Crafts

Pumpkin Pound Cake Recipe

493 · Sep 17, 2013 · 43 Comments

Pumpkin Pound Cake Recipe // Show of hands, who here is so ready for fall baking? I have been itching to try out the collection of pumpkin recipes that have been piling up on my counter, and what better time then now?

I dug through my box of random clippings and came out with one from Taste of Home that sounded too good to be true. Pumpkin pound cake… in a bundt pan.

I’ve had a bundt pan for years but it has sat in the back of my cupboard (in the original plastic) since day one, unused. I was a little ashamed and figured this would be the perfect reason to bust it out.

There is no better way to break in a new pan then with a pumpkin recipe!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pound Cake

2-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

3 eggs

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray. Set aside. Stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

Whisk together your sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin. Fold in the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Pour into your pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

If you were looking for your home to smell like fall, you’ve found the right recipe. My entire house smelled like pumpkin pie for days after I pulled this out of the oven. I topped it with a simple maple glaze, but it’s flavors stand on their own.

This is a great one to share with friends. Especially if you are home alone and might eat the entire thing all on your own (don’t judge).

You could even try making them in mini bread pans for a fun neighbor gift! Thanks Heather for letting me come by again!

Here are some more fabulous recipes from One Sweet Appetite

Roasted Garlic Butter // Recipe

590 · Sep 15, 2013 · 24 Comments

// Recipe for Roasted Garlic Butter //

I love garlic… like REALLY love garlic. The love affair became rather torrid & steamy when I discovered roasted garlic. The simple act of adding a little oil, salt, pepper with a little time in the oven transforms the normally sharp, rather harsh garlic into a sweet mellow bite. It still has all the flavor profiles of garlic, it's just garlic's soft, sweet, mellow cousin. It can be added to all kinds of dishes to add that garlic flavor. One of my favorite things to do is to make roasted garlic butter with the golden gems.

If you want to make the best garlic bread in the world… you need to take 30 minutes or so and make some roasted garlic butter. Spread it on bread and your mind will be blown. Here is how to make roasted garlic butter.

Ingredients for Roasted Garlic Butter

3 large heads of garlic

3 t extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

2 sticks of soft, unsalted butter

Instructions

Take three heads of garlic (I made a double batch, that's why I have six in the photos. Yea, it's that good!)

Cut the top off of each head and drizzle with olive oil and generously season with salt & pepper.

Wrap the heads of garlic in parchment and foil and place in a 375˚ oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool until you can handle the heads of garlic easily with your hands.

Gently squeeze the gloves of garlic out of it's skin.

Then add more salt & pepper and mash with a fork.

Next, place two sticks of softened, unsalted butter in a bowl and add all of the mashed garlic.

Fold the garlic into the butter. At this point you can serve the soft garlic butter on bread or veggies. You can even add a dollop onto a nice steak to add some flavor.

Last week, I made some Zuppa Toscana for dinner and added a little pat of butter to the bowl of soup after it was served and just that added little garnish took that soup to a whole new level. YUM!!!

You can store your roasted garlic butter in a air tight container for several weeks and always have it on had to add to a dish to make it extra special. Another night last week, I made some scrambled eggs for my husband before he rushed off to an evening meeting. I used the garlic butter rather than regular butter or bacon grease to prepare the pan for the eggs. Oh my stars…talk about tasty eggs!

I challenge you to find some creative ways to use your butter… I promise you, the uses are endless.

Friday Flair Link Party // Feature Edition no. 9

0 · Sep 13, 2013 · 20 Comments

Friday Flair Link Party // Well… we've made it to another Friday! This week has been a thrill. I finally feel like I can get back to working full-time and I'm getting my Photography mojo back. Anyone who works as a photographer, especially food or home photography knows that you have only one or two sweets spots in your house where you can take really good photos. It becomes your happy place and you know exactly when and how to get the best shots in that special spot. When you move, it can be a challenge finding your sweet spot in a new place.

