Category Archives: Recipes

Paleo Orange Chicken

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Veronica

This dish is a revelation for healthy eating. It has no breading, not even a thickener for the sauce, doesn’t require frying, is naturally sweetened with fresh squeezed juice alone, contains only healthy fat, and yet it is so. delicious.

And guess what? It is yet another way to use virgin coconut oil! I’ll be drawing the winner for the Tropical Traditions oil at midnight tonight (click here to enter the giveaway if you haven’t yet), so I decided to sneak in another recipe that uses it before I did. I myself just got a gallon of it (happy happy, joy joy! Thank you to those who made first-time purchases through my links, that’s how I earned it!), so you can be sure I’ll be posting many more recipes using it.

Full disclosure: for the record, I mainly cook with/eat extra virgin olive oil, just so you don’t think I’ve devoted my life to saturated fat, even if it is a healthy one. :) Also, for the record, I am not on the Paleo diet, but am all for eating healthy. And lastly, this was Den’s plate, as I had no rice on mine because I’m not eating starches right now. </TMI>

As for this chicken, I don’t have much to add beyond that it was incredible. It is sweet, even without refined sugars of any kind, and packed with flavor. I have to admit I totally forgot to include the sriracha (*sob* we love spicy, how could I?), which probably would have improved the consistency so that it coated the pieces a little better, but it was still great even without it. Who needs fried chicken pieces drenched in a sickeningly sweet syrup sauce when eating healthy tastes even better? Move over, take-out!

Paleo Orange Chicken

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1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (cut into bite size pieces)
3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
juice of 2 oranges*
zest from 1 orange
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce or sriracha
3 green onions, sliced (white and green parts)

In a medium-sized saucepan, add the orange juice, zest, ginger, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce or sriracha. Set over medium-high heat and let simmer to reduce and thicken while the chicken cooks. In a large saute pan, heat the coconut oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped chicken thighs and cook until a nice brown crust has developed on the chicken pieces, about 6 minutes. If your chicken pieces are really close together, you’ll likely have a lot of water in the pan (it doesn’t evaporate as well), and you should drain the excess liquid off to help the pieces brown. Remove from heat and if the sauce is ready (it will be reduced to very little, coating just the bottom of the pot, thick and almost like a glaze), add the chicken to the saucepan and stir to coat with the orange sauce. Serve topped with sliced green onions.

*Taste your oranges. If they don’t taste orange-y, then neither will this dish. Use tangerines if you need to, or add a teaspoon of sweetener, such as stevia or agave nectar, until you’re satisfied with the flavor.

Recipe source: Health-Bent

35 Comments

Posted in Asian, Lighter Fare, Meats and tagged chinese, coconut oil, healthy, low carb, orange chicken, paleo, Paleolithic diet. Bookmark the permalink.

Grandpa Hoho’s Shrimp Dip

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Veronica

This month I was assigned to The Kitchen Witch‘s blog for The Secret Recipe Club, which was very exciting because this is the first time I was assigned a blog I already follow. Knowing Rhonda likes to pick a heritage or family recipe from her assigned blog, I decided to pick a recipe from hers with the same criteria. I came across Grandpa Hoho’s Shrimp Dip and at first thought I was in trouble because 1) I’m officially on a “getting healthy” plan, 2) Eating creamy dip is not part of that plan, and 3) I love dip more than anything else in the world. Except God. And maybe my husband. But that’s the order of things in my world: God, Dennis, dip.

So I thought making this dip would spell big trouble for me, as in eating the entire batch by myself in one sitting with copious amounts of buttery crackers. Thankfully, Dennis informed me there was going to be a potluck at his work. Saved by the potluck! So while I did indulge in some of it, I had the incentive of knowing it also had to feed his co-workers to hold off on eating more than I should. Otherwise, oh yes, this dip would have been history in less than ten minutes.

This dip is just sensational. Dennis is the ultimate shrimp hater (in his world the worst things in the universe are 1) shrimp, 2) wiener dogs, and 3) any song by Poison), but he really loved this dip. I added dill and garlic to the original recipe (sorry, Grandpa Hoho), which compliments the mild seafood flavor, and it turned out to be a real crowd-pleaser. Dennis returned home from work with an empty dish, rave reviews, and a recipe request. The ultimate compliment!

Thank you, Rhonda, for sharing Grandpa Hoho’s dip recipe and all your wonderful photography tips. Thank you to Debbi, the SRC group C hostess, and to the other group hostesses and April, who runs the whole shebang. I truly enjoy doing this every month and it never gets old for me!

