Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

1 c. flour
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 T pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs, seperated, plus 5 egg whites, at room temperature
1 c. canned pure pumpkin puree
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 3/4 c. sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks and pumpkin puree. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture until smooth
2. Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the remaining 9 egg whites at medium speed until foamy, about 2 minutes. With the machine on, gradually whisk in the remaining 1/2 c. sugar; increase the speed to high and beat until stiff but still moist, 1-2 minutes.
3. Add one-quarter of the egg white mixture to the pumpkin batter, folding with a rubber spatula until no streaks remain. Fold in the remaining egg white mixture in the same way. Pour the batter into a 10 inch tube pan with a removable bottom and bake until springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
4. Let cook in the cake pan for 5 minutes, then invert the pan onto a narrow-neck bottle and let hang upside-down until completely cook, about 1 1/2 hours. Place the cake right side up and remove the pan. To serve, dust with confectioners' sugar.
-Serves 12

*This cake was very easy to make and has a great pumpkin flavor. Mine though fully cooked, had a rather custard-like dense texture. It might be because I couldn't get my egg whites to whip (I think they were too cold).

BONUS!!! It tastes much more unhealthy than it is! (123 calories, 2 g fat, 5 g protein per serving).

Loaded Potato Soup

4 (6 ounce) red potatoes
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 1/4 c. fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
3 T flour
2 c. 1% milk
1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 bacon slices, halved
1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 tsp. thinly sliced green onions

Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool. While potatoes cook, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 c. of milk; add to pan with 1 1/2 c. milk. Bring to a boil; stir often. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper. Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel and microwave for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon. Discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup. Top with cheese, green onions, and bacon.

This recipe is from Cooking Light 2010.

*This is a SUPER EASY and delicious homemade soup. I did make a couple changes. I didn't have bacon, so I added some ham. I think it gave it a touch of a sweet taste. I also didn't have any green onion. The soup was really good the way I made it, but I think the bacon and green onions would make it AMAZING! I also cooked the potatoes ahead of time (due to a scheduling issue and trying to speed up the process a bit). I just reheated them in the microwave before adding them to the soup.

Hearty Lasagna

1 container (15 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 bunch fresh basil, chopped
2 links precooked chicken sausage, diced
1/3 c. 2% milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. salt
2 1/4 c. pasta sauce
8 no-boil lasagna noodles
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425. Mix ricotta, basil, sausage, milk, garlic, pepper flakes, and salt in a bowl.

Spread 1/2 c. pasta sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Lay 2 noodles over the sauce. Cover with 1/4 of the cheese mixture and another 1/2 cup of sauce. Repeat with noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce 3 more times and sprinkle the last layer with parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 15 minutes, until the top is golden.

This recipe is from Cook This, Not That.

All three of us enjoyed this lasagna. It was easy to make and quick in terms of lasagna. It woudl be easy to double if you needed it for a larger crowd. I did make a couple slight modifications. I bought uncooked chicken sausage at Sprouts (2 of them which are quite large). I think I got the "basil" flavored type. Before cooking them I sliced open the casing and just put the meat in a pan to brown. The recipe calls for "Muir Glen Basil Pasta Sauce". I just used what we have on hand, which was Ragu Chunky Garden Vegetable. I also used 1% instead of 2% milk because that is what we have at our house. I recommend the Barilla no-boil noodles. I've used the American Beauty brand for other recipes and think that for this particular one, the Barilla work better due to the fact they are the perfect size for an 8x8 Pyrex glass baking pan when laid side by side.

*Sorry no picture:( I'll try do get one when we eat leftovers!

"Boeuf Bourguignonne" Crockpot Style

2 strips bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 c. flour
Salt and Black pepper to taste
2 lb chuck roast, excess fat removed (cut into 1" pieces)
1/2 bottle dry red wine
2 c. low-sodium beef broth
2 T tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 c. frozen carrots
1/2 lb mushrooms

Preheat large skillet or nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. While the skillet is heating, combine flour, salt and pepper (I used about a T of each) in a Ziploc bag. Place meat in the bag and shake to coat.

In the preheated pan, cook the bacon until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside for later. Add the meat to the pan and cook just until all sides are browned. Remove the beef and add to the slow cooker.

When all the beef has been browned, add 1 c. wine to the hot pan and scrape up any brown bits with a wooden spoon. Pour over the beef in the crockpot.

