Pappa's Pumpkin Bread.

There was a time when I was a complete disaster in the kitchen - I was a freshman in the real world, living with two of my best friends, Shea and Phil. I had one failed, inedible experiment after another, but I was on a mission to make the perfect pumpkin bread!



My first attempt at pumpkin bread turned out SO DRY, it was like chewing on five Saltine crackers at once.



[Fast-forward through a few more failures] I finally asked my friend, Pappa, if she would mind sharing her mom's pumpkin bread recipe with me. Pappa sent me the recipe, I attempted to make it, and I ended up with an exploding mess.



At this point I quit all attempts at cooking and baking for a while. [Fast-forward to my sophomore year in the real world] I decided to give Pappa's pumpkin bread recipe another try - I'm so glad I did.



It is the most amazingly moist (sorry to all those who hate that word), pumpkiny delicious creation I've ever had the pleasure of eating.



What you need....

• 3 cups sugar


• 4 eggs, beaten


• 1 cup salad oil (vegetable oil works fine, too)


• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt


• 1 teaspoon cinnamon


• 1 teaspoon nutmeg


• 2/3 cup coke


• 2 cups canned pumpkin


• 3-1/2 cups flour


• 2 teaspoons baking soda

How to make it...

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, eggs, oil, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and Coke. Add the pumpkin and mix well. Stir in the flour and baking soda. Place in two well-greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.



If your loaf pans are small (i.e. 8 x 4) use three pans to avoid exploding pumpkin bread - no need to adjust baking time, it will still take the full hour to cook all the way through. K, byeeee!

Mini Pumpkin Spice Donuts.

All pumpkin everything, that's what I like. I've made so many different pumpkin recipes in the last few years (and weeks...I am so behind on my posts), some were amazing...some were not. This mini pumpkin spice donut recipe is worth a try!!

What you need for the donuts...

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour


• 2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon


• 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg


• 1/2 teaspoon allspice


• 1/8 teaspoons ground cloves


• 1/3 cup vegetable oil


• 1/2 cup brown sugar


• 1 egg


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)


• 1/2 cup low-fat milk

What you need for the coating...

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted


• 2/3 cup granulated sugar


• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

How to make them....

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin with nonstick spray (or in my case, the most adorable mini donut pan ever).

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.

In a separate large bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth.



Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. The recipe said "be careful not to overmix the batter." Whatever that means...so yeah, don't mix it for a long time?

Using a pasty bag (or a ziplock bag with the corner cut off) divide the batter evenly among the muffin/donut cups.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the muffins/donuts from the oven and allow to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.

Once the donuts are cool, with the melted butter in one bowl and the sugar and cinnamon combined in another, dip each muffin/donut into the butter then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat.



The recipe I followed (it came with the adorable pan pictured above) said to serve immediately because the donuts would get soggy, but I thought they got better everyday!



The recipe makes roughly two dozen donuts.



I'll be posting the BEST PUMPKIN BREAD EVER in a few days, so stay tuned! K, byeeee.

 

Mac & Cheese.

Last night (and by last night I mean a week ago when I wrote this post....and forgot to publish it) I had a craving for macaroni and cheese and I decided I wanted to try and make my own. Although I had never made homemade mac & cheese, I had heard my dad list his mac & cheese ingredients enough times to know the basics of what I needed. So without using a recipe, I winged it, and it turned out really tasty!

Disclaimer: I LOVE having a ton of leftovers, so I generally cook a portion big enough for Thanksgiving dinner...this recipe is no exception. If you don't want to make enough to feed a family of 6, just cut the recipe in half!

What you need to make a TON of mac & cheese....

• 4 cups of shells


• 5 cups of skim milk


• 1 8oz block of cheddar cheese, shredded


• 2 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard


• 2 tbsp cream cheese (optional)


• 3 tbsp flour (optional)

How to make it...

