2 Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Glaze

Well, I'm sitting in a tree stand, waiting on a deer, so I figured I could be productive. I'm doing this from my phone, too, so I will probably have to edit later.

Josh has been home a little over a week now and I am enjoying my time with him immensely. It's like he never left, we just fell back in stride and picked up where we left off. If anyone that is bored enough to be reading this has a military man, then you know how important that is.

So our life is back to normal and e missed my cooking, so I have spent a good deal of time in the kitchen these past few days. I came across a recipe on Pinterest for a 2 ingredient pumpkin cake, and I had jut ordered some organic Pumpkin from Vitacost... So I figured "tis the season."

The recipe called for a yellow cake mix, but I decided to go with a spice cake instead. 2 ingredients & it is absolutely incredible.

Ingredients:

You will need a spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin. Mix ingredients with hand mixer or fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9x11 Pyrex or cake pan. Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes, or until you stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

Take out of oven and let cool for 5 minutes or so.

For the glaze:

You can make this while you are waiting on the cake to bake.

1 stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup powdered sugar

Stir together until there are no lumps of powdered sugar.

Poke holes in slightly warm cake as pour glaze over top.

Let cool for a few more minutes and serve. This cake is absolutely divine!!!!

Green Chile Cheese Corn Muffins

I'm having one of those "blah" days! I'm so anxious and ready for Josh to be home that I can't even get anything done... including school/work stuff, which is bad, but whatever. Down to days here... DAYS, and they are the longest days ever. So, in efforts to put myself in a good mood and in an attempt to be slightly productive, I figured I'd whip something up.

I have a ton of different takes on corn muffins or cornbread, and I thought I'd try something somewhat new. The results were fantastic, of course. It's really hard to mess up a corn muffin. I've put Spam in a corn muffin before, and it still turned out delicious. Not saying anything bad about Spam, I'm just not so fond of the stuff.

Anyhoo... I just used some ingredients I had at the house & I'm pretty sure these will go on a regular rotation.

Ingredients:

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 can sweet yellow corn (or 1 cup frozen corn...thawed)
1 small can green chiles
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella, but I think any shredded cheese would be good, maybe mexi blend, pepper jack, etc.)
1 tsp jalapeno powder
1/8 cup fresh cilantro...(about 6 sprigs; grind in food processor before adding to mix)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400; spray muffin tin with Pam. Mix all ingredients in medium bowl for about a minute. Let sit for a few minutes, then stir again. Scoop mix into muffin tin about halfway full. Bake for 15 minutes, let cool.

I ate one of these warm right out of the pan and it was sooo good.

Cauliflower Rice

I cannot lay any sort of claim to the original recipe for cauliflower rice because I can honestly say I never would have thought of it. My friend & neighbor found this on Pinterest and made it... and made me try it. I loved it to the point that I was craving it this week. So below is pretty much the original recipe that she found, but I changed it a tiny bit, adding garlic, pepper, sea salt, and more cauliflower. I think it is worth posting because the possibilities here are endless. The "rice" itself taste similar to egg roll filling, YUM, but I think it would be great in lettuce wraps with a little lean beef, chicken, or turkey with a ginger sauce. I also think it would be awesome with quinoa... in wonton cups... as mexi rice... I mean I really could go on forever. I made it plain this time (with some sriracha, of course), though I'm sure this will become a base for many recipes to come.

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower
5-6 celery stalks
1 medium white onion
1 clove garlic (or 1/2tbsp minced garlic)
*I used one clove of elephant garlic and it was wonderful, but we all know I love garlic*
2 tbsp olive or coconut oil (I used raw organic coconut oil... it's my favorite in anything)
sea salt & pepper to taste
sriracha to taste

You will need a food processor and LARGE saucepan or pot. I used a soup pot... to each their own.

Directions:
Roughly chop cauliflower, then grind in food processor until rice consistency. Finely chop onions, celery, and garlic & saute in oil for about 5-7 minutes (before adding cauliflower). Add in cauliflower, keeping heat on medium-high, and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook longer for a softer texture, but I really liked the fact that the cauli-rice had a very similar texture to real rice. Remove from heat and stir in desired amount of salt and pepper. Top with sriracha.

I literally ate a bowl for dinner last night, a bowl for lunch today... and I'm pretty sure I'm going to finish off what little is left tonight with some baked fish. Yes. It is that good. If you like veggies. If you don't, then I can't promise you're going to be a fan.

EXTRA PLUS: for my friends on diets or the hcg diet... or the 3 day diet... I think this recipe could be modified to fit into your plan quite easily!

Party Dip

Habaneros are back in stores and I couldn't be more excited. There's a few things that I want all year long, habanero peppers fall in that list. I keep saying I'll grow my own one day, but let's face it, my green thumb is non-existent. So naturally, I buy a whole bunch of them and proceed to make anything and everything I can think of with my most favorite of peppers. That brings me to the party dip. Why is it party dip? Well for one it makes enough dip to feed an army, but two, it's like a party in your mouth! The kick of habaneros just does something. With that being said, I like things spicy. SPICY. The hotter the better. I din't make this dip too spicy, but I definitely felt that burn that tends to build up. I used 3 habaneros & probably would have been fine adding another one or two, but if you can't handle the heat stick to two, one... or even none.

