It’s Fall…Pumpkin Dump Cake

I have been eyeing this recipe popping up all over the place in the past weeks or so.  Problem with me right now is that when I have the time to make something it seems that I never have all of the ingredients! 
Well today the clouds parted and all the stars aligned and I made it!!  And it’s good.  Really, really good!!!

Pumpkin Dump Cake (from Cookies & Cups)
Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree
• 1 10 oz can Evaporated Milk
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter melted
• 1 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers or pecans
• 1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray a 9×13 baking pan lightly with cooking/baking spray
3. In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine.
4. Pour into your prepared pan.
5. Sprinkle your entire box of cake mix on top, followed by your nuts or graham crackers and toffee chips.
6. Pour your melted butter evenly on top.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is set and edges are lightly browned.

Mango Margaritas

So I’ve been busy…
And not just drinking these delicious margaritas
We’ve had skating competitions…

BMX races in PA and NC and all throughout FL…
And sadly only an 8 week summer to fit it all in!
But this is all about these delicious margaritas that we made last weekend.  I have a friend who keeps me in nice supply of fresh herbs, lemons and mangos depending on the season.  Right now we are coming up on the tail end of mango season and she brought me bags full!  I juiced all of the mangoes in my heavy duty juicer.  Some of the juice became popsicles and I made a delicious batch of Mango Frozen Yogurt (which I just polished of without so much as a picture *sigh*).  But with the rest I wanted to make something adult like.  That celebrated the fruit at it’s finest.  Mango Margaritas it was…
Mango Margarita
2 oz Tequila
1 oz limoncello (or triple sec but we like the lemon flavor with the mango)
3 oz of fresh mango juice
2 ounces of water
juice of 1/2 a lime

Mix all ingredients together and serve chilled over ice.  These could be made into frozen margaritas by simply blending with ice but they were delicious like this…

Mexican Chicken Bake

I am totally stuck in a rut for dinner ideas.  Or at least I was until I remembered this recipe I had bookmarked a week or so ago.  So glad I remembered!  This was probably one of the best meals I have made in a long time.
I took the original recipe from here…Dandy Dishes
Of course I had to change some stuff around and make it all mine right?


Mexican Chicken Bake Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts (follow the simple recipe below for Salsa Chicken)
1 can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
1 ½ tablespoons cumin
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder, or more if you really like it spicy
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
¼ cup sour cream
salt & pepper to taste
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional garnishes:
Shredded lettuce
Diced cherry tomatoes
Sliced avocado
Cilantro leaves
Sour cream

Diections:
Preheat your oven to 375º. In a large bowl place the shredded chicken, pinto beans, spices, lime juice, sour cream, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste then mix well. Transfer to a lightly oiled baking dish and top with cheese. Pop into the preheated oven for 15 minutes then garnish the top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, avocado slices and serve with a nice dollop of sour cream and your favorite hot sauce.

Salsa Chicken
Ingredients:
I jar of good quality salsa (or just you favorite!)
chicken (4 breast or 8 thighs-boneless skinless)
Directions:
Throw chicken and salsa into a crockpot on low and cook for 4-8 hrs depending on whether or not you had the foresight to thaw your chicken (yes, I throw frozen chicken in here).
Once the chicken is done.  You need to remove it from the crockpot and the sauce and shred it.  This chicken can now be used in tacos, nachos, or anything else that requires some nicely seasoned chicken!

***We ended up using this dish in tacos, as nachos and just like the picture is!  They loved them!!!
***You could also use a rotisserie chicken and shred that in place of the salsa chicken!

Chickpea Brownies

I know, I know.  I make my comeback and now I seem to be posting some weird stuff.  Trust me these are good. 
Really, really good.
And for anyone who is on a gluten free diet, these work for you too…

Chickpea Brownies (adapted from Livestrong.com)

Ingredients

• 15 oz Chickpeas, Canned
• 3/4 cup Pure Maple Syrup
• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• Good quality dark chocolate for drizzling over the top

Directions
Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. Meanwhile, mix in a blender the eggs, drained and rinsed chickpeas, maple syrup and baking powder. Once blended, add in melted chocolate and blend until smooth. Pour into a square baking dish and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Melt the dark chocolate and using a fork drizzle over the top of the brownies and let cool.
***I loved these and have made them over and over again.  They have become my go to snack.  Love the texture and the feel of them.

