Happy Halloween

Happy halloween to all of you!  I hope you all have a "spooktacular" day.

                                 My little racecar driver just waiting to hit
                                         the streets and trick or treat!

I hope your day is filled with more treats than tricks.

Daring Baker's October Challenge

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!


Can I just say how excited I was when I saw this challenge?  So very excited!  I love learning about and trying new foods.  And when those new foods are from another culture, I love to read the history of them and learn about how those particular foods play a part in their everyday life.  Before this challenge I had never heard of Povitica, but now I can say that I've not only heard of it but I have enjoyed it as well.

Pumpkin Penne with Arugula, Mushrooms and Romano

I am an avid lover of pumpkin desserts; give me a pumpkin truffle, cupcake, or pastry and I'm good.  Well, let's face it give me anything sweet involving pumpkin and I'll be very content.  Savory pumpkin dishes however, I'm not so sure about.  I see recipes from time to time that sound interesting but I'm not as likely to make.  I'm trying to be more open minded and incorporate new recipes in my collection, and that includes more savory pumpkin dishes. 

I came across this recipe on Elly's website; it sounded interesting and it really intrigued me.  The recipe incorporated many things I love; mushrooms, garlic, arugula and how could you go wrong with cheese and pasta?  I knew this dish couldn't disappoint since it utilized so many different foods that I love.  And I was right, it was delicious.

Brown Butter Pumpkin Latte Cupcakes

I love this time of year; the crispness of the air, football, and most importantly all of the wonderful food.  Yes, fall is here!  There are so many terrific foods that accompany fall and recipes with pumpkin definitely flourish.  I love pumpkin desserts and I love trying new foods that showcase pumpkin flavor.  I have a multitude of pumpkin recipes stashed away that I can't wait to make, but I am pacing myself so my family, friends and coworkers don't go into a sugar coma! 

Weekly Meal Plan

Menu for October 23-29, 2011

Sunday-driving back from out of town so something quick
Baked oatmeal, bacon and biscuits
Smokey bean soup with ham and bacon with jalapeno cheddar cornbread
Cheese pizza with wedge salads
Leftovers
Baked honey dijon chicken tenders, green beans and macaroni and cheese
Leftovers

Other cooking baking: brownies, carrot cake, chocolate cupcakes and vanilla cupcakes

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Early tomorrow morning my city's downtown streets will be flooded with a sea of pink.  Tomorrow is the annual Susan G. Komen race for the cure.  In honor of the race and to show my support for the survivors and the cause (and hoping we soon find a cure) I wanted to make something sweet and pink. 

There's nothing that gets me up and going more than sweets, and to be more specific chocolate!  I love brownies; I honestly think I could sit down with a fork and a whole pan of brownies and eat myself sick.  I love their rich, fudgy, chocolatey goodness.  They really do make a bad day good.  What's better?  Enjoying one straight from the oven (or heated in the microwave) with a tall glass of ice cold milk.  There's nothing that can top it.  Brownies are a classic, and delicious on their own but there are so many spins and twists that are added to them now and it just compliments the deliciousness! 

Brazilian Shrimp Soup

 

I love Google reader, it helps me keep up on all of the blogs I love to follow as well as keep track of recipes I want to make down the road.  The other day I was going through all of the updates on my reader when I came across this soup on Kelsey's blog.  Just the picture of her soup made me drool.  Number one, it looked delicious, and number two I love anything involving shrimp.  This recipe moved to the top of my list and it went on the menu for the following week. 

S'more Brownies

S'mores are one of my all time favorite treats.  There is just something magical about the combination of graham crackers, chocolate and ooey gooey toasted marshmallows.  What's even better?  Sitting around a campfire on a cool night and enjoying s'mores.  There's just nothing better!  Since we don't go camping a whole lot I don't get to enjoy the traditional s'mores as much as I would like so I'm always on the hunt for recipes that incorporate s'mores.  I've seen quite a few recipes out there that I'm dying to try; s'more bars and adult s'mores, just to name a few.  Finding recipes that incorporate these delicious little jewels is the best way to get my s'mores fix and bring the best of the outdoors in!