In Vegas, my favorite spot was in my kitchen right next to some sliding glass doors that faced east. It was a terrible spot in the morning, but in the afternoon it could create magic. Our first house here in Lincoln was a challenge. It had a covered patio so the sliding glass doors in that kitchen wouldn't work. The light just wasn't right. I took a lot of photos outside there, which was fine, but not my favorite type of photography. Our new house has a great spot right in the kitchen again and I feel like I've come home. Again it's right by large sliding glass doors but they face south this time, so it's still a little different. I spent the week cooking up a storm and getting to know my new sweet spot… It was so much fun!!

Next, I have some excited things coming down the pipe here in the next couple of months that I'm super excited about. First, I am a new lifestyle contributor to REstyle Source and I'm so excited to start working over there! Also, I've been invited to… eeeek…. The Pillsbury Bake-Off Finals in Las Vegas in November!! Yea, that is going to be so much fun, kind of a dream really. I will be sharing the whole experience with you guys and giving you all the behind the scenes goods from the bake-off. Last, but not least… In a few weeks, I will be traveling to Israel with a handful of bloggers to take a culinary tour of that amazing country. We will be tasting our way through Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa & the Galilee area. We will be visiting markets, restaurants, farms & vineyards all while learning about the food of that region of the world. Super excited about that! Wow, I'm tired just chatting about all that. It's going to be a busy couple of months.

Speaking of busy… you guys have been crazy busy as well! Going through last week's Friday Flair made my head spin with all the great fall recipes and fun projects that you shared. Here are a handful that caught my eye.

dill carrot pickles from keeping with the times // yellow hello door vinyl from practically functional // caramel apple bites from echoes of laughter

diamond baby quilt from persia lou // pencil cake from endlessly inspired // gold & coral table from tidy mom

welcome gift from I pinned it // lemon pound cake from life made simple // spicy cilantro shrimp with honey lime sauce from love grows wild

an "apple" pie from heather's french press // sunburst mirror from delineate your dwelling // painted wood floors from cleverly inspired

I'm hungry and ready to get to work after all that inspiration!!!

Now let's get this Friday Flair Link Party Started

NOTE // I have made a bit of a change to the party. I have set it up so that it will close when it hits 200 links. As much as I would love to have the party go on forever. It takes a good deal of time to go through each link (which I do) and I have finally decided that 200 is the magic number. Thank you to all who link up every week and if you miss your chance this week, not to worry… you can try again for next Friday. //

12 Fall Inspired Free Printables

5 · Sep 12, 2013 · 19 Comments

The Printable Club // I'm so excited for fall to arrive! There is just something magical about this time of year. The crisp air, the harvest of all kinds of goodies, a return to the warm soul filling menus, sweaters, turning leaves, pumpkins… I could go on an on. This month's printable club theme is Fall and we have 12 fabulous free Fall inspired printables for you.

My contribution to this month is a fun printable sign that would add a little autumn love to your decor. I just adore farmers markets and barn sales and they are just so iconic in the fall. I have also loved the creative signage that comes with these fun homegrown markets. That is what inspired this simple piece that would look lovely in a fall display.

I actually came up with four different color ideas for you…

Just click on the download icon in the box below to download the printable sign…

11 of my favorite talented friends have also come up with some fun fall themed printable projects for you to use. Here is a list of all the fun!

