Healthier Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I know it's not really the season for pumpkin anymore but I made muffins with this recipe and froze them for a quick morning breakfast for Keith and we've really liked them. I'm calling it healthier because I pulled one of the top rated pumpkin bread recipes on allrecipes.com and substituted several ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp. nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp. allspice
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease pans. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, oil, applesauce, water, eggs, and sugar. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda and salt. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake for 1 hour for bread or about 25-30 minutes for muffins until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool before removing from pans.

This recipe made a loaf of bread, 12 regular sized muffins and 12 mini muffins.

Chicken lime lettuce wrap

Chicken Lime Lettuce Wrap:

recipe from six sister's stuff

1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks or strips
¼ c. red wine vinegar
1 lime, juiced
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. ground black pepper
2 green onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (more or less to taste)
Large pieces of lettuce (or tortillas)

Sauté chicken over medium high heat until browned.  Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, and garlic.  Simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.  Add cilantro and
simmer for an additional 30 seconds.  Serve on large pieces of lettuce or warmed tortillas with desired toppings.

we also added tomatoe, cheese, cucumber, and a little ranch to ours.   They were really yummy!

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas with Creamy Chipotle Dip

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Time: 20 minutes hands on + 4-5 hours crock pot cooking Yield: 8-10 Quesadillas Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!   4 large chicken breasts 1 1/2 C water 1 T canola oil 1 envelope Fajita Seasoning Packet 1 can black beans 1 C corn 1-2 C Cheddar Cheese 8-10 flour tortillas 1. Place your chicken breasts inside a crock pot that has been sprayed with cooking spray. 2. Mix the water, oil and the Fajita Mix. Pour it over the top of the chicken. Cover with the lid and cook for 4 hours on high. 3. When the chicken is cooked through remove it from the crock, placing it on a plate. Shred it up with a fork. 4. Put it back in the juices of the crock pot and let it simmer for 1 more hour. 5. Heat up a skillet. Spray it with cooking spray (or butter it....depending on how closely you are counting calories). Lay a tortilla out on the skillet. Cover just half of the tortilla with some chicken, black beans, corn and cheese. Cover the yummy filling up with the other half of the tortilla. Heat until the cheese has started to melt. Flip it over and to let the other side of the tortilla get crispy, and to melt the cheese fully. Creamy Chipotle Dip Time: 5 minutes Yield: 1 cup Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up! 1/3 C Chipotle Mayo 1/3 C Miracle Whip Salad Dressing 1/3 C Sour Cream 2 T sugar 1 T lime juice 2 T cilantro, chopped fine dash salt 1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. The end. Fastest dipping sauce this side of  The Biggest Loser.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

1/2 cup butter, 1 cup water bring to boil and remove from heat. Cool Slightly (2 min)add 1 cup flour, stir well. add 4 beaten eggs. Beat together, spread into 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with pam. Bake 350* for 30- 40 min. till brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. Filling: 3 small boxes instant vanilla pudding Mix with 4 cups milk. Stir in 8 oz. softened cream cheese. Spread over pastry. Top with 8 oz. cool whip. Heat 1 can chocolate fudge frosting 45 seconds or till slightly runny. Drizzle over cake with spoon. Refrigerate, best if made one day ahead!

Chick-fil-A Bites with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

This is seriously the yummiest chicken recipe that my whole family will eat. They sound a little weird with the pickle juice and all but the girl who recommended it to me is a fabulous cook and I trust that anything she gives me is going to be good. These seriously do not disappoint! We've made them twice now and I would recommend letting them marinate at least 2 hours. I tried to cheat by only letting them marinate an hour tonight and while still good, they didn't soak up as much flavor. 
I also loved the tip to check the heat of the oil. I used Canola but I'm sure peanut would be better. Enjoy!

From http://www.mynameissnickerdoodle.com
Directions:
2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces and seasoned with salt & pepper
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pickle juice
1 egg
1-1/4 cups flour
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup peanut oil, divided (or canola or vegetable oil)
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce: (I haven't made this yet but I'm sure it's good)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons honey
Directions:

1. Whisk together egg, milk and pickle juice, and pour into a large ziplock bag or bowl. Add chicken pieces and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
2. Combine flour, powdered sugar, salt and pepper in a large ziplock bag. Shake to combine. Remove chicken from the marinade and add into the bag. Shake to coat the chicken completely.
3. Heat half the oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat (6 or 7 out of 10.) Test the oil by dropping in a bit of the flour mixture. If it sizzles, the oil is ready, if it pops, lower the temperature a bit.
4. Gently place chicken pieces into the oil with tongs. Do this in 2 batches, as you don’t want to overcrowd the pan. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Turn the chicken over and allow to cook for 3-4 more minutes. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate. Heat the remaining oil and continue with the other half of the chicken pieces.
5. Stir together the honey mustard dipping sauce ingredients, and serve with the hot chicken bites.

Cream Cheese Frosting

I used this frosting for the pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and I use it for everything else too!

-3 oz of cream cheese (softened)
-1/4 c. butter (softened)
-1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
-1/2 t. vanilla
-1/8 t. salt

- Whip cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar. Whip until desired consistency (I whip mine in the kitchen aid for about 5 min)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Original Recipe

I didn't use pumpkin pie spice...because I didn' have any, and I didn't want them too pumpkin-y.

 Ingredients
1/4 c. warm water
1 package (or 2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast (at room temp)
1/3 c. whole or 2% milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 c. solid-pack pumpkin puree
1 tbsp. butter, melted
3 1/4 c. flour
 1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4. c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

 Filling:
1/3 c. (1 stick) butter
 2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2-3 tbsp. solid-pack pumpkin puree or pumpkin butter (optional)

 Frosting: (I used the cream cheese frosting recipe I posted)
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. whole or 2% milk
 2-3 c. powdered sugar

 DIRECTIONS: 1. Stir yeast into water in a large bowl. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before stirring to combine (it should get thicker and begin to bubble). Stir in the milk, egg, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4 c. flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Beat vigorously with paddle attachment for 2 minutes. 2. Attach dough hook to mixer. Slowly add the rest of the flour, a little at a time, until the dough is stiff enough to knead. 3. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough into a greased bowl (olive oil is fine), turn the dough to coat the entire ball. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour. If the dough is has not doubled by then, allow it to rise for an additional half hour. 4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by combining the sugars, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. Set aside. 5. Transfer the risen dough to a floured surface and roll into a 16"x 12" rectangle. Spread butter and pumpkin over dough. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Roll into log and cut into 15 slices using a sharp knife or dental floss. Place slices into a 9x13 or two 8 or 9 inch round cake or pie pans. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. 6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the for 20-25 minutes or until rolls are golden brown (don't worry if the filling rises and bubbles, it will go down once the rolls have been removed from the oven). 7. While rolls are baking, prepare frosting by beating the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, salt and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl until smooth. Add the powdered sugar one half cup at a time. If the mixture becomes too thick, slowly add milk one half tablespoon at a time. 8. Remove rolls from oven and let cool on wire rack. Frost 5-10 minutes after removal. Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour and bakedbree | Makes approximately 12-16 rolls