Asparagus Pesto with Pasta

How to make Homemade MM Fondant

I found this video and it looks so easy! I saw another one that looked much more complicated and had hard to find ingredients. This uses marshmallows so no need for glycerin, etc. This is also fun to die with food coloring and cut out shapes with cookie cutters for birthday cakes!

Butternut Squash Soup (Irish)

1 butternut squash
1 potato
1 carrot
1 spoon grated ginger
4 TB heavy cream
1 onion
1 celery stick
50 grams butter
600 ml vegetable stock
1 tsp. finely chopped chives

Peal Squash. Cut into cubes with celery, carrot, potato and onion. Melt butter on low heat. Saute onion 10-15 minutes. Put other vegetables in with onion 2 min or until coated with butter. Add ginger, vegetable stock, salt and pepper in with vegetables. Simmer 20 minutes or until soft. Liquidize in blender. Blend cream in with the rest. (Reas and I put a little cream in our own portion instead.) Enjoy!

Wilson Family GIANT Pumkin Cookies

3 cups Brown Sugar
2 1/4 cups Butter-yes that is 4 & 1/2 cubes! (I used 2 Cubes and 1 cup Apple Butter or Apple Sauce)
3 eggs
1 (29 oz.) can Pumpkin (or use fresh Pumpkin Puree!)
3 tsp. vanilla
6 cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1 Tbsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
3 cups Chocolate Chips

Combine the first five ingredients. Separately combine the dry ingredients. Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet, little by little to incorporate well. Using a big cookie scoop (I used and ice cream scoop) place cookies on cookie sheet about an inch apart. These should be big, like a few Tbsps. of dough per cookie! Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. They will appear dry on the top. Cool on a cooling rack and eat! This makes a few dozen cookies. To store, use an air-tight container. These are even better the next day in my opinion! Happy Pumpkin Season. :)

Leslie's "Real" Pumpkin Pie

This is a re-post from a couple years back. But I finally took pictures of the whole process of making this favorite pie! I hope you love it as much as we do!

This pie was adapted by me after learning my grandmother's famous pumpkin pie was made from the canned stuff after all! I vowed to create a masterpiece of my own and here's what became of it. My husband gets so excited every time I make it, and I always get compliments. This is great way to make use of those pumpkins leftover from decorations, just make sure you don't use the moldy jack-o-lanterns! Enjoy!

SERVES 16 (2 pies)

Change to: pies US Metric

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

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Ingredients:

• 2 (10 inch) pie crusts (unbaked)
  

Filling

• 4 eggs slightly beaten
• 3 cups fresh pie pumpkin (baked, skinned, pureed)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 (12 ounce) can or one 6 oz. can evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Slice your pumpkin into wedges and spoon out the seeds.

Lay them skin-side-up in a glass baking dish with an 1/8 inch of water covering the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake the pumpkin for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Afterward, flip the wedges over to be skin-side-up and bake for another 25-30 minutes until the squash is very tender. Remove from the oven and cool. Then cube the squash and discard the skin.


Puree the pumpkin to a super fine and smooth texture (you may need to add a little water to help the food processor out-I only needed a 1/2 cup, in about teaspoon-size portions at a time). You don't want any chunks in your pie!



2. Combine the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and milk. Mix well and pour into prepared pie crusts.


Bake in a 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 50-60 minutes or until the center of the pie is no longer wobbly or liquid.

Cool and serve with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream.

Spicy Honey Chicken

We tried a recipe from my favorite cooking blog today, Our Best Bites. Oh it is so fabtabulous!!!! Go have a look at their blog. Everything on that site is delish! This one is perfect for summertime.



Spicy Honey Chicken

Recipe by Our Best Bites

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 2lbs
everyone is always asking me if they can use breasts for this. Sure you can, but I'm tellin'
ya right now it's better with thighs.

2 t vegetable oil

Rub:

2 t granulated garlic
2 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t cumin
1/2 t chipotle chili powder

Glaze:
1/2 C Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.

Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

If you don't have a bbq, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!

Remember how I had you reserve that extra couple tablespoons of glaze? Ya, drizzle that on top now. Your taste buds will thank you.

Cafe Rio Pork, Pico de Gallo, Creamy Cilantro Dressing and Lime Rice

From my dear friend Amberlee Howes

Café Rio Meat

Pulled Pork
4 lbs Pork Shoulder roast or Beef Rump roast
4-5 cans tomato sauce (small cans)
3 tea. Pressed garlic
1 ½-3 C brown sugar
4 tea. Ground cumin
4 C root beer or caffeine free soda (8 oz cans)
2-4 TBls honey
½ tea. Salt
pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in large crock pot for 8-12 hours (start on High when heated through,
turn down to low)
Pull apart, freeze in two gallon size bags.

Pico De Gallo
1 ½ C diced tomatoes
¼ C diced yellow onion
1 TBls seeded jalapeno pepper
2 tea. Minced garlic
1 TBLs lime juice
1 TBLS lemon juice
1 TBLs chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

combine all ingredients together and chill two hours before serving

Creamy Cilantro Sauce Dressing
1-16 oz jar of mild green salsa
1 pkg buttermilk dressing –dry
½ C sour cream
½ C low fat mayo
½ C buttermilk or milk w/ a squirt of lemon juice
1 C fresh cilantro
2 cloves pressed garlic
¼ tea cayenne pepper
½ tea salt
2 TBLS fresh lime juice
½ tea cumin
¼-1/2 C sugar
a few drops of Tabasco sauce (to taste)
Blend all together until smooth and store in fridge

Lime Rice
2 TBLS butter
1 ¼ C Rice

Melt butter and add rice to it add

2 ¼ C chicken broth
¾ tea salt
pepper to taste

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes stirring occasionally after
rice is cooked, add

Juice and zest of 1 large or 2 small limes.
2 TBLS chopped cilantro
¼ tea cumin

Mix together, put lid back on and let flavors blend together.

In taco shell or flour tortilla, add pork, pico de gallo, cilantro dressing, rice, black beans,
lettuce, cheese, sour cream or sauce and roll up and eat.