Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

These were a hit with the whole neighborhood. Or to be honest with my three boys and the neighbor girl mainly. They ate the whole sheet full of them in a matter of oh about a 1/2 hour. I did manage to get five hidden from their view so a few other people were able to try them. They are delicious and full of pumpkin flavor. And the cream cheese frosting took them over the top flavor wise. Trust me you won't be disappointed in these bars. The only problem with them is I am sure they are chocked full of calories and as such not so good for the waist line.

Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from King Arthur Flour

Cake
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, or 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
1 cup (7 ounces)vegetable oil
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup (9 1/2 ounces) pumpkin puree


Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons(1 3/8 ounces) maple syrup
2 cups (12 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 18 x 13-inch half-sheet pan.

For the cake: Put the first five ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until well incorporated. Set aside. Beat the oil and the sugars together until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the pumpkin puree.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes and turn onto a rack to finish cooling. Frost the cake and cut into bars when cool.

For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and the butter together. Add the maple syrup and stir well. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until the frosting is the right consistency; adjust the consistency with more maple syrup or confectioners' sugar. Frost the cake. Cut into bars; a pizza wheel works well for this chore. Yield: 36 (2 x 3-inch) bars.

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

Okay so looking at this picture it doesn't look like soup. I'm guessing the barley I added soaked up the broth in the half hour I waited to take the picture. However don't let this stop you from making this soup cause it was really really good. The flavors blended together well for a really delicious creamy soap. I added cooked pearl barley to the dish just for some added nutrients. And if you know me well you know I just had to add garlic to the dish. I think I add garlic to every recipe if it doesn't call for it. I especially love garlic with vegetables.

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup
slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

3 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces
4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (can use fat-free or low-fat)
1 ½ cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
1 cup cooked pearl barley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the zucchini, basil, parsley, garlic and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir and cook for one minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking or stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice; mix well. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (it will continue cooking for a few more minutes). Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, pearl barley, and corn. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in the cheese just before serving.

The Best Tuna Salad

Those who know me know I don't like seafood and tuna ranks up there with something I'll never touch. However I married someone who loves tuna sandwiches and as such I've been learning how to make the best tuna sandwich. According to my husband this recipe comes the closest to perfection that I have hit. In fact he has asked for this to be made several times over the past month.

The Best Tuna Salad
Cooks Country Magazine Aug./Sept. 2010

3 5 oz. cans solid white albacore tuna packed in water
1/4 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 celery rib, chopped fine

Place tuna in fine mesh strainer and press to dry with paper towels. Transfer to medium bowl and mash with fork until finely flaked. Microwave onion and oil in small bowl until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Combine onion mixture, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and sugar with tuna and let sit 10 minutes.

Stir mayonnaise and celery into tuna mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve. Can be refrigerated in airtight container for one day.

Vegetable Kabob Marinade

Honestly this recipe also works well for beef and chicken. Lately though I've been eating a lot less meat so I made vegetable kabobs. I love this marinade. I've made it several times and every time I like it more. It's a perfect blend of seasonings and makes a nice grilled meal. It's also easy to make and the longer you marinade the more flavor your veggies (and/or meat) will have. Use what ever veggies are your favorites. We prefer mushrooms, red onions, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, and whatever other veggie we have extras of.

Vegetable Kabob Marinade
Allrecipes

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or I've used 3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 pinch ground ginger or I've used about a half teaspoon freshly grated ginger

In a large resealable plastic bag, mix the teriyaki sauce, honey, garlic powder, and ginger. Add veggies (and/or meat) and marinade 4 to 24 hours. Prepare as desired.

French Bread Rolls

These rolls have been the hit of the neighborhood this week. I've baked them three times this week alone. These rolls are also perfect for those wanting to try their hand at baking. They are so easy to make and require little time commitment with very few ingredients. However don't let the few ingredients or the simple directions keep you from making these rolls cause they are unbelievably tasty. Also they are a very light and fluffy roll. Thanks Melanie for sharing these cause they really are a great tasting roll.

French Bread Rolls
Mel at Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Makes about one dozen rolls

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

*Can freeze the rolls after baking – microwave on high

Nibbler Cookies 1st Place at Davis County Fair

Sorry to brag one more time but I promise this was the last entry I did for the fair this year. I wanted to do a cookie recipe and I just couldn't find one that I had all the ingredients on hand for the day I did my cooking so I made this scone nibbles and renamed them. I wasn't too happy that I didn't have a chance to do a trial bake of this dish, thanks to my oven dying, but I was really happy when they turned out so tasty. Very easy dish to make and they were definitely a hit with my family and the judges. The judges ate 4 of the cookies when judging, compared to 1-2 of all the other entries. If your looking for something different for school lunches, treat night, or just for the heck of it give these a try.

