Fresh Pumpkin Puree

Okay, I know that fall is pretty much over; but if you are like me, then you will cook with pumpkin as long as you can. I discovered last year that fresh pumpkin is definitely worth the effort. Up until then, I had always used canned. Then I decided to take the plunge and try roasting a pumpkin and making my own puree. After all that I made myself a pumpkin pie. Oh. My. Goodness. That was the best pumpkin pie I had ever had (up till then of course). After that I have went the fresh pumpkin way if I could, or had the energy.

It's really easy converting a recipe from canned to fresh.

Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

In my last post I mentioned that I was back to calorie counting. It's been going okay so far. There have been no casualties or injuries. The people that know me well, know that when I get hungry, I am not the happiest/nicest person to be around. I'm finding that I need to always have snacks on me to curb those cravings. All that means is that I really have to be strategic about what I'm eating. Once you find the right snacks and meals for you though things get really easy. :)

With calorie counting, I have to be careful about desserts. I love desserts. My sweet tooth is bigger than my stomach that is for sure. So I went in search of low calorie, "healthier" desserts. That is when I stumbled across this beautiful recipe. Oh man, I can't even tell you how much I love cheesecake. If I could eat it everyday, and not gain an ounce, I would totally do it. So of course I was definitely going to make this and eat it all up. Well not all, that wouldn't help me at all in my counting.

Since this is made with plain Greek yogurt, it's not as sweet or rich as regular cheesecake. When you are trying to eating a little healthier sometimes you have to change up the things you love. Even though this wasn't the sweetest cheesecake I ever had, it was definitely one of the best. Knowing that one slice wasn't going to make me feel full and weighed downed made it even better. My husband even went back for seconds, and he doesn't like sweets as much as me. :)

Double Chocolate Souffle Torte with Raspberry Sauce

I like living here in Colorado, but there is one thing I would gladly move elsewhere for. Baking! So many times I crave to bake something, then I remember I live at high altitude and it will probably turn out hard as a rock. There are tons of articles and tips on how to alter a recipe to fit high altitude. Whenever I decide to take a recipe and alter it, I end up with many failed attempts and wasted ingredients. I hate wasting ingredients. I know baking is a lot like trial and error, but I can't help it!

A lot of times I forget I'm at high altitude. I start baking and when I pull whatever it is out of the oven it's dense and hard. That's when I get sad. I have even thrown out rock hard cupcakes before and just reverted to the high altitude alterations on a box. Yes shameful, but sometimes I just want to bake and I only have the patience to waste so many ingredients.

Light Creamy Banana Pie

I am ready for summer! Here in Colorado we keep getting a few days of snow, then some sun, then snow again. This week is supposed to be warm and that makes me happy! I really want to wear my summer clothes, no more jackets please. :)

It's Pie Day! March 14th. 3.14...get it :) So in celebration I posted a great recipe for a quick light dessert pie. Creamy, but not too sweet, and full of bananas. This was so easy, because you could make this hours before dinner and not have to worry about dessert. My husband was a big fan, and so was I!

Happy Pie Day!

Light Creamy Banana Pie
adapted from Light Cooking 

Ingredients:
1 pre-made pie crust, 9-inch
1 can (12-oz) Light evaporated Skimmed milk
1 box (3.4oz) French Vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 bananas, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Bake pie crust as directed on package for empty crust; cool.
2. In medium bowl, beat evaporated milk, pudding mix and yogurt until mixture starts to thicken. 
3. Pour half of pudding mixture into cooled crust. Arrange banana slices over pudding mixture; top with remaining pudding mixture. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Garnish with whip topping, if desired.

Serves 8.

Nutrition: Calories 129; Fat 2g; Cholesterol 2mg; Sodium 245mg

Pear and Cranberry Pie

I get these random cravings for pie. It's very weird I know. For some reason an apple pie or lemon meringue pie comes into my mind and I can't stop thinking about it. After Thanksgiving I found an extra pie crust in my fridge and that is when the pie craving started. This recipe was very different, but the idea of bosc pears in a pie sounded fantastic. It really was. The sweetness of the pears along with the tartness of the cranberries really makes this the ultimate holiday pie. I know it really isn't the holidays any more, and cranberries are really hard to find in the store right now, but I just had to share this fantastic recipe. 

