Tag Archives: comfort food

Zesty Pumpkin Soup with Orange Sour Cream

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How is it that just the image of a pumpkin can evoke all the excitement and expectation of the fall season? I really do love pumpkins. I love their interesting shape and bright color. I love picking them out, carving them and decorating with them … and then roasting the seeds! 🙂

I think it’s pretty appropriate that the first soup I serve in my new pumpkin soup tureen is a PUMPKIN soup! This Zesty Pumpkin Soup recipe is one of my all time favorites from the Big Red Cookbook, and it is actually pretty simple.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tblsp butter
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp coriander
  • 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1 cup half & half
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 15 oz solid pack pumpkin
  • 4 oz sour cream
  • 1 tbsp triple sec
  • 3 tbsp orange juice

Directions:

1) Mince the garlic. Chop the onion. Don’t cry.

2) In a large skillet, melt butter and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add curry powder, salt, coriander, and red pepper. Cook for 1 minute.

3) In a large soup pot, heat the chicken broth to a boil. Add the spice and onion mixture. Boil gently, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes. Your house will smell sooo good! 🙂

4) Stir in the pumpkin and half & half. Cook for 5 minutes – do not boil.

5) Transfer to a blender or use a hand blender to puree until creamy.

6) In a small bowl, mix sour cream, triple sec, and orange juice. Drizzle the Orange Sour Cream over the soup as desired.

Zesty Pumpkin Soup

Zesty Pumpkin Soup

No lie — this is one of the best soups I’ve ever tasted. It has just the right amount of kick and so much flavor. I could probably eat the entire batch on my own. It’s really good with some nice sourdough bread!

Zesty Pumpkin Soup with Orange Sour Cream

Zesty Pumpkin Soup with Orange Sour Cream

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

I made these on Sunday morning, and I would highly recommend them for the breakfast in bed tray next Mother’s Day! 😉 The thing I love most about this recipe is how it combines two of my favorite comfort foods: pancakes and cinnamon rolls. See the original post and recipe here!

Cinnamon Filling:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

To make the cinnamon filling, mix the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a ziplock baggie and put aside to thicken. It helps to “massage” the baggie occasionally, even though it makes you feel silly!

Cinnamon filling.

Cinnamon filling.

Cream Cheese Glaze:

  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the glaze, melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove and add the cream cheese, whisking until it is almost smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar, and then add in the vanilla extract last. I also added a little milk to thin out the glaze and make it easier to drizzle.

Delicious cream cheese glaze!

Delicious cream cheese glaze!

Lately, I’ve been using this recipe for pancakes that came with my Star Wars pancake molds. 🙂

Pancakes:

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the pancake batter, whisk two eggs in a medium bowl until frothy. Add the milk, melted butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla.

Directions:

1) Heat a large, nonstick skillet on medium heat. Use butter or vegetable oil to grease the pan. Add the batter, and reduce the heat to medium low. When your pancake begins to form bubbles, get ready to add the cinnamon filling.

Adding the cinnamon filling.

Adding the cinnamon filling.

2) Snip the corner of the ziplock baggie. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling in a swirl. Don’t go too close to the edges of the pancake! If you’re feeling creative, you could try some alternate designs!

You can taste the love!

You can taste the love!

3) Cook the pancake 2 minutes on low heat, or until the bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake. Flip and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes. When you remove the pancake, make sure to wipe the pan clean with a paper towel for the next one.

4) Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze!

Cinnamon Roll Pancake with Cream Cheese Glaze

Cinnamon Roll Pancake with Cream Cheese Glaze

Needless to say, they tasted as good as they looked. I especially enjoyed the cream cheese glaze, a lovely alternative to always having syrup on your pancakes! 🙂

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Mug Cake

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Back from my burnout! And it’s time to resume my 7-Day Microwave Mug Challenge! I am putting off Meatloaf in a Cup, once again. Let’s have dessert: Chocolate and Salted Caramel Mug Cake!

I have high hopes that the salted caramel aspect will set this mug cake apart. To be honest, the Brownie in a Mug and Nutella Mug Cake ended up tasting pretty similar. Delicious — but similar.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg – beaten
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 salted caramels

1) In a small bowl, beat the egg. Add the milk and vegetable oil. Whisk until combined.

2) In a regular sized mug, combine the  flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

3) Pour the wet ingredients into the mug. Stir until smooth.

4) Drop the caramels into center of the mug, one at a time. I didn’t have salted caramels, just plain old Kraft caramels, so I simply sprinkled a pinch of sea salt on top of the caramels as I added them.

3) Microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Here is the original from The Family Kitchen at Babble.com.

TheFamilyKitchen

TheFamilyKitchen

And, here is how mine turned out:

ShinyHappyPeebles

ShinyHappyPeebles

Salted Caramel Chocolate Mug Cake

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Mug Cake

The best part is the caramel. I would actually recommend adding 3 caramels to the mix.

Unfortunately, this recipe did not stand out as I had hoped. It was good, but not different enough. I must admit I am bored with mug cakes for now. Oh, well. It’s probably for the best. I’m going through flour and cocoa powder much too quickly!

Nutella Mug Cake

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It is Day 5 of my 7-Day Microwave Mug Challenge. And today, I have a major sweet tooth. So, I skipped ahead to Nutella Mug Cake!

Sorry, meatloaf. Maybe you’ll get made on Sunday.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons self-rising flour
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons Nutella

1) Combine all ingredients in a LARGE mug. Mix the dry ingredients first and add the Nutella last.

I used my ginormous cat lady mug, which is usually reserved for ramen noodles.

Giant Cat Mug

Giant Cat Mug

I also ran out of Nutella (imagine that) and had to substitute 1 tablespoon of creamy peanut butter.

2) Whisk ingredients with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

3) Top with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, etc. I pulled out my fat-kid card and threw some mini-marshmallows on top during the last 30 seconds of microwaving.

You should definitely check out this blog: livelovepasta. They use normal-sized mugs there.

livelovepasta

livelovepasta

My marshmallows may have been a little white-trash compared to homemade whipped cream, but it was still delicious! Some vanilla ice cream would have been lovely, too.

ShinyHappyPeebles

ShinyHappyPeebles

However, this is definitely a two-person dessert. Or, a very unhealthy lunch for someone with a major sweet tooth. 🙂

Mug o’ Mac & Cheese

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It is Day 4 of my 7-Day Microwave Mug Challenge. I am so glad today’s recipe was simple, because I had zero time to spare!

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup pasta
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup 1% milk
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1) Add pasta and water to a large mug. Even in a large mug, a little water is going to boil over. Microwave on high for two minutes, then stir. Repeat at two minute intervals until water is completely absorbed.

2) Add milk and cheese to cooked pasta. Microwave for another minute. Stir until the pasta is coated in cheesy goodness! Add salt and pepper to taste.

How easy is that? Actually, the microwaving and stirring is a teensy bit tedious.

But look — a normal-sized mug!

TheNapTimeChief at babble.com

TheNapTimeChief at babble.com

I just used regular, shredded cheddar cheese as the recipe directed, but you could really play around using different cheeses. You could also throw in some bits of ham or sausage!

ShinyHappyPeebles

ShinyHappyPeebles

Convenience-wise, I don’t think making this in a mug really works. Next time, I’ll probably just toss these same ingredients in a small saucepan. Still, it’s a great comfort food to keep in your pocket for rainy, lazy days. And either way, this is certainly healthier than neon orange powdered cheese in a pouch!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

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Comfort foods are a great thing. Delicious, indulgent, usually nostalgic — they can soothe just about any bad mood or grumbly tummy. What’s even better is comfort food that is easy to make!

Since it has been such a crazy week at work, and I have been especially demanding on several of my co-workers for a big project, I decided to make the office a Friday morning treat! This recipe for Mini Cinnamon Rolls is one of my favorite recipes. It is so simple, and yet such a crowd pleaser. These things disappear FAST!

Here is what you need:

  • 2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
  • 6 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • chopped nuts (optional)
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Unroll both cans of crescent rolls and separate each sheet of dough along the center perforation to form 4 rectangles. Press the diagonal perforations to seal the triangle pieces together.

Stir together the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread this mixture evenly over each rectangle. You can sprinkle chopped nuts over the spread, if you like. Roll the rectangles up like a jelly roll, starting at the long end.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Keep the dough cold. It’s easier to work with!

Use a serrated knife to gently slice each “log” into six 1-inch pieces. Use shortening or a spray to grease two 8-inch cake pans. Arrange the rolls about 1/4 inch apart. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Ready for the oven!

While the rolls are cooking, stir together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt. Drizzle this mixture over the rolls when they get done in the oven! And enjoy the ooey-gooey goodness!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Just for funsies, I did a batch with Nutella as the filling! Something I saw on … wait for it … Pinterest. Anyway, these Nutella Rolls were less work and equally as delicious. WIN!

Mini Nutella Roll

Mini Nutella Roll

So to make these, you just need the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, Nutella — and then the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt to make the glaze!