Plain Jane Pumpkin Bars

Ok, here's the thing...I love food. Like, totally. Not really thinkin' that's a big secret. If I could I would eat cheesecake, hamburgers with cheddar and bacon, sour cream anything and cookies all day every day. Unfortunately, that ain't happening or I wouldn't be able to fit through my front door. I have learned the art of moderation. It's hard. Any one who tells you it isn't is a lying dog. A LYING DOG, I say.

Autumn is sorta kinda knocking on the door here in Central PA and when that happens I start craving apple and pumpkin things. Sweet or savory, it makes no difference to me. I am a huge fan of both. Pumpkin bars are the BEST but most recipes scare the hell out of me what with the cups of sugar and oil and such. I'm not even going to mention the cream cheese frosting that usually accompanies these treats. Ok, so I mentioned it, but I am not including it in this recipe. Sorry. Don't hate me. These are kind of for every day. What you grab for that little sweet in your lunch box. They won't make you feel guilty and they are spicy and homey. I have changed the original recipe so much that I can honestly claim it as my own, I think. I cut the sugar and oil by about 75% and they are still very good. I added way more spice than the original recipe and because it was staring at me from the spice cupboard I added a few tablespoons of molasses. You can leave it out if you like but it gives it a nice

depth of flavor. Please make sure you grease and flour the pan well or you won't be getting bars out of the pan, you'll be scraping it out and eating it with a spoon. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. This is my second recipe in two days because my husband, who HATES pumpkin, ate the entire pan last night. I guess he liked it. So will you.

Plain Jane Pumpkin Bars

3 eggs

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree

3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce (I used homeade)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. molasses

2 c. unbleached flour

In a large bowl, stir together eggs, pumpkin, applesauce and oil. Combine well. Add in sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, salt and molasses. Stir well. Stir in flour until combined.

Spread in a greased and floured half sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. When a toothpick comes out clean, they are done. Cool completely and dust with confectioner's sugar if desired. Cut into bars. Makes about 25 depending on how big you cut them.

Frosted Molasses Cookies (a.k.a. Flood Cookies)

Hello from Eastern PA. We survived the floods. It was bad. No matter what direction you went in from my apartment, the street and surrounding area was underwater. And by underwater, I mean a few inches of roofs were showing. I have never seen anything like that in my entire life. People are likening it to the flood of 1972 when Agnes came through here and destroyed everything. Fortunately, where my building is located was safe. We have no hot water right now and are still under a boil advisory but we are lucky, compared to a lot of others.

I must admit that I never realized exactly how much water we used until I was required to boil it to even brush our teeth. I had to do this to do dishes as well. And as we still had power, I got the brilliant idea to make cookies during this mess.What can I say? I bake when stressed. I boiled 7 pots of water to make these suckers and clean up the mess, so I hope you like them. If you don't, I really don't want to hear about it. Feel free to keep it to thyself. Thanks. They made me feel better so that's all that really counts in my book. Enjoy!

First, take brown sugar and shortening

and throw them in a big ol' bowl.

Beat the daylights out of it until it's completely combined.

Next, throw in a few eggs.

Then, the yogurt and milk.

Add the molasses, spices, baking soda and salt.

Beat everything together. Add the flour and beat again, but not too much. If it gets too hard, stir by hand. Doesn't it look goood?

Next, use a medium scoop, or Tablespoons and scoop 12 onto a tray. I use those non-stick Silpat sheets. If you don't have them, use parchment paper. You will thank me.

They look like this when they're done. Mmmm. Now I like them plain, but almost everyone else likes frosting. Soooo.....

Throw the confectioner's sugar, butter, vanilla and milk or cream (I had some leftover) into a bowl and beat until smooth.

Frost and eat.

Frosted Molasses Cookies

(adapted from Food.com)

Cookies:

1 cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

2/3 cup molasses

6 Tbs. plain yogurt

6 Tbs. milk

1 Tbs. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. mace

1/8 tsp. cardamom

1 Tbs. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

4 cups flour

Cream shortening and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and molasses. Throw in milk and yogurt.

(You can us 3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk instead) Combine. Add flour, spices, salt and baking soda and beat until combined. If it gets difficult, do it by hand. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min.

Vanilla Frosting:

2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 Tbs. softened butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-4 Tbs. cream, milk, or half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth. Frost cookies. Store cookies in an air-tight container between pieces of waxed paper or parchment paper.

Cheap Cheap Peking Chicken

I have just ended the most hectic week in my life! The kids went back to school. I worked full-time and the hubs started a new job. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely grateful but the timing was the WORST. I've had some breathing room the last few days so it was finally back to the kitchen to make some real food.

