Pumpkin Haystacks-Lion House Bakery

My little sister called this past week searching for a pumpkin cookie recipe. I shared this one with her from my Lion House Bakery cookbook and it motivated me to try it myself. I only had a large can of pumpkin on hand so I had to double the batch! It is a good thing they turned out wonderful because it was a HUGH batch of cookies! Just the butter, sugars, and eggs filled my Kitchen Aid to the rim. Adding the dry ingredients required using the largest bowl I have. Worked out great, because they were a hit with my family and neighborhood friends. A perfect Halloween pumpkin treat.

Pumpkin Haystack Cookies

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups butter, softened (I used 1 cup butter flavored crisco & 1/2 cup real unsalted butter)

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (16 oz) can solid pack pumpkin

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (I made these optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add pumpkin, then gradually add the dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts. Scoop batter onto lightly greased cookie sheets and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

Margherita Pasta with Grilled Chicken

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe and said they really enjoyed it. We second the notion. If you like the smell of Italian food cooking, you will love this one. My kitchen smelled heavenly while I was preparing it and I couldn't wait to eat it. I knew Jack and I were going to love it because our favorite pizza flavor is the Margherita Pizza. Sure enough Jack loved it and so did I. Our kids love the noodles and chicken they are not crazy about tomatoes yet, but they are at least willing to taste them. I didn't have the grape tomatoes as listed, but had two home grown tomatoes that I was saving to try this dish with. There's nothing like a home grown veggies!

Margherita Pasta with Grilled Chicken

(From Cuisine at Home magazine)

For the Pasta--

8 oz dry spaghetti

3 cups (12 oz) halved grape or cherry tomatoes. I used regular tomatoes/slightly drained

2 cups (8 oz) diced fresh mozzarella (I used 8 oz shredded mozzarella-can't get fresh here)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons minced garlic (I used 3-4 med/large size cloves)

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil (I used a little less and it was still good, but full amount can only make it tastier.)

Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Toasted pine nuts (we didn't have on hand)

For the chicken--

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 or 5 oz each) I used 6-7 Costco tenders

Extra-virgin olive oil, dried oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes

Preheat the grill to medium-high.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the spaghetti.

Cook spaghetti according to package; drain and set aside. (I did this last so it was warm to serve.)

Combine tomatoes and mozzarella for the pasta in a bowl; set aside.

Coat chicken with oil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. (Season them like you would when BBQ not specific amounts, just shake it on. I didn't use much of the red pepper flakes because my kids don't love hot and spicy. A few pinches did the trick for us). Grill, covered, until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. (Less for tenders). Remove chicken from grill and tent with foil; rest 3-4 minutes. Slice each breast into strips.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a skillet over medium-low. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. (cooked mine a little longer) It's important to cook the raw taste out of the garlic so it doesn't overpower the other flavors in the dish. OH CAN YOU SMELL IT NOW? YummO.

Toss tomatoes and cheese mixture with the garlic-infused oil and pasta . Stir in basil; season with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.

To serve, divide pasta mixture among 4 bowls, and top with sliced chicken and pine nuts. (Those are huge portions! We fed our little family of 5 easily with a nice amount of left overs. Granted we served it with sauteed zucchini and a slice of ciabatta bread.)

Oh I hope you Italian food lovers give this one a try. It is a quick meal to prepare 30 minutes tops.

Fresh Okra and Tomatoes

We got okra in our Bountiful Basket this week and it sent me on a search for a recipe. Most okra I have had has been fried, but this one is cooked on the stovetop and healthier than fried for sure. Another added bonus was it helped use up some off the fresh tomatoes that my neighbors gave me. I was surprised that my kids like the okra as much as they did. The recipe didn't have a recommendation of what to serve with it so I chose pasta so that if it wasn't a hit with the kids that they would have something to fill their tummies.

Okra and Tomatoes

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2006

1 pound okra, rinsed and trimmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups finely chopped red onion (I used sweet onion as usual.)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 cups peeled and chopped tomato

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise* or black pepper (I used the black pepper)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom (I don't have cardamom so I used 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon)

Directions

Cut each okra pod in half lengthwise and set aside. If there are any pods longer than 4 inches, cut them in half crosswise and then lengthwise.

Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions along with the salt and cook until they begin to turn golden, approximately 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and add the ginger, pepper, cardamom and okra. Stir to combine. Cook, uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning as desired. Serve immediately.

*Cook's Note: Grains of Paradise are available online and in specialty spice markets. They have a zesty flavor reminiscent of pepper, coriander, and cardamom.

Our Sweet Bun Fresh Out of the Oven

Picture of our boys coming to pick Daisy up from the hospital.

40 weeks and 5 days later (Sept. 17, 2010) our little sweet bun in the oven decided to make her grand entrance. We are enjoy her and want to gobble her up she is so sweet. We are so grateful for the generous meals from other families kitchens. We still have a pile of recipes that were on our menu for the month that we hope to try. As I get around to cooking again and have a free minute to post our keepers I will, but it isn't going to be a huge priority right now. I am trying to enjoy every minute of this little piece of heaven that has been granted to us.

