The Infamous O Face Pumpkin Bread

O Face Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
2 cups pumpkin

Sift dry ingredients together. Mix pumpkin, water, oil and eggs together. Pour into dry mixture and mix well. Pour into 2 greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hr 15 min, or until toothpick inserted in middle of loaf comes out clean. Cool before removing them from the pans.

Frosted Pumpkin Drop Cookies

Frosted Pumpkin Drops
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1 egg1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped dates (optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cream together butter & sugar. Add pumpkin, egg & vanilla - beat well.
Mix dry ingredients together. Add to creamed mixture.
Stir in dates/nuts.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Cool & spread with frosting.

Frosting
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

Combine brown sugar, milk & butter.
Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool.
Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 (15oz) can pumpkin
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp all-spice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 bag or more chocolate chips (I use mini choc chips)

Mix oil, eggs and pumpkin
Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth
Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes

This makes a huge batch of mini- muffins, about 5 pans worth. Adjust your bake time for regular size muffins.

The reipe can easily be done in half if you don't need so many muffins. :)

Creamy Asparagus Soup

We ate this for dinner tonight. Another recipe I modified, that still fits the Clean Eating criteria.

Very creamy and tasty for a spring - summer dinner.

Serves 6

1.5lb asparagus

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2c. low sodium chicken broth

2 medium white potatoes, chopped

1c. low fat milk (I used fat free)

salt and pepper to taste (keep it light)

GARNISH

*We just used the parmesan cheese, slivered basil, and finely chopped red bell pepper, but here are the other items from the original recipe to add:

-multigrain croutons, homemade (cubed bread sauteed in olive oil)

-grated parmesan cheese

-finely chopped red bell pepper

-cooked crabmeat

-slivered fresh basil

Wash and cut off bottom 2 inches of asparagus. Cut in one inch pieces. Set aside.

Heat 1T oil in large saucepan on med-high. Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent. Add broth and one cup water and bring to a boil.

Add potatoes and asparagus. Mix. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to saucepan off heat and add milk, salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

Peanut Butter Chicken Salad

This is a my modified version of a recipe in Clean Eating. I swapped their almond butter for peanut butter, and omitted a few other ingredients. This is considered a "clean eating" recipe, and we enjoyed it for lunch today:

3 grilled or broiled chicken breasts

2 cups seedless red grapes, halved

3/4c. chopped celery

Mix and set aside.

Dressing:

2T. natural peanut butter

2t. apple cider vinegar

1T. water

1t. maple syrup

Whisk until smooth, and pour over chicken mix and stir until coated.

On a side note: I am trying to cut down meat consumption and made a vegetarian alternative for myself that turned out pretty good:

1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained

chopped celery

halved grapes

dressing:

drizzle apple cider vinegar

drizzle maple syrup

Stir together and enjoy!

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole

8 eggs
1 tsp worcestershire
3 cups hashbrowns, thawed
1 cup ham chunks (or cooked ground sausage, asparagus, mushrooms, etc)
1/2 cup shredded swiss
1/2 cup shredded cheddar (I can't always find shredded swiss, so I've used all sorts of cheddar blends, etc)
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp onion, diced
Salt & Pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together. Pour into greased 9x12 in baking dish.

Mix a couple strips of crumbled cooked bacon and some corn flakes with 1 Tbsp bacon greaste. Sprinkle on top. (I don't always add any of this on top and I think it comes out just as good)

Your can stir it up the night before.

Bake at 325 F for 50 minutes, uncovered. Use a cake tester to test for doneness.

Tamara's Favorite Mac n Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is the perfect comfort food! So warm and gooey, salty with a little bite. This is my favorite and my family's favorite mac and cheese recipe. It is THE BEST! I guess you could say that makes this the perfect perfect comfort food!
I got a couple of recipes for this yummy goodness, and added a little of my own, so I guess you could say this is my recipe. At least that's what my Momma would say!

Tamara's Mac and Cheese
16 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. butter (the real stuff!)
1/4 c. flour
2 c. milk (2% or whole is best)
8 oz. brick of extra sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
Melt butter with salt on medium heat. Add flour and stir until smooth. (be careful not to burn the butter). Turn to low heat and add milk. Stir constantly until boiling. After it starts to boil, stir for about one more minute, so it coats the spoon when you lift it out. Remove from heat, and add cubes of cheese. Stir until melted.
Stir macaroni noodles with the your cheese sauce and place in a 1.5 or 2 qt baking dish. Bake in 375 F for 30-35 minutes, and your done!

I like to serve this with warm yeast rolls and green beans, or a salad. Let me know if you like it!



from Tamara's blog, http://joshandtamara.blogspot.com/ I've (Amy J) made this several times and it's super yummy! I find it takes a 3qt dish if you use a whole box of macaroni, so I use less macaroni and a smaller dish, so the whole thing is even cheesier. :) Thanks Tamara!