Halloween 2015

This is one of my favorite holiday traditions! Every Halloween growing up we would have dinner in a pumpkin and pumpkin roll. Now Sam and I do the same thing. Pumpkin roll is my favorite dessert although it is tied with strawberry cheesecake. Anyways, I will post the recipes. I would have both of these any time of the year!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

- 1 small to medium pumpkin

- 1 onion copped

- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

-1 1/2 to 2 pounds ground beef

- 2 tablespoons brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons soy sauce

-1(4oz.) can slices mushrooms

- 1(10 3/4oz.) can cream of chicken

- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice

- 1(8oz.) can sliced water chestnuts

Cut off the top of the pumpkin and thoroughly clean out the seeds and pulp. Paint a face on the front of the pumpkin with a permanent marker. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, saute onions in oil until tender. Add meat and brown. Drain drippings from skillet. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, mushrooms and soup. Simmer 10 minutes, stir-ing occasionally. Add cooked rice and water chestnuts. Spoon mixture into the cleaned pumpkin shell, replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin, with filling, on a baking sheet. Bake for a hour or until inside meat of the pumpkin is tender. Put pumpkin on a plate. Remove pumpkin lid and serve meat. For your vegetable, score out cooked pumpkin and serve. Serves 6. 

Pumpkin Roll 

(from the back of the Libby's Pumpkin Can paper)

Not the greatest picture but, Happy Halloween from the Solo's and Yoda!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Want something to do with those pumpkin guts after carving? :) This is an awesome, "somewhat" healthy treat you can make after you're done carving your pumpkins and I'm pretty sure you'll have all the ingredients on hand.

Step 1: After you've carved your pumpkins, save the seeds and clean them well. I did this by putting them in a colander and rinsing them. After, I placed them on a pan and dried them off. Some recipes tell you to dry them overnight. I didn't want to wait so I just towel dried them. Either way will work.

Step 2: After you've decided on the seasonings you want(I split the batch and did a couple different ones) you melt some butter and then mix the seeds in. To make it healthier, you could use olive oil.

Step 3: Most recipes asked you to stir the seasoning in with the butter and pumpkin seeds. When I did this all the seasonings ended up sticking to the bowl and not the seeds. I ended up placing them on the pan then sprinkling the seasoning on top. I like them pretty powerful so I wasn't stingy with the seasonings :).

Step 4: Place them in the oven on 300 degrees and keep an eye on them. They can burn very easily so I checked them about every 5 minutes and took them out once they had reached the crunchiness I liked.

There are a million different recipes so I suggest you check out different ones and see what sounds best for you/what ingredients you have on hand. These are the ones I tried today:

Salt

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar (my favorite)

Dill and Salt (also very good)

Chili powder and Garlic Salt

I also saw one that was pizza flavored but didn't try it. I would make all of these again.

Cinnamon & Brown Sugar

Thanks for stopping by! I'm so excited to share my favorite Halloween tradition this Saturday!

Sam's Birthday + Birthday Cake

Sam's birthday was last week and I made probably the best cake I have ever made for him. Naked cakes are becoming popular so I decided to make one. If you haven't seen one you should google them. There are some really cool ones! 

 

I think Dax will like opening his presents on his birthday because he sure liked helping dad open his.

There's my masterpiece! Haha, basically a naked cake is just not frosted everywhere. I can never get my cakes to come out of the pans smoothly but I knew that would important when I couldn't cover it up. I looked up some tricks that hopefully will help you if you have this problem. Wipe the pan with butter or oil, flour it, lay down wax paper (you can trace it and cut it before oiling it) then repeat the oiling and flouring. It comes out so easily! The peanut butter frosting was so good and light. I layered the top with a ganache. I have never made one before but this stuff is amazing and I just want to cover everything with it now!

Strawberry Cheesecake

Today I am going to share my favorite dessert, Strawberry Cheesecake! This is one of those family recipes and I have been eating for as long as I can remember! My mom makes it almost every time we come home and I honestly can never get enough.

Mix together:

-1 cup flower -1/2 cup melted butter -1/2 cup chopped nuts -1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Pack into a 9X13 inch pan and back for 15 minutes until brown. Cool, then crumble in the pan.

This is basically a picture of what not to do! Normally you would chop of the nuts finer but I still need to invest in a chopper (does anyone else have a huge list of kitchen gadgets that they want?) Also bake it till it's a little browner than in this picture.

Mix together until smooth:

-2 8oz. packages cream cheese -2 cups powdered sugar -2 package prepared Dreamwhip (2 come in a box)

Spread over crumbs and then layer with 2 packs of sliced strawberries.

Make 1 package of Strawberry Danish Dessert. Use 2 cups of water and follow cooking directions on box. Pour on top of dessert and put in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.