Grandpa Hoho’s Shrimp Dip

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1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) tub sour cream
Juice of ½ a lemon
2 (4 oz) cans tiny shrimp, drained and rinsed
3 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste

Beat cream cheese with sour cream and lemon juice until smooth. Add shrimp, green onions, dill, and garlic powder and beat until the shrimp are beaten small and turn the mixture pink. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Refrigerate overnight or up to two days for best flavor. Serve cold with crackers.

Recipe source: The Kitchen Witch

To check out the other Group C recipes, click Mr. Linkyman below. :)

Side rant: So I’m not apologizing for my photos or anything, but seriously, what is with the winter light? Can someone explain to me why all my photos are so blue in the winter, I can’t get rid of all the blue without turning my photos orange? ARRRRG! Help me, Rhonda! lol

46 Comments

Posted in Snacks & Appetizers. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate-Glazed Honey Macaroons

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Veronica

Once upon a time I entered some honey macaroons into the Kansas state fair and won a blue ribbon for them. Then I promised you I would share the recipe. Well I may be a bit slow, but a promise is a promise! I thought this was the perfect time since I’m giving away a gallon of coconut oil and this recipe has some in it. I figured one of you guys would need a lot of ways to use up that coconut oil once the giveaway was over. (I’m still packing just in case the winner agrees to let me move in until the oil is gone. hehehe)

We have a special honey class in our state fair baking competition and I won for the cookies last year. I had never entered the honey cookies category before, but knew from looking at past year’s cookies what I wasn’t going to do, which was a flour-based cookie. I wanted to do something different that the other bakers hadn’t. I did lots of brainstorming and finally decided that a honey coconut macaroon might be nice. Luckily I found a great recipe at Gourmande in the Kitchen and all I had to do was create a glaze for them.

Less heavy than a normal macaroon, these are light, sweet, tender, and very moist. And the coconut-flavored chocolate just puts them over the top. I love these cookies because not only are they tasty, they also are allergy friendly (gluten-free, dairy-free) and healthy (good fat & naturally sweetened). I do hope you enjoy them!

For more coconut oil recipes, check out my Coconut Oil Coffee, Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Vegan Gluten-Free Mounds Cake, Dairy-Free White Cupcakes, Homemade Magic Shell, and Vegan Dark Chocolate Cake Pops.

Honey Coconut Macaroons

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Cookies
2 ¼ cups (180 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
2 large egg whites
¼ cup (60 g) raw local honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of fine sea salt

Honey & Coconut Chocolate Glaze
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon local raw honey

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Process the coconut in a food processor until very fine. Whisk together egg whites, honey, vanilla, and salt until combined, then stir in the coconut until completely moistened. Using a small cookie scoop, portion out the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake until pale golden in spots, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make the Glaze: Place the chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Stir, then repeat. Stir until residual heats melts the chocolate completely, then stir in the coconut oil and honey. Drizzle over the cooled macaroons and serve immediately, or allow to set before storing. It takes this glaze several hours to set up, but the cookies are so moist they will not suffer for being left out.

Recipe source: adapted from Gourmande in the Kitchen

27 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged blue ribbon, coconut macaroons, coconut oil, Cookies, dairy-free, first place, gluten-free, healthy, honey, naturally sweetened. Bookmark the permalink.

Barley with Butternut Squash, Apple & Onion

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Veronica

This is one of the “meals” (it’s really a side dish but I like to eat it as a meal) I’ve been making for years and usually resurrect come fall/winter. My family absolutely loves it too, even my little nephew (or at least he did at 4 years old, the last time he ate it)! I appreciate delicious vegetarian meals that satisfy me and this one fits the bill fo sho. The combination of the creamy squash, chewy barley, crisp red pepper & apple, and the contrasting savories and sweetness–it’s all just magic to me. And I guess if a four year old boy will relish something that only contains unrecognizable healthy ingredients, it is pretty magical.

Barley with Butternut Squash, Apple & Onion

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3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup uncooked barley
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups butternut squash, peeled & diced
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup sweet red pepper, diced
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup fat-free chicken or vegetable broth

Bring 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt to a boil in a medium saucepan; add barley. Cover saucepan and simmer barley until tender, about 30 to 35 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add squash and cook, stirring often, until it’s starting to soften–about five minutes. Add the onion and red pepper and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Stir in apple, garlic, thyme, black pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, until apple is almost tender, about 2 minutes; stir in broth, scraping bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Stir in cooked barley; toss over low heat to mix and coat. Remove from heat and serve.

