paula dean's pumpkin gooey butter cakes

this is not my picture. it's paula dean's. but my oh my is this an incredible pumpkin dessert! i don't like pumpkin pie, so i made this and it was unbelievable. (and super easy). oh, and if you know anything about paula dean, she does not do low fat. that's just how she is.

cake:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 TB butter, melted.

filling:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened (i used low fat)
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
8 TB butter, melted
1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar (or 2 cups)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cake mix, egg and butter (for the cake) in a bowl and mix well with electric mixer. Pat mixture into bottom of lightly greased 9x13 pan.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla and butter; beat together. Next add powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and mix well. Spread pumpkin over cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake, the center should be a little gooey. Serve with whipped cream.

*After melting butter, make sure it's cooled before adding it (or it'll cook the eggs!).
*I cooked mine for about 50 minutes, but I think it was too long. The center (and top) of cake won't be solid, but it shouldn't be runny.

Three Cheese Chicken Penne

I could KISS the person that came up with this recipe! So simple and yet SO tasty! It requires no "special" ingredients which is my favorite part. It easily made a double batch (since some of the canned ingredients only call for 1/2 a can) and I froze the other half for later.

1 1/2 cups multigrain penne pasta, uncooked

1 pkg. fress baby spinach leaves

1 lb. chicken cut up into bitesize pieces

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 1/2 cups (1/2 a jar) pasta sauce

1 2/3 cups (1/2 of a 796 ml can) diced tomatoes-drained

1/4 cup light cream cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

2 Tbs. parmesan cheese (I used an Italian cheese blend for the 2 cheeses)

HEAT oven to 375. cook pasta, adding spinach to boiling water for last 1 min.

COOK and stir chicken and basil in large skillet on medium-high heat 3 min. Add pasta sauce and tomatoes, bring to boil. Simmer 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese spread

DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Add chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into baking dish.

BAKE 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 3 min.

Fresh Avacado Salsa

Avacado Salsa

6 roma tomatoes (though if i were to make it again, i'd use campari tomatoes instead)
1 can white corn
1 can black eyed peas (the weird beans)
2-3 avocados (chopped into small pieces)
1-2 green onions chopped
1 packet italian salad dressing

Be sure to drain the corn, and drain AND RINSE the beans. Always a crowd pleaser. :)

Thanks to my friend Bethany for this recipe.

Pumpkin Mousse

Ingredients

1 cup Canned pumpkin
1/2 cup COLD milk
1 3 oz. Package vanilla instant pudding
1 tsp. Pie spice or
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. ginger
3 1/2 cups Cool Whip

Preparation

Combine pumpkin, milk, pudding, and spices. Beat on lowest speed for 1 minute. Fold in Cool Whip. Spoon into dessert dishes and tip with hazelnut crunch.

I made this with lite Cool Whip and it was so, so delicious! Next time I'll use sugar-free pudding as well. I served it in a graham cracker pie crust I had on hand... yum! Sadly, it fell from the counter to the floor after only a couple servings. :( It will definitely be made again.

(Courtesy of Mealsmatter.org)

Lime Chicken and Rice Soup

I got this recipe from a gal in my ward, she made it for enrichment night...delicious. We made it last night and plenty of leftovers for another night. It is a variation on Taco soup.

Ingredients:
60 oz. Chicken broth (I cooked the chicken with a few bouillon cubes and used it)
1 1/2 cups Salsa
1/4 cup fresh Lime juice
2 cups Chicken, cooked and diced
1 cup frozen corn (I used canned corn)
1 cup instant Rice ( or 2 cups pre-cooked rice added at the end)
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Simmer together until rice is cooked (5-10 minutes)
When serving, place a handful of Frito's in each bowl, then pour the soup. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and avocado (I added cheese on top)

Caramel Bars

Kraft caramels were 50% off at Target after halloween (woohoo)! It gave me a great excuse to make these lovelies....plus we have a category for oatmeal. Whenever I take a pan of this ewey gooey goodness anywhere, it's a success.

Crust:
3/4 cup melted butter
1 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda

Yummy stuff:
Caramels (32/package)
3T butter
3T whipping cream
Milk choc. chips

Make crust. Take 2/3 of mixtures, press in cake pan. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Melt caramels, butter, whipping cream in pan. Pour over crust. Top with rest of crust and chocolate chips. Bake 15 min at 350.

*someday I will get a picture up.

Vegetable Pasta Soup

I take this bad boy around when I take meals in to people in the wintertime. It is so tasty and it makes your whole house smell so good! Thanks to my sis-in-law Angela for sharing this one with me.

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
6 cups water
2 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 cup each: chopped celery, carrot, potato
2 beef bullion cubes
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp worcestershire
1 T parsley flakes
1 cup small uncooked pasta shells

**Brown beef and onion together. In a large pot add water, veggies and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes or until veggies are crisp tender. Add macaroni- simmer for 15 minutes or until macaroni tender.

Snap!! So good!

Tried and True!!!!

Mary- I made your MAGICAL blueberry muffins - they were wonderful! But they weren't magical for me....I didn't have a baby that day - shucks!!!

Alisa - I made your Cheater Chicken Noodle - sooo good! I think next time I will omit the peas altogether...we are just not pea people. Loved the taste and the smell!!

Adrienne - I made your Crockpot Lemon Garlic Chicken - sooo flavorful!!! I served it with brown rice and steamed broccoli, it was great. But it was a tad dry for me. I think I will bake it in the oven next time.

Thanks for sharing!!!

Best Banana Muffins

Since we're talkin' muffins... these were a big hit in Moab this weekend. They don't sound great, but trust me. Linds? Wanna pipe in and verify? I was going to include a picture, but come on... they're muffins. That's what they look like. (Plus, my picture wasn't nearly as pretty as Mary's.) Many of the ingredients can be bought in bulk places like Wild Oats or Whole Foods so you can just buy what you need and save the money. :)

Best Banana Muffins

1 ½ C. whole wheat flour
½ C. Oat Bran
½ C. Pecan Meal (1.5 oz ground pecans, or I just bought chopped pecans and then continued chopping them myself with a knife until they were as ground as I could get them... I enjoyed the rougher texture in the muffin.)
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt

2 T. butter, melted
½ C. honey
3 egg whites
1 C. banana
2/3 C. buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 regular-sized muffin cups or line with paper cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (first six ingredients) until well combined. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients (last 5 ingredients).
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
5. Immediately spoon batter into the 12 muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the top.
6. Place immediately in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Start checking early!
7. Turn muffins out of pan and cool on wire rack.
8. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information:
156 calories (45 from fat)
5 grams fat (2 saturated)
3 grams fiber
13 grams sugar
4 grams protein

Courtesy of http://pinchmysalt.wordpress.com

Beloved Blueberry Muffins!

I made these heavenly muffins for breakfast the day Liza was born, so in my opinion they are MAJICAL MUFFINS. :) Zach's Mom even thought they were perfect, and she's an incredible cook so I give this recipe 5 gold stars.

Blueberry Muffins

Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Streusel Topping (see below)

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbs butter

1. Heat oven to 400. Grease bottoms of 12 muffin pan

2. Make Streusel Topping, set aside

3. Beat milk, oil, and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in Blueberries. Divide batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle each with 1 Tbs Topping.

4. Bake 20-25 min. ENJOY!