Mix the remaining wine, tomato paste, and beef broth. Pour over the beef in the crockpot. Add the bay leaves and bacon pieces.

Set the slow cooker to HIGH and cook for 4 hours, until the beef is tender and falls apart when pressed with a fork.

In the last 30 minutes add the carrots and mushrooms. Discard the bay leaves before serving. Serve by itself, or over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

This is a recipe that I modified from my "Cook This, Not That" cookbook. In there it is called "French Pot Roast". The recipe calls for peas and pearl onions, and no carrots. I also modified the directions a bit to make it a bit easier to follow. A person could easily change the vegetables to suit their tastes or to try different flavors.

**My husband and I both really enjoyed this meal. We ate ours with mashed potatoes on the side. The next time I make this I will try cooking on low for 8 hours. The 4 hours on high was great, but it's hard to do that unless you're home. I use my crockpot for the ease of preparing dinner before I leave the house and being able to eat it when I get home. I will sometimes use a timer plugged into the outlet, but that doesn't work with my larger crockpot (since I have to push buttons instead of flipping one switch).

Pesto Chicken Florentine

2 T. Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut into strips)
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 (4.5oz) pkg dry alfredo sauce mix
2 T. pesto
1 (8oz) pkg dry penne pasta
1 T grated Romano cheese

Directions:
1.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute, then add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add spinach and saute together for 3-4 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, boil penne in salted water. Drain when done.

3.While the chicken is cooking, prepare Alfredo sauce according to package directions. When finished, stir in 2 T pesto.

4.Add chicken/spinach mixture to pasta. Stir in pesto/alfredo sauce mixture. Mix well, top with cheese and serve.

This recipe is from the website "allrecipes.com".

My husband and I both loved this (we didn't try to get our 2 year old to eat it, he had pasta with red sauce instead). You pretty much have to get the pasta cooking before starting the chicken. I found that my chicken cooked really fast and I had to wait for the pasta (though I started it at the same time as the garlic/chicken). As soon as the chicken is in the pan, start making the alfredo. This dinner is really quick (less than 30 minutes from start to finish). I happened to have some homemade pesto on hand so I used that. I also didn't buy the romano cheese. I justed used parmesean since I already had some in my fridge. Delicious!

BBQ Pork Sandwiches (Slow Cooker)

4 lbs. boneless pork loin roast, fat trimmed
1 can (14 1/2 oz) beef broth
1/3 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c. cayenne pepper hot sauce

Sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. molasses
1/4 c. yellow mustard
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. cayenne pepper hot sauce

Place roast in bottom of slow cooker. Combine broth, 1/3c. worcestershire sauce, and 1/3 c. hot sauce. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours (or low for 10 hours) or until roast is tender.

Combine ingredients for sauce in a large bowl; refridgerate until ready to use.

When roast has finished cooking. Transfer to a cutting board and coarsly chop/shred. Add as much sauce as desired. Save extra sauce for serving. Spoon onto rolls of choice.

This recipe is from a cookbook I have called Slow Cooker: Magic in Minutes.

*This recipe is so easy. I've made it MANY times. It makes a lot so we always have leftovers and I usually freeze a good portion of it too. I only mix in some of the sauce because it can be overwhelming and spicy. I've played with the amount of hot sauce that goes into the sauce, but I always seem to make it too spicy for my husband. When you first make it I recommend adding hot sauce gradually until it is to your desired taste.

Sorry no picture for this one yet. I'll try to get one posted when I eat some for leftovers this week!

Meatloaf

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
1-1 1/4 lb ground beef
3/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 small onion
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 c. saltine cracker crumbs

Heat over to 350 degrees. Press the brown sugar into a 5x9in. glass baking dish. Spread ketchup over the top of the brown sugar. Mix all other ingredients together. Form into a loaf and place on top of ketchup. Bake 1 hour or until juices run clear (thermometer reads 160 degrees).

I love meatloaf and found this recipe online. I've become a huge fan of the website allrecipes.com I love how you can search by ingredient. That's how I found the Mexican Casserole recipe that I posted on this blog. I had some ingredients I wanted to use and search them. I also love how the recipes are rated and you can read the reviews and comments. Great site!

My family loved this meatloaf. Meatloaf isn't really that healthy and when you have all that brown sugar it's even less healthy, but it was so good it was worth it!

*Sorry I don't have a picture for this one. My family gobbled it (and the leftovers) up before I could take one.