Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Pancakes

Made these this morning.
We loved them, the last batch we threw in some chocolate chips.
Wow, they were delicious. 

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

2 T. sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

1 c. milk

¼ c. + 2 T. canned pumpkin purée

1 egg

Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, butter, and egg. Fold wet mixture into dry ingredients. Pour ¼ c. batter for each pancake. Cook 3 minutes per side on medium heat. Serve with maple syrup. Makes 8 – 10 pancakes (serves 2-3 people).

(Martha Stewart Oct ’04 magazine) 
Carbs - 1/4 cup batter 16 carbs
Sugar free syrup 1/4 cup 12 carbs.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Loved these...

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest. This BBQ chicken is sweet and spicy, we loved it. It shreds really easy too, this would be good to do as BBQ chicken sandwiches. 

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (i threw them in frozen... even easier!)
1 bottle BBQ sauce 
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. place chicken in crockpot. pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. you pretty much don't even have to stir it... how easy is that!?

Holiday Crescent Rolls

I have tried lots of roll recipes over the years, but I have to say that this one is the BEST one I've ever used. These rolls were amazing, and I know I can't make these very often because they are very addictive! I followed Jaime's instructions exactly, and they came out wonderful. 30 carbs per roll.

This is what my dough looked like 45 minutes after it rose in the bowl.

You then divide the dough into six equal parts and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Roll out like this, and divide into 8 slices. Roll up fat end first Crescent style.

Then you put them in the oven at 170 for 20 minutes until they look like this. Then you turn the oven up 350 and cook for 15 minutes. 

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com  Yield: 48 rolls Time: 3 hours Recipe created by Jamie Cooks It Up! 2 C scalded milk (just put it in a bowl, and heat in the microwave for 2 min.) 1 1/2 C warm water 2 T yeast + a dash of sugar 1 T salt 1/2 C sugar 1 stick butter, softened 3 eggs 10-12 C flour, all purpose 1 stick butter, melted (for shaping the dough) 1. Place the warm water, yeast and dash of sugar in the bottom of your mixer. Stir it around and let it sit  for 5 minutes. It should start to rise and get all bubbly. 2. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix for 30 seconds. You want to add this much flour, before you add the  scalded milk and eggs...the hot temperature of the milk would be too much for the yeast, and you don't  want to "cook" your eggs.  3. Add the scalded milk, sugar, salt, softened butter (not the melted butter) and the eggs. Mix for 1 minute. 4. Add the flour 1 C at a time, until the dough scrapes the side of your mixer clean. 5. Mix on high for 8 minutes. This much mixing really improves the texture and elasticity of the dough. I  have also noticed, if I don't mix it long enough the dough doesn't rise as nicely.  6. Let the dough rise, in the mixer for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.  7. Punch the dough down (I just turn the mixer on for about 5 seconds) and divide it into 6 equal parts.  Shape each part into a nice round ball and let them rest on the counter top. I always spread a little of the  melted butter on the counter top, before I set the dough on it. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Letting  dough rest for just a bit before it's shaped makes a HUGE difference when you are trying to shape it.  Let's just say it cooperates better.  8. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a nice round circle. You want the dough to be about 1/2-3/4 of an  inch thick after rolling it out. Pour a bit of butter in the center....I said it was no dieters delight...you  see now what I mean.  9. With a pizza cutter, cut the circle into 8 equal triangles. Start from the fat end and roll each triangle up.  Place on a large, sprayed cookie sheet.  10. It works best to place them in 3 rows, 8 rolls deep. They like to be about this close together. 11. Place them in a warm 170 degree oven, and let them rise for about 20 minutes. Don't let them get too  tall. Once they start to touch each other, they have risen enough. I have a convection oven, so I can cook  both pans at the same time. If yours is a conventional oven (this means it does not have a fan in the back),  you will definitely want to cook one pan at a time. Just set one pan on the counter to rise. It will rise more  slowly than the pan in the oven, but it will be just the right amount of time to get the other pan cooked and  your oven empty and ready for the second pan. 12. Turn your oven up to 350. Leave the rolls in while the oven increases in temperature. (I have had  people tell me who own gas ovens that they are better off taking the pans out of the oven while the temp  rises) Bake for about 15 minutes. After about 7 minutes (or when the top pan has gotten a bit golden on  the top) I switch the bottom pan to the top, and the top to the bottom. 13. When the rolls are still hot, I brush them all over with more of the melted butter. Delightful!  Happy Holiday baking!

