Ready for Autumn Salad

Ingredients

• Sweet potato
• Olive oil
• Cayenne
• Paprika
• Chilli powder 
• Salt
• Pepper

• Chicken
• Apple cider vinegar 
• Soy sauce or honey bbq sauce
• Brown sugar

• Pumpkin seeds
• Water
• Butter
• Brown sugar
• Cayenne

• Lettuce
• Green onion
• Feta
• Green apple
• Grapes or cranberries
• Brianna's salad dressing... The one with a strawberry on it

Directions

1. Heat oven 450F
2. Cut sweet potato into small cubes
3. Put in pan, drizzle in olive oil. Sprinkle cayenne, paprika, chili powder. Toss. Put in oven. About 25 min.
4. Put chicken in pan on low with brown sugar, table spoon or two of apple cider vinegar, and soy sauce or sweet bbq (I did a tablespoon of both) cook on low
5. Put a handful of pumpkin seeds in a tablespoon of water and boil in water until water is gone. Then add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon and then some of brown sugar and a sprinkle of cayenne. Stir to a bubbly boil until slightly thicker. Arrange in pan so none are overlapping, and remove from heat. It will probably turn into a type of brittle almost and that's okay. Just break apart once cool.
6. Cut lettuce, green pepper, Apple and grapes.
7. Put together with feta, nuts, chicken, and sweet potato 

Notes

I think I must be ready for the Fall... apple, sweet potato, pumpkin seeds? Geeze! Anyway, today when I opened up my fridge, wondering what to make for dinner, I looked at my sweet potato and remembered a salad Lindsay made one time for the family. And it just went from there. Jeff said it was one of the best salads he's had in his life... So maybe you'll like it too. Sorry for no measurements. If you have questions just text me. It took me about 40 minutes to make with three crazies running around and melting down. The salad looks really pretty with all the color.  Enjoy!

Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine (Our Best Bites)

Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine 

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
1/2 lb Fettuccine
2 medium zucchini
1 C shredded parmesan cheese
5-6 cloves garlic
Fresh Basil (about 1/2 C)
Fresh Oregano (about 1/4 C)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepare grill. You could also do this on the stove top in a skillet, or a grill pan.

Place chicken in a zip-lock bag with the juice of one lemon, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Smoosh around and set bag aside while you get your other things ready. (If you’ve got time to spare, let the chicken marinade for 30 minutes, if you don’t, just take what you can get. I did mine for 15 min and it was great.)

Put the pot on the stove to boil water for the pasta. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half length-wise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press, or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small sauce pan on the stove, place 1/4 C olive oil and add garlic. Turn burner onto low-med heat. It shouldn’t be popping and frying, it should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has.

When water boils, add pasta and a spoonfull of salt

Remove chicken from bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place chicken, and zucchini on grill.

While chicky and zuchs are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs and get out cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn’t been juiced.

See, now you’re all ready. When everything is done cookin’ you can throw it together! Keep an eye on that garlic. You DON’T want it to get brown and crispy. It should still look nice and white. Give it a stir. If it starts really cooking, just take it off the heat and set aside.

When zuch and chicken are done take them off the grill and chop ‘em up.

Reserve about 1/2 C pasta water. Drain pasta and immediately place in a big bowl. Place chopped zuch and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, herbs, and garlic-olive oil mixture. Just pile it all in there.

Garnish with a little more Parmesan on top and another squeeze of lemon! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

Ingredients

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil
For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions

• To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.
• To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
• To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
• To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!)

My new favorite muffins!!!!
recipe found here http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/10/08/pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins/

Pumpkin Dessert

1 18 oz. yellow cake mix
1/4 C butter, melted
1 egg
1 29 oz can pumpkin pie mix
2 eggs
2/3 C milk

1/4 C butter, chilled
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C cinnamon
nutmeg to taste

Set aside 1 C cake mix.  Combine remaining cake with butter and egg and spread in 9X13 pan.  Combine pumpkin, milk and eggs and pour of cake spread.  Combine topping and sprinkle over top.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Serve with whipped cream. 

Notes:  I like this more than pumpkin pie.  It's SO good and easy.

Pumpkin Rolls

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup pumpkin
• 3 T oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 T lemon juice

Directions:

Beat eggs and sugar and add lemon juice and pumpkin.  Sift dry ingredients and add to the mixture. Bake at 375 for 13 minutes in a greased cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.  Cool on a flour sack dish cloth covered with powdered sugar, spread filling on top and roll (from long side to long side). Refrigerate for at least an hour before cutting with a sharp knife. Recipe fills one cookie sheet.

Filling

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 T soft butter

Directions:

Mix together well.

Notes:

In the pumpkin mix recipe, I like to add two extra T of lemon extract, and also some lemon zest.  I also like to add about 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg, ground cloves, and ginger. If you don't have any wax paper, you can just butter your pan to death and sprinkle flour liberally on top to cover the whole pan, and then poor the pumpkin mix over that.  It comes out pretty easily when you flip it over on the cloth with powdered sugar.  

- Adapted from Sister Malan, picture from here

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I used light)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup whipped topping for topping

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

-In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

-Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

-Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Notes:

Sadly, Jordan does not share my love for all things pumpkin. I did make this for the missionaries one night and they enjoyed it. As I don’t have a spring form pan currently, the pre-made graham cracker crust is a plus! I'm bringing it to our ward's Fall Fest chili and pie cook-off this weekend. Mainly because I want some! I think there's a video tutorial on the link below as well.

Recipe and picture from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/double-layer-pumpkin-cheesecake-2/detail.aspx 

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• ½ C applesauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cups white sugar
• 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Cups whole wheat flour
• 
2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Optional: add 1/2 cup or so of mini chocolate chips and then sprinkle some on top to dress them up a bit!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans. (Or for me,it
worked perfectly for 2 of my 9x5 loaf pans).
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, water and sugar until well blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Optional: Gently stir in chocolate
chips and sprinkle some on top once in pans, if desired. Pour into the prepared pans.
Bake for about 50 minutes (7x3 pans) or 50-60 mins (9x5 pans) in the preheated oven. Loaves are done
when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Notes:

I thought the flavor was even better the second day. I think this recipe is kind of a nice compromise between healthy ingredients and taste! I reduced the sugar, replaced some of the oil with applesauce, and replaced over half of the flour with whole wheat flour. Nothing like warm pumpkin bread for breakfast on a fall morning!

(adapted from the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Downeast-Maine-Pumpkin-Bread/Detail.aspx?prop24=etaf)