Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

Absolutely delicious. My husband came home and ate 1/4 of it instead of dinner.

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 5/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in blueberries.
3. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the batter in the pan. Spoon remaining batter over the top, and then sprinkle the remaining pecan mixture over. Use a knife or thin spatula to swirl the sugar layer into the cake.
4. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes (may take longer if using frozen blueberries) in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate, and tap firmly to remove from the pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Apple-Cinnamon French Toast

Oh Wow, did this turn out good!!!! I LOVE french toast but rarely make it because I like the outside to have a crisp to it and the way I made it, it never did. Then, I was inspired after reading a similar idea and created this. It was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and full of flavor!!!!

In a wide dish, add 8 eggs, a little milk and sprinkle with cinnamon. Beat well together. In a freezer bag, put in a few cups of apple-cinnamon cheerios. Seal bag and crush into a powder. (I rolled the bag with a rolling pin several times on each side and it worked great!!) Put this mixture in another wide dish.

Heat a little oil (or left over bacon grease! Yum!) in a pan. Dip both sides of a piece of bread in the egg mixture. Then, dip both sides in the crushed cheerios.

Fry in the pan a couple minutes on each side until golden brown. This will do about 12 pieces of bread. Serve immediately and top as desired with butter, syrup or your favorite toppings! Heavenly!!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Another great recipe from My Kitchen Cafe.

LOVED IT!

*Note: This bread tastes best when it has cooled completely for a few hours and tastes even better the next day.

*Makes 2 (9X5-inch loaves) or 3 (8X4-inch loaves)

2 ½ cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans or three 8×4-inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together canned pumpkin, oil, eggs and 2/3 cup water until well combined and stir into dry ingredients, just until the dry ingredients are moistened and no dry streaks remain. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter in prepared pans.

Bake the bread for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife gently around the edge of the bread and turn the bread out, right side up, onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This bread freezes beautifully. After cooling, wrap the bread in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies...

from recipes.com

I have no idea how I have never had these before!!!  A friend brought them to a halloween party last night and I had to have the recipe!!!  These are definately delish!!

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 package, 2 layer sized, spice cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk 

1 recipe marshmallow-spice filling (see recipe below)

Marshmallow-Spice Filling: Up to 2 hours before serving, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter and one 8-ounce package softened cream cheese until smooth. Add 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1/2 of a 7-ounce jar marshmallow cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Beat until well combined. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil (grease foil, if using). In a large mixing bowl beat pumpkin and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add cake mix, eggs, and milk; beat on low speed until combined, and then on medium speed for 1 minute.

2. By the heaping tablespoon, drop mounds of batter 3 inches apart on cookie sheet; keep remaining batter chilled. Bake 15 minutes or until set and lightly browned around edges. Carefully remove from parchment or foil; cool on wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, lining cooled cookie sheets each time with new parchment or foil. If desired, place cookies in a covered storage container with waxed paper between layers to prevent sticking. Store cookies at room temperature for 24 hours. Prepare Marshmallow-Spice Filling up to 2 hours before serving. Spread about 2-1/2 tablespoons filling on flat side of one cookie; top with a second cookie. Repeat. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 2 hours. Makes 15 whoopies.


**I have made these now twice without waiting the 24 hours...I just make them then eat them :) they turned out exactly the same!

Apple Cake!!

Here is a super yummy and easy recipe to use up some of those apples!! From Allrecipes.com (called Apple Cake IV)

Ingredients:
5 apples- peeled, cored and sliced
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegi oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Topping:
4 tsp. white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

(As a note, I sliced and then diced the apples into tiny bits instead of just slicing. I also omitted the walnuts and doubled the topping....)

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg and lightly grease and flour a 9X13 pan.

2) Sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, set aside

3) In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar for 15 min. on high speed with an electric mixer (I got impatient and stopped after 5 min. and it was fine.) Add oil and blend in.

4) add flour mixture and mix well. Add vanilla. Fold in apples and walnuts. Pour batter into 9X13 in pan.

5) In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon for topping. Sprinkle over cake

6) Bake at 350 deg for 50-60 min. or until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!!! It was veeerrrrryyyy tasty!

Pizza Dip!!!!

This Dip has become a favorite among my friends for girls nights, baby showers, and parties!  Its so easy and is definately a crowd pleaser!

1 jar pizza sauce (not spaghetti sauce)

1 8oz. block cream cheese, softened

1 package pepperoni chopped

1 can chopped olives

2 cups mozzarella cheese

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• grease baking dish.
• mix all of the ingredients, leaving about 1/2 cup of mozzarella left for topping
• cover with foil and bake for 30 min.
• remove foil and add remaining mozzarella and BROIL for 5 min.
• Serve with french bread!!

***MAKE SURE TO SOFTEN THE CREAM CHEESE...I PUT IT IN THE MICROWAVE UNTIL EXTREMELY SOFT.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich...

I love a good crock pot recipe!  This recipe is from My Kitchen Cafe and it was delish.  I have never used liquid smoke before and it really made a difference!!!

3 to 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (I used boneless pork loin!)
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
1 tablespoon hickory flavored liquid smoke (found by the bbq sauces)
2 cups barbecue sauce

Rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry. Rub salt and pepper over the pork and place in a slow cooker. Add water and liquid smoke. Cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, until the pork is very tender.

Remove the pork from the slow cooker and discard the remaining liquid. Shred the pork using a couple of forks. Place the meat back in the slow cooker along with the barbecue sauce and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes until the pork is hot again. Serve on buns with extra barbecue sauce.