bake Stuffed Peppers

• 2 medium bell peppers (any color – I used green and red)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped2 cups rice, cooked
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
  

Cut peppers in half lengthwise. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, drop the peppers in and boil for 5-6 minutes. In a small bowl, mix tomato sauce, basil and sugar and set aside. Brown meat and onion in a large skillet; drain. Stir in 1/2 the tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of the rice and the salt. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes; stir in cheese. Spoon meat mixture into peppers and place into skillet. Pour remaining tomato sauce around peppers; cover and simmer. Top with additional cheese, if desired. Serve on top of remaining rice.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I love baking with pumpkin, it makes the house smell so good and it feels like Fall. This was my first recipe baking with my fresh pumpkin and I'm not sure I can go back! These muffins where so moist and delicious! I brought them to work today and a couple co-workers that don't even like pumpkin loved them! It's a super easy recipe that can be baked in regular size muffin tin or mini. I wanted to use my mini muffin tin for the first time so I made mini's, aren't they the cutest little things!!

Mini's!!

Pumpkin Ginger Spice Muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup melted butter
  
• 2 eggs, beaten
  
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)
• 2 Tbsp well chopped candied ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mix the pumpkin, melted butter, eggs, water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, until just incorporated. Do not over-mix. Fold in the candied ginger and chopped nuts. Spoon mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack. Makes 12 regular size muffins, I got 35 mini muffins.

I opted not add nuts or candied ginger and they were really good. I think I might even add some of the pumpkin cream cheese for a filling... ooh I think that would just be heaven!!

Homemade Bagels with Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Bagels are one of my favorite breakfast foods! Unfortunately where we live now there are no bagels places anywhere close, we would have to drive at least 20 minutes just for a bagel! So I decided to try my hand at making homemade bagels. Then I found this recipe for Pumpkin cream cheese that sounds absolutely amazing that I just had to made BOTH as soon as possible. I made the bagels with white whole wheat flour (slightly more healthy) and didn't use the full amount of flour. They are best toasted.

Homemade Bagels

• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packages active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions:

In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.

Don't worry they get bigger once boiled!

Cut into 12 portions, shape into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger, and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. Cover, let rise 20 minutes. Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling.

Dough will sink the bottom once in water, made sure to move them so they don't stick to the pan. They will rise to the top within a few seconds.

Put 1 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering. When the bagels are ready, put about 4 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once.

Nice and puffy!

Drain them on a towel. Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, eat hot or cold.

Ready to Eat!

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and syrup til creamy. Add pumpkin, spices and vanilla and beat til smooth. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

I made the cream cheese with fresh pumpkin from in a previous post. This pumpkin cream cheese is all that I hoped it for. It was very easy to make and came together in 5 minutes. It is soo delicious I made a double batch!!

Squash Fries?!?

Yup, that's right butternut squash french fries! I never would have thought to use butternut squash for a fry. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and thought I'd give it a try. While they were baking, the house smelled amazing! For not being a huge fan of squash, these were pretty good. I think I might try actually frying them next time instead of baking to see if they taste more like fries. Sorry no pictures, I forgot!!!!

Butternut Squash Fries
Ingredients

• 1 (2 pound) butternut squash, halved and seeded
• kosher salt
• pepper
• cinnamon
• nutmeg, small amount
• olive oil
  

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Use a sharp knife to carefully cut away the peel from the squash. Cut the squash into sticks like French fries. Place squash in a plastic bag and combine salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and oil, shake until evenly coated. I only used half a squash and didn't really use any measurement, I just sprinkled however much I thought would taste good. Arrange squash pieces on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes (I baked mine for 30-40 minutes) in the preheated oven, turning the fries over halfway through baking. Fries are done when they are starting to brown on the edges and become crispy.

FRESH pumpkin!

So I've been thinking..."What am I suppose to do with all these (13 to be exact) pumpkins?" Well I'm going to bake them of course! What's better then canned pumpkin? FRESH PUMPKIN PUREE that's what! I've seen that sugar pumpkins are the most commonly kind of pumpkins to use for baking however any kind of pumpkin will do! Any size and variety can be used. While I'm on the hunt for a multitude of pumpkin recipes to experiment with, I need to get the pumpkin ready. So I've decided to roast it and I tried 2 different ways to see what works best.

First, cut open your pumpkins and remove stem. Scrape insides to remove seeds and pulp. Save seeds for roasting later! Then either pick Option A or Option B.

Option A: Cut each pumpkin in quarters, arrange on baking sheet or roasting pan, and brush with olive oil or water to keep from drying. Roast on 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until tender. Once the pumpkin is fork tender, remove from oven and cool. Once cool enough to handle, scrape out the pumpkin.

Option B: Cut pumpkins in halves, place cut side down in roasting pan, add 1 cup water, and roast at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes or until tender. (This one worked best for me, it may have taken longer but the pumpkin was easiest to remove). Once fork tender, remove from oven and cool. Once cool enough to handle, scrape out pumpkin.

Pumpkin will look like this once roasted! Place scraped pumpkin flesh into a food processor and pulse, stopping frequently to scrape down sides. Puree until smooth, this will have to be done in a few different batches. Most recipes call for 15-ounce can of pumpkin, use 1 3/4 cups of puree, a 29-ounce can contains 3 1/2 cups puree. I measured out bags of 1 3/4 cups puree.

Store in freezer safe resealable bags or containers leaving 1/2 inch of headspace for expansion while freezing. Label and date the bag or container. Pureed pumpkin can keep in the refrigerator for 1 week or up to 9 months in the freezer.

And now we're ready to start baking....

Next up: Pumpkin Spiced Muffins, Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese