Melt in Your Mouth Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs                                   

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

4 cups all-purpose flour

Frosting

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 to 4 cups powdered sugar (add until desired consistency/firmness)-We did 3 cups pd Sugar

ground cinnamon sprinkled on top (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat the 2 cups of butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder,baking soda,salt,the 1 teaspoon cinnamon,and the nutmeg. Beat until combined. Beat in the eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Beat in as much of the four as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour with a wooden spoon.

2. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are set. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

3. For frosting, in a small saucepan heat the 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting on cookies. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if desired.

Caution... This recipe makes A LOT of cookies. Be prepared to give some away.. Or you will end up like me and eat 20 of them in one sitting. ;) ..No but really.. I ate at least 20. 


http://parentpretty.com/pumpkin-cookies-recipe/

Thai Peanut Noodles

Thai Peanut Noodles- Our Best Bites

Ingredients: 

1/2 c. chicken broth

3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter

1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot) (we did 1 tsp)

1 1/2 Tbsp. honey

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles ( I used Linguine)

Chopped green onions

Chopped cilantro

2 limes, cut into quarters

Chopped peanuts

Directions:

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

*If desired, you can add meat to this dish by stir-frying shrimp or very thinly-sliced chicken (partially freeze it first) in some olive oil with a couple cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, some green onions, soy sauce, and a small squirt or two of Sriracha chili sauce.

Josh and I bought some "cheaper" shrimp to go with it.. and it was amazing. We just sauteed some up in olive oil and butter. Seriously. Our new favorite meal. Oh and I only did 1 tsp of the hot chili sauce. Next time I think we might add a little water to the sauce to make it not as thick.(Josh wanted it thinner.) But really, I LOVE this recipe. 

I added this picture from their website so you could see the hot sauce bottle they used. I found it by the chinese noodles you would use in Hawaiin Haystacks or the Soy Sauce. It took me forever to find it. So I figured I would try to give a little tip and help out if you want to go find it:)

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/thai-peanut-noodles/

Pumpkin Bread

adapted from food.com

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c vegetable oil and 1/2 c applesauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• Topping: chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans),  mix with cinnamon and nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.****
3. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil and applesauce, water and sugar until well blended.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.
6. Pour into the prepared pans. Add topping (chopped nuts and spices).
7. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven.
8. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

****I chose to bake 2 ginormous loaves instead - they took 80 minutes to bake. I put foil over the tops at about an hour so the nuts would burn. Definitely would do 3 loaves next time. :) I would also try adding raisins, chocolate chips or nuts to the batter itself! Ooh! Or you could do a glaze for the top! The possibilities are endless.

4 Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 box spice cake mix
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1/2 cup applesauce
bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix first three ingredients, then add chocolate chips. Livi and I mixed by hand and it took some work, just so you know! :)
3. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet (about 2 inch clumps, we used our big cereal spoons - or if you have one of those nifty little cookie scoopers, use that!).
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs

                   http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/02/slow-cooker-sweet-and-sour-meatballs.html

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I love this Recipe.. One of my new favorites

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz) jar sweet and sour sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 lbs frozen meatballs
1 medium red bell pepper, cubed
1 medium green bell pepper, cubed
1 medium onion, cubed
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained

Directions:
Spray inside of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients inside the slow cooker and stir gently. Place lid on slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
Serve over rice as a main dish or serve with toothpicks for a yummy appetizer.

Kneaders Turkey Cranberry Salad

         SixSistersStuff

               Kneaders Turkey Cranberry Salad

 Ingredients:

1 bag of spring mix lettuce
1 bag of romaine lettuce
1 red onion, sliced**Only do a fourth of an onion.
1/2 cup Craisins
1/2 cup feta cheese (or mozzarella, if you would like)**I added Moz cheese not Feta
1 cup turkey, shredded** I did two cans of Turkey
1/4 sunflower seeds (toasted and salted are best)
Raspberry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette (I actually love Great Value Brand)

Josh and I did not follow this exactly. We made just enough for the two of us, but it was tasty with all the different ingredients. New salad ideas are great:) 

Directions:Open the bags of lettuce and mix them together. Then add the onion, craisins, feta cheese, turkey, and sunflower seeds. Mix them all together. You can either add your poppy seed dressing to the salad or serve it on the side.

Bacon Cheese and Ranch Topped Chicken Breasts

Once upon a time I saw a recipe for bacon wrapped chicken with mozzarella and something else fancy I think - and considering I had a craving for bacon, chicken and cheese - I decided to was time to find it again. No luck. Not in any of my cookbooks, and not in any of my online searches. Sad. BUT, I did come across THIS recipe instead! It was delicious. Seriously - I know I've said that before, but this jumped to one of my top 10 favorites. Yup. That good. And usually bacon makes me ill - not the case this time. Score. Aaron loved it too, Olivia - well, not so much. She's not a big protein of any kind person though - unless it happens to be chicken nuggets.

I used sliced cheese, so mine looked different...but this is so you get the idea. :)

Ingredients:

3 chicken breast halves (boneless, skinless) - I used full chicken breasts and pounded them down to the same width.
5 slices of bacon
3 tbsp Ranch dressing
1 c grated cheese - I used sliced mozzarella instead.
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic powder - I used my garlic grinder rather than powder.
parsley flakes (optional) - Totally forgot about this.
salt and pepper (to taste)
I also dusted each side with some flour, helps the chicken brown real nicely.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash the breast halves, dry them with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder on all sides.
3. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear each side of the chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes each.
4. Slice up the bacon into bits (small squares). I just sliced my bacon (uncooked) in half and put 2 halves on each breast. When we ate it, we had to cut the bacon and the chicken, so I realize the value now of cutting up the bacon to start. :)
5. Transfer the breasts to the baking dish, previously greased with 1 tbsp olive oil.
6. Top each half breast with 1 tbsp Ranch Dressing.
7. Arrange the bacon bits on top.
8. Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, then remove from the oven, top with cheese, sprinkle with parsley.
9. Bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown. Remove from heat and let rest 3 minutes and serve.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

http://craftbakesewcreate.blogspot.com/2013/01/soft-chewy-oatmeal-chocolate-chip.html

Thank you Pinterest.

Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

[slightly adapted from Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies]

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg + 1 yolk

1 T. cornstarch

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup oatmeal

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350º.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sea salt, baking soda, flour, and oatmeal. Add into the butter mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop about 2 T. of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 9-10 minutes. The edges should be lightly golden and the centers just set. Let cool for 2 minutes on the pan before transferring off to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Cashew Chicken

Another Pinterest find:)
http://www.daydreamkitchen.com/2012/09/crock-pot-cashew-chicken/

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless & skinless chicken breast tenders

1/2 cup cashews

1 garlic clove, minced

4 tbsps rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

4 tbsps ketchup

Directions:

1. Combine flour and pepper in a large resealable food storage bag.
2. Add chicken and shake to coat with flour mixture.
3. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Brown chicken 4 mins while flipping sides.
5. Place chicken in slow cooker.
6. Making the sauce: combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in small bowl.**we doubled the sauce 
7. pour over chicken and cook (on low!) for 3 to 4 hrs.
8. Add the cashews and stir.
9. Combine with rice for the complete experience.
10. Pour the sauce over the chicken and the rice.

Spinach and Mushroom Chicken

"Smothered Chicken"

http://baconbuttercheesegarlic.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-special-meal-for-my-valentine.html

Found this on Pinterest! It was so yummy! Josh and I loved it:) 

FOR THE CREAMED SPINACH:

1 large bag of spinach leaves

4 ounces cream cheese

1/4 C shredded parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 T red onion, minced

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE SAUTEED MUSHROOMS:

8 ounce package of mushrooms, sliced

1/2 stick butter(I didnt add this)

2 T olive oil

1/2 C white wine(I didnt add this)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE CHICKEN:

4-5 boneless chicken breasts

8-10 slices Mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/8 inch slices

1 T garlic powder

1 T seasoned salt, like Lawry's

1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sprinkle the garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper on both sides of the chicken.  Bake for 16 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the creamed spinach.  Over medium-high heat, melt 2 T olive oil in a skillet.  Add in the onions and saute 2-3 minutes.  Add in the spinach and garlic.  It will shrink ridiculously.  When it's cooked through, stir in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese.  Continue cooking and stirring until the cream cheese is melted.  Remove from heat.

For the mushrooms, melt butter and 2 T olive oil in a skillet.  Put the mushrooms in and cook until browned all over.  Don't season with salt until they are browned or they will never brown.  Deglaze the pan with the wine.  Add in the garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until most of the wine is cooked out.

Flip the chicken pieces over.  Divide the spinach and mushrooms over the top of each breast.  Lay two slices of cheese over each piece of chicken.  Cook another 12-14 minutes or until cheese is browned and chicken is done.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I think this is a copy-cat recipe for the one at Zupas:)

http://www.butterwithasideofbread.com/2012/07/wisconsin-cauliflower-soup.html
Ingredients:
2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk**
1 1/2 cups water**
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
Directions:
-In a large saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and water.
-Add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.
-In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. {Don't let this step deter you from making the soup! Blending it is really easy and so worth the extra 3 minutes. The most annoying part are the added dishes!} If you have an immersion blender, use it- it literally takes less than a minute to blend. 
-Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Serve soup with remaining cheese as a garnish.


*The lady who posted this said that it would be good with Ham or even fresh tomatoes as a topping. We had some ham that we diced up and put in. It was great with club crackers :) 

Avocado Egg Salad

Found this one on Pinterest and we really liked it. I might even not add the curry next time for a my bland cravings.. but it was still good.  

http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2012/06/family-and-food.html

Ingredients:

-4 Hard boiled eggs

-1 large avocado, cut in cubes

-2 Tbl Mayo

-1 tsp Curry

-Salt and Pepper to taste

*We added lettice and tomatoes to ours and it was good. Oh and Josh added a little bit of lemon juice too which was good. 

Louisiana Chicken Pasta

http://obreinfamily.hubpages.com/hub/Cheesecake-Factory-Louisiana-Chicken-Pasta-Recipe#

Ingredients:

Chicken:

5 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

Olive oil

1 1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1 cup milk

4 T flour

Cajun Sauce:

3 T butter

1 small red bell pepper chopped

1 small yellow bell pepper chopped

1 small red onion chopped

3 T minced garlic

1/2 t crushed red pepper

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1 T Cajun seasoning salt

1 1/4 pint heavy whipping cream

1 cup chicken broth

4 T fresh Basil minced

1 Package bow tie pasta

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup mushrooms sliced

Directions

1) Wash and drain your chicken breasts. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on your counter. Place your chicken on top of the plastic wrap. Layer a piece of plastic on top of the chicken breast. Use you mallet and pound your chicken pieces one by one to 1/4 inch thick. Place aside.

2) In a large skillet on medium heat melt your 3 T butter. Add your yellow; and red pepper;onion; mushrooms and saute till crisp and tender.

3) Add your minced garlic, red pepper, cayenne pepper, and Cajun seasoning salt. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

4) Add whipping cream, and 1 cup of chicken stock. You want to simmer this until sauce reheats and thickens slightly about 5 minutes.

5) Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and minced basil to sauce stirring well. Reduce heat to low and simmer as the sauce thickens.

6) Mix your breadcrumbs, flour, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese together and place in a bowl.

7) In another bowl place your milk.

8) Dip your chicken in breadcrumbs mixture and then in the milk, and then one more time in the breadcrumb mixture.

9) Place olive oil in a frying pan to where it is a 1/2 of an inch thick.

10) Heat the olive oil in the pan till it gets hot and pan fry your dipped chicken breast one by one in the pan on medium heat until golden and crisp. Add more olive oil if needed.

11) Place the cooked chicken on a plate and stick in the oven to keep warm while you are making the pasta.

12) Cook bow tie pasta in a large pot of boiling water until tender but still firm to the bite.

13) To serve place pasta on a plate. Top with the cream sauce and then the cooked chicken. Add a little more sauce on top of the chicken and you are done.

**It has a spicy kick to it, but it was still really good. This has been Josh's favorite recipe we have done so far i think. lol. It does take a while to make though. I am wondering if it will be quicker once you do it more. 

Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken

http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/honey-mustard-pretzel-chicken/

Ingredients

4 cups hard pretzels (like sourdough), coarsely crushed

1/2 cup neutral tasting olive oil

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

1/3 cup honey (Iike clover or orange blossom)

1/4 cup bottled water---Bottled water?? lol. I used the tap water.. 

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar--- I didnt have this, so I used reg white vinegar

coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 + 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts--- I tenderized the chicken a bit

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Set a wire rack (like an oven-safe cookie rack) over a large rimmed baking sheet. 
2. In a food processor pulse the pretzels until coarsely ground (small crumbs with some small pretzel pieces) then add them to a large, shallow bowl. Wipe the crumbs out of the food processor.
3. Add the oil, mustard, honey, water and vinegar to the food processor and pulse until smooth.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the flavor to suit your own tastes by adding more mustard or honey.
5. Pour half of the dressing into a large shallow bowl and add the chicken breasts. Turn to coat them evenly then dredge them in the pretzel crumbs using your hand to pat them on if needed.
6. Set them on the wire rack and bake 20 - 25 minutes or until cooked through (internal temperature 165 - 174 degrees F.).
7. Let the chicken sit 5 minutes before serving with the remaining honey mustard dressing.

**We dont own a cool rack thing for the oven, so we used a normal glass casserole dish and we just had to cook it longer. I think we ended up cooking it for like 40 minutes instead of 20. 

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/02/spinach-lasagna-rolls.html

Ingredients: 

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
• 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Pollyo)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh pepper
• 32 oz tomato sauce
• 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

**For the Cheese, I used what Parmesan Cheese I had left in the fridge and just bought a bag of a mix cheeses like Parmesan, Moz, and all sorts of other cheeses and called it good. And it was good. lol. So really you can do what ever cheeses you want:)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Rollcarefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Baked Sloppy Joes

This meal was amazingly delicious. Seriously. I loved it. As did Aaron. And Olivia. She's my toughest food critic! They look a lot like a calzone or pizza pocket. I'm thinking of all the possible fillings for more "calzones" in the future. Thanks to Six Sisters Stuff for yet another yummy dinner success. We have leftovers already waiting in sandwich baggies for an easy take and eat! 

Baked Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef, though we eat ground turkey 95% of the time)
• 1 medium onion, diced (I only use a 1/4 at most, not big onion fans)
• 1 package of Jumbo Biscuits (usually have 8 in a pckg, name brand worth it in my opinion)
• 1 can of Manwich sloppy joe sauce (I used Lawry's sloppy joe mix, which also calls for tomato paste)
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brown your turkey and onions in a frying pan. When cooked through, drain. Add your sloppy joe sauce (whether you're using the sauce or the mix) and stir until it's heated through.
3. Flatten out your biscuits and add 2 spoonfuls of your turkey mixture to one side of the biscuit. Add some cheese to the top of the turkey mixture then fold the biscuit and pinch it closed. Place them on a cookie sheet.
4. Cook for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Tortellini Soup with Spinach

Tortellini Soup with Spinach

My house has been full of sickies and we wanted a warm dinner - this soup was definitely the answer. Super flavorful and I made a huge batch so we had leftovers for 3 days. Soup warmed up awesome as leftovers! Love that it's so versatile and simple and uses everything I always have in my house. 

Ingredients: 

1 large package of refrigerated cheese tortellini (I always keep these in my freezer for last minute meals)

3 - 32 oz cartons of chicken stock/broth (I always use Swanson's, tastes the best)

Several handfuls of baby leaf spinach (I keep some in the fridge, but you could also used frozen)

1/2 tbsp basil

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

*optional: canned/drained tomatoes (crush them between your fingers), carrots, really anything you want...

Directions:

Bring chicken broth to boil. Add tortellini and cook according to directions on the package (usually you just reduce the heat and let them simmer). (If you're using frozen spinach add it before tortellini).

1. If using fresh spinach, add it after tortellini has cooked and season with basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I actually added my spices with the tortellini, great taste!
2. Serve hot with crusty bread (or if you're sick with a sore throat, not so crusty bread). Enjoy!