A Pinch, A Dash, and A Splash

(the accidental) Coconut Caramel Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:36:00 +0000

For my New Year's Eve party I thought it would be fun to make Samoa Bark, but instead of shortbread cookies I thought I'd use graham crackers. Because I had them. Well, probably a bad idea. The coconut caramel mixture didn't want to stick to the graham crackers at all. So, the CC topping came off and ended up being a "no bake coconut caramel cookie". And they were a hit! To get the real Samoa Bark recipe, click the link above. For the flubbed up recipe keep reading...

Ingredients:
14 oz bag of caramels
3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
2 tbsp water
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate for drizzling

Instructions:

Line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
In a non-stick skillet on medium-low heat, toast your coconut, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes or so, but be watchful because once it starts to brown it happens quickly and you don't want to burn the coconut! When the coconut is toasted, set aside.
Meanwhile, unwrap all your caramels and place them in a medium saucepan along with 2 tbsp water over medium-low heat.
Stirring continuously until the caramel has JUST melted. You don't want to over heat the caramel, as it will make it hard. Immediately fold in your toasted coconut.
Spread of plop caramel mixture onto foil.
Melt your 2 oz chocolate using whatever melting process you prefer and drizzle over the top of the caramel/coconut.
Put in freezer for 5 minutes to set the chocolate.
Cut, or remove from foil, and enjoy!

Coffee Chocolate Cupcake with Irish Cream Frosting

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:19:00 +0000

I made these cupcakes for Christmas this year, and they were a huge success! And easy too!

Cupcakes:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 heaping tbsp cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup coffee
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in room-temperature buttermilk. In a saucepan, melt butter and cocoa together at a low temperature. When smooth, add coffee. In a separate bowl, sift together sugar, flour, and salt. Add cocoa mixture and egg and mix at low speed. Add buttermilk mixture and vanilla and beat until smooth. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
1 stick butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup irish cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp coffee

Beat ingredients together until smooth. Spread on cupcakes.

And what do you do with the bowl when you're done...?

Lick it of course!

Source: Ming Makes Cupcakes, #24

Corn Dog Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:50:00 +0000

Fast easy finger food! And yes, the corn dog muffin does taste like a normal corn dog, less the fried calories.

Ingredients:
2 (8.5 oz) packages corn bread mix
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c milk
9 whole hot dogs, diced
1 c grated cheddar cheese
condiments

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease mini muffin tins.
In a large bowl, stir together cornbread mix and brown sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk, and then stir into dry mixture until moistened. Mix in hot dogs and cheese.
Spoon a good tablespoonful into muffin tins, making sure you get some hot dog in each spoonful.
Bake 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes in the pan before removing. For easy removal, cut around outsides of the muffins, then tip upside down onto a large cutting board and urge the muffins out using a knife to tap the bottoms of the muffin tins. The should slide right out.
Serve warm with desired condiments.

Tips:

Alternately, you can use your favorite cornbread mix, follow the instructions on the box, add in 1 cup of cheddar cheese and mix in chopped hot dogs too. If your favorite cornbread mix doesn't have a sweet element to it, add in 2 tbsp brown sugar. (This is good if your cornbread mix only calls for water = less calories!)
You can use paper liners if you'd like.
I used turkey dogs. Yum!
I also added a can of diced green chiles to one of the 2 batches!
Can also freeze muffins for later use. Takes only a minute or 2 to thaw in microwave.

Recipe from www.recipegirl.com

Zucchini Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:01:00 +0000

It's that time of the year when zucchini is everywhere and it's super inexpensive. And well, I love zucchini. So why not try to make a few different zucchini bread recipes?

I made 2 recipes. This one and this healthier one. They were both very yummy! And I've got more zucchini to use up.

What's YOUR favorite zucchini recipe?