Serves 4, about 1 cup per serving.

Per serving: 192 calories; 4.2 g fat; 0 g cholesterol; 37 g carbohydrate; 8 g fiber; 5 g protein; 5 Points Plus

Recipe source: WeightWatchers.com

25 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, Meatless, Side Dishes, Uncategorized and tagged barley, Butternut Squash, fall, healthy, recipe, stovetop, sweet & savory, vegan, vegetarian, Weight Watchers, winter. Bookmark the permalink.

Shredded Chicken with Noodles

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Veronica

I made this two years ago, it’s about time I shared it! This is basically chicken noodle soup but with sauce instead of broth. As I’m all about chicken noodle soup, especially with homemade egg noodles, I love it with or without the broth (forget that my “sauce” looks more like broth, I obviously messed up by not thickening it enough, but you’re not going to, right?), and this is one of those hot comforting meals that seem essential during cold winter months.

In other news, today is the last day to enter my Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil giveaway, and I also posted my announcement about February’s Sweetest Swap a lot later in the day than usual (after staying up until 6 AM on Monday so I could get all the details worked out and schedule the blog, I forgot to schedule it! Of course.) , so if you missed it, please check that out as well. Now let’s scare the chill out of our bones with some savory chicken and noodles shall we? And if you’d like to make your egg noodles from scratch, it couldn’t be easier, you can snag my recipe here.

Shredded Chicken with Noodles

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1 whole cut up fryer chicken

2 whole carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

½ whole medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoons turmeric

¼ teaspoons white pepper (more to taste) (I used black)

¼ teaspoons ground thyme

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

16 ounces, weight frozen “homemade” Egg Noodles or same amount dried large egg noodles

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Cover chicken in 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Remove chicken from pot with a slotted spoon. With two forks, remove as much meat from the bones as you can, slightly shredding meat in the process. Return bones to broth and simmer on low, covered, for 45 minutes.

3. Remove bones from broth with a slotted spoon, making sure to get any small bones that might have detached. Add the carrots and celery and onions to the pot, followed by the herbs and spices. Stir to combine and simmer for ten minutes to meld flavors.

4. Increase heat and add egg noodles and chicken. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Mix flour and a little water. Stir until smooth. Pour into soup, stir to combine, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until broth thickens a bit. Test and adjust seasonings as needed.

Recipe Source: The Pioneer Woman via Framed Cooks

10 Comments

Posted in Main Dishes, My Favorites and tagged chicken noodles, comfort, cooking, scratch, winter. Bookmark the permalink.

Cranberry Bliss Cookies & Cookie Swap Recap

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Veronica

Happy new year! While most food bloggers are recapping 2012 with their top recipes, I’m totally disorganized and sharing an unseasonal recipe instead, weeks after I’d intended to. Hey, give me a break, I still don’t have my head on straight after the hectic holiday season and still have one holiday party to go to before I’ll feel truly like I can settle back into a normal routine.

It’s been a while since I shared a recipe, and I wanted to share the yummy cookie recipe I used for my cookie swap. I know most people are probably drinking green smoothies and training for marathons to attain lofty new year’s resolutions, but I’m going to share this cookie recipe anyway because I really don’t want to wait until next December to do it. You can save it for next year, but if you have some dried cranberries left over from your holiday baking, why not use them up in these cookies? I promise those you share them with won’t complain about cookie season being over. But they might blame you for not making their goal weight loss this week. :)

This recipe is for a super ginormous batch that makes about 9 dozen cookies, which is great if you are planning on sharing lots of cookies. If you’d like a more moderate single batch (wuss), you can refer to That Skinny Chick Can Bake‘s recipe, which is what I used to make my ginormous recipe.

Cranberry Bliss Cookies (large batch)

*Note: the pecans need to be toasted so do this step first to avoid frustration.

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1 ½ cups (3 sticks / 12 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (10 ¼ oz) vegetable shortening
2 ¼ cups (1 lb) sugar
2 cups (1 lb) brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 large eggs
6 cups (1 lb 9 ½ oz) all-purpose flour
2 ¾ cups dried cranberries, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1 ½ lbs Ghirardelli white chips or chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment (I used foil this time) and set aside.

Cream butter, shortening and sugars. Add vanilla, salt, and baking soda and mix well. Add the eggs in while the mixer is running and continue to beat until well combined. Add flour and beat on low to combine. The mixer will be very full at this point so be careful to keep the flour from going over the edge before it is mixed in. Transfer the batter to a very large bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients until incorporated.

