These tasty little treats combine two of my favorites--cheesecake and pumpkin. Yum! I got the recipe from a Kraft Food and Family magazine.
Ingredients:
25 Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
dash ground cloves
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix crumbs, nuts, and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9 inch pan.
Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Remove 1 1/2 cups batter. Stir remaining sugar, pumpkin, and spices into remaining batter.
Spoon half the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. Repeat layers; swirl with knife.
Bake 45 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Apple Butter
So, so easy. And it makes your house smell so, so good.
5 pounds apples (about 10 large)
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Peel, core, and dice apples. Place in a crock pot and add sugar and cinnamon. Stir a bit. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 hours. Remove lid and cook another 2 hours. At this point, you could be finished and put the apple butter in jars. I like it to have a smooth consistency, so I put it in the blender first and then put it in jars. Allow it to cool and then refrigerate or freeze.
This is great on toast. You can use it in the fruit salsa recipe I posted a few weeks ago. My favorite way to use it is as a dipping sauce for ham.
5 pounds apples (about 10 large)
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Peel, core, and dice apples. Place in a crock pot and add sugar and cinnamon. Stir a bit. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 hours. Remove lid and cook another 2 hours. At this point, you could be finished and put the apple butter in jars. I like it to have a smooth consistency, so I put it in the blender first and then put it in jars. Allow it to cool and then refrigerate or freeze.
This is great on toast. You can use it in the fruit salsa recipe I posted a few weeks ago. My favorite way to use it is as a dipping sauce for ham.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Spicy Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin is one of our favorite cuts of meat--all three kids like it, a rare feat at our house. And this is one of my best recipes. I got it from Cooks Country a few years ago, and it is one of my very favorite go-to recipes for pork tenderloin. (Sorry my camera is MIA right now, so you'll have to do without one of my fabulous (haha) photos!)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 juice from about 2 limes
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
2 pork tenderloins (12-16 ounces each, trimmed of silver skin--you know, that fatty membrane on the side!)
2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1. Stir pineapple juice, lime juice, brown sugar, molasses, cumin, cayenne, and jalapeno in small bowl. Pat tenderloins dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook tenderloins, turning until browned on all sides, 5-8 minutes total. Reduce heat to medium, add lime juice mixture, and cook, rolling tenderloins to coat, until mixture is thick and syrupy and internal temperature of tenderloins register 140 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 9-11 minutes. (The meat will still be a little pink if you stop right at 140 degrees--that's how you want it. Trust me. It's so much more tender, and cooks illustrated even included a nice little box detailing how safe it is to eat pork at this temperature!)
3. Transfer tenderloins to cutting board, ten loosely with foil, and let rest until internal temperature rises to 150 degrees, about 10 minutes. Cut tenderloins crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices, arrange on platter, and pour glaze in pan over slices. Serve.
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 juice from about 2 limes
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
2 pork tenderloins (12-16 ounces each, trimmed of silver skin--you know, that fatty membrane on the side!)
2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1. Stir pineapple juice, lime juice, brown sugar, molasses, cumin, cayenne, and jalapeno in small bowl. Pat tenderloins dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook tenderloins, turning until browned on all sides, 5-8 minutes total. Reduce heat to medium, add lime juice mixture, and cook, rolling tenderloins to coat, until mixture is thick and syrupy and internal temperature of tenderloins register 140 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 9-11 minutes. (The meat will still be a little pink if you stop right at 140 degrees--that's how you want it. Trust me. It's so much more tender, and cooks illustrated even included a nice little box detailing how safe it is to eat pork at this temperature!)
3. Transfer tenderloins to cutting board, ten loosely with foil, and let rest until internal temperature rises to 150 degrees, about 10 minutes. Cut tenderloins crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices, arrange on platter, and pour glaze in pan over slices. Serve.
Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Caramel Topping
This is similar in taste to the apple cake Kelli posted a few months ago, but it is a little denser and with a different topping. Bundt cakes make beautiful cakes to serve at parties or showers, so if you are hosting one this fall, give it a try.
Apple Spice Bundt Cake
3 cups flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups apples; peeled, cored, and diced (about 3-4 apples)
1 tsp vanilla
Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Combine oil (just close your eyes when you pour it in), sugar, and eggs and mix until lemon yellow. Gradually pour in dry ingredients while continuing to mix. Add apples and vanilla and mix until just incorporated. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan (I always use shortening and flour when I'm going to remove the cake from the pan). Bake at 350 degrees for about 75 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool slightly before inverting cake onto a plate or cake platter. Serve with drizzles caramel sauce.
Caramel Sauce
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Cook until brown sugar is dissolved and mixture starts to thicken.