Pear and Cranberry Holiday Pie

Better Homes and Garden

Ingredients:

1 pre-made refrigerated pie crust

8 cups sliced red and/or green ripe pears (7-8 pears; 3-3 1/2 lbs)

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons apple cider

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons caramel-flavored ice cream topping, plus more for drizzling

Directions:

1. Roll out pie crust into 9-inch pie pan. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Arrange half of pears in prepared pie pan; sprinkle with 1/2 cup cranberries. Arrange remaining pears atop cranberries. In a small bowl stir together 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, cider, and nutmeg; drizzle evenly over pears. Cover pie with foil. 
3. Bake 40 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake, uncovered, 30-35 minutes more or until pears are tender and juices are bubbly. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. 
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine remaining cranberries and 2 tablespoons caramel topping. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Speen over hot pie. 
5. Serve warm. Drizzle with additional caramel topping. 

Serves 8

Maple Pecan Pie

I am getting really adventurous in my cooking lately. There are many things I have never tried, but I have this craving to make. Sounds crazy right?! This recipe was one that fell into that same category. I actually made this for Thanksgiving (yes, I'm quite behind on my posts) and my brother loves Pecan Pie. Since he was going to be at dinner, I decided to attempt this pie that he loves. When he arrived he actually thought this was a store bought pie, because it was so pretty. Nope, all me! This just goes to show you don't need to be a pro chef to tear it up in the kitchen. ☺

I have had many firsts this year. Some I have not shared with you because they were obvious firsts. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new year and I am excited to try even more recipes I wouldn't have thought of making only a year ago. 2013 is also the year this tour is ending and my husband comes home. I'm really excited to start a new chapter in life with my better half. He is the one that will eat pretty much everything so I am forecasting a lot of different foods being cooked up in my kitchen. ☺

Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2013 brings you all happiness and joy!

Maple Pecan Pie

foodnetwork magazine

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon bourbon, such as Maker's Mark

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 1/2 cups whole pecan halves (9 ounces)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Line a 9-inch pie pan with the pie crust. Place on a sheet pan.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, butter, eggs, bourbon, vanilla, orange zest and salt. Stir in the pecans and pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the center is just set. Set aside to cool, and serve. 

Serves 8

Chocolate Chestnut Christmas Cookies

I know Christmas is over, but we are still in the holiday season. These cookies were just right for this time of year. I saw them on a cooking show a few weeks ago, and I instantly thought, "I have to make those." They looked simple, and so delicious! The only issue I had was finding roasted chestnuts. At some of the grocery stores around me they only have whole raw chestnuts, but I didn't want to go through the hassle of roasting them myself. Finally, after lost of searching online, I found an asian grocery store only a couple miles from me that sells them. If you are having trouble finding roasted chestnuts, look at your closest asian market, they will definitely be there. Just make sure you aren't using water chestnuts, they are NOT the same thing. :)

If you are worried about the flavor of the chestnuts, don't worry about it. I have never had chestnuts before, and that didn't matter because the chocolate is a little more powerful. One tip I would have is to roll out the pie dough thinner than how it is packaged. I just used the dough as is, no rolling out or anything. The filling was a little over powered by dough, so my suggestion would be to make the dough a bit thinner. You will also get a few more cookies as well.

Chocolate Chestnut Christmas Cookies
Giada De Laurentiis at Home

Ingredients:
1 cup steamed or roasted chestnuts, packaged about 6oz (NOT water chestnuts)
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch Kosher salt
2 tablespoons amber rum
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
3 to 4 refrigerated pie crusts (2 store bought packages) at room temperature
1 large egg, beaten to blend
powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425º. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Blend the chestnuts, sugar and salt in a food processor until the chestnuts are finely ground. Add the rum, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Blend until the filling is almost smooth, scraping down the sides a necessary. Add the chocolate chips and pulse until combined. (This can be made 2 days in advanced.)
3. Working with 1 pie crust at a time, unroll the pie crusts on a work surface and, using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 10 rounds from each crust. Brush the pastry rounds with the beaten egg to cover. Drop 1 generous teaspoon of the filling into the center of each round. Fold half of the dough over the filling and seal to make a half-circle shape. Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown and crisp, 15-17 minutes.
4. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Makes approx. 30 or more cookies.