Perfectly Pumpkin Fall Oatmeal

I LOVE fall! This morning I celebrated this love for fall (due to the chilly temperatures and some leftover pumpkin puree) with this deeeelicious oatmeal recipe that I made up :)

Ingredients:

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Water
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
3/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 1/3 Cup Oats
Candied Pecans
Brown Sugar or Maple Syrup, to taste

In a saucepan, combine the pumpkin, milk, water, salt, spice. Bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add oats and cook for about 10 minutes.

When serving, top with sugar and candied pecans.

MMMmmmm Fall in a bowl!

Cinnamon Raisin Upside Down Coffee Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/3 C Flour

2/3 C Brown Sugar

3 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

Dash Allspice (Optional)

1/2 C Milk

2 Large Eggs

1/2 Stick (1/4 C) Melted Butter

Topping Ingredients:

1/3 C Rolled Oats, chopped

1/3 C Brown Sugar

1/3 C Golden Raisins, chopped

1/2 Stick (1/4 C) Melted Butter

2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

Directions:

Start by mixing together the dry ingredients of your cake (flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice). Then, add in the wet ingredients.

Grease a 9in round cake pan.

Pour in cake mixture. Shake pan to make sure it is evenly spread.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

While oven is preheating, mix your crumble ingredients together.

(Don't forget to chop your oats and raisins!)

Spread crumble topping evenly over your coffee cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!

Summer Quiche

Ready for another yummy and easy one?!

Summer Veggie Quiche! Ok, so we all love home-grown veggies, right? Either you grow them yourself, or you stop at a farmers market or maybe get them from a friend whose "harvest" is a little too plentiful for them!

This quiche is practically guilt-free, so eat up :)

Ingredients:

4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Skim Milk
1 Zucchini
2 Tomatoes
1 Ear Corn
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese of choice
Half an onion, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop up your veggies, putting each one in a different bowl. (Corn should not be cooked first, neither should it be of the frozen variety! Fresh is key!)

Sautee zucchini for a few minutes in 1 tsp olive oil just to soften it.

Mix together your eggs and milk, then pour into a well-greased pie dish.

Layer half of your chopped tomatoes as well as all of your corn. (If you want onion, add it now) Add zucchini in a pretty arrangement on top. Then sprinkle your cheese. Top with freshly ground pepper.

Bake for 50-60 minutes (eggs must be cooked thoroughly!)

Enjoy while topped with remaining tomatoes or any other veggies your heart desires.

I like sour cream on top of mine... which isn't as guilt free so it's not in the picture, haha. Doesn't mean it didn't go in my stomach!

Mother's Day Part 2 - Ham//Cheddar//Mushroom Quiche

Ham, Cheddar, Mushroom Quiche

4 Eggs

1 1/2 Cup Milk

1 Cup Diced Ham

1 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar

1 Cup Sliced Mushrooms

1 Box Jiffy Pie Crust

Quiche is SO easy to make, and quite delicious too.  And inexpensive! Triple threat, for sure!

Make your boxed pie crust and try your best (I struggled) to make it look pretty in your pie dish. Pre-bake according to directions.

Spread your Ham, Cheddar, and Mushrooms on the bottom, evenly.

Mix your milk and eggs.  Then, pour into pie dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes (or until set).

Enjoy!

Mother's Day Part 1 - Cinnamon Raisin Scones

Cinnamon Raisin Scones (heavy on raisins, light on cinnamon)

2 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Cinnamon to taste
1 Stick cold butter, cubed
1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
1/2 Cup cold milk

Combine Dry ingredients.

Add butter with a pastry cutter (or in my case because I don't have one, a stiff whisk). You know you're done mixing in the butter when the dough is very crumb-y and the butter pieces are about the size of peas.

Add your raisins.

Add your milk and mix. Do not knead.

Place dough (in the shape of a disk) on a lightly floured cutting board.

Cut into quarters, and then cut each quarter in half again until you have 8 scones.

Bake at 450 Degrees and bake about 17 minutes.

Loaded Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Icing

Loaded Cinnamon Rolls

I'll start by saying: these cinnamon rolls are absolutely amazing and well worth the work and time involved making them!

Celebrating Valentines day has never really been our thing - and now would make it extra difficult being on very different work schedules. I decided a Saturday morning breakfast would be nice. I had never made cinnamon rolls - now would be a perfect time. I knew it would take a while, so I was prepared. Make sure you have a lazy day to devote to making them properly. This recipe originally was from a Southern, butter-loving favorite: Paula Deen. I changed a few [minor] details. If you feel like comparing, I'll include the link at the bottom.

Dough

1 Packet Yeast
1/2 Cup Warm Water
1/2 Cup Scalded Milk
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg
3 1/2 Cups Flour

Filling

1/3 Cup Butter, melted

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon

3/4 Cup Raisins, Pecans, Walnuts, Anything that sounds good, really.

Icing

2 Tablespoons Butter, melted

1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

2 Tablespoons Vanilla Syrup (the kind used for coffees) 

Water

Start by mixing the yeast packet and the warm water together in a small bowl.  Let it sit while you work with the other ingredients.

Combine the milk, sugar, butter, salt, and egg until blended.

Add in 2 Cups of your flour. Stir to combine after each 1/2 Cup.

Stir in the yeast/water mixture until blended.

Add in the remaining flour.

Knead dough for about 5-10 minutes until very smooth.

Allow dough to sit in a well-greased bowl, covered, for an hour.

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling.  Mix together the brown sugar with the cinnamon.

Punch down dough, then roll out to the dimension of 15in by 9in on a lightly-floured (if necessary) surface.  

Spread in your filling adding the melted butter first. Then add the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Top with all the fillings you decided on.  I added raisins, apple bits, and walnuts.

Roll up and slice into 14-16 individual rolls.

Grease (with butter) two round baking pans. Sprinkle some brown sugar on top of the butter, and place your rolls evenly between the two pans.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Allow your pans to sit on top of the stove for 30 minutes while you wait for the oven to preheat (this will allow the rolls to rise a little more).

Bake for 25-30 minutes until nicely browned on top.

Prepare your icing! I really like how the vanilla flavor comes out by using the coffee syrup instead of vanilla extract. Mix all ingredients except the water. If it's too thick, add water one teaspoon at a time until you have whatever thickness you desire.

Derek's rating: 8/10

Original Recipe, Paula Deen: Cinnamon Rolls