Pumpkin Cobbler

I pinned this recipe a while back and finally made it right before Thanksgiving.  It's kind of like a Hot Fudge Sundae Cake, only instead of chocolate it's made of pumpkin and spice.  Oh, this is amazing!  I was seriously tempted to make this instead of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  It's that good.

I ended up making a pumpkin pie and those yummy Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars instead, but I just may have to make this next year.  And a time or two between now and then, of course.  It's really simple to make, using ingredients you probably already have on hand, and so good.

Pumpkin Cobbler
from Lauren's latest

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 T milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1-1/4 cups unbleached flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• topping:
  * 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  * 1/2 cup brown sugar
  * 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  * 1-1/2 cups very hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a medium sized bowl, stir pumpkin, milk, melted butter and vanilla together.  Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices and stir into wet ingredients to create a thick batter. 
3. Pour into a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish with high sides.
4. In a separate bowl, stir sugar, brown sugar and pecans together. Spread evenly over the top of the batter. Pour hot water over the top.  Do not stir.
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the middle is set. {Be sure to place on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over.} 
6. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

It looks like an ordinary cake when you pull it out of the oven, but just wait until you scoop some of it out of the baking dish!  Hiding under that cake is a rich, amazing syrup.

It's really good nice and hot straight out of the oven with some vanilla ice cream on top - and then some of the syrup spooned over the top.  It's also very, very good the next day - cold with some whipped cream on top.  I think it might be even better.

Be sure to let me know how you like it.

For What Ails You

Someone posted this on Facebook, and it was called Sore Throat Tonic.  I wrote the recipe down so I could try it when I had a sore throat.  But it sounded so good - yep, I'm probably weird - that I just had to try it, sore throat or not.

I think it's really good.  However, I don't know how it would actually help with a sore throat.  It's a bit spicy and a little harsh, so I almost feel like it would make a sore throat worse.  What it is good for is to clear everything out.  If you've got a stuffy nose or clogged sinuses, this stuff is just what you need.  I think it's also great to drink when you feel like you might be getting a cold - to scare that baby away for good.  OK, I don't guarantee this will keep a cold away, but I did drink it quite a bit last week when I felt a cold was coming on, along with tea and hot honey lemon water and Emergen-C every day, and the cold never did develop into a full-blown cold.  So, it's definitely worth a try.

Besides, it tastes good!  Or at least I think so.

Keep the Cold Away Tonic

Ingredients:

• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1/8 tsp. turmeric
• 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. raw honey
• a few slices raw ginger
• squeeze of lemon (optional)
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. In mug, mix cayenne, turmeric, vinegar, honey, ginger and lemon.
2. Pour boiling water in; cover and steep for at least 5 minutes.
3. Enjoy

The original recipe did not call for lemon, but I think it really adds something to the flavor.  If you don't have lemons, don't worry about it. 

And, I just spent way too much time searching through all my photos on Flickr for a mug of tea or something to represent this, since I've never actually taken a picture, but no such luck.  You'll just have to use your imagination, or take your own pictures when you try it.  Or not.

Just enjoy.  And don't forget to chew on the ginger slices when you get to the bottom.  They have a nice bite to them.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Making Memories with your kids.  If that sounds familiar, it's because I had Erin's blog for last week's themed reveal, too.  What a bonus - I got to make two different recipes from her blog and share them with you!  Since last week's post was about sweets and Holiday Treats, I wanted something completely different this week, though I'm definitely going to make this Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake soon.

Erin is a big fan of comfort food, and that sounded like just the thing - something easy after all the prep and cooking for Thanksgiving.  Erin is a single mom of two kids, and she also works as a middle school counselor. It should come as no surprise that her blog is full of easy and kid-friendly recipes.  I am going to have to try her Crock Pot Corn Chowder, Taco Soup, and Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Cupcakes very soon, but for this week I chose this yummy Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings.  I'm especially going to try the meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  It's definitely a kid-friendly meal, and even if I don't make the cupcakes, I am seriously going to try Erin's trick for mashed potatoes - use ranch dressing instead of milk!  Sounds good, huh?

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
adapted from Making Memories with your kids

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 a medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 to 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 a green pepper, diced
• 4 T butter
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1-1/2 cups peas
• 1 (8-10.5 ounce) tube biscuit dough
• Cornmeal

Directions:

1. Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder together and use it to season chicken breasts. Place chicken in crock pot. Top with chopped onions, garlic, peppers, celery, and carrots.
2. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, chicken broth, milk, and salt & pepper. Pour into crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. 1-2 hours prior to serving, shred chicken and return to pot. Add peas (run them under water to thaw first)
4. Cut biscuits into 4 to 6 pieces. Roll in cornmeal and then add to crock pot. Continue cooking until biscuits are firm.

Erin's recipe calls for a bag of mixed vegetables which you add at the end, where I added the peas.  it wasn't until after I'd decided on this recipe and gotten the chicken and broth out of the freezer that I realized I didn't have a bag of mixed vegetables.  So I had to improvise by adding celery and carrots, and the green pepper.  Since they were fresh and needed cooked longer than the frozen vegetables needed, I added them at the beginning with the chicken.  They turned out great.
 

I had never thought of using canned biscuits for dumplings.  Luckily I had a can in my fridge.  It was a 5 biscuit can of Grands! (10.5 oz.) so I cut them into 6 pieces because they are a bit bigger than the regular biscuits.  I also think this recipe would work great with any dumpling recipe, if you have a favorite one.  The biscuits (and the frozen vegetables) just make this recipe really simple and perfect for busy moms and anyone who wants a warm and comforting meal without too much trouble.  For best results I would suggest adding the biscuits 2 hours before you want to serve, so they have plenty of time to cook.  If you can't, just stir in the frozen veggies (thawed), add the biscuits to the top, and turn your crock pot on high for the final hour of cooking.

