Pumpkin Cupcakes & Cream Cheese Frosting

There are tons of pumpkin cupcake recipes out there. When I was in search of one to make I was pointed in the direction to "The Way the Cookie Crumbles" blog. The writer of the blog made 3 different types of pumpkin cupcakes (the 3 top rated and talked about on the internet). After sampling the variety her and her husband both decided that the pumpkin cakes recipe by David Leite via Smitten Kitchen reigned supreme. So I made them. Why waste time cooking and eating other cupcakes that weren't going to be as good? Have I ever told you that I was gullible? :)

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Ingredients

- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
- 1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1¼ cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

:: Directions ::

1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.

2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.

3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Divide the batter equally between the cups. (They’ll be about ¾ full.) Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 4oz cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
- In a large bowl beat together butter & cream cheese with mixed.

- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth & creamy.

- Beat in vanilla extract

*Since its pumpkin & fall I decided to add some Wilton orange coloring gel to my frosting to make it pretty*

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Lime

I got this recipe out of Rachael Ray 365: No repeats. I'm usually not a big fan of Rachael's cooking, it usually taste kind of bland to me, but what do you expect for making dinner in 30 minutes? I once ate at this delicious Mexican restaurant and had the chicken tortilla soup, it's one of my favorites so when I came across this recipe I decided to give it a try. It was surprisingly good and had a lot of flavor. I almost messed up the recipe but after a reminder from my husband that I dont know to follow it word for word, I was able to quickly save it and make it yummy.

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 cups yellow corn tortilla chips
- 2 tsp hot sauce
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1/2 c sour cream
- 1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 4 scallions, white & green parts thinly sliced
- salt & pepper
- zest & juice from 2 limes

::Directions::

- Preheat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat and add the extra virgin olive oil.

- Chop the chicken tenders into bite size pieces and season with salt & pepper, then add to the soup pot.

- Lightly brown the chicken, 3 to 4 minutes, then add the garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno, onions, celery, cumin, coriander, salt & pepper. Continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

- While that is cooking, place the tortilla chips into a food processor and process until well ground. If you dont have a food processor place the chips into a sealable storage bag and crush with rolling pin. Add the ground tortilla chips to the soup pot and stir to combine.

- Add the chicken stock and bring the soup to a simmer *. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes.

- Ladle the soup into bowls & garnish with the sour cream. Pass the lime zest, chopped cilantro, and scallions in shallow bowls for each person to add to taste. **

* In case you noticed, the recipe never says what to do with the hot sauce, silly Rachael! This is when I would add it (I actually didnt noticed until after I cooked and ate dinner that I forgot to add it).
** I added half a lime juice to the soup, along with a handful of cilantro and scallions half way into the simmering process.

colorado chili

This recipe is so good and so easy to play around with. I've made it 3 or 4 times now and every time I add something different. I found this recipe from my friend Katie, you can view her blog here, "Busy Mom's Cookbook", she has tons of fabulous recipes!

Here is the original recipe copied from her blog, I used 1 pound of ground turkey for a smaller batch. Enjoy!

Colorado Chili

This recipe is a combination of a few recipes I've tried. Deon really likes Boulder hot italian sausage and hates kidney beans so this is the chili recipe I came up with for him. If you don't like sausage just use 2lbs of ground beef or turkey. And of course, you can use dark red kidney beans instead of plain red beans. It also makes a TON of Chili and freezes very well. We ended up with about 5 meals for the two of us (very generous portions). We ate one and I froze 4 in gallon ziploc bags.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 lb hot italian sausage - We like Boulder Sausage. (Boulder sausage is a Colorado thing - don't kill yourself trying to find it if you don't live here, :P)

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped green sweet peppers

4 garlic cloves minced

2 (14 1/2 ounce)cans tomatoes , cut up (I used one plaincan and one can of rotel for extra kick)

2 (15 ounce)cans red beans , rinsed and drained

2 (8 ounce)cans tomato sauce

4-5 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried basil , crushed

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. In a large saucepan cook meat, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain fat.

2. Stir in undrained tomatoes beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, and pepper.

3. Bring to boil; reduce heat.

4. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Crockery-cooker directions: Cook meat, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic as above. Drain fat. In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart electric crockery cooker combine meat mixture, undrained tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil and pepper. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

sausage, spinach & roasted red pepper alfredo

I got this recipe from my friend Joie, you can view her blog "Cook Now, Eat Later". It is so easy and cheap to make it but the taste is incredible! Perfect for a weeknight meal when you are in a hurry. My 2 year old also loved this, woohoo!

Ingredients
- 1 jar roasted red pepper alfredo (Classico)
- 1 box frozen spinach
- 4 mild Italian sausages *
- 1 box fettucine

Directions::
- Put the sausage in a pan and cook half way. Take them out and cut into bite sized rounds. Put them back into the pan until cooked through.

- Microwave spinach to defrost ** Squeeze mositure out of spinach using cheesecloth (or dishtowel that you dont mind staining).

- Add the spinach to the sauce and break it up. Add the sauce and cook until heated through.

- Serve over boiled fettucine

* Next time we will use spicy sausage, we like the extra kick
** I defrosted the spinach by leaving it in the sink for most of the day while the sausage defrosted.

creamy broccoli soup

Broccoli soup is one of my favorite soups, its so delicious on a cold fall day. This recipe is also delicious!!

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 slices of bacon, chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- salt and pepper
- Hot Sauce
- 2 10 ounce boxes of frozen chopped broccoli *
- 1 quart of chicken stock
- ½ cup of heavy cream or half and half

- 1/4 cup cup parsley
- Zest and juice of one lemon
- 1 cup of shredded sharp Cheddar
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Directions::
- Heat a large soup pan over medium heat and add the extra virgin olive oil.

- Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove the crispy bacon and let it drain on a paper towel.

- Add the onions, garlic and thyme to the pot and season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions are tender.

- Add the broccoli and heat thoroughly. Transfer the onions and broccoli ** to the food processor with ½ cup of chicken stock and puree until smooth. ***

- Add the pureed mixture back to the pan and then add the remaining chicken stock and cream. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

- To finish the soap add the lemon zest and juice and stir to combine. Dish up and Serve. ****

* I used fresh broccoli, about 3-4 cups.
** I added some of the bacon to the blender also.
*** Next time I will leave some out so its chunky, we prefer chunky soup.
**** I added this to bread bowls and it was delicious! My 2 y/o gobbled it up.

Apple Brownies

I got this recipe from my wonderful mother in law. Apparently she has a whole stash of old family recipes from her aunt. This was a favorite of my husbands growing up and he begged me to make it after I came home with 2 pecks of apples from an apple picking adventure. So from our family, to yours, enjoy!

Apple Brownies
1/2 c margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
a few apples (pealed, cored & chopped)

- Whip margarine while gradually adding sugar & egg.
- Beat until light & creamy
- Mix in apples
- Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl than combine with margarine mixture.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

This fills one small 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. I doubled the recipe for my 13x9 baking dish. To get the apples into small enough pieces I peeled, cored & diced than added them to my kitchenaid chopper.