Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This past fall my mom came to stay with us for three weeks. It was such a blessing to spend time together and she was super ambitious in our kitchen! Now I know where I got it from, thanks mom!

Other than making 3 dozen cinnamon rolls to stock the freezer for Kevin she cut, cooked, and pureed 3 pumpkins. I LOVE pumpkin and have used it for all kinds of things. This evening I used a cup of pumpkin for some muffins. Here is what I came up with!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup oil (I used EVOO, but veg would work too)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup puree pumpkin (or 1 can)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cooking Club Blog

I love my once a month cooking club! I started it in Jan of 2009 with some awesome ladies who love to cook. We have experienced the joys and sorrows of people moving away, new people joining, some having babies, changing jobs, and just overall experiencing life together. I live for this evening!

We take turns hosting and each month the host gets to pick a theme. This past month was cooking with TOFU! It is a fun challenge each month considering we have two people who are Gluten Free, one who is a Vegetarian, and one who is Lactose Intolerant. So if you are looking for a GF, Vegan recipe this is an awesome reference for you!

Here is a link to our blog. We post our recipes here every month as a way to reference them and catalog them. Check it out!

http://cookingclub2009.blogspot.com/

Best Pudding Ever!

Ok, so I know most of you will look at the ingredients to this pudding and say "NO WAY" followed by that is gross - i will never eat that - what the heck - etc. Well this has to be one thing you just try and not think about the ingredients. I promise you I was skeptical as well but it was AMAZING. Even my husband loved it and he is a hard-core tofu hater!

Chocolate Tofu Pudding

1 package (14 oz) SILKEN Tofu

(soft is the only kind that works, firm makes it taste grainy)

1/3 cup agave nectar

1/3 cup coco powder

1 tsp vanilla

Drain tofu. Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Enjoy!

Side note... to all those that say "tofu is bad for you" to each their own but lets just be real honest with each other - ANYTHING is bad for you if you don't consume it in moderation. I've done my research!

Hummus!

At our house we LOVE hummus. It is good on pitas, veggies, tortilla chips, crackers, or just on a spoon! I love to experiment with different types of hummus. With using a basic recipe I find that I can add just about anything to it and it tastes amazing!

Olive and Sweet Potato Hummus

1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (equal to about 1 can)

1 cooked sweet potato

3 TBS EVOO

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup olives

Cook the beans, if not using canned, in the crockpot on high for 5 hours or low for 8-10.

Peel sweet potato and cut into 1 in. pieces, place in oven for 30 mins at 350. You need this to be soft before you put it in the food processor.

Place beans, sweet potato, EVOO, garlic, and red pepper flakes in the food processor. Add water as needed for desired consistency. You could throw the olives in there too but I thought it would make the dip look "weird" so instead I dug a small hole on top of the hummus and put them there. It turned out amazing!

Goat Cheese and Cilantro Hummus

1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (equal to about 1 can)

1/3 cup goat cheese (you could also use feta or any other soft cheese you like)

3 TBS cilantro

1/3 cup EVOO

1 garlic clove

2 TBS lemon juice

salt to taste

Cook the beans, if not using canned, in the crockpot on high for 5 hours or low for 8-10.

Place all ingredients into food processor and add water to get the consistency you want. YUM!

Homemade Salad Dressing: Apricot Surprise!

Since switching my diet to dairy-free I have discovered my three favorite salad dressings are now off the list! We eat a lot of salads at our house with our Door to Door Organics Box providing us with spinach, romaine, etc on our door step. I have been using Italian and trying to spice it up with our homemade croutons. However... enough is enough! I needed to branch out so I decided January would be an experiment of homemade salad dressings.

I was excited to receive several helpful hints and lots of questions and cheering from those around me and on facebook. So this weekend was my first go at it and I think we have a success on the first try. Love that!

Apricot Surprise

(I call it "surprise" b/c as a first go at it, well it was for sure going to be one!)

2 TBS Apricot Preserves (this is an estimate... really it was whatever I had left in the jar)

4 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 TBS Red Wine Vinegar

dash of salt

dash of pepper

I mixed this right in the jar by shaking and letting sit in the fridge for about an hour. We have yet to eat it on salad but gave it 10/10 from taste testing on a spoon. I can't wait to enjoy it on spinach salad one night for dinner this week.

Goodbye Blue Cheese, Ranch, and Caesar.

Hello Homemade Oil - Vinegar - Apricot!!!

Kale and White Beans

This is a FAVORITE at our house and we actually had it this week for dinner and then again for lunches. Kale has really become popular lately and I am loving all the new recipes people are creating with it!

Kale with White Beans and Garlic

1 cup dried cannellini (white kidney beans) or great northern beans

6 cups water or broth

1 onion - chopped fine
1 1/2 lbs kale - stems removed and chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
8 large garlic cloves - sliced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (optional)

Cook beans in crockpot with broth and onion on high for 6 hours or on low for 10-12 hours.

Pour beans (onions and broth included) from crockpot to a large pot on stove, heat until boiling. Add chopped kale (remember to remove stems) and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring down every few mins, until the kale is tender, about 10 mins.

Meanwhile heat the EVOO in a small heavy sauce pan over low heat. Add garlic and cook until tender, stir so it does not burn. Mash the garlic wi

th a fork and add hot pepper flakes. Pour this over the beans and kale and serve hot.

*** Serve this dish with plenty of bread to sop up the delicious juices ***

We also love to make this the night before and reheat for dinner the following evening. Like most soups it tastes better the longer it sits!

2011

New Year.

New Beginnings.

New Blog.

Check here for recipes and garden updates. Or for just randomness. We love that at our house and there is always plenty!

Oh! If you follow our other blog http://khgunn.blogspot.com/ we still will do some posting there but I can't promise how often.