Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes: 1 box chocolate cake mix
(1) 15 oz. can packed pumpkin

Mix ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Batter will be thicker than regular cake mix.
Spoon into cupcake papers and bake as directed.

Frosting: 6 oz cream cheese
6 oz butter
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk

Combine ingredients, mix until smooth

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

INGREDIENTS

o 2 boxes (3 oz each) cook & serve vanilla pudding and pie filling
o 1 qt (4 cups) whole milk
o 4 chocolate croissants (about 4 oz each)

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Have a 3-qt shallow baking dish ready.

2. Whisk pudding mix and milk in a large bowl for 2 minutes, or until thoroughly blended.

3. Cut croissants in 1-in. pieces. Arrange in prepared baking dish. Pour pudding mixture over croissants, pushing pieces into the liquid.

4. Bake 50 minutes, or until bubbly around edges and a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving. If desired, dust top with confectioners’ sugar.

(See Recipe Below)

German Potato Salad

Ingredients:
8-10 Red new potatoes
Bunch of green onion
Hellman’s mayonnaise
4 Eggs
Celery Seed
Salt
Boil new potatoes until done and cool until they can be handled. Boil eggs and cool. Cut potatoes with skins on into bite sized pieces. Peel eggs and separate yolks from whites. Cut whites into small pieces. Throw away eggs or use for other purpose. Slice green onion to ends of white tips and cut into small pieces. Mix potatoes, egg whites and onion together. Mix in Hellman’s mayonnaise to taste. Do not use Miracle Whip; it will not taste the same. Salt to personal taste. Sprinkle celery seed generously over top and stir all ingredients together. Serve warm, room temperature or cold, depending on personal taste.

Butternut Squash, Sage and Chile Risotto

6 cups chicken or veg broth
1 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion chopped
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced (2.5 cups)
2 cups arborio rice
1 T fresh chopped sage
3/4 cup grated Parmesan

Pour broth into large saucepan. Bring to a simmer (keep at gentle simmer).
Melt 4 T of butter in heave saucepan. Add onion and cook 10 minutes.
Stir occassionally, until tender. Stir in crushed red pepper and cook one minute.
Add squash and cook 5 minutes, stirring often until it softens slightly. Stir in rice.
Cook for a few minutes to toast the grains.
Begin adding the broth, one ladleful at a time, stirring gently until each one has been absorbed. Continue stirring until rice is tender and creamy but the grains are still firm.
This should take 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in sage, remaining butter and parm.

CHICKEN POT PIE
Pillsbury Pie Crusts

1 can of mixed vegetables, no salt added, drained
2 cans of cream of potato soup
1/2 cup of heavy cream or milk
1 lb of cooked chicken breast cubed
thyme
black pepper (do spices really count? come on....)

Place bottom pie crust in pie pan
Bake at 425 F for 3 minutes

Mix veggies, soup, cream/milk, chicken breasts, seasonings
Pour mixture into pie crust
Place other pie crust on top to cover and pinch edges together
Ooops. another couple ingredients ( I just can't follow directions)
Beat one egg yolk and 2 tbsp of mild and baste top pie crust
Bake at 425 F for 25 minutes

Let sit for 20 minutes and serve

Cranberry-BBQ Chicken Breasts Mix equal parts canned whole-berry cranberry sauce and barbecue sauce. Brush on boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Broil on nonstick foil- lined baking pan, turning once, until cooked through (about 7 minutes). Serve with frozen mashed sweet potatoes.

Easy Authentic Guacamole
• 3 large ripe avocados (should give a little when squeezed)
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 plum tomatoes (~1 cup diced)
• 1 medium onion (~1 cup diced)
• 1 jalapeno

Baked Tortilla Chips
110 calories & 1.5 grams of fat per 16 pieces
Lightly spray corn tortillas on both sides with Olive Oil Pam.
Sprinkle with seasoning of choice.
(Today salt + Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle)
Bake at 425 for 8-10, watching carefully, until crispy and brown.
(Also good as fake sopapillas with cinnamon and sugar.)

Quesadillas de Camarones (Shrimp Quesadillas)
Flour tortillas
8-12 Large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces Mexican red sauce
1 large onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 cups cheese, grated (Monterey Jack is best)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
Pour red sauce over shrimp. Set aside. Chop vegetables into large pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside. Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the sauce. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Add in a little water if the sauce gets dry. Remove from skillet and chop into bite-size pieces.
In a separate skillet, heat butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla isn’t overly dry. Remove from skillet and slice into wedges. Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!

MEXICAN LAYER DIP
Layer in oven proof casserole in the following order:
1 can black beans, drained
8 oz. cream cheese, cut in thin slices
1 small red onion, finely chopped
10.5 oz raspberry salsa
8 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

Bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes