Spice Pumpkin Cake

I love this time of year when pumpkin recipes start popping up all over! - Love baking with pumpkin!  I wanted to make a cake for Tyler's birthday on Sunday but we had had the more traditional birthday cake the day before so I wanted to make something a little different.  I had a spice cake mix (don't remember what I ever bought that for) and so I thought I'd google recipes using the cake mix.  I went to Duncan Hines' website and came across this super easy and delicious cake which called for pumpkin - yeah!  I iced it with cream cheese frosting, which really makes anything taste good.

Spice Pumpkin Cake

• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Spice Cake Mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I omitted.)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt pan.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, water and pumpkin in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in nuts. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Cool completely.

 At this point I frosted mine with cream cheese frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar
3/4 stick of butter, softened
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 bar (or 4 oz.) cream cheese

**You can also make this cake look like a pumpkin by coloring most of the frosting orange and reserving a small amount to be colored green.  Frost the whole cake with the orange frosting and then add an upside down cake cone to the top center of the cake and paint the cake cone with the green frosting.  For a cute picture see the Duncan Hines website.

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

 

These would have looked so much prettier had I remembered to sprinkle the fresh chopped cilantro on top!  Oh well, they were still very tasty and I will definitely be making them again...a great option when you crave a white sauce enchilada.  

Filling:

3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1 can white or black beans, rinsed and drained

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce
½ cup sour cream

8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full.

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

Buttermilk Wheat Pancakes

Do you like my new plates?  Our cheap set of dishes that we bought when we were first married had seen better days so I bought this set of Corel dishes when they were on a great sale on Amazon several months ago.  I kept them boxed up until the move.  Now I am thoroughly enjoying them!  They are so light weight and don't scratch or chip.

So these are GREAT pancakes!  I love just about anything that calls for buttermilk so these hit the spot with me.  The wheat isn't overly heavy either.  Just loved these with homemade buttermilk syrup.

2 eggs, beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 Tablespoons oil
1 cup white flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Beat the eggs first and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Do not over mix. Cook on a hot nonstick pan or griddle.

Southwestern Cobb Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

This salad was delicious!  I LOVED the grilled chicken and the dressing was phenomenal.  It is hearty enough to fill even the male appetites in your home.  This recipe comes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe - love her site.  The only negative thing about this salad is the prep time but it is so worth it!  BTW, I pretty much halved everything and it was just the right amount to feed my family of five with no leftovers.  This recipe also calls for quite a bit of cilantro and I went a little lighter than called for on that...I didn't want the cilantro to be overbearing and it was just right for my taste.

Southwestern Cobb Salad

Chicken Marinade:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2-3 limes)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Black Bean Salsa:
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 sweet onion (I used vidalia), diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

Yellow Pepper Salsa:
1 yellow pepper, seeded, and diced
1 tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 can large olives, coarsely chopped (I omitted - not a fan.)
1/2 sweet onion (I used vidalia), diced

Avocado Salsa:
2 ripe avocados, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I omitted.)

4-5 large eggs
6-8 slices thick-cut bacon (I actually left this out and it was still fabulous but would have been great with bacon too.)
1 medium head romaine lettuce, washed, dried and torn into 1-inch pieces

For the chicken marinade, in a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup lime juice, olive oil, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon cumin and red pepper flakes. Place the chicken breasts in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Close the bag and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to overnight.

Heat a grill to medium-high heat (an indoor grill pan or skillet could be used also). Grill the chicken until it is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes per side. Cool the chicken completely then cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Cover and remove from the heat. Let the eggs sit for 13 minutes then rinse them under cold water until they are completely cooled. Peel and coarsely chop the eggs. Set aside.

Cook the bacon over medium heat until it is crisp. Drain on paper towels. When cool, crumble and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the yellow pepper, tomatoe, olives, and 1/2 of the sweet onion. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the black beans, 1/4 cup cilantro and onion. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In another bowl combine the avocado, 1/4 cup cilantro, juice of 2 limes, cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.


On a large platter (or large bowl), arrange the romaine lettuce. Arrange the chicken in a strip down the middle of the romaine. On either side, make piled strips of the eggs, bacon, yellow pepper mixture, black bean mixture and avocado mixture. Drizzle with dressing or serve it on the side. The easiest way to serve this on a platter is with a pair of tongs. If using a large bowl, gently toss to combine all the ingredients before serving.  (I just left everything in it's bowl and we started with the lettuce on a plate and topped it with however much of each topping we wanted.)

Green Goddess Dressing

*This dressing is best made up a few hours or a day beforehand to let the flavors blend.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bunch chives, coarsely chopped (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup)
2 green onions, white and green parts, cut into thick chunks
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Combine all the ingredients together in a blender. Process until smooth. Thin with additional buttermilk (adding it one teaspoon at a time), if desired. Store the dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Jello Cake

 

There is nothing fancy about this cake but it's kind of fun to make for a change every now and then.  Ben prefers this to any frosting cake.  If you add bananas like I did I would wait until right before you serve this.  

1 white cake mix

1 small box (3.4 oz) fruit flavored jello

1 tub whipped topping or homemade version

Fresh fruit (bananas, strawberries, raspberries...to match the flavor of jello.

Make cake mix according to package directions.  Bake in a 9X13 pan.  Allow to cool.  Poke holes in top of cake liberally with a fork.  Make jello according to package directions but do not add the extra cup of cool water. (So only use half the amount of water.)  Once jello has cooled slightly, pour all over top of cake.  Jello will seep through holes.  Refrigerate until ready to serve or serve immediately with whipped topping and fresh fruit cut up on top. 

Poppyseed Bundt Cake

I guess it's a little bit odd to be on a baking kick in the middle of June, but for whatever reason, it seems to be the case with me.  This was a fun dessert to prepare.  I haven't used my bundt cake pan for a LONG time.  I also have NEVER used poppyseeds before.  Now that I have them on hand I think I'll have to try a poppy seed muffin recipe next.  This is another one from The Sisters Cafe....what would I do without The Sisters?!

1 yellow cake mix (the kind with pudding)
1 (3.4 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1/2 cup pineapple or orange juice
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sour cream (I used lite.)
4 eggs

Mix yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding and poppy seeds. Add juice, oil, and sour cream and mix. Add 4 eggs one at a time, mix well. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. 


When cake is about 10 minutes from being done, start the glaze:


Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter (1 cube)
1-2 TB corn syrup (can omit)

Bring to a boil–then keep bubbly until ready to pour over cake. It is really like syrup that soaks in. Give it a few minutes to soak in and then turn it out onto a cake plate. 

Symphony Cookies

 

What can I say?  I love homemade cookies...especially hot right out of the oven.  These cookies are great because they stay nice and puffed up.  I credit the pudding in the mix for that.  These cookies are called "Symphony cookies" because they use a crushed up Symphony chocolate bar in lieu of chocolate or other chips.  I have made these with vanilla and chocolate pudding and both are good but I prefer the vanilla.  (This recipe comes from The Sisters Cafe.)

Symphony Cookies

1 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 small box instant vanilla (or chocolate) pudding - 3.4 oz. size 

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour 

1 tsp. baking soda

*I usually add about 1/2 tsp. salt but the original recipe doesn't call for it.

1 giant (6.8 oz) Symphony bar w/ almonds and toffee bits, chopped

Cream butter, sugar, pudding mix and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and beat until creamy.  Combine flour and baking soda in separate bowl.  Add to butter mixture, stirring until combined.  Stir in chocolate pieces.  Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 9-10 minutes.