Tuscan Chickpea Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onion
8 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups water
1 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary (I didn't have rosemary so I used oregano)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (Omit if you don't like this. It doesn't hurt anything)
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese (This REALLY makes the soup delicious)

Preparation
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the water and the next 5 ingredients (water through tomatoes), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Place 2 cups soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with 2 cups soup. If you like chunkier soup, just puree two cups of soup no more. Return all pureed soup to pan. Stir in the vinegar, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Spoon 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese...or two. or twenty. :)

Easiest Pumkin Cookies Ever

1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin puree
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine cake mix and pumpkin. Mix in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes (give or take depending on your oven.) I think these are most tasty when refrigerated. For some reason they are yummy when they are cold cold cold.

Pumpkin Pancake Mix Pancakes

Note: I had some storehouse pancake mix that called for eggs and oil so I made the pancake mix as directed and then added the "extra" ingredients. It's like eating pumpkin pie for breakfast!

2 cups Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon pumkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup canned pumpkin



Directions
Stir together pancake mix, brown sugar and spices. Add water and pumkin. Stir until all blended together.

Venison (or Beef) Stew

Note: I was forwarded this recipe from a Dinner and a Movie email pairing it with "Robin Hood". Haven't seen the movie yet but this recipe was delicious and just shouts "Autumn"!

This is a hunter’s version of beef burgundy—apple cider substitutes for the burgundy and flavors and tenderizes the venison. Long, slow cooking—3 to 4 hours—ensures that the meat will be tender and succulent. If you don’t have venison, feel free to substitute beef chuck, rump roast or sirloin tip. Serve with dinner rolls for sopping up the delicious juices.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds venison, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large yellow onions, peeled and diced
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (12-ounce) bottle hard apple cider or 1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 cups reduced-sodium beef or chicken broth, divided
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium green or yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Pat meat chunks dry with paper towels. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large plastic bag. Add meat; close the bag and toss to coat the meat with flour.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, remove about half the meat from the bag, shaking off excess flour and add to pan in a single layer without crowding. Brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove meat and set on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining meat. Transfer the meat to a large Dutch oven.
3. Preheat oven to 325F.
4. Add onions and carrots to oil remaining in skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to caramelize, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and add to meat. Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, allspice, cider, Worcestershire sauce and 2 cups broth to the Dutch oven; stir. (The liquid should barely cover the meat.) Bring to a simmer on top of the stove; cover the pan and place in oven. Cook 2 to 3 hours, until meat is barely tender.
5. Bring remaining broth to a boil. Add to stew along with potatoes and bell peppers. Stir, cover pan, and return to oven to bake about 1 hour, until meat is completely tender and potatoes are cooked. Serves 8.

Shepherds Pie

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 10 oz. can tomato soup
2 15 oz. cans green beans or two large handfuls of fresh, trimmed and steamed
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Worchestershire
mashed Potatoes (about 3 cups)
paprika
1 1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1. Brown beef with chopped onion, strain grease if necessary.
2. Add tomato soup and green beans, with a little canned or cooking water if necessary.
3. Add garlic salt and Worshestershire, stir to mix and place in a 9x13" pan.
4. Top with mounds of mashed potatoes, sprinkle with paprika and grated cheddar.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is lightly toasted.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

3-4 lb pork roast (any kind as long as it's boneless)
1 jar BBQ sauce (we like sweet baby ray's best)

Put pork and BBQ sauce into crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred pork. Serve on crusty rolls with shredded cabbage or cole slaw on top. Easiest, yummiest meal ever.

Taco Soup

I know, it's the easiest soup ever in the whole United States of America but we love it.

1 lb. ground beef/ ground turkey
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 can of tomotoes with green chilies
1 can of diced green chilies
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of pinto beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
2 cans kidney beans, drained
1 can tomato sauce

Brown ground beef and onion until onions are translucent (I like to use the leanest beef I can find so that there's no extra grease in my soup). Toss it into the crock pot and add all other ingredients. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Top with cheese or sour cream and serve with corn bread or chips. (We like Fritos.) If you want it to be more like chili rather than soup, omit the tomato sauce.

French Lentil Rice Soup - crock pot

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I use water plus sale/spice)
1 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 medium carrots, finely diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely diced
3 tablespoons uncooked white rice (I use brown, and a little more)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tsp. herbes de Provence or thyme (I used whatever I had)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream or sour cream (optional)
1/4 cup chopped parsley (optional)

Stir together broth, lentils, carrots, onion, celery, rice, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper in slow cooker. Cover and cook onlow for 8 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.

Remove 1 1/2 cups soup and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth, return it to slow cooker. (I forgot to do this.) If desired, garnish with cream and parsley (it's delicious either way).

This recipe says that it makes four servings but we got a lot more. Bring on healthy, delicious, crock pot meals!!!

Pumpkin cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

**P.S. If you're not a fan of maple, simply omit the maple syrup from the icing recipe and you'll just have cream cheese frosting which is also DIVINE!

Pumpkin Cake Recipe:

3 large eggs
2 cups light brown sugar, not packed
1/2 cup light olive oil
1 15-oz can cooked pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10 x 13" baking pan. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl till light and frothy; add the brown sugar, beat till smooth; add the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla; beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (the flour through salt). Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture a little at a time and beat to combine- for two minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until the cake is firm and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean.

Maple Cream Cheese Icing:

8 oz. softened cream cheese
3-4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
3 to 4 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar (more, if needed)

Beat until the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add 3 tablespoons of the maple syrup, and vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time; beat till smooth. Add another tablespoon maple syrup, if needed. Add more sugar, if needed.

When the cake is cool, frost with the Maple Cream Cheese Icing. Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired.