Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe

Pancakes are so fun and versatile.  So many different flavors can be added to pancakes to spice up any breakfast {lunch or dinner}.  Pumpkin is a very popular fall flavor, and when fall comes along, I love to incorporate it into any recipe I can for a special treat. 

These pumpkin pancakes are hearty with wheat flour, yet fluffy and delicate.  The pumpkin puree definitely keeps these pancakes moist and delicious.  I topped these pancakes with butter and maple syrup.  If you really want to get fancy, a dusting of cinnamon and/or powdered sugar would probably be pretty amazing too!

Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe
Makes 8 pancakes

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
8 tablespoons pumpkin puree

Sift together all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Combine egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and pumpkin puree in a small bowl.  Add wet ingredients to large bowl with all dry ingredients.  Measure out batter onto a hot griddle that has been greased.  Cook on both sides until golden brown.

Serve with warm maple syrup.

Baked Burritos with Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe

Don’t these burritos look delicious???  We love to go out for Mexican food, but I wanted to find an easy way to make tasty burritos at home.  This recipe couldn’t be easier because everything is already cooked and I just need to assemble the burritos together. 

To make this all work, I went to my freezer!  Last Sunday I roasted the largest chicken I could find at the grocery store and froze my leftovers in separate serving size baggies {about 1 pound each}.  In my freezer, I also have 1 cup containers of frozen tomatillo salsa verde that I made over the summer from my CSA vegetables. 

These are so easy to make on weekdays and have lots of flavor.  Who said you can’t make your favorite restaurant dishes?!?!

Baked Burritos with Tomatillo Salsa Verde Recipe

Serves 5

Preheat Oven 350^o

1 pound roasted, shredded chicken

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder

5 flour tortilla shells

1 can of red kidney beans

1 cup salsa

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup tomatillo sauce

In a small bowl, mix together all of the spices; garlic powder, onion powder, cumin powder, and cayenne pepper.  In a large bowl with the shredded chicken mix in the spice blend and mix until the chicken is well coated.

On a working space, place one flour tortilla down.  Then down the center, sprinkle the cheese.  Then layer on top of the cheese with chicken, kidney beans, and salsa.  Add as much of each of these to your taste, but make sure to fill them up.  Next, roll up the sides and place the burrito onto a baking sheet.  Repeat until you have filled all of your tortillas.

Once all of your burritos are lined up on the baking sheet, pour the tomatillo sauce over all of the burritos. {My tomatillo sauce was frozen, so I placed it in a small sauce pan with a little water to defrost} Sprinkle more cheese on top.

Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.    

Tips:

1)      If you don’t have roasted, shredded chicken in your freezer you can purchase a roasted chicken from your local grocery.

2)   If you don't want to use shredded chicken, you can use cooked ground beef or pork. 

3)   Instead of meat, these can also be vegetarian with your favorite sautéed vegetables. 

4)      Feel free to add any of your favorites into the burritos to personalize them for you.

5)      If you don’t have tomatillo sauce, buy it at the grocery store or use salsa.

Turkey Day!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish you all a wonderful, fun filled Thanksgiving.  Today I will be enjoying family time at my Nana's house.  The feast will include turkey, my Nana's amazing stuffing, mashed potatoes, my Mom's broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole, gravy, homemade cranberry sauce and lots more!

Safe travels to everyone and don't forget to save room for dessert. 

Check back into the blog on Saturday for a chicken burrito recipe that can easily be substituted with your leftover turkey!

Apple Crisp Recipe {And Apple Picking Party}

One of my favorite Fall activities is apple picking! Over the years, my husband and I have been hosting an annual Apple Picking Party with our family and friends.  I look forward to this event every year.  It is like Christmas morning for me in October.  It all started years ago with just Bill, myself and my parents.  This year we had 16 fun, excited and apple loving friends and family members join us in this ultimate occasion.



Bill and I hosting our Annual Apple Picking Party {Look at all of those apples behind us! YUMMY}

For the Apple Picking Party, we all meet at my favorite apple orchard, Nashoba Valley Winery, to kick off the fall celebration.  This place is amazing.  Throughout the seasons their orchards are always full of delicious fruits, such as apples, plums, and peaches.  In addition to their beautiful orchards, they brew their own beer, make wines, have tours of the wine making process, wine tastings, and a huge shop.  Another perk to picking your apples at Nashoba Valley Winery is that you can drink their beer and wine on their entire property.  So, this is how I am able to get all of the guys involved too because they can pick apples with a beer in hand! Who doesn’t love that?!?!

Group Action Shot

After our apple picking extravaganza, we head back to my house for lots of hearty fall foods and of course apple crisp dessert.  This is my mother’s recipe and it is always the perfect way to cap off the party.  I hope you enjoy and are inspired to host your own apple picking party next year!

