Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Pecan Brown Sugar Streusel Topping {Recipe}

 Yesterday I was bored and it was a rainy chilly autumn day here in Germany. I was grocery shopping and craving something pumpkin and sweet. I grabbed a few items and went home to whip up this delicious pumpkin spice muffin recipe. I added a streusel topping to make it a little bit fancier and more like something you would find in a coffee shop or serve at a brunch. 

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins 

with Pecan Brown Sugar Streusel Topping

Pumpkin Spice Muffins:

1 box spice cake mix

1 can pumpkin

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Pecan Brown Sugar Struesel:

1/2 cup chopped pecan pieces

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together ingredients for streusel topping in a small bowl, set aside.

Mix together cake mix, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Don't worry, your batter will be really thick. Pour into lined muffin tins. Top with struesel topping, slightly pressing into muffin mixture.

Bake 20-25 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

My daughter and I enjoyed having them this morning with mugs of hot cocoa!

Baking with Mirabelle Plums.

Last night I baked a Mirabelle Plum and Cognac Clafoutis with the plums Ariana and Daddy picked from the tree in our backyard! It turned out delicious! We served it slightly warm, dusted with powdered sugar and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. It was kind of like a cobbler.

These sweet little plums come from the Lorraine region of France (which isn't far from us) here in Germany. They are good to eat by themselves (my husband really likes them) but they are also good to bake with.

Mirabelle Plum and Cognac Clafoutis Recipe

3 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespons softened butter

about 1.5 cups of stoned mirabelle plums, cut in half

1/4 cup cognac or brandy

30g (1 oz) flaked almonds

powdered sugar and vanilla ice cream to serve.

1. Beat the eggs, cream, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl.  

2. Add flour, mix well and then beat briskly with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute.  

3. If time allows, set aside to rest for 1 hour at room temperature. In the meantime, macerate the mirabelle halves in the brandy.

4. Preheat oven to 425F (220C) and melt butter in a pie dish.  Spread the mirabelle halves evenly over the base of the buttered dish and carefully pour the batter over the fruit.  Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 10 minutes. 

5. Sprinkle with almonds and move your rack down 1 notch and reduce the oven temperature to 350F (175C) and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. 

Serve slightly warm with powdered sugar. Scoop of ice cream is optional but very yummy!

Orignal recipe found here.

Southern Banana Pudding {Recipe}

When it comes to summer in the South, everyone has their favorite Banana Pudding recipe. You're pretty much guaranteed to find a banana pudding at every potluck or family function. This is my family favorite from my "Aunt" Pam! She gave it to us when we first got married. It's in our family and friends cookbook where everyone who loved us gave us recipes to start off our marriage. I make it every year when the weather warms up.

Southern Banana Pudding

1 large box instant vanilla pudding

8 oz sour cream

12 oz Cool Whip 

3 or 4 large bananas

1 box Vanilla Wafers

3 cups of milk

1. Mix the pudding and milk as directed on box.

2. Add sour cream and mix well.

3. Fold in Cool Whip.

4. Layer Vanilla Wafers, chopped bananas, and pudding mixture.

5. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Greek Chicken Pita's {Recipe}

Earlier this week I talked about how we loved Greece and their food and I shared our tzatziki recipe. Today I'm sharing our pita recipe. This is yummy for a light lunch or picnic recipe for summertime. If you like Greek food, you're sure to love this! The best grilled chicken and freshest, tastiest salads I've ever had was in Corfu and those flavors inspired this dish.

For this recipe you'll need some tzatziki sauce. I posted our quick and easy tzatziki recipe that is perfect for this. It makes an amazing marinade for your chicken and creamy sauce for your pitas.

Greek Chicken Pita's

Chicken (I used breast pieces that were already trimmed)

whole wheat pitas

fresh spinach (or lettuce if you prefer)

tomatoes, diced

Mediterranean herb feta, crumbled

cucumbers, sliced

tzatziki sauce

1. Marinade your chicken in a few tablespoons of tzatziki sauce. I usually just stick mine in a plastic bag with about 4-5 tablespoons of tzatziki and pop it in the fridge for a few hours. You will want to let them marinade for at least 2 hours.

2. Cook your chicken after it's had time to get full of flavor. We like to grill ours but we've also cooked it in a little olive oil in the pan on the stove.

3. Prepare your tomatoes and cucumbers and spinach. Wash and cut and have them ready for the assembly line.

4. Once your chicken has cooled so you can handle it a little, slice (or chop) it into bite size pieces. Or if you're having it later, you can refrigerate your chicken and there is no need to reheat it.

5. Now, you're ready to assemble your pita. Cut your pitas in half and open them up. Layer spinach, cucumber, chicken, feta, tomatoes and tzatziki into each half of your pita.

Munch away!

Quick and Easy Tzatziki {Recipe}

As a family last year we took a trip to Cyprus (part of ancient Greece) and before we had little ones we spent a week on the Greek island of Corfu. We absolutely love the fresh flavors of real Greek food. But sometimes you can't always spend a week on a Greek island so you learn to improvise. One of my favorite snacks from those vacations became tzatziki and pitas, I'm pretty sure I ate it everyday that we were on Corfu. There is just something so light and refreshing about it. Right now I would love being on the beach, sipping some wine (or a mojito) with some friends and family while sharing a big bowl of tzatziki and pitas and laughing in the sunshine. That daydream is bringing you this recipe. My quick and easy tzatziki recipe that's perfect for summer!

Quick and Easy Tzatziki

1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup sour cream

1 large cucumber, peeled, deseeded, finely grated, and squeezed of excess juice

2 teaspoons dried dill weed

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

1. Peel, deseed and grate your cucumber. This is the hardest part of the whole process. Squeeze excess juice from your cucumber (and there will be a lot of juice). Add to a medium sized bowl.

2. Mix in your greek yogurt, sour cream, dill weed, sugar, garlic powder and season with some salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours for the flavors to blend together. Enjoy!

Later this week I'll be sharing our favorite Greek Chicken Pita recipe we created using this easy tzatziki!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble {Recipe}

If you're looking for the perfect way to use that rhubarb in the backyard (like me) then this is the recipe to try! Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble. Besides all the chopping it's pretty easy to make.

Below are the pictures of the rhubarb that we have growing in our backyard. We have 2 huge plants of it. You can see with me standing beside it how big the leaves are. But, you don't use the leaves, they are poisonous to eat, only use the stalks.

If your plant is blooming flowering stalks, you should break off the flowering parts so that the plant can send it's energy to creating the leaves instead of flowers. Mine is growing huge and even with the flowering stalks still on there it seemed to be growing fine.

Pick your leaves (you can see how big they are with Ariana holding them up). I used 3 good sized stalks and got about 3 cups worth of usable rhubarb out of it.

Chop up your rhubarb and strawberries and we'll get started with the actually recipe part!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Filling:

3 cups strawberries, roughly chopped

3 cups rhubarb, chopped

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Topping:

1/4 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon salt

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cold, diced 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)

2. In a large bowl mix together strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl mix together oats, flour, sugar, brown sugar, cardamom, salt and lemon zest. Using a pastry cutter or fork work butter into mixture until crumbly.

4. Pour filling into sprayed pie pan. Top with crumble topping. 

5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until top is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

6. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Creamy Cheesy Avocado Mac {Recipe}

This is my attempt to make a gourmet spin on mac and cheese. It's creamy, it's cheesy, it's got avocado. It's pretty perfect to me, and to be frank, my new favorite comfort food. I've been known to make this twice in one week for lunch. (I'd make it more if I could get away with it!) One of our friends actually told me about adding half an avocado to his mac and cheese and he liked it. I took that tip and ran with it. This is what I came up with.

Creamy Cheesy Avocado Mac

1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (I used "thick and creamy")

2 oz cream cheese

milk (About 1/3 cup)

1 avocado, roughly mashed

swiss cheese (about 1/3 cup shredded)

Tony's Chachere Creole Seasoning (a few good shakes cause I like the spice)

Cook your macaroni as it's directed on the package. While your pasta is cooking I prepare my avocado. Cut your avocado in half and remove the seed. Use the spoon to scoop out the yummy avocado goodness into a small bowl. Use a fork to roughly smash it (it's okay if it has some lumps, actually it's preferred) and set it aside.