Scoop out tablespoonfuls of dough and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes or till golden. Cool for a few minutes on baking sheet then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 9 dozen.

*To toast the pecans, place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350F for about 4 minutes, or until fragrant and toasted. Remove and cool completely.

Recipe source: adapted from That Skinny Chick Can Bake!

***

Cookies from Kristin Moya to Devangi Raval; photo by Devangi.

I know I’m all kinds of evil, but I soon will be announcing a Postcard Project Candy Swap for February. Don’t blame me, the people have spoken and have begged for more swapping throughout the year. We’ll see how many actually sign up once they realize it could interfere with resolution number 1: lose weight! lol

Red Velvet Pinwheel Cookies made by Paula Hartson; photo by Carmel Hodge.

As for the cookie swap, it was so much fun this year (OK, last year–I’m still not adjusted to this being a new year)! I added a Facebook page where we could all connect and gush about the cookies we were baking and receiving, and share pictures, and we just had a blast.

Cookies from Carmel Hodge to Paula Hartson; photo by Paula.

I toughened up and was pretty in-your-face about coming through with the cookies, whereas last year I tried to keep it totally positive. Well sometimes you gotta be tough or people will walk all over you! Last year six people flaked out and I didn’t know what to do beyond apologize to the those who were left in the cold as I couldn’t afford to make and mail that many cookies (6×3 dozen would be 18 dozen! Yikes.). Because of my new zero tolerance policy for flakes that I stated in the sign-up form (all flakes are blocked from future swaps), we only had 3 this year, though there were more participants. I also clued in this year and when those three people didn’t come through with their cookies, I asked for “cookie angels”–volunteers to fill in and send extra cookies to the cookie orphans. That worked great as there were so many who were eager to share more cookies and no one was left in the cold this year. Apologies to those who didn’t get all their cookies last year! I’m a better hostess now so please give me a second chance. :)

Cookies from Marlo Edwards to Paula Hartson; photo by Paula.

All in all the cookie swap was a roaring success, the highlight being raising money for kids cancer and the mixer I got as a reward (see this post if you missed all that).

Cookies from Paula Hartson who volunteered as a cookie angel for Shania Ortiz; photo by Shania.

Cookie Swap Stats:

Participants 2011: 52 2012: 72

Number of packages sent 2011: 162, 2012: 216

Number of cookies swapped 2011: 1,944 2012: 3,574

Money raised for kids cancer: $3,574 (2012 only)

Number of smiles created 2011 & 2012: countless :)

25 Comments

Posted in Cookies, The Postcard Project and tagged baking, christmas, Cookies, Cranberry Bliss, December, gifts, holidays, starbucks. Bookmark the permalink.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Turkey Stew

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Veronica

Rhonda from Dining Alone has a “Best Thing I Ever Made” feature where she highlights a favorite recipe each week from her archives. In October, she shared this stew as the best soup she’s ever made. All I had to do was take one look at her totally delicious picture (please, go look, and grab a napkin to catch the drool) to know I had to make it.

My sister’s best friend, Margo, married a Moroccan man (that’s them up there with the Twinkies during a Toot and Twinkies game night…but that’s another story for a different day) and she introduced me to their cuisine after she learned to cook it from her sister-in-law. Her Moroccan Chicken Couscous is so so delicious, and this stew has very similar ingredients so I was fairly certain I would love it.

Love it? No, I’m obsessed with it. If this soup were a person, it would have filed a restraining order on me because I stalked it for three nights in a row, made inappropriate noises while eating it, and almost cried when it was gone. I might have separation anxiety. Moroccan Turkey Stew, please don’t leave me! Come back!

So anyway, you should try this stew. And please invite me over for dinner when you do. I promise I’ll keep the inappropriate noises to a minimum.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Turkey Stew

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1 teaspoon ground allspice
Kosher salt
4 skinless, bone-in turkey thighs (about 4 pounds)*
1/2 medium butternut squash, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with juices, broken up
1 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup golden raisins
8 medium carrots, cut into 11/2-inch pieces
3 medium red onions, halved and cut into wedges
2 whole dried red chiles
1/2 lemon
2 cups fresh cilantro, including leaves and some stems
1 cup fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

*You can also use bone-in chicken thighs, which is what I opted to use since I couldn’t find turkey legs.

