Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

I haven't tried this yet but it looks SO good! Let me know if you make this, I'd love to see how it turns out

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin, canned or homemade
1/4 - 1/2 C milk
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
a few graham crackers

Pop it all in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. I used somewhere between 1/4-1/2 C.

A note about blenders: Here's the problem with making thick, diner style milkshakes at home: A lot of times you have to add so much milk to the thing to get the blender to process that it turns into a milk-slushie instead. Or you have to blend and plunge, blend and plunge, etc. You know the drill, right? So if you have any trouble with your blender, I would recommend blending everything but the ice cream first and then mashing it into the ice cream by hand (well, with a hand. Holding a fork or spoon :) If your scooped ice cream sits out at room temp while you measure the other things and get them all ready, then by the time you mash it all together it should be a good consistency.

Sprinkle with crushed graham cracker crumbs before serving.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just made these last night and they turned out really good! They definitely have more of a cake texture than cookie and are best hot out of the oven or chilled in the fridge. I got this recipe off allrecipes.com but modified it a little according to reviewers comments:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute applesauce)
  
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg (recipe doesn't call for nutmeg but I love the taste and several people used their own mixtures of spices. 2-3 tsp. of whatever combination you want seems to work)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips
   
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Butterhorns

1 TBS. yeast

1 TBS. sugar

1/2 cup warm water

Combine and let rise.

Melt: 1/2 cup butter in 1 cup milk

Cool and pour over 1/2 cup sugar and 3/4 tsp. salt.

Beat 3 eggs and add to yeast mixture. Stir into milk mixture and add 4- 4 1/2 cups flour. It will be sticky. Stir well and cover and put in refrigerator overnight.

Divide dough in half. Roll out in circle and spread with melted butter. cut into crescents and put on greased cookie sheet. Repeat with other half. Cover and let rise 4 hours. Bake 350* for 12-15 min.

Chocolate Sauce

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butter
2 2/3 cups canned milk
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Melt chips and butter; add milk and sugar. Stir constantly, bring to boil. Simmer 8-10 min. stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla

Maple Syrup

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 tsp. maple flavoring

Mix together and boil until sugar is dissolved

Potato Cheese Soup

1 cup chopped celery
1 onion chopped
3 potatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 TBS. sugar
pepper
Put in pot and add water to barely cover potatoes. Stir with fork. Cook until tender.

Add: 2 cups half and half
2 cups milk
Whip together: 1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup flour

Stir into soup to thicken. Add 1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 (6 oz.) pkg. Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice
3- 14 oz. cans chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, sliced
3-4 celery ribs, sliced
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
2 cups milk or half and half
1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
4-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cook rice according to pkg. directions. In a large soup pot cook onions, celery and carrots in chicken broth until tender. In Med. saucepan, melt butter and add flour, stirring until a smooth paste in formed. Slowly add milk stirring constantly until sauce in thickened, Add salt and pepper.

Add white sauce to broth and vegtables, stirring until smooth.
Add chicken and rice, Cook until soup in hot, but not boiling.
Add bacon just before serving

Caesar Salad

2 heads romaine- soak in ice water and dry with paper towel and refrigerate to crisp
Crutons
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Pepper

Dressing: Mix in blender
2/3 cup oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
heaping TBS. Sugar
generous 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Layer:
Lettuce
Pepper
Crutons
Dressing
Cheese

Toss before serving

Best Grape Salad

2 lbs. green seedless grapes
2 lbs. red seedless grapes
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Wash and stem grapes
2. Set aside
3. Mix sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla by hand until blended
4. Stir grapes into mixture and pour in large serving bowl

Can add topping: 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup crushed pecans

Sprinkle over top of grapes to cover completely

Chill overnight!

*I cut recipe in half and only use red grapes without topping

Chicken Won Ton Salad

2-3 Romaine Hearts
2 chicken breasts (whole) cooked and cut up small
4-6 green onions
1 can sliced water chestnuts (drained and rinsed)
1 TBS. sesame seeds -toasted in a little butter
1 pkg. won tons -fry them ahead of time in some olive oil and break them

Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. accent
1/2 cup salad oil (mild)
1 tsp. sesame oil

Mix the salad together. Add the dressing and the won tons just before serving.

