pecan topped pumpkin pie

I love Thanksgiving. In fact it's probably my favorite holiday so I had a ball this week. I cooked up a storm and then ate to my hearts content. I was in heaven. On Wednesday I roasted two small pie pumpkins and made my own pumpkin puree, so the next order of business was pumpkin pie. Since I usually do pecan pie for thanksgiving I decided to combine pumpkin pie and pecan pie. The results were tasty.

Pecan topped pumpkin pie
adapted from better homes and gardens
ingredients
1 refrigerated pie crust (or home made if you're feeling industrious)
1-1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1-1/2 cups half-and-half or light cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare Deep-Dish Pie Pastry. Mix pecans and brown sugar in small bowl; place 3/4 cup pecan mixture in bottom of pie shell. Reserve remaining pecan mixture for topping. Combine pumpkin, half-and-half, granulated sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in large bowl; mix well. Pour into prepared pie shell.

2. Bake for 50 minutes or until just set in center. Add butter to remaining pecan mixture; stir until moistened. Sprinkle pie filling with pecan mixture; bake for 10 minutes more or until topping bubbles around edges. Cool on wire rack.

I have not gone AWOL

but the lens to my camera did break so the photo quality might go down until Christmas, forgive me I am a broke college student and can only hope to get a new lens from Santa. The main point of this post is to let you know I have not died and that post Wednesday there will be some good stuff coming your way, I promise. Please bare with me your patience will be rewarded. I hope you all have a happy happy thanksgiving.

bacon cheddar onion biscuits

My boyfriend and I spent Saturday morning doing yard work. It was fairly chilly and cloudy but we got everything done that we needed to. Over lunch we started discussing dinner plans. "I feel like making something really comforting." I said "Yeah something like a nice creamy soup" he replied. At exactly the same moment both of our faces lit up and we said "chili" so that was settled but there was still a very important issue on the table "corn brad or biscuits?" I asked. He paused for a second and then said with complete certainty "biscuits" So I went home and found this recipe on my computer. I found it a little strange that they're baked in muffin tins but boy am I glad I tried it, because they're baked in muffin tins they sides and bottom get all golden brown and the tops get nice and crunchy but the inside stays moist and dense. It also helps that the flavor combination is awesome. The next time you serve soup give these bad boys a shot I promise it's worth it.
Bacon Cheddar Onion Biscuits
Ingredients
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
¾ teaspoons Salt
¼ cups Vegetable Shortening (crisco, Etc)
10 Tablespoons Milk (whole Milk Is Best)
4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 whole Egg
10 slices Thick Cut Bacon, Fried And Crumbled
1 cup Finely Diced Onion
1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Preparation Instructions
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in shortening until all combined.
Combine milk, oil, and egg in a separate bowl. Whisk together.
Combine flour mixture, milk mixture, bacon, onions, and cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Stir gently until all combined.
Spoon batter into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes on 375 degrees until golden Remove from pan and serve warm.

PW's corn chowder

When it comes to cold weather I'm a wimp. If the temperature gets below 70 degrees I'm bundled up form head to toe and whining. There are some things I love about the cold though it gives me and excuse to break out my fuzzy blankets and knit sweaters, its perfect weather for curling up with a hot cup of coffee and a book, and its perfect comfort food weather. I love things like chicken pot pie, biscuits and gravy, and chili. So I guess the cold isn't all bad. I decided to kick off soup season with a recipe I had just seen on The Pioneer Woman's website. This corn chowder is creamy, spicy, and oh so comforting, perfect for a chilly day.

Spicy Corn Chowder

Ingredients
2 slices Bacon, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces (or Smaller)
2 Tablespoons Butter
1-½ whole Yellow Onion, Diced
5 ears Corn, Shucked (about 4 Cups of canned corn)
2 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce, Finely Diced
1 whole 4-ounce Can Diced Green Chilies
32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1-½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt (more To Taste)
3 Tablespoons Corn Meal OR Masa
¼ cups Water

slice the corn kernels off the cob or you can just use canned corn.
Add bacon to a or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook until golden and crispy. Throw in diced onion and stir, cooking the onion for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add butter and melt. Add corn. Stir and cook for one minute. Add both kinds of chilies and stir.
Add in chicken broth and cream. Add salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.
Combine cornmeal (or masa) with water. Stir to combine, then pour into the chowder. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. If chowder needs more thickening, add another tablespoon of cornmeal mixed with water. Cook for another ten minutes.

