Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts with a Cinnamon-Maple Glaze

My mom got me a doughnut pan a while back! I have only made this recipes so far, I really need to start pulling it out more because these were great!!! I have found so many doughnut recipes that look good. I found this recipe over at Taste and Tell.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp maple extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 350. Use non-stick spray to coat the doughnut pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl. In a separate bowl cream together the pumpkin, brown sugar and butter. Add in the eggs and mix well. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and combine. Place the batter into a ziplock bag and cut the end off. Pipe the batter into the doughnut pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the doughnuts from the pan and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze. When the doughnuts are ready dip them into the glaze. Let the glaze set for about 5 minutes.

Cheesy Sausage Dip

Ohhhh cheesy sausage dip. My mom makes this often and while the thought of processed cheese makes me feel slightly ill, this is good. Really really good. It creamy and filling and delicious. Gray loves this as does my brother. It seems to always big a big hit with the male population.

1 large package Velveeta Cheese block

1 can Rotel

1 lb Spicy Sausage Cooked

1/3 to 1/2 cup milk

Mix together all the ingredients in the crockpot and set to low. Stir every so often. It takes a little while for the velveeta to melt down so allow 30 minutes to an hour for this to take place before serving.

Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

I got the way to cook these from Gimme Some Oven. I use different seasoning though. That's the great thing about fries, you can season them the way you like them and try something new every week! Gray and I both love our sweet potato fries seasoned like this though.

2-3 sweet potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

fresh black pepper to taste

1 tsp lowery's seasoning salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Heat oven to 450. Cut potatoes into skinny fries. Toss with olive oil and seasoning. Place in a single layer on a sheet pan. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes turning twice while cooking to ensure even baking.

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

This is one of the most delicious recipes I have discovered in a long time. It's easy, comforting and just the perfect kinda good that you need after a long day. The recipe is from Plain Chicken. Make it tomorrow, you won't regret it.

3-4 cups of cooked and shredded chicken
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup

Heat oven to 400. Melt butter and pour into the bottom of a 9x13 pan then top with chicken. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the milk and stir. Pour or drop the batter over the chicken. Do not stir it. Whisk together broth and cream of chicken soup. Carefully pour over the top of the casserole. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Top Eleven Recipes of 2011

It has been really fun to go back through all the recipes from 2011 and remember what was made this year. Gray and I set down and talked about the different recipes and this is the list we came up with for our top Eleven recipes of 2011.

11. Durkee's Chicken

10. Mini Toffee Rolls

9. Cream of Tomato Soup

8. Self Frosting Nutella Cupcakes

7. Bruschetta Chicken Bake

6. French Dip Sandwiches

5. Black Bean Hummus

4. Creamy Chicken Lasagna

3. CocaCola Cake

2. Quick Beer Pizza Crust

1. Panko Crusted Salmon

I'll be back at the start of 2012 with some great recipes!!! Thanks for all your support this year friends. I love having this blog and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Spinach, Mushroom, Sundried Tomato Boursin Pasta

The idea of this recipes came from Baked Bree but I gave it a big makeover based on what we had and what sounded good for us. Hints the slight name change. This was awesome pasta!!! I love boursin so I had very little doubts that it wasn't going to be great.

1 package bowtie pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag baby spinach
1 package Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
fresh pepper

Cook the pasta according to the directions. In a pot saute the spinach in olive oil with garlic and place in a bowl. Combine the milk, chicken broth and boursin in the pot. Once it's melted add sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, dill, fresh pepper and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Stir well. Stir in pasta and spinach. Let the mixture sit together for 5 minutes. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

BBQ Chicken Crescents

The recipe for these babies came from Plain Chicken. They are so quick and fun! We had them for dinner one night but they would be perfect for a party!

8 fully cooked fried chicken fingers
4 slices provolone cheese, cut in half
1 can crescent rolls
1 cup BBQ sauce

Heat oven to 375. Roll out the crescent rolls into triangles. Put bbq sauce in a bowl. Dip a chicken finger into the bbq sauce. Top the chicken finger with half a piece of cheese. Roll up the crescent and place on a greased cookie sheet. Continue until all the chicken fingers and crescent rolls are gone. Bake for 18 to 2o minutes.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I love love love Broccoli Cheddar Soup but I am kinda picky about it. This soup was amazing! Warm, cheesy and filling! The recipe is from Cassie Craves.

6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small onion (chopped )
1/4 cup AP flour
2 cups half-and-half
3 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups broccoli florets
1 large carrot (diced )
2 1/2 cups grated sharp white and/or yellow cheddar cheese (plus more to top with)

Melt butter in a pot, saute the onion until tender. Add the flour and whisk it in, cook until golden brown. Slowly whisk in the half and half until smooth. Add the broth, bay leaves and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Add broccoli and carrot, simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves. Place soup in blender and puree until smooth. Add it back to the pot. Add cheese and stir in. If soup is too thick, add water to thin it out. Pour into bowls and top with cheese.

Chicken Fried Steak

Yum. Yum. Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum. This is PW's recipe. Did I mention it is good?

3 pounds Cube Steak
1-1/2 cup Whole Milk (plus 2 more for the gravy)
2 Eggs
3 cups All purpose Flour (plus 1/3 cup for gravy)
Seasoning Salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne
Black Pepper (and plenty of it!)
Canola Oil
Salt

In one boil mix the eggs and milk together. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, seasoning salt, cayenne and lots of black pepper. Place the meat on a dish then have a clean dish to place it on once you get it all coated. Dip it in the milk mixture then the flour mixture then back in the milk mixture and back in the flour mixture and place on the clean plate. Continue with each piece of meat. Heat oil in a skillet. Drop in a a bit of flour to test if it's ready. Once it's ready place the meat (a few batches at a time) into the oil. Cook until crispy and brown on both sides. Repeat with all the meat, adding a little more oil if needed.

If there is lots of grease remaining then remove all but 1/4 of a cup from the skillet then whisk in 1/3 cup of flour. Cook until a golden brown color. Add milk and cook until thick, if it gets too thick add a little more milk. Season with salt and lots of pepper.

Top the steak with the gravy and serve right away!

Mini Garlic Monkey Breads

Real Mom Kitchen, at this point, need I say more?

2 (7.5 oz) cans Grands Biscuits
6 tbsp butter (melted)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Mix together the remaining ingredients. Dip each biscuit into the mixture and place into muffin tin. Place 3 pieces into each tin. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.