Breaded Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce

This dish was delicious! I found it on realmomskitchen.com who took it from foodonthetable.com. It was a hit with my family. We loved the sauce over pasta too. If you like things extra saucy you may want to double the sauce recipe. We served it with angel hair pasta--how could you go wrong in the eyes of kids and pasta lovers. We will make this again, but it was great to use our garden fresh basil. If you don't have fresh substitute 1 Tablespoon dried Basil in the sauce. Hope you get to please your pallet with this tasty dish.

Breaded Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce (foodonthetable.com)

4-6 chicken breasts (I would recommend pounding them into thin cutlets or buying cutlets)

flour (about 1/2 cup)

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

salt

black pepper

3 Tablespoon butter (can use 1 Tbsp more if needed)

Sauce:

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 (4.0 ounce jar) sliced pimento peppers, drained

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or 1 Tbsp. dried)

black pepper

Place eggs in a shallow bowl. Place flour in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine both bread crumbs with salt and pepper to taste.

Coat chicken with flour. Then dip in egg, then coat with breadcrumb mixture.

In a skillet over medium heat, fry chicken in butter, on both sides, until the juices run clear, about 15 minutes. Remove from skillet and keep warm.

Add the broth to the skillet; bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir and scrape to loosen browned bits from pan.

Stir in the cream and pimentos (If using dried basil add this now); boil and stir for one minute. Reduce heat; add the Parmesan cheese, basil and black pepper to taste. Simmer and stir until heated through. To serve, pour the sauce over the chicken.

Macaroni Grill Bread

Macaroni Grill Bread (Jamie Cooks it Up-blog)

Yield: 2 loaves

Time: 1 1/2 hours start to finish

1 1/2 t active dry yeast

1 C warm water

3 T olive oil

1/4 t sugar

2 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 t salt

1/4 t McCormick Italian Seasoning Grinder

1/4 t cracked black pepper

3/4 T fresh rosemary, snipped

1 egg

butter and salt

1. In the bottom of your mixer combine water, yeast and sugar. Mix it around a bit with a spoon and let it sit for 5 minutes.

2. Add the salt, oil and 1 C flour. Mix for 30 seconds to incorporate.

3. Add the rest of the flour about 1/2 C at a time, while the mixer continues to mix.

4. When all of the flour is incorporated mix on high for about 7 minutes.

5. While your mixer is doing it's fine work, get your herbs and seasonings ready to go. I like to snip rosemary with scissors. You don't want to eat any of the thick stem that rosemary comes on, only the little needles.

6. When your dough is done mixing add the rosemary, pepper and Italian seasoning. Mix just until incorporated.

7. Cover your mixing bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rise for about 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.

8. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Shape into balls and place on a sprayed cookie sheet, or a cooking stone with a bit of olive oil on it.

9. Spray a sharp knife with cooking spray and cut 2 slits in the top of the bread.

10. In a small bowl whisk an egg until frothy. Brush the egg all over the top of the loaf and into the cracks.

11. Place the loaves into a warm oven. (I set mine to 170) Let them rise until doubled in size, about 15 minutes.

12. Turn your oven up to 370 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

13. When the loaves come out of the oven, place them on a cooling rack. Brush butter over the tops and sprinkle a little bit of salt over the top of the butter. Be careful to not get too much. I always use freshly cracked salt. You can buy both salt and pepper crackers at Costco these days. Look on the spice aisle.

The end....hope you enjoy!

Orange Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

I got this recipe from a blog called Jamiecooksitup. My family loved it. I used 9 chicken tenders when I tried it and Jack said there needed to be more meat in the dish. The kids and adults gobbled it down so I guess it was a hit. I passed the recipe on to my sister-in-law two doors down and her family had the same response. So Thank You Jamie-who ever you are- for this creation and for sharing it with us.

Orange Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Time: 45 minutes Yield: 6 servings Recipe created by Jamie Cooks It Up! 4 chicken breasts 3/4 C flour 1/4 t salt 2 T olive oil 5 large carrots 1 onion 2 bell peppers (red, green or orange...you choose) 6 stalks celery (I will use a little less next time my kids weren't crazy about it) salt and pepper to taste (again with the "you choose") Sauce: 3/4 C fresh orange juice (I use from concentrate and it works fine) 1/4 C soy sauce 1/2 t ginger 2 t rice vinegar 1/2 C brown sugar 1/2 t sesame oil pinch red pepper flakes (Optional if you don't like the kick! Jack and I like it; kids not so much.) 2 T corn starch 1 C chicken broth Cut those chicken breasts up into 2 inch cubes. Combine the flour and the 1/4 t salt in a small bowl, and toss until coated. Heat up a large skillet. When it's nice and hot add 1 T oil and put your floured chicken into it. Toss the chicken in gently, now. Cook your chicken until it is golden all over. (About 10 minutes) While your chicken is cooking up, chop up your veggies. Make sure they are about the same size. When your chicken is pretty and golden, take it out of the pan and place it on a nice plate. Add another T of oil into the hot skillet. Add your veggies and cook over medium high heat until crisp tender...about another 10 minutes. While your veggies cook add all sauce ingredients to a medium sized sauce pan. Whisk them together until they are all combined nicely. Bring to a boil. Once it boils it should thicken up nicely for you. When your veggies are crisp tender add your thickened sauce and chicken into the pan. Serve over a bed of rice.