Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins

Full credit or blame as the case may be for this one goes to Sally.  Do NOT skip the icing.  

Ingredients

Muffins:

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour 

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c canola oil

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 c milk

Crumb Topping:

3/4 c all-purpose flour

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c packed light brown sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Maple Icing:

1 1/2 c confectioners’ sugar

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

2 Tbsp milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.  Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. This recipe makes 14

Make the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold everything together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain.

Spoon the batter into liners, filling them almost full.

Make the crumb topping: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice together until combined. Using a fork, lightly mix in the melted butter until crumbs form. Don’t over-mix. Spoon crumbs evenly on top of the batter and gently press them down into the batter so they’re snug.

Bake for 5 minutes at 425° then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21-22 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan as you make the icing. *For mini muffins, bake for 11-13 minutes at 350°F the entire time.

Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together until combined and smooth. Drizzle over muffins and serve warm.

Cover tightly and store at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Tomato sauce / Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

Olive oil

Tomatoes, wash, cored and quartered

Bottled lemon juice

Salt 

Put tomatoes tossed in olive oil on a cookie sheet skin side up.   Bake at 425° until the skins are darkened and starting to peel. Approximately 30 to 45 minutes.  Puree tomato and basil in batches in a blender.  Bring to boil and then simmer to desired thickness.  

I used the crock pot on low for about 12 hours.

Before filing each jar with tomato sauce, add lemon juice, salt and any other herbs desired to the hot jar in the quantity specified below:

Add lemon juice

Per Pint: 1 Tbsp bottled lemon juice

Per Quart: 2 Tbsp bottled lemon juice

Add salt 

Per Pint: ½ tsp

Per Quart: 1 tsp

Ladle hot sauce into prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot sauce. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process pint jars for 35 minutes and quart jars for 40 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store. For each quart jar of thin sauce, you'll need about 5 lbs of tomatoes.

For pasta sauce I add a row of fresh basil for roasting as well as cut up onion (as much as you would like).  When blending I add minced garlic.  

Adapted from Ball Canning recipe 

Salsa

INGREDIENTS

7 cups diced, seeded, peeled and cored tomatoes (about 5 lb or 15 medium)

6 green onions, chopped

4 jalapeno peppers, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup white vinegar (5% acidity)

2 Tbsp bottled lime juice

2 Tbsp minced cilantro

2 tsp salt

Combine ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer to desired thickness.  

Ladle hot salsa into a hot jar leaving a ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling-water canner. 

Water must cover jars by 1 inch. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner, and bring water to a rolling boil. Process pint jars and half pint jars for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when center is pressed.

Adapted from Ball Mason site

White Fish

Often times when I make salmon for Scott and , Rayce would prefer to have some type of breaded white fish. This is my go-to recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest 

1 1/2 lbs white fish

1 1/3 c crushed potatoe chips*

2/3 c crushed corn flakes

1 tsp season salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp pepper 

1/3 c butter milk

4 Tbsp butter, melted

Combine the butter and buttermilk. 

Add the fish and toss to combine and wet all the fish. 

Add the potato chip and corn flake crumbs, seasoned salt, cayenne and pepper to a large bowl. Stir to combine. 

Remove each piece of fish from the buttermilk mixture, and dredge through the crumbs, pressing gently to adhere. 

Place on the prepared baking sheet.   Lightly spray the fish with cooking spray or a mist of olive oil. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 450.  Be careful not to over bake this, cooking times will vary depending on the size of your fish.

*If I have potato chips, otherwise I use all corn flakes. Turns out great either way.

Chicken Pasta Salad

This is my go to at Hug He's for dinner.  Yummy.  Recipe credit to Six Sisters.  They have amazing recipes.  I find myself looking for random ingredients I need to use on their site and customizing one of their recipes around them quite a bit lately.

Salad:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)

2½ c bowtie pasta (cooked)

2½ c tri-color rotini pasta (cooked)

1 c broccoli (chopped)

⅔ c carrots (chopped)

1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)

Dressing:

1 c sugar

1 c red wine vinegar

1½ c olive oil

1 Tbsp salt

1 Tbsp pepper

1 tsp tabasco sauce

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine your chicken, pasta, broccoli, carrots, and kidney beans. Mix until fully combined.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together your sugar, red wine vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, and tabasco sauce.

