Tactical Taste Buds

Pumpkin Spice Cuffins

What do you call a cross between a cupcake and a muffin? I’m not really sure, but that’s what these are. Not fluffy enough to be a cupcake, and with no frosting (though cream cheese frosting would be delicious). Not quite as dense as a muffin, though they have that texture. Whatever they are, they’re super easy to make!

Yield:

Approx. 20-26, depending on your tin/cup size and how much pumpkin you use.

What you need:

• 1 box of Spice Cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
• 1 can of pumpkin puree (29 oz or 15 oz works — it’s all preference)
• 2 large eggs (or 1/2 cup egg beaters)

How you should do it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat all ingredients together until well blended, then pour into cupcake/muffin cups, about 3/4 full. Bake for 30-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Tips and alterations:

Cream cheese frosting could be good on top, and whipped cream works nicely. I haven’t tried adding any oil to the recipe, which might help keep them from sticking to the paper cups quite as much. The bottoms stick pretty bad. I’m sure yaou could make all sorts of changes to something like this.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 94.5, Total fat: 1.5g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 151mg, Potassium: 21mg, Total Carbs: 19g, Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 10g, Protein: 2g

Tags: cupcakes, muffins, pumpkin, spice

Okay, I know it’s past Christmas, but you’re still allowed to celebrate! These are fairly easy and fun to make, and the taste makes it so worth it.

Yield

Recipe says 4 1/2 dozen, but we made them bigger and got a good 2 dozen.

Total prep/cook time

Prep time: 40 minutes
Chill time: 4 hours
Cook time: 12 minutes per batch

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red food color
• 2 tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Stir together 1 cup sugar, the butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Divide dough in half. Stir food color into 1 half. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

While the dough is chilling, it’s a good time to crush the peppermint candies and mix them with the sugar.

Once four hours are up, heat oven to 375ºF.

For each candy cane, shape 1 rounded teaspoon dough from each half into 4-inch rope by rolling back and forth on floured surface. Place 1 red and white rope side by side; press together lightly and twist. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve top of cookie down to form handle of cane.

Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until set and very light brown. Immediately sprinkle candy mixture over cookies. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes

Tips

I highly suggest making these with a friend. When you’re rolling out the ropes of dough, it saves time to have each person do a color.

Tags: cookies, Holidays, peppermint

These are pretty much the equivalent to Rice Krispy treats, but for adults. They’re equally (if not more) tasty, even if you’re not a big fan of coconut. Give them a try.

Yield

30-45 date balls, depending on the size you make

Cook/Prep time

About 30-45 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped dates (the smaller the better)
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs, scrambled
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 cups Rice Krispies
• 1 package shredded coconut

Directions

Heat dates, sugar, butter, eggs and salt in a heavy, deep cast iron skillet (or, if you aren’t lucky enough to have one, a saucepan) until it forms a thick syrup, stirring often.

Mix in vanilla, walnuts, and Rice Krispies. Roll into balls while still hot, to make sure they stay sticky.

Roll date balls in shredded coconut and set aside to cool.

Tips/Suggestions

Don’t burn your fingers.

You may also find it helpful to give your hands a nice coat of butter, to keep things from sticking when you roll the date balls. It may be a good idea to do these with a partner: one person with tough, butter-coated hands for forming the balls; the other for rolling them in coconut. The faster they’re put together, the better.

Tags: coconut, dates, Rice Krispies

When we hosted a post-Thanksgiving dinner this year, a good family friend brought this delicious stuffing. This has to be, hands-down, the best stuffing I have ever had.

Yield

Serves 12 (makes 10 cups)

Cook/Prep Time

1 1/2 hours

Ingredients

• 1 pound mushrooms, rinsed, ends trimmed, and sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 onions (3/4 lb. total), chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• About 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 loaf (1 lb.) sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-in. cubes
• 2 jars (6 oz. each) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves or 3/4 tsp. crumbled dried rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg

Directions

In a 12-in. frying pan over high heat, cook mushrooms, butter, onions, celery, and garlic, stirring often, until vegetables are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Pour into a large bowl. Add a bit of broth to pan and stir to scrape up browned bits. Add to bowl.

Pour 2 cups broth into bowl and add bread, artichoke hearts, parmesan, poultry seasoning, and rosemary; mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make a well in stuffing. Add egg and beat with a fork to blend; mix egg with stuffing.

Preheat oven to 325° to 350° (use temperature turkey requires; see Note below). Spoon stuffing into a shallow 3-qt. (9- by 13-in.) casserole. For moist stuffing, cover with foil; for crusty stuffing, do not cover. Bake until hot (at least 150° in center) or lightly browned, about 50 minutes.

Tips

Up to 1 day ahead, make stuffing, put in casserole, cover, and chill. Allow about 1 hour to bake.

