Recipes Discovered – Recipes

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Serves 6-8.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I omitted the nutmeg due to personal preference. As a side note, this will definitely serve at least 15 people. I cannot image eating an eighth of this dessert.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound triple-washed spinach, de-stemmed
• 1 small Golden Delicious apple, quartered, cored, and sliced
• 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Coarse salt and black pepper

Directions:

Place spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl. Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small plastic container and fit lid on container. Shake dressing to combine, 1 minute. Pour dressing over salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serves 4.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I cut down the olive oil to about 2 tablespoons. Excellent served with Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

Updated Recipe

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
• 4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
• Romano or Parmigiano, for grating as a garnish

Directions:

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Serves 4.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I used broken up sausage links with the casing removed. Excellent served with Spinach Salad with Apples and Red Onion.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Serves 8-10.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I made the cake in a bundt pan that I sprayed with cooking spray for baking (the type with flour in it). Because I needed to flip the cake after baking it, I put half the streusel in the bottom of the pan and then the other half in the middle. As a substitute for cake flour, I used 2 1/2 tablespoons of corn starch plus enough all-purpose flour to make 2 1/2 cups.

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pound mascarpone cheese
• 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 6 ounce package ladyfinger cookie (about 12 cookies)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil gently for 1 minute, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Cover tightly and chill in refrigerator 1 hour. After chilled, whisk the mascarpone into yolk mixture until smooth.
In a medium bowl, beat cream with vanilla until stiff peaks form.
In a small bowl, combine coffee and rum. Soak each lady finger in the coffee mixture for 5 seconds.
Arrange half of soaked ladyfingers in bottom of a 7×11 inch dish. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers, then half of whipped cream over that. Repeat layers and sprinkle with cocoa. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours, until set.

Serves 10-12 people.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of www.allrecipes.com

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces baby spinach, rinsed and drained
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced or quartered
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 distilled white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries. Sprinkle the almonds on top.

To make the dressing, combine the sugar, vinegar, and paprika in a blender and blend for 30 seconds. With the blender still blending, slowly stream in the oil. Continue to blend for 1 minute. Pour the mixture into a small bowl and then stir in the sesame seeds and poppy seeds.

Serves 4-6 people.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

My own concoction.