Pumpkin Butterscotch Cupcakes

So you may have seen me post this about this. Well, I don't ever follow recipes exactly. I use other recipes for inspiration at times. I like to make it my own. In fact, writing some of these recipes is sometimes extremely difficult because I can't seem to measure anything when I cook. I'm more of an eye-baller, if you will. Last year, during the holiday season. I made these cupcakes and they were TO DIE FOR! To get ready for my pumpkin phase in October (as mentioned... here), I wanted to start you off with an old favorite.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) Butterscotch flavored morsels, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup Pure Pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup white chocolate morsels
1/3 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Microwave 1 cup morsels in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on med-high power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave in 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Cool to room temperature.

Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in medium bowl. Stir together melted morsels, pumpkin, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract in large bowl with wire whisk. Stir in flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake pan with liners.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with butterscotch sauce (see below).

Butterscotch Sauce:
Heat 1/3 cup evaporated milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat just to a boil; remove from heat. Add remaining butterscotch morsels and add white chocolate morsels; stir until smooth. Return to heat. Stirring constantly, bring mixture just to a boil. Cool to room temperature. Stir before serving.

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

This is my favorite dessert during the fall! It just screams "Hi, its fall! Apples are in season and you really need to make me so you can devour me!" Yes, that is exactly what I hear when this is mentioned. And I could list for days the words (or sounds) that will come out of your mouth once you taste it. The best part is that I don't have to feel guilty about it! Its only 187 calories! I am totally ok with that! So... enjoy and I'd love to know your response after trying it. Its to die for!

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

1 cp unsweetened applesauce
½ cp packed brown sugar
1 cp fat-free milk
½ cp egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
5 cps cubed wheat bread
½ cp chopped peeled apple
½ cp fat-free whipped topping
½ cp fat-free caramel topping

Preheat oven to 325. In large bowl, combine applesauce, milk, brown sugar, egg substitute, vanilla & cinnamon. Fold in bread cubes & apple. Pour into an 8-in. square baking dish (or pie dish) coated with cooking spray. Bake uncovered for 35 – 40 minutes (I bake for 45 min.) or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm w/ whipped topping and caramel topping. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 8 servings.

Serving size: 8
**Only 187 calories!

Caramel S'more Rolls

I made these up last night. Heaven. That's all I have to say....


Ok, maybe I'll explain a little bit more. Its basically a s'more inside of a pastry drizzled with caramel and powdered sugar. It doesn't get any better than that. Yum!

2 pkgs (8 ct) pillsbury crescent rolls
1 jar marshmallow cream
1 cup chocolate chips
cinnamon (for taste)
cinnamon sugar (for dusting)
caramel (for drizzling)
powdered sugar (for dusting)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray to prevent rolls from sticking. lay rolls flat on cookie sheet. Near the larger end of the roll, scoop 1 tbsp marshmallow cream for each roll. Dust with cinnamon and then add a tbsp of chocolate chips. Roll up so that no filling will come out while in the oven. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes and place on a platter. drizzle with caramel and dust with powdered sugar.

YUMMY!

Basic Marinara

So I have an obsession with Italian food. It makes my mouth water. And it all starts with marinara sauce... and sometimes white sauce... and well, anyways, my point is, I love marinara sauce. And this recipe is healthy too! This recipe makes a ton of marinara... as in you'll have a full freezer of it for quite some time! If you don't need enough for ages, just cut the recipe in 3 and you'll have a perfect amount!

3 tbsp olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion (about 3 medium)
3 tbsp minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 c chicken broth
3 (28 oz) cans no-salt-added crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and next 6 ingredients; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat 55 minutes or until sauce thickens; stirring occasionally.

Makes 12 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)

**You can puree it if you don't like a hearty consistency. It'll be great for dipping that way!

Fall, Fall, Fall

Well, this is my favorite season to cook! I get so excited! There's apples, pears, pumpkins, squash, cranberries, yams, hot cocoa, etc.

Here's my plan for baking in the fall:

October: Pumpkins
November: Apples, Cranberries
December: Pears

Nevermind, I'm just gonna do it all at once. I love fall!

Here's my new plan, I'm going to make/revamp these:

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cupcakes
Hot Cocoa Cupcakes
Lemon Cranberry Cookies
Pear Puff Pastries
Caramel Apple Bread Pudding
Pumpkin Pancakes

*Keep in mind, these all have my own little twist on it. I'll inform you when I make them!
**For organization sake, I'll have a theme once a month. September is chocolate month...yes chocolate!

Veggie Tacos

If you've ever heard of Island's Restaurant, then you're missing out on their Veggie Tacos. I love to try and recreate things and I decided this time to add my own twist to it. My recipe is more of Mediterranean meets Southwestern. I was a little nervous of how it may have turned out, but to my surprise it looked and tasted GREAT!