Source: Sunset Magazine

Tags: artochoke, holiday, parmesan, sourdough, stuffing

This is a great, easy to make recipe that everyone is sure to love. If there happen to be leftovers (there aren’t always!), it’s great to reheat for dinner the next night, or for a scrumptious lunch. Make a little garlic bread to go with it, and you’ve got a sure-to-please combo.

Yield

Serves upwards of eight or more, depending on portion size. If they all go back for seconds, guaranteed to serve at least five. Fills a 13″x9″ pan.

Total prep/cook time

Prep time, 10-15 minutes.
Cook time, one hour.

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cups macaroni noodles (or favorite smallish pasta noodle)
• 1 jar pizza sauce (we use Ragu)
• 1 jar pasta sauce of choice (change it up a bit by experimenting with different flavors)
• 1 lb cheddar cheese

Directions

In a large pot, get several cups of water boiling, and add pasta. Cook according to pasta directions, then drain. Brown the hamburger, keeping it in small chunks, but not breaking it up super tiny. Drain.

Pour meat and both jars of sauce in with the pasta, and mix well. Set aside

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a 13″x9″ pan, spread a layer of half of the pasta and meat mixture. Make sure to leave enough to spread a second layer later.

Use a cheese slicer (or a knife, if you’re handy with one) to make about two dozen thick slices of cheddar cheese. You want enough slices to spread in two separate layers. Depending on the size of the slice, you’ll probably need between 18 and 24 slices.

Lay one layer of cheese over the first layer of pasta mixture, then cover with the remaining pasta, making sure to spread it evenly. Lay the rest of the cheese slices on top. This is where it pays to be picky. Keep the cheese in nice, even rows and columns, with a bit of space in between. Once it’s done cooking, you can scoop each helping based on where each slice of cheese is.

Cover the entire pan with foil, and bake for an hour. This dish isn’t super finicky, so if you have to go a little under or over an hour, there’s no cause for concern.

Tip

This is really easy to prepare ahead of time, if you want to get the dishes and kitchen all cleaned up for company, or if you’ll be away and want to be able to just pop it in the oven, when you get home. In that past, we’ve had company over and popped the goulash in the oven right before heading out on a bike ride. When we got home, dinner was ready to serve!

Tags: goulash, ground beef, Pasta

From Gourmet 2004

I would say that this is a recipe for those of you who say that you don’t like mushrooms or spinach but want to be converted.  I’ve never been much of a mushroom fan, but with the way these tasted I’m willing to revise my position.  Baked in a 8″ skillet until the eggs are set, this is a great recipe for either breakfast or dinner (I made this for dinner, and considering that it takes a bit of cooking time I wouldn’t really want to wake up early enough to make it in the morning).

Yield

Enough for two.  As a side dish, enough for 4.

Total prep/cook time

40 minutes. (Due to the fact that I was making this for the first time it took me more like an hour and a half.  Leave a bit of wiggle room your first time trying it out)

Ingredients

• 10 oz baby spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced (2 cups)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan

Directions

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.Bring 1/2 inch water to a boil in a 10- to 12-inch ovenproof heavy skillet (not cast-iron), then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop.

Wipe skillet dry, then cook onion and garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to moderate, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms are softened and have exuded liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chopped spinach and bring to a simmer. Remove skillet from heat and make 4 large indentations in spinach mixture. Break an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 7 to 10 minutes. Lightly season eggs with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with cheese.

Tips/changes

I found that the 10″ skillet that I used to make this recipe was too large for the final product, so before adding the eggs I transfered the whole thing to an 8″ skillet.  This recipe calls for not using cast iron (presumably in fear that the spinach might become bitter cooked this way), but I used my cast iron skillets for the whole process and it tasted fine.

Don’t forget that cheese at the end!  It made all the difference for me.

Tags: egg, mushroom, spinach

Also known as Oatmeal Drop Cookies, these are perfect if you’ve got a chocolate craving but don’t have any chocolate chips around. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for larger batches. Bet you can’t stop at just one!

Yield

Makes about a dozen decent-sized cookies. Smaller spoonfuls will make nice, bite-sized treats.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups oatmeal

Directions

Combine butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa in a saucepan. Bring to a full boil for two minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and add peanut butter, vanilla, and oatmeal. Mix until well combined. Drop onto wax paper and refridgerate until set. Then, enjoy!

Tags: chocolate, cookies, peanut butter

What do these three ingredients form?  That’s right, the most delicious snack using bananas (let’s exclude peanut butter/banana/honey sandwiches here) known to me.  Save your oven preheat time, these puppies only take about 10-15 minutes in the oven, making for a delicious desert (or afternoon snack) with minimal effort.

