Saturday, October 20, 2012

Fall

It's my favorite time of year.  The trees changing, the cool crisp air, hot apple cider :) What's not to love?!?!?!  I also love all things pumpkin so I thought I would post a few recipes on here that I love to make in the fall.  One is for a sweet little treat and the other is a warm delicious homemade soup.  Hope you enjoy.  If you try the recipes let me know what you think.  

Pumpkin cupcakes with spiced cream cheese frosting
(everyone loves these)

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese

1 lb powdered sugar (more or less)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 c butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Divide the batter among the prepared tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely. For the frosting, combined softened cream cheese, with softened butter, whip together until smooth. Add powdered sugar gradually, while beating. Add vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Adjust the sweetness of frosting you your taste, add more powdered sugar if needed. Spread frosting on cupcakes, be generous.





Homemade chicken noodle soup


http://afridgefulloffood.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/home-made-noodl.html



Karen's Home-made Noodles

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Fresh herbs (optional)

4 egg yolks

Milk to form dough

The dough can be made by hand but since my big mixer is usually sitting on the cabinet, I usually just throw everything in there and blend it all quickly with the paddle.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into mixer bowl.  Add egg yolks and begin to mix on low.  Add milk until dough forms, wet enough to stick together but firm enough to require minimum flour on the cabinet.  Do not overmix.

Roll dough out on the cabinet to an eigth to a quarter inch depending on how thick you want the pasta, and then mark off noodles with either a pizza cutter or a fondant cutter.  The fondat cutter will make nice waves or jagged edges with even imprints if you want to go to that trouble.  Personally, I was Gather up the extra flour on the sides of the dough and toss it over the noodles.  This extra flour will help thicken the broth of whatever soup you're using.  Allow the noodles to dry on the counter for at least 2 hours, longer if possible.

To cook, bring broth up to a rolling boil and drop noodles, along with excess flour from cabinet into the pot in batches. Allow each batch to cook a little and stir to separate before adding next batch or they'll possibly clump together in a ball.  That would not be pretty.  Cook for approximately 20-30 minutes depending on thickness of noodles.  To test for doneness, cut into a noodle. The inside should be dry, not doughy.feeling lazy yesterday so the pizza cutter was as far as my laziness would reach.

So do the noodles and get them done so they are drying... I get some broth going....I have done this on the stove and also in my crockpot...with store bought chicken broth or I have just used boullion cubes too.  I chop up 1 onion (very small because my family is picky) and a few cloves of garlic. I add that to the broth on low.   I chop up a pkg of carrots and a pkg of celery and cook up a few chicken breasts.  I add it all to the broth and keep it on low.  After the noodles are done drying I add them little by little and turn the heat up so they can boil.  
It's delicious.  My husband loves it!  Hope you enjoy.  



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