Pumpkin Pie Bites

I made these this weekend and WOW! Super yummy. They were supposed to be for ABF. I glanced at the recipe on my way to the grocery store and said to myself, "Hmm...mini pumpkin pies. I have pumkin and the basics, so all I need is pie crust." If I had actually READ the recipe I would have known I was missing the cream cheese. I still made them for SNL (Sunday Night Live small group). I'll post pictures later...

Note: I did not drizzle with chocolate. I used canned whipped cream instead! And you're shiny if you use the Wilton comfort grip pumpkin cookie cutter.

Pumpkin Pie Bites
from Bakerella (another of my heroes...)

Pumpkin Pie Bites
2 refrigerated ready-to roll pie crusts
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter
Optional
1/2 cup chocolate morsels
vegetable oil
re-sealable plastic bags
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box. Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray. (Make 12 at a time, alternating cups to make sure pie crusts don’t overlap each other.) Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie. Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove pies to cool and repeat with second pie crust. Place the muffin tray in the freezer to cool it quickly for re-use.
Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.

To decorate, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Add a little vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off. Drizzle or draw faces on pies.
Note: The cutter I used was 3 3/4 inches wide, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just use a round cutter around that size or slightly smaller to cut circle shapes out of the dough. Then make stems with the scraps. Press each stem over the edge and down the side of the dough before filling.
Pumpkin pie spice is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.

Blueberry Baked French Toast

I made this yesterday for our ABF (Sunday School) snacks. It is to die for!!!!


Blueberry Baked French Toast
from The Pioneer Woman (my hero....)

1 Family Size Bag Stacy’s Pita Chips – Simply Naked (Unfortunately, the family size bag is no longer available, but it was 10 ounces. Just get the Godzilla-sized bag at Sam's)
7 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

6 oz fresh blueberries

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (use a little more)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

Grease 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter. Pour in bag of pita chips and arrange evenly.In a bowl mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla.Pour egg mixture over pita chips. Cover pan tightly with foil and place in refrigerator overnight, or at least six hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pan from refrigerator. Sprinkle blueberries over the top.
Mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Slice butter and add to bowl, then use pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture.
Sprinkle flour mixture over the blueberries and make sure it’s evenly distributed.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. Chips on top should be crispy and crunchy.
Remove from oven and cut into squares. Drizzle with blueberry or maple syrup and serve warm.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I just use the crust recipe and add pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. Creative, huh?

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Valerie Chouinard

You can bake this in your oven or try it on the grill. Just don’t grill it on a baking stone! We broke one that way.
Pizza crust
1 package yeast (1 Tbs.)
1 c. warm water
1 Tbs. Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
2 Tbs. Oil
2 ½ c. flour
Dissolve yeast in water and let sit a few minutes. Stir in last 4 ingredients. Dough will be sticky. Let dough rise in bowl 10-15 minutes. Put dough on a greased pizza pan and spray dough with cooking oil spray. Press out to desired thickness. Let rise another 10-15 minutes. Bake crust alone for 5 min. at 400°.
BBQ Chicken Topping
2 to 3 c. cubed cooked chicken (leftover grilled chicken gives the best flavor)
½ - ¾ c. BBQ sauce (We like Curley’s)
½ c. chopped green pepper
2 c. Monterey jack cheese
Combine first 3 ingredients. Spread over crust. Top with cheese. Bake 15-18 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is slightly browned.

Garlic Lime Chicken

Garlic Lime Chicken
from Leanne Ely (a lady on the web, but I can't remember her website...)

1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. thyme
6 boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 Tbs. lime juice

In a bowl, mix together the first 7 ingredients. Sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken breasts. In a skillet heat butter and olive oil together over medium high heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and add lime juice and chicken broth to the pan, whisking up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat and serve.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

I think someone gave this recipe to my mom, who then gave it to me...

2 lbs. hamburger

1 onion

1 can pinto beans,16 oz., drained

1 can red beans,16 oz., drained

1 can whole kernel corn,16 oz., drained (I use a bag of frozen)

2 cans stewed tomatoes, 16. oz.

1 can Ro-tel

3 cups water

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 pkg. dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

Brown hamburger and onion together; drain. Mix all ingredients and heat. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, Fritos, and/or lettuce. Freezes well.

Creamed Chicken

Creamed Chicken
probably from a Quick Cooking magazine, but I can't remember...

Cubed or shredded chicken breast (about 2 cups)
vegetable oil
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 c. sour cream

In a large skillet, saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. Stir in soup, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream (you can heat it through if needed). Serve over rice.

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

BBQ Pork Sandwiches
from someone on the Taste of Home forums...

4-5 lbs. pork roast (pork shoulder or pork butt)
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
2 c. water
BBQ sauce

Place meat, water, and soup mix in crockpot. Cover and cook overnight or 8-12 hours on low. Drain. Remove fat and bone from meat. Shred meat and place back in crockpot. Add BBQ sauce (I sometimes dilute it if it's really thick). Cover and cook an additional 1-2 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low (I sometimes just do this in a pot on the stove if I've cooked the meat on another day). Serve on hamburger buns or the rolls of your choice.