This has been a crazy week!  Usually I bake or cook something yummy each week but this week has been a little more about survival:)  I am ready for some fall baking though, so I went in search of a good fall recipe.  This Pumpkin Gingerbread recipe looks yummy and has great reviews.  I can not wait to try it out.  I will probably substitute out some of the oil for applesauce, sugar for splenda and whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour.

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Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove.
3. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

What are your favorite recipes or food tips?  Use the linky below to link to your favorites and share them with us all!

Today’s Scrumptious Bites recipe is for Old-Fashioned Pancakes!  Now these are not healthy pancakes by any means.  If you are looking for a recipe for healthy pancakes, check out my post HERE.  My daughter has to bring pancakes to school tomorrow and I didn’t think that many of the kids would appreciate the whole wheat flaxseed pancakes we normally had so I went on a hunt for another recipe.  I went to my favorite recipe book.  It is a well worn McCalls Cookbook from 1963 that my mom handed down to me.  I has a funky fabric cover from the 70’s that my mom put on it at some point.  I love it!  It reminds me of my mom every time I cook from it.  My mom is not a cook but she will do muffins and a few things like that.  They turned out yummy and I added a few blueberries I had on hand.

Old Fashioned Flapjacks

3 eggs

1 cup sifted flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 t salt

2 t granulated sugar

1 t light brown sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk (or you can take 1 T white vinegar and put it in a measuring cup and fill up to
        3/4 cup with milk.  Let it sit while you are doing the rest and then use only the 1/2 cup
        required)

2 T butter or margarine melted

In large bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat eggs until light and fluffy.  Into eggs, sift flour with baking powder, salt and granulated sugar.  Add brown sugar and beat or whisk until smooth.  Stir in buttermilk and butter just until combined.  Pour onto hot griddle or pan and cook as normal.  I sprinkled a few blueberries on each one as soon as I poured the batter.  They were yummy!

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Use the linky below to link up to all your favorite menu plans, recipes and food tips from this week.

I have posted this before, but this is one of my favorites and with Fall here, I have made 2 batches in two days.  My girls beg for them!  Locally, Apples are the best price at Smart & Final where you can get 3 lbs for only $1.59.  That is about $.50 a pound and a great price.

Wash, core and slice your apples.  I use a corer slicer for mine.  You can peel them if you like.  Cut each slice into 3 chunks and put in crockpot.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1/4 cup Splenda or sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.  You can dot the top with butter if you want but I have found it just as yummy without. Toss gently and set your crockpot on low for all day cooking or high for a quicker batch.  Make sure to stir them every once in a while, especially on high, until the apples soften enough to create some liquid.  Cook them until soft.  You can even add 1/4 cup raisins if you like.  This will make your house smell absolutely heavenly!  I have used these in little quick apple pies, stirred in my oatmeal this morning, sprinkled with granola or topped with whipped cream or ice cream for a yummy dessert.

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Find a few other apple recipes HERE and check out recipes and food tips from other great blogger below.

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Today’s recipe is a little more complicated than others but it is oh so yummy and perfect for wowing company without too much effort.  I am sure that somewhere out there, there is a recipe similar to this but I did this on my own as you can tell from the measurements, etc:)

Kerri’s Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Breasts

Swiss Cheese- 1 1/2 slices per breast

Sliced Ham- 1 or 2 slices per breast

2 eggs

1/2-1 cup flour

salt and pepper

Bread Crumbs, seasoned or add your own herbs or parmesan cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

Milk

1 T Brown mustard

Trim chicken breasts and put in a gallon ziploc or between wax paper sheets.  Pound out until thin and even thickness.  Place swiss cheese and ham slices on top of one end of chicken and roll up.  Try to keep the cheese more towards the center as it will ooze as it cooks and melts.  Secure with wooden toothpicks. 

Mix flour, salt and pepper in own shallow bowl, whisk eggs with a little water in another and pour seasoned bread crumbs in another.  First, roll each roll in the flour, then roll in the eggs and then cover with the bread crumbs.  Place them on a baking sheet with an oven safe cooling wrack on top.  I find this keeps them crispy all around.  Bake at 350 until chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, whisk cream of chicken soup and milk together in a small saucepan on the stove to desired consistency.  I also melt in a little extra swiss cheese sometimes.  Stir in the brown mustard and salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve over any white, brown or chicken flavored rice.  With sauce poured over all.  My kids and my husband and I loved this!  I even made it before we went to the gym and just heated it up again when we came home and it was great.

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Link up below to any of your menu plans, food tips or recipes you love!

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I know fall is not technically here but I am sooo ready for it!  I love the cooler weather and the food.  I get much happier when I can make pumpkin anything, stew, sweet potatoes and anything else that makes me think of fall.  I found a can of pumpkin this week and just could not restrain myself so I made this yummy recipe in three ways.  They are oh so yummy and actually not bad for you at all!

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups Splenda

1 cup white sugar

2 t baking soda

1 1/2 t salt

3 t pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and/or chopped walnuts

4 eggs

1/3 cup oil

2/3 cups applesauce

2/3 cups water

2 cups canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease desired pans.  Combine all dry ingredients except chocolate and nuts in a large bowl and mix well.  In a separate bowl, slightly beat the eggs with a fork or whisk.  Add the remaining wet ingredients to the eggs and stir well.  Add the dry ingredients in and stir just until combined.  Stir in the chocolate and nuts.  Pour into pans and bake until knife comes out cleanly.

