Punkin' Chunkin'

I LOVE all things pumpkin! It screams fall and and reminds me my birthday is coming up. Although, that used to get me a lot more excited when I was younger, I still look forward to it.
Since it's now officially fall, I took today to make up a batch of Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins. I know I said earlier in the week that I was going to try to restock the freezer but this last week at work was so crazy that I decided to take the weekend off. It just goes to show you have to roll with the punches.

Smells like fall!

 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filled Muffins

 

Ingredients:

For the filling:

8 oz Cream cheese, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar

 

For the muffins:

3 Cups all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil or applesauce (I use half of each)

 

Directions:

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Refrigerate the mix while you make the muffins.

Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin pans. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda then whisk to combine. Set aside. In another large bowl, mix with an electric mixer on medium speed and combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree, and oil until blended. Turn the mixer on low and add the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.

Fill each muffin cup with enough muffin batter to cover the bottom, about 1-2 Tbsps. Place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each muffin and then top with the remaonong batter, covering the cream cheese completely.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. Do NOT  eat these hot from the oven. The cream cheese will be extremely hot and it will taste better when it's cool.

You'll notice the muffins in the back row of the picture have pecans on them. I sprinkled a few chopped pecans on the batter before I put in the cream cheese mixture and again on the top of the muffin itself.
I hope you get a chance to make these muffins. They are definately worth it!

Oh, what a night!

Working nights as a nurse gives me a chance to work alongside some pretty wonderful people, but it can also make you feel like a zombie. Last night was one of those nights where I wouldn't trade my work crew for anything in the world. It was a pretty busy night and everyone worked like a well oiled machine.
However, when you get home from a night like that, the last thing you want to do is think about dinner. Luckily, back in August I had some extra time one day and made up a whole slew of make ahead meals and stocked my freezer. So today all hubby had to do was take the lasagna out of the fridge (I stuck it in last night before work so it would defrost) and bake. You know how things taste better when someone else cooks it? You kind of get that effect since you didn't make it.....today. On top of that, I froze all of my meals in disposable foil containers so there is no clean up.

Mmmm, leftovers go to work for lunch :)

On a sad note, the freezer is starting to look a little bare now that I've used up several of my meals. I guess since I'm off this weekend, there will be another big cooking day to restock. If you decide to make some make ahead meals yourself, please take my advice and do your shopping and cooking on SEPARATE days. I've tried it both ways and can tell you from experience that planning and shopping in the same day you cook all of your meals is too much work.
Do you do anything that saves you time in the kitchen? Have any make ahead favorites I can add to my freezer stockpile?
Happy Hump Day!

Stew's On!

When I woke up this morning, there was a chill in the air in the house. The kind of chill that let's you know it's cool outside. Granted, I don't like to be cold, but I do enjoy the briskness of fall air. Fall is by far my favorite season, so as you can imagine this chill was welcome by me! Puppy err'd her displeasure with the cool air and ran right back under the blanket in the bed after her breakfast. (Puppy is a 2.5 pound chihuahua that will actually be 3 years old in October, and puppy is her nickname).
One of the best parts of fall and cooler weather is comfort food! You can't REALLY enjoy beef stew when it's 90 degrees outside (and in North Carolina, that's pretty much all summer long!) so I'm taking the opportunity while it's cool to enjoy one of my new favorite dishes. Growing up, I never liked beef stew and I think it's because I don't like the big chunks of meat. So I realized not long ago that "Hey, I'm grown and can make my own the way I like it!".

Doesn't that look yummy?!

Melissa's Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds extra lean stew beef
2 large onions, chopped
1 6 oz can tomato paste
3-4 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
3 1/2 cups beef stock
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 cup frozen baby peas
Flour for coating meat approx. 1 cup
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (I use 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper)

Directions:
Pour beef stock in your slow cooker, just enough to cover the bottom and turn on high heat. Trim any excess fat off of the beef, and cut into bite sized pieces. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Coat beef in flour and brown a few pieces at a time and adding more oil between batches when needed (I don't dust off the excess flour, the extra browns in the pan and makes a thick yummy sauce!). Transfer meat to the slow cooker, leaving behind any oil and browned flour in the skillet. Add onion to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and 1 cup of the beef broth; stir to coat the onions and transfer to the slow cooker. Pour the remaining beef broth into the pan, scraping up any little bits off the bottom of the pan. Add package of onion soup mix and stir to dissolve. Add to cooker. Add potatoes, carrots, and thyme leaves to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 7 1/2 hours (or 4 hours on high if you're in a hurry but low is best). 30 minutes prior to serving, add the peas and stir, allowing to heat through.

I hope it's cool enough where you live to eat some beef stew or comfort food for dinner tonight!