English Toffee

English Toffee
1 c. sugar
2 sticks butter
1 T. vanilla
3 T. water
1 c. chocolate chips, or 5 Hershey bars
Crushed pecans or almonds (optional)

In medium saucepan - cook sugar, butter, vanilla, and water on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and continue boiling (stirring constantly) for about 10 minutes until thick and caramel color, or until candy thermometer reaches about 300 degrees. Pour onto a small cookie sheet or pizza pan with a rim and spread evenly. Immediately top with chocolate chips or bars and let sit a few minutes. Take a butter knife and spread chocolate smooth over top. Top with crushed nuts, if desired. Let cool and break into pieces.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Caramel Sauce

This is one of my favorite pies for the holidays! Gingersnap crust, cinnamon vanilla ice cream, and creamy pumpkin with a warm caramel sauce drizzed on top. It's a crowd pleaser! This recipe makes 1 pie, so you can double it to make 2 pies or 1 - 9x13" pan. You can also make the caramel sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator, just warm in the microwave when you are ready to serve the pie.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Caramel Sauce

Crust:
1 1/2 c. crushed gingersnaps
1/4 c. butter, melted

Filling:
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1/2 t. cinnamon
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. cloves
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. heavy whipping cream (whipped)

Caramel Sauce:
1/2 c. butter
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. light corn syrup
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. chopped pecans

In small bowl, combine gingersnaps and melted butter; press into a pie plate and place in freezer.

Meanwhile, mix softened vanilla ice cream and 1/2 t. cinnamon. Spread into gingersnap crust and place in freezer.

In medium mixing bowl, combine 3/4 c. brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and pumpkin. Fold in whipped cream and spoon over ice cream layer. Freeze 3 hours or until firm. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. Drizzle with warm caramel sauce:

In medium saucepan, melt 1 stick butter; stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil about 1 minute. Stir in heavy cream and return to a boil until just thickened. Stir in pecans and drizzle over pie.

Grandma's Apple Bread

It's finally apple season! This is a delicious bread that was my mom's mom's recipe. The original recipe doesn't call for cinnamon in the bread, but I like to add it to both the bread and topping. SO good with your morning cup of coffee...even better warmed in the microwave for 15 seconds with a smear of butter :)

Apple Bread
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 t. baking soda
2 T. sour milk (add 1/4 t. vinegar to 2 T milk)
1 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
2 c. finely chopped apples
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Topping:
2 T. butter, room temperature
2 T. flour
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and stir. Dissolve 1 t. baking soda in sour milk, and add to butter mixture. Add vanilla. Mix in the flour, cinnamon and salt until just combined (don't overmix). Stir in apples and nuts. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. Mix topping ingredients with a fork and crumble on top of bread. Bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Stuffed Peppers

I put a little spin on stuffed peppers cause my husband doesn't really like rice. These are more like an Italian version of stuffed peppers, and they couldn't be more delicious and easy! I served this with fresh corn on the cob. This recipe serves 2...at least for us it did :). Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers
2 red or green peppers, cut in half; ribs and seeds removed
1/2 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 zucchini, chopped small (baby spinach would be delicious too)
1 (15oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1/4 c. orzo, cooked
1/2-1 c. mozzarella
Fresh Parmesan

Cook orzo and drain. Brown ground beef and drain off any excess liquid/fat. Stir in onion and zucchini and saute a few minutes until veggies start to get soft; season with salt and pepper as you go. Add in minced garlic and saute a few more minutes. Add in tomatoes and cooked orzo. Heat until bubbly. Take off heat and add a handful of parmesan cheese to the filling.

Place pepper halves in a small baking dish with a little water on the bottom of the pan. Fill peppers with your meat/orzo filling. Sprinkle mozzarella on top.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until peppers are soft. Stick the pan under your broiler for a few minutes at the end to brown the cheese, or just uncover towards the end of baking. You can't over-bake this, so just bake until the peppers are softened to your liking.

Tex-Mex Crockpot Chicken

This doesn't look very pretty, but it's tasty. Super easy to throw together and a great filling for quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, or dipping your chips!

