Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

From: Little House Living

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 3/4 c. white or turbinado sugar
• 1 c. light olive oil
• 1 can or jar of pumpkin (or fresh pumpkin)
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 3 c. flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. pumpkin spice
• 1/2 t. salt

Mix together the sugars, oil, vanilla, and pumpkin. Mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. Then add all the dry ingredients and mix together until just blended.

Put the pumpkin mixture in a plastic bag or a pastry bag. Snip a hole in the corner. Use the mixture and the bag to make circles from the dough. Make these circles on the greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 11 - 12 minutes at 350F. Let them cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling mix together 6 T melted butter, 1 pk(8oz) cream cheese, 1 t. vanilla, and 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar. Put the frosting mixture in a plastic bag or a pastry bag. Snip a hole in the corner.

Drop blobs of frosting on the middles of half of the cooled cookies. Put another cookie on top the cookie and frosting. That's it!

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Oh my goodness, these are so good. It's basically the same recipe I used for my pumpkin roll so it's a very familiar, cozy flavor. As you can see, mine aren't that pretty. I didn't do the pastry bag thing for the cookies because that never works out well for me. You're welcome to do it. Also, I found that the next day (and the next) these cookies were awesome when put in the microwave for about 15 seconds. They will need to be refrigerated, so nuking them will make them taste much better. Of course, your best option is eating them as soon as they're out of the oven! To die for!

Veggie-Beef Chowder with Mozzarella

From: Progresso website

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 bag (12 oz) frozen mixed vegetables
1 can (18 oz) Progresso Recipe Starters creamy portabella mushroom cooking sauce
3/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a saucepan, cook beef over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.

Stir in 1/4 tsp salt and all remaining ingredients except cheese and croutons. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese in each soup bowl; fill bowls with chowder. Sprinkle with croutons.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I know the pictures don't do it justice. Trust me, this is one of the easiest soups you'll throw together, but the flavor is amazing! I will absolutely make this one again and I definitely recommend it to you!

Crash Hot Potatoes

From: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
New potatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Herbs
Cheese

Begin by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make, and cook them until they’re fork-tender.

Next, generously drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan.

When the potatoes are tender, place them on the cookie sheet, giving them plenty of room to spread out.

Next, grab your potato masher and gently press down on the potato until it slightly mashes. Rotate the masher 90 degrees and continue flattening it.

Brush the tops generously with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grab your herbs - chives... thyme... rosemary... whatever is available. Chop finely and sprinkle on top.

Cook in a 450-degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Of course I added cheese to ours because in our house it is a sin not to add cheese onto a potato. Or anything else, for that matter. These are an awesome quick fix except for the boiling of the potatoes, and of course they're delicious. What could go wrong with a recipe like this??

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

From: Lick the Bowl Good

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• pinch of salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes 
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup cubed pepperoni
• 1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Verdict:

Thumbs up! Look, you really can't go wrong with these ingredients, right? This is a simple recipe that is great for parties, appetizers, or church dinners. I will definitely make it again and highly recommend it!

Elephant Ear Cookies

From: Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
1 cup pecan halves
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for surface
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
AP flour, for rolling
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (17.3 oz package), thawed
1 large egg, beaten well

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast pecans on a baking sheet until fragrant and lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

Grind pecans, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a food processor until very finely chopped (mixture should resemble very coarse sand).

Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place puff pastry sheets side by side on floured parchment; press together at seam to form a 9 1/2-by-18-inch rectangle. Roll out to an 11-by-20-inch rectangle using a rolling pin. Transfer pastry on parchment to a baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. Brush generously with beaten egg, and evenly sprinkle with pecan mixture, patting it into dough. Starting with a short side, use one hand to roll up as tightly as possible, holding unrolled portion firmly with other palm. Brush off excess flour with a dry pastry brush as you are rolling, and press sides back into shape (they tend to splay). Roll tightly in parchment.

Freeze dough until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1-inch slices. Generously sprinkle a work surface with granulated sugar, and coat both cut sides of dough slices in sugar. Press dough slices to flatten slightly. Roll out into 6- to 7-inch rounds on sugared surface, sprinkling more sugar on top as needed. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 3 per sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake in batches until golden brown, 17 to 18 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on baking sheets.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I almost didn't get to taste-test these because they were gone so quickly after I made them! I made these for Hunter's 3rd birthday party a few weeks ago. They were actually really easy, especially if you've ever made a "roll" before, so don't let the instructions scare you with all the wording. I will definitely make these again in the future (although puff pastry sheets are ridiculously expensive!) and I would highly recommend this recipe to you!

Mini Nutella Cups

From: Daisy Chubb

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your mini muffin tin). Cream butter and both sugar in bowl until light, smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated. Gradually add dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) until all the flour is mixed in.  Roll dough into balls 1.5 inches thick. Pop them in the mini muffin tin and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown but not too dark around the edges.

When done, remove from oven and let sit for about 2 minutes. Then make wells for the nutella with a shot glass, a similar object or a spoon. Add 1 tbsp Nutella to each cup – it will start to melt quickly so you can swirl it around and make it nice and smooth.

Let cool 15-20 minutes in tin. Remove from tin and place in your mouth. Repeat. Nutella will solidify in about an hour.

Verdict:
I don't have a mini muffin tin, so I made mine in a regular muffin tin. I'm not ashamed to admit I basically ate the middle out of these cookies. With a regular muffin tin, there was just more cookie than Nutella, and the Nutella is soooo good... we just can't have that! I would love to make these with a mini muffin tin. I would definitely recommend this recipe if you have a mini tin!

Egg in a Red Pepper

From: Not Martha

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 large eggs
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp grated parmesan
4 slices crusty bread, toasted

Remove seeds from pepper and 1/2-inch thick rings. It’s not totally important that all the rings be the same thickness.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan or skillet.

Place peppers in olive oil.

Then one-by-one, crack an egg into a small dish and pour it into the pepper.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and let fry for about 3 minutes.

Some of the egg may leak out from under the pepper, but for the most part, you should be OK.

Once eggs are mostly set, flip the entire pepper over. This has to be a quick movement, or else you risk the egg/pepper falling apart.

After you flip all of the peppers, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Cook for one minute.

And place pepper egg on a piece of toast.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! What a yummy, light(ish) breakfast! I meant to blog about this back when red peppers were really in season but I got way behind on blogging. This is such a yummy breakfast. The crunchiness of the red pepper is perfect with the egg. The instructions I posted are from the Not Martha blog, so I tweaked a little. I didn't put them on toast at all, although I do think that would be delicious. And instead of using parmesan cheese, I used cheddar. It was divine. The key to making it pretty (not like it really matters) is to gently pour the egg into the pepper. If you dump the whole egg, it will spread out a lot. And trust me, that does not affect the flavor, just the attractiveness! I definitely recommend this easy recipe.