Strawberry Cheesecake

 

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

4 hours

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 package prepared dream whip
• 2 packages strawberries
• 1 package strawberry danish dessert

Instructions

1. Mix first four ingredients, pack into bottom of 9X13 inch pan, and bake until brown.
2. While the crust is cooling, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and prepared dream whip until smooth.
3. Once the crust is cooled, crumble it in the bottom of the pan and then spread the cream cheese mixture on top.
4. Slice the strawberries and lay them on top.
5. Using 2 cups of water make the the strawberry danish dessert according to the directions on the box.
6. Pour it on top and then let it set for 3-4 in the refrigerator.

Sam thinks my family and I are crazy because we have no problem eating this for dessert! And I would be lying if I said I didn't eat this for breakfast this morning!

Strawberry Kit Kat Cake

Found this recipe on pinterest yesterday and HAD to make it! It was really fun to make and also very good! I cheated and bought a box cake. Tip: make sure you get the right size of kit kats. I used an 8 or 9 inch pan (my pans don't say) and accidentally bought the fun size so I had to get creative and brick lay them.

Christmas Treats

I hope everyone is enjoying some kind of treat with Christmas right around the corner! We have finally gotten around to making some. With the holidays being so busy it's hard to make time but homemade treats are my favorite. Sam LOVES chocolate covered pretzels so that is always on our list of things to make. We also made caramels, oreo truffles, and fudge. We found an oreo truffle recipe here . The fudge and caramel recipes I had from my mothers cooking class in 9th grade. They are super easy and I can't believe I don't make them more often.

Devilishly Good Chocolate Cake

Last Sunday I put my Christmas presents to good use! A lot of the things I got were for cooking(wondering if that is a hint from my husband:)). I was in the kitchen all day and it was actually a lot of fun to try out new gadgets and recipes. So the next couple posts will be highlighting recipes and gadgets letting you know how I liked them.

I don't know if you've ever heard of the Cake Mix Doctor but she is amazing. The first cook book of hers that I got was actually the Dinner Doctor and I loved it so much the Mister got me her Cake Mix Doctor book. Basically she takes normal recipes and boxed cake mixes and enhances them. They are all super easy and fast! So the first thing I made was a bundt chocolate cake. It was delicious, although I think I would change the frosting next time, it tasted a little too much like powdered sugar for my liking.

Devilishly Good Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

• Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
• Flour for dusting the pan
• 1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil's food cake mix
• 1 package (3.9 ounces) chocolate instant pudding
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I used imitation)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist the bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the chocolate and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until the chocolate is melted, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside.

3. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Fold in the melted chocolate. blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

4. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with finger ad just starts to pull away from the side of the pan. 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack to complete cooling 20 minutes more.

From here you just add the frosting. I would share the frosting I put on it if i thought it was worth it. But I wont because I don't. Excellent cake though, I would definitely serve this to anyone I love :).

100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine yeast, water and 1 tsp sugar. Let sit for five minutes.

2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups flour, salt and remaining sugar. Make a well in the center and add yeast mixture and olive oil.

3. Stir using the paddle attachment or a spoon until the dough just comes together, then knead, either by hand or in a stand mixer fixed with the dough hook, for about 5 minutes (3-4 minutes if using stand mixer). Add remaining flour in 1 tbsp increments just until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl or is no longer sticky.

4. Shape dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Punch down risen dough, shape into a ball and place on a lightly floured pizza stone.
Roll out into a circle of desired crust thickness and let rest about 10 minutes (at this time you can put on your desired toppings).

6. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place pizza in oven and bake about 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are baked. Let pizza rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Freezing Fresh Corn

It's harvest time and anyone with a garden is most likely up to their ears with produce. I hate when anything goes to waste so I'm always in search of ways to store food. I love to can but it can be a very big project and you have to have all the equipment what can you do instead? Freeze it! I know this isn't the best option if your wanting to store it for long periods of time but it should be good for up to a year. 

I'll be using corn on the cob to demonstrate what you need and how to do it. First off, freezing always goes best when you have a food vacuum. It can be done without it, there's just a bigger risk of freezer burn. I don't have a food vacuum so I'll will be making do without it. I started with a dozen ears of corn, the fresher the better, so if your able to pick it right off the stalk it's going to taste really good!

1. Shuck the corn and try to get as much of the silk off as possible but if there is some let it will be fine.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it's boiling add the corn, I only did six at a time and did two batches. This is called blanching and is necessary for keeping the taste. Depending on the size is how long you will cook it. Small-7 minutes, Medium-9 minutes, and Large-11 minutes.

3. Once it has cooked for the needed time you will transfer it to a bowl of water filled with ice. Let it cool for the same time that it cooked adding more ice as it melts. 

4. Once its cooled down you can cut the corn off and add it to a freezer bag or a zip lock bag. Since there are only two in my family I used a sandwich size zip lock bag and only put two-three serving sizes in it. 

5. If you have a food vacuum this is where you will suck out all the air. If you have a zip lock bag like I do just try to get as much air out of it as possible and close it. I've heard of people putting a straw in it and sucking out the air then closing it. Whatever works best for you.

6. Lastly you can mark the bag with the date it was made. It should last about a year as long as there is not bad freezer burn.

Note: When you are ready to eat it just put the bag in the microwave and heat it up for a couple of minutes.