Red Beans and Rice

When fall arrives I get so excited; there are so many recipes that I look forward to making, a few classics but I am always looking for new ones to try as well.  It's the perfect time of year to pull out your favorite long sleeve shirt or sweat shirt, get cozy and have a big bowl of soup or chili.  Fall has been here for a few weeks but the weather hasn't exactly followed suite.  Since the weather has been warmer than normal I watch the weather carefully and plan the meals accordingly.  If there is any glimpse if cool weather in the forecast I immediately work one of my fall-ish recipes into my meal plan.  One of those cool days finally came around Spencer's birthday which worked out perfectly.  One of his all time favorite meals is red beans and rice, and since the weather was actually going to be cool he decided that he wanted that for his birthday meal.

Weekly Meal Plan

Menu for October 16-22, 2011

Out to eat with friends-hot wings
Spaghetti squash lasagna, green salad and garlic bread
Leftovers
Chicken taco soup and jalapeno cornbread
Leftovers
We will be out of town a few days this so we'll eat out those days

Other cooking/baking: pumpkin pie bark, brownie, and possibly pumpkin pound cake

Have a great week!

Low Fat Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Who doesn't love a muffin?  And, I mean, what's not to love?  They are delicious, and they are small and portable so they can easily be enjoyed on the go.  They are like cupcakes; you get the same taste and deliciousness of a cake but they are "less work" to eat, not that cake or any food for that matter is really troublesome to eat!  For a while I was on a muffin kick, and I had muffins up to my ears.  It's been a while since I've made any muffins, not really sure why, but when I came across this recipe I had to try it.

I love zucchini and I love chocolate, so why not try combining the two together?  I was extremely excited to try this recipe; and one of the reasons was I had never tried a sweet recipe that incorporated zucchini into its list of ingredients.  I'm always up for new things and figured I should give this recipe a try.  Boy am I glad I did!  These muffins were delicious.  They were crumbly, moist and full of flavor from both the zucchini and the chocolate.  While you get the flavor from the zucchini, the chocolate gives it a nice sweetness and a great flavor contrast.  Plus, with the chocolate in there you almost forget these are low fat...and even good for you! 

Weekly Meal Plan

Menu for October 9-15, 2011

Chipotle steak tacos with caramelized onions
Chicken enchiladas, black beans, rice and homemade chips
Steakhouse mushroom burgers with creamed spinach sauce and wedge salads
Leftovers
Spaghetti squash lasagna, garlic bread and a side salad
Sausage and rice casserole, green beans, corn and garlic bread
Leftovers
Chicken spaghetti, side salad and bread sticks

Other cooking/baking: Carrot cake, soft frosted sugar cookies, strawberry cake, strawberry cupcakes, and perfect party cake

Serendipity Deluxe Bars

Tucker is still as in love with the mixer today as he was a year ago.  When he hears the mixer turn on it is only a matter of seconds before he's by my side helping me scoop, pour and mix.  Now, he also knows, that whatever comes out of the mixer is something delicious and most of the time it's sweet and he can't wait to take a bite.  He, now, is under the assumption that anything that is stored in a Tupperware container is a cupcake.  The way he says it, however, is incredibly cute and very southern..."cup-caaaaake"!  And of course, whenever he sees the container, he points to it, says cupcake and insists on having at least 1 bite, if not the entire thing immediately.  It is needless to say that he is not a snob of whatever may come out of that container, even if it's not a cupcake.  Maybe to him cupcakes equal something sweet and delicious?

Chicken with Tomato Herb Pan Sauce

This recipe has been featured on multiple blogs lately, so I was really interested to see what all the hype was about and to see if it lived up to all the hype it was creating.  I knew I couldn't go wrong with this recipe since it does include two of my favorite things: chicken and tomatoes.  I love chicken; it's easy to cook and it's a blank canvas if you're in the mood to be creative and make your own recipe.  Tomatoes are a favorite of mine too; they are full of flavor and sweetness and there is nothing better than a vine ripened tomato.  I love how the flavor of tomatoes can be varied by different cooking methods and how they take on or compliment the flavor of anything they are paired with. 

Weekly Meal Plan

Menu for October 2 - 8, 2011

Had a slight change in the meal plan...here is the revised menu for the week.

Three cheese caprese calzones
Brazilian shrimp soup
Leftovers
Pumpkin penne with mushrooms, arugula and romano
Leftovers

We will be working a festival a few nights this week, so we will pick up something during our down time.

Other cooking/baking: carrot cake, pumpkin snickerdoodles, and possibly a apple cheddar pie

Have a great week!