Zippy's Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 05:05:00 +0000

Saturday was a day of spontaneity for me. Spontaneously in the morning it was decided that the next day, Sunday, I would have a yard sale at my house with a friend (my house because no permits required). Then in the evening as we were taking about going to Hawaii in October it was spontaneously decided that we were going to make chili, Zippy's Chili. Zippy's is a Hawaiian fast food place (or something like that) and they have some famous chili or something. Kevin has had it before when someone he knew had it flown in and delivered to him. So he found a recipe, we went to the store, and away we went. Oh, and it was insisted that we make a double batch. Cra-zy! But we had fun! :)

WANDA'S COPYCAT CHILI

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 pound lean ground beef (71 percent beef or more)

1 onion, very finely chopped

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, pureed, with liquid

1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, with liquid

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 tablespoon beef base (Minor's, Better Than Bouillon) or 2 bouillon cubes

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and brown beef; break up beef into its smallest components. Pour into bowl and reserve. Heat remaining vegetable oil and fry onion over medium heat, until limp and golden. Transfer beef to pot along with pureed tomato sauce, pinto beans, red kidney beans, chili powder, beef base, brown sugar and garlic salt. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium or medium-low and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise and heat through. Taste and correct seasonings.
Serves 4-6.
Per serving: 480 calories, 28 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, greater than 1300 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 28 g protein

recipe from Honolulu Advertiser

So here's my verdict...

It's not bad.
The fact that it has mayo in it throws me off big time. I.do.not.like.mayonnaise (unless it's in egg salad sandwiches)
It's not thick like chili that I'm used to.

Here's what I would do differently (aka healthify it)...

Less oil, 4 tsps was not needed.
Ground turkey. Why not?
Maybe a little tomato paste would help thicken it...?
2 cans of kidney beans for more fiber and to bulk it up.
Substitute for mayo...? Ummm... maybe a little bit of reduced fat cream cheese...?

So what's your favorite chili recipe?

Layered Mud Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:34:00 +0000

Ingredients:
4 oz, baker's semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg pie crust (store bought or make your own)
1/2 cup pecans (or nut of choice)
2 cups milk
2 pkg chocolate pudding mix, 3 oz boxes
1 tub cool whip (8 oz tub)

Instructions:

Melt the chocolate in microwave. Make sure to stir it every 30 seconds or so, so that it doesn't scorch. When melted, mix the chocolate and condensed milk in a bowl.
Put your pie crust into a pie plate. Then, pour chocolate mixture into your prepared crust and sprinkle with nuts.
Beat milk and pudding mix, spoon 1 1/2 cups of the mixture over the nut layer; mix half of the tub of cool whip with remaining pudding and spread onto pie.
Top with remaining cool whip and refrigerate 3 hours.

Notes:

I love sweetened condensed milk. I could eat it with a spoon. Oh wait, I do.
Instructions don't say to, but your pie crust should be baked, not raw.
1% milk was used. Slightly healthy.
I had a bunch of hodge podge pudding mixes in the little 1.5 oz packages, so I used 4 of them. Oh, and they were all the fat free (or is it sugar free) kinds.
I got lots of raves about this pie.

Holiday Breakfast Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:14:00 +0000

A while back for our Tuesday Night Dinner group we decided to do "Breakfast for Dinner". My favorite! So I made a breakfast casserole. You know, one of those that you make the night before and let set in the fridge? The recipe was found on a Sunday morning paper insert, that I then altered a little.

Ingredients:
12 oz. breakfast sausage (bulk or links)*
6 English muffins, cut into 1" cubes**
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup bacon bits

Instructions:

Cook sausage according to package directions. Cool slightly. If links, cut into 1/4" slices.
In a greased 9x13" baking dish, layer half the English muffin cubes and half the cooked sausage. Repeat layers. Drizzle with butter and top with cheese, onion, and red pepper.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over casserole. Sprinkle with bacon. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Uncover and bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

Alterations:

*I'm ~~cheap~~ frugal and bought bulk sausage instead of links.
**I'm ~~cheap~~ frugal and bought white bread instead of English muffins.
For one of the casseroles (I made 2), after the sausage was cooked I added some sliced mushrooms and sauteed them a little.

Brownies (homemade from scratch!)

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:14:00 +0000

When I make brownies, I pull out the box. Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, etc. I don't discriminate. But then in February I was tasked with making brownies for an event. Brownies from an old church cookbook. They didn't have box mixes back then. So I had to make it from scratch. And I did. They were good too. Not that I doubted myself.

Ingredients:
1/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts

Instructions: (exactly as they were written out...)
(Very good to double recipe). Mix together and pour into a greased pan. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. FROSTING: Melt chocolate chips (as many as desired) and coat on top for frosting.

