Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

I found the recipe for the cupcakes on the Nestle site and then decided to frost them with an Orange cream cheese frosting I found on allrecipes. The combination was amazing! These are easily the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made but they also tasted amazing. Be sure and try this frosting. It's sooo good!

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs
1/2 cup Halloween candy corn (about 40 to 50 pieces)

PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Paper-line 20 muffin cups.

MICROWAVE 1 cup morsels in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat sugar, pumpkin, oil, milk and eggs in large mixer bowl until smooth. Beat in melted chocolate. Stir in flour mixture. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.

BAKE for 22 to 27 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove to racks to cool completely.

Frost cupcakes with this and top with pieces of Candy Corn Bark.

FOR CANDY CORN BARK:

LINE baking sheet with wax paper.

MICROWAVE remaining morsels in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute;

STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.

POUR onto prepared baking sheet. Spread into 8-inch square. Sprinkle with candy corn. Tap sheet several times to settle candy corn into chocolate. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm. Break into 20 pieces.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Ham

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound elbow pasta, cooked and drained
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, (optional)
Nutmeg
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded yellow cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded white cheddar cheese
8 ounces ham, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 white sandwich bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta, and drain; reserve. Meanwhile, in a 5-quart heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in flour to coat onion. In a slow steady stream, whisk in milk until there are no lumps.

Cook, whisking often, until mixture is thick and bubbly and coats the back of a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in cayenne & nutmeg, if using, and 1 cup each yellow and white cheddar cheese. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Toss pasta with cheese mixture; fold in ham.Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or individual dishes (see note, below left). Set aside.

(This topping is the best and would be great on anything where you need a breaded topping....cheesy, crunchy, yum!) In a food processor, pulse bread until large crumbs form. Toss together with remaining 1/4 cup each white and yellow cheddar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Top pasta with breadcrumb mixture. Bake until top is golden, about 30 minutes

I always add nutmeg. Just add a dash or two. It adds a kick without making you think. Hmmm...there's nutmeg in this. Also, the cyanne pepper is a really great addition. I just add all one kind of cheese.

Enjoy....Em

Glazed Carrots

Carrots
Butter
Brown Sugar
Pepper
Nutmeg

Steam carrots until al dente (not too soft as they will continue to cook a little while you glaze). Over Med-low head glaze carrots to taste with a bit of butter, the brown sugar, pepper and nutmeg for a few minutes until sugar melts and caramelizes a little. Easy and super yum! One of my most frequently asked for recipes!

Butternut Squash Soup

Meet the oh so delicious and healthy Butternut Squash. Mix it with a few things (it can't be too healthy, right?!) and you've got a perfect soup for fall that's elegant enough for a fancy dinner and yet soothing enough for a night by the fire....that is if I had a fireplace. Guess I'll have to huddle up next to the heater vent! Butternut Squash soup:

1-3 Butternut Squash (I used 3 and it filled my big pot. Freezes great and also yummy to pair with Easy Breadsticks and share with neighbors)
Chicken Broth (for 3 I used the big box type. May only need 1-2 cans)
Butter
Milk/Cream
Brown Sugar
Pepper
Nutmeg

Bake the de-seeded butternut squash upside-down in a pan (may add a little water if you prefer) at about 350 for about 45-60 minutes, or until fork tender. Scoop out all of the yummy pulp and combine it with some of the chicken broth in the blender until smooth and to just about the desired consistency (will add milk later). If you have a super-duper "scary" blender like mine with a stick thing to help mix it around, you can put quite a bit in at a time. Otherwise, you may want to blend it a portion at a time. Pour it into a pot on the stove and add to taste about 4-12 TBS butter, a bunch of Brown Sugar, and the pepper and nutmeg. Pour in milk or cream until desired consistency and taste. Heat through. Soothing, flavorful, beautiful, YUM!

Spinach Tortellini Soup

We had this at a ward dinner the other day, and we cooked it in three roaster ovens... it was amazing. thank goodness this recipe has been cut down to size... it feeds 6-8 not 60-80.