Apple Spice Bundt Cake
3 cups flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups apples; peeled, cored, and diced (about 3-4 apples)
1 tsp vanilla
Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Combine oil (just close your eyes when you pour it in), sugar, and eggs and mix until lemon yellow. Gradually pour in dry ingredients while continuing to mix. Add apples and vanilla and mix until just incorporated. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan (I always use shortening and flour when I'm going to remove the cake from the pan). Bake at 350 degrees for about 75 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool slightly before inverting cake onto a plate or cake platter. Serve with drizzles caramel sauce.
Caramel Sauce
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Cook until brown sugar is dissolved and mixture starts to thicken.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Corn Bread
When I make chili, I almost always make corn bread and honey butter to go with it. A few weeks ago, it felt like fall for the first time so chili and corn bread were on the menu that night. Today is even colder and rainier (here at my house, anyway). I love this recipe for corn bread - it comes from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook." For the chili, I used this recipe. For the chili, I don't care for pinto beans, so I always substitute Great Northern.
Corn Bread
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cups yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl, blend cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine creamed mixture, dry mixture, and milk. Blend. Bake in a greased 8X8" pan at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
And just in case you've never made it before, here is how to make honey butter.
Honey Butter
1 cube room temperature butter (try not to just soften it in the microwave - it works much better if the entire cube is a consistent temperature)
3-4 Tbsp honey
Put butter and honey together in a bowl. Beat with electric mixer until fluffy and well-combined. You can add a little more or less honey, it just depends on how sweet you want it.
Corn Bread
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cups yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl, blend cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine creamed mixture, dry mixture, and milk. Blend. Bake in a greased 8X8" pan at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
And just in case you've never made it before, here is how to make honey butter.
Honey Butter
1 cube room temperature butter (try not to just soften it in the microwave - it works much better if the entire cube is a consistent temperature)
3-4 Tbsp honey
Put butter and honey together in a bowl. Beat with electric mixer until fluffy and well-combined. You can add a little more or less honey, it just depends on how sweet you want it.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Do you have fresh tomatoes lying around? Probably you do. If not, your neighbor probably does. Go ask for some. This sauce is really fast, easy, and pretty healthy. Remember - olive oil is good for you!
2-3 pounds tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 6-9 medium tomatoes)
1 medium green onion, minced (or about 1/4 cup yellow/white onion)
3 Tbsp fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/8 pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, sliced
About 3 hours or so before serving, mix first eight ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. After these have cooked for about an hour, heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Add garlic and cook until golden. Remove from heat and remove garlic. Pour hot oil over tomato mixture and mix well (sometimes I keep this over heat for 10-15 minutes). Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 2 or more before serving. You can add a little water if it seems too thick.
Just prior to serving, prepare some type of noodles and re-heat sauce. Serve. This sauce is hard to mess up - I've used canned tomatoes mixed with fresh when I didn't have enough, different spices, chives instead of onions, etc. It's always turned out good.
2-3 pounds tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 6-9 medium tomatoes)
1 medium green onion, minced (or about 1/4 cup yellow/white onion)
3 Tbsp fresh parsley or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/8 pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, sliced
About 3 hours or so before serving, mix first eight ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. After these have cooked for about an hour, heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Add garlic and cook until golden. Remove from heat and remove garlic. Pour hot oil over tomato mixture and mix well (sometimes I keep this over heat for 10-15 minutes). Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 2 or more before serving. You can add a little water if it seems too thick.
Just prior to serving, prepare some type of noodles and re-heat sauce. Serve. This sauce is hard to mess up - I've used canned tomatoes mixed with fresh when I didn't have enough, different spices, chives instead of onions, etc. It's always turned out good.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Martha Stewart's Pancakes
Once I found this recipe, I've never bought pancake mix again. So good, but so simple!
1 Cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 Cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
Whisk together flour, baking powder,salt and sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk, and melted butter. Form a well in the dry ingredients. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until barely moistened--stir as little as possible. In griddle or fry pan, melt 1/2 tsp. butter (I never do this--use pam instead or a nonstick pan). Pour batter in 4 inch circles. Turn the pancakes when the edges of the pancakes look dry and the bubbles in the middle of the pancake break open. Turn and cook on the other side.
Optional:
Scatter frozen blueberries or chocolate chips over the pancake batter once it is poured onto the griddle.
1 Cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 Cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
Whisk together flour, baking powder,salt and sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk, and melted butter. Form a well in the dry ingredients. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until barely moistened--stir as little as possible. In griddle or fry pan, melt 1/2 tsp. butter (I never do this--use pam instead or a nonstick pan). Pour batter in 4 inch circles. Turn the pancakes when the edges of the pancakes look dry and the bubbles in the middle of the pancake break open. Turn and cook on the other side.
Optional:
Scatter frozen blueberries or chocolate chips over the pancake batter once it is poured onto the griddle.
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