Pumpkin Seeds with Ranch and Sea Salt

Pumpkin season means fresh pumpkin for pies and pumpkin bread, and what do you do with the seeds?

I did part of the seeds with dry ranch dressing mix and the rest with coarse salt and drizzled with oil. Then I put them in the oven at 350 for 20 min to 30 min or until they start to get brown. Be careful not to let them get burned.  Try it!

 

Simply Delicious Grilled Chicken with Couscous

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

2 1/2pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Recipe for couscous follow recipe on the box of couscous

I mixed up the olive oil, and lemon juice. Then I put salt and pepper on the already cut up chicken pieces. Then I brushed the olive oil and lemon juice over, and we put them on an electric grill.

 

                                                          

  I then sliced it ... 

        and served it with couscous....

The recipe is found in Paula Deen’s magazine, May/June 2013, page 26.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Since it's fall, I decided to make pumpkin spice cupcakes.

I first mixed flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Then in another large bowl I mixed pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, vegetable oil, and large eggs. Then I gradually added the flour mixture to the other bowl.

Then I poured one third of the batter into the liners and with the rest I put chocolate chips in it. (My Dad wanted some without the chocolate chips.)  I put them in the oven to bake...

After they cooled, I let my brother Sami decorate them. Here are the ones with chocolate chips (both inside the cupcakes and on top of the cream cheese frosting)...

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I had two of them right away. They were very yummy! My whole family enjoyed them...My dad had two without the chocolate chips.

The recipe is found in Paula Deen’s magazine, an special issue called "Apple Desserts". Look for it on page 48.

My sister poses with a cupcake...sweet!

Joseph demonstrates how to eat them.

Apple Granola

Apple Granola

Ingredients:
3 cups  apple cider
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar 
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped whole almonds 
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 cup chopped dried apples

I boiled the apple cider first to ½ cup. While it was boiling I mixed oats, chopped whole almonds, chopped pecans. Then I poured the apple cider on and then added the brown sugar,  canola oil, ground cinnamon and spice that would be in an apple pie and salt. Then I spread it on a cookie sheet and let cook for 30 min stirring every 10 min. until its toasted.

It tastes good with yogurt but we put milk on it and it still tasted good. Its found in Paula Deen’s magazine apple desert page 35. ( I didn't use sesame seeds but you can put it in. I don't know how it would taste. I didn't put the apples in either because we didn't have apples at that time.)

Herb Butter& Quick Italian Meatballs with Spaghetti.

Today I made herb butter to go on sourdough bread. I used a loaf of sourdough bread from the store and just warmed it in the oven. I put garlic and parsley in the butter. Then you put it on the bread and enjoy.  It goes very well with spaghetti and meatballs. It wasn’t that hard to make, and most of the family enjoyed it, especially my dad.

It’s found in Paula Deen’s magazine January/ February page 32.

I also made Quick Italian meatballs. It’s found in Paula Deen’s magazine May/ June 2013 page 22.

Although it doesn’t call for a lot of ingredients, it takes a long time to roll the meat into balls and then bakes for 15 min.  So, allow yourself enough time to prepare it.

It goes very well with the Herb Butter on sourdough bread. My family enjoyed it, but my sister doesn’t like meatballs.  So, she just had the sauce. 

Chocolate Pecan Pie (adapted from Paula Deen Magazine Sept/Oct 2012, p. 72)

Ingredients:

I made Chocolate Pecan Pie. I made it differently than what Paula Deen did. I made it the way that would please my whole family, because not everyone in my family likes pecans. We wanted to use up the milk so I made it with chocolate pudding. 

I first made the pudding, and then I poured it into a chocolate crust. Then I put the whip topping on. Then I put some pecans on half with a few chocolate chips and just chocolate chips on the other half. Then I put it in the refrigerator to let it get cold and set. 

A tip to remember: make sure you put the whip topping last and also let the pie set for a long time. 

Tilapia with Tomato Relish

Ingredients:

Today I made tilapia with tomato relish. I first made the tomato relish. In a small bowl, I combined the tomatoes, green onion, and fresh cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Then I put it on the breaded tilapia and served it with cheddar biscuits. When you serve tilapia, you might not want to have too many garlic side dishes. We had garlic green beans, garlic noodles, and the garlic biscuits, so my family said there was too much garlic.

This recipe is from Paula Deen magazine, July/August 2013, p. 42

Strawberry Lemon Shortcake Parfaits

Ingredients:

I made Strawberry Lemon Shortcake Parfaits. The recipe is found in Paula Deen’s magazine March/ April 2014, page 43.

I first made the biscuits early in the morning since it was going to be hot outside.  I used the canned biscuits. Then I cut up the strawberries and added lemon juice and sugar. 

Then I layered them in individual cups. they turned out well and tasted delicious!

We had guests over. My dad enjoyed it, and so did the guests!

Pink Palmer and Asian Pork Noodle Bowl

 Pink Palmer

Ingredients: 
10 cups hot water
8 bags hibiscus tea or raspberry zinger
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
4 cups of water

Heat water in a kettle until hot and put in the bags of tea. Then let it steep accordingly to box of tea and let it cool down a little bit.  You then take out the tea bags and pour it into a glass pitcher add sugar, lemon juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cold water and refrigerate. It’s found in Paula Deen’s magazine March/April 2014 page 39.

My Comments:

I made Pink Palmer because it’s a nice and cool refreshment to drink on a hot day. I used only half of the ingredients it called for.  I also put ice in it because there wasn’t room for it in the refrigerator. It made it even colder with the ice in it. 

 I substituted Raspberry Zinger for the hibiscus tea.  It tasted very good; my brother enjoyed it and wants me to make it again. 

Asian Pork Noodle Bowl

Ingredients:
8 cups water
4 packages ramen noodles
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch strips
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (1-pound) bunch asparagus trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup beef broth 
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon vinegar 
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of chopped cilantro

First, you bring water to boil in a pot and then add the ramen noodles cook for 3 min. In a large skillet, you heat the oil cook the pork add garlic and the red pepper until pork is nicely brown. Then add asparagus, carrots, beef broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cook for 3 mins. Add noodles until tender and add cilantro. It's found in Paula Deen’s magazine March/April 2014 page 13.

My comments:

I made Asian pork noodle bowl because it was hot outside and my mom didn’t want me to heat the oven up. I cooked the pork first with garlic and let it get browned.

Then I used broccoli instead of asparagus and let it cook until it became bright green. Then I added the shredded carrots, the beef broth, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. To make the beef broth you use 1 teaspoon with 1 cup of water. Also instead of Sesame oil, I used olive oil. 

  

Everyone enjoyed it and it was an easy one dish meal. 

Asian barbecue chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sweet and sour sauce

1/3 cup barbecue sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, halved horizontally 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

You first in a medium bowl, you stir together the sweet and sour sauce with the next 6 ingredients. You reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce in a small bowl and refrigerate. You then sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and grill for 3 to 4 min per side until done, brushing with the sauce on each side during the last 2 min. Remove and let stand for 10 mins thin thinly slice and serve with rice. The recipe is found in Paula Deen July/August 2014 page 23.

 I did it half barbecue and half sweet and sour. It wasn't that hard.


I did it at my grandma's house. It was my grandma's idea to do it half and half.

My cousin Kendra says this is the best chicken she'd ever had, and she doesn't even like chicken!

My grandma says that it was fantastic and it was the best she ever had. She is waiting for the next meal. My brother said it was delicious, and my sister said it was yummy.