My Mom's No Bake Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Pie

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This is my Mom's recipe and just as the title suggests, it can be used interchangeably between pumpkin or sweet potatoes.  She prepares one of each for the Holidays, and she prefers to use Splenda in place of the sugar, but, the recipe is flexible so, you can use it each way, with or without granulated sugar, successfully.  The only baking you'll need to do,  is to bake the crust, then the custard filling is prepared on the stove top, and poured into the shell to cool.  Top it with a meringue or a dollop of whipped topping to serve.

You'll need:
1 1/2 cups whole milk plus 2 Tbs. flour
1 cup of sugar substitute [like Splenda] or sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup of pureed pumpkin or sweet potatoes
1 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. pure vanilla
1 baked deep dish pie shell

Bake the pie shell at 400 degrees for 11-12 minutes, until golden OR per the package directions and cool.  In a mixing bowl, beat together the milk and flour until the flour dissolves.  Add 3 eggs and continue to beat until combined.  Mix together the sugar and seasonings, then add to the wet ingredients, beating until smooth. 

Pour the mixture into a stove top pot and cook over medium heat.  Add the butter and pureed pumpkin or sweet potatoes.  Whisk constantly until thickened to the consistency of a thick pudding [about 4-5 minutes] 

Pour into the baked shell and cool to room temperature then chill in the refrigerator.  These pies may be topped with a meringue or served as is with a dollop of thawed whipped topping.  Yield: 1 pie

 

Spicy Buttered Rum Pecans

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Great for gift giving or just for munching, buttered rum spiced up pecans.  I don't only make these at Christmas, but, they also work in the Summertime for the crowning touch on hot fudge sundaes.  They'll keep tightly covered in a container for up to 2 weeks, but, I assure you they won't make it that long.  A candied spiced up pecan that's a true favorite straight from my kitchen to yours!


You'll need:
4-4 1/2 cups of pecan halves
coating:
3 Tbs. butter, melted
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. rum flavoring [or more to taste]
sugar and spice mix:
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Melt the butter and mix with the corn syrup and rum flavoring until blended.  Pour over the pecans and mix until evenly coated.   In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and spice mixture.  Toss with the pecans.


Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet.   Bake at 250 degrees stirring every 15 minutes for 1 hour. 


Spread on wax paper, and cool completely.  Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Yield: 4-4 1/2 cups

Eggnog Custard Cake with Orange and White Chocolate

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Eggnog, like warm cider, just goes with Christmas.  It's the one time of the year, that it shows up on the shelves of every grocery store, and millions of gallons are enjoyed every Christmas season by die hard fans.  My Mamaw, was famous for her "Boiled Custard."  She made it every Christmas, and we were especially partial to the fresh orange that she added to it making the flavor of her boiled custard a real standout.

She was also famous for her family Christmas parties.  We all played games, and yes, there were always prizes for everyone.  She always made sure no one went home a loser, we all won a prize by the end of the night.  I think we loved playing the games and singing together more than opening presents.  It's certainly what I remember the most about our family Christmas gatherings and we always reminisce about the good times we had together.   She's no longer with us, but, her orange boiled custard was my inspiration for this sheet cake. 


You'll need:
for the cake:
1 15.25 oz. box of golden vanilla cake mix [I used Betty Crocker]
1 cup of prepared eggnog
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 Tbs. water
1 tsp. pure vanilla
for the eggnog custard:
2 3 oz. boxes of dry flan mix [I used jell-o flan pudding mix]
3 cups of prepared eggnog
1 1/2 Tbs. orange zest
1 tsp. rum flavoring
1 tsp. orange flavoring
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
for the topping:
12-16 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
grated white chocolate grated
orange curls/zest
ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 inch cake pan with baking spray. [like Bakers Joy]
Add all of the cake ingredients to a mixing bowl and  beat for 2-3 minutes until blended.  Spread into the prepared pan.  Bake per the directions on the box [25-30 minutes] until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 


While the cake is baking, in a medium saucepan, add the first two ingredients of the eggnog custard.  Bring to a boil, whisking constantly and boil for 1 minute.  Remove from the heat, and add the remaining ingredients.  The mixture will be thin.  Set into the fridge or into a bowl of ice, to cool the mixture slightly while the cake bakes. 


