Even My Husband Can Make These Pumpkin Muffins/Cupcakes

It's no secret that my hubby is GREAT in the kitchen.  Too bad he can't cook, though! (Ba dum dum!)

But even my husband can make these pumpkin muffins.  They are so easy it's embarrassing.  I got this recipe from a friend and have made it a hundred times since then.  People always ask for the recipe and I try to make it sound like they are something really fancy.  No.  They are not. They have only two ingredients.

Seriously, TWO INGREDIENTS! 



These can be made into muffins by adding a simple glaze, maple glaze, orange glaze, etc. or streusel topping.  Add in pecans if you like.  Or you can top 'em off with a little cream cheese frosting and call them cupcakes.

I really like them with the pecans mixed in the batter and the maple glaze on top (just mix real maple syrup into powdered sugar slowly until a good glaze consistency). I make them mini size and they just pop right in your mouth all on their own.  Make them as bars with cream cheese frosting and they'll be a huge hit at your next church potluck.  I even made it as a bundt cake once and drizzled orange glaze over the top for a little get together with friends.  (Don't tell them how easy it is.)

Start with the basic two ingredients and jazz it up however you like.  I made mine tonight with a pecan streusel topping.  I spent 4 minutes prepping and 20 minutes playing on facebook while these baked. And now they are all ready for a quick breakfast in the morning, which is good since my husband needs to leave early for a work meeting and I'm on my own to feed the kids.

These are vegan--the cake mix I used contains no egg or dairy products.  Be sure to read the label if you are concerned about either of those ingredients.  I used a vegan butter in my streusel. 

All vegan.  All yummy.  All easy.  It's all good! 

One note:  These are actually better if you make them ahead and let them sit overnight or for a few hours.  They are a little dry right out of the oven but get more moist as the day goes on.

2 INGREDIENT PUMPKIN MUFFINS or CUPCAKES

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin

1 box spice cake mix

Mix together well and cook according to directions on box for cake, muffins, etc.  Normal size muffins usually take about 18 minutes at 350 degrees.

PECAN STREUSEL TOPPING

1/4 c. chopped pecans

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. oats

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. vegan butter

Stir together the pecans, flour, oats and brown sugar.  Cut in butter until mixture is pea sized crumbs.  Sprinkle over muffins or cakes before baking.  (Also good with a drizzle of maple syrup added in.)

Gemelli Pasta and Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Vinaigrette

I got a great cookbook from my day care kids as a Christmas gift--Pampered Chef's The Vegetarian Table.  There's a whole section on vegan main dishes.  Awesome!!  My family immediately thumbed through it and marked a few pages they thought looked tasty. 

The first one we tested was "Gemelli & Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Vinaigrette." Only the recipe actual called for this to be served cold as a salad.  I made just a couple slight changes and served it up as a hot dish. My kids gave this one two thumbs up and ate up a huge batch of it. I would also highly recommend using this Dijon vinaigrette for other things, too.  It's really awesome.  I think this dressing would make a good cold salad.

I know what you're thinking--my family will not eat Brussels Sprouts!!  But give it a try.  We call them "green balls" here and my kids love them.  My son likes to buy them fresh when possible and help to clean and peel off the outside layer.  Actually, last night I was watching Food Network and there was a comment about how Dijon went so well with Brussels Sprouts.  The judges on the show were pleasantly surprised by how yummy they were prepared that way.  I plan to use this dressing on sprouts even without the pasta.

I cannot take credit for this recipe. I'm not trying to do that, I swear.  (Are there some sort of laws about stealing recipes and putting them on your blog?  Should I call a lawyer?)  I will print MY version of this recipe.  But I give full and complete credit to the good folks at Pampered Chef and to my sweet and wonderful child care family that gave me the book.

Oh, and Gemelli is a twisty pasta.  I suppose you could use rotini or fusilli if that's easier to find, but the gemelli is a great texture and I recommend trying to find it.

Okay, enough rambling for me.  Let's get to the recipe already!

