Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Soft Pumpkin Cookies Soft Pumpkin Cookies ---------------------- 2-1/2 c. flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened 1-1/2 c. sugar 1 c. solid pumpkin 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla Combine flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar in larger mixer bowl. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Beat until light and creamy. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. Smooth tops of cookies. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Drizzle with glaze. GLAZE: In small bowl, combine 2 c. sifted powdered sugar, 3 Tbsp milk, 1 Tbsp melted better or margarine* and 1 tsp. vanilla. Blend until smooth.  I added instead of 1 t. of vanilla, I did 1/2 t. cinnamon extract and 1/2 t. vanilla.  Thought it went well with the spice in the cookie.

Split Pea Soup Mix

Holiday Gifts from the kitchen: Here is one that I make almost every year. Split Pea Soup Mix. Now don't be too impressed and think that I have already started my Holiday preparations, I must be honest here and say that this is one leftover from last year! Just keeping it real here folks! But this is the recipe and it makes a nice gift for friends and neighbors during their busy holiday season.


 
Split Pea Soup Mix


1 lb. dried split green peas


Seasoning Pack:


2 envelopes Goya ham flavored concentrate
1/4 c. dried minced onion
2 T. chicken bouillon granules
1T. dried minced garlic
1 T. sugar
1 t. dried thyme leaves
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes


Place dried peas in a cellophane bag and secure. Combine ingredients for seasoning packet and blend well. Package in a separate container and secure. Tie both bags together and give as a gift with the following instructions:


To Prepare Soup: Place dried peas in a colander and sort through. Rinse and drain. Place in a large pot. Add 8 cups of water and the seasoning packet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer on low for at least 1 hour. Great to use with leftover ham diced and thrown in. Serves 4-6

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2-3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded( I bake for 30 minutes @350 w/salt and pepper and a little olive oil)
1 c. cheddar shredded
1 c. ranch dressing
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. finely chopped celery1 c. Frank's Red Hot Sauce( or less if you are afraid of a little heat)
Mix and cook uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 and serve with tortilla chips. I have never had any of this dip leftover(Granted I live in a house full of teenagers and their friends!)

Pork Tenderloin

Here is my best pork tenderloin recipe.  I would love to hear some of yours!
1 pork tenderloin
3/4 stick butter
salt and pepper
3/4 jar apricot preserves
I packet Mushroom Gravy mix(sometimes called Hunter's sauce)

Salt and pepper the pork, melt 1/2 stick  butter in a frying pan and brown each loin on all sides for about 2 minutes per side.  Preheat oven to 350 and take loins out of frying pan and put into a 9x13 pan.  In the frying pan, add the 3/4 jar of apricot preserves and the rest of the butter, stir and heat over medium low heat until smooth.  While heating the preserves, prepare the mushroom gravy in a saucepan according to the packet directions.   When done, pour the preserves and the mushroom gravy over the tenderloins and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, baste once halfway through.  Let stand 10 minutes in pan, then slice and serve.  You have to make something to eat with the gravy, because it is the best part of the dish.  The tenderloins are wonderfully moist!

Pork Tenderloin

Apples in the crock pot sugared, spiced and ready to cook

It is a nice fall day(well it's only 80 in Charleston so it feels like Fall!!) the kids are outside throwing the football and I had some extra apples that I needed to use.  I decided to try my hand at applesauce(or stewed apples as my mother lovingly calls them) in the crock pot.  Here is what I did:

Chunky Crock Pot Applesauce

8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

3/4 c. water

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

3/4 c. sugar

Add it all to the crock pot and cook on high for 3 1/2 - 4 hours or low for 6-8.  Stir/mash when done and voila! chunky applesauce.  This recipe could easily be doubled depending on the size of your crock pot.  Added bonus...it makes the house smell great while it is cooking!

Oh so good and ready to eat!  Would be fabulous over vanilla ice cream!

Pineapple Pumpkin Bread

Pineapple Pumpkin Bread

(makes 2 loaves)

3 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 c sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
4 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
1 16 oz. can pumpkin
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple(drained)
1 c. chopped pecans(optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 9x5 loaf pans. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and oil to flour mixture and beat well. Stir in the pumpkin, pineapple and pecans.
Pour evenly into the 2 loaf pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. The extra loaf freezes well for about a month, or I keep one loaf and share the other! Your neighbors and friends will love you!

Buffalo Chicken With Blue Cheese 

( can make in crock pot or oven)

4-6 Chicken Breasts
1 Bottle Buffalo Sauce-save a little for a drizzle or dipping at the end of cooking(I use Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce)
Blue Cheese crumbles
Ranch dressing

For the crock pot-spray crock pot with pam and place the chicken breasts in and cover with almost the whole bottle of the sauce. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4-6. When the breasts have finished cooking, place on a tinfoil lined cookie sheet and add a drizzle of ranch dressing to each breast and then sprinkle with the desired amount of blue cheese and put under the broiler for a minute or two or until the cheese melts. I like to serve this with celery sticks and some starch and a salad. 
Oven-You can also cook this in the oven- marinate and defrost the breasts in a ziploc bag with the buffalo sauce all day, put each breast on a foil lined sprayed cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Add the blue cheese crumbles and put under the broiler for a minute or two or until cheese melts. Before serving add a drizzle of ranch dressing to each breast.