Broccoli Mushroom and Brown Rice Casserole

I made this to go with a ham I baked the other day.

I know the lighting is horrible and the pictures leave a lot to be desired, but I had to post 

this so you could have the chance to enjoy it as much as I did.

It makes a delicious side dish and is fast and easy.

If your not a mushroom fan you could always use cream of chicken soup and 

leave out the additional mushrooms, or add chicken for a main course.

Definitely a keeper. Entire family LOVED it!

I even had it for breakfast the next morning.

Linked with Weekend Potluck and Foodie Friday.

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Broccoli Mushroom and Brown Rice Casserole

2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 can cream of mushroom soup (i used 96% fat free)
1/3 cup milk
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, divided use
1/4 tsp salt
pepper

Heat oven to 375*

Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a pan; saute onion, celery, and pepper flakes with a pinch of salt and pepper until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Stir in mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are softened, 4-5 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together *rice(see note), broccoli, soup, milk, 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Stir in onion mixture and pour into a 8x8 baking dish sprayed with oil. Cook covered 25 minutes. Sprinkle on remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and cook uncovered 10 minutes.

NOTE:  I cook my rice in chicken broth for added flavor. If you cook your rice in water you may need to adjust the amount of salt by up to 1/2 tsp.

Iced Gingerbread Cookies

I first tried these cookies a couple of years ago when I participated in a cookie swap.

I immediately saved the recipe knowing I wanted to make
 them again....then forgot about 'em, until now. 

They are as good as I remember. 

The cookies were sent to my by "The Busty Baker".

Nice spice level, soft and a little chewy. Delicious!!!

Decorating cakes or cookies is not my thing, so mine are not near as pretty as the 
original cookies I tried. I didn't want to go to the trouble of using an icing bag and tip, 
but they do taste as good, and that works for me. 

I don't recommend putting the sugar crystals on there (I think it ruins the texture), 
I just did that as a desperate attempt to make my first photo turn out better.

I changed up the recipe for the icing a bit, 
but other than that, they're pretty much the same.

Linked with Weekend Potluck and Foodie Friday.

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Iced Gingerbread Cookies

4 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup molasses
1 large egg

Royal Icing:
1 1/2 tbsp meringue powder
3 tbsp butter
2 cups conf. sugar
3 tbsp water
1/8 tsp lemon extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
Food coloring, if desired

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in molasses and egg, beating to combine. Add flour mixture a little at a time, mixing until just incorporated. Turn out dough onto clean work surface and divide into four portions. Pat each portion into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge until firm, at least 1 hour. When dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters in desired shapes. Transfer shapes to prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Re-roll scraps as needed. Place the cut dough on the baking sheets, and then in the fridge to chill about 20 minutes.
When chilled, bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cookies are puffed and edges are just starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are cooled completely, make royal icing: 

In the clean bowl of an electric mixer on low speed, beat together meringue powder, confectioners’ sugar and butter. Beat in water, and extract until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 3 minutes. Divide into bowls and add food coloring if desired.

Quick Pickled Baby Carrots

I made these carrots for Thanksgiving. 

I LOVE THEM! 

So did everyone else.

You might as well have the recipe available to hand out.

Whoever eats them will want it.

I'm going to have them in my fridge forever more.

Linked with Weekend Potluck and Foodie Friday.

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Quick-Pickled Baby Carrots

Serves 8-10

1 pound farmers' market baby carrots
1 cup water, plus more for blanching the carrots
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons honey, or to taste
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 teaspoon toasted celery seeds
1 teaspoon toasted mustard seeds

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Trim and peel the carrots and cut them in half lengthwise.

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the carrots and blanch until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Immediately drain and run under cold water. Transfer the carrots to a bowl (or jars if you plan to keep the carrots for longer). 

Combine 1 cup of water with the vinegar, salt, honey, bay leaf, garlic, celery seeds and mustard seeds in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the salt and honey. Pour over the carrots. 

Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate in an airtight container for at least an hour and up to a month.

Several variations of this are possible. You can find the original recipe here. 

Creamy Pumpkin Risotto

This "Pumpkin Risotto" has to be one of the best I've tasted.

Perfect for this cooler weather.

If your not a pumpkin fan, don't let that stop you from giving this a try. 

The pumpkin flavor is very faint, if at all. 

The marriage of it with all the other ingredients, turns it into 

one harmonious plate of awesomeness! 

Linked with Weekend Potluck and Foodie Friday.

Creamy Pumpkin Risotto

Serves 4

1 1/2 cup of arborio rice
4 cups of chicken stock
3 shallots, diced finely
1 teaspoon of dried sage
1 glass of good quality white wine
A large handful of cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan, and extra for serving

In a pot, bring the stock to a boil, reduce to a low simmer.
In a saucepan, add a good drizzle of olive oil on medium low heat. Add the shallots, and the dried sage. Once the shallots have softened (about 2 minutes), add the rice and and mix, stirring until the rice looks lightly toasted. Add the wine and gently stir. Once the wine has almost evaporated, add the stock one ladle at a time. Keep adding stock once it has almost evaporated in the pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper (the stock will reduce and is salty so make sure not to add too much salt while you're cooking the risotto).

In the meantime, heat some olive oil on medium high heat in a separate pan. Add the sliced mushrooms. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Set aside.

Keep a constant eye on the rice, adding stock as it gets incorporated into the rice. The risotto should gently simmer for about 16-17 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, add the mushrooms and pumpkin puree. Gently mix them in making sure the pumpkin puree is well stirred through. Fold in the Parmesan. Serve immediately, adding a little more Parmesan if desired. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

These cupcakes are a perfect treat for moving into fall.

I saw the cupcake recipe while rummaging through i am baker's blog and thought
it sounded delicious (it is), so kudos to her.

I don't remember what she used for frosting, but I thought it would 
be perfect with one that is rich and cinnamon-y.

Huge hit!

Linked with Weekend Potluck and Foodie Friday.

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Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

1 1/2 cups Flour

2/3 cups Cocoa

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Vanilla Yogurt

1 cup Canned Pumpkin

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3/4 cups Butter, softened

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325*

Prepare cupcake pan with your fun and festive liners. 

In mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together, set aside.

Stir yogurt, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Reduce mixer speed to low and alternately beat in the flour and yogurt mixtures in thirds, starting and ending with flour.

Bake for 18-25 minutes, depending on your oven. Remove once toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, or center springs back when touched.

CINNAMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

1/2 cup butter, softened 
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
2 1/2-3 cups powdered sugar 
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tbsp of heavy cream (or half and half)

Beat butter, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, a little at a time, alternating with cream; beating until desired consistency. 

I wanted to share my thoughts on the frosting. Here's the deal.

It tasted wonderful, but....personally, I did not like the slightly gritty texture that the

brown sugar gave it.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, and no one else said anything about it,

but I would have preferred it perfectly smooth.

So, I was talking to my sister Leah about it, and she had a great idea.

Instead of brown sugar, just use all powdered sugar and add about a tablespoon of molasses, then adjust your cream accordingly.

If you don't have molasses, go ahead and try it with the brown sugar, or it would still be good with just powdered sugar. The real star is the cinnamon.