Easy Pumpkin Waffles

**I'm interrupting my St. Lucia posts with a quick recipe post.  I just couldn't help myself from writing a food post after taking such a long break from the blog!**  

Happy first day of fall!  The morning air is starting to have a has a nice crisp to it, leaves are falling, and other Fall-y things are starting to happen.  Pumpkin spice and salted caramel mocha lattes at Starbucks and fall decorations sprouting up everywhere are enough to get me in the Fall spirit!  My friend Clare and I are absolutely in love with the salted caramel mocha.  If you haven't tried one yet...you need to...now.

If you didn't already know this about me, I absolutely love anything pumpkin flavored.  Last weekend, I woke up craving waffles.  But then I thought about how it was almost Fall so it would be completely appropriate to make pumpkin waffles!  I got so excited just at the thought of these that I dusted off my barely used Belgian waffle maker and got to work. 

I had a box of hungry jack buttermilk pancake mix, but you could also use Bisquick, or any other pancake mix.  I needed this to be quick and easy since I don’t like recipes with a lot of ingredients and I was hungry and ready to have me some waffles!  
 

I found this recipe online and it was perfect.  All you need is:

                

• 2 cups pancake mix
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup canned pumpkin 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients together until there are no lumps.  Turn on your waffle maker and spray generously with non-stick spray.

 

all the ingredients ready to mix

pumpkin waffle batter

I dropped about 1/3 cup of the mixture into my waffle iron, but the amounts may vary based on the size of the waffle maker you have.  The waffles took only 3 minutes or so to cook.  Once most of the steam was gone, I knew the waffles were pretty much done.  The end result are delicious waffles with a hint of pumpkin flavor.  They weren't overpowering at all.  I just had them with butter and syrup but I'm sure they would be great with pecans, cinnamon sugar, or brown sugar. 

breakfast is served

my waffle assembly line

pumpkin waffles

Enjoy!

Grilled Pineapple and Chicken BBQ Quesadilla

Wow - it has been way too long since my last post.  Things are pretty crazy at work and our social calendar is pretty full with weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, and other family stuff.  We're heading off to Charleston, South Carolina next week for a wedding and it couldn't have come at a better time.  We're staying for a few days and making a mini-vacation out of it with some friends.  I really just need a break.  Once I'm on the beach I'll be happy as a clam. 

I have to admit I haven't been cooking or baking that much lately, since I've been working later and trying to squeeze in some work outs at the gym.  Brian has helped out a ton by taking over the cooking or picking up takeout from our favorite Peruvian chicken spot, Don Pollo in Bethesda.  He is simply the best. 

He was actually the one who found this recipe.  We enjoyed making these quesadillas together, but enjoyed eating them even more.  Like I've said before, Pioneer Woman recipes never fail.  This one was awesome.

Start by grilling pineapple on a griddle or outside grill.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cayenne spices, and grill that too.  Slather the chicken breasts in barbeque sauce.

 

 

Slice the chicken, chop up cilantro and jalapeno.

 

 

Melt some butter in a pan and toast the tortillas - this makes all the difference in the world and gives you a nice crunchy quesadilla.  I never thought to do this before!

  

Assemble the quesadilla by layering shredded cheese, the grilled pineapple, grilled chicken, jalapeno, cilantro, and some more barbeque sauce

 

 

Place back into the pan to melt the cheese and warm everything through.

 

 

There you have it!  These also heat up really well for leftovers too.  So it's safe to say you'll probably want to make a few extra for lunch or snacks.  Another successful meal thanks to our girl Ree (AKA Pioneer Woman). 

Recipe from Pioneer Woman: 

 

Ingredients

• 8 whole Flour Tortillas
• Butter Or Margarine
• 2 cups Grilled Pineapple, Sliced
• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
• Cilantro
• 3 Tablespoons Barbecue Sauce

Preparation Instructions

(To grill pineapple: cut wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices.)
(To pound chicken, place inside a Ziploc bag and pound with a mallet or large can to flatten to uniform thickness.)
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.
Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside.
To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You'll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)
Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved those Boston cream doughnuts from Dunkin Doughnuts.  They are my absolute favorite.  I've never tried to make Boston cream pie cupcakes before, but they have the same components that I love about Boston Cream doughnuts: the pudding-like filling inside and the chocolate glaze on top.  So I figured I couldn't go wrong with this recipe.

Gather the following ingredients:

Cupcakes:

•  1 box of yellow cake mix
•  3 eggs
•  1/3 cup vegetable oil
•  1 cup water

Filling:

•  1 3oz box of french vanilla Jello instant pudding
•  1 cup half-and-half
•  1 cup heavy whipping cream
•  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Chocolate Ganache:

•  1 cup heavy cream
•  1/4 cup light corn syrup
•  8 oz semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare the cupcakes using the directions on the cake mix box.  You can make a lower fat version by substituting the vegetable oil with apple sauce (I may try that next time).

While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the filling. Combine the pudding mix and 1 cup of half-and-half, put to the side (another low fat option would be to use the Jello sugar free vanilla instant pudding mix - they usually taste just as good as regular). Then, in a bowl of an electric mixer with the whip attachment, combine 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.  Whip until soft peaks form.  Fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream goodness.  Place the pudding/whipped cream mix into a piping bag with a star tip.

