Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

This morning as usual my 4 year old was yelling "mooommmmyyyyy I'm hunnnggrryyy" even after eating a granola bar and an apple. So I had to get a little creative, and this is what popped into my head:

I did the smallest batch of pancakes on the box [1 cup of mix to 2/3 cup water]

A couple spoonfuls of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin)

About 1 tsp vanilla

same with the pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have that, use cinnamon-nutmeg-all spice)

They weren't overly sweet, and you could clearly taste the pumpkin, so you could certainly add some brown sugar.

I just put some syrup and cinnamon on top and they were yummy! Somehow adding the extra protein/nutrients from the pumpkin justified me eating a sugary carby breakfast haha!

Doggy Treats!

So as we were making breakfast this morning [bacon and french toast] I decided I was going to take the  bits and some of the bacon fat to make dog treats! We are slightly obsessed with our 6 year old Siberian Husky Roxy. If you have seen my Facebook, you know this. And treats can be very expensive and not very good for them. So from now on I will be making her treats!

Ingredients I used:

-2 scoops of Peanut butter

-About a cup and a half to two cups of WHOLE WHEAT flour

-A drizzle of honey 

-1 egg to bind it together

-Bacon bits and fat (I also threw in some chopped bacon)

-Cookie cutters [optional of course]

Mix it all together and bake at 350 Degrees for about 10 minutes.

I've made treats before with elk meat/peanut butter and my friends dogs loved them as well. I will be making many variations, hopefully using left overs from dinners that I make so that it is even more cost efficient!

This is Miss Roxy :)

Kya and Roxy!

 Ingredients [We ate the bacon though haha]

 Sniffing.....

Oh boy did she love them!

Freeeeesh Apple Pie!

This previous Saturday was "Apple and Wine day". We spend the day (in the fall) wine tasting and getting fresh produce (mostly apples). And it is a BLAST! 

I got some Honey crisp apples and oh-my-goodness they are the BEST apples I've ever had. I have never made a pie, so I decided what better time to try it out?!

And considering I don't bake....I confided in a recipe I found on....drum roll....PINTEREST [of course]. I searched through many versions until I found one that was not loaded with cream or caramel or too much sugar [to save calories]. Although I did add a little twist.

So here it is:

http://www.cleverlysimple.com/what-did-you-make-wednesday-apple-pie/#_a5y_p=1004751

Ingredients

One Pie Crust 

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt
6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
2 TB butter or margarine

Instructions are on the link above.

My addition: I chose to brush on some egg wash and sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar on top before baking. Also, she did not put the dough over the whole top like I did.

These are MY photos below:

Unfortunately the top was a little brown....especially where the cinnamon was....lesson learned! None the less it was SO good!

MmmMmmMmmmmmm :)

Jambalaya in the slow cooker

Oh boy was this yummy.....

I love love southern/Creole/Cajun food. Well, let's be honest I love MOST food. But anyways I thought I would follow a recipe to make this annnnd of course I went off on my own and ended up with things from random Pinterest recipes and some of my own additions.

The amounts do not make much sense....because I am not a chef or a cook book author and I just put whatever I feel like putting in, but it all worked out:


-1 half onion chopped
-1 half green bell pepper
-3 stalks chopped celery
-3 chicken tenderloins
-Handful of shrimp
-1 turkey polska sausage (kielbasa)
-1 cup of chicken broth
-2 cans of diced tomatoes (I added a couple fresh ones that I had as well)
-3 garlic cloves minced
-2 cups of cooked rice (I made it in the rice cooker)
-1 bay leaf
-2 tsp Cajun/creole seasoning
-2 tsp Parsley
-2 tsp Oregano
-About half to 1 tsp Thyme
-About 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
-1/2 tsp Onion powder
-1/2 tsp Garlic powder
-About 1/4 tsp Ground Mustard 
-Salt and pepper to taste
-About 1 to 2 tbsp butter 

I chopped up the vegetables and put them in the crock pot with the chicken broth, tomatoes, seasonings, herbs and the raw chicken that I cut up. Then I let it cook for 30 mins or so before adding the turkey sausage. Next after a couple hours I added the raw shrimp and then the rice from the rice cooker. I let it cook awhile longer and it was good to go!