1 // The Dating Divas – Make your man feel loved this fall by decorating the bedroom with all the reasons why you 'fall' for him!
2 // Somewhat Simple – This 8×10 paint-by-number-style deer art print is perfect for adding just a simple touch of autumn to your decor.
3 // Whipperberry – A stylish apple printable for your fall decor!
4 // Crafting Chicks – Fall Fun Charts–keep track of all your favorite fun activities you want to do this fall (like a summer fun chart) and check them off when you're done!
5 // Tatertots & Jello – Adorable Fall Scrolly Cake or Pie Topper Printables. Plus the recipe for Pumpkin Pie with Macadamia Nut Streusel topping.
6 // L'il Luna – A super cute and easy Fall Cookies in a Jar gift with free tag/recipe!
7 // My Sister's Suitcase – Printable Tags/Wraps for giving yummy fall treats and breads as gifts!
8 // I Heart Nap Time – An adorable gift tag perfect for any gift giving this fall season!
9 // The 36th Avenue – Pumpkin Cookie Recipe and Free Printables. A super cute little gift!
10 // Paging Supermom – This series of mod Apple Prints is perfect for your fall mantle or frame and give to a teacher or neighbor.
11 // The TomKat Studio – A free printable fall art print perfect for framing!
12 // The Idea Room – Caramel Apple Gift Kits are a fun and festive gift for friends, family and/or teachers this fall.

Zuppa Toscana // Easy Weeknight Dinners

6 · Sep 11, 2013 · 16 Comments

Easy Weeknight Dinners Recipe // My family LOVES potato soup of any kind. Routinely, when I ask what they would like for dinner, the very first thing out of the girl's mouth is… "potato soup!" Baked potato, potato cheddar corn chowder they will devour any of them, one of their favorites is Zuppa Toscana from the Olive Garden. We have been known to schlep it on over to Olive Garden just to have our fill of Zuppa Toscana on many occasions. That was until I found some copy cat recipes and started developing a knockoff of my very own. There is just something about the creamy broth salted with the spicy sausage and the pleasant surprise of the kale that just gets our engines a revving. We've even served it for Christmas Eve dinner a few times. Yep, we love it that much.

Every year when the air starts to crisp up with the promise of fall, the kiddos start asking for my version of Zuppa Toscana, so I thought I would share it with you today. I developed my recipe after a bit of research on copy cat recipes and it's quite a bit different than most copy cats, but it's one that we have fallen in love with. It's simple with easy to find, affordable ingredients so it's a perfect addition to your weeknight dinner line-up.

WhipperBerry's Zuppa Toscana

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 T butter

1 lb bacon

1 lb sausage

1 large white diced onion

2 T garlic paste

1 1/2 t red pepper flakes

2 t salt

1 t pepper

4 large potatoes

4 – 6 cups water ( just to cover the potatoes)

24 oz. (2 cans) evaporated milk

3 cups kale

salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

Add oil & butter to large soup pot and place over medium high heat. Add bacon that has been cut into small strips. Lower the heat to medium and cook until bacon is cooked through. This may take 10-15 minutes. Remove bacon and fat from pot and set aside the bacon. Add the sausage to the pot and season with red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Once the sausage has browned add the diced onions and cook for 4-5 minutes until the onions are nice and soft.

While the bacon and sausage are cooking, peel and cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Once the onions are soft, add the garlic paste and cook for another minute then add the potatoes to the pot and cover with water. Place the stove on high and bring to a boil. Once the pot is boiling lower the heat a bit and let simmer for 15-20 until the potatoes are soft. Turn off heat and add the two cans of evaporated milk and return to a medium heat. Watch your temperature carefully, you don't want to boil it at this point.

Wash, dry and roughly chop the kale and add to the soup. Continue to cook at a low simmer for another 5 minute until the kale has softened a bit. Check your seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed. Remove from heat and serve. We like to add some shaved Parmesan cheese on top along with the bacon pieces from earlier. Serve with some crusty garlic bread and enjoy. To me, this dish is the ultimate Italian comfort food.

Fall is the celebrated start to the soup, chowder, stew and chili season… what's your family's favorite recipe?

Crafts

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pound Cake

Directions

Here are some more fabulous recipes from One Sweet Appetite

Ingredients for Roasted Garlic Butter

Instructions

Now let's get this Friday Flair Link Party Started

WhipperBerry's Zuppa Toscana

Instructions

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