Notes:

I didn't do the frosting. Frosting brownies never works for me. You know the paper thin flaky top that forms when the brownies are cooled? Yea, frosting pulls that stuff up.
I probably doubled the recipe. Honestly I can't remember.
Nuts - they don't belong in brownies. But since the recipe called for them I put them in. Pecans I think. I don't know. Whatever my mom had in her freezer since I didn't have any.

Lemon Crunch Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:45:00 +0000

I was asked by my bible study leader if I could make 2 desserts for an event that happened at church a couple weekends ago. Being that 1) I love to bake, and 2) had a reason to bake that didn't cause me to keep the desserts at home, I said yes, of course.

Here's a recipe for Lemon Crunch Bars. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I forged ahead. Let's just say...this dessert didn't last long in the sea of other desserts. It.was.gone! And that's a good thing.

Lemon Crunch Bars
Combine:
2 1/2 c flaked coconut
1 1/2 c soda crackers, rolled finely
2/3 c sugar
1 c flour
1 c soft margarine*
Mix well and place 1/2 of this mixture in a 9x13" pan and pat down firmly.
Combine:
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbs cornstarch
Stir in 2 2/3 cup milk. Cook until thick, stirring constantly.
Mix:
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c lemon juice**
Stir a little of the hot mixture into egg mixture (to temper it). Then add all to hot mixture. Cook and stir a few minutes longer.
Add:
2 tbs margarine*
1/2 tsp vanilla
Pour this mixture over crust in pan. Top with remaining half of crumbs and pat down lightly. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes or until light brown. Chill and cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Alternatives
*I'm anti margarine. I used butter. Hello! I live in a HUGE dairy community! Butter is my friend and I always have a back-up box in the freezer.
**My parent's have a lemon tree full of lemons, so I used freshly squeezed juice instead of the stuff you buy at the store in the green container.

Butter Beer

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:19:00 +0000

Have you ever watched Harry Potter, and while the gang is off at the ... place where they go during breaks ... wondered, "Hummm, I wonder what that butter beer stuff tastes like?"

Well, I'm here to let you know it's yummy. I'll tell you the ingredients that I used, but the proportions are up to you depending how strong or weak you'd like it.

Cream Soda
Butterscotch Schnapps
Butterscotch (ice cream) topping

For sweeter, use more topping. For more of an adult kick, use more schnapps.

Some recipes online called for melted butter. I'll admit, I scaled it back and tried it. And, well, I didn't like it, but it did foam better with butter. I'd stick to the sugar and not the fat stuff though.

Brownie Covered Oreos

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:58:00 +0000

These little creations... I had high expectations for them! I had complete confidence that I could make brownie mix, dip an oreo in it, then bake it. And I'm pretty sure I flubbed something up along the way because out of 36 (every oreo in package) or so "brownies", only 11 turned out. I don't know what went wrong. Maybe not enough non-stick spray. Either way, the 11 were good. And the crumbs of the other 25+ were good too.

Brownie Covered Oreos

Makes entire package of Oreos

Ingredients

1 brownie mix (or use your own brownie recipe)

1 package Oreos

White chocolate, melted for drizzle

Sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions. Leave in mixing bowl. Dip Oreos in brownie batter then place in the bottom of cupcake tins that have been generously sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until brownies are cooked through (doesn't take long). As soon as you remove, take a plastic knife and run along edges, (this is very important so you get the cookie out with brownie not stuck to pan).
Let cool for 5 minutes, remove, drizzle with melted white chocolate, sprinkle, and enjoy!

Comments

I sprayed generously.
I did not use plastic knife, I used metal one.
Maybe that's where I went wrong...
I used the holiday peppermint oreos...yum!

And in case you wondered what the scraps looked like...

Simple Stuffed Mushrooms

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:47:00 +0000

Simple Stuffed Mushrooms

Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients

2 lbs button mushrooms (approximately 50 mushrooms)

8 oz package cream cheese

8 oz package shredded parmesan cheese

3 green onions, chopped

1 lb sausage

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F.
Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Chop stems.
Cream together cream cheese, parmesan cheese, and onions.
Cook sausage. Once fully cooked, add in mushroom stems and cook until tender. Pour sausage and mushrooms into cheese and onion mixture. Mix well. Spoon into mushroom tops and bake for 15 minutes until bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes prior to serving.