Couscous:
1 c chicken broth
1 clove of garlic, minced
pinch of curry powder
pinch of paprika
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 c uncooked couscous

Add all ingredients, except the couscous, to a saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the dry couscous. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Veggie mix:
2 cup frozen Market Pantry Corn & Blackbean mix (found at Target)
1/2 Zucchini Squash, cut into strips

Oil a pan and toss in veggies. Cook until fully cooked.

Tacos:
Corn tortillas
Green Leaf Lettuce
Couscous
Veggie Mix

Layer lettuce on top of tortilla. Spoon desired amount of couscous on top of lettuce. Add veggie mix on top of the couscous. Eat up!

Just Cook Already!

I love blogging! I am a contributor to Just Cook Already! Its a blog meant to bring your kitchen to everyone else! I've gotten some amazing ideas from this blog! Check it out!



http://just-cook-already.blogspot.com/

Banana Stuffed French Toast!

This little baby is my new best friend! You know those crustables PB & J snack from the freezer aisle...ya well I have one of these tools at home and man does it make life fun! It's from Pampered Chef (my #1 cooking best friend) and it's very inexpensive considering how often you'll use it! Sure, it takes away the crust but it also inspires me to the max! I give you Banana Stuffed French Toast!

Ingredients:

For Banana Stuffing:

3 bananas, cut into 1/2 in. slices

4 tbsp butter, unsalted

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For French Toast:

10 slices of regular wheat bread

2 eggs

3/4 c milk

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla

Brown Sugar Syrup:

4 tbsp butter

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a saute pan. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir till it has a syrup texture to it. Add bananas and stir for a couple minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Scoop about a spoonful of the banana mixture onto a slice of bread. Lay another slice on top and press down slightly. Take the Cut & Seal and Press firmly to create a "crustless sandwich." Continue until you have 5 sandwiches total. Mix eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl. Dip sandwiches into the egg mixture and place on a greased cookie sheet. Contiue with the rest of the sandwiches. Bake for 25 minutes. After 15 minutes, flip the french toast over.

4. While the french toast is in the oven, mix butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla to create a syrup on low heat. Serve warm over the french toast.

Olive Oil Cakes with Lemon Glaze

I am obsessed with cooking magazines! Right now one of my new faves is the Food Network Magazine! Can it get any better than that??? It has all my favorite chefs all in one! Who needs a cook book when you can have it all every month! This new issue has some really neat goodies! I tried one out tonight and my family LOVED it. I made 24 individual size cakes... and now there are 5 left. Mind you, they came out of the oven 45 minutes ago! The best part about this recipe is that you make it all in a blender. This was specifically designed for those of us who aren't so lucky to own a food processor (trust me, it is on my wish list though). I modified this a little bit because I wanted to make it a little healthier. I'll give you my version!



Ingredients
For the Cakes:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish

For the Glaze:

3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions
1.Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Prepare the cakes: Brush a 24-cup mini muffin pan or 12-cup pan with the melted butter. Lightly dust with flour and shake out the excess.

2.Pulse the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a blender until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, then gradually pour in the olive oil and milk, pulsing until emulsified into a thin batter, about 30 seconds. Don't overblend or the cakes will be too puffy.


3.Whisk 1 cup flour, the baking powder, salt and 1 teaspoon thyme in a small bowl. Add to the blender in 2 batches, pulsing lightly until just combined; stop to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cakes just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and spring back when lightly touched, 20 minutes for 24-cup pan, 25 minutes for 12 cup pan. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides with a small knife and invert the cakes onto a rack.


4.Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Whisk the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and butter until smooth, adding more lemon juice if the mixture is too thick. Drizzle over the warm cakes and garnish with thyme sprigs.

* I use less glaze because the recipe called for way more glaze than needed.

Italian Lemonade

During the spring and summer I LOVE lemons and I love basil. Well this recipe is actually a combination of both! Its a lemonade with a basil simple syrup. I think it adds a zing to your everyday lemonade. I saw this on Everyday Italian with Giada. I LOVE that show too! The thing about simple syrup is that I prefer to make my own. Mainly because I can control the amount of sugar going into it. There's always a battle of how to correctly make it, but I think it all depends on how sweet you want it. This recipe uses a 2:1 ratio sugar to water. If its too sweet then just make it 1:1 ratio.

Ingredients
2 cups lemon juice, about 12 to 15 lemons
2 cups Basil Simple Syrup, recipe follows
2 cups cold or sparkling water
Ice
Lemon twists, for garnish


Directions
Mix lemon juice, Basil Simple Syrup, and water together in a pitcher. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Pour over ice filled glasses and garnish with a lemon twist.
Basil Simple Syrup:
1 bunch fresh basil, washed and stemmed
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

In a saucepan combine basil, sugar, and water and simmer until the sugar is dissolved, 5 minutes. Cool, strain the simple syrup, and store in the refrigerator.