Ingredients:
1 can fiesta corn
1 can black bean fiesta grillin beans
1 package taco seasoning
1lb ground beef
habaneros (1,2,3,4... whatever tickles your fancy)
1 block velveeta white queso

Directions:
Grind habaneros in food processor, or mince. In a pan, slightly brown beef, drain. Add in taco seasoning and habaneros, continue cooking until beef is completely cooked. Cube velveeta. Add all ingredients to crockpot on medium for an hour, stirring occasionally. Put crockpot on warm setting to keep dip warm and melty during the day/party/game, etc...

Melt in Your Mouth Meatballs

I think I've mentioned before that I developed my love of cooking because of my Gran. He was an excellent cook and taught me a lot. This recipe started in my Gran's kitchen, and I have modified  and perfected it over time. That's right, perfected. I've never had a meatball that even compares to the melt in your mouth explosion of awesome that is my meatball. True story.

Ingredients
1.5 lb ground beef
half packet italian dressing seasoning
1/2 cup italian style bread crumbs
1 egg
1.5 heaping tbsp margarine
1 small can (1oz) El Patio hot tomato sauce
1/2 cup shiraz
** I eyeball the wine every time. I know what it is supposed to look like in the pan. You want the sauce to come up to about half the meatball, so the wine is roughly 1/2 - 3/4 cup. Also, it really does not matter what brand wine you use. I buy the cheapest wine they have, which usually turns out to be Turning Leaf or something. I have also used expensive wine, and there really is no difference.**

Directions
In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, italian dressing seasoning, bread crumbs, egg, and margarine. Mix well...I use my hands. It's faster. Section out and roll into at least 1" balls. Obviously mine aren't exactly uniform.

Place meatballs in large skillet. Pour tomato sauce and wine in skillet & bring sauce to boil. Continue cooking on high heat for about 15 minutes, turning frequently.  Drain excess fat from sauce. Serve with garlic bread or pasta!

Chicken & Veggie Pasta

This happens to be one of the recipes I've been tumbling around. I still think it needs... something, I don't know, but it was tasty.

Ingredients:
2 (healthy sized) chicken breasts, cubed
1 squash, sliced (I used 1/2 a cup frozen...thawed completely)
1 large zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup mushrooms (I'm quite fond of portabella, but whatever tickles your fancy)
12oz. veggie spiral pasta (wacky mac, not just for pasta salads!)
1/2 white onion, chopped
pinch of basil & oregano


Sauce:
1 package Italian dressing seasoning (I keep this stuff on hand at all times, along with buttermilk ranch dressing packets. They always come in handy!)
1 clove garlic, minced
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken soup

Instructions:

Multitasking on the burners here...

In a medium saucepan, on low to medium heat, add ingredients of sauce. Stir occasionally. You'll want to make sure cream cheese is melted and blended in completely. 

In a 5 qt saucepan, boil cubed chicken for 10 minutes. You'll want to cook your chicken for slightly longer than pasta and vegetables so that the chicken gets cooked and the pasta doesn't get over cooked. Drain. I stopped measuring here, but add pasta (and water accordingly) & veggies with basil and oregano. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for 13-15 minutes (stirring occasionally), or until pasta is at desired texture. I like mine soft... borderline overcooked... al dente is not my fave, so it stayed cooking for 15 minutes. Drain excess water.

Combine sauce with pasta in your 5qt saucepan. Mix thoroughly.

Serve with a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella & make sure you have plenty of mouths to feed or you're going to be stuck with a bunch of leftovers (oh darn).

Chocolate and Biscuits

Hi y'all (anyone still out there?) I am hoping this hiatus is coming to an end... Josh is coming home (IN TWO MONTHS YAY!!!!) and I have been tossing around a few recipe ideas that I want to have perfected. I may just have to find a substitute guinea pig, though.

Anyway, this recipe is not one of the ones I've been tossing around, but my momma sent me this recipe the other day and I thought I should share. It was passed down from my great grandma, and I remember my mom making this for me when I was growing up. I'm pretty sure my great grandma was a genius because these chocolate gravy covered biscuits are absolutely heavenly! I mean, chocolate for breakfast? Yes please.

For the biscuits, go with what you like. If you are so inclined to make them from scratch, then by all means, knock yourself out. Me? I'll just pop some Pillsbury Grands in the oven and save myself some trouble & time.

When it comes to measurements, it seems that my great grandma was like me... measurements smeasurements. I know how much of something I need when it tastes right. It makes complete sense, but alas, that just will not do for sharing! SO with some tweeking from my mom, I think we've got this correct:

Chocolate Gravy:

 1.5 cups of sugar
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of cocoa
2 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of butter

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, mix together sugar, flour, and cocoa. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet (on medium heat) then add your chocolate mix. Stir thoroughly until mixed with butter, then add in milk, stir. You may need to add a bit more milk if it is too thick. While still on medium heat, bring to boil, stirring often. Take off heat & serve over halved biscuits.

YUM!