Apple Crisp Recipe
Serves 8-10

Preheat Oven 375^o

4 cups sliced apples (6 medium)

2/3 – 3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

1/3 cup soft margarine or butter

Place apples in a greased 8 inch square or 1/2 quart baking dish. Blend ingredients together with a fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle the topping all over the apples. 

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy apple crisp warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Provencal Tomatoes Recipe

With the last of the Summer tomato harvest upon us, I wanted to do something very special.  I have all of Ina Garten’s cook books {yes, I am a huge fan}, so I went to them for inspiration and a delicious recipe that would show off the brilliant red tomatoes from our local CSA farm. 

This tomato recipe has it all; fresh herbs, garlic, bread crumbs and cheese.  Everything is so much more amazing when there is Gruyere cheese involved!  The bread crumb stuffing absorbs the amazing tomato juice that is drawn out through the cooking process, plus the melted cheese on top is the icing on the cake...or tomato. You won’t be disappointed with this delicious side dish.   

Recipe By Ina Gartin

Serves 6-8

6 ripe tomatoes (2 1/2 to 3-inches in diameter)

1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs

1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)

1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt and black pepper

1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400^oF.

Cut the cores from the tomatoes, removing as little as possible. Cut them in half crosswise and, with your fingers, remove the seeds and juice. Place the tomato halves in a baking dish.

In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, scallions, basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle the tomato halves generously with salt and pepper. With your hands, fill the cavities and cover the tops of the tomatoes with the bread crumb mixture.

Bake the tomatoes for 15 minutes, or until they're tender. Sprinkle with the cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 30 seconds more.

Enjoy!

Tips:

1)      Ina Garten’s original recipe suggests using fresh bread crumbs from 5 slices of white bread.  I just had panko on hand, so substituted the panko into the recipe. 

2)      If you don’t have or can’t find Gruyere cheese, substitute with Asiago, mozzarella or your favorite cheese.

3)      I used large tomatoes, but if you just have cherry or grape tomatoes, I think those would work fine too.  Just cut them in half and place them on the bottom of the casserole dish, then sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over top and sprinkle cheese. 

Provencal Tomatoes Recipe

Ground Cherry Muffins Recipe

Joining the CSA this Summer is a decision I am so happy with.  It presented so many different fruits and vegetables to us that I would have never purchased at the market on my own.  Some weeks it was a challenge sorting through our basket and trying to plan out the meals for the rest of the week, but looking back, it allowed us to explore numerous foods and try new recipes.   Plus, it was fun to share many of them with all of you!

Have you ever heard of or seen ground cherries?  These aren’t the typical red cherries that we are all familiar with ground into a paste.  They are a beautiful little yellow-orange round fruit, similar to a small tomato, but covered by a papery husk like a tomatillo.  They are sweet little berries, and have a pineapple-like flavor with a hint of tomato.  Sounds like a strange combo, I know, but they are surprisingly delicious! 

So, what to do with these ground cherries you ask?  Add them into a basic muffin recipe for a new twist.  These muffins are a fun way to start your day as a delicious breakfast treat.

Ground Cherry Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

1 3/4 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup ground cherries, halved

Preheat oven to 400^o.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt in a large mixing bowl.  In a small bowl, combine egg, milk and oil.  Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.  Stir everything together until well incorporated.  Add in the ground cherries. 

Line a muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease with a cooking spray. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 full with the batter and back in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Recipe

Whoopie pies are a fun dessert.  The cake-like cookies sandwiching a creamy filling makes everyone feel like a kid again.  Chocolate whoopie pies are a favorite for many, but it is always fun to take a classic and use seasonal flavors to create a new indulgence. 

My mother found this recipe a few years ago in a magazine and we all fell in love with them.  The little pumpkin cakes with a touch of cinnamon, surrounding the smooth cream cheese frosting are my kind of sandwich!  I recently made these for the Patriots tailgate and they were the perfect way to end our BBQ before heading into the stadium. 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies Recipe

Recipe by Every Day with Rachael Ray

Makes about 2 dozen assembled whoopie pies (Depending on how large you make them)

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt

1-2/3 cups flour

4 ounces cream cheese, chilled

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Try to make them all the same size.  Bake until springy to the touch, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Spread the flat side of half cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

Tips:

1)      To ensure that the cookies are all the same, I used my 1 tablespoon cookie scooper.  This was a time saver, plus it created these adorable mini whoopie pies that were all the perfect size.

2)      I doubled my filling recipe.  I wanted there to be a thick layer of cream cheese frosting in each of the pies.  The frosting filling is my favorite part!  (1 stick of butter, 8 ounces of cream cheese, 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, 4 pinches of salt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla)

3)      These cakes sometimes get sticky.  So when I pack them up, I divide each layer with wax paper.