2cloves garlic, crushed
10 oz package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
1T butter
16 oz can stewed, chopped tomatoes, undrained
8 oz pkg. tortellini
1/4 t pepper
1/8 t cayenne pepper
crispy chopped bacon
2 13 oz cans chicken broth
1 T chicken soup base
Parmesan cheese for garnish

In large saucepan, over medium heat, saute garlic in butter for 3-5 min. Add chicken broth, soup base, and tortellini, heat to boiling. Reduce heat, add peppers and simmer for 10 min. Stir in spinach and tomatoes; continue to simmer an additional 5 min. A few minutes before serving, stir in bacon. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese to taste. Serves 6-8. Is good with french bread.

Chicken Crescent Pouches

I think everyone has some version and different name for these things but they sure are good. My boys love these. When I'm not feeling too lazy, I make a gravy or use some cream of chicken soup as gravy. Don't let my pictures scare you! I left them in the oven to keep "warm" while I delivered some to a friend and they continued to cook and got a little "dark." They were still good though! I also read of some variations that sounded tasty: adding apples and onions to the chicken filling, adding green chiles and sharp cheddar, or chopped broccoli and tomatoes. Also, for a little added flavor, marinate or season your chicken well before cooking. A little extra seasoning never hurt...

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat (canned chunk chicken makes this recipe super easy and fast)
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon chopped pimento peppers (optional)
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3/4 cup crushed croutons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine until smooth. Add the chicken, onion, salt, pepper, milk and pimento. Mix well.

Separate crescent dough into four rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to center of chicken mixture and twist firmly. Pinch edges to seal.

Place sandwiches on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush tops of sandwiches with 1 tablespoon of melted butter or margarine; sprinkle with crushed croutons. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Dinner Group 10/23: Rotisserie Chicken, Carrots in Dill Butter, and Zuccini Bread

I've had a recipe for rotisserie chicken for some time now that I've been wanting to try and finally found the opportunity. I absolutely love the rotisserie style chicken you can get at the grocery store but it's getting more and more expensive. I made it with mashed potatoes, Lemon-Dill Carrots and Zucchini bread Thursday night and it was one of my favorite dinners so far! You definitely have to try the chicken. It was super easy, super fast, and super tasty. It's definitely going to be a regular occurrence in this house as my boys recently love to eat "chicken on the bone." This had the perfect blend of seasonings and the slow roasing on low in the oven left it tender and moist. Also, I'm not a big fan of steamed carrots... I really don't like soft carrots, but I had a whole bag of them I needed to use and these turned out pretty tasty as far as steamed carrots go. Even Caden and Gavin ate them. As for the zucchini bread, I've had problems with my staple recipe lately and wanted to try something new. It was pretty standard but I found it really easy to substitute in some whole wheat flour and applesauce for the oil. The boys loved this one, too. All the recipes except for the mashed potatoes came from Allrecipes, which is quickly becoming my new favorite recipe site. You can find the recipe for anything and everything with tons of reviews and ratings which always makes me feel better about trying a new recipe. I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Best Ever Mashed Potatoes (here on blog)

Rotisserie Style Chicken (Love, love this one!)

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon white pepper (I omitted this because I don't have any)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I had to use red pepper flakes instead since I was out)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 onions, quartered
2 (4 pound) whole chickens

In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours. (A side note here: I was only able to refrigerate mine for about 3.5 hours and it still turned out very flavorful. But I'm anxious to try it overnight and see if it's even more flavorful; also, I used one rotisserie chicken but the same amount of seasonings... what can I say... I like things seasoned!)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

Place chickens in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving. (Another sidenote: My 3 pound chicken only needed about 4 hours; make sure you use a meat thermometer... you won't be able to tell by color because the paprika stains the chicken breast a pinkish color. Also, the drippings in the bottom of your pan make the best gravy. Plus, if you pour it over the chicken, it will give it the nice glazed look.)

Carrots in Dill Butter

1 (16 ounce) package baby carrots (I used regular big carrots that were sliced on the diagonal)
2 tablespoons margarine (I used butter)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (about 3/4 to 1 tsp. dried)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I only used about 3/4 Tbsp.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place carrots in a saucepan with enough water to cover. (Steam them to keep more nutrients!)Bring to a boil, and cook 10 minutes, until tender. Remove from heat, and drain. Gently toss with margarine, dill, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Another Zucchini Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour (feel free to use 1 cup whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (another way to make it healthier is to use 1/2 applesauce)
2 cups white sugar (I used 1 cup brown, 1 cup white)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (Of course I had to substitute chocolate chips here to get the boys to eat it!)

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.