Pumpkin & Chorizo Enchiladas with Cinnamon-spiced Crema

This is a fun recipe that my aunt shared with me, from the Food Network magazine. Yum! It is actually meant to be butternut squash and chorizo, so I'm going to post the original recipe first and then tell you about my modifications. Also, I doubled the recipe because I bought 2 things of chorizo and my husband is a cow. :) I now have an 8x8 of enchiladas (about 6) that I'm going to freeze for a later date. So here we go!

Butternut Squash and Chorizo Enchiladas with Cinnamon-spiced Crema

Sauce:

2 oz butter

5 T flour

2 C beef broth

4 T chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 C Cacique Crema Mexicana

Melt butter in saucepan and whisk in flour. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in broth. Add remaining ingredients, except Crema Mexicana, and whisk thoroughly. Bring to a slight boil and remove from heat. Let cool, let mix in Crema Mexicana.

Filling:

10 oz Cacique Chorizo (pork or beef - this is one tube of it)

1 small butternut squash, or 1 - 16 oz bag frozen butternut squash, cooked as per package instructions

Cook chorizo according to package instructions and drain well. Set aside. Split squash in half, remove seeds, poke holes in surface, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Allow to cool, then scoop out tender flesh and meat. Add cooled chorizo. (see, this would be SO much faster with frozen or canned squash, like the pumpkin)

Topping:

12-16 corn tortillas

1/2 package (5 oz) Cacique Queso Quesadilla, shredded

Lightly coat bottom of a baking dish with sauce. Scoop filling into tortillas, roll and place in baking pan. Cover the tops of the enchiladas with sauce and top with shredded Queso Quesadilla. Bake uncovered at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is browned/melted.

So... my adjustments.... I used canned pumpkin puree, flour tortillas, and the Mexican blend of shredded cheese from Walmart because 1. I wanted to make it with pumpkin because that is how my aunt recommended to make it and because Patrick would NEVER eat it if it had butternut squash in it (though I think that would be good), and 2. because those are the things I had and this way I didn't have to buy more. Use whatcha' got! :) I do think it'd be really good with the corn tortillas and I'll do that next time for sure.

Here is our chorizo and pumpkin blend. Next time I make this I will use HALF the amount of pumpkin/squash it calls for. With the pumpkin you get a sweet pumpkin pie taste (no, I didn't use pumpkin pie filling, I used pumpkin) and Patrick didn't like it. We like a little more kick in our food. My aunt said her's had quite the kick, so maybe I just put too much pumpkin in. However, there is another kick... just wait....

Here is our Cinnamon-spiced Crema. YUM! It reminded me a lot of enchilada sauce you might find served at a restaurant. In all honesty, I think this entire thing could be on a restaurant menu - it's that good! This stuff has a little kick because of the chili powder in it.

See? This is what happens when your little one wants to taste the food even though you tell her it's spicy.

Don't worry, we gave her some milk and she is fine now. :)

Here is our mixture going down on the tortilla. Fill 'em up! Yum!

And this is a happy kid who thinks she's helping SUPER MUCHO! :) She was stirring the Crema while I poured it into the baking dish.

(We're working on keeping eyes open for pictures. :p)

And here we are laying the enchiladas in the pan. Remember, I made double what the recipe called for. Or I made fatter ones than they would be... Either way. :)

Put the crema and cheese on top. Looks so good!

Finished product after hubby started at them. Pour a little crema on top (I know, I did such a pretty job at that part!)

We actually ate ours with Valentina and sour cream on top. The Valentina hot sauce countered the sweetness of the pumpkin and the sour cream helped to cut it as well. The Valentina is in the same family of heat and peppers so it went really well - better than Chalula, my current love. :)

So there you have it! Enjoy! They were MIGHTY tasty!! In fact, I'm going to go have one right now! Yummmmmm.....

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Another cupcake from the glorious cupcake book! :) This is quite the tasty - and fun! - cupcake! I think this would be great for a birthday party, served with root beers on the side.