Nibbler Cookies aka. Scone Nibbles
King Arthur Flour Late Summer 2010 catalog

2 3/4 cups (11 1/2 oz.) unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup (2 3/8 oz.) sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup (4 oz.) cold butter, cut into pats
1 to 2 cups (6 to 12 oz.) mini chocolate chips
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 to 2/3 cup (4 to 5 3/8 oz.) half and half or milk

Glaze
3 1/2 cups (14 oz.) confectioners sugar
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 oz) water, enough to make a thin glaze
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Work in the butter just until mixture is unevenly crumbly. Stir in the chips.

In separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and 1/2 cup milk. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, adding more milk if the dough seems dry.

Scrape the dough onto a well floured work surface, and pat into an 8 inch square, a scant 3/4 inch thick. Cut the square into sixteen 2 inch squares, then cut each square in half diagonally, to make 32 small triangular scones.

Transfer scones to a parchment lined or well greased baking sheet. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Bake the scones in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Cut each scone in half again to make a total of 64 tiny triangles.

Stir together glaze ingredients. Coat the scones with the glaze. Place them on a rack to set.

Best Biscuits 1st Place at the Davis County Fair

I just had to make these biscuits for the fair. They are the best ones I've ever tasted or made. Trust me you won't like other biscuits after having these. Comments from the judges were very flaky, tender, and down right yummy. I copied and pasted the recipe from a previous blog post but here is the direct link to that post.


I'm not making this up these are the best biscuits I have ever made. Plus, this is my favorite part of this recipe, I didn't have to struggle to cut in the butter. These biscuits had the best flavor of any biscuit I've ever made and they were so flaky. The recipe isn't hard and I promise you its worth the little effort required to make these. If all you've ever made are canned biscuits your in for a big treat. The recipe calls for vinegar and cream, both of which I did not have on hand. I used buttermilk when I made these biscuits as such I'm listing the buttermilk. If you'd like to try it with the vinegar and cream let me know and I'll post the amounts.

Best Biscuits
Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day

1 cup (8 oz) buttermilk
1/2 cup (4 oz) frozen unsalted butter (needs to be in the freezer for at least 30 minutes)
1 cup (4.5 oz) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (3.5 oz) pastry flour (you can use all purpose flour)
1 tablespoon (.5 oz) sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons ((.5 oz) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (.13 oz) salt or 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.

Place a cheese grater over the bowl of dry ingredients. Remove butter from freezer, unwrap it, and grate it through the large holes into the dry ingredients.

Use your fingertips to separate and distribute the butter pieces evenly, breaking up any clumps but not working the butter so much it disappears or melts into the flour. Add the buttermilk and stir with a large spoon until all of the flour is hydrated and the dough forms a coarse ball. Add a tiny bit more buttermilk if necessary to bring the dough together.

Transfer the dough to a generously floured surface, then dust the top of the dough with flour. Working with floured hands, use your palms to press the dough into a rectangle or square about 3/4 inch thick. Use a metal pastry scraper to lift the dough and dust more flour underneath. Dust the top of the dough with flour as well, then roll it out into a rectangle or square about 1/2 inch thick. Then, using the pastry scraper to help lift the dough, fold it over on itself into three sections as if folding a letter.

Rotate the dough 90 degrees, then once again lift the dough and dust more flour underneath. Dust the top with flour as well, the once again roll it out into a square or rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and fold into thirds. Give the dough another quarter turn and repeat procedure again. Then, repeat one final time (four roll outs in all).

After the fourth rolling, dust under and on top of the dough one more time, then roll the dough out to just under 1/2 inch thick, in either a rectangle or an oval. Use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface.

Cut the biscuits with a floured pizza cutter. Transfer the biscuits to an ungreased sheet pan (lined with parchment paper) placing them about 1/2 inch apart.

Let the biscuits rest for 15-30 minutes before baking. Even better, place the pan in the refrigerator to chill.

About 20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Transfer the biscuits to the oven and lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees, or 425 for a convection oven. Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 6-10 minutes. until both the tops and bottoms of the biscuit are a rich golden brown. The bake time will be shorter in a convection oven. The biscuits should rise about 1 1/2 times in height.

Place the pan on a wire rack, leaving the biscuits to cool on the hot pan for at least 3 minutes before serving. The biscuits will stay warm for about 20 minutes.

9 Grain Bread 1st Place at the Davis County Fair

I love this bread. I'm not sure how to describe this bread but it is really really tasty. It's really simple to make, if you use a mixer, and it beats the socks off of any store bought 7,8, or 9 grain bread. If you buy the nine grain bread from Bountiful Baskets this is even better than that bread. My kids love it. I never add the sunflower kernels since my kids don't like crunchy things in their bread but add them if you prefer them. Comments from the judges were the bread was very fluffy for having so much grain in it and the taste was out of this world. One comment even asked to have the recipe emailed to her. This bread freezes well but I never get around to freezing it. Also I've taken to doing the work through step 2 and then refrigerating the dough overnight and then continuing the next day. It adds a little more depth to the flavor that you may really like.




Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Magazine:
makes 2 9 by 5 inch loaves

1 1/4 cups 9 grain (you can use 7 or 8 grain too) hot cereal mix NOTE: don't confuse this with breakfast cereal. Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills are two easy to find brands of this cereal mix. I've seen/bought them at Harmon's, Smiths and Winegar's.

2 1/2 cup boiling water

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting surface

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

4 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 tablespoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds (you don't have to add these, I've made the bread with and without and its fine either way)

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

Step 1:
Place cereal mix in a bowl of standing mixer and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour. Whisk flours in medium bowl.

Step 2:
Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, melted butter, and yeast and stir to combine. Attach bowl to standing mixer fitted with dough hook. With mixer running on low speed, add flours 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until dough ball forms, 1 to 2 minutes; cover bowl with plastic and let dough rest 20 minutes. Add salt and knead on medium low speed until dough clears side of bowl, 3 to 4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2 to 3 tablespoons additional flour and continue mixing); continue to knead for 5 more minutes. Add seeds and knead another 15 seconds. Transfer dough to floured work surface and knead by hand until seeds are evenly dispersed and dough forms smooth taunt ball. Place dough into greased container with a 4 quart capacity; cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.

Step 3:
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 9 by 5 inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and pat into 12 by 9 rectangle; cut dough in half crosswise with knife or bench scraper. Shape loaves and roll loaves in oats to coat and place in pans. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size 30-40 minutes. Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle. Bake until internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant read thermometer, 35-40 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and cool on wire rack before slicing, about 3 hours.

Biscuits and Gravy

Sorry about the long delay between posting recipes. Between blogger being down for me, a broken oven, and a husband that asked for no new recipes I've been busy. However I am back now with a few recipes to share. The first is biscuits and gravy. This has to rank among my all time favorite anytime dish ever. I could eat biscuits and gravy at anytime of the day and it shows up for dinner quite often in our house. The flavor of this dish was so good that I'm drooling as I think about possibly making it again very very soon. I used the homemade breakfast sausage I posted a few weeks back for the sausage in this recipe. I also used my all time favorite biscuit recipe, which if you haven't tried you really need too. It makes the flakiest and most tender biscuits every. I ended up borrowing a neighbors kitchen and making the biscuits for the county fair. I then used the leftovers for this recipe. Also I always top my biscuits and gravy with paprika. I don't know why but it was how I was first introduced to biscuits and gravy and I much prefer them with a sprinkling of it on top.

Biscuits and Gravy
adapted from Cookingbytheseatofmypants

5 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 tbsp. all purpose flour
Approximately 2 cups milk (vitamin D milk, not skim, fat-free, fat-less, or other, and nothing heavier, it won’t work.)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
about 3-4 shakes of Tabasco
1 1/2 pounds breakfast sausage, cooked and chopped (I used my homemade but feel free to use your favorite brand)
biscuits (again I used my favorite recipe but feel free to use whatever you have)

Melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Add flour and combine. Add ¼ tsp salt and around 10 grinds pepper.

Stir until the flour is about the color of peanut butter and smells nutty. Add ½ of the milk and increase heat to medium.

Allow to come to a simmer, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. On the first run, the gravy is likely to nearly seize, be ready with more milk.

Add milk by quarter or half cups until gravy has thickened considerably. If using a whisk you’ll know the gravy is ready when drawing the whisk through the gravy leaves “tracks” from the wires that remain visible for at least 5 seconds.

Add Tabasco sauce and more pepper to your liking, I like to make it very very peppery. Add the chopped up sausage and serve over biscuits.

Queso Dip

So I admit this recipe totally is not one of my usual. I used a highly processed food item to make this dish but as everyone at the block party claims it was so worth it. This was very easy to make and it was gone in ten minutes at the party. This was yet another of the dishes that I took that knocked the socks off of everyone and had people asking for the recipe. The flavors were blended together perfectly. The dip did get spicier the longer I cooked it (I started it about 2 1/2 hours before the party so the flavors would blend together). You'll want to give this dish a try at your next party.

Queso Dip
by Norah

32 oz. package of Velveeta, cut into one inch cubes
2 can Rotel tomatoes (you choice of which one I used mild)
1/2 cup dried minced onions
1 roll of Mexican pork Chorizo

Mix dried onions with about 3 tablespoons of water. Let set in bowl. (You may need less or more water. Start with 1 tablespoon and keep adding water until the onions stop soaking up the water.)

In dutch oven, over medium high heat, cook the chorizo (cook just like ground beef) until no longer pink about 7-8 minutes.

Add the velveeta, 3-4 cubes at a time, to the chorizo. Once the velveeta has melted add one can of Rotel, juices and all. Stir until combined. Add the onions and the other can of Rotel. Stir until combined. Turn heat to low and stir every few minutes. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, longer to let flavors combine. You can also move the dip to a crockpot and set at low for about 2 hours. Serve with chips.