Crock Pot Apple Cider Beef Stew

Last weekend I went wedding dress shopping all day on Saturday with my mom, sister, and future mother-in-law. What a wonderful day! And yes, I found a dress. ;) Why am I telling you this? Well, since I knew we were going to be gone all day, I thought it would be the perfect day to have dinner slowly cooking in the crock pot all day so that we could have a yummy meal waiting for us when we got home (and so that the house would smell delicious too!). I figured we'd be much too tired from dress shopping to cook. And I was right; wedding dress shopping is exhausting! But it's also super fun. :-D

I found this recipe for Apple Cider Beef Stew in one of my cookbooks specifically dedicated to slow cooker recipes. Now that the weather is getting colder, I've been thinking about using my crock pot much more often but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. I'm glad I finally did use it with this recipe! It was a great recipe to start off crock pot "season."

Ingredients:

-2 lbs. stew beef

-8 large carrots

-6 medium potatoes (I used red potatoes)

-2 apples (you can use whatever kind you have on hand! I think I used Macintosh)

-1 small onion (I used a yellow onion)

-salt, pepper

-thyme and other herbs you like (I also added herbs de provence)

-2 cups apple cider

Instructions:

Cut the beef into 1/2-inch cubes. Peel and slice the carrots and potatoes (I cut mine into about 1/2-inch pieces - and I actually did not peel my red potatoes). Also cut the apples into 1/2-inch pieces. I left the skins on the apples but you could peel them if you wanted. Finely chop the onion.

Place the carrots, potatoes, and apples in the crock pot. Add the beef, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme, and onions. Pour the cider over top. Cover and cook on low setting for 10 - 12 hours. Makes approximately 8 - 10 servings.

Serve hot and enjoy!

I didn't list an amount for the spices/herbs because I think you can just eyeball how much you add. My guess is that I added about 3 teaspoons total of the various dried herbs and maybe about 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper? Sorry - I didn't measure!

Along with our yummy stew, I served some deeelicious bread from When Pigs Fly, one of my favorite bread bakeries. This particular bread was their baby spinach, onion, and garlic ciabatta. Sooo flavorful! I am lovin' that there's a When Pigs Fly in the town where I live, but my wallet and waistline aren't as happy about it. ;)

Back to the stew... This was a very tasty, hearty, comforting dish - just what you want when it comes to beef stew! The apple cider was detectable and added a unique flavor. And the apples added a bit more nutrition too! All in all, this dish was a winner.

Yay for crock pot cooking!

Pumpkin Pudding Graham Cracker "Cake"

This dessert recipe has to be one of the most simple dishes ever... Seriously. Trust me on this one. Anyone can do it! This recipe is actually the same as my easy icebox cake that I shared with you last year. Essentially it's just a dessert with layered graham crackers, pudding, and cool whip.... Hellooooo easy! I thought it would be more fun to call it pumpkin pudding graham cracker "cake" this time around though. ;-)

Ingredients:

-1 box pumpkin flavored pudding (I used JELL-O's pumpkin spice flavor)

-8 to 10 full graham crackers

-cool whip

Instructions:

Make the pudding according to the directions on the box and make sure it's set before proceeding. In an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan, place graham cracker sheets so that they cover the bottom. My pan was an 8 x 8, and it took a little more than 4 full crackers to cover the bottom. Next, spread half the pudding over top of the graham crackers until it's smooth. Cover with another layer of graham crackers and then another layer of pudding (use the rest of it). Let the dish sit overnight in the fridge (or for several hours) so that the pudding seeps into the graham crackers and makes them soft.

If desired, you can spread cool whip evenly over top of the pudding before slicing the "cake" into pieces to serve, or you can just serve it by putting a dollop of cool whip on each piece. The latter way may be slightly safer just in case someone doesn't care for cool whip!

I forgot to take a picture again after I smoothed out the pudding here on the top layer.

I also forgot to take a picture until half the dish was already gone! Oops. It went fast. :)

Yummy layers! So simple yet delicious and fun.

You can obviously make this with any pudding flavor you'd like! One time I made it with pistachio pudding and another time I went wild n' crazy and made this with two different pudding flavors...wowzers! And then I even threw in a couple layers of fresh fruit. Yikes! Something must have gotten into me that day. I just went crazy. And it's also always fun to top this with some fun, colored sprinkles or maybe some crushed graham crackers for an added crunchy texture. You can also make this in a larger pan like a 13 x 9, but you may need to use two boxes of pudding with the larger dish and obviously more graham crackers too. :)

Happy mid-week, all!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Peppers, Onions, and Rosemary on Multigrain Dough

Homemade pizza is probably in my top three dinners of all time. I love its versatility and the opportunity it provides to have a fairly healthy meal that's also a comfort food. :) I've written previously about some of my favorite combinations of toppings, and I've also shared an awesome savory pumpkin pizza dough recipe on the blog. Today I'm sharing a "recipe" for a most delicious pizza that Mike and I made last week - barbecue chicken pizza with roasted sweet potatoes, peppers, and onions on multigrain dough. YUM!

