Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I know, I know, more pumpkin...but I had one last can hanging out in my pantry, and while browsing Cate's blog I saw this recipe so I decided to make one last thing! I have never made any other pumpkin bread besides my regular one, so I was excited to try a different version, especially since it included chocolate chips!

This recipe only uses 1 cup of pumpkin, but I doubled everything to use the whole can and ended up with two loaves. I brought one to Brooke for hosting the get-together, and Chuck and I are hoarding the other one because we love it so much!

The only change I made was to bring the pumpkin pie spice down to 1 teaspoon per loaf. I needed to bake it a few minutes longer than it called for - just keep testing it until the toothpick comes out clean!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

from Fresh from Cate's Kitchen

Makes one loaf

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (I used 1 teaspoon)
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter with the sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the pumpkin.

Stir together the milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with milk.

Fold in the chocolate chips, then pour into the loaf pan and bake for about 5o minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Pizza Pockets

This weekend a few of some of my fabulous new friends decided to get together for a potluck lunch. Brooke graciously hosted and made tasty pumpkin trifle and hot toddies, Jenn made delicious chicken marsala, Lauren made a genius pasta idea from Giada that involved marsala as well, and Sarah made a wonderful broccoli side dish. Of course I expected the food to be delicious, but the company was great as well - I can't wait to do it again soon!

You may be asking, what did you make, Colleen? I volunteered to make my favorite course - the appetizer. I wanted it to be something pretty substantial and I was willing to spend a fair amount of time on it since it was the only thing I was making. I have made these before with great success, so they were a perfect choice!

Like I said, these take a little bit of time (ignore the 15 minutes prep time Giada writes on the original recipe, please!) but are worth it! I use regular sausage and frozen spinach instead of arugula, but that's pretty much it on my modifications. I like the greater volume of spinach it gives you - more filling!

Don't be shy about stuffing the little squares of pizza dough, the dough is fairly forgiving and can really hold a good dollop of the mixture. Get ready for some bites of cheesey goodness!

Pizza Pockets
from Giada De Laurentiis
Makes 24 pockets

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces Italian turkey sausage (I use sweet Italian sausage)
1 cup tightly-packed arugula (or 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, drained and thawed)
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (13.5-ounce) package of store-bought pizza crust (recommended: Pillsbury)
All-purpose flour, for rolling out pizza dough
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (or pizza sauce)

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium-sized, heavy skillet. Add the sausage and cook until crumbled and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula and cook until wilted. Turn off the heat and let cool about 10 minutes. Add the cream cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to a thin 20 by 12-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise. The cut each half into 8 equal rectangles.

Spoon topping onto 1 side of each of the rectangles. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the rectangle with egg wash. Close the rectangle of pizza dough over the topping. Use a fork to seal and crimp the edges. Place the pizza pockets onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the top of each pizza pocket with egg wash. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce over low heat in a medium saucepan. Serve the hot pizza pockets with the marinara sauce alongside for dipping.

Christmas Treats

I am hoping to start my Christmas baking tomorrow, if I can find time in between decorating the tree and making dinner! But I wanted to let you know what treats are going to be coming up in the next few weeks from my kitchen. This may seem like a lot, but I give most away either in cookie exchanges or as hostess gifts, or as tiny little "thinking of you" gifts. I hope you enjoy the upcoming recipes and bake some of your own!

Enjoy the holiday season!

Cookies

• Chocolate Mint Candies Cookies
• Elfin Shortbread Bites
• Cranberry-White Chocolate Cookies
• Chocolate Chip-Coconut Biscotti
• Butterscotch Cookies

Bars and Other Treats

• Easy Peanut Butter Cups
• Cranberry Bliss Bars
• Gingerbread-White Chocolate Blondies
• Oreo Fudge Bars

I'm sure even more will be added so keep checking back!

Baked Scallops

I have posted before about the great recipes I get from Rita, and lucky for you, I have another one right here! The scallop recipe is super easy, super fast, and super delicious. It is a tiny bit decadent, with the butter and half and half; but it's worth it!

Bay scallops are usually MUCH cheaper than sea scallops; and they work quite well here. You can also sub in heavy cream for the half and half if that is all you have in the fridge. I served this with garlic mashed potatoes and my standard fave spicy garlic roasted broccoli.

Baked Scallops
from Rita
Serves 2 with leftovers

1 pound bay or sea scallops
2 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Add scallops and stir.
Pour in half and half.

Melt butter, add bread crumbs and crumble over scallop mixture. Bake 15 minutes until brown and bubbly.

Butterfly Award

I was so flattered when Nicole over at Test Kitchen Recipes told me that she had given my little blog this great award! Nicole's blogs about cooking for her husband and two sons - and I don't think she has posted a recipe that I wouldn't make for myself! Everything always looks so delicious!

So now I have to bestow this award on someone else. I have many, many blogs that I read and love and it's hard to pick just one. But here are a two of my favorites that I haven't already given an award to:

KMAYS of Food alla Puttanesca because first of all I love the meaning behind the name (go check it out) and because she makes a lot of great recipes, as well as a little sprinkling about her family and her travels.

and

Pam of For the Love of Cooking - I have saved more recipes than I could ever make from her blog! You are guaranteed that anything she posts will be delicious and a big hit!

So KMAYS and Pam, pass this award along as you wish!

Trimming the Tree Dinner

Ok, yes, I am aware that there is no tree in the picture above. We do not have it up yet, hence the title of this post...I also wanted to share the fabulous job Chuck just did in renovating the fireplace. I mean, look at what it used to look like:

Didn't he do a nice job?

Alright, back to the food. I started making a nice dinner for us last year when we trimmed the tree, and decided to keep it as a tradition. The appetizers are easy enough to eat while hanging ornaments; and dinner is eaten while enjoying the newly decorated tree!

Appetizers

• Goat Cheese Toasts
• Roasted Shrimp with Creamy Caper Dipping Sauce

Dinner

• Lamb Chops with Garlic-Parsley Crust
• Baby Bella and Asiago Risotto
• Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Dessert

• Winter Wonder Cookie Bars

Stay tuned for recipes!

Spicy Potato Soup

Well after a few very busy weekends and exhausting my supply of "lunch" soups from the freezer, I am back to making soup for lunches! My mom gave me this recipe a few weeks ago with a good recommendation so I put it on the top of my list. I had almost all of the ingredients hanging out in my freezer too so it was perfect timing!

This soup is very tasty and filling, along with a wonderful aroma that made everyone in the lunch room jealous! As per my mom's suggestion, I used frozen hash browns instead of regular potatoes - makes for a lot less work. She also suggested additions of peas and/or some orzo at the end of the cooking time if you wanted to get some green veggies or even more carbs in there!

Note: If you are having trouble draining your ground beef out of the deep sauce pan, use a baster to get all the fat out of there! This makes a very generous 6 servings - I even got Chuck to take some into work and he loved it!

Spicy Potato Soup
from Taste of Home
Makes 6 servings

1 pound ground beef
4 cups cubed peeled potatoes (1/2-in cubes) (or 4 cups hash browns, defrosted)
1 small onion, chopped
3 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
4 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

In a Dutch oven or large kettle, brown ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

Add the potatoes, onion and tomato sauce. Stir in the water, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened. Serve with parmesan cheese if desired.