Cinnamon Eclairs with Pumpkin Cream

Word to the wise... don't make eclairs for the first time ever on the morning of a baby shower that you're throwing.  It's a little stressful.  With that being said - on a normal, non-stressful day these Cinnamon Eclairs with Pumpkin Cream are relatively easy to make... slightly more challenging than other things I've made in the past but not too bad.  I found the recipe HERE.  These turned out pretty well for my first try ever and many people complimented them and loved that the cream was pumpkin instead of normal.  It was a lot of work but it was worth it to have homemade eclairs at the shower.

Step 1 of 3

The finished product.  

I left off the nuts because I knew not everyone would like them.  They aren't gorgeous... but they're also not hideous either... and that's a big step for me!  If you want to challenge yourself a little bit and end up with a yummy treat... make these!  You'll feel quite accomplished at the end of the process.

Janell's Out-of-this-World, Amazing, Delicious, Wonderful Parmesan Dip

My friend Janell gave me this recipe a few years ago & I have made it around 10 times, with no end in sight.  It is the most delicious, naughty, wonderful dip I've ever tasted.  Every time I make it for a baby or wedding shower EVERYONE asks me for the recipe and wants to know what's in it.  They're always shocked when they hear there are only 4 ingredients!  I literally cannot make this dip unless I'm taking it to share with a large group because if I have it at home - it's me, a bag of Fritos and a whole platter of dip... until the dip is gone.  BAD BAD BAD.

I will forever love Janell because she gave me this recipe.  Not that I wouldn't love her anyway :)

Janell's Out-of-this-World, Amazing, Delicious, Wonderful Parmesan Dip
3-8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup mayo


Beat these two ingredients until smooth


Mix in:
1 medium chopped onion 
6 oz shredded Parmesan cheese


Put in baking dish and bake at about 375 degrees, until brown on top- approximately 15 minutes
Best with Fritos or corn chips.  


Go with the Fritos people... you won't be sorry.




Once you make this, you'll be hooked for life.  

Cheese and Trees Mini Quiches

I threw a baby shower over the weekend and will be posting a few "party foods" this week.  These mini quiches are so cute and easy.  I loved them!  You could add whatever you wanted to them too and they'd still turn out great- bacon, little ham pieces, etc.  I kept it simple and followed the recipe exactly - but I doubled it so I could make 24.

This is a Martha Stewart recipe.

Delicious, easy, finger food.  These get my recommendation for a party/brunch..

Crockpot Italian Chicken

I guess I'm the last person ever to discover this recipe - everyone says they know it and make it all the time.  It is simple and fast!

Crockpot Italian Chicken (as found here)


4 chicken breasts
1.5 packets of dry Zesty Italian Dressing
1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup

Throw it all in the crockpot and cook on low for at least 4 hours.  I put mine in for 8 hours and shredded it. Stir well to mix the soup and the cream cheese together once it's warm enough to mix easily.  The original recipe I found tells you to cook those two ingredients on the stove top to incorporate and then throw in to the crockpot - but I'm lazy and skipped that step and just stirred it all together when I was ready to eat it.  You can serve it any way you'd like - full breast, chopped, shredded, etc.  I cooked bowtie and penne pastas that I had on hand from previous meals and put this on top of it.  Some people like rice with it - but I hate white rice and refuse to make it.  I also threw some cherry tomatoes on top because we have a zillion of them and need to use them up!

My husband steamed yellow squash and zucchini to go with it.  Delicious!

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese

I am obsessed with Einstein's pumpkin shmear (sp??).  But I never make it to Einstein's and I wanted to try a homemade recipe to see how it measured up.  I made Skinny Taste's Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese - but I used fat free cream cheese (the recipe called for 1/3 fat).  I think next time I would use a full fat cream cheese - it would be worth it.  This cream cheese is more creamy and thick rather than light and fluffy like Einstein's.  I think I prefer Einstein's but this is still really tasty and easy to make.  Plus there is more of it so you're saving money.  I'll be eating this for lunch for a week on wheat bagels and I look forward to doing so!