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Link up to all your favorite recipes, menu plans, food tips or other food related posts below.

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I am so excited about our new Scrumptious Bites!  I am sure you have seen about my trip to Baking With Betty, maybe a little too much, but I loved it!  One of the best things for me was meeting some amazing food bloggers from all over the country.  I am going to use our Thursday’s Scrumptious Bites posts to introduce you to some of them.  This week our post is from Deborah at Taste and Tell.  I think you will love the simplicity and shear yumminess of her recipes!

“I’m a simple girl at heart. Most of my closet is made up of solids – not very many trendy prints for me. My dishes are plain white. I love white cake with chocolate frosting. So needless to say, when it comes to cooking, I usually keep things pretty real.

Now don’t get me wrong – I love to experiment and try new things in the kitchen. But the majority of the time, I’m drawn to simple meals.

Being a food blogger, you can get caught up in the latest kitchen trends and flavors, but I know that most people are like me and want something that can be made quickly, with few ingredients. Pantry staples are always a plus! So when I came across this recipe while browsing online, I knew it was one that my family would love.

I have to admit – I almost didn’t even take a picture of it, because I thought to myself – this is a recipe that is just too simple. One of those “duh” recipes. I wondered if people would even want me to share this recipe with them. But then I took a bite, and I decided that simple recipes like this are definitely the best recipes. The thing I love the most about this recipe? The fact that it is so versatile. Don’t have rigatoni? Use a different pasta! Want to add some extra veggies? Throw them into the sauce! But take my word when I say to cube the mozzarella in the sauce – it was such a pleasant surprise to find these little pockets of cheesy goodness all through my pasta.

Delicious doesn’t have to be complicated!”

Rigatoni with Cheesy-Tomato Sausage Sauce

Adapted from BettyCrocker.com

Serves 4

Total time: 25 minutes

8 oz. rigatoni or other tube-shaped pasta

½ pound Italian sausage

1 24-ounce jar prepared pasta sauce

¼ cup shredded basil

2 ounces mozzarella, cubed (1/2 cup)

1 ounce (1/4 cup) shredded fresh Parmesan cheese

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Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a large saucepan. Drain. Add the pasta sauce and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the basil and mozzarella and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese is slightly melted.

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To serve, spoon the sauce over the pasta. Top with Parmesan cheese.

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“My name is Deborah, and I’ve been writing Taste and Tell since March of 2007. I grew up in a family that loves food and that love has been passed down to me. I love to try new recipes, and it’s rare for me to make something more than once!  I am the mother of a 19-month old girl, and I know that life can be hectic – especially when it comes to dinnertime. Most of my dinner recipes featured on Taste and Tell can be made in less than an hour, so they are realistic for everyday families. I love to spend time in the kitchen, but fast, easy and delicious are what I’m usually looking for!”

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Come and share all your recipes, food tips, menu plans and anything else food related from this week in the linky below!

This week’s Scrumptious Bites is just a fun thing that I did with the kids this morning. We made homemade donuts for breakfast and they loved them…and are still loving them as I write this. Paula Deen gave me this idea years ago when I was watching one of her shows. It was such an easy idea and I have used it a few times through the years.

I simply started out with a tube of Pillsbury Grands biscuits. You can use any refrigerated tube of biscuits. I also had a bowl of cinnamon sugar ready for the coating. After I started, I also put together a bag of powdered sugar for another coating idea.

Then I cut up the biscuits into 4 pieces per biscuit. For the 8 count package I was using, this was going to yield 32 donuts when it was all said and done.

I heated up a pot of Canola oil until it rippled, indicating that the oil was hot enough to fry. When it was hot, I just popped the individual little biscuit pieces into the oil, not overcrowding the pan. They fry up really fast so you have to keep a good eye on them. I flipped them when the first side had a great brown color on it, keeping it in the oil until all sides were golden brown.

Upon removing them from the hot oil, I drained them slightly on paper towels and then I gave them a dunk in either cinnamon sugar or a Ziploc baggie filled with powdered sugar. You want to coat them as soon as you can while they are warm. They soak up the yummy sugar coatings so much better. I did find that if you are not going to eat them right away and you wanted to use powdered sugar, you would probably want to let the donuts come to room temperature before you coat them. The snowy sugar will last longer without getting sticky.

Today’s Scrumptious Bites is about one of my favorite Sausage Pasta recipes.  I am pretty sure that I was meant to be Italian since I could survive on any sort of pasta.  This recipe is great for having company or to bring to a family.  I saw it on the Food Network one day and new it would be one of my favorites.  Just look at all that yummy cheesy goodness oozing out.  Oh man I am hungry now and yes, these are actually my pictures of the last time I made this!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ziti noodles
• 1 pound sweet turkey sausage, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• 2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with seasonings (green pepper and onion or garlic and oregano, or any flavor you want)
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1 (15-ounce) container regular or part-skim ricotta cheese
• 4 cups grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, reserve 1 cup, for topping
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a hot skillet over medium heat until golden brown on all sides. Add tomatoes, thyme and rosemary and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

 

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and garlic powder and mix well.

Spoon 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 4-quart casserole dish. Top with half of the cooked ziti. Top with half of the cheese mixture.  I just spoon out glops of it on top instead of spreading it.  This make for yummy pockets of cheese all throughout.

Top with 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Repeat layers (remaining ziti and remaining cheese mixture). Top with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over top. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.

What are some of your favorite recipes?  Share them with us in the linky below!

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