Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal

 So I originally found a recipe on pinterest for pumpkin granola that I wanted to try. I didn't have some of the ingredients so I just changed a few things, and it came out really good :) I later found another recipe for apple-pie oatmeal.... and eventually sorta combined the two, creating this monster delicious breakfast. Mmmmmmmmmm oatmeal! 

Pumpkin Granola recipe:
Makes: 3 2/3 cups

(the orignial recipe called for cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and pecans, instead of the sunflowers, almonds, and raisins :P)

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and pat dry
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup  honey
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp pumpkin spice (or more to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Spread oats & quinoa on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes
3. Remove oats/quinoa from oven and place in medium bowl, mixing in the nuts and fruit
4. Decrease oven temp to 300 degrees
5. In a second bowl, mix together honey, pumpkin, oil, vanilla, and spices
6. Mix dry and wet ingredients together
7. Spread onto baking sheet and bake 20 min or until golden brown
8. Store in air-tight container 



Apple-Pie Oatmeal:
Servings: 1

1. Cook 1/3 c. oatmeal on the stove with 2/3 c. water
2. Add in 1 small apple, cut into bite sizes
3. Add in spices----> pumpkin spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (1 tsp each)
4. Let simmer until water absorbs and apples are soft

I first tried oatmeal with pumpkin spices, with the pumpkin granola added last.... then I had tried the apple-pie oatmeal with pumpkin granola... and YUM! The cooked apples are really good :) 

Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal:
Servings: 1

1. Cook apple-pie oatmeal
2. Add 1/3 c. pumpkin granola
3. Add splash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
4. If you like it sweeter, add 1-2 tsp brown sugar on top!

Sesame-Vegetable Lo Mein

 This recipe comes from a mix of a few different pinterest recipes, and whatever I had in the kitchen.

Serves 4-6 people

7 oz whole wheat spaghetti (or any pasta you like)
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 c. sugar snap peas
2 c. broccoli
1/3 medium red onion
15 baby carrots sliced up (or use big carrots)
1/2 red bell pepper
2 garlic gloves chopped up, or minced
1 tsp ginger (or fresh ginger grated)
1/4 tsp red pepper (use ground or flakes)
2-4 tbsp soy sauce (or more, I think I used 1/4 c. or more lol)
1 tbsp water
1-2 tbsp sesame seeds
And, if you are a mushroom fan, toss those in too

1. Cook pasta
2. Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil in skillet
3. Add vegetables, garlic & spices to skillet
4. Stir fry 10-15 min or longer if you need to/want to
5. Add soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, & water to skillet. Then add cooked/drained pasta.
6. Cook 10-15 min, add sesame seeds, & serve! :)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

 This recipe is brought to by Hannaford... So Wayne's mom had this recipe kicking around and we have made it for a few years in a row now. SO GOOD! We usually make them mini-whoopies because 1. they are super cute 2. it cuts the 495834095834 calories per whoopie in half (unless you eat 4 or maybe 10 like me, which defeats the purpose) 3. SO CUTE!

Depending on how big you make them, this recipe will make 20-40 whoopie pies. :) And they are highly addictive, kinda like pumpkin crack, so beware. 

Pumpkin cakes:
1.5 c. light brown sugar
3/4 c. canola oil
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon (we usually use a lot more than this...)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg

( waynes obviously crazy amount of filling...... it will just explode everywhere if you do this... lol ) 

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, room temp.
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 c. confectioners sugar, sifted

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment
2. Lg mixing bowl---> mix brown sugar, oil, & vanilla with electric mixer until well blended, then add eggs one at a time, then add pumpkin.
3. 2nd Lg mixing bowl---> Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and nutmeg. 
4. Add 1/2 dry mix to wet mix, blend until smooth, then add remaining dry mix, and blend
5. Drop 2 tbsp of batter onto cooking sheets, leaving 2in between each
6. Bake 11-13 min until "puffed" and set, but still soft to touch. Let cakes cool for few minutes before taking them off cooking sheets, then let cool 20 min
7. Prepare filling while cakes cool----> Lg mixing bowl, mix cream cheese and butter with electric mixer until creamy. Add vanilla and 1/2 confectioners sugar,  blend until smooth. Add remaining confectioners sugar. 
8. Put your whoopies together! :)

***Store at room temp x2 days or freeze for up to 2 months
(I'm pretty sure they will last more than 2 days......... BUT I thought I'd share what they recommend :P)

Cornbread Chicken with Mesquite Ranch

       Often times, my recipes kind of pop into my head. If I have no idea what I want  for dinner, I will browse the internet, or ask people what they are having, and come up with an idea of my own. It often works out in my taste buds favor.

     My Cornbread chicken is one of the recipes that just sort of popped into my head.

  Mesquite Ranch:
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp Milk
1 Tsp Hot Sauce
1 Tsp Dry Ranch mix *
1/2 Tsp Mesquite seasoning.

Mix ingredients together until well blended, cover, and let it sit in the fridge for one hour +

Cornbread Chicken:
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half.
2 cups Already made cornbread  that has been crumbled up.
1/4 Cup  Mesquite Ranch in a separate bowl.


1. Preheat oven to 400º
2. Mix chicken with mesquite ranch until it covers all of it.
3.  Bread chicken with cornbread.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.