Comments/Alterations

I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese.
I would have used turkey sausage, but the regular stuff was ~~cheaper~~ less expensive.
Assembled ahead of time, stored in fridge, baked when ready.

Recipe from Add a Pinch

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:13:00 +0000

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients
3 c sugar
3/4 c butter
2/3 c evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate pieces
7 oz jar Marshmallow Creme
1/2 c peanut butter

Instructions

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, 6 tablespoons margarine and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in a medium pot.
Bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling for 4 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
Remove from heat and stir in chocolate pieces until melted.
Add 1 cup (1/2 jar) marshmallow creme and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until well blended.
Pour into greased 13 X 9 pan.
Repeat with remaining ingredients substituting peanut butter and spread over chocolate.
Cool at room temperature and cut into squares.

Bakerella is the best!

Seven Layer Cookie

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 08:51:00 +0000

Who doesn't love a nice toasty alcoholic beverage on Christmas? And that's exactly what I made to take to our family Christmas gathering, 24 servings to be exact. For 10 people. And it disappeared. Quickly. Burp. Excuse me. (Sorry, no picture. How can one balance a camera and a beverage at the same time?)

Ingredients

3/4oz Godiva Liqueur

3/4oz Coconut Rum

1/2oz Butterscotch Schnapps

1/2oz Partida Anejo Tequila

1/4oz Frangelico

1/2oz Baileys

1/2oz Amaretto

Instructions

Garnish rim of a martini glass with crushed cookie crumbs. Shake all ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a martini glass.

Comments

I couldn't find Godiva Liqueur (BevMo was sold out!), so I used Cask & Clevers Chocolate Temptations. I have no idea how it effected the intended flavor, but it was still good!
Um, I totally didn't mess with crushing cookies and rimming glasses.
Or shaking with ice.
Or straining into a martini glass.

Thanks CakeSpy!

Garlic Chicken Puffs

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 05:21:00 +0000

Garlic Chicken Puffs

Ingredients
4 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c cooked shredded chicken*
2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
optional alteration:
2 cloves garlic, minced
some chopped up greet onion

Instructions

Mix cream cheese, garlic, and chicken until well blended.
Unroll crescent rolls and cut each triangle into 2 triangles (when you unroll the crescent rolls, 2 triangles are attached making a big square, cut from there following the perforation for one cut and make another cut from the other corner, giving you 4 little triangles).
Place 1 tsp of chicken mixture on the center of each triangle and fold the corners in over the creamy mixture.
Place on cookie sheet and bake at 375F for 12-14 minutes.

*For cooked chicken, I threw 5 or 6 chicken tenderloins into a baking pan and baked them for about 30 minutes.

Comments

I made this recipe twice within a week (Christmas party and Christmas day), and I had to "alter" the original recipe (above) because it was a little bland. Second time, although they were all gone by the time I came inside, I was told that they were delicious! (I guess the fact that they were all gone is a good sign!)
I used reduced fat cream cheese (a full 8 oz block) and reduced fat crescent rolls.

Recipe from Tidy Mom

Cake Batter Chocolate Bark

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 05:13:00 +0000

Cake Batter Chocolate Bark

Ingredients
6 oz good dark chocolate
12 oz good white chocolate
1 tsp yellow cake mix
sprinkles of your choice (at least 3 tbs or more)

Instructions

Melt dark chocolate either in the microwave or a double boiler. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour chocolate on. You can smooth it with a spatula to the thickness you desire. Stick in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Melt white chocolate. Whisk in cake mix, stirring well until no lumps remain. Let it set for 3 full minutes (or at least until it slightly thickens). Remove baking sheet with dark chocolate from the freezer and immediately pour white chocolate on top. Sprinkle on sprinkles. Freeze for 20 minutes.
Once set, break into chunks. Keep refrigerated.

Comments

The recommended "good chocolate" of Lindt (70% dark and regular white) was too expensive, so I went the cheap route (semi-sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips).

Recipe from Jessica at How Sweet It Is

Fat, Fluffy Snickerdoodles

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:31:00 +0000

I love snickerdoodles. Who am I kidding, I love cookies! But these had me at "fat, fluffy", kinda like me. :)

Fat, Fluffy Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
1/2 c butter, room temperature
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs milk
1/4 c sugar + 1 tbs cinnamon for dipping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F.
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is still crumbly, add milk 1 tbs at a time until it comes together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a bowl, combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Remove dough from fridge and roll into big 1 1/2" balls. Dip in cinnamon sugar mixture and place on baking sheet. Lightly press down on dough to flatten it. Bake at 375F for 10-12 minutes.