I used the multigrain pizza dough from Whole Foods when we made this pizza. Oh my goodness. This dough is the best! A Whole Foods very recently opened where I live, and I am sooo excited about it. Last week I picked up the last bag of multigrain dough that was on the shelves at the time, and I think it was meant to be. WF multigrain dough + me = a match made in heaven. Try not to be too jealous, fiance Mike. ;)

Now, this recipe doesn't really have exact measurements, per se. When making pizza, I just eyeball everything. So I apologize for not having measurements, but you'll get the idea!

Ingredients:

-pizza dough of your choice (you can make your own, of course!)

-barbecue sauce (I used a honey bbq sauce)

-cooked chicken, shredded or cut into bite-sized pieces (I baked a medium sized chicken breast with bbq sauce and then cut it into bite-sized pieces)

-roasted sweet potatoes (about 3/4 cup or so; I used leftovers I had roasted a couple nights prior, and at that time they were seasoned with salt, pepper, and rosemary)

-pepper (any color!), sliced

-onion, diced

-dried rosemary or other herbs of your choice

-shredded cheese of your choice (I used a store bought "Italian" blend of cheeses)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If using a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven (to prevent it from cracking). Saute your onion and pepper in olive oil, over medium heat on the stove, for 6 or 8 minutes until they start to get soft (they will cook more in the oven). Spread out your dough until it's as thick or thin as you'd like. Evenly spread a few tablespoons (or so!) of bbq sauce across the dough. Place the rest of your toppings (cooked chicken and veggies) evenly on top of the bbq sauce, and then sprinkle with your preferred flavor(s) and amount of cheese. I typically don't like my pizza too cheesy, as I don't want the cheese to overpower the taste of all the other delicious toppings! And it's healthier with less cheese too. ;) We chose to sprinkle some dried rosemary over top of our pizza before baking it. Feel free to add whatever herbs you might like!

(Terrible lighting there; sorry! But this is the dough with the bbq sauce spread on it.)

If you preheated a pizza stone, transfer the pizza to the stone and bake for 10 - 12 minutes (that's how long my pizzas take anyway!) or until the outer crust edges start to turn a light golden brown. I have preheated my pizza stone before, and I also haven't... It's turned out fine every time, but I guess you should probably do whatever your pizza stone's instructions tell you to do! I have an awesome Pampered Chef stone that my mom gave me. Love it!

Let your pizza sit for a couple minutes before slicing it. Then, ENJOY and try to hold back from eating the entire thing in one sitting. ;)

Below you'll see a slice of the bbq chicken pizza, but what's that on the left, you wonder? Well, it's the other pizza we made the same night! The second pizza was a tasty broccoli, tomato, and goat cheese pizza on Whole Foods white dough. Also super delicious! However, the bbq chicken and sweet potato pizza really stole the show, which is why I decided to share that one with you.

What toppings and flavor combinations do you like best on your own homemade pizza?!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far! :)

Pumpkin Waffles

Warning. I'm back on the pumpkin kick! Well, let's be honest. I never really went off it... I've still been creating yummy treats with my beloved pumpkin all along. I've just taken a break for a couple posts from sharing the recipes with you.

I made these pumpkin waffles a few weeks ago and thought they were super yummy. They take a little extra time to make, but if you've got the time, they're totally worth it!! The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, a wonderful food blog that I've mentioned before. I'm posting the original ingredients below, although when I made these, I halved the recipe. I think that half the recipe made about 10 or so waffles for me?

Ingredients:

-2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you could easily do half AP and half whole wheat here)

-1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

-2 and 1/4 tsp. baking powder

-1 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-2 tsp. cinnamon

-1 tsp. ginger

-1/4 tsp. cloves

-4 lage eggs, separated

-2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

-1 cup canned pumpkin

-6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

Preheat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Separate eggs. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and melted butter until smooth. In a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold a soft peak (like in the second picture below). Fold them into the waffle batter until just combined, Brush waffle iron lightly with vegetable oil or spray it with cooking spray. Spoon batter into iron, spreading it quickly, and cook until done (however long that is for your particular waffle maker!). I used around 3/4 to one cup of batter for every two waffles. If desired, keep waffles warm in a 250 degree oven while you cook the remaining batter.

The Saturday morning that I made these, I actually ate mine with both butter AND maple syrup (the real stuff, of course). For some reason I was in the mood for both tasty toppings. Obviously you can enjoy them however you would like to. :) And there's a chance I ate the leftover ones cold.... And there's also a chance that they were delicious cold. Just sayin'!

Mashed Root Vegetables (Potato, Rutabaga, Parsnip) with Rosemary

Hello hello! Sorry it's been several days between posts. Whoops! This is a tasty side dish recipe that involves very yummy, healthy root veggies that are abundant this time of year. During our last week of our CSA at the end of October, we got a rutabaga! My first ever :) I was debating what to do with it and decided it might be fun to mash it! So I did. I combined it with a parsnip and a couple potatoes...all from our CSA. I kind of just flew by the seat of my pants with this recipe, so the approximate measurements are listed below for you. I feel like this is the kind of recipe that you can make to your own taste, adding a bit more butter or milk (or whatever!) to your liking.

