Overnight Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

 I always have some pumpkin left over after making pumpkin pie, muffins, or bread. I hate throwing it away, so I always put it in a container in the fridge with great plans to use it later. Never fails-I find it shoved into the back corner of the fridge months later. Saw this Pumpkin Oatmeal recipe and thought it would be a great way to use up the leftover pumpkin right away. I modified it just a tad...

I threw everything into my crock pot, and when I woke up the next morning-oh.my.god. My whole house smelled sooooo good!!! Tastes super yummy too! I have definitely found a great way to use up leftover pumpkin! :-)

Overnight Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups water
2 cups almond milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1 dash ground cloves

Directions:
1. Place the oats, water, milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices into crockpot. Mix and set to low for four or more hours.

2. Mix. Add additional milk and/or sweetener, as desired. I like it with a dollop of butter. :-)

This is such a yummy breakfast, that it didn't last for pictures! And I've made it several times...someday I'll add a picture!

Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie

I made the BEST EVER pecan pie for Thanksgiving!
I've tried three or four recipes in the past-the first one was pretty good, but I never found it again (hence the reason for this blog...so I can find things again!!). The others were never as good as the first one. But this pie was better than any of them! And so pretty too :-)
 This is definitely the prettiest pecan pie I've ever made!

 I used The Pioneer Woman Cooks recipe from Recipe Girl  for most of the pie, but I took a hint from Gimme Some Oven for the topping-looked and tasted PERFECT!

Ingredients:
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup (2/3 stick) butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup pecan halves-enough to be placed over filling and cover top
1 unbaked pie crust, fitted into a pie pan (edges crimped)

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In medium bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, butter, salt, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
3. Place chopped pecans in bottom of crust. Pour contents of bowl over pecans.
4. Line the top of the filling with pecan halves.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. (I put foil on the bottom rack of the oven so it can catch anything that boils over-makes clean-up a LOT easier!) Remove foil and bake for 25-30 minutes longer-if crust or pecans are close to burning, re-cover with foil. Pie is done when the filling is set-should be a little bit jiggly but not sloshy. If pie is still sloshy, continue baking, checking every five minutes.
6. Cool on rack (3-4 hours) before slicing.

Seriously-this is the BEST pecan pie I've ever tasted!!

Chili Beans

Chili Beans

I made delicious chili last year from a recipe I found and modified on pinterest. I thought this was it:
Five Bean Vegetarian Chili, so I tried to recreate it...

I thought it turned out quite bland, but my husband loved it. I still thought it was good, but not spicy chili that I wanted.

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2 red onions, diced
4 teaspoons garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cans tomato sauce
10 cups Bob's Red Mill 15 Bean Soup beans, presoaked and cooked
5 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Directions:
1.   Add red peppers and onions to a large pot. Saute over medium high heat until onions are translucent. Add garlic and saute another minute until fragrant. Add broth, tomato sauce, and all beans. Bring to a boil.
2.  Add cumin, paprika, salt, and garlic powder. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 15-20 minutes longer, stirring throughout. Serve hot with sliced green onions, cheese, sour cream, or other toppings as desired.

*If I make this again, I will add a can or two of tomato paste, a 28 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes, and some chili powder. Seems strange to me that this chili didn't include chili powder :-/
*this can be a quick dinner if use canned beans-would need about ten cans different beans.

Traditional Corn Bread

Corn Bread

I always double this recipe and bake it in my square iron skillet. Perfection!

Ingredients:
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten lightly

Directions:
1.  Combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl.
2.  Combine milk, oil, and egg in small bowl.
3.  Add milk to flour mixture, stir until just blended. Pour into greased pan. Bake in preheated oven at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.

*Muffins:  spoon into 10-12 muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Angel Hair Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes

Angel Hair Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes
It is important to peel the tomatoes-the first time I made this, I left the peels on and they all came off when I added the warm pasta-kinda yucky!
Feel free to use heirloom tomatoes-will change up the flavor and add more color. SUPER yummy!
Can use other pasta, just be sure to cook according to package directions. Can also use whole wheat pasta.

I modified this recipe from one I found here: Spaghetti with Raw Tomatoes

Sorry for the blurry pic! Was the only one I took :-/
 
 Ingredients:

 About 4 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
About 10 leaves fresh basil, chopped
2 cloves peeled garlic
12 ounces angel hair pasta
salt and pepper-to taste

Directions:

1.  Place tomatoes in a large bowl. Add olive oil, fresh basil, whole garlic cloves, salt, and pepper. Toss gently, then cover and set aside in a cool place. Allow flavors to meld for about 30 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta  al dente according to directions on the package. Drain.

3.  Remove garlic from sauce and discard. Add pasta to sauce, mix, and serve.


Serves 4.

Sweet Potato Farfalle

Sweet Potato Farfalle

This is sooooo good!!
The first time I made it, I was unsure-it sounded a little strange to me, but I tried it anyway. I'm so glad I did! Even my youngest loves this, and she doesn't like anything with onions or that has any flavor whatsoever!

Ingredients:
6 ounces farfalle pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Herbes d' Provence
kosher salt
4 cups kale, washed and sliced
1 can cannellini beans (14.5 oz), drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Parmesan cheese-to taste

Directions:
1.  Bring a large pot of water (with a heavy pinch of salt) to a boil. Add pasta and boil for 8 - 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2.  While pasta is cooking, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, pecans, onions, and sweet potatoes-saute for 5 minutes.
3.  Add in the balsamic vinegar, herbes d' provence, and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Cook until sweet potatoes are tender.
4.  Add in kale, beans, garlic, cooked pasta, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and cook until kale is wilted and cooked down-about 3 minutes.
5.  Add parmesan cheese to top after serving.

Makes 4 servings.

I modified this recipe from one I found at The Fresh 20 when I was a member-they are a great source for healthy meal plans! Great simple recipes with tons of fresh ingredients.