Pumpkin Pie Dip

Stephanie's done it again! I'm going to grab one of my frozen bags of pumpkin puree and make this quick Pumpkin Pie dip for the crew of friends we have working on our house today. They totally deserve it!
Maybe I'll whip up a batch of gingersnaps to go with it...

10/20/08
Okay, I did end up making this Saturday afternoon, but I wasn't completely won over. Oh, and my hubby thought it looked like cheese dip and was totally surprised when he tried it with a pretzel!
In general I thought it was bland. I did add pumpkin pie spice although it didn't call for it. I think next time I'll go with a little less sour cream and maybe a tablespoon or so of sugar.
Yes, I will definitely be making this again!

Brie with Apricot Topping

This sounds like the perfect appetizer for the Tea Party I've always wanted. Just the sound of it makes me want to call up the ladies and start the teapot! Brie with Apricot Topping. And in a Crockpot to boot...what could be easier?! Once again, Stephanie comes up with a winner!

Chex Mix in the Pot!

Yahoo! Stephanie also has an easy Chex Mix recipe made in the crock pot which Rocks!

I'll also be making this for our little trip coming up...

MuffinMan

After breezing in from a weekend away, I'm right back to planning more time away from home. This past weekend we spent at our local NASCAR track, NHMS in Loudon, NH. On Wednesday night, we leave to go to a semi-local track in Dover, Delaware! (About 500 miles later!) So I'm putting together as many make-ahead meals as I can, and was SO pleased to find this muffin mix page! Now for the hard part: deciding which one to make!
The base recipe for most of the recipes is the A-B-C Muffin Base Mix. It is for a huge store of mix and since I'll probably be making 6 muffins at a time instead of 24, I'm going to scale my "mix" down a bit.

Scaled down, I'll mix:
6 cups flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk blend or nonfat dry milk
2 T baking powder
2/3 T baking soda
2/3 T salt
1 T ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg

I'll probably add 1 t ground clove instead of the cinnamon.

This will make about 8.5 cups of mix. Many of the recipes say to use 5.5 cups for 24 muffins, so if you're like me and just want to make 6 muffins, pare down the recipe to a quarter and use 1 1/3 cups. If you do it this way, you can make about 6.5 batches of 6 muffins each with this amount of mix.
I think.
Depending on if my math is right.
Which is a very big "IF."
If you know what I mean.

9/24/08: Okay, this abc muffin mix is good for sweet OR savory muffins, so if you're like me and like your sweet, well...SWEET, then you might want to add some source of sweetener in on the end-result-muffin recipe. I used one that incorperated dried fruits for easy traveling. The others enjoyed them for breakfast and I did too, but I'd have liked just a bit more sweetness.

9/27/08: I added some honey. I'm sorry, I didn't measure, but what's done is done.
And it rocks!

Granola Bar overhaul

I decided to try this Granola Bar recipe from Allrecipes, but with some alterations. I decided not to list the original recipe simply because it's so different! Because I'm going on a "food lifestyle change" this coming week, I ended up substituting alternatives for many of the ingredients. I'm listing the original recipe in an entirely separate post to avoid confusion.

The recipe with My Variations:
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash ground cloves
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 of a blended fresh peach
1/8 t stevia
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup craisins
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter or margarine, fruit and stevia. Stir in the 2 cups assorted raisins, nuts etc. Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.

Result:
If you're looking for something sweet, this isn't it. It has a really plesant nutty flavor and a positive aftertaste and is almost sweet, but doesn't quite make it.

The Verdict:
I actually really like it for a breakfast bar or mid-day snack. I'll probably make it again, not sure if I'll make any more changes. If anything, I might use a sweeter fruit to add.

Updated Verdict:
It's not happening for me. It's been two days and I haven't eaten it. I'm not excited about it, so I won't eat it. I have to be excited about food. (Tall order for this "diet!")

Basic Granola

AllRecipes.com was the source of this recipe.

It is listed as "Master Granola Recipe" and has suggestions for alterations in flavoring and added elements.

This is what I did for my first Granola:

2 cups Old-fashioned Oats (NOT QUICK!)
½ cup Wheat Germ
2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
¼ tsp Salt
¼ cup Maple Syrup
3 Tbsp flavorless cooking oil, such as Vegetable or Canola (I used Canola)
1 Tbsp Water
1 cup Extra Ingredients (see "Variations" at the bottom of the AllRecipes list)
My Extra Ingredients:
2/3 cup Almond Slivers (hubby LOVES anything almond!)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Flavoring (see "Variations" at the bottom of the AllRecipes list)
My Flavoring:
¾ tsp almond extract
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Coat a 9-by-13-inch metal pan with cooking spray, then set aside. (I lined my pan with foil but forgot the spray. It stuck in some areas, but didn't burn and it came off easily once cooled.)

{Just the oats}

2. Mix oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, salt and Extra Ingredients--except dried fruit--in a bowl. Bring syrup, oil, water and any Flavoring to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Drizzle over oat mixture, and stir to combine.

{yummy, slightly gooey goodness}

{I took this about a minute after putting it in the oven because I forgot that I'd already taken a "before" picture!}

3. Pour mixture onto prepared pan. Working a handful at a time, squeeze cereal to form small clumps. Bake for 30 minutes. Stir in dried fruit and continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool. (Granola can be stored in an airtight tin for up to two weeks.) Makes one quart.

{After the first 1/2 hour of baking, just added the cranberries. Already starting to "tan up."}

You can double the recipe, but bake the granola in two pans. You also may need to increase cooking time. The key is to bake the granola until it is an impressive golden brown.

The Verdict: (In this case, did it pass the hubby test?)


1000% yes!


We're ready to make granola bars now (if this batch lasts long enough to make bars out of it!!)

Granola Bars

My hubby typically takes a granola bar to work with him for his mid-morning snack and try as I may, I haven't broken the habit of just making cookies or bars for him instead of buying the packaged bars. (and paying dearly for them!)

I came across this recipe quite by accident today and I'm really looking forward to giving it a try... Suzanne's Granola Bar.

I also found this general granola recipe with 8 variation suggestions on the AllRecipes site.

We'll see if it passes my hubby's test!