Spaghetti Squash Dip

I found this recipe here. I was intrigued and tried it and I loved it! It is a little like Spinach Artichoke Dip. I used Pepper Jack for some of the cheese and I liked the flavor it added.

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
2. Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Place in preheated oven, and bake until soft when a fork is inserted., 30 to 40 minutes.
3. Scoop out the cooked squash, and place in a mixing bowl. Add butter to the squash and stir until butter melts. Stir the mayonnaise, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese into the squash mixture until well blended. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven until cheese melts, about 20 minutes.

Apple Crisp with Rum Sauce

Crisp Mixture
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter, melted

Apple Mixture
7 apples, peeled and sliced
2 T flour, mixed with apples
Additional sugar/cinnamon mixture, mixed with apples

Put apple mixture in a 9x13 pan. Crumble the crisp mixture on top. Bake for 1 hour at 350°. Serve warm with ice cream and rum sauce

Rum Sauce
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 T rum flavoring

Boil first three ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Add the rum flavoring at the very end.

Apple Pancake

1/4 c. butter

1/2 c. apple slices

1 egg

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

dash of nutmeg

In 9 inch pie plate melt butter. Put apple slices in pan. In bowl beat egg; add flour, milk, vanilla and nutmeg. Pour over apples. Bake 12 minutes at 425°. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Easy Stuffing

This is my great-grandmas recipe for stuffing that is super easy and delicious.

1 loaf of bread (take off the top crust and discard -- for some reason it just doesn't cut as well)
1/2 tsp salt
1 square of butter
2 heaping tablespoons of sage

(quadruple for a 22 lb. turkey)

Cut up the bread into cubes. You don't have to dry the bread, but if you do it will hold more flavor. To dry the bread, put the cut up cubes on a cookie sheet and put in a 200 degree oven for a few minutes.

Put bread cubes in a bowl and toss with salt. Then add chunks of butter throughout. Add sage and toss with your hands.

If you are not stuffing a turkey, add about 1/2 cup chicken or turkey broth and bake in tinfoil at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. There is nothing it in that needs to cook, it just needs to be heated.

Sweet Potato Crisp

We made this last year for the holidays and it was a huge hit and so yummy! A nice change from the marshmallow casserole.

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese
2 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 7 medium) peeled, cooked and coarsley mashed
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Topping:
3 T. flour
2 T. brown sugar
3 T. butter
3 cups Honey Bunches of Oats cereal

Beat cream cheese, sweet potatoes, 1/4 cup brown sugar and cinnamon with electric mixer until well blended. Spoon into 2-quart baking dish; top with apples and cranberries. Mix flour and 2 T. brown sugar in a large bowl. Cut in butter until resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cereal. Sprinkle over fruit mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes or until heated through.

Enjoy! And have a great holiday!

Pumpkin Soup

This is another one of my aunt's recipes that is just HEAVENLY. It may sound a little strange, but trust me. It's good! Next time, I'll take a picture.

2 medium white onions

1 medium potato

1/4 lb butter

48 1/2 oz chicken broth

2 tbsp chicken base

1 cup cream

1 9 oz can pumpkin

1 tsp. cocoa

1/2 cup frozen orange juice

1/2 tsp white pepper

peel and chop onion and potato and sauté in butter

put in blender with a little chicken broth

return to skillet and add chicken base and 1/2 cup cream

put in stock pot and add remainder of chicken broth, pumpkin, cocoa, orange juice and cream

top with green onion and toasted pumpkin seeds

Stuffed French Toast with Apple Cider Syrup

I absolutely love this and would eat it for 3 meals a day...and dessert!

1 loaf unsliced French Bread
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
2 apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
6 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup maple syrup

Cut bread into cubes. In a greased 9X13 pan, spread half of the bread cubes on the bottom. Top with cream cheese cubes and apple slices, then remaining bread. In a blender, mix eggs, milk butter, and maple syrup until well combined. Pour evenly over top layer of bread. Use spatula to press bread down to moisten all layers. Cover and refrigerate over night. The next morning, bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Center should be set and edges slightly golden. Let stand10 minutes before serving with Apple Cider Syrup.

Apple Cider Syrup

Great of stuffed french toast, regular french toast, pancakes...anything really.

1 cup sugar
8 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups apple cider or juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp butter

In a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Gradually add apple juice and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Cook 2 minutes more, remove from heat and stir in butter until it melts.

Individual Pumpkin Cheesecakes

This is a yummy recipe I found in our newspaper, and I was really excited because I have had 1 cup of pumpkin sitting in my fridge for a while now, and I have been looking for a good recipe to use it in. I thought it sounded fun, so we enjoyed it for family night. (I mean REALLY enjoyed it!) It was a hit with my girls, and I liked that the pumpkin taste was very mild- maybe because of the cream cheese, but it was sure tasty!

Individual Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30-35 at 325
Chill Time: 1 hour
Makes: 18

18 paper baking cups
18 gingersnap cookies
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 T corn starch
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup Karo Lite Corn Syrup

Place paper cups in muffin pans. Place 1 gingersnap cookie in each cup. Beat cream cheese, sugar, corn starch, and pumpkin pie spice with an electric mixer until well mixed. Add egg and blend well. Add pumpkin and syrup, beat 1 minute. Pour filling into cups, dividing evening. Bake in preheated 325 oven for 30-35 minutes, until just set. Chill for 1 hour. Garnish as desired. (I put whipped cream and a sprinkle of Cinnamon.)

Caramel Apple Bites

This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine. If you don't subscribe to it, you should! It's an awesome food/cooking magazine my mom got me hooked on a few years ago. ( Which reminds me, I need to renew my subscription!) If you know me, you know I LOVE anything with nuts. It's a fun recipe that's a little more eater-friendly than carameled apples.