Blueberry Crumble Bars

Found a new food blog that I LOVE. It's a blog where 5 sisters post all their favorite recipes. This blog has some good stuff, click HERE to check it out. These blueberry crumble bars were delicious.  I made this dessert in a 8x11 pan, I got 20 pieces.
About 28 carbs per bar. 

• 1 3/4 cup Quaker Oats, uncooked (quick or old-fashioned)
• 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter; melted
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice                                                                                                                                                            

* Heat oven to 350. Greece 11x7 pan.

*Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, nuts, baking soda and salt

*Add butter, mixing until crumbly.

*Reserve 3/4 cup mixture; press remaining mixture onto bottom of prepared dish.

*Bake 10 minutes.

*Meanwhile, combine blueberries, granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons water in medium saucepan.

*Bring to a boil, simmer 2 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon water, cornstarch, and lemon juice; mix well. Gradually stir into blueberry mixture; cook and stir about 30 seconds or until thickened.

*Spread over partially baked base to within 1/4 inch of edge; sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Press topping down into blueberries slightly.

*Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

*Cool on wire rack; cut into bars. Store tightly covered.

Braided Sandwich Loaf

Recipe from Jaime Cooks it Up
We tried this last week and loved it!

Dough:

1 T shortening

2 T sugar

1 T salt

1 C boiling water

1 C cold water

1/3 C lukewarm water

1 T yeast

5-6 C flour

1 egg

Filling:

16 slices deli ham or turkey

8 slices Swiss or provolone cheese

Topping:

      ***any of the following***

Poppy Seeds

Sesame Seeds

Montreal Steak Seasoning

Dried Onions

Cheese


1. To make the dough dissolve 1 T yeast in 1/3 C lukewarm water. 
2. In the bottom of your mixer smash the sugar, salt and shortening together with a fork until well combined.
3. Pour the boiling water over the sugar mixture.
4. Pour the cold water over the sugar mixture.
5. Pour the yeast/water mixture over the sugar mixture.
6. Add the flour 1 C at a time while mixing. You know you have enough flour when the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
7. Once you have enough flour mix on high for 7-8 minutes.
8. Let the dough rest for about 2 minutes in the bowl.
9. Divide the dough into two equal parts and let them rest on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray for about 5 minutes.
10. Spray some cooking spray onto your counter. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Using a pizza cutter, cut 11-12 one inch wide strips along both long sides of the rectangle. Be sure to leave about 5 inches down the center uncut. You want to leave room for your deli treasures. Place about 8 slices of meat and 4 slices of cheese down the center of the dough. 
11. Over lap the dough strips in the center over the top of your fillings.
12. Beat the egg with a fork until frothy. Brush the egg all over the loaf. Sprinkle desired seasonings on top.
13. Place the sandwich loaf on a large cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
14. Repeat these steps with the other piece of dough. 
15. Let the dough rise in a warm oven (I turn mine to 170 degrees) for about 20 minutes.
16. Turn your oven up to 400 degrees and bake for about 15 minutes. (Leave the dough inside while the temperature rises)
17. When the loaves are golden brown on top turn the oven down to 350, switch the pan on the bottom rack to the top and vice versa. 
Bake for another 5 minutes.
18. Let the loaves rest for about 5 minutes, then cut and enjoy

Tender Grilled Salmon

I've had this recipe sitting in my draft folder for a month now, I made it last night. It was delicious! We ate it up too fast to take a picture, so I used the picture off of Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Her blog has some great recipes.  Click HERE to get to her website. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:
Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat grill for medium heat.

Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

New York Style Cheesecake

This is the best cheesecake recipe I have found. If you google Chantal's New York Style cheesecake you can read all the reviews. I made this last year for a 4th of July Party. 

Ingredients

• 15 graham crackers, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
•  
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Everyone has their own version of this meal, most of the recipes are pretty similar. Here is how I make it. I love making this meal when I'm feeding a lot of people.