In a saucepan, add pasta and milk (you cook the noodles in the milk, no water required).  Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to low, stirring frequently and ensuring milk does not boil. Cook until pasta is soft - this took about 20-25 mins on low heat.

While the pasta is cooking, shred the entire block of cheese!



Once the shells are cooked, turn the heat off. Add cheese and salt. Stir to combine.  Stir in the mustard, to taste. Cover and let stand for a couple of minutes to thicken up, then stir again. If it's too thick/not creamy enough, add milk a little at a time, and stir.



If its too runny, you can add more cheese. I didn't have any more cheddar cheese and mine ended up being a little too runny, so I added some cream cheese. After a few more mins of stirring, I still wasn't satisfied with the consistency, so I added flour, a little at a time, to thicken it up. In total, I ended up adding just about 3 tablespoons of flour. If you don't want to have to add cream cheese or flour, I suggest using 4 cups of milk to start, then you can add more milk at then end to thin it out if necessary.



You can also bake the mac & cheese at this point. Just place in a baking dish and top with a generous sprinkling of cheese (or bread crumbs? or whatever you put on top of baked mac & cheese). Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until cheese has melted and begins to brown. This mac & cheese made a perfect side dish to my pan-fried pork chops.

Once you taste this mac & cheese, you'll be really glad you have a ton of leftovers. K, bye!!

Pizza Grilled Cheese.

I think we've already established the fact that I love pizza (in all forms, really ALL forms). And who doesn't love grilled cheese? So why not combine two delicious dishes in one!?! Pizza Grilled Cheese is an easy way to kill a pizza craving without ruining your diet!

What you need...

• 2 slices of bread


• 1 tablespoon butter


• 2 slices of mozzarella cheese


• pepperoni (I prefer turkey pepperoni)


• Italian seasoning


• Parmesan cheese


• Pizza sauce for dipping
  

How to make it...

Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place one slice of bread, buttered side down, on a preheated pan over medium heat. Top with one slice of cheese, a small shake of Italian seasoning, a small shake of parmesan cheese, and pepperonis. If any other toppings are desired, add them and top with the second slice of mozzarella. Place the remaining slice of bread on top, buttered side up. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip, cooking until cheese is melted and bread is lightly browned. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.



This delicious sandwich is only about 300 calories! And did I mention its delicious? Give it a try!! K, byeee!

Mexican Grilled Cheese.

Who doesn't love a classic grilled cheese? Well, this isn't exactly a classic grilled cheese, but it's still really delicious. This Mexican Grilled Cheese creation came to life based on the ingredients I had in my fridge and my lack of desire to go to the grocery store. That being said, I ended up liking it so much I made it again the next night!

What you need....

• 2 slices of bread


• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped


• 2 slices Pepper Jack cheese


• 1 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened


• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning mix


• 1/2 cup salsa for dipping


• 1 jalapeño, sliced (optional)


• 100 calorie pack wholly guacamole (optional)

How to make it....

Stir the taco seasoning and butter together until spreadable and smooth. Spread the butter mixture on one side of each slice of bread. Place one slice of bread, buttered side down, on a preheated pan over medium heat. Top with a slice of cheese, cilantro, and slices of jalapeño.

Place the remaining slice of bread, buttered side up, on top. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip, cooking until cheese is melted and bread is lightly browned.

Serve with salsa and guacamole for dipping.



I couldn't decide which one I liked dipping my sandwich in more, they were both so good!



I originally thought I'd be putting this under fat girl nomz, but once I added up all the calories I realized it really wasn't that bad!! 

So if you weren't convinced to give this a try before, now you don't have any reason not to! K, byeeee!

Debbie's Breakfast Casserole.

As of today, it is officially college football season! LET'S GO........HOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/SrTmaypDWFI]

That being said, its only appropriate that I share my favorite tailgating breakfast (...slash breakfast for any occasion). I am naming this deliciously simple recipe after my wonderful mother, who so kindly prepares this breakfast casserole for my brothers and I on game weekends!

This easy breakfast casserole is extremely inexpensive - all the ingredients only cost about $9 - and did I mention its a great base for drinking?!! It's so easy to prepare the night before and pop it in the oven/reheat it on the grill in the morning so it's ready when everyone wakes up/arrives at the tailgate.

What you need....

• 1 package southwestern hash browns*


• 1 lb regular or turkey sausage


• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese


• 1 dozen eggs


• 1/2 of a medium Onion, diced (optional, but I always add it)

How to make it...

Place hash browns in a 9x13 greased pan.

*I use the Simply Potatoes brand found in the refrigerator section (near the eggs in most grocery stores). If you are using frozen hash browns, place hash browns in a 9x13 greased pan and cook in 350 degree oven for 30 min or until all the water is absorbed and they are turning brown.  Otherwise, you can skip this step.

Cook the sausage in a saute pan until browned. Add the onion and cook until they have softened. (You can obviously add whatever other veggies you'd like to this casserole, but I like to keep it simple.)


Spread crumbled sausage and onions on top of the hash browns. Layer cheese over sausage. Whip together eggs with a little milk (not a lot otherwise your casserole will be soupy...speaking from experience here) and pour over casserole.



Bake at 350 for 30 mins or until browned.



If you're feeling REALLY lazy, you can buy Jimmy Dean fully cooked sausage crumbles, skip the onions, and you'll have a breakfast casserole in no time.  With or without onions, pre-made or freshly prepared, it is going to be delicious (and I have about a dozen friends who can vouch for this statement). K, byeeeee!

Maribetso.

During my [first] senior year of college I decided that graduating on time was overrated. I made the decision to stay in school for another year and pursue a second degree (read: party and avoid the real world for as long as possible). It was really late in the year and most people had already figured out their living situation for the following school year. I ended up getting really lucky and found an awesome group of girls in my sorority to live with....downtown....in the perfect little apartment. Until my [second] senior year of college, I had never had pesto. My roommate, Nina (far left), introduced me to her mom's homemade pesto sauce and my life hasn't been the same since.



Every pesto recipe I've tried since college has not measured up to Maribeth's pesto. Aren't Maribeth and Nina the prettiest mother-daughter combo ever!?!



Sooooo I finally got smart and asked Nina if Maribeth would mind sharing her secret. As it turns out, I had all the ingredients right, but my ratios were off. Now I get to share the deliciousness with you all!

What you need...

• 2  cups fresh  basil,  lightly  packed


• 3/4 cup olive  oil


• 1  cup grated  parmesan  cheese


• 1 - 2 garlic  cloves


• 1  tsp. salt

How to make it...

Place  all  ingrediants  in   a food  processor (or blender) and  blend  until  smooth.



Sever over pasta or gnocchi...or just eat it with a spoon!



Other pro tips for Maribeth...

"Store  in  the  refrigerator,  covered,  until  ready  to  use.  Mix  well  before  serving,  use  hot  or  cold. Can  also  be  made  ahead,  placed  in  airtight  containers, and  frozen. When  making  a  salad,  I always  use  Italian  Dressing,  along  with  the  pesto  sauce."

I make a ton of pesto sauce at once and freeze it! IT'S SO GOOD. And on that note, I'm going to go defrost and devour some maribesto. K, byeeeee!

Garen's Salsa.

My best friend that I've known since pre-school just recently got married...and she looked absolutely stunning.



She married an equally handsome guy.



Meredith and her new husband Garen (still feels really weird to call him her husband) currently live in Atlanta, so my boyfriend and I made a trip down to visit them...and of course go to a Braves game!!

It wouldn't be appropriate to go to any major sporting event without throwing a proper tailgate...which brings me to the point of this post: Garen's Salsa. His homemade salsa recipe is only one of the many recipes that Garen's family shared with Meredith. If all of the other recipes are as good as this salsa, I'm going to need to visit them more often! The salsa recipe is very simple, but it's seriously the best fresh salsa I've ever tasted!