When the cake is ready, allow it to rest for 2-3 minutes on the counter.  Use the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the cake, and carefully pour the eggnog custard evenly over the cake while it's still hot.  If you've ever made a "poke" cake, it's basically the same technique.  Allow the cake to cool, then place  into the refrigerator and chill completely.  Don't cover until it's completely cooled.  


After chilled, spread the whipped topping over the cake, filling the holes.  Garnish with orange curls and white chocolate.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Store in the refrigerator.  Yield: 12-16 pieces.



Cook's note:
The flan comes with a caramel sauce packet.  Although  you won't need it for this cake, it's delicious drizzled over ice cream.

Wendy's Awesome Red Velvet Cookies

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These awesome red velvet cookies were part of our 2012 Community Cookie Swap.  They were submitted by a friend of mine who is a pastry chef, and all around fabulous person.  I've made these cookies myself, and they are quite delicious! 

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c butter flavor shortening, such as Crisco
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp red food coloring
3 c flour
1/3 c cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c pecans or walnuts, chopped, optional
FROSTING (OPTIONAL)
1/2 c butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 c powdered sugar
3-4 Tbsp milk or cream
FOR ROLLING (OPTIONAL)
powdered sugar

Directions:
Cream together butter, shortening, sugars, eggs, vanilla and food coloring. Whisk or sift together flour, cocoa, soda and salt in another bowl. Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts if desired. 1 cup of chocolate or white chocolate chips can be added if desired as well.
Use large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, place 3" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes.
*Or if using the powdered sugar, using large scoop, scoop dough, roll into balls, roll in powdered sugar, place on baking sheet, flatten slightly then bake.
Remove from oven allow to cool on pan 2 minutes, then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely.
*If using powdered sugar, remove from oven and transfer to cooling racks, sprinkle with more powdered sugar while still warm if desired.
Frosting: Cream butter and cream cheese, add vanilla, powdered sugar and 3T milk and mix until smooth, adding more milk as needed to reach desired consistency. Frost cooled cookies. Enjoy!
These cookies are best when after you frost them, you place into a sealed container and allow to rest for a few hours or overnight.
*Place wax paper between layers if using frosting.
*These cookies are best when stored in the refrigerator, whether frosted or not. The flavor stays fresher longer.

Happy New Year! 2013

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Dear friends,

Another year has come and gone, and a new year is ahead.  I'm not one to  make new years resolutions, but, I always take time to look back and reflect on the passing year.  When I consider the past year in cooking, it's been unbelievably amazing!  I often refer to myself as an "accidental" blogger, because I started my blog for my friends and family.  It never occurred to me that anyone else in the world would ever read my recipes. 
This past year held many surprises for me and for my blog.  After winning the National Flour Power Contest, last January, I flew to Nashville Tennessee to attend a live Showcase event.  My winning cake was the featured dish and I demonstrated how to make it in front of a large audience of Just A Pinch Recipe Club members during a live taping of the event.  We had the time of our lives being chauffeured around the great city of Nashville in our limo, visiting places of interest, and of course, the Grand Ole Opry!  I was invited back in April to emcee the next Showcase, and then came live cooking segments on our local TV, blue ribbons, website features, cookbooks and newspaper articles.  As exciting as all of that had been, I then received an email from Southern Living Magazine that they had tested and "loved" one of my recipes, and wanted to include it in their September 2012 issue! In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would see one of my dishes on the pages of  Southern Living Magazine.  What an amazing cooking journey I have had in the year of 2012...God has truly blessed me!
You see, when I share a dish with you, I'm not just sharing a recipe, I'm sharing my passion.  Cooking, baking and developing recipes is intensely personal for me.  It's an expression of creativity and love for those around me. Meeting all of the incredible people, like you, who follow my blog, facebook page and beyond has been the ultimate "cherry on top" for this year.  I couldn't have dreamed any of this into reality.   So, I just wanted to say a heartfelt, "Thank You" to ALL of my foodie and blogger friends who visit my blog and facebook page daily to chat, laugh, cry, encourage and share wisdom from here and around the world.  I have loved getting to know you!  My wish for you all in the coming year is health, prosperity, joy and peace for you and yours in the year of 2013!  Dream big and always believe!  Now, let's get cooking!

