Autumn Spice Pumpkin Soup

This turned out a bit thicker than I like my soups, but it was still great. However, it had so many yummy spices that I added chicken chunks to it and poured it over rice as more of an Indian dish. I love my Indian food!!!

2 small cans pumpkin

2 T. olive oil

1 c. onion, diced

3 T. minced fresh ginger

24 oz chicken broth

4 T. apple juice concentrate

1 tart apple, diced

4 T. maple syrup

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. ground thyme

1 T. cinnamon

2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. pure vanilla

1/2 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 c. cream (I generally just use milk)

Saute onion and ginger in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add remaining ingredients except cream and simmer for about 1 hour. (Remove bay leaves unless you like pokey pieces in your food.) Use either an immersion blender or pour soup into blender and puree with cream. Serve warm over rice with cooked chicken chucks or as a soup. OR eat it as soup one day and use the leftovers with the rice the next day!! 2 for 1 meals!!

Fudgesicles=pudding pops

Super Easy and Kids Love Them!!
Do you remember pudding pops??? I do, and I loved them. Now they're in my freezer.


I even mixed half banana pudding and half chocolate pudding in the same cup--delightful!

Pudding pops or Fudgesicles

1 pkg. pudding
1 1/2 c. milk
2 c. cool whip

Dixie cups
popsicle sticks

Mix ingredients. Pour into Dixie cups. Insert popsicle sticks. Freeze. Wait until frozen. (This is the hardest part.)

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best chocolate cake I've ever made.

I'm not a huge fan of cake, but this was definitely one of the best cakes I've eaten. It probably helped there were 2 toppings on it.


Kate's Chocolate Cake from Allrecipes.com

• 1 (18.25 ounce) packagedevil's food cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup Melt® Organic Buttery Spread, melted

• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in sour cream, melted Melt®, eggs and almond extract. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Blend in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Satiny Chocolate Glaze

3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips

3 T. butter

1 T. light corn syrup

1/4 t. vanilla

In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter, and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.


 Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

Nesquik Chocolate Whip Topping

1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 t. vanilla
1 T. confectioners' sugar
3 T. powdered Nesquik

Combine ingredients and beat until peaks form.

Chunky Monkey

These are Jacob's specialty and have been a favorite Saturday morning breakfast for a while now. Sleeping little ones come out of the woodwork for these little smackerels. Thought I would share...

Chunky Monkey Pancakes

¾ C white flour

¾ C whole wheat pastry flour

3 TBS Sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 banana, mashed

1 banana, chopped coarsely

1.5 C buttermilk

3 TBS of oil or butter

2 eggs

½ tsp. vanilla

½ C. nuts

Chocolate chips, optional

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix mashed banana, buttermilk, oil or butter, vanilla, eggs, and vanilla in smaller bowl and add to dry. Stir in chopped banana, nuts, and optional chocolate chips. Serve with peanut butter and honey, or syrup of course.

Game Day Eats

 Date night included BYU football and these yummy treats last Friday. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip, and Honey Glazed Hot Wings. What girl wouldn't want to cuddle with their hubby and watch sweaty guys pummel each other while these treats were nearby??? There was pizza too, but you've already got my pizza dough recipe... The dip would also make a perfect girls night snack, don't you think? The wings were still spicy, but there was just enough sweetness to keep me going back for more. Enjoy!

 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Recipe from here

1/2 c butter

1/3 c brown sugar

1-8oz block of cream cheese, softened

1/2 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped

Melt butter in a medium saucepan, add brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil and let bubble for a minute or two. Let mixture cool, or it will melt your chocolate chips.

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with a mixer for 1 minute until smooth. If your cream cheese is too warm, you will have lumps. Add in vanilla. Then, on low speed, add in the butter and brown sugar mixture until combined. Add in most of chocolate and let the mixer break them up. Pour into a bowl and top with more chocolate. Dip with pretzels, green apples, animal crackers, bananas, sugar cookies, a spoon, your finger...

Now for the wings. Jacob usually handles the wings, but this was my first time and I must say, not bad for a girl...

Honey Glazed Hot Wings
Recipe inspired by allrecipes

2lbs chicken wings
salt and pepper to taste
1 c honey
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c hot sauce

Preheat outdoor grill to medium heat, lightly brush oil on grates with a paper towel and tongs.

Rinse the wings and dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Spread out on grill and cook for about 20 minutes, until juices run clear. Periodically brush 1/2 cup of honey on wings while they cook.

Meanwhile melt butter in a large bowl and mix with hot sauce and remaining 1/2 cup of honey.

When wings are done dump in the sauce and serve with delicious blue cheese. I don't ususally like store bought blue cheese dressing since I always grew up with home made but, I was super impressed with Marzetti's Simply Dressed All Natural Blue Cheese dressing. You can find it with the refrigerated dressings by the produce. Delicious. Go on make your hubby's night.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Anyone else have lots of Zucchini?? Well here's a twist on the Chocolate Blueberry Muffins...

Double Chocolate Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

3 whole Eggs

1 cup Vegetable Oil (or 1 Cup Applesauce)

1 cup Granulated Sugar

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

2 cups Shredded Zucchini (I used one large Zucc)

2-½ cups White Wheat Flour

½ cups Baking Cocoa

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

¼ teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

Handful Chocolate Chips

1 Cup Blueberries

Coarse Turbinado Sugar for sprinkling (optional)

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Stir in zucchini. Combine all the dry ingredients and add it to the zucchini mixture. Mix until combined. Stir in blueberries and chocolate chips. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans, or make muffins by filling the pans 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle with coarse sugar for yummy crunchy crust.

Bake loaf pans at 350F for 1 hour or until bread tests done. Bake muffins at 350F for 15 minutes or until they test done.

Got to love my helpers :)

Grilled Southwest Pizza

OK I hate to ramble about how great I think something is like a movie or restaurant or food, etc. because then when someone else tries it, he/she may be disappointed only because his/her expectations were so high. Well, this pizza is the best. Anything mexican must be smothered in sour cream for me otherwise I will barely touch it. I didn't even want to put sour cream on this because it was soooo good without it. It has in only one bite become my new favorite food of all time. Jared loved it too. The kids, of course, wouldn't touch it because it had vegetables on it and as a rule they gag when they even hear the word vegetable. Good news about pizza is that for a family our size we have to make at least 2 pizzas anyway so one is cheese for them and one is extra yummy good with steak and veggies for us!! Enjoy!

One pre-made pizza crust (Boboli is good)

Beef strips (I used whole slices and then cut into strips after grilling it)

1 red, green, & yellow bell pepper cut in strips

1/2 lime

1 garlic clove

1/2 C. salsa

4 cheese Mexican shredded cheese

Taco seasoning

Sprinkle beef and peppers with taco seasoning and olive oil. Grill beef and cut in strips. Cook peppers with crushed garlic and the juice of 1/2 lime on grill or in pan with olive oil. Put 1/2 c. salsa on pre-made pizza crust and squeeze just a touch of lime juice mixed in with the salsa. Place beef strips and peppers on pizza crust and sprinkle with cheese. Place crust on grill and heat until the cheese is melted. It makes for a heavy pizza so assembling it on the grill is recommended and then placing it on a cookie or pizza sheet once it's done. You can serve with sour cream if you like.