Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

Seriously...delicious! A fabulous breakfast for a cold wintery almost December morning! The syrup is absolutely fantastic!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

1 Eggs—Separate whites and yolks
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/8 cup oil
3/4 cup pumpkin
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbls. sugar
3/4 teaspoons soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 - 1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Mix egg yolks, milk, sour cream, oil and pumpkin. Mix together flour, sugar, soda, salt, and spices. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and barely mix. Beat egg whites til stiff and fold into other ingredients. Pour batter onto a preheated, greased skillet and cook. Serve with Cinnamon Syrup.

Cinnamon Syrup

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons light corn syrup

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly. Pour into serving dish. Makes about 1 cup.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Pecan and Marshmallow Streusel

I love sweet potatoes. I love with all the sweet and sugary topping. I love them plain. I love them with some butta'. Yep, I love them. Did I already mention that? So this recipe is no exception. Fabulous!

Ingredients:
6 sweet potatoes (you want shorter and fatter rather than long and skinny sweet potatoes)
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup pecan pieces

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Wash the sweet potatoes, scrubbing them well to remove any dirt. With a fork, prick the sweet potatoes in a couple of sopts and place them on a sheet pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center goes in easily.

3. In a large bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and flour together until it's crumbly-looking. Add the cinnamon, salt, pecans, and marshmallows; fold the streusel topping together to combine.

4. Slice the sweet potates lengthwise down the center and push the ends towards the middle so it opens up. Stuff the sweet potatoes generously with the streusel topping and return to oven. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until topping is bubbly and brown.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Tyler Florence

Pumpkin Bars

These pumpkin bars are a well loved treat. Our great friends gave this recipe to us when we lived in Kentucky. We had many a game night where we played games into the wee hours of the night gorging ourselves on these pumpkin bars. Seriouly, some of the best pumpkin bars. Thanks Mortensen's for the fabulous recipe!

PUMPKIN BARS

Ingredients:
4 beaten eggs
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin or one 16 ounce can pumpkin
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix together eggs, oil, sugar, pumpkin and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix together. Pour into 11X14 inch greased cookie sheet. Spread until evenly distributed. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Mix together:
2 cups powdered sugar
6 Tablespoons softened butter
6 ounces softened cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

(May need to add 1 tsp. to 2 Tablespoons milk if frosting needs to be a little thinner. I've never had to add any milk.)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

These are my mini loaves.

I make this pumpkin bread every year. This could quite possibly be the best pumpkin bread I have ever tasted. EVER!!! It is absolutely delicious, and it stays so moist. You won't want to miss this recipe. You could all 5 loaves by yourself. Yep, it's that good. It's that addictive.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

3 cups pure pumpkin
6 eggs
1 ½ cups oil
4 ½ cups sugar
3 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 ½ cups water
4 2/3 cups flour
1- 24 oz. bag chocolate chips (save back some chips to sprinkle on top of loaves)

Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients mixing well. Add chocolate chips. Sprinkle a few of the chips on top of the loaves before baking. Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for about 1 hour and 5-10 minutes. Makes 5 large loaves.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Hello! Where have you been all of my life? These muffins are fantastic! Just the smell of them cooking makes your mouth water. The cream cheese filling was rich and creamy. The crumb topping was perfect. Oh my, I think I need to make more muffins!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar

For the muffins:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking soda

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

For the topping:

1/2 cup sugar

5 tbsp. flour

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Smooth the platic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whish to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on lower speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner. slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

Yield: 24 muffins

Recipe Source: Annie's Eats

Creamy White Chili

So I have been looking for a white chicken chili for a while now. I've made a few that have cleared our sinuses, but have been looking for one with just the right amount of heat and flavor without making us blow our noses throughout the whole dinner. We really enjoyed this recipe! I can always tell by my husband's reaction whether a recipe is not so good, okay, good, or excellent. This definitely was classified as excellent. I finally found a white chicken chili we both like. This chili was on the spicy side for my two year old. I had to add sour cream to her bowl to calm down the heat. This is a really great cold weather chili. Loved it! It pairs excellently with this corn bread recipe.

Creamy White Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained (I used white kidney beans.)

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth

2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil.

2. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream. Serve immediately.

Recipe Source: The Taste of Home Cookbook

Linked to:  Cookbook Sundays hosted by Brenda's Canadian Kitchen

Oatmeal Brownies

Imagine eating an oatmeal cookie with a brownie and there you have it - Oatmeal brownies! We love brownies around our house. I actually prefer this recipe to normal brownies. My husband is a diehard basic brownie lover, but he really liked these as well. I love the oatmeal base and oatmeal topping. Anything with a crumb or oatmeal topping is fabulous in my book.

Oatmeal Brownies

Crust and topping:

2 1/2 cups quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Filling:

4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate

2/3 cup butter or margarine

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking flour

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, mix oats, 3/4 cup flour, the brown sugar and baking soda. Sitr in melted 3/4 cup butter. Reserve 3/4 cup oat mixture for topping. Press remaining oat mixture in pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat chocolate and 2/3 cup butter over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted; remove from heat. Stir in granulated sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir in

1 1/4 cups flour, the baking powder and salt.

4. Spread filling over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved 3/4 cup oat mixture. Bake about 30 minutes longer or until center is set and oat mixture turns golden brown (do not overbake). Cool completely. Cut and serve.

Recipe Source: Betty Crocker Fall Baking booklet

Linked to:
Cookbook Sundays hosted by Brenda's Canadian Kitchen

Caribbean Pork Loin with Pineapple-Raisin Relish

This is a deliciously moist and tastebud tantalizing dish. The relish is so good with the raisins, but if you don't like raisins it would still be really good without it. You've got to try this one. I find that pig is one of my favorite meats. This meal again reaffirmed the fact that I love my porky. This recipe comes one of the best cooks I know - my Momma! :)

Caribbean Pork Loin with Pineapple-Raisin Relish

Pork:

1 cup packed fresh oregano leaves (I used 2 Tablespoons dried.)

I cup packed fresh cilantro leaves

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1 Tbsp. finely shredded lime peel

3 Tbsp. lime juice

2 teaspoons salt

4 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 cup olive oil

1 4-lb. bone in loin center rib roast (I used a boneless center cut pork loin roast.)

Relish:

1 1/2 cups chopped pineapple

1 cup golden raisins

4 green onions

1/4 cup pineapple juice

3 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In food processor or blender, combine oregano, 1 cup cilantro, 1/2 cup pineapple juice, the lime peel, 3 Tbsp. lime juice, 2 tsp. salt, the garlic and cumin. Cover and blend or process until chopped. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin, steady stream until incorporated.

2. With sharp knife, score surface of pork with small slits. Place in roasting pan, bone side down. Pour herb mixture over roast. Roast, uncovered 1 1/4 - 2 hours or until thermometer inserted into center of roast reads 160 degrees, spooning herb mixture over meat two or three times during roasting. Lightly tent with foil and let stand 10 minutes.

3. For relish, in bowl combine pineapple, golden raisins, onions, 1/4 cup pineapple juice, 3 Tbsp. lime juice, 2 Tbsp. cilantro, and 1/4 tsp. salt.