Maybe next week I'll treat myself to an Einstein pumpkin shmeared bagel, though.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Pumpkin recipes galore, I know!  I made these pancakes Sunday morning and they were delightful!  I covered them with syrup and Pumpkin Fluff Dip.  They were easy to make - not too many ingredients - and added a little flavor to the normal pancake.  If you love pumpkin spiced things, these are a real treat for a fall morning.  My husband really liked them, too.

Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Zucchini and Goat Cheese

I have made the original version by Pioneer Woman once before and loved it.  This time I wanted to make it with basil instead of parsley and goat cheese instead of feta.  So here's the recipe the way I made it (with very minimal changes from the original):


12 ounces Farfalle (bowtie) Pasta
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 whole Lemons (more To Taste)
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 whole Zucchini, Cut Into Small Wedges Or Diced
10 ounces Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1/3 cup Minced Fresh Basil
6 ounces Crumbled Goat Cheese


Cook pasta until done. Drain and rinse in cold water until completely cool. Add olive oil and lemon juice, then add salt and pepper to taste (do not undersalt). Toss to combine. Add zucchini, tomatoes, basil, and goat cheese, and toss to combine. Add more of what you think it needs. Squeeze in a little more lemon juice/drizzle more olive oil if it needs more moisture.


Cover in plastic wrap for at least a couple of hours to chill.

I used a fresh zucchini, fresh cherry tomatoes and basil all picked straight from my garden.  WONDERFUL!  I love, love, love this pasta salad.  It's so lemony and cheesy and fresh.  

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

I was having family over for dessert and made this Pumpkin Fluff Dip.  Wowza!  So easy and a total liability to have in the fridge for a pumpkin and whipped cream lover like myself.  I planted myself in front of a movie last night with a box of cinnamon graham crackers and dipped to my heart's content.  Bad.  But this stuff is good - I definitely recommend you try it for a Halloween or fall party.

Pumpkin Spiced Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

I made these Pumpkin Spiced Oatmeal Pecan Cookies over the weekend to kick off the fall baking season.  They were really easy to make and turned out healthy but delicious-tasting.  I've been eating them for breakfast, kind of like oatmeal but in a cookie.  HURRAY for pumpkin!  I am slightly obsessed with pumpkin, as you will come to find out in the following weeks.  The air is getting cooler and it's getting more enjoyable to be in the kitchen.  These make the house smell amazing.  There's not a lot that I love more than a fall day with the cool air coming through the front door, sun shining and the smell of baked goods coming out of the oven.

Thanks to a friend of mine for sending this recipe over!

Zucchini Cheddar Muffins

I made these Zucchini Cheddar Muffins last night.  They are really fast to make and are delicious!  This is due to the fact that I used slightly more cheddar than the recipe called for - so there's probably more cheddar than zucchini in mine.  They are perfect to grab out the door for breakfast or as a side dish to a dinner.  Very versatile and I highly recommend them!  These would be really great for a brunch too.

Pineapple Barbecue Pulled Chicken

How I love my crock pot.  It just makes life so easy.  And makes the house smell so, so good.

I made this Pineapple Barbecue Pulled Chicken the other night.  I can't say it was amazing, really.  What I can say is it was pretty good and very (extremely, utterly, completely) easy.  We put this on rolls for sandwiches and had them with Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake.  I recommend using 1/2 cup pineapple juice from the can - the original recipe's author said she prefers it without - but I prefer it with (I think).  I also omitted onions and used onion flakes instead because we hate onions and flakes provide a little flavor without the taste of an actual fresh onion.

If you're in a hurry, you have some chicken in your freezer and want a recipe for a work night this is a good one to use.

Not my top choice, though.  I think I just like pork better.  Maybe I will try this recipe again with pork and end up loving it.

Cookie Dough Brownies

To make these delightful little treats follow THIS recipe - except I was in a hurry and made the brownie part from a Ghirardelli brownie mix (the best brownie mix ever).  I usually don't like to do this but with the kitchen project still in the works and not a lot of time, a boxed mix was just what I needed.  I made a thick batch and left them a little gooey inside, how my husband and I like.  They were so yummy - and the cookie dough is egg free so there is no taboo eating it.  I found myself wanting to lick off the top cookie dough part and then eat the brownie so I could taste each separately to its fullest.  I got many-a-compliment from co-workers/husband on these - so definitely make a batch for the cookie dough lover in your life.

Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake

We have a plethora of delicious zucchini and huge, juicy garden tomatoes.  It's heavenly.  I made this as a side dish last night & we devoured nearly the whole thing.  I adapted this from Kalyn's Kitchen's recipe.

Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake


1 huge zucchini (or 2 medium) - cut into half-moon slices
1 huge tomato (or 2 medium) - sliced
4 Tablespoons fresh basil - finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Another 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella for top
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray an 8" x 8" baking dish with olive oil.  Wash the zucchini and cut in slices or half-moon slices.  Wash basil and finely chop.

Combine the sliced zucchini, chopped basil, dried thyme, garlic salt, and both kinds of cheese and stir together until the veggies are coated with cheese and the herbs are well-distributed.  Season with black pepper.  Put the mixture in the baking dish and cover with sliced tomatoes.  Bake uncovered for about 25-30 minutes.

After 30 minutes or so, take the casserole dish out of the oven and sprinkle over the remaining 1/2 cup of grated cheese.  Put the dish back in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted and nicely browned and zucchini is fully cooked (I baked for about ten minutes and then put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes).  Serve hot.

This was ooey, gooey with cheese and also tasted sorta healthy with the veggies.  I am so happy we have zucchini still growing so I can make this again soon.

Kitchen Project

Thank you to my cute sister-in-law for making my new header!

I didn't get the chance to bake or cook this weekend because I was undertaking a project in my kitchen... painting all the cabinets.  It's a lot harder work than I imagined.  It will be done tonight though and I have two things lined up for dinner - so stay tuned for some new recipes this week!

Goat Cheese, Chicken & Tomato/Basil Quesadillas

Last night I wanted to make something fast, easy, and with ingredients I already had at home.  The result was:

Goat Cheese, Chicken, Tomato and Basil Quesadillas


Burrito size tortillas
Goat cheese
Canned chicken
Thinly sliced tomatoes
Chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Butter

Mix one can of chicken with the garlic salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet to medium high.  Butter one side of a tortilla.  Smear as much goat cheese as you'd like on the other side of the tortilla.  Add chicken on top of goat cheese.  Add as many thinly sliced tomatoes and fresh basil as you'd like.  Put in skillet butter side down and cook until the butter turns the tortilla nice and golden brown.  Fold in half and enjoy!  You could obviously butter two tortillas and put one on top and flip the quesadilla so both sides get brown and delicious - but the tortillas I used were 200 calories per one and I didn't really want to eat 400 calories worth of tortillas last night because lately my booty is jiggling a lot and I'm saving my calorie frenzy for fried food at the State Fair (which is really going to help with the booty issue).

My husband said this was "amazing".  I am beginning to think he just says that every time he eats though.  These were definitely nice to just throw together and they incorporate some of my favorite things in life... tortillas, basil, goat cheese, tomatoes.  Delicioso!

Eggs-in-a-Hole

I think I'm a late jumper on to this bandwagon.  I wanted to use up some french bread I bought before we went out of town and so I looked in my handy-dandy PW cookbook and found Eggs-in-a-Hole.

This was perhaps the easiest breakfast I've ever made and it was so incredibly yummy.  My husband says he had it growing up and I think people make this all the time.  But guess what? I'd never had it or heard of it until now.  Bread soaked in butter can't be wrong - but the egg/salt/pepper makes it doubly good.  I don't think it would be quite as good with thin, regular bread - I think I will make it with thick, artisan-type breads every time I make it.  

Delicious!  Here is the "recipe" - four ingredients!

Pineapple Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

I have a ton of zucchini in my garden and so when a friend sent me this recipe I knew I had to try it.  And WHOA - I am glad I did.  I love these!  My husband is dying he loves them so much.  They are sort of healthy, too, except I used full fat cream cheese instead of 1/3 fat.  Totally worth it.  These are a great way to bid farewell to summer and say hello to fall - a wonderful mix of the two seasons.  

If you like zucchini - definitely, definitely these are a must.

Thank you Skinny Taste!

Seriously... yum.