Ingredients:

-1 parsnip

-2 small potatoes

-1 rutabaga

-2 or so Tbsp. of butter

-salt and pepper to taste

-1/4 to 1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)

-a few sprigs of fresh rosemary

Instructions:

Peel veggies and cut into small cubes/chunks. I probably ended up with 2.5 to 3 cups of veggies (I actually only used about 2/3 of the rutabaga). Place root veggies in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return veggies to a large bowl. Add the butter, milk, salt, and pepper. Beat until light and fluffy, or mash with a masher or fork. Stir in fresh rosemary (or other herbs of your choice!).

I'm sorry I didn't take any more appetizing photos. I forgot to take any more than just these! I didn't feel like using an electric mixer to beat the root veggies, and I don't have a masher...so I just used an old-fashioned fork. That led to some lumps in mine, but I didn't mind. I actually liked the texture. ;-) I am not actually sure if I've ever had rutabaga before now! I did like it, and I'd definitely make this dish again. I roasted the remaining 1/3 of the rutabaga that I didn't put in this dish. That was tasty too!

Lesson learned here = I ♥ rutabaga. :)

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes with Kahlua Cream Cheese Frosting

Yes, you heard me right. Or, rather, you read my words correctly. ;-) These are OREO STUFFED chocolate cupcakes. I was inspired to try this by recently reading some recipes about making oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies. I actually bought oreos several weeks ago with the intent to make those cookies. But then came the occasion of a coworker's birthday (which also happened to fall on Halloween!), and I thought to myself, you should really use those oreos you bought a while ago. I wanted to make cupcakes for the birthday occasion though since they're much more birthday-like than cookies. And then there it was - the idea for oreo stuffed cupcakes! As soon as I had the idea, I knew it would be a winner.

When making cupcakes on Halloween, one must use Halloween-themed liners!

The oreos I used weren't classic oreos; rather, they were these newfangled "heads or tails" oreos that have one chocolate wafer and one vanilla one. Even better - the best of both worlds!

I'll share the actual cupcake ingredients later on in the post, but first, the method of stuffing the cupcakes... It's quite simple really.

Put a spoonful of cupcake batter in the bottom of the liner. And by spoonful, I mean about a tablespoon or so?

Next, the oreo goes in!

Finally, place more cupcake batter on top of the oreo and fill until the cup is about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way filled. That's it folks!

You can easily use whatever cupcake recipe you love too (doesn't have to be the one I share below!). If you have a favorite homemade chocolate cupcake recipe you love, use it. Or, try the oreo stuffed cupcakes with vanilla or peanut butter cupcakes. Whatever you want!!

I used a new recipe from this fun book. The original recipe was just for the chocolate cupcakes. The addition of the oreos was a Barbershop twist on the original. Oh, and actually, I added the salt and vanilla to the ingredients list myself too. They weren't in the original recipe.

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

-1 cup hot water

-1 and 2/3 cups flour

-1 and 1/2 cups sugar

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 cup butter, softened

-2 eggs

-1 tsp. vanilla

-20 to 24 oreos (any kind will do!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper cupcake liners in muffin pan. Mix the cocoa with the hot water in a bowl until the mixture is smooth. Set aside and let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes. When it's cool, place it in a mixing bowl and add the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for two minutes. Increase speed and beat for two additional minutes. Using the method I described above, make your oreo stuffed cupcakes and fill the cups about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

I was pretty pleased with the flavor of these cupcakes. And they were very moist! That's key for me when it comes to cupcakes.

For the frosting on these little gems, I used a recipe I previously posted about and looooved. It's this kahlua cream cheese frosting. Use any frosting you'd like though! Classic vanilla or chocolate frosting would be great with these cupcakes.

Now, because I was making these cupcakes for a Halloween birthday, I decided to decorate them in a way that fit Halloween. I made them into mummies!  The method to make mummies is very simple. And you don't have to be very precise either which is always nice. :) I used my Wilton cake decorating tip #47. Basically, to create the mummy look, just pipe lines with your pastry bag any which way you want on top of the cupcake and you've got yourself a mummy! Then place a couple candies of your choice on top for the eyes. Anyone can do it! No need for them to look perfect.

I made about a dozen mini cupcakes too! These did not have oreos in them though. :(

Here's my family of mummies, just chillin'. Little did they know the fate that was around the corner for them... Poor mummies didn't know they'd be completely devoured the next day.

The first night I made these, I taste tested one just to be sure they were worthy of being fed to my coworkers and the birthday guest of honor the next day at work. Rest assured; they were.

Below are a few more looks at the deliciousness that is the newly discovered favorite type of cupcake among my coworkers...

Cupcakes will never be the same!!