Saturday, November 22, 2008

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 spice cake mixes
1 large can of pumpkin
1 bag of chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen.

REVIEW:
The things you are always looking for in a recipe are right here! This is easy, yummy, quick, festive, and oh ya, EASY!!! This has to be the best recipe. Thanks to Brittney!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Caramel Apple Cider


Caramel Apple Cider

8 oz. Tree Top Apple Juice
1 TBSP caramel
1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. cinnamon
Whipped Cream

Combine and heat the apple juice, caramel, and cinnamon. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon for added flavor and presentation. You could also use a cinnamon stick for presentation also.


Caramel Apple Cider

Stephens Cinnamon Apple Cider
1 TBSP caramel
Whipped Cream

Heat the cider according to directions. Mix the caramel in. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. Use a cinnamon stick for presentation and flavor.

REVIEW:
So this week was a little different. I made up these recipes this week, so I thought it might be nice to try a taste test to see which direction to go. The biggest difference between the two was that the apple juice recipe had a very distinct apple flavor compared to the cinnamon apple cider recipe. After trying both drinks, the apple cider could have used a little more caramel... and a little more flavor to be honest. Jared and I both agreed that the apple juice recipe was the better of the two, hands down!

Friday, November 7, 2008

BBQ Chicken Pizza


BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 Pizza Crust - uncooked
1 cup pizza sauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
Handful of fresh cilantro
3 cups of mixed cheddar and mozzarella cheese
2 chicken breasts cut into small pieces and cooked in BBQ sauce
1 can pineapple tidbits - drained

Roll your pizza dough onto a pizza pan or pizza stone. Blend together the pizza and BBQ sauces, then add cilantro and mix together. Add sauce to the top of the pizza dough, the sauce should be thick. Then top with cheese, chicken, and pineapple. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 18 min.

REVIEW: This was a pretty tasty pizza. Taking from one of my favorite restaurants, I added some cooked bacon to the pizza. That gave a nice addition to the pizza. Also, you could probably get away with only using a 1/2 cup pizza sauce and 1/2 cup BBQ sauce. I had a ton left over, and I felt I used a good amount of sauce. And I had to bake the pizza longer than 18 minutes. I did about 25 minutes, and still could have used a little more time. Just keep an eye on it!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

16 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground cloves
1 dash nutmeg
1 ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust (6 ounces or 9 inches)

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended. Remove 1 cup batter; stir in pumpkin and spices. Pour remaining plain batter into crust. Top with pumpkin batter. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool.
Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with thawed COOL WHIP.

REVIEW:
First of all, this was so easy to make! I followed the instructions and it turned out so yummy! I made this for a Halloween party, so all of my family were also critiquing the recipe for me. They all gave this 2 thumbs way up. I would agree!