 Allow the chicken to cool for  5 - 10 minutes, plate the chicken, and spoon some of the remaining mesquite ranch on top.

* You can use a ranch packet, but I make my own dry ranch seasoning. It makes me feel better.

  Dry Ranch Mix:

1    Tsp. Dried Parsley
1   Tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp. Seasoned Salt
1/4 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp. Dill
1/8 Tsp. Dried Thyme

Zuppa Toscana

My mom used to work at Olive Garden in the kitchen so she remembers some of the recipes and makes similar versions of them at home. This one is a keeper ;)

Servings: a LOT

1 Package hot sausage
1/2 Package bacon
4-5 Potatoes (cut bite size, cook 1/2 way done, drain)
1 Onion3-4 Chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 Pint heavy cream or milk
1/2 Bundle of fresh kale (or more)
5 c. Water
Crushed red pepper to taste (and/or s&p)


Pre-cook all the meats and cook the potato 1/2 way, all separately, then mix everything together with the rest of the ingredients and let simmer for awhile ;D

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Tree in Winthrop, ME (Photo by Kt)

It's almost Autumn! My favorite season.

There's so much I enjoy about this season, it's gorgeous, fairs, pumpkins, Halloween, Thanksgiving, leaves changing color, the weather has cooled and it isn't muddy outside....

 ..and all of the food.


So let's begin the day with some breakfast.

                                                  A bagel with pumpkin cream cheese.

 

Ingredients:
8oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Pie Mix
1 Tsp Cinnamon
2 dashes of Nutmeg

1.  In a bowl, add cream cheese, and spices, stir with a fork for about 30 seconds.
2. Slowly add pumpkin into cream cheese, stirring as you go , until completely integrated.
3.  Place pumpkin cream cheese into an air tight container with  a lid, and keep in refrigerator.

The cream cheese is very tasty, easy to spread, and a little goes a long way.

Kt! Why did you use pumpkin pie mix, instead of pumpkin puree?! It has PRESERVATIVESSSSSSSS.            
                         I generally use Pumpkin Pie Mix when I am cooking something using pumpkin as a sweet. It saves me time from measuring sugar,  and has spices in it. 
                   But if you are truly concerned about it, then I would suggest using  3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, and a dash of ground cloves.

But you added spices to it.

          I like mine to have a little more cinnamon, and nutmeg. It's a personal preference. I do this often.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Strawberry Protein Shake

So I have many protein shake recipes, most of which are just a ton of random stuff thrown in the blender... most turn out okay, some are kinda weird, and some I'd never make again lol

At my gym we have a "juice bar" where you can order really expensive protein shakes with any flavor protein etc

One day I was really lazy so I headed over to the Gym & Juice "juice bar" after exercising and ordered something with strawberries, peanut butter, and chocolate. SO FREAKING GOOD. So I tried to make one at home (being 394839 cheaper) and I also added a ton of other random stuff, and its SO GOOD :) They used fresh strawberries, chocolate protein, PB2, and water. I change mine a little each time, but basically this is sorta what happens:

Servings: 2 large glasses

3 Scoops Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
2 tbs PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. frozen strawberries
2-3 c. water and/or unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk)
1-2 tbs ground flaxseed

and MIX! :)

Jess

I'm Jess--

I've been friends with Kt since middle school and even though we live miles apart we still remain best friends. :) We enjoy long walks at Fryeburg, eating nomz, cooking (making messes), autumn, the color purple, giant spoons, OG, ranch dressing, pumpkin everything, coffee, and Zelda. We both like sharing our recipes and new cooking adventures-----as well as super yummy things we find at restaurants & stores. 

We have a million inside jokes and you might think we are weird, but we don't really care. ;) While Kt cooks for her family---Beav and her two kids, I usually cook for just myself and sometimes for my fiance (or he does the cooking, so I might post his yummy cooking too). 

I get a lot of my ideas from magazines, books, secret family recipes, Kt, instagram, & pinterest. Sometimes I just throw whatever I have in my fridge together... and make some really weird shit. Lastly, I sometimes try to copy my favorite restaurants or coffee shops--and make them for cheaper & healthier at home. :) 


<3Jess

BLT Pizza

 One Night I didn't feel like doing much cooking, so I bought a cheese pizza from Little Caesar's Pizza.

However, I wanted to be fancier.

BLTs are fancy right?

No?

Fine.

It was an idea from a friend of mine, how a pizzeria back in Maine made BLT pizzas. I'm 928 miles away, so it doesn't do me any good. I had to make one myself.

It was delicious. 


Recipe:

1  Cooked medium sized cheese pizza (or make your own)
4  Slices bacon,cooked, and cut into bite sized pieces. DO NOT  use bacon bits, it's not bacon, that's gross.
1 Tomato, diced
2 leaves lettuce, shredded
2 Tbsp mayo in a zip-lock bag


1. Place bacon on pizza, cook in oven at 350º for ten minutes, remove from oven.
2.  Sprinkle lettuce and tomato over the top of the pizza so it has even distribution.
3.  Cut small tip off of the bottom of the zip-lock bag, drizzle over pizza.

Serves 4

This is  the cooking adventures of Kt & Jess.

We're two girls from Maine,  who have been best friends since 2000. Kt lives in North Carolina, and Jess lives in Massachusetts, but the distance doesn't stop us. 

We love Autumn,
We love pumpkins,
and we like to eat.