Warm & Comforting Chicken Pot Pie

   We all know that the temperature outside is getting colder and when this starts to happen I like to enjoy a warm and delicious plate of some comfort food. Nothing says comfort food to me more  than Chicken Pot Pie....YUM!! I have found the most amazing chicken pot pie recipe....http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com/2011/08/chicken-pot-pie-with-roasted-vegetables.html. You roast the chicken and vegetables first, make a cream sauce, and top it with puff pastry. If you have not tried puff pastry yet, you are missing out....SO good!! Make sure you buy chicken with the skin and bone on, it keeps the chicken moist. Instead of frozen peas, I used frozen cut green beans. Any frozen vegetable that is smaller in size would work. I made this in on big baking dish instead of individual cups....no need for that extra work!

   I love this recipe and so does the hubby....he always eats thirds!! Please make this recipe....it wont disappoint :) Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

Fall Baking

   I spent the last few days doing some "fall baking." Fall baking to me is recipes that include ingredients like pumpkin, cinnamon, brown butter, etc. So that is exactly what I did! If you need to make anything that would be fall related, any of these recipes would work...

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies - http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-oatmeal-cookies/. Instead of using white chocolate and dried cherries, I just used semi sweet chocolate chips. Pumpkin and chocolate work really well together! These cookies turned out really soft and moist.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - http://tiptopshape2.blogspot.com/2012/04/brown-butter-oatmeal-chocolate-chunk.html. Browning the butter ahead of time really gives these cookies a nutty flavor. I think these cookies sound fancy, but they are so easy to make!

Pumpkin Bread - http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/10/13/pumpkin-bread/. There are a ton of pumpkin bread recipes out there and this one was delicious. I also made cream cheese frosting, but it isn't a must! This is how I make cream cheese frosting...

• Take a brick of softened cream cheese and a half of stick of softened butter, blend well with an electric mixer.
• Then add and mix 1 cup of powdered sugar.
• You can also add maple syrup or maple extract for that "fall" taste.
• Double the recipe if you need to!

Enjoy!

Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Handy Kitchen Tips

I have been slacking a little bit on cooking this week, so I thought I would at least share with all of you some cooking tips that I have found to be very helpful.

One of my favorite ways to prepare vegetables is by roasting them. They are so delicious! I really like roasting carrots and red potatoes. I usually drizzle olive oil and sea salt over the vegetables before roasting and place them on a baking sheet. Here is a really good vegetable roasting guide... http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipes/cooking-tips/oven-roasted-vegetables.

Another way that I prefer to cook vegetables is by steaming them. It is also a good way to keep all of the nutrients in the vegetables. Green beans are the best when steamed! I have this vegetable steamer, http://www.crateandbarrel.com/essentials-stainless-steel-vegetable-steamer/s560785. It works great! After steaming the vegetables, drizzle them with olive oil and sea salt. Here is the vegetable steamer guide that I like to use...http://www.kidspot.com.au/meal-planning/Tools-Veggie-cooking-guide+6774+753+article.htm.

One more guide that I like to use is this one, which helps you with knowing what foods you can freeze, http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/2011/02/10/freezable-foods/. Freezing cheese has saved me so much money!!

I hope these resources come in handy, I know they have for me!

The Best Pumpkin Cupcakes

   Thanks to Pinterest, I have been introduced to the wonderful cooking website, Smitten Kitchen. So far, I have loved every recipe that I have made from that site. My latest Smitten Kitchen recipe was for Pumpkin Cupcakes....the best pumpkin cupcakes ever! They were so delicious and so moist...just perfect! AND they were topped with maple cream cheese frosting. Doesn't get much better than that .Here is the recipe ...http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/pumpkin-cupcakes/. I know you will love these too!

Autumn Chopped Salad

  When I am eating a salad, I don't normally say things like "That is so good, I want more!" But I actually found a salad recipe where that saying came out of my mouth (and several others.) Not only was the salad overall very tasty, I also got to use the apples that I bought at the farmer's market and someone asked me for the recipe because she enjoyed it so much too!
   Here is the recipe...http://iowagirleats.com/2012/09/24/autumn-chopped-salad/. I made this for a group of people, so I doubled the recipe. I also skipped on the peanuts, but think that maybe walnuts would have been a better option if I were to use nuts. The dried cranberries I used came straight from my freezer. I had them leftover from a cookie recipe, so if you have any left over from this salad, stick them in your freezer to use at a later time. Also, who knew you could make crispy bacon in the microwave? I didn't, but I am glad I know now! Make sure you do rotate the bacon and flip it over, just like the recipe suggests.
   Enjoy! A fall recipe must :)

Spaghetti with Mushrooms, Garlic, and Oil

  I don't think recipes get any easier, but still super tasty, than the one I am going to share with you today. Here it is.....http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/spaghettini-with-mushrooms-garlic-and-oil. This is the type of recipe I like to make when I know Justin wont be around....I finally get to make something with mushrooms!
   I halved the recipe so I could have it again for lunch the next day, but I could have eaten all of it for dinner. The mushrooms were salty (yum!) and the red pepper flakes gave it just a little bit of a kick. This recipe is perfect for meatless Monday or the night you don't have much time. Enjoy!!

   

Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes

   Happy October! As we all know, fall is in the air, which in my mind means pumpkins! To start the new season off right I made Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes. This is the type of recipe that makes your kitchen smell like cinnamon, who doesn't love that?

   You make these in a mini muffin tin, but you could always make them bigger and use a regular muffin tin. Don't skimp on the butter and sugar on the outside of the muffins, it's one of the best parts. Here is the recipe I followed......http://www.feastie.com/blog/donut-holes-part-deux-pumpkin. There was also a recipe for Baked Apple Cider Doughnut Holes, which sounds delicious too. Here it is...http://www.feastie.com/blog/baked-apple-cider-donut-holes.

   Enjoy! They only lasted a day and a half in my household :) 

Baked Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Holes