What you need...

• 8-10 roma tomatoes, diced


• 1 onion, diced (can add scallions too)


• 5 garlic cloves, minced


• 4-5 jalapeños, diced (remove seeds)


• Juice of 1 lime


• Add to taste: coarse salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, and fresh cilantro

How to make it....

Uhhhh, that's easy...chop, dice, mince, squeeze, dice some more, and mix! If you have a food processor, obviously use that to cut down on the time it takes to cut everything up. This recipe yields....a giant bowl? If you're not feeding a crowd of twenty, you could stand to cut the recipe in half.

Serve with chips and a vodka watermelon and you'll be in tailgate heaven. K, byeeee!

Zucchini Creole.

Zucchini Creole was the first dish I made in my real adult life (meaning when I graduated college and joined the rest of the world in prison...I mean having a full-time job). It is very easy to make and continues to be one of my favorite dishes in my adult life.

What you need...

• 3 or 4 medium zucchini, sliced


• 2 tomatoes, chopped


• 1 onion, chopped


• 1 green pepper, chopped


• 3 tablespoons butter (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!^® Light)


• 3 tablespoons flour


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1 tablespoon brown sugar


• 2 cups grated cheese (I use Sargento^® Shredded Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Italian)

How to make it...

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Layer the sliced zucchini in the bottom of a casserole dish (I usually use a 9 x 13 pan, but sometimes you have to improvise). Melt the butter in a pan and stir in flour, onions, green pepper, and tomatoes. Add salt and brown sugar. Cook for 3-5 mins or until thick.

Pour the vegetable mixture on top of the zucchini slices (if you're using two dishes, distribute evenly). Bake for 30 mins.


Top with cheese and bake for an additional 10 minuets, or until cheese is brown and creole is bubbly.

Sidebar: I usually top the dish with cheese, cover it with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 mins. Then I uncover it and bake for an additional 10 mins. In this case, I didn't have foil, I added the cheese at the end, and it turned out just fine. Make it however you would like, either way, it will be delicious!

The best part (besides it being easy to make AND delicious) is how healthy it is! The dish makes 8 servings and, even smothered in cheese, each serving is only 145 calories!!! You could eat two servings (guilty of doing this) and still only consume 290 calories...crazy talk, I know. Guess you'll just have to give it a try...k, byeee!!

World's Worst Blogger.

I haven't cooked in months, which makes maintaining a food blog pretty hard.

In lieu of cooking, my diet has consisted of:

andand occasionally (woopsie)

and an embarrassing amount of

and some

and definitely not enough

or

That  being said, its [almost] time for me to stop being the world's worst blogger. Notice I said almost? Well, I'll be traveling (for work and play) for the next two weeks, and I don't see myself being too enthusiastic about cooking during that time...but maybe I'll surprise myself?

Either way, its time for me to set some goals and share them with my readers (which at this point might only be my mom...thanks mom!) to be held accountable! So here they are:

1. Stop being so lazy and cook!


2. Step outside of my comfort zone and don't just try things that seem easy


3. Post on my awesome-totally-only-read-by-my-mom blog at least once a week!!

And there you have it. I'll be back in a few weeks ready to cook and blog! K, byeee!

4th of July is Berry Fun!

Make your 4th of July berry fun with these easy treats!!!



What you need...

• 12 ounces white chocolate chips


• Strawberries


• Blue sugar or edible glitter

How to make them...

Put 12 ounces of white chocolate chips in a bowl and melt [in a microwave or on the stove, following the instructions on the package].


One at a time, dip strawberries into the chocolate.



Then dip the berries into blue sugar or edible glitter and set them to harden on waxed paper.



Super easy right?! While you're at it, make some Drunken Gummies and you are sure to have a fabulous 4th of July. GO AMERICA! K, byeee!