Halloween Graveyard Cups

These Graveyard Cups are a Halloween tradition. Even when I try not to make them, I am told that I must do it. And then I'm glad we do because they are yummy. This year I tweaked the ingredients to make a superior recipe. It's basically a chocolate trifle -- with worms. Yum. I made these for my piano party last week. I also made some from Jessica's pumpkin trifle recipe since some of my students are weird and don't like chocolate. We put gingersnap cookies in them and used cinnamon for the "dirt" on top. Thank goodness Olivia helped me make them all. She said she has the "gift of whisking". The pudding was perfect!

Ingredients:

1 package chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos)

2 big boxes instant chocolate pudding

16 ounces heavy cream

1/8 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 brownie mix, made according to package CAKE BROWNIE directions

24 Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies

decorating gel

24 gummy worms

24 clear 12 ounce plastic cups

Directions:

Crush chocolate cookies. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons crushed cookies in the bottom of each cup. Cut cooked brownies in 1 inch cubes. Place 5 cubes on top of crushed cookies. Beat cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla together in mixer until it becomes the consistency of whipping cream. Put 3 tablespoons on top of brownies. Make pudding according to package directions. Put about 1/4 cup on top of whipped cream. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of crushed cookies on top. Write RIP on Milano cookies with decorating gel. Stick cookie in trifle. Place a gummy worm beside it. Refrigerate.

*I didn't actually measure each layer. Just estimate and eyeball it. The measurements are just suggestions. Happy Halloween!

Wanda's Donuts

It's that time of year again. The time of year to make an obscene amount of spice-tinged dough that grows to the size of a giant pumpkin and is rolled out all over my entire counter top only then to be deep fried and dipped in sweet glaze. And then we'll all know Halloween is here. Who needs trick-or-treating when you make donuts like these?

Actually, one of my favorite memories from growing up is when mom would drive us around to trick or treat from one house the next in our rural area. We were always bundled up over our costumes. One of my favorite stops was at Worthy and LaRue Beck's house. They handed out a very similar melt-in-your mouth donut and always sent one out to mom. Those were the days when treats didn't have to be individually packaged and store bought. When the neighbors talked to the trick-or-treat kids, made them sing songs, and admired their costumes. Good times. Good donuts. And the tradition continues on at our house.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons yeast

1/2 cup warm water

4 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup shortening

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup mashed potatoes

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

5 small eggs

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla

10 cups flour (more or less)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, sugar, shortening, potatoes and salt; mix well. Add remaining ingredients and flour a little at a time mixing well. Knead like a soft roll dough -- just enough to mix. Cover and raise until double. Roll dough out on a floured counter. Cut out into donuts. ( I use plastic cups and lids from spice jars.) Raise again 30 minutes. Fry in oil and dip in glaze frosting while hot.

*I usually make half the recipe in my mixer, but this year I did the full recipe all by hand in the biggest bowl I have. It was surprisingly easy.

Glaze Frosting:

powdered sugar

milk

vanilla

Mix ingredients together with a wire whisk until the glaze is the consistency you like. I like mine quite runny.

Chicken Florentine Casserole

I adapted this from one of my sister Hannah's recipes. She is so creative with her chicken. Me, not so much. I usually throw it in the crock pot with some barbecue sauce or roast it, dice it up, and use it in something -- not as a main dish. Hannah's chicken recipes amaze me. You actually have to WORK with the chicken. And I don't really like to touch slimy uncooked chicken. But she has me stuffing, smashing, rolling, pinning, dicing and smothering chicken in savory sauce that's good enough to eat alone. Don't worry, you don't have to do all of that in this recipe. Trust me. This one is good. Real good.

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup butter

3 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz fresh spinach

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

2/3 cup bacon, crumbled

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breast halves on a baking sheet; sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat, and set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, mix in the garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom soup, Italian seasoning, half-and-half, and Parmesan cheese.

Arrange the spinach over the bottom of a 9x11 inch baking dish. Cover the spinach with the mushrooms. Pour half the mixture from the saucepan over the mushrooms. Arrange chicken breasts in the dish, and cover with the remaining sauce mixture. Sprinkle with bacon bits, and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the 400 degrees oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve over pasta.

French Dip Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions

Ya know, when I was growing up my family didn't call these French Dip Sandwiches as most people do. For some reason we called them Brown Dip Sandwiches. Which makes sense because the dip is brown and doesn't look anything like France. But I remember my dad laughing about it during dinner and the memory makes me smile even though I don't completely remember why it was so funny.

This is a fantastic recipe. It makes a lot - I used the meat for 4 different meals - and it was perfectly seasoned and tender. I let it cook for 12 hours on low one day and then put it all in the fridge overnight. The next day I scraped off the small amount of fat that was on top of the au jus and then reheated it all for a couple of hours. The meat fell apart when it was warm.

(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1 (4 pound) boneless beef roast

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 beef bouillon cube

1 bay leaf

3 whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Remove and discard all visible fat from the roast. Place in slow cooker. In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and pour over roast. Pour in enough water to almost cover the roast. Cover and cook on low heat for 1o to 12 hours. Remove meat from broth, reserving broth, and shred with a fork. Distribute on toasted sandwich buns, top with caramelized onions and cheese if desired. Use reserved broth for dipping.

Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced thin

1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Directions:

In a skillet melt the butter in olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring constantly until onions begin to soften, about five minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook about 20 more minutes, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan often. Cook until onions are brown.

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Jessica put this recipe on our family recipe blog last week and I knew I had to make them. I love pumpkin anything. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any canned pumpkin in the grocery stores. So I was telling some of my friends about this recipe and the next day one of them brought me a can of pumpkin. She found it at the store and stocked up. So she was the one taking all of the pumpkin! By the way, today it was my turn and I bought a ton of pumpkin, too. Is there anything worse than not being able to cook with pumpkin during this time of year? No. I don't think so. These brownies are so good that I may or may not have had them as the main dish of my breakfast and lunch the day after I made them. Thank goodness I just ate the last one and they are gone! Happy Fall, ya'll!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling

Ingredients:

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

6 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 large beaten egg, plus 2 tablespoons beaten egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

Brownie Batter

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1 cup flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 inch square pan with cooking spray. Make the pumpkin filling first. Beat cream cheese and sugars together with a mixer, then reduce speed and beat in the pumpkin, egg, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in the flour. Set aside.

In a second bowl, beat the butter, salt and sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the melted chocolate chips, then stir in the flour.

Pour all but about 3/4 cup of the chocolate mixture into the pan. Spoon the pumpkin mixture evenly over the brownie layer. Drop reserved brownie batter over the pumpkin layer to give the brownies a marbled look. Bake on the center rack at 350 for about 55 minutes. Let cool for at least two hours at room temperature prior to cutting. Cut into 16 squares.

When doubling this recipe, the egg in the cheesecake equals three eggs. Pour into an 8X8 and a 9 X 13 pan. Makes a very tall, thick brownie.