Spaghetti Carbonara

1/2 inch olive oil (for frying pan)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped onion
8 to 12 thick slices Italian bacon cut into small squares
4 eggs
1 lb. spaghetti
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

In frying pan, combine olive oil, garlic, onion and Italian bacon. Let simmer for about a half-hour, being careful not to let the oil get to a boiling point.

In a bowl, beat 4 eggs with lots for salt and fresh pepper.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente, drain and immediately add egg mixture to pasta. The eggs are actually cooked by the pasta. ( make sure the eggs are thoroughly cooked before proceeding) Stir the egg mixture until it is well mixed. Pour in the mixture from the frying pan and stir. Finish with the cheese and serve.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Keith and I have been eating this weekly! For some reason we don't get tired of it.
For my crust I use frozen bread dough because it's quick and I don't have a mixer. If I need it to rise quickly, boil water and put that in a baking pan on the bottom of the oven. Then heat the oven to 250 and turn it off and put the dough on a sheet, cover it with saran wrap and place that on the top rack.
You're going to want to bake your dough until it's just starting to turn brown before you put the toppings on it.
In a bowl, combine 2 cups cooked, cubed/shredded chicken with 2 Tbsp. melted butter and 1/3 cup hot sauce or buffalo sauce. I use a little more sauce because I like it saucy. Spread 1 cup blue cheese or ranch dressing on partially baked pizza crust. Top with chicken mixture and 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and 3/4 cup cheddar cheese. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.
We like to dip it in dressing when we eat it too

Quick fix pizza

Have you ever tried the Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough? It comes in tube, right next to the cinnamon rolls. These go on sale for .99 cents and are awesome! All you need is some pizza sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings. Its a quick and easy dinner!

Did you see John & Kate plus 8 on Monday. I know, gag-me, but he did do something worthwhile. They made homemade pizza and he threw the crust on the grill, baked it about 1/2 way, put on sauce and toppings, then threw it on the grill again to finish baking. We are going to try it with this pizza dough, I'll let you know how it goes!

Cake Balls

This is taken from the website BAKERELLA

Ingredients: 1 box cake mix
1 can of frosting
Dipping chocolate

Directions: Make the cake as directed on the box for a 13x9 pan. Allow it to cool completely. Take the cake out of the pan and put it into a large bowl. Crumble it up (I just used a spatula until it was all the same texture) Pour the entire can of frosting into the cake (I warmed it up for about 10 seconds first). Mix the frosting with the cake until thoroughly mixed together. It will look similar to cookie dough. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and spray lightly with non-cook spray. Roll the cake into 1-2 balls, and place on the cookie sheet. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours. (I speed up this process by putting them in the freezer for about 3 hours). Melt some of your dipping chocolate (I used almond bark, and microwaved about 3 bricks at a time) The colder your cake balls are, the easier they will be to dip in the chocolate. Dip the cake balls in the chocolate, and you're done!

Refrigerate until serving, if they last that long!

Yield: 15-55

Some yummy suggestions- Funfetti cake with funfetti frosting.
German chocolate cake with coconut frosting-after dipped in chocolate quickly sprinkle with a little coconut.

Click for actual directions from bakerella She has lots of fun variations!

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Chocolate Sheet Cake

2 cups flour
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 cup water
1 tsp. soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup butter

Frosting:
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa
3-4 cups powdered sugar (I usually add more)

Sift flour and sugar together in bowl. In saucepan, melt butter, water, and cocoa. Bring to boil, cool slightly and pour over flour and sugar mixture. Add eggs, buttermilk, soda, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Bake in a cookie sheet pan at 375 for 20 minutes.

Frosting: In saucepan, melt butter, cocoa, and milk. Bring to boil and remove from heat. Add powdered sugar until spreadable. Add a 1tsp. vanilla. (I also add about 3-4 cups of marshmallows)
Spread warm frosting over warm cake.

Buttermilk Syrup

Buttermilk Syrup

1 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C Buttermilk
1/2 C butter
2 TBS Corn Syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

Combine the first five ingredients and bring to a boil. Add vanilla