Recipes, Recipes, Recipes

Last night, I decided against our usual Friday night dinner outing and cooked at home instead. I recently caught an episode of Ina Garten's show Barefoot Contessa: Back to the Basics. I must admit, I'm usually not a fan of hers since a lot of her recipes require obscure and expensive ingredients. However, there was one recipe on her show for stuffed cabbage that looked affordable, easy enough to make, and appetizing. So, last night I decided to try it out and it ended up being a hit! I'm pretty sure that John asked me to make it again three times before he had finished his meal. I was going to take a photo of the finished product, but the steam rising off the dish kept fogging up my lens! However, there's a quality picture in this link that includes the recipe. I know that it may not sound like the most delicious meal, but trust me that it was! It was so full of flavor and wonderful for a fall or winter dinner.

After our meal, we went to the BJCC to catch Sigur Ros in concert. They're an Icelandic band with a very distinct and unusual sound. John and I both have liked them for a number of years and were so happy when we found out they were coming to our town! The show was incredible. The set design, lighting, and music was out of this world. Even though we didn't understand the words they were saying, you could tell the meaning of the song from the lighting, mood, and video streaming on stage. It was such a unique and exciting experience and one that we will always remember.

This morning I woke up fairly early to make a delicious breakfast with John. I put him in charge of making pumpkin pancakes while I tackled the easy part of making maple-pecan syrup. John has always enjoyed making breakfast, especially pancakes and waffles. So, I knew that I could trust him with a new recipe that I found (plus since Bisquick was involved, they were super easy). They turned out amazing and made for a comforting fall breakfast.

Pumpkin Pancakes w/Maple-Pecan Syrup

2 1/3 cup Bisquick 

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs

Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat. In medium bowl, stir all pancake

ingredients until well blended. For each pancake, pour slightly less than

1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle. Cook until edges are dry. Turn: cook 

until golden brown. Serve with syrup.

Maple-Pecan Syrup

1 cup maple syrup

1 Tbs butter or margarine 

1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a 1-quart saucepan, heat syrup and butter until butter is melted, stirring

constantly. Remove from heat, stir in pecans.

After we made the pancakes and syrup, we still had a large amount of canned pumpkin left. So, I made one of my fall favorites- pumpkin bread. I probably could have made two loaves with the amount of batter, but I opted to make one giant loaf instead. The recipe was super simple and turned out perfect.

Pumpkin Quick Bread w/Chocolate Chip & Pecans

Preheat oven to 350.Place the following in a mixing bowl and mix until smooth:

1 cup vegetable oil

2 2/3 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups pumpkin

2/3 cup water

Add the following, beating gently to make a smooth batter:

3 1/3 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp baking powder 

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Add 1 cup chopped pecans and 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips into the batter. Pour

into a greased bread pan and bake 60-70 minutes, or until a cake tester or 

toothpick is inserted in the center of the loaf and comes out clean. 

Hope you enjoy these yummy fall recipes as much as we did!