Once your noodles are done drain them and return them to the pot, instead of using butter this is where we are going to use cream cheese. I've used more but I find 2 oz of cream cheese does just the trick. Mix the cream cheese with the hot noodles to melt and coat them.

Add in the powdered cheese and milk and mix. Add in your grated swiss cheese and stir until melted.  Fold the mashed avocado  into your mac and cheese. Finish off with a couple shakes of Tony's and boom delicious "gourmet" mac and cheese! I'm telling you this is my new favorite invention! I add more Tony's once I dip mine into a bowl because like I said I like it to have that kick but you can adjust it however you like. Mmm....

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

The perfect risotto for a cool fall night! Love the garam marsala flavor that this dish has, it pairs well with the butternut squash and parmesan!

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

1 cup arborio rice (uncooked)

4 cups chicken broth

1 med size butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, diced in 1/2 in cubes

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1. 5 cup shredded parmesan

1/2 cup white wine

2 tbsp butter

olive oil (2tbsp + extra for coating squash)

garam masala (1 tbsp, more if desired)

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel, deseed and chop the butternut squash into 1/2 inch cubes.

3. In a large bowl toss squash with olive oil and garam marsala.

4. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and roast the butternut squash for 30-40 minutes until tender.

5. Heat chicken broth in a pot over medium heat. Let it gently simmer, DO NOT BOIL!

6. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter on medium heat and let melt. Cook the onion and garlic a few minutes until softened. **(Add in and slightly mash half of your roasted squash)

7. Add the arborio rice and toast for 3-5 minutes.

8. Add the wine to the rice and stir until wine is absorbed. 

9. Ladle in warm chicken broth while stirring rice. STIR CONSTANTLY! Let it cook and absorb into the rice before adding more chicken broth. Repeat this until rice is cooked. This usually takes about 30 minutes for the brand of rice we use. Remember to constantly stir so that your risotto will cook properly.

10. Fold in the roasted butternut squash and then stir in the parmesan.

11. Serve immediately. Garnish with butternut squash and a few sprinkles of cheese if desired.

**Since first creating this recipe, we've changed it a little. Before we start cooking the rice, we cook about half of the squash in the pan with the onions, slightly mashing them as we stir. Then we fold in the other half of the squash into the dish after the rice has cooked. It seems to give the rice more butternut squash flavor!

It's pretty amazing and so is my husband for creating this for me! Let me know if you love it as much as we do! Enjoy!!

Sautéed Ravioli with Spinach-Mushroom Pesto Cream Sauce

You are in for a special treat today!! This is a pretty special recipe that my husband and I have been making for the past 8 years we've been married, and it's one of our favorites. We've tweaked it over time but not much we like it the way we like it

Sauteed Ravioli with Spinach-Mushroom Pesto Cream Sauce 

1 lb cheese filled ravioli (I get a big bag of frozen ones) 

1 medium onion 

1/2 pound mushrooms 

olive oil 

butter 

2 cloves of garlic, minced 

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach 

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped 

1 container sour cream (16 oz) it's about 1.5 cups 

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated 

salt pepper 

1. Fill a large pot with water and cook your ravioli as directed on the package. Thaw spinach under cool water running water in a colander in the sink. 

2. Chop your onion and garlic. 

3. In a large skillet heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until golden, about 5-6 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile clean and slice your mushrooms. 

5. Add a tablespoon of butter to your onion mixture and once melted, add in your mushrooms, stirring to coat. Cook until mushrooms are wilted, about 5 minutes. 

6. Chop your basil. Squeeze the moisture out of your spinach and add this and basil to your skillet. Heat through about 1 minute. 

7. Stir in the sour cream, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and cook about 1 minute. 

8. In another large skillet add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter and heat over medium high heat. Add the drained ravioli and sauté until they are just beginning to brown. About 2 minutes per side I think. You may have to do this in batches. 

9. Drain ravioli and plate. Top with sauce and sprinkle with extra parmesan if you'd like. 

This takes about an hour to make, start to finish and serves 4. Delicious!!