Yield

As many bananas as you’d like.

Ingredients

• Bananas (as long as they’re no longer green you’re fine)
• Peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, your choice)
• Chocolate chips
• Aluminum foil

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350º

Cut a deep slit into your banana lengthwise, starting about an inch below the stem and cutting most of the way through but not so far as to break any of the peel on the opposite side.  End your cut about an inch away from the bottom end of the banana.

Once your banana is cut, fill the cavity with peanut butter and, grabbing your chocolate chips, stuff a good amount of those into the peanut butter-filled cavity.  Don’t be afraid to cram the stuff in there, as these cook they shouldn’t do any expanding.

The next step is to wrap them.  Cut a piece of aluminum foil big enough to completely fold around each stuffed banana and wrap each one up decently tight (no need to leave room for anything).  Place each banana on a baking sheet and put in your 350º oven for around 10-15 minutes.

Once they’re done, grab a spoon and a napkin.  You’ll definitely need them.

Tags: bananas, chocolate chips, peanut butter

These baked beans are the royalty of beans. Making them is an enjoyable process, and they’re sure to be a definite hit at potlucks and parties. You’ll never settle for canned baked beans again!

Yield

Oh lordy. Enough to feed just about everyone at a good-sized potluck.

Ingredients

• 5 (15 oz) cans S&W small white beans, drained
• 2 (15 oz) cans S&W Pinquintos, undrained
• ½ lb bacon, chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup chopped onions (½ of a large Walla Walla sweet onion will do the trick)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
• 2 cups ketchup
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup (the “good” kind; not Mrs. Butter-Worth’s)
• 6 tablespoons dark molasses
• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions

Drain white beans and set aside. In a large pot or dutch oven, saute bacon until slightly crisp; do not drain. Add onions and garlic to bacon and cook until wilted. At this time, preheat the oven to 300º.

While waiting for the onions and garlic to cook, mix together the ketchup, maple syrup, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl. Once onions look wilted, stir in the brown sugar until it dissolves. Add in the drained white beans, Pinquintos (with sauce), and sauce mixture, and mix well.

Pour into a large casserole dish or roasting pan, and bake uncovered for 3 hours. Stir beans every half hour or so, making sure to scrape the bottom of the dish or pan. If beans become too thick during the baking process, they may be covered.

Tip

These baked beans can be eaten straight from the oven (but let them cool a bit, first!) or the next day. When reheating the next day, it works well to heat them in a slow cooker, but make sure to stir them often! If you find that the beans have too thick a consistency, gradually add water and give them a good stir, until you reach your desired thickness.

Tags: beans, Legumes, potluck

Why make your own pizza dough?  Well frankly there isn’t really a reason to, especially when you can buy ready-mixed pizza dough from your local pizza parlor.  But where’s the fun in that?  This is an easy one-bowl recipe that you can make the afternoon of or the evening before, giving you a bit of flexibility.

Yield

Enough dough for a small/medium pizza, good for two.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flour (if you prefer whole wheat flour, use that to replace up to half the total flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
• ½ cup lukewarm water (you may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients including the yeast.

Add the water and olive oil, mixing until you get the mixture as close to a ball as you can.

Dump out your bowl onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until you have one homogenous ball and keep kneading for 1 or 2 minutes.

(Note: If this step feels particularly difficult, put the dough down for a couple of minutes and come back to it.  Letting it sit for those few minutes should help soften it up)

After you’ve kneaded your dough, coat the bowl you previously mixed it in with olive oil or cooking spray.  Place your dough back into the bowl and turn the dough over to coat it on all sides.  Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and leave it for 1 or 2 hours until it has doubled in size.

Dump the dough back onto your floured work surface and slowly punch out the air.  Fold the dough back into an approximate ball shape and put it back in the bowl for another 20 minutes under plastic wrap or a tea towel.  This is a good time to preheat your oven to 425º.

Baking your pizza on a pizza stone is the best way to go with this in order to keep the heat evenly distributed, otherwise a cookie sheet will suffice.  Make sure to sprinkle cornmeal on your pizza stone to keep the pizza from sticking to it; do not use flour as it will just burn.

Stay fairly light on your toppings when building your pizza; the more you use the longer it will take to cook and then you run the risk of it not cooking all the way.  10-15 minutes baking time should be all you need.  Once you can really start smelling the pizza from the oven you’re probably done.

Tip

To brown your crust nicely on the outside and give it a bit of flavor, whisk one egg with some garlic powder and lightly wash around the edge of your crust before putting the pizza in the oven.

If you want to make your dough the night before, put it in the refrigerator overnight and let it rise there.  The cold will slow down the process considerably.

Play around with your toppings; substituting a bit of olive oil for red sauce can be a delicious alternative.

Tags: dough, pizza