Root Beer Float Cupcake

1 white cake mix (I had funfetti, so that's what I used)

1 c of your favorite root beer (I just bought A&W, but this would be FABULOUS with Brick Oven rootbeer, and next time I'm going to dish out the pennies for IBC)

- Mix together root beer and cake mix. Pour into paper liners and fill 3/4 full. (Yes, that's really all there is to the cupcake! How cool is that, right?)

*Hints! Use a mixer. Using the funfetti cake mix with the sprinkles in it made it hard for the batter to all get moistened by the rootbeer. But even with a regular cake mix, your batter would be smoother and more even if you use a mixer. You don't want pockets of dry cake mix in your finished cupcake! :)

I added an extra ounce or two of root beer. Why not right?

Next time I will also add 1/2-1 tsp root beer extract or flavoring. See below...

- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes (or about half of that for mini cupcakes) or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.

Now for the frosting..... :)

Root Beer Buttercream Frosting (which is actually vanilla buttercream frosting with a little root beer flavoring)

1 stick butter, room temperature

3-3/4 c powdered sugar, sifted

304 T milk or cream (again, I used cream... so smooth, yummy)

1 tsp root beer flavoring (Is there a different between extract, concentrate, and flavoring in the final result? I don't know. Haven't tried them all.)

Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer before adding sugar to avoid a large mess.

Add sugar, milk or cream, and root beer flavoring. Beat frosting, starting slow and increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy. Add more milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

*Hints! I added a little more flavoring because I didn't think the cupcake had enough of the root beer flavor that I wanted. That's why next time I'll add a little flavoring or extract to the batter as well, though I do understand because it's meant to be a root beer float, not a carbonated can of root beer. :) Using a higher quality root beer in the batter may help as well.

The frosting is REALLY sweet!

Overall, this cupcake was a huge success! I actually doubled the recipe since it was safe to eat the batter (no eggs!) and my little one and I enjoyed it as we were making the cupcakes. :) Friends and family seemed to enjoy them as well!

Yummy Italian Chicken Crockpot Dump

Sounds delicious, no? Haha, keep reading.

Remember that crockpot chicken salsa stuff I like to make? (the one where I get to put frozen chicken in the crockpot and cover it with salsa and corn and black beans and cream cheese? yummm), well this is like that... but Italian-ish. :)

I forgot to take a picture, but it was SOOOO good everyone had seconds! (We had 4 missionaries over too!) So it makes a lot. :)

- Just take your crockpot.

- Put some frozen chicken in. (I had 3 breasts and didn't want to use a lot of our meat, so it's all I put in)

- 2 cans cream of chicken soup

- 1 can cream of mushroom soup

- 2 cans diced tomatoes (maybe of the seasoned sort - like with basil, oregano, and garlic)

(go ahead, just dump them all in)

- Italian seasonings (stuff like crushed basil leaves, oregano, marjoram, thyme, etc... whatever is in that blend called "Italian Seasoning")

- Black pepper

- Maybe some other seasonings... like coriander... or cumin... or garlic salt.. you know, whatever you feel like dumping in.

- Maybe a cup of water, if you feel like it.

- A block of cream cheese (put it in in the beginning or save it for later.... either way. - I ended up doing half and half, actually. I wasn't sure how much cream cheese I wanted, but I ended up using the whole 8 oz)

- Turn that puppy on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6+ hours. Just cook it until that chicken is cooked through.

- Then shred the chicken with a couple forks and mix it all together. Let it sit another 30 min to an hour (or longer) so the chicken will absorb all the flavor.

- Serve it over rice.

YUM!!!!

SO easy, SO simple, and seriously, dump it in and let it sit. Cook your rice in a rice cooker and it's even less work! Man, I love food that cooks itself. :)

Emeril

Ahh, Emeril. BAM!

Okay, so I'm actually not THE biggest fan of Emeril, like a crazy fanatic fan, but I do like a lot of his food.

In one of my classes at BYU we used a cookbook of his that he designed with kids in mind. The recipes and directions are simplified and I just plain LOVE the book! I used recipes from it when I student taught and I use one particular recipe from it ALL THE TIME! It's heavenly! It's for fettuccine alfredo, but this version is actually a lot like a carbonara. Anyhow, here you go.