If you're looking for comfort food, definitely give this recipe a try.  It smelled amazing from the moment I put everything into the crock pot, and it tasted just as good as it smelled.  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

An InLinkz Link-up

Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars

There are four groups in the Secret Recipe Club, and we each post once a month.  When there's an extra Monday in the month, we get an extra themed reveal, should we choose to participate. We have an extra Monday this month, and the theme is Holiday Treats.

I had the privilege of browsing Erin's blog Making Memories with your kids in search of some yummy treats.  Erin has made it especially easy to find her holiday treats, because she has a special holiday category with choices for holidays throughout the year.  With Thanksgiving this month, I went straight for the Thanksgiving page where I found these yummy looking Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars.  These absolutely adorable Turkey Cookies look like a lot of fun, too.  They definitely fit with the theme of Erin's blog, because it is full of kid-friendly meals, recipes, and crafts.  Erin and her two amazing kids have made some fun and yummy treats as well as some very cool crafts.  Quite simply, if you are looking for fun things to do with your kids, you will most definitely want to check out this blog!

Some other recipes I thought would be perfect for Thanksgiving were:

• Pumpkin Pie cookie bites
• Pumpkin Pound Cake
• German Chocolate Brownie Bites

But I went back to the Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars.  I have tried another recipe for pumpkin pie bars in the past, but it was never as good as I thought it should be.  I thought this one just might be what I was hoping that other recipe was, and it definitely was.  So good!

Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars
adapted from Making Memories with your kids

Ingredients:

• For the crumb layers:
  * 1-1/4 cups flour
  * 1-1/2 cups quick oats
  * 1/2 tsp. salt
  * 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  * 1/4 cup sugar
  * 1/2 cup brown sugar
  * 3/4 cup melted butter
  * 1 tsp. vanilla
• For the filling:
  * 2 eggs
  * 3/4 cup sugar
  * 1 tsp. cinnamon
  * 1/2 tsp. salt
  * 1/2 tsp. ginger
  * 1/4 tsp. cloves
  * 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
  * 1 (12 oz.)  can evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an 11x7" pan; set aside.
2. Mix flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and sugars together.  Mix in melted butter and vanilla.
3. Press half of the crumb mixture into prepared pan; bake for 15 minutes.
4. While that bakes, prepare filling by beating eggs in a large bowl and then adding sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves.  Mix well and then stir in pumpkin; add evaporated milk and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour filling over partially baked crust and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and crumble the rest of the crumb mixture over the top.  Return to the oven and bake an additional 25-35 minutes, until the top is nicely browned and center is set..
7. Cool at least 1 hour at room temperature and an additional hour in the refrigerator before serving.  Cut and serve with whipped cream, if desired.

I was planning to follow Erin's recipe and make this in a 13x9" pan, but I ended up with my 4 glass 13x9"  pans full - 2 with turkey and 2 with rolls - so I had to come up with an alternative plan.  I cut the crust recipe in half and just used my regular pumpkin pie filling recipe - the recipe from the Libby's pumpkin can, but you can use your favorite pumpkin pie filling recipe.  I think it turned out great.

The crust and crumb layer on top are amazingly good.  The crunch, texture and flavor are absolutely perfect.  Once the dessert has been covered and refrigerated, it loses a bit of the original crunch - why do things have to do that? - but it's still really, really good.  I'd say this is an excellent alternative to pumpkin pie.  The crumb layers kick it up a notch, it can more easily be cut into smaller pieces and serve more people, and it's easy to make.  If you think you can't make a pie crust, this recipe is definitely one you should try.  I'm not sure I'll ever stop making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but I'm definitely thinking I'll be replacing one of the pies I usually make with a pan of these Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars from now on.
 

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving filled with people you love and had some yummy treats of your own!

An InLinkz Link-up

Roasted Veggies and Sausage

A few weeks ago I was checking out at the grocery store. I was buying smoked sausage, red potatoes, and cabbage. There were a few other things too, but there was something about seeing those things on the belt that made me think I really needed to throw something together with them.  I went looking for inspiration, and this recipe from real life Dinner was pretty much exactly what I had in mind.  Except I changed the vegetables a bit.  That, of course, is the beauty of a recipe like this - you can use the vegetables you have on hand or the vegetables that are telling you they really want to be thrown together into something yummy.  I think any number of combinations would work.

Roasted Veggies and Sausage
adapted from real life Dinner

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, cut into chunks
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3-4 large carrots, sliced
• 4-5 medium red potatoes, diced
• Coarsely sliced cabbage (I did not measure)
• 3-4 T olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste (I used 1 tsp. salt and freshly ground pepper)
• 1 12-16 ounce package smoke sausage or kielbasa, sliced into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Toss veggies with olive oil and salt & pepper in 13x9" pan.  Top with sliced sausage.
3. Bake for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

That's it.  Really simple and really tasty.  Just chop your veggies up, toss them together, bake, and enjoy!

The secret is to cut all the veggies into similar sized pieces so they will cook evenly.  Next time I think I am going to cut my carrots and potatoes just a bit smaller.  Also, the size of your veggies, and how well roasted you like them, will determine how long you'll need to bake this.

This heats up really well, and the leftovers might be even better than the first time.  we had some green beans with it the first night, and I just threw them into the pan and roasted them with the rest.  (see them in the back there?)  Just really so good.