Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. 

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.  Serve with fresh whipped cream. 

From whence it came:  The queen of butter herself, Paula Deen!  How can you not love Paula!  She is so much fun, not to mention the fact that her recipes are amazing!  And this one is no exception!

Why it's blogable:  Any recipe with the words "gooey" and "butter" in the title has a good chance of being blogable.  I'm personally not a fan of pumpkin pie, but I do love this recipe.  It's perfect for parties or for a holiday meal.

Click here to get the printable:

Paula Deen's Gooey Pumpkin Cakes 

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!

Parslied Chicken Chowder

2 T Butter OR Regular Margarine

1/4 c Onion -- Chopped

1 1/2 c Chicken -- Cooked, Cubed 1-Inch

1 1/2 c Potatoes -- Pared, Cubed 1/2-In

1 1/2 c Carrots -- Cubed, 1/4-inch

2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

1 t Salt

1/4 t Pepper

2 c -- Water

2 T Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 1/2 c Milk

Chopped Fresh Parsley 

Melt the butter over low heat in a 3-quart saucepan and cook the onion in the butter until tender but not browned. Add the cubed chicken, potatoes, carrots, bouillon cubes, salt, pepper and water. Cover and cook, over high heat, until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, combine the flour and 1/2 cup of the milk in a jar. Cover and shake until blended and smooth. Stir the flour mixture and remaining 2 cups of milk into the vegetable-chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and serve with the parsley sprinkled over.  

From whence it came:

My Aunt Carol, who is a fabulous cook, gave me this cookbook many years ago, for no reason except that she is so very nice.  This soup recipe was one of the first I tried and I've made it a bunch of times since.  It's a really interesting cookbook.  The Amish are not into counting calories or fat grams.  By reading my blog and seeing how many recipes I have posted in the "Sweet Stuff" category, you might just think I'm Amish!  I'm not, but I sure do like the way they cook.  Thanks for the great cookbook, Aunt Carol.  You really are one of the best cooks I know!

Why it's blogable:  I love soup!  It's one of my favorite dinners.  The Spy Who Loves Me isn't the biggest fan of soup, but he does love this one.  It is one of our family favorites!  It's creamy and delicious, and surprisingly healthy!  It's one of the healthier recipes in the Amish cookbook.  And one of the best!

Wanna know something weird?  I never add the parsley.  No reason, I just don't.  It's great without it so I just don't add it.  You can if you want to, but you might get a piece of parsley stuck between your teeth and embarrass yourself.  If you're into living dangerously, add the parsley!  Go ahead, live on the edge!

You should serve it with this:
Amish Bread
This recipe is not from the Amish cookbook, but it is one of the best breads you will ever make, and one of the easiest!  It's perfect with this soup!

Click here to get the printable:
Parslied Chicken Chowder

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!

Apple Crisp

6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar

Mix the cinnamon and sugar, then pour over the apple slices and stir well. They will look like this:

Pour apples into greased 9x13" pan.

Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. softened butter
1 c. flour

Mix all ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork until mixtures is crumbly and butter is pretty well combined.  Sprinkle over apples.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes.

Serve warm with whipping cream or vanilla ice cream.

(If you're in the mood to be naughty, double the crumb topping!  It will make the crust really thick, and let's be honest, that's the best part!  I'm in the mood to be naughty almost every time I make this recipe.  Actually, I'm in the mood to be naughty pretty much all the time!  Oh, and if you're in a nutty mood, add chopped walnuts or pecans to the topping!)

From whence it came:  Another shout out to my wonderful cook of a sister-in-law, Geralene!  She gave me this recipe a long time ago, and it's a doozy!

Why it's blogable:  Because apples are healthy!  They have a lot of fiber and tons of vitamins.  You've heard it, and I know it's true, an apple a day keeps the doctor away!  So what if they weren't referring to apples covered in butter and sugar.  They're still apples!  You can put this recipe right in the fruit and vegetable food group.  I said so!

Here's the printable:
Apple Crisp

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!

