Creamy Mashed Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes, but the ones I made in the past were never that amazing.  I finally decided to search for some mashed potato making tips and I finally found the key to creamy mashed potatoes! Cream cheese.  Truly - so delish!  I saw this tip on Pioneer Woman's blog and she used a lot more butter and cream cheese than I did (she's a little fearless on the fat front...), but I still added both and it was so yummy.  I added whole milk, cream cheese, butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  I think other toppings like chives and bacon bits would be delicious additions, but this was great on its own too.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/delicious_creamy_mashed_potatoes/

This was, by far, the most popular pie I made for Thanksgiving this year.  Jeremy loves it and has reminded me several times to print the recipe.  The original recipe used a regular pie crust, but I did it on a graham cracker crust and I think that was a good move.

Banana Cream Pie

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 10 min. Cook: 15 min. + chillingYIELD:8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked
• 2 large firm bananas
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Directions

• 1. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into eggs; return all to pan. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
• 2. Remove from heat. Gently stir in butter and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard; refrigerate, covered, 30 minutes.
• 3. Spread half of the custard into pie crust. Slice bananas; arrange over filling. Pour remaining custard over bananas. Spread with whipped cream. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Yield: 8 servings.

From Taste of Home

White Chocolate Fondue

We had "black & white" fondue for dessert tonight - semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate -  and it was a hit.  The white chocolate fondue was the most popular, by far.  The chocolate was good but not amazing, so we'll try another recipe for the chocolate next time we do this.


White Chocolate Fondue

12 oz. white chocolate chips
1/8 C. milk
1/8 C. heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Put all ingredients in the top of a double boiler over simmering water.  Heat and stir frequently until melted and smooth.  Serve warm.  (Or, you can put all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each one, until smooth.)
Serve with orange slices, bananas, pretzels, graham crackers, marshmallows, strawberries and whatever else sounds good to you.  :)

Rosemary Parmesan Pumpkin Seeds

I found this collection of pumpkin seed recipes and just had to try something new this year.  These Rosemary Parmesan seeds are really good!  I didn't read the recipe right at first...it says to roast the seeds first for an hour and then add the seasoning and roast for 10-15 more minutes.  I had already added the seasoning so I just roasted them for an hour and tented them with foil for the first 45 minutes, took the foil off for 5 minutes, and then roasted them at 350° for 10 minutes and they were totally fine.  Yay!  But I've written the recipe up the way that you're "supposed" to do it, so feel free to actually follow the directions if you want. :)


Rosemary Parmesan Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups pumpkin seeds (about 2 medium sized pumpkins

Scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin, place in a colander and rinse with cold water, working to separate the seeds from the pumpkin guts.  Pat dry.  Preheat the oven to 300°, spread seeds on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake them until dry throughout, about 50-60 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from oven, then raise the oven temp to 350°.

Transfer the seeds to a bowl, add the flavorings, then return them to a baking sheet and roast 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

Rosemary-Parmesan seasoning

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (I used a heaping 1/2 Tbsp of dry, crushed rosemary)
1/4 C. finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Pour over seeds, toss to coat.  Season with salt & pepper, to taste.
Spread the pumpkin seeds out on the baking sheet and roast at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until golden.


As a side note, we also tried the recipe for the gingerbread pumpkin seeds and unfortunately we were pretty disappointed in those.  They smelled fantastic, but they didn't taste as good as I was hoping they would.  :(

Recipe from http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/pumpkin-seed-recipes?crlt.pid=camp.IRNT60Rj4TIV

Cinnamon Chip Scones

3 1/4 c. flour
1/3 c. plus 2 T. sugar, divided
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cold butter
1 c. buttermilk
1 pkg (10 oz) cinnamon baking chips
2 T. butter, optional

In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (with the 1/3 c. sugar). Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Fold in chips.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 10-12 times or until dough is no longer sticky. Divide in half. Gently pat or roll each portion into a 7-in circle. If desired, brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with remaining 2 T. sugar.

Cut each circle into 6-8 wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned.

Homemade Caramel Apple Dip

We made this dip tonight and it was very tasty.  The original recipe had the heat settings higher than what I'm posting and my sauce started to burn after just a minute or two, so make sure to watch it.  I just stopped cooking right there and it was a bit grainy from the undissolved sugar, but it tasted delicious.  I think cooking it slower over lower heat will solve that problem next time.

Homemade Caramel Apple Dip

• 6 Tbsp butter
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. honey (heaping)
• 1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk

1. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring constantly (will take 5-10 minutes).  Make sure it doesn’t start to burn – if you smell it burning, just stop here (it will be a tiny bit grainy, but still yummy).
3. Lower heat to low and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly (it will burn if not stirred constantly).
4. Remove from heat, let cool a bit and then pour into a serving bowl and serve warm.
5. Refrigerate any leftovers. Microwave a few seconds to soften before using again.

Makes about 2 cups

Slightly modified from:

http://anoregoncottage.com/homemade-carmel-apple-dip/

French Onion and Mushroom Rice Casserole

This casserole is so yummy!  I think I would have died if Mom made it when I was younger - all those onions!  But they're cooked until they're soft in this recipe and the flavor is awesome.
Plus, it doesn't use French Onion Soup mix.  I think the mix tastes okay, but it always leaves a funky aftertaste that lasts for a full day.  Yuck.
I very slightly altered this from http://iowagirleats.com/2015/09/08/creamy-french-onion-mushroom-rice-casserole/

French Onion and Mushroom Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 5 ½ cups rice, cooked (mix of brown and white)
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 jumbo sweet onion or 2 small sweet onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 Tablespoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 8oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 teaspoons flour
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 6oz shredded fontina (or Monterey jack) cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup regular or light sour cream

Directions

1. Spray a 9x9" baking dish (or equivalent-sized baking dish) with nonstick spray then set aside. Place a large skillet over high heat then add butter, onions, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, sugar, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring liquid to a boil then turn heat down to just a touch above medium and simmer until onions begin to soften and broth is nearly absorbed, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add mushrooms to skillet with onions then turn heat up to medium-high and saute until mushrooms are tender, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, season with salt and pepper, then saute for 1 more minute. Remove bay leaf then scoop mixture onto a plate and set aside.
3. Whisk together flour and 1/2 cup milk in a small dish then pour into skillet. Add remaining 1-1/2 cups milk, season with lots of salt and pepper, then let the mixture come to a bubble, stirring constantly. Turn heat down to medium then simmer until liquid is thickened and bubbly, 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove skillet from heat then stir in 4oz fontina cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and sour cream. Taste then add salt and pepper if necessary.
4. Add the cooked rice and mushroom/onion mixture to the cheese sauce then stir to combine and scoop into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining shredded fontina and parmesan cheese, then broil until golden brown.