Emeril's Fettuccine Alfredo My Way

Donut Cupcake + 3 Frostings

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but it sounds delicious! I've also added the recipe for three different frostings.

Donut Cupcake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 (4-oz.) pkg vanilla instant pudding mix (powder only)

1/4 c mashed potatoes (instant works)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 c milk

Mix together all ingredients until well combined. Fill paper liners 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting suggestions:

Caramel Cream

Vanilla Buttercream

Chocolate Buttercream

Caramel Cream

4 T butter

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c dark brown sugar

2-3 T whole milk

1 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

*You're going to want to use a wooden spoon with this. If you have a steel pot/pan, use that - basically, preferably not non-stick. But use what you have. :)

Place butter and brown sugars in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir and cook the mixture until it comes to a boil.

Add milk and bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove pan from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy.

Allow cupcakes to cool slightly before frosting. Frosting will harden when cooled completely.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 stick butter, room temperature (NOT melted!)

3-3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

3-4 T milk or cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop beating before adding sugar to avoid a large mess.

Add sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla extract. Beat frosting starting on slow, increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy. Add up to 1 more T milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

Chocolate Buttercream

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/3 c cocoa

3-3/4 c powdered sugar, sifted

304 T milk or cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer before adding cocoa to avoid a large mess.

Add cocoa, sugar, 3 T milk or cream, and vanilla extract. Beat frosting starting on slow speed and add up to 1 more T milk or cream is frosting is too thick.

Cupcake Heaven

When I student taught, one of my cooperating teachers was AMAZING! I swear she was just plain Heaven-sent. She was even so kind as to give me a cupcake recipe book (anyone who knows me knows how much I love a good cupcake... and if you didn't know that, well, now you do).

This recipe book is called "101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes" - how perfect is that? I love pretty and tasty things and I love saving time. This book is brilliant! Take a cake mix and turn it into cupcake heaven!

So this past week, we had the missionaries overfor dinner and I made two different cupcakes. Patrick wanted to have a cupcake decorating contest, it being close to Halloween and all, and I wanted tasty cupcakes.

Here are the recipes, and my personal notes to go with them. :) Enjoy!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake (these are like Reese's Heaven, really. And I realize I've used that word a lot in this post.)

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Devil's food)

3 eggs

1 c milk

1 bag chocolate PB cups (Reese's - yes, the big ones. Yum! Get the jumbo bag.)

- Mix together cake mix, eggs, and milk. Pour 2 T batter into paper liners and place a Reese's cup on top. Fill paper liners 3/4 way full. (I used Pampered Chef scoops and used the medium scoop, which is the perfect size!)

- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire ra

ck. When completely cooled, frost.

- Frost with PB frosting or chocolate buttercream.

It took the full 15-18 minutes or so. I had one batch that I cooked for that time and they sunk, but they were SUPER moist. Another batch I let cook too long, they were still good, but kind of dry - though they were tasty after they sat in the fridge for a day. The first 6 I made were HEAVENLY moist, so somewhere around 20 minutes, I'm guessing. Or whatever your oven does because maybe it's my possessed gas oven. :) And it made 18 cupcakes, but they're BIG full cupcakes because you have to use a good amount to cover the Reese's. Next time, I'll double the batch and let them sink a little and I think they'll be just plain perfect - besides, who complains when there's a little extra frosting on top to cover up a sunken center? (Not Miss B!)

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 c peanut butter (smooth or chunky - I used smooth)

1/2 c butter, room temperature

2 c powdered sugar

3-4 T milk or cream (I used cream because I have some)

1 tsp vanilla extract

- Combine PB and butter in a large bowl, mixing together until light and fluffy. Stop mixer before adding sugar.

- Add sugar, 3 T milk or cream, and vanilla. Start slow and mix together, gradually increasing the

speed. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add more milk or cream (1-2 T) if frosting is too thick.

I made this batch and was immediately taken back to my childhood. Every Christmas, or some Christmases, we'd make these peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. They are basically a stiff version of this frosting, dipped in chocolate and frozen. I could sit in front of the tv and eat this frosting from the bowl. Yummmmmmmmmm.

Rob and Elder Siegfried enjoying their cupcakes. Elder Siegfried won the decorating competition! Look at the detail! (it's about baptism :p)

Harvest Pumpkin (Pumpkin Spice) Cupcakes

1 box spice cake mix

1 c pumpkin puree (I put the rest in the fridge to use later this week)

1 tsp vanilla xtract

2 eggs

1/2 c milk

1 c chocolate chips (I used milk choco)

1 c butterscotch chips

Mix together all ingredients. Pour batter into paper liners and fill 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until cakes are light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Frost with cream cheese frosting (or you can use chocolate ganache, chocolate buttercream, or vanilla buttercream).

Made about 2 - 2 1/2 doz regular sized cupcakes. You know, not spilling over the top, but not too small either. These cupcakes were seriously Heaven-sent. Really, I know you're going crazy with my lack of vocabulary, but I wanted to eat them all after I tasted just one. In fact, I think they tasted better without the cream cheese frosting. Next time I'm going to try the chocolate ganache frosting. The chocolate and butterscotch chips add an extra tasty and rich element to these cupcakes, so make sure every cupcake has some! I used my Pampered Chef scoop again. It is seriously a brilliant purchase - the scoop - in case you're wondering. So fast, so easy, so clean! I hate messy cupcake trays and uneven cupcakes in the same pan. Hello, even baking!

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 c butter, softened

3-3/4 c powdered sugar (I think I read this wrong when I made them and only used a couple cups, haha, still tastes good)

1 tsp vanilla extract

- Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and light.

- Stop mixer and add sugar and vanilla.

- Start mixer on low and gradually increase the speed until frosting is fluffy.

- Frost and refrigerate.

I actually doubled this recipe since I had 2 1/2 doz cupcakes. Good idea. Well, I like a good amount of frosting on my cupcakes, no skimping there! I did have extra frosting, but it's a great dip for graham crackers!

I refrigerated both of these cupcakes since their frosting is more prone to perishing and let me tell you, the Reese's cupcake is SOOOOO good cold! In fact, I'm going to go get the last one from the fridge right now. Enjoy!

Elder Harward and Rob showing off their cupcakes.

I've Been in a Kitchen Mood

I've wanted to cook and bake a lot recently. So here I am, posting a bunch of links to things I want to make.

I actually went to 365daysofcrockpot and put a bunch of her recipes in a word doc, but I didn't feeling like doing that right now with Our Best Bites recipes.

So here's the reminder for me... and the inspiration for you. :)

Reese's Bars (No Bake!) - yummmm I'm totally craving these RIGHT NOW.

Chipotle Chocolate Chili umm YES PLEASE!

Baked Potato Soup Right now I have a couple crock pot potato soup recipes I'm working with, so this is going to have to wait until I feel like being more "labor intensive", but it looks amazing!

BBQ Bacon Sliders This just looks gooood.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup {Chunky Monkey Pancakes!} The name was too long for me NOT to just copy/paste. :)

Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies - holy yum! I've totally been a pumpkin kick this Fall - my pantry is stocked!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches I actually have a recipe from 365daysofcrockpot for BBQ pulled pork right now waiting to used this weekend. I think I will combine the two and see what glorious concoction happens. :)

Bacon-wrapped Cocktail Sausages Man this is so easy! And who doesn't love bacon?? Yumm....

Sweet Potato Fries with Honey-Lime Sauce Oh, heaven help me....

French Dip Sandwiches (a la Crockpot) I love French dip sandwiches.

Goodness me, I should just stop and pick a recipe on their site and start. It all looks SOOOOO good!

Easy Pumpkin Muffins These look like they're a lot like the cupcakes I just made the other day....

Stuffed Bleu Baked Potatoes

Crispy Shoestring Onions Good to know!!

Muddy Buddies My sis-in-law-in-law was craving these the other day

Sweet & Sour Meatballs yummmmmm

Okay, I really need to go eat some lunch before I eat my computer instead. Head on over to

Our Best Bites and fall in love for yourself!

And a special thanks to my friend, Jessica, for introducing me to this GLORIOUS website. I'm eating my fingers off right now!