Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Sometimes I'm a procrastinator, like when it comes to updating this blog. I have recipes that I have made & taken pictures of, but have not posted them either because a) I'm too lazy, b) I'm too busy, or c) I just don't really like the pictures. However, I made these cookies today and I do not want you to procrastinate making them. They are like a little bite (or two) of fall in your mouth. The icing turned out more like a glaze, but still tastes delicious. Please make these soon. You and your friends will thank you for it. Yes, you will thank yourself. I meant that to sound that way! Oh, and I only made half the recipe but am posting the original. I got 21 cookies by halving it and my first batch of ones were pretty small.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies
Source: Cooking This and That, who adapted it from allrecipes.com


Ingredients:

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then spread icing over top.

To Make Icing: Combine all ingredients and beat with elextric mixer. Add milk as needed, to achieve spreading consistency.

Peach Sorbet

Today feels like a fantastic fall day here in Ohio. I'm not a huge fan of summer, even though I love summer produce. I just can't handle the heat & humidity. This cooler weather feels like a breath of fresh air. I made this sorbet a few weeks ago...so I figured I better blog about it before I put it off any longer and it really does turn into full-fledged fall. This recipe is refreshing and tastes like fresh peaches. In fact, I wanted to make it again but the rest of my basket of peaches went bad before I could. Grab up some fresh peaches and make this before apples become the main fruit ingredient!

Peach Sorbet
Source: Annie's Eats, who adapted it from Dinner and Dessert


Ingredients:
4 cups fresh chopped peaches
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Chill mixture in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Once chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Another Fresh Salsa

My mom gave me some tomatoes and peppers from her garden. After ripening on the windowsill, I realized that they needed to be used quickly. I did not have any meals coming up that needed tomatoes so I decided to whip up a quick salsa. I even got to use some of my herbs (that are now dying). Now I did make this a couple of weeks ago so hopefully I can remember everything I put in it!

Multi-colored Tomato Salsa
Source: Original Stef recipe


Ingredients:
2 large tomatoes (I used 1 yellow & 1 red)
2 small peppers (I used 1 jalepeno & 1 garden salsa)
1 teaspoon olive oil
Small handful each of parsley and basil
1 clove of garlic (I didn't have any fresh so I used jarred)

Directions:
Chop tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Mix all ingredients together. Serve with tortilla chips!

Oven Fried Honey Chicken Nuggets

I am a terrible blogger. I get on kicks with updating my blog, and then...crickets. I wish I had a good excuse but I really don't. I started classes again yesterday, but that doesn't account for my major lack of posts (i.e. none at all) last week. Life is going to be pretty hectic until the beginning of December, but I am hoping to at least make some quick week-night meals and keep my blog going at the same time.

Anyways, here is a recipe for you. These chicken nuggets are perfectly sweet and go well with a saltier side dish. I served them with some homemade macaroni & cheese. Sometimes I don't tell Jon what is in some of the food I make because I know he will turn his nose up at it. Instead, I ask him if he liked the food after he eats it. Most of the time his answer is yes and then I reveal the "secret ingredient he hates" that is in it. In the case of the chicken nuggets the ingredient is balsamic vinegar. If you hate this vinegar, please don't be put off by it in this meal! It is perfectly complemented with the honey and breading. Try it...tonight. Or tomorrow. :)

Oven-fried Honey Chicken Nuggets
Source: Macaroni and Cheesecake, who got it from Sweet Tea in Texas


Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
Olive oil cooking spray
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray foil-lined baking pan large enough to hold all chicken pieces in one layer.

In shallow bowl, whisk together honey and vinegar. Set aside.

Place bread crumbs in a small saute pan and toast lightly over low heat for about 3-4 minutes until lightly golden brown. Pour bread crumbs a little at a time into separated bowl.

Roll chicken pieces in honey mixture, then in bread crumbs; place in pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly.

Crock Pot Applesauce

I had an unfortunate incident happen over the weekend. Our refrigerator door was accidentally left open while we were gone over the weekend, resulting in temperatures below 40 degrees. Food is not safe if it rises above 40 degrees for over 2 hours. See the Food & Drug Administration website for further information. Therefore, I had to throw out all of our perishable food, even though I had just gone grocery shopping on Friday (which was really irritating). However, it also gave me a good chance to throw away leftovers and other things that had already spoiled. Speaking of leftovers, I had some apples leftover from a kids program I helped run. I also suddenly had a craving for applesauce. Now, I know it is not fall-time yet, but this applesauce was delicious and will definitely be made again during the appropriate season!

Crock Pot Applesauce
Source: A Year of Slow Cooking


Ingredients:
4 large apples, peeled and cut into slices (I used granny smith)
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 T brown sugar
1/4 cup H20

Directions:
Skin, core, and cut your apples into quarters and put them in the crock pot. Add the lemon juice, water, vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. (Mine only took 3 hours so check every so often!) When the apples are super tender, mash with a potato masher or fork. (I used a fork & it worked perfectly). I also added a little bit of brown sugar to each individual dish.

Shrimp, tomato & basil orzo

For as much as I love pasta, I've never made orzo before. I don't know what I was waiting for - it's a great type of pasta. I still have half a box left and multiple orzo recipes bookmarked so I'm excited to try the next one! I really don't have much more to say tonight. A storm is rolling in so I think I'll just leave you with the recipe in case I lose power. Enjoy!

Shrimp, Tomato & Basil Orzo
Source: Cooking This & That, who got it from Erica's Kitchen Adventures


Ingredients:
8 ounces orzo pasta

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped (Omitted)

2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic and basil (or garlic and onion), undrained

20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped or 4 teaspoons dried

kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper, to taste

crushed red pepper, to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions:
Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic, saute for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 minutes more.

Add the diced tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper, red pepper, and tomato paste. Reduce heat to medium and cover skillet. Simmer for about 5 minutes until mixture is hot.

Add orzo and Parmesan cheese to skillet, mix thoroughly to combine.

Menu for the week

It is going to be over 90 degrees today. NINETY. I don't do this ridiculously hot weather. I know that I should be thankful that we've had a fairly mild summer so far, but I still get cranky when the temperature rises too high. Last week I said that I didn't want to miss out on summer - this is something I definitely want to miss out on. Hopefully the heat won't last long. My menu this week consists of things that I needed to use up & other things that I saw and just really wanted to try. None of it screams warm weather food though. Hm, guess I should have checked the forecast before making the menu and going grocery shopping.

Today: Chicken enchiladas with red chile sauce & a salad

Monday: Spaghetti with turkey meatballs & 3-cheese sauce & a salad

Tuesday: Chicken salad sandwiches & homemade fries

Wednesday: Szuchuan shrimp, rice & stir-fried veggies

Thursday: Fish (that Jon caught in Minnesota!), mashed potatoes & roasted broccoli

Friday: Not sure yet, but thinking bean burritos or something super easy

Saturday: Leftovers/fend for yourself/out somewhere