foodie friday: pumpkin cookies

Happy Friday friends!

Today's recipe is another Theta classic. The recipe makes a lot of cookies, definitely more than we need just for the two of us. If you're in the mood for a fall treat, these are definitely the perfect fit.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Sift together and set aside:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat until well-blended:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 stick butter, softened

Add and beat until smooth:

1 cup canned pumpkin (the recipe called for Libby's pumpkin but I used some that I found at Whole Foods. Turns out there is a pumpkin shortage so I had a hard time finding any)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Gradually add flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets. Bake at 350 fro 15-18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Drizzle with glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon melted butter

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

My 'glaze' was a little thick so it was more frosting-like. You can adjust how much powdered sugar or milk to make the glaze whatever consistency you like. We're frosting fans here and Kyle isn't crazy about pumpkin flavored things (although he loves these cookies!) so I figured thicker was better for us.

Let me know if you try the recipe! Enjoy the weekend!

foodie friday.

A few weeks ago my dad bought me an edition of Cooking for Two. We have already made several of the recipes and I must say, I am a fan. The recipes are sized perfectly for just the two of us, which I love. Here is a link to buy the cookbook. We have a smaller, magazine-style version that you can pick up at Barnes & Noble.

This recipe is perfect for fall. I have already made this twice and am certain that we will be dining on this many more times this fall. I was pretty sure I didn't even like corn chowder until I tried this recipe.

See the pretty cross? It's from my momma. And my sweet pink apron... it's from Kyle's mom, Kim. Thanks ladies!

PANTRY CORN CHOWDER

Ingredients:

1 pound frozen corn (fully thawed)

3/4 cup whole milk

3 slices bacon, minced

1 small onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)

Table salt

2 garlic cloves, minced (I skip that step and have some pre-minced garlic in the fridge)

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

8 ounces red potatoes (about 3 small) cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Ground black pepper

1. Process half of the corn with the milk in a food processor until smooth; set aside

2. Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, thyme and bay leaf, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3 . Add the pureed corn, broth, potatoes and 1/4 salt, bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are almost tender (the recipe says this should take 5 minutes but it usually takes a bit longer for me). Stir in the remaining corn; return to a simmer and cook until the corn is warmed through and the potatoes are tender, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, remove the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with the reserved bacon, and serve.

Here is a little preview of our fall table, complete with a delicious fall meal.

(the bread on the table was an extra little treat that I picked up at Panera... asiago bread = delish!)

We're leaving our rainy fall weather this afternoon and heading to Arizona for some 100 degree temperatures. Can't say I'm excited for the heat, but I am very excited for the people we will be spending the weekend with! Sunday is Kyle's grandma's birthday so we will be hanging out with Kyle's folks, Grandma and Grandpa Krueger and Kyle's great-grandma. We're all packed up and ready to go! Have a fabulous weekend friends!

ps-Monday is the first official day of fall! I plan to celebrate with a Pumpkin Spice. You should too!

foodie friday.

Today is Bid Day back at Kappa Alpha Theta so this recipe is straight from the Theta Family Favorites cookbook. I spent 2 years living in the beautiful Theta house and if you ask any Theta what is one of the best things about living in that cute house, they will tell you about the delicious food cooked by three of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet. I got so spoiled by living in that house with all of that fabulous food. While it wasn't always so good for us, it was mighty tasty and the dinner table was never at a loss for conversation.

Here is one of my favorite breakfast recipes from my time in the Theta house. This is such a Theta favorite that girls who didn't even live in the house anymore would often show up for breakfast on the days when we had this casserole (or when we had breakfast tacos... yum). Kyle and I will be enjoying this for breakfast tomorrow morning and I am so excited. Of course, it won't be as delicious as when sweet Marilyn would make it for us, but I will do my very best.

Sausage Cream Cheese Casserole

8 oz. cream cheese

2 cans of crescent rolls

1 roll of Jimmy Dean sausage

Brown sausage and drain fat.

