Pumpkin spice bars

Oh my god, so yummy.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen - FoodNetwork






Ingredients
Bars:

* 4 eggs
* 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 15-ounce can pumpkin
* 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

* 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Chicken Artichoke and Spinach Casserole.

Recipe courtesy of Reciple Zaar.com


SERVES 6 Preheat oven to 350*
Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 shallots, minced
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 cup heavy cream

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

* 1 (5 ounce) package parmesan cheese, grated (I used shredded)
* 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used pre-packaged Purdue grilled chicken strips)

* 1 (14 ounce) can quartered artichokes, drained and chopped

* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 cups French bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 3 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F Lightly grease a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
3. Add garlic and shallots, cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in wine and cook 3 minutes.
5. Stir in cream and simmer 5 minutes.
6. Add cream cheese and Parmesan cheese, stir until combined.
7. Stir in chicken, artichokes, spinach, salt and pepper.
8. Remove from heat and spoon into prepared casserole dish.
9. In a small bowl, combine the French bread cubes with the melted butter and toss until coated.
10. Sprinkle evenly over casserole.
11. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Smush Crackers

I made a variation on some crackers I made for Cameron a while back. I substituted 1 cup of oatmeal baby cereal for the called for 1 cup of all purpose flour. I also thinned out the dough. I did this because the last crackers, while good, didn't have the texture I wanted. They were the kind of teething biscuit that a baby can gnaw on forever and not get a bite off. That's great when you're afraid they'll choke but now I want crackers he can actually eat. These turned out puffy and crispy and good. I even had a few.

Set oven to 425

1 Cup Rice Cereal (the baby kind)
1 Cup Oatmeal Cereal (the baby kind)
3 Tablespoons of oil
Ice Water.

I put the cereal and oil in a sandwich bag and mixed up. Then I added water a little at a time till I got the consistency I wanted. The dough could hold shapes but didn't need to be rolled out. Then I cut the corner off the baggie and squeezed out dollops of dough on to my baking stone. Then I just smushed each dollop till it was pretty thin and baked for 10-12 minutes until golden.

Chex Mix

Katie`s Signature Recipe: Spiced Nuts `n Chex Mix

Start to Finish: 15 Minutes

1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups Corn Chex cereal
2 cups Rice Chex cereal
2 cups Wheat Chex cereal
1 can (11.5 ounces) mixed nuts

1. In small bowl, mix sugar, chili powder and red pepper; set aside.
2. In large microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40
seconds or until melted. Stir in cereals and nuts until evenly coated. Stir in
sugar mixture until evenly coated.
3. Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes, until
mixture just begins to turn brown. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in
airtight container.

** I substituted a tasty bbq seasoning mix for the chili powder because I am not a chili powder fan. I also subbed part plain peanuts part honey roasted for the mixed nuts and it was really good.**

Something to note: I started to microwave it at the first 2 minute increment and by the time that was done it was burned in the middle. I scooped out the five or six pieces of charcoal and nuked it another 30 seconds before I decided that was good enough. It's plenty tasty w/out microwaving it for 6 minutes. My microwave is insane.