Tex-Mex Crockpot Chicken
1 pkg. boneless, skinless chicken (3-4)
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can black beans (drained & rinsed)
1-2 jars salsa
4 ears corn (cut off the cob, or 1 can corn)
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese (or you could probably use sour cream at the end to make it creamy)

Place chicken in crockpot and add taco seasoning, black beans, salsa, and corn. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Shred chicken with two forks and add the cream cheese. Let cook 20 more minutes and stir until creamy.

Minestrone

I'm SO ready for soup and Fall weather! This is a great "use-up" recipe for whatever veggies you have sitting in your fridge or on your counter, so make it your own!

Minestrone
1 onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2-3 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 handful grean beans, trimmed
2 T. tomato paste
1 large can diced tomatoes
4 c. chicken stock
1 can cannellini (or kidney) beans (drained & rinsed)
1 c. pasta, any variety
salt & pepper

Heat a large pot on high heat with a drizzle of olive oil and a pat of butter. Add onions, celery and carrot with a good sprinkle of salt & pepper, and cook a few minutes until they start to soften. Add garlic, zucchini, squash and green beans and saute a few minutes more. Stir in tomato paste and cook for about a minute. Add tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until veggies are nice and soft - the longer the better! Add 1 can cannellini beans and pasta. Cook until pasta is tender. Serve with warm bread and a sprinkle of fresh Parmesan on top!

Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches

This is one of my favorite summer treats...hands down! It's 4 ingredients, not too heavy, sweet, creamy, cool, and crunchy all at the same time. You'll love these, so make them!

Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches
Pizzelle wafer cookies (usually in the bakery section, or by the ice cream cones)
Nutella hazelnut spread
Vanilla ice cream
Powdered sugar

Spread the nutella gently on 2 pizzelles. Gently place vanilla ice cream on top of one cookie and top with the other cookie. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Fried Zucchini

This is probably one of my favorite ways to cook zucchini. It's very quick and easy, and the zucchini gets soft in the middle with the crunchy, salty breading dipped in marinara...simple deliciousness!! (this serves 2 in my house)

Fried Zucchini
1 Large zucchini, or 2 medium, cut in sticks
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. parmesan
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. marinara
salt
extra virgin olive oil

Cover the bottom of a large pan or skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high. Place bread crumbs and parmesan in one bowl, and place eggs in another bowl. Cut zucchini in sticks, and dip in egg first, then bread crumb mixture. Lightly saute in hot oil for about 3-4 minute, flipping half way through. Drain on a paper towl and sprinkle with salt & more fresh parmesan while hot. Serve with warm marinara for dipping.

Zucchini & Sausage Bake

If there's a great way to sneak vegetables in your family - hide them between sauce, cheese, and sausage! This is an amazing dish...the zucchini gets soft and the cheese gets everything gooey. Serve this with a loaf of fresh bread to sop up all the sauce. Makes an 8x8 pan, so double this if you want a 9x13.

Zucchini & Sausage Bake
1 large can tomato sauce
2 T. tomato paste
1/4 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
Saute onion in a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. When onions starts to soften, add garlic and saute a couple more minutes. Add tomato paste and cook a couple more minutes. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and basil. Simmer until ready to use. OR, use a jar of your favorite marinara sauce and skip this step!

1 lb. sausage, browned (turkey sausage works great here too)
1 large zucchini, sliced thin
8 oz. mozzarella, shredded

Put a layer of sauce on the bottom of your pan. Place a layer of sliced zucchini on top of sauce. Sprinkle with a layer of sausage and mozzarella cheese. Put more sauce on top, another layer of zucchini, sausage, and mozzarella - until you have three layers, ending with mozzarella. Bake, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes; uncover for the last 10 minutes to brown the top.

Zucchini Muffins

These are delicious, don't require a mixer, and pretty healthy too! If you want to boost the nutritional value, I put what I switched up from the original recipe in (parenthesis). Enjoy while they're warm (or microwave them for 20 seconds). Makes 12 muffins.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/2 c. flour (or 1 c. flour + 1/2 c. whole wheat flour)
3/4 c. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
1/2 c. oil (or 1/4 c. oil + 1/4 c. applesauce)
1/4 c. milk
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
1 c. shredded zucchini - about 1 medium
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips
1/4 c. walnuts, chopped

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In separate bowl, combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just moistened (don't overmix). Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.