Ingredients:

FILLING:
1/3 cup chopped unpeeled apple
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

DOUGH:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

TOPPING:
1 package (14 ounces) caramels
2/3 cup evaporated milk
Green toothpicks
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions: In a small saucepan, combine filling ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened; set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla and salt; beat well. Add flour; mix well. Shape dough into 1-in. balls. Flatten and place 1/4 teaspoon filling in center of each. Fold dough over filling and reshape into balls. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. In a saucepan over low heat, cook caramels are melted. Insert a toothpick into each cookie and dip into caramel until completely coated. Dip bottoms into nuts. Place on wire racks to set. Yield: about 3 dozen.

My Pal Rochelle's Apple Cheesecake Bars

Oh, my goodness. I had these last week and about died. They are so delicious. To kick them up a notch, just drizzle caramel sauce over the top right before you serve them. Or make a streusel topping and drizzle caramel over that (Paula Deen has a pretty good recipe here, and the picture is at the bottom). The nutrition information is here, but I guarantee you just don't want to know.

Apple Pecan Cheesecake
1 1/2 cup graham crackers crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese softened
1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
4 cup chopped peeled apples (about three)
3/4 cup pecans
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat to 325. Line 13x9 pan with parchment paper, ends sticking out over sides. Mix crumbs, butter & 2 Tbsp. brown sugar; press firmly into pan.
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup brown sugar& vanilla in lg. bowl on med speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time; mix on low after each just until blended. Pour over crust. Mix remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, apples, pecans & cinnamon. Spoon evenly over batter.
Bake 55 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. let stand at room temp. 30 min. before serving. Lift cake from pan, cut into 16 pieces.

Slow-Cooker Applesauce

4 lbs. apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
½ cup sugar
3 T brown sugar
2 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
¼ cup water

Fill crock pot with apple slices until they reach about 2 inches from the top. Combine sugars and spices in a bowl and mix into the apples. Pour in the water. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Mash with a potato masher.

Caramel Pumpkin Cookies

These are my absolute favorite pumpkin dessert. They literally just melt in your mouth. Please don't ask me how many I've eaten this weekend. I won't ever tell.

Cookie Ingredients:
2 c. shortening
2 c. white sugar
2 c. canned pumpkin
2 eggs
2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. salt
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 pkg. mini chocolate chips

Caramel Icing:
6 T. butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
8 T. milk
2 c. powdered sugar (maybe more)
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Directions
1. Cream together shortening, white sugar and pumpkin in very large bowl. Add eggs (one at a time) and mix well. Sift together twice; baking soda, cinnamon, salt & flour in separate bowl. Add to pumpkin mixture & mix well. Mix whole bag of mini chocolate chips in with wooden spoon.
2. Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. I like to make mini cookies rather than big ones, so just a regular spoon drop works great. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or no longer gooey.
3. To make frosting, cook butter, milk & brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over warm cookies.

Pumpkin Cookies

These are so yummy and easy, and they are lowfat! I know it sounds weird, but I promise it works.

1 spice cake mix
1 small can pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips (mini are super cute for these)

Mix the cake mix, dry, with the pumpkin until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Halloween Tacos

My Grandma LOVED Halloween. Then my mom loved it, which is probably why I love it so much as well. Tacos are a Halloween tradition at our house. We make them every year, and we make them just the way Grandma made them. She died about a year and a half ago and I miss her like crazy, but carrying on her love for the spooky holiday is a way to stay connected. Plus it's just so much fun. More recipes to come, but I thought I'd post this one while I was thinking about it.

Ground beef

Potatoes (somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 a medium potato per pound of meat)

Taco Seasoning (I like the Taco Bell brand)

Taco Shells

Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese and any other toppings you enjoy.

Shred raw potatoes into raw ground beef in a skillet. The potatoes help the meat stick together in the shell, while also adding bulk to the meat, making it easier to cook for a lot of people. Brown meat and add taco seasoning according to packet directions.

Chop toppings. Toast shells on broil for just a couple minutes. I always burn one batch, so make sure you keep an eye on them. Just broil long enough to make them crispy. Serve.

(Love the new look Leslie! Well done!)

Apple & Celery Salad

3-4 apple cored and diced (you can use all one kind of apple or a variety)
1-2 celery stalks, diced

Sprinkle with approx. 1/2 tsp lemon juice (this helps prevent the apples from browning)

Mix:
1 Tbsp. Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
1 Tbsp. Cool Whip
1 tsp. sugar

Mix all ingredients together and chill.

Two-Tone Mashed Potatoes

1 pound (about 6) potatoes
1 pound (2-3 large) sweet potatoes (the lighter colored ones have a nice mild flavor, but the more orange ones look pretty next to the white potatoes)
4 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 tub onion and chive flavor cream cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Wash, peel, and boil the potatoes and sweet potatoes until tender. Mash the potatoes with half of the milk, butter, and cream cheese. Spread in a 9x13 dish and sprinkle with half of the parmesan cheese. Do the same with the sweet potatoes, spreading over the potatoes. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until warmed through.

I Know It Is Bread Month, But I Couldn't Resist Sharing

Butternut Squash & Apple Cider Soup

1 TB minced shallot
1 minced garlic clove
3 c. cubed, seeded, peeled b. squash
1/2 c. chicken broth
3/4 c. apple cider
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 red apple, diced, as garnish
pepper, to taste

Cook shallot & garlic in saucepan over low heat until translucent. Add squash & chicken broth & cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Pour into blender & puree. Add cider & sour cream & continue to blend until well mixed. Add apple when served. Really healthy, really fast.