Pour the dressing mixture over the pasta mixture, and toss.

Store in fridge for 30 minutes  Serve cold or warm.  This is one of those recipes that is just as good the next day for lunch.

Pesto

Soooo much basil in my garden this year.  This is my favorite way to use it.  Recipe credit to another favorite Sally's Baking Recipes.  Anytime I am baking something this is my first go to for a recipe that amazing.

Ingredients:

2 c fresh basil leaves

1/3 c pine nuts

1/3 c shredded parmesan cheese

3 small cloves garlic 

1/3 c olive oil

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Pulse the basil, pine nuts, cheese, and garlic together in a food processor or blender.

Scrape down the sides, then add the oil, lemon juice, and salt. 

Pulse until everything is blended together and relatively smooth. Add a drizzle more olive oil to thin out, if desired.

Add pepper (and/or more salt) if desired. I always add a pinch of pepper.

Store pesto in a jar or sealable container, tightly seal, and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Notes:

Storing & Freezing Instructions: You can store this basil pesto in a jar or sealable container, then tightly seal and refrigerate for up to 1 week. To prevent browning, pour a layer of olive oil on top of the pesto before sealing. Freeze the pesto for up to 2–3 months. You can freeze it in greased ice cube trays and thaw small portions at a time. Let it thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Zucchini Bread

This recipe is why I grow zucchini.   It is Rayces' constant summer breakfast request.  Another great one from PW.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional

2 large eggs

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed

2/3 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. shredded zucchini, packed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter or spray the inside of a 9-by-5-inch inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the chocolate chips 

In another medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, brown and granulated sugars, and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. 

Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the top all over with the coarse sugar. Bake 55 to 60 minutes, until slight crumbs remain on a toothpick when stuck into the middle of the loaf. 

Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. 

Cover and store leftover the bread at room temperature for up to 3 to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week

Slow Cooker Hobo Dinner

I made this for my boys and anticipated having a lot left over because my crock pot was definitely full. That was absolutely not the case. They devoured this. I forgot to add the cheese at the end which I will do next time but it was wonderful.  I also only use 1 lb of hamburger because it was all I had defrosted. It was the only recommendation for my husband that it has more hamburger... This recipe was adapted from six sisters.  They have the best recipes if you haven't checked them out you definitely should click the link above.

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon parsley

3 russet potatoes scrubbed and thinly sliced

1 yellow onion thinly sliced

1/2 pound carrots sliced

1/2 pound fresh green beans ends trimmed

1 ½ pounds lean ground beef uncooked

10 ¾ ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup

½ cup bbq sauce

½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray OR my preferred method which is use a Crock-Pot liner

In a small bowl, mix together the salt, ground pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and parsley.

In another bowl, mix together cream of mushroom soup and BBQ sauce.

Layer half of the potatoes, half of the onions, half of the carrots, and half of the green beans in the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle half of the seasonings over the vegetables.

Break the ground beef in small bite-sized pieces (uncooked) and place half over the vegetables.

Spoon half of the sauce mixture over the meat.

Repeat the entire process all over again, layering it on top of each other.

Place the lid on top of the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 - 8 hours or on high for 3.5 - 4 hours.

Eggnog Truffles Recipe

Ingredients:

16 oz white chocolate 

4 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ c powdered sugar

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp imitation rum extract

Instructions:

In a small bowl, cream together cream cheese, powdered sugar, nutmeg, and rum extract.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt half of the white chocolate for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave, stir, and repeat in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is completely smooth.

Add the chocolate mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours or until chilled and slightly more firm.

Melt the remaining chocolate.

Remove the cream cheese and chocolate mixture from the fridge, and roll into one-inch balls. Roll each ball in the white chocolate, and place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet.

You can sprinkle the top with nutmeg as a garnish

Maple Vinaigrette

• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1/4 c maple syrup
• 1/4 c apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

TO MAKE:

Mix all INGREDIENTS together in a jar. You can keep out on the counter for a month.

This recipe adapted from Naptime Kitchen.  If you don't follow Kate you should.  She has great tips and recipes.