There has got to be a few of you suffering from the country's current economic situation, as we are. Thus, things is tight here, man. Tighter than a pair of acid-washed jeans in a Tiffany video! So, I'm going for the cheap. I found this recipe in the current Rachael Ray mag, but, as usual, I changed it a bit. I made it as printed but it was a bit greasy for me so I've decided that the skin on the chicken must be removed. Just rip it off, it comes off easily. This is great served with some brown rice and asparagus. Enjoy.

Crock Pot Peking Chicken-adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine

8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin removed

6 green onions, sliced thin

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

3 Tbs. honey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger

fresh cracked pepper

Place the chicken in the crockpot. Add in onions, soy sauce, honey, garlic, sesame oil, fresh ginger and pepper. Turn chicken to coat. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Pull chicken off of the bones and serve over rice (I use brown) with some of the sauce. You can sprinkle with more sliced onions and some sesame seeds if you like.

Baked Apples

Baked apples are NOT boring. No, they aren't. I know you are all picturing something your granny served you when you had a cold. It was probably mushy and served with warm milk. Eww. Mine aren't like that. Nope. I love them. I make several variations but the one thing I always keep the same is that I make them in the crock pot. It keeps them moist and non-mushy. Plus, if I'm making dinner in the oven these can be cooking at the same time and served up warm anytime I like.

One of the things that I also do occasionally is slice the apples. My kids have a difficult time eating a whole baked apple with the skin intact so I tried cutting them up and it's the exact same taste. Plus, I can spoon them over waffles, ice cream or yogurt. Mmmmm. I make mine without nuts because of allergies but feel free to add pecans or walnuts to yours. They are sooooooo yummy. Any dried fruit is fine too. I used raisins this time but dates, cherries, apricots would all be good too. I love to substitute. I rarely make a recipe the same way twice. It's a thing I have. I do it with my hair too....but that's another story.

First, slice apples and place in your crock pot.

Next, add your cinnamon, brown sugar, flour, and raisins. Stir.

Dot with butter. Real butter. Not fake stuff. I don't want to see any pictures of Fabio on the packaging! Put the lid on and cook on High for 2-3 hours. When they are soft but still hold a shape they're done.

They look like this. Mmmmmm. Or............with a little whipped cream and toasted pecans. Don't judge me, man. Pick it up and eat it. You'll like it.

Baked Apples

5 gala apples, sliced

2 Tbs. all purpose flour

1/4-1/3 cup brown sugar, I always use less but that's me

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

1 Tbs. butter, sliced

Place apples in crock pot. Add flour, sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Stir. Dot with butter. Cover and cook on High for 2-3 hrs. Serve as is or with whipped cream, nuts, ice cream. It can be spooned over waffles and pancakes too.

Numero Uno

For my first post I'm going to keep it simple. That's the way I like things. Although, now that I think about it, I'm probably the the most complicated person I know. Yeah. But I like my food simple. Now that we've established that, let's move on, shall we?

This blog is going to be focused on getting people to eat well. I try to stay on the healthy side of things, but I try not to get too crazy about it. I mean LIFE is crazy enough let's not sweat the insignificant details. That being said, I will occasionally use a cake mix or a can of soup. My favorite ingredients are:

butter, real vanilla, peanut butter, butter, fresh veggies, shrimp, cocao powder. Did I mention butter? I LOVE it. I like being on the right side of the scale too, so I have learned to share. That's where you come in. I want to share all of my favorite things with you.

If you can't cook, don't be afraid. I'm here to help. Remember that w0rd I used? Simple? It is, I promise. I didn't even know the difference between butter and margarine when I started cooking 15 years ago. I figured it out and so will you.

My first recipe is for green beans. My husband HATES them. He acutally had a physical reaction along with the hate. That is, until I made him these. Now he asks for them. He did a happy dance in the farmer's market the other day when he saw me put them in the cart. Yeah, I know. WOW. So here goes. I hope you like them.

George's Favorite Green Beans

2 lbs. fresh green beans, ends snapped and washed

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, zested and juiced (make sure you only grate the yellow part of the lemon. NO white!)

salt and freshly ground peppper

Fill a large fry pan with an inch of water. Add a large pinch of salt. When it boils add the beans and cover. Cook for three minutes. Drain. Wipe out pan. Add oil and heat for a second. Add drained beans and garlic. Stir fry for two minutes. Add in lemon zest and juice. Salt and pepper to taste.