Homemade Halloween Funfetti

I love Halloween, I always have. When I was little it was because my mom would make me an awesome costume and I would get to gorge myself on candy. Now that I'm older its because I really enjoy seasonal baking, especially fall baking. When I went into walmart a few weeks ago I saw that they had Halloween funfetti cake mix and frosting. I picked up a container of each and I was on my way to the check out line when I thought to myself "hmmm I could probabbly make this myself really easily" so I put down the box of easy way out and backed slowly into my kitchen and these were the results.
Funfetti cake
I chose to bake mine as a sheet cake because thats the way I always had it as a kid but it would work as cup cakes too.

recipe
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup sugar
12 tbsp butter, room temperature
2 large eggs + 2 egg whites, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract (for a splurge, use vanilla bean paste!)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup milk
4 tbsp rainbow sprinkles
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl. Add butter and sugar to another bowl and beat until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating on low. Add extracts, beat another minute. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the 1 cup milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir in the sprinkles.
Bake for 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.
Vanilla Buttercream
1 stick butter
3 1/2 -4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/8 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat the butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat a few more minutes. For stiffer frosting, add more powdered sugar. For thinner frosting, add more milk.

honey mustard pork roast

Sorry about the lack of an update last week, it's mid term season. Luckily it's fall break, so I've got lots of time to bake and stock up on posts for you guys. I was really excited to get home Wednesday being at home is a lot more comfortable and relaxing than being in a dorm. Plus the food is a lot better. About twenty minutes after I got home dad turns to me and says "Mom took a pork loin out of the freezer for dinner what do you wanna do with it." So I was officially in charge of dinner. I've already admitted to being a fan of the pioneer woman and now its time to reveal my other foodie favorite. I love For the Love of Cooking and when dad said pork loin my brain instantly went to this recipe that I had just recently come across. Boy am I glad it did.

Pork Tenderloin with a Honey Mustard Sauce:
1 tsp olive oil
1 pork tenderloin
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp grainy mustard
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp apple juice
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Mix together the Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, apple juice, 1 tsp of olive oil, and minced garlic together in a bowl. Cover and set aside for a few hours.

Remove the silver skin from the pork tenderloin then season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the pork tenderloin and cook until brown on all sides. Place the skillet into the oven, and bake for 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 155-160 degrees (medium) or desired degree of doneness. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Heat the sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until warmed. Pour sauce over sliced pork.

Strawberry pie

For me summer hasn't really started until I've baked a strawberry pie. I'm also always sad when I'm making what I know will be the last strawberry pie of the season. This post is about the last strawberry pie of this summer. I got this recipe from cooks country and I love it. I know it backwards and forwards. I could make this pie in my sleep and to tell you the truth I'm proud of that. One reason I'm so proud of this pie is because my grandmother had a strawberry pie that she was known for. Her's was Shony's strawberry pie, it involved whole strawberries and strawberry gelatin. Now that I have a strawberry pie that I'm known for it gives me a sense of connection between my grandmother and I. It makes me very proud to know that I do something that reminds people of her because she was a truly amazing lady and it flatters me to think that her memory is somehow living on through me. I guess you could say that this pie has sentimental value for me. It also helps that it's delicious and easy to make.


Diner Style Strawberry Pie

1 pound of fresh strawberries cleaned, hulled, and sliced thin
2 pounds of frozen whole strawberries
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup of sugar
1 nine inch pie shell baked and cooled (I always use Pillsbury ready made crust)

place a large deep skillet over medium low heat. Put the frozen berries into the pan and stir them until they start to release a little juice. Turn the heat up to medium high and cook for about 20 minutes until the mixture is thick and jam like. It should measure 2 cups.
Mix the lemon juice and water and add the gelatin and stir. Let it stand for a few minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Add the gelatin mixture, sugar, and a pinch of salt to the pan with the strawberries bring to bubble and simmer for five minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a glass bowl and leave to cool for 30 minutes or until it reaches room temperature. Fold in the fresh berries, pour into the prepared pie shell and chill in the refrigerator for four hours. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.