-A dollop or sour cream in each individual serving takes some of the heat down and well, makes it even more creamy and amazing....


It was a bit spicy for my little fam so I halved the amount of cayenne (above) and maybe a little less Creole seasoning could be used.

But man I LOVED it. So so good and full of flavor.
My daughter was singing my praises [although she had to stop eating after awhile because of the spicy-ness].

I will SURELY make this again soon!

"Cheesy Vegetable Chowder"

I got this recipe off of Pinterest and it was super yummy! I love love broccoli cheese soup and this version has more veggies and I chose to make it a little lighter (Explained below under the photos I posted). So, enjoy!

Here is the link to the blog and the recipe:

http://luluthebaker.blogspot.com/2011/09/cheesy-vegetable-chowder.html

And here are her ingredients and instructions:

"2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 celery stick, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery; I don't, so I don't add much)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor)

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.  Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.  Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve."

And here are MY personal photos:

The only things I did differently was use my own homemade chicken stock (it had some others flavors in it such as white wine and parsley).

I also used SHARP chedder because I love it.

And finally, to make it a little "lighter" I used 1% milk.

It was really good. And I got the seal of approval from Eric and Kya!

Zucchini Chips

I am in love with zucchini. And of course it is even better fried, battered or otherwise. So I decided to make some with the huge one I picked from grandma's garden.

The photos are pretty self explanatory, but I took these ingredients:

-Plain bread crumbs
-Italian seasonings (a grinder I have, or just use the herbs you like)
-Shredded Asiago cheese
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Olive oil
-Zucchini

I coated the zucchini in olive oil and then dredged them in the bread crumb/herb/cheese mixture, put them on a foil-lined baking sheet and cooked them at 450 degrees for 10 minutes on each side. I like to flip them so they are nice and crispy on each side.

This time around I used my slicer and they were a bit too thin so some ended up a little TOO crispy for my liking. But they were still yummy!!

Boeuf Bourguignon

 And you have to say BOEUF (Sounds like "Boof") just like Julia Child!

If you have ever seen the movie "Julie and Julia" you know how absolutely adorable Julia Child is and what a cool lady she was. That is hands down one of my favorite movies! My mom also loves the movie and thought it would be fun to buy the cookbook and make some of the recipes together. Well of course as life happens, we didn't get around to cooking even one thing until last weekened when my mom decided we should make this (because it is heavenly) And serve it in place of appetizers during a BSU game.

I don't mind telling you it is time and labor intensive, but oh so worth it. I took some photos throughout but of course I missed many steps because I was busy and focused. I also did not get the final result because I was scarfing it down....

But I suggest watching the movie (a wonderful feel-good movie) and also buying the book or finding another version of the recipe online if you aren't interested in the book.

Make this for your man, dad, brother, guy friend, co-worker, men LOVE this dish too!

The onions and mushrooms are slowly cooked in butter and it is beyond amazing. Seasonings and beef broth are added to the onions while they cook and they are all set aside to be added to the stew once it comes out of the oven. 

Anywho it was delicious, and fun to make one of her recipes with my mom!

UPDATE: I was just browsing Pinterest and found someone who wrote out the ingredients! So here they are (she says she altered things a little, but I'm not sure where):

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds lean stewing beef (cut into approximately 2″ chunks)
• 1 carrot, sliced (or 10-15 baby carrots, coarse chopped)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups full-bodied red wine
• 2 – 3 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 crumbled bay leaf (optional)

For the brown-braised onions 

• 1/2 bag frozen white pearl onions, defrosted and patted dry
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup beef stock or beef broth
• Salt and pepper

For the sautéed mushrooms 

• 1 pound mushrooms, quartered
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper

Here is the link to her website and the full directions with photos!

http://thegourmandmom.com/2012/08/14/julia-childs-beef-bourguignon/

Beef Bourguignon (Website-The Gourmand Mom)