Baked Fish Sandwiches with Modern Coleslaw

Hi!!!  *waving*  Do you remember me?  Well I’m back with a whole bunch of recipes to be posted and some fun stuff about the all the cool things I have been doing.  I need to pace myself though.  It’s been a while and I need to inch back in slowly…
To start I am giving you a recipe that has become one of our favorites.  So much so that in the past 2 weeks I have made it 2 time with different fish just to see how I liked it!  This recipe can also be made in about 30 minutes making it a real winner in my books!!!
My sister first made this for me when I was up in Toronto mid April for the girls Spring Break.  She got it from the LCBO Food & Drink Magazine.  Unfortunately we don’t get the magazine here in the US but we can get the recipes online.

Baked Fish Sandwiches with Modern Coleslaw (adapted from LCBO Food & Drink Winter 2011)
Serves 4
1 lb haddock or red snapper fillets, cut into 3- to 4-inch pieces (I used the frozen cod and tilapia from Costco and just used 4 pieces thawed.)
½ cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
1 large egg beaten with salt and pepper
½ cup dry plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup panko
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
preheat oven to 425F

1.  Pat fish dry with paper towels. Dip fish in seasoned flour, shake off excess and dip fish in egg. Mix bread crumbs and parsley on a plate and coat fish. Reserve.

2.  Place fish on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in oven until golden brown.  This should be about 10-20 minutes (I know that’s a huge range there but it will al depend on how thick you fish is).
3.  Serve the fish in a soft roll (I used the sandwich thins) with tartar sauce and modern coleslaw (recipe below) right on the roll.
Modern Coleslaw (adapted from LCBO Food & Drink Winter 2011)
2 cups slivered napa cabbage (I used regular cabbage)
1 cup julienned English cucumber (regular cucumber – English Cuke is about $2.50 here!!!)
1/2 cup slivered red onion
2 tbsp slivered basil (I used 1 tsp dried basil leaves) 
2 tbsp rice vinegar (I used seasoned rice vinegar) 
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine cabbage, cucumber, onion and basil in a large bowl. Sprinkle with rice vinegar and olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on top of fish sandwich.

Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red and Yellow Peppers and Goat Cheese –Finally a new blog post!!!

So I really don’t want to even look and see when the last time I posted a recipe was. I am very, very ashamed. I really have no excuse besides being totally rushed off of my feet all the time and totally uninspired come dinner time. Usually it’s just a meal thrown together and always an old stand by. Something tried and true (and already blogged more than likely).
I happened to see this recipe though the other day and printed it out immediately. So glad I did! It is really a delicious and simple meal.

Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red and Yellow Peppers and Goat Cheese – From The New York Times
When making this easy pasta, be sure to cut the sweet bell peppers into very small dice; that way, they’ll lodge in the hollows of the orecchiette, along with the chard and goat cheese.
Ingredients:
3/4 pound Swiss chard (1 bunch), stemmed and washed in two changes of water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 red/yellow bell peppers , cut in small dice
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram (I had just thrown my dry marjoram out so I used 1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning)
3/4 pound orecchiette
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
Directions:
1. Begin heating a large pot of water while you stem and wash the chard. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water in the pot comes to a boil, salt generously and add the chard. Blanch the chard leaves for one to two minutes until tender. Using a skimmer or a slotted spoon, transfer the chard to a bowl of ice water, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop medium-fine. Keep the pot of water at a simmer.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the bell peppers and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until tender, five to eight minutes. Add the garlic and salt to taste, and stir for half a minute. Then stir in the chopped chard and the marjoram. Stir together for a few seconds, then turn the heat to very low.
3. Bring the water in the pasta pot back to a boil, and add the orecchiette. Cook al dente, following the timing instructions on the package. Add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the pan with the chard and peppers. Stir in the goat cheese. Drain the pasta, transfer to the pan and toss with the chard, pepper and goat cheese mixture. Serve hot.
Yield: Serves four.
***Loved this pasta. The only thing I will do differently next time is to skip the blanching of the swiss chard. I think it will just be fine steamed in with the peppers and garlic. Also won’t loose all the nutrients in the pasta water.

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

I wanted a Tuscan Bean Soup. Google that.  Go ahead.  I bet you come up with about 500 soup recipes.  I was baffled so I sat on the floor with my ever increasing collection of cookbooks surrounding me and began my quest the old fashioned way…
Thank you Ellie Kreiger for your cookbook The Food You Crave

Tuscan Vegetable Soup (adapted from Ellie Kreiger’s The Food You Crave)

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Directions

In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.
**This was a quick and delicious week night meal  I had some whole wheat macaroni left over in the fridge that I also threw in the pot.  A quick and versatile meal?  You know I’ll be making this again and again…