Fill the cupcakes with the whipped cream/pudding mixture by inserting the star tip into the middle of the cupcake and giving the piping bag a squeeze.  Its kind of hard to tell how much gets into the actual cupcake, but just squeeze until the stuff starts spilling out of the top.  Like this:

I wiped down the excess filling off the top so I could glaze them without making a mess.

Prepare the chocolate ganache by combining 1/4 cup light corn syrup with 1 cup heavy cream and 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat.  The corn syrup gives the ganache a nice, pretty shine.  When the corn syrup and cream starts to simmer, remove the heat and add 8oz of semisweet chocolate.  Cover and wait 8 minutes for the chocolate to melt. Mix it all together and let it cool a bit (about 15 - 20 minutes).  Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the chocolate ganache and place on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet (just in case any of the chocolate drips).

How pretty are these?!

Last step - dig in!

Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies

I saw this recipe on Pinterest for chocolate chip lava cookies.  Once I saw the photo of the warm cookie smothered in vanilla ice cream...they had me.

Start with melting 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips in a plastic bag in the microwave for 30 seconds, or until melted, set aside.  (I used a sandwich bag but after microwaving it didn't hold up so well, so use something sturdier, like a freezer bag)

Cream one stick of butter with 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar

After creaming the butter and sugars for 3-5 minutes in the electric mixer, add one egg and 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract...

swirls!

Add combined 1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder to wet mixture

Add one cup of chocolate chips.  Then try not to eat half of the dough while you assemble the cookies - very important!

Using only half of the prepared dough, scoop 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons into your hands and flatten it out, and place in a greased muffin pan (makes 10-11 cookies)

 

Now, grab the plastic bag with the melted chocolate....  It's time.  

Snip of a corner of the bag with a scissor, and squeeze the chocolate in the middle of the dough.

Using the remaining dough, scoop and flatten out in your hands like you did for the first layer, and gently place over first layer and melted chocolate

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  WHEN I make these again, I will bake them for a couple minutes less, just to leave the center more gooey.  I was concerned that the edges weren’t getting  browned, so I left it in for closer to 20 minutes. I would think 15 is probably perfect.

Cooling down

Oh look!  I've got all the dessert I didn't need to eat lined up for the week!

 

I microwave them for about 30 seconds to get them really warm and then scoop some vanilla ice cream on top.  It was like the cookie and ice cream were made for each other!  

I'm so cute, you'll have to eat me

yum yum yum

Now, my diet isn't so happy about these cookies being in the house, but I say screw it!  Live a little and eat some chocolate chip lava cookies once in a while :-)

Goat Cheese With Honey and Pistachio

I love the combination of goat cheese and honey. It's salty and sweet and tart and delicious. It's so simple to make too! I usually just drizzle some honey over goat cheese on toasted bread, but this time I mixed it in with the cheese and I liked the consistency.  The goat cheese has a crumble-y texture at first, but when you mix in the honey, it becomes soft and spreadable.  My friend Ashley told me how she recently tried it with pistachios and that it went well with the cheese.  I decided that I would give it a try and bring it to our most recent book club meeting, where we talked about The Art of Racing in the Rain (great book).  So all you need to whip up this delicious appetizer are three ingredients: pistachio nuts, goat cheese, and honey.

shell some pistachios

break up some goat cheese and add to a bowl

Add a good amount of honey, I just eyeballed it.  Mix together and then add the pistachios.

Finished product.  I saved a few pistachios to put on top and drizzled some more honey.

French baguette and cinnamon crackers to spread the goat cheese on.

Spread it on bread or crackers, this is the simplest appetizer and such a favorite for me and my friends.

Toffee Latte Scones With Irish Cream Glaze

I saw this recipe for Toffee Latte Scones the other day, and I thought they sounded sooo good, I had to try making a batch this weekend.  I've never made scones before but it wasn't too involved and they turned out pretty great!

The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of toffee bits.  I couldn't find any so I just chopped up three Heath bars.  It was a little more than 1/2 cup, so I saved the extra to sprinkle on some ice cream for later.

Three Heath Bars

All chopped up

Next, melt 1/4 cup of vanilla ice cream

Melted vanilla ice cream

 Then, add 2 tablespoons of instant coffee into the melted ice cream

 Add two eggs into the melted vanilla ice cream and instant coffee mixture.

 

Next, mix 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon baking powder.

Then, cut 1/2 cup of butter (1/2 of a stick) into small cubes, and incorporate into the flour mixture.  I used a pastry blender, but you could use a fork.

 

 

It will look something like this:

 

 Add 1/2 cup of the chopped up toffee

 

Then add the liquids

 

 

 Mix with a fork and dough will come together

 

 Pat into 8-10 inch circle about 1 inch thick and cut into wedges

 

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then 300 for another 10 minutes

While the scones were baking, I got creative and decided to make a glaze to drizzle on top of the scones for some extra sweetness.  I used one cup of powdered sugar and three tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Cream Coffee Creamer.

I let the scones cool before drizzling the glaze

Scones on a cooling rack

Everyone is glazed and happy

This little one has my name written all over it

I hope you all have a great week!