Cafe Rio Pork

Pork Tenderloin (about 2 pds)
1 cup Dr. Pepper
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Salsa
Mix together dr pepper, brown sugar and salsa in a bowl.
(I double the sauce ingredients if I'm cooking a big pork)

Place pork in crockpot, pour 3/4 of the sauce on the pork. Cook pork for 6-7 hours on low, shred meat, then add the rest of the sauce to the meat and let it warm up in the crockpot for 30 minutes or so.


Sweet Pepper Rice

3 T. butter
1 sweet onion chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/3 cup long grain rice

Saute onion and pepper in butter until tender. Add cilantro, salt, and garlic and cook 1 min. Add rice brown. Dissolve sugar in stock. Add to rice and bring to a boil. Turn to low and cover, simmer 30 min.

Cilantro Dressing

1 1/3 cups sour cream
3/4 cups mayo
1 bunch of cilantro
1 package ranch dressing mix
4 tbsp salsa verde (green salsa)
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 tsp Tabasco sauce
juice of one lime

Mix together in the blender. Refrigerate before serving.

*To make the corn tortilla chips that go on top of the salad, I cut up a bag of corn tortillas into strips.  Lightly coat them with vegetable oil, and salt them. Bake in the oven at 400, until they are brown.

* I also top the salad with black beans, cheese and tomatoes.

Cocounut Cream Cupcakes

These were delightful!

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
Time: 60 min. hands on + 18 min. baking + 30 min. cooling 
Yield: 24-28 cupcakes
Recipe from the beautiful Cindi Schut 

CUPCAKE: 
1 white cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) box instant coconut cream pudding
1/3 C flour
1/3 C sour cream
1 1/2 C water
1 t coconut extract
4 eggs
1/3 C vegetable or canola oil

FILLING:
1 (3.4 ounce) box instant coconut cream pudding
2 C half and half

TOPPING:
1/2 C butter flavored shortening
1/2 C butter, softened
1 t coconut extract
3 1/2 - 4 C powdered sugar
1-2 T milk
3 C coconut

CUPCAKES

1. Pour the cake mix, flour and one box of the pudding into your stand mixer, or into a large mixing bowl. Toss the ingredients together to combine. 
2. Add the sour cream , water, eggs, oil and coconut extract to the dry ingredients. Beat on low speed until the ingredients are combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and then beat on medium high speed for 2 minutes. The batter should be nice and glossy. 
3. Put some cupcake liners into your muffin tins. Fill each one 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until the top of the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. 
4. Remove the pans from the oven and let them sit on the counter for about 5 minutes.  Pour the cupcakes out of the muffin tins and then set them upright on a cooling rack. Let them cool completely. 


FILLING and COCONUT TOASTING

1. While your cupcakes are cooling, mix the other box of pudding and the half and half together in your stand mixer. It should take about 3 minutes for the pudding to thicken up.  
2. Lay the coconut out on a large jelly roll pan. 
PLEASE NOTE: Coconut gives off a bit of a burning gas when it's toasted. No reason be alarmed or anything, it's not super dangerous...or disgusting or anything. When you open the oven wait a few seconds before you lean down to peer in at it. Otherwise you will have stinging and burning eyes. End of note thanks for reading. 
3. Toast the coconut in your oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. You'll want to stir it around a couple of times while it's toasting. Once it's golden brown take it out of the oven and let it cool. 
4. When your cupcakes have cooled, place a large cake decorating tip (the tip number doesn't matter much. It just needs to be one with a large opening) into a pastry bag. Spoon the filling into the bag.
5. Stick the tip of your bag  into the top of each cupcake,
and squeeze some filling into the middle. 

TOPPING
1. Beat the butter and shortening together in your stand mixer until smooth. Add the the powdered sugar, milk and coconut extract. Beat it until well combined. If it seems a bit too thick more milk. If it seems too runny add more powdered sugar. 
2. Pipe the frosting onto the top of each cupcake. 
3. Place some of the toasted coconut into a small bowl and dip the frosted coconut into it. Be sure you do this just after the cupcake has been frosted. If you frost them all of the cupcakes first the frosting will begin to harden and won't stick to the coconut. 
4. If it looks a little bit messy (with coconut falling all over the place) just cup your hand around the top to help the coconut fasted itself to the frosting. 
5. Store the cupcakes in the fridge. When you are ready to serve them, allow them to sit out for about 20 minutes before eating. They also freeze really well. 

Enjoy!!!!