Love,
Melissa
Jeremiah 29:11

apple nut quinoa $4.54 recipe / $1.14 serving

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apple nut quinoa

$4.54 recipe / $1.14 serving

As much as I love my myriad of baked oatmeal recipes, I've wanted to shake things up a bit lately and try something other than oats for breakfast.

Enter quinoa. If you've never had quinoa ("keen-wah") it's a little seed that is packed with protein and fiber. It cooks up fast and is fun to eat because the little pellets have a great texture once cooked. Usually quinoa is seen in savory dishes, but it also works great in sweet recipes, like this breakfast Apple Nut Quinoa.

The juice in this recipe provides all of the sweetness that you need and really ups the flavor a notch (or ten). Use any juice blend that you'd like, but try to get one that is 100% juice and doesn't contain any added sweeteners. I thought apple cranberry would have been nice, but the apple cherry that I used was much less expensive and happened to have no added sugar, so I went with that.

Hit up the bulk bins at your local grocery store or health food store for the best price on quinoa. It's often over priced when sold in small packages (these are usually found near rice and beans).

It's almost New Years and time for resolutions, so keep this one handy for when you get that sudden motivation to be "healthy"! ;)

Apple Nut Quinoa

Total Recipe cost: $4.54
Servings Per Recipe: 4 (about 1 cup each)
Cost per serving: $1.14
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 30 min. Total: 35 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 cup	uncooked quinoa	$1.36
1.5 cups	apple juice	$0.34
1/4 tsp	salt	$0.01
1/2 tsp	cinnamon	$0.03
1/16 tsp (pinch)	ground cloves	$0.02
1 medium	apple	$0.96
1/2 cup	walnuts	$1.82
TOTAL		$4.54

STEP 1: Place the quinoa in a wire sieve and rinse thoroughly for 1-2 minutes with cool water. If you don't have a wire mesh sieve, place the quinoa in a bowl, fill it with cool water and swish the quinoa around. Allow it to settle and then carefully pour out the water. Repeat 4-5 times. Rinsing quinoa well is essential to remove its natural coating, which can cause the quinoa to taste bitter.

STEP 2: Place the rinsed quinoa in a medium pot. Add the juice, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir briefly. Place a lid on top and bring the pot up to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and allow it to rest, without removing the lid, for ten minutes.

STEP 3: Meanwhile, chop the apple into small bite-sized pieces. Also roughly chop the walnuts.

STEP 4: After the quinoa has cooked and rested, remove the lid and fluff it with a fork. Add the apples and walnuts and stir them and then eat!

This quinoa can be refrigerated and then reheated in the microwave each morning for a quick fix! I like to top it with a little milk (dairy, soy, or almond - they're all great).

Step By Step Photos

This is what quinoa looks like when it's dry. Little white pellets. Careful, they like to static cling to plastic bags and tend to get ALL over the place when spilled...


Rinse the quinoa really, really well... and then rinse it some more. The easiest way is with a wire mesh sieve because they are so small that they'll fall through a colander. But, you can just do it carefully in a bowl if you don't have one.


This is the juice that I used. It's totally yummy and has no added sugar, just blended juices. You can use plain apple or apple/cranberry or just be creative!


Put the rinsed quinoa in a pot and add the juice, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. I filled my 1/8 tsp measuring spoon half way for the cloves, so about 1/16 tsp. Give it a quick stir to make sure it's combined. Put a lid on top and bring the pot up to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, turn it down to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. After simmering for 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest for an additional ten minutes without removing the lid.


Meanwhile, roughly chop up the walnuts...


And chop the apple into small pieces.


After the quinoa has cooked and then sat for 10 minutes, remove the lid and fluff it up with a fork.


Add the apples and walnuts...


Stir to combine and you're done! How easy is that!

oven baked potato skins $4.09 recipe / $1.02 serving

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oven baked potato skins

$4.09 recipe / $1.02 serving

Well, it's party season (Christmas, New Years, FOOTBALL), so I thought I'd throw some party food at ya.