Pumpkin Bread

Mix:3 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil

Add:
1 large can pumpkin

Mix in:
1/2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
3 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. cloves
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon

Spray your pans with Pam and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325 degrees.  Make sure the top is no longer gooey when you take it out of the oven.  Makes two large loaves, three medium loaves, or seven small loaves.

From whence it came:  A lovely lady named Cheryl O'Bryant gave me this recipe many years ago.  It is a great pumpkin bread recipe and Cheryl is a great gal for sharing it.  I haven't seen Cheryl for many years, but I still think of her and her sweet family.  They hold a special place in my heart!

Why it's blogable:  This bread is so easy to make.  Your house will smell fantastic while it's baking.  It's always a big hit when I make it and it makes a great gift, too.  I often make it in seven mini disposable aluminum pans and give it to neighbors and friends.  It's a perfect fall recipe!

Amazing additions:  You can add walnuts or mini chocolate chips to the batter before cooking.  It's good plain, and it's great with these additions.

Click here to get the printable:
Pumpkin Bread

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!

10-10-10 was NOT my friend!

Have you ever had "one of those days" where things just didn't go right?  Of course you have!  We all have!  I had one yesterday!

The news was reporting that 10-10-10 was supposed to be a "lucky day" and that tons and tons of brides and grooms were tying the knot on that famous day of 10's.  I'm not buying it!  And good luck to everyone who said "I do" yesterday because I found it to be a day of sheer frustration.

I'll share just two of the problems I encountered yesterday, and you'll have to trust me when I tell you these were not the only two.  They are the two that involve food, and that's why I'm sharing them on my little cooking blog.

I decided to try a new meatloaf recipe for dinner.  I've been planning on making this recipe for a while, ever since The Pioneer Woman posted it on her blog.  She titled it "My Favorite Meatloaf" which immediately caught my attention.  And, it was wrapped in bacon, which I figured would bring a smile to the face of The Spy Who Loves me and my teen son, since they truly do love all things bacon.  Let me tell you here and now, in my opinion, meatloaf and bacon have no business being in the same pan.  They just don't go together.  They are a weird combo! 

Here's the family meatloaf score board:

The Spy:  "It tastes like ribs."  (Now if I wanted to serve something for dinner that tasted like ribs, I'd serve ribs.)

The teen son:  Took one bite and said he was stuffed.  I think that's all we need to say about that.

The teen daughter:  Didn't hate it.  Ate a piece and didn't complain too much.

My momma:  Loved it!  Couldn't stop talking about how good it was and what great flavor it had.  There are a few possibilities here:  1) She didn't want to hurt my feelings, which is quite possible because my momma is a very nice person!  2) She had her taste buds removed on her way to our house.  3) She's losing it.  Either way, she boxed up the leftovers to take to a sweet couple who I love who are in need of a meal due to the hubby having surgery.  He survived the surgery, I'm not so sure he'll survive the meatloaf.  I begged my mom not to take it to them.  I love these people!  But she insisted it was delicious and would make the perfect meal for them.  At that point I threatened her that I would shave her eyebrows while she slept if she told them I had anything to do with the rib flavored meatloaf.  I'm pretty sure that when she drops it off to the she'll sing like a canary!

As if the meatloaf wasn't enough to crush my spirits, I also ruined two perfectly good Symphony candy bars while experimenting with what was already a perfect brownie recipe.  Why would anyone be crazy enough to experiment with a perfect brownie recipe?  I have no idea!  It was 10-10-10 and I lost my mind for a little while.  I decided I would "improve" on the fabulous Symphony Brownie recipe by using my Sand Art Brownie recipe instead of a box brownie mix.  This was NOT my best idea ever!  It was possibly my worst idea ever!  Or at least in the top ten.  The picture at the top of this post is proof of the lameness of my idea.  The brownies were pure goo!  And they were almost as ugly as the meatloaf.

So, that was my experience on the so-called lucky day of 10-10-10.  I sure hope your day was luckier than mine!

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!