Spray casserole dish with nonstick spray

Spread 1 can of crescent roll dough in the bottom of dish

In a separate bowl, combine cooked sausage with cream cheese and mix well

Spread sausage mixture on top of crescent roll layer

Cover with second can of crescent roll dough

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes until top is golden brown

optional: sing Think Theta while enjoying this tasty tasty treat

3 of the roomies at our last Bid Day

(even though I think you've both made appearances at recruitment this year :) )

Enough reminiscing.... time for some laundry on this rainy Georgia day

foodie friday.

Featuring: Easy Sugar Cookies

Just as the name implies, these cookies are super easy to make and mighty tasty. They are always a huge hit and an easy contribution to a family get-together. Last Christmas, I baked bunches of these and gave them to friends. I also included the most perfect Christmas cookie ever.... stay tuned for that one in a few months! This recipe is from the always fabulous Karen Simar, aka Momma :) Enjoy!

1 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

1 egg (beaten)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

• Cream together first 4 ingredients (sugar, shortening, egg, vanilla) until well mixed. A hand mixer works great for this, especially if yours is as cute as my pink one!
• Mix remaining dry ingredients in another bowl, then add to mixture. 
• Shape dough into balls (I usually make the balls smaller than if I were making chocolate chips cookies, but the size is totally up to you)
• Put some additional sugar in a bowl and roll the dough in the sugar.
• Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes
• Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet (don't leave the cookies on the baking sheets longer than 2 minutes or the bottoms will burn)

I don't have any pictures of these sweet treats, but here is a photo of the wonderful mom who gave me the recipe...

Hope you all have fabulous weekends!

seasoned with sun

I’ve decided to break up the ordinary life stories every once in a while by throwing in a few posts on things other than giving you my daily play-by-play. Blog post idea numero uno: RECIPES! I know, not the most original idea, but I thought it would be fun. Since I’m a new wife and trying my hand at this whole domestic business, I thought it would be fun to share some of the yummy things we dine on.

I’m letting you all know now, I much prefer baking over cooking. For that reason, I’m warning you all that these recipes may lean more towards baked treats than full meals. I’m sure you won’t mind that little fact a bit once you’re enjoying a freshly baked cookie J

So here we go, the first recipe. Kyle and I actually had this for dinner last night. I was really wanting some Mexican food so I pulled out my trusty Seasoned With Sun cookbook.

Jennifer’s boyfriend, Jason, is from El Paso and gifted this great book to each of the Simar girls. So far, everything from this cookbook has been great… thanks Jason!! Last night we tested the taco salad recipe and it was delish…

Old El Paso Taco Salad

1 ½ pounds ground beef

2 large fresh tomatoes, diced (I just bought 1 BIG one)

1 ½ cups diced onion

1 cup chopped celery (we left this ingredient out)

3 to 4 ounces corn chips (I just guessed on how many to put in)

1 10-ounce can Old El Paso Tomatoes and Green Chilies

1 cup diced bell pepper (I used a red one)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chile powder

1 16-ounce box pasteurized process cheese spread, cubed

½ teaspoon cumin

1 large head lettuce, coarsely cut

 

Brown ground beef, drain and set aside. Saute onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic in remaining juices. Combine meat with vegetable mixture and spices; simmer 20 minutes. Toss lettuce and tomatoes together in large bowl and add slightly crushed corn chips. In top of double boiler, combine canned tomatoes and green chilies with cheese (I don’t have a double broiler… a regular pot is a-ok!!) Stir frequently until melted. When ready to serve, add hot meat mixture to lettuce; toss. Pour cheese sauce in a bowl and serve as dressing.

 

I was a little worried that this wouldn’t be enough to fill us up, but it was perfect for dinner! We have enough left over for Kyle to be able to enjoy while I am away. The ‘dressing’ is basically just queso (and by that, I mean it is queso). We didn’t put tons of it on our salad so we were able to enjoy salad, queso, Kyle’s AWESOME guacamole and the tortilla chips that didn’t go into the salad. Delish!!

 

Hope you all have great weekends. I am off to make sure my bag is packed and ready to go. I'll be back Monday after my weekend of sister fun!!