Combine the allspice and 3 teaspoons salt in a small bowl. Season the turkey thighs with half the salt mixture in a 5-quart slow cooker.

Toss the squash, chickpeas, tomatoes, apricots, raisins, carrots, onions and chiles with the remaining spiced salt. Pour the vegetables over the turkey (the cooker will be full; arrange the mixture so the lid fits. And don’t be like me and think you can fit extra veg in because you can’t–trust me.). Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Spoon the vegetables and broth into bowls. Remove and discard the turkey bones and place the meat on top of the vegetables.

Juice the lemon; pulse with the cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Add the oil and process until smooth. Serve the stew in bowls; drizzle with the cilantro sauce.

*Veronica’s note: your cilantro sauce will probably not be as green as mine (compare it with Rhonda’s picture) because I didn’t measure it and probably used twice as much as I was supposed to. I didn’t care, it was still phenomenal.

Recipe source: Food Network, as seen on Dining Alone

***

Disclaimer: I know I said I wasn’t going to apologize for my bad photos, but I do want to explain that I took these with zero natural light–all I had was the light from the light bulb overhead in the bedroom because for some reason, that is the brightest room in our house. So I think they’re pretty good, considering. Except for the swampy green blobs. That’s not cool, but hey, this is real life up in my kitchen and swampy green blobs happen.

26 Comments

Posted in My Favorites, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot, Soups & Stews and tagged crockpot, cuisine, moroccan, slow cooker, stew, turkey. Bookmark the permalink.

Snickers Popcorn

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Veronica

I have a lot of faults. I still wear Crocs (and love them). I always want to lose weight, but like cake more. Once you get to know me, I can be kinda bossy. I am a total dessert Nazi and will threaten bodily harm to anyone who refrigerates my goodies and eats them cold. Thou shalt not eat my desserts cold unless they’re intended to be cold or…

Veronica Miller: Dessert Nazi

Another of my faults is getting irritated by things people do that I’m guilty of as well. Such as over-apologizing. I’m a total over-apologizer and I think it’s knowing that and not liking it about myself that also makes me cringe when other bloggers do it. I hate it when a blogger apologizes for bad photos because what they’re considering “bad” is something I could only accomplish in my wildest dreams. And yet here I am, biting my tongue to keep from apologizing for these photos and the over-processing I did to try and remove the blue hue on the background.

Well you know what, I’m not apologizing. So there. You can hate them and I can hate them but they’re the best I can do and if you think I care enough to actually learn how to take good photos and learn how to edit them properly, you’ve totally overestimated my interest in photography. I just don’t care, therefore I’m not apologizing. You might want to change your color settings to black and white to avoid eye strain, though.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about this popcorn. Scratch that, there’s really not much to say. I mean, look at the photographs. It looks delicious, even with the harsh contrast and weird blue hue, right? Well let me tell you, it tastes even better. I mean, Snickers and caramel corn? Yeah, that was meant to happen.

I made this for Christmas treats last year and was a big hit! I now buy mini Snickers on sale after holidays just so I can make this popcorn and Sneaky Snickers Cookies. Fo shizzle, mah grizzle. Get ‘r done, with yonce grizz-maleon toes!

Um yeah. Sorry for the momentary lapse into Vraklis-speak. That didn’t mean anything beyond, “please make this.”

Snickers Popcorn

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½ cup popcorn kernels
1 cup salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
½ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup salted, roasted peanuts
1 (11.18 oz) bag Fun Size Snickers (about 19 bars), coarsely chopped
2 almond bark candy coating rectangles, melted

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Pop the kernels in an air popper into a large bowl. Set aside. In a large 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Heat over medium high, stirring frequently, until the mixture starts to boil. Stop stirring, reduce heat to medium, and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Pour over popcorn and mix well. Transfer to a large roasting pan and bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Stir in the Snickers and bake three more minutes to allow them to melt into the popcorn a little. Spread out onto waxed paper and drizzle candy coating over the top. Allow to cool completely before breaking up and storing in an airtight container or Ziploc bags.

Recipe source: tweaked from Cookies & Cups

26 Comments

Posted in Sweets and tagged caramel corn. holidays, food gifts, popcorn, snickers, treats. Bookmark the permalink.

Easy Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cookies/Muffin Tops {3 Ingredients}

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Veronica

This is one of those super easy recipes that many people seem to know about, but no one knows where it originated. While there are many online sources for the recipe, I got mine from my friend Teri, who just spouted off the short list of ingredients during a conversation about holiday baking, and I decided I had to try them myself.