I love potato skins because the topping variations are endless.

I made the classic bacon-cheddar-sour cream-green onion version here, but I can't stop thinking about how a little drizzle of BBQ sauce would be on this or if you replaced the bacon with some BBQ pulled pork or chicken. YES.

Anyway, they're pretty easy. This is a small batch, so if you're having a party make sure to double it. Although I might be able to eat a whole plate, I set the serving size at about 3 because that's when I started to feel stuffed. They're deceptively filling!

So, happy party season and make yourself some tater skins!

Oven Baked Potato Skins

Total Recipe cost: $4.09
Servings Per Recipe: 4 (3 potato skins each)
Cost per serving: $1.02
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 1 hr. Total: 1 hr. 15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
6 small (2.5 lbs)	russet potatoes	$0.99
6 oz.	bacon	$1.50
2 Tbsp	vegetable oil	$0.06
1/4 tsp	garlic powder	$0.02
1/4 tsp	smoked paprika (optional)	$0.02
2 oz.	sharp cheddar	$0.70
2 whole	green onions	$0.22
1/2 cup	sour cream	$0.53
to taste	salt	$0.05
TOTAL		$4.09

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the potatoes well and prick the skins a few times with a fork. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake for about 45 minutes or until they're tender all the way through. Cooking time will depend on the size and thickness of your potatoes. Check doneness by piercing the largest potato with a fork.

STEP 2: Meanwhile prepare the rest of the ingredients. Slice the bacon into small pieces and cook in a skillet over medium heat until brown and crispy. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Slice the green onions and shred the cheese. In a small bowl combine the vegetable oil, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.

STEP 3: Once the potatoes are cooked, use a small dish towel to help hold the hot potatoes as you cut them in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the insides of the potatoes, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato attached to each skin. Save the scooped out potato for another use.

STEP 4: Line a baking sheet with foil. Place each scooped out potato on the baking sheet. Brush the seasoned oil over the surface of the potatoes. Use any left over residual oil on the brush to lightly coat the outside (peel side) surface of the potatoes. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Move the baking sheet to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes at 400 degrees to allow the potatoes to crisp up.

STEP 5: Once the potatoes have crisped and are lightly golden brown on the edges, sprinkle the shredded cheese over top. Return to the oven for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Take the potatoes back out and top with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled bacon, sliced green onions, or any other ingredient that you'd like.


I know, there are only 10 on this plate... I'll give you three guesses where the other two went.

Step By Step Photos

Wash your potatoes well and then prick the skin with a fork. Smaller potatoes work best for this. Potatoes that are sold singularly are usually pretty large, while bagged potatoes are pretty small. These were about 3 inches long each. Bake them in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until you can easily pierce them all the way through with a fork.


Meanwhile get the rest of the toppings ready, like the bacon. I found half a package (6 ounces) of bacon to be plenty for 12 potato skins. I like to slice the bacon before I put it in the skillet because it seems easier to cook (less splatter). I froze the rest of the bacon for later.


Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until brown and crispy. Let it drain on a paper towel and try not to eat it all.


Season some vegetable oil with garlic powder and smoked paprika. The oil is what makes the potato skins crispy. Restaurant potato skins are deep fried, so this kind of simulates that. Also shred your cheese and slice the green onions.


Once the potatoes are soft, slice them in half with a sharp knife. I used a small dish towel to help hold them while I sliced because the potatoes are still STEAMING hot.


Use a spoon to scoop out the centers of the potatoes, leaving about a 1/4 inch around the inside of the skin. Scoring the potato with the side of the spoon will help control what comes out when you scoop.


Put the scooped out potatoes on a baking sheet covered with foil. Brush the seasoned oil liberally over the open surface of the potatoes. Use any leftover oil to lightly coat the skin side. Sprinkle the potatoes liberally with salt. Bake for 15 minutes (still at 400 degrees) or until the edges are golden and crispy).


Pull the potatoes out of the oven, sprinkle lightly with cheese, and pop them back in the oven for a minute or two so the cheese can melt.


Once the cheese is melted, pull them out and top each one with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled bacon, and sliced green onions.


Enjoy!