Comments

Delicious!

Recipe from How Sweet It Is

Beer Cheese Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:18:00 +0000

Who doesn't love a good dip? And who doesn't love to try to make a new dip, especially when it's only 4 ingredients!

Ingredients
2 - 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 c beer
1 envelope Ranch dressing mix
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Beat the first three ingredients until well blended.
Stir in cheddar cheese by hand.

Comments

If dip is too thick, add a little beer to thin it down. (wish I had read that before, my dip was pretty thick)
Any dipping chip goes well with this dip. Doritos were a bit too salty for me though.
Carrots were yummy dipped in the dip!
I used reduced fat cream cheese and reduced fat colby jack cheese.

from TidyMom.com

Roasted Red Potato Bites

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 06:41:00 +0000

For my recent Christmas party I wanted to find easy, tastey, healthy(ish) recipes. And I believe I did pretty good with that. Except when you don't practice "eat in moderation", and you "sample" and "taste test" during the cooking process.

First up we have a Weight Watchers recipe... Off to a good start don't you think?

Roasted Red Potato Bites
PointsPlus value: 2

Ingredients
12 small uncooked red potatoes, each cut in half (about 1 lb)
1 oz. smoked gouda cheese, shredded (about 1/4 c)
3 slices crisp cooked bacon, finely crumbled (about 2 tbs)
1/4 c fat-free sour cream
2 tbs fresh chives, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a nonstick 10x15" jelly-roll pan with nonstick spray.
With a spoon or melon baller (worked like a charm!), make a 1/2" deep well in the top of each potato.
Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the potatoes with nonstick spray. Bake until tender and golden, about 40 minutes. Remove the potates from the oven. Leave the oven on.
Top each potato half with 1/2 tsp of the cheese and 1/4 tsp of the bacon. Bake until the cheese begins to melt, about 5 minutes. Top each potato half with 1/2 tsp of the sour cream and sprinkle with the chives.
Yields 2 pieces per serving.

Comments

Bite size potatoes were a little difficult to find, but I found them at a nicer grocery store.
To help the potatoes stand flat on the baking tray, cut a small slice from the bottom of each potato half. (I didn't have to do that)
If you don't have a melon baller, scoop out the potato flesh with a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon.
I used green onions since I needed to buy them for another recipe, just chop them up a little smaller.

Pumpkin Roll

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 07:53:00 +0000

Who doesn't love a good pumpkin roll? For Thanksgiving...? Yea, I do too. So I decided to improvise and make it up as I went along, and I found a yummy sounding frosting for the middle.

Cakey Part
Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
1 can pure pumpkin (15 oz)

Instructions:
Mix 2 ingredients together. Spread onto greased jelly roll pan. Bake about 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. *Trick I didn't know about at the time, let it cool for a few minutes, then flip the cake onto a towel and roll with towel; this will help it from cracking later.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) brick 3rd less fat cream cheese, room temp.
1 stick butter (1/2 c), room temp.
2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions:
Cream together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in powdered sugar on LOW speed for about 15-20 seconds, then mix on HIGH until combined. Add vanilla and cinnamon; mix until thoroughly combined.

Making the roll:
Gentle unroll the cake from the towel. Spread the frosting onto the cake, thickness as you desire. Roll it back up. I wrapped mine in plastic and put it in the fridge to help set it a little. Slice and serve.

Verdict:
It tasted SO good, which is a relief because it looked like a sad pumpkin roll. I'd definitely make it again!

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:39:00 +0000

As a healthier option to the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year I decided to make this recipe that was given to me at a weight watcher's meeting. It was good, really good. The consistency wasn't as dense as normal pumpkin pie filling.

Ingredients:
1 can pumpkin (15 oz.)
1 can evaporated skim milk (12 oz.)
3/4 cup egg substitute (or 3 egg whites)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 c splenda or sugar (or to taste)

Instrustions:

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.
Pour into a 9" sprayed pie pan.
Bake at 400F for 15 minutes, and then 325F for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Serves 8
Whole Pie: 8 WW Points (or 1 pt for 1/8 of the pie)
Although, WW just revamped their point system, so I don't know how many PlusPoints the pie is yet.