GEMELLI AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS with DIJON VINAIGRETTE
16 oz. box of gemelli pasta (cook according to directions and reserve 1/2 c. pasta water at the end)
1-2 pounds fresh (or 2 bags frozen) Brussels Sprouts (trimmed and cleaned if using fresh)
1 large red onion

Juice from 2 lemons
1/3 c. Dijon Mustard
1/4 c. White Balsamic vinegar (original calls for apple cider, use what you have)
1 1/2 T. packed brown sugar
1 t. fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 t. sea salt
2 1/2 T. olive (or canola) oil
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Slice onion thinly and cook slowly in small pan over medium heat until soft and sweet--this may take 10-15 minutes to caramelize them nicely.  Keep onions in pan.
Whisk together lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, pepper and oil.  Add to onions in pan and bring to a simmer for about 2 minutes.
Cook pasta according to directions, reserving 1/2 c. cooking water. Steam Brussels sprouts until crisp tender (or softer if you prefer) and season with salt and pepper. Toss Brussels sprouts with pasta and pasta water. Stir in onions and dressing.
Serve with pecans and dried cranberries for topping.

Baked Potato Soup (V and GF)

We had some really great baked potatoes yesterday smothered in creamed peas with baby onions.  So yummy!  But the potatoes were huge and I ended up with leftovers.  So today I've got a big pot of Baked Potato Soup on the stove heating up the house and making it smell soooooo good.

There are a lot of schools of thought when it comes to baking potatoes.  You can do yours however you like best.  But my favorite way is to rub them with a little olive oil, rub them down with coarse sea salt and bake in a hot oven (425 degrees) until potatoes are soft and skins are super crispy.  My family likes the texture of the skins this way.  I use the skins in the soup--just be sure to chop them small.  I think they add a great flavor and texture.  Feel free to spoon out your potatoes if you are not a skins kind of person.

BAKED POTATO SOUP
2 large baked potatoes, chopped
2 large baked potatoes, mashed smooth (for thickening the soup--use potato flakes if you prefer)
4 cloves garlic, mashed
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch chives, chopped (reserve a few tablespoons for topping/garnish)
1 bunch parsley, chopped (reserve a few tablespoons for topping/garnish)
6 c. vegetable broth
2 c. almond milk (or another unsweetened/unflavored vegan milk)
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. Crushed red pepper (or more to taste)

Saute garlic and onion is a small amount of veggie broth just until soft but not browned.  Add in remaining broth and potatoes and chives. Season well with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes.  Turn heat to low and stir in milk and mashed potatoes for thickening.  You may need more or less to achieve the thickness you prefer.  Heat through but do not boil once milk is added.  Serve with chives and parsley for topping.

Roasted Parsnips, Leeks and Carrots (GF and V)







ROASTED PARSNIPS, LEEKS and CARROTS



1 lb. parsnips, peeled and cut into strips

1 lb. baby carrots

1 large leek, slice lengthwise and clean thoroughly then slice into 1 inch chunks

1/2 c. vegetable broth or stock

Sea Salt and Black Pepper

 

Toss everything together on a large cookie sheet and cover loosely with foil.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-45 minutes or until tender and just starting to brown.  Parsnips will get a little mushy when over cooked, so check often. 



 I serve these roasted veggies with cous cous, brown rice or potatoes and some fresh fruit. 

Beanie Weanies (GF and V)

I have no idea how we got on the conversation of Beanie Weanies this morning.  I think it started with weanies and progressed from there to my son asking if we could have Beanie Weanies for lunch.  The other daycare boy at my house said he had no idea what that meant. What kind of kid has never had Beanie Weanies?  I'm going to have a good long talk with that boy's parents.

So it's a kid-friendly pot of Beanie Weanies and Mini Tator Tots for lunch today. My favorite way to eat them is over a hunk of corn bread, but I got out-voted today. I don't really follow a recipe so much as a list of ingredients, so these are approximate amounts.  Taste it and adjust it to your liking.  I would normally put everything in a casserole dish and then bake it slow (or crock pot it).  I mix and match the beans, but this is what I had in the house today.

I hope this takes you back to your childhood!