Teri calls these cookies but I call them muffin tops because they truly are the texture of a muffin, not a cookie. In fact, I’ve seen people (hi, Jorie!) use this same recipe (with and without the chocolate chips) to make full-blown muffins, so there you go. Bake them whichever way you like and no matter what you call them, they’re delicious, and a great last minute treat to add to your holiday spread.

Easy Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cookies

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1 (18.25 oz) box spice cake mix
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 oz) bag semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini because I made small cookies)

Preheat oven to 350F and line cookie sheets with parchment or silpat mats.

Empty cake mix into a mixing bowl and whisk well until there are no lumps. Mix in the puree, then stir in the chocolate chips. Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough out onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until just firm. Remove to cool on a wire rack and repeat with remaining dough.

Recipe source: Teri B.

*******

I hope you guys have a happy Thanksgiving and if you are traveling for the holiday, travel safe! I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but this is the first year since meeting my husband that we are not going to his parent’s house for Thanksgiving. His cousin Mike (who was his best man at our wedding) got married in Jamaica and their wedding reception is this Saturday…and I’m making the cake! It’s been crazy trying to get it baked without taking time off but I will have all Thursday and Friday to finish it so it’s all good…still…please pray for me!! lol! If you know my track record, you know I need every bit of help I can get. :) (If you don’t know my track record, you can see both my wedding cake failures here.)

One last note, I’m ending the fundraiser for Suzie on Saturday because she now has her hospital & doctor bills from her first hospital stay ($9,600 total) and not all of them are accepting payments–some are threatening to send her account to collections if she doesn’t pay in full. So I’m ending it a little earlier than I planned so she can get at least enough to cover those that are threatening her. If you wanted to help but forgot or weren’t able to before, if you are able to give even a few dollars before the fundraiser ends, I would so greatly appreciate it. I would love it if we could reach $2,000 by Friday night! And my offer for the carrot cake recipe still stands–I will email everyone who makes a minimum $5 donations my top-secret blue ribbon carrot cake recipe! You can click here to make a donation.

Again, happy Thanksgiving! Have an extra bite of stuffing for me…and pecan pie too. :)

15 Comments

Posted in Cookies and tagged baking, Cookies, easy, fall, holidays, muffin tops, muffins, pumpkin chocolate chip, thanksgiving. Bookmark the permalink.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Veronica

I make this pie every year for Thanksgiving and every year I forget to blog it when Thanksgiving rolls around again. Well that ain’t happenin’ this year! I need this sucker on my blog for next year when I make the pie and need to look up the recipe. It will be so much easier to find it where I keep all my favorites. :)

This is all you need to make the pie. How simple could this be?

If you’re looking for a simple traditional pumpkin pie recipe, this one has got you covered. I prefer pumpkin gooey butter cake to pumpkin pie, but I have to provide a real pumpkin pie for those who actually enjoy it in my family, namely our oldest nephew, who is a pumpkin pie purist. This simple recipe has a traditional taste, but comes together quickly with a purchased crust, and because it combines two ingredients (milk & sugar) into one (sweetened condensed milk), and uses pumpkin pie spice, there is much less measuring than with a traditional recipe.

Despite my yearning to add more ingredients (sweet potatoes! cream cheese! vanilla bean! booze!) to change things up, I always resist this since I know my oldest nephew wouldn’t touch anything but a real pumpkin pie. And I’m always pleasantly surprised at how wonderful it tastes without any extra additions. Great texture with a perfect balance of spices & sweetness. May the pumpkin pie purists in your family rejoice & be thankful.

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

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Printable recipe with picture

1 (9″) unbaked pie crust (frozen deep dish, refrigerated or homemade)
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
OR 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ginger + 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg white, for brushing onto the crust
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you’re using refrigerated or homemade crust, roll it out and fit it into a 9″ pie plate (not deep dish–you only want deep dish if using a frozen crust).

In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs, then add the remaining ingredients, except for the egg white, and beat to combine. Do not go crazy with the beating, you just want everything mixed without excessive air bubbles. Set filling aside and brush the egg white over the bottom and sides of the pie crust. This will create a seal & help prevent the crust from becoming soggy. Pour the filling into the pie crust.

Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and continue baking 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. I don’t like to mar the pretty surface, so I bake the pie until it is mostly set but still a little jiggly in the center because the residual heat will continue baking it after you remove it. Cool pie completely before cutting. Garnish with whipped topping, if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Recipe source: adapted from Eagle Brand Perfect Pumpkin Pie