Brownies, Butterscotch and a Bonk on the Head

My sonny-in-law deserves a treat for more than one reason.  This weekend I'm making these two treats to mail to him:

Symphony Brownies
and
Butterscotch Cookies

I told him he deserved a treat and after begging and nagging him to tell me what he wanted, he said Symphony Brownies or Butterscotch Cookies.  Because I'm trying my very best to be the world's most wonderful mother-in-law, I'm making him both!

If you're wondering why this poor boy deserves a treat, I'll tell you why.  For months, and I do mean months, he has been studying to take the LSAT.  (In case you don't know, that's the test you take to get into law school.  It's a big, ugly beast of a test, not for the faint of heart!)  This sonny-in-law of mine has studied until his eyes are buggy and then studied some more to prepare for this beastly test, which happens to take place tomorrow.

Then, in a series of unfortunate events, my sonny-in-law got a big bonk on the head on Wednesday night, which left him with a concussion.  Now, I've never taken the LSAT, but I'm guessing that having a concussion probably isn't very helpful!  Immediately following the bonk, his memory was greatly impaired.  Have you seen Fifty First Dates?  My sonny-in-law was doing a perfect impression of Ten Second Tom!  The drive to the hospital went something like this:

Sonny-in-law to married daughter:  "What happened to me?"

Married daughter to sonny-in-law:  "You hit your head during your soccer game."

SIL to MD:  "Oh, did we win?"

MD:  "Yes."

SIL:  "What happened to the other guy?"

MD:  "Nothing, he's fine."

Ten seconds later:

Sonny-in-law to married daughter:  "What happened to me?'

Married daughter to sonny-in-law:  "You hit your head during your soccer game."

SIL to MD:  "Oh, did we win?"

MD:  "Yes."

SIL:  "What happened to the other guy?"

MD:  "Nothing, he's fine."

Ten seconds later:

Sonny-in-law to married daughter:  "What happened to me?"

Married daughter to sonny-in-law:  "You hit your head during your soccer game."

SIL to MD:  "Oh, did we win?"

MD:  "Yes."

SIL:  "What happened to the other guy?"

MD:  "Nothing, he's fine."

I think you get the picture.  This went on for quite a while.  Being the kind, compassionate person that I am, all I wanted to know was if he still remembered his favorite mother-in-law.  He did.  What else really matters?

Because my sonny-in-law is a true stud, he has decided to go ahead and take the test tomorrow, concussion and all.  Now I don't know about you, but I think that kind of bravery is deserving of two treats!  And that's just what he's going to get!

Here are the two silly goof-balls in the emergency room!  I love that they are smiling in the midst of their troubles!

Good luck tomorrow, sonny-in-law!  We're all cheering for ya!

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken with Potatoes

6 chicken breasts

6 medium potatoes, thinly sliced

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 can low fat cream of chicken soup

1 c. skim milk

1 T. garlic salt

1 t. pepper

Mix soups and milk, add potatoes.  Place ¼ mixture in bottom of crockpot, put in chicken, sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.  Pour remaining sauce and potatoes over chicken.  Cook on low 6-7 hours or high 3-4 hours.  (I took the lid off for the last 45 minutes because it was pretty soupy.  It thickened it up a bit.) 

From whence it came:  Sorry guys, I don't remember.  This is a Weight Watchers recipe but I don't remember how it fell into my hot little hands.  I may have scribbled it down at a WW meeting back in the day.  Back in the day when I was riding high on the WW wagon!  I really need to drag my chubby self back onto that wagon!  And this recipe is the perfect way to do it!

Why it's blogable:  You won't even know this recipe is healthy when you make it.  You'll swear it's full of unhealthy stuff, like butter and cheese.  But it's not.  It's full of healthy stuff, and it's really tasty!  This recipe makes 6 servings and each serving is only six points.  At least that's what it says on my scribbled recipe.  When I made this for my family they all loved it and no one even knew it was good for them!  My silly family often turns up their nose if they think something is good for them.  It's a full time job trying to trick these goofballs!  Try this if you're in the mood to be tricky!  

Here's the printable for ya:

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken with Potatoes

Hope you enjoy stirring it up!