Graveyard Grave (aka fudge balls)

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 05:09:00 +0000

So why not add fudge to the arsenal that I made last Friday night for a Halloween party?

Ingredients:
3 c semisweet chocolate pieces
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
2 cups mini marshmallows
unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with an equal amount of powdered sugar
powdered sugar

Instructions:

Line a 9x9x2 or an 8x8x2 inch baking pan with foil; set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat and stir chocolate pieces, condensed milk, butter, vanilla, and salt over medium heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in marshmallows just until combined. Spread mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Using a table knife or thin metal spatula, swirl marshmallows through fudge in pan until marshmallows are mostly melted. Cover and chill about 2 hours or until firm.
Using a small scoop, scoop fudge and shape into rocks (fudge will be sticky). Roll some in cocoa powder mixture and some in powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes about 80 pieces (2 1/4 lbs.).

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

Gooey Pumpkin Butterscotch Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 05:41:00 +0000

Ummm...hello... pumpkin, butterscotch, and brownies. Sure, I'll give it a try!

Ingredients:

1 family size brownie mix
1/4 Cup water
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 bag butterscotch chips
1 small box instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 1/2 Cups canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 Cup butterscotch ice cream topping

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Let cool for 1 hour before removing from pan and cutting into squares.
In a bowl mix brownie mix, water, oil, eggs, chips, pudding, pumpkin and cinnamon. Mix until well combined.
Pour half of mix into a 11×7 inch baking pan that has been lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Pour 1/2 Cup butterscotch ice cream topping over brownie mix. Pour remaining brownie mix over top and bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes mostly clean from center.

Makes 12 brownies

Alterations/Recommendations:

I think I used too much butterscotch sauce in the middle. The top and bottom layer kinda slid around, they didn't really "fuse".

Recipe from Picky Palate

Body Bits Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:28:00 +0000

I know this is officially a day late, but it's still really yummy and needs to be shared. And really, it's hot cheese dip and it's football season...do the math.

Ingredients:
8 oz bulk pork sausage
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 lb American cheese, cubed
2 10-oz cans chopped tomatoes and green chile peppers, undrained
1 5.3 oz pkg cocktail wieners, halved crosswise
Tortilla chips

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until sausage is brown; drain fat. Transfer sausage mixture to a 3 1/2 to 4 quart crockery cooker (aka crockpot). Stir in cheese, tomatoes, and wieners.
Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 1 to 2 hours or until cheese is melted, stirring after 1 hour. To serve, keep dip warm on low-heat setting, stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes 18 servings.

Alterations/Recommendations:

I, always trying to "healthify" recipes, used hot Italian turkey sausage. I just took the casing off and cooked it up!
If I had them on hand, I would have used turkey lil' smokies.
And if I could have found it at the grocery store I went shopping at, I would have used 2% velveta cheese.

Nutritionals per serving:
Calories: 168; Total Fat: 14g (saturated fat: 8g); Cholesterol: 41mg; Sodium: 644mg; Carbohydrate: 2g; Fiber: 0g; Protein: 9g

recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

Caramel Sauce/Fondue

noreply@blogger.com (Courtney Montague) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:15:00 +0000

I've made chocolate fondue before, so I figured it was time to venture into the world of caramel fondue. Which is kinda a little bit scary because there is a fine line between sauce and caramel chewy candies. But what the heck, I'll try it anyways!

Ingredients:
1 c evaporated milk
2 c white sugar
4 tbs butter
4 tbs corn syrup
Assortment of dippers (apples, bananas, pound cake, marshmallows, pretzels, etc)

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, mix the evaporated milk, sugar, butter, and corn syrup.
Heat up over medium heat and bring to a boil while stirring.
Let the mixture boil and thicken for about 5 minutes.
Pour the content into your warm fondue pot.
Dip bite size pieces of various dippers using a fondue fork.
Enjoy and repeat. No double dipping!

Alterations/Recommendations:

For some reason, it took way longer than 5 minutes to thicken. So I kept it on the burner longer. I probably should have taking it off when the 5 minutes were up, 'cause guess up, it kept cooking while being kept warm by the fondue warmer!
It was easily dippable for awhile, now I have caramel candies. :)

Credits: Caramel Fondue Recipe