BEANIE WEANIES
1 large can vegetarian baked beans (I like Bush's)
1 can white beans (cannellinis, navy or butter beans)
1 can green beans and/or yellow wax beans
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
2 T. maple syrup
2 T. brown sugar
1-2 T. yellow mustard
(sometimes I add BBQ sauce, too, but my son doesn't like it so I left it out today)
Fresh ground black pepper

3-4 vegan hot dogs (I like Good Dogs, but Smart Dogs are good, too), chopped

Combine it all together in a large pan or soup pot.  Cook on low for about 45 minutes, stirring to make sure sugars don't burn/stick on the bottom.

Tuscan White Bean Soup (GF if using rice pasta)

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but it is not mine.  I have it scratched on a piece of paper, so I'm sure I wrote it down off the internet somewhere. If it's YOUR recipe, let me know and I'll give proper credit where credit is due.  My kids and hubby really liked this one on a cold, rainy night yesterday.  I served it up with some fresh wheat bread and fresh fruit.  If you aren't a big fan of the rosemary, try Italian seasoning mix instead. If you like your soup less "soupy" and slightly thicker, try mashing a can of beans and adding that to the broth.

This soup is very simple and quick to make, so it worked great on a night when we had school conferences and swim practice.  And, as with all soup, it's better the next day.  I can't wait for lunch!

TUSCAN WHITE BEAN AND SPINACH SOUP

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

4 green onions or 1 small onion, finely diced

6-8 cups vegan no-chicken broth or 6-8 cups vegetable stock

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans white beans (cannellini or navy beans, drained)

1 1/2 -2 cups whole wheat pasta shells

2 teaspoon rosemary or Italian seasoning

5-6 cups baby spinach (approx. one bag), cleaned and trimmed and coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

1-2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

In a large soup pot, saute the onions and garlic in 3 T. of the broth.  Add broth, tomatoes, beans and rosemary to pot, then season with black and red pepper. Bring to boil. Add pasta and cook 12 minutes. If the soup seems too thick for your liking add a bit more broth. Add spinach and cook until wilted.

Brown Rice with Veggies and Tahini Sauce, Eli's Miso Soup (both GF and Vegan)

I watched the movie "Forks Over Knives" (highly recommend you watch it, too!!) and immediately ordered the book to find some of the recipes from the show. I found one recipe for Steamed Veggies and Tofu with Brown Rice.  It looked really good, but I didn't have time or ingredients to make it just as listed.  So I "mommed" it a little bit, turning it into a fast and easy meal for a busy Monday night.

My son, Eli, loves miso soup from the sushi restaurants and decided to make his own version last night to go with our rice dish.  These two recipes are credited to others, but have our own personal touch to them. 

For those that are not familiar with Tahini, it is a sesame seed paste found with the health foods or sometimes with peanut and other nut butters.  It has a peanut butter-like flavor, and can be used as a peanut butter substitute for those with allergies. (A friend has used it to make puppy chow snack for kids with peanut allergies and said it was really good.) If you like peanut sauce at your local Asian restaurant, you will like this dish. 

BROWN RICE, VEGGIES AND TAHINI SAUCE
RICE
1 1/2 c. brown rice
3 1/2 c. water for steaming
1/4 t. fine sea salt

Combine all in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and let cook 45 minutes.  Turn off heat and let sit 10 minutes.

VEGGIES
1 large bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 brick firm tofu, cut into chunks or triangles

Steam veggies and tofu in steamer for about 8 minutes or until hot.

SAUCE
1/2 c. tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. veggie broth or water (or more to make it "sauce" consistency)

Serve veggies on rice and drizzle with sauce.  Top with chopped green onion, pine nuts and/or sesame seeds.

ELI'S MISO SOUP
5 c. water
3 green onions, chopped small
1 1/2 T. miso paste dissolved in 1/4 c. warm water
1 T. soy sauce
1/3 brick tofu, cut into tiny cubes
1-2 handfuls of fresh spinach

Bring water and onions to a boil for about 5 minutes.  Turn down heat to a low simmer, add miso, soy sauce and tofu and cook until hot. Do not boil. Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Serve hot.