Cake with pumpkin

So...here's the entire recipe for the cake...it is delicious! 1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin, divided 1/2 cup milk 1/3 cup oil 4 eggs 1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, divided 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping 1/4 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans Make ItHEAT oven to 350°F.
BEAT cake mix, 1 cup pumpkin, milk, oil, eggs and 1 tsp. spice in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round pans.
BAKE 28 to 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely.
BEAT cream cheese in medium bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and spice; mix well. Gently stir in COOL WHIP. Cut each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife; stack on serving plate, spreading cream cheese filling between layers. (Do not frost top layer.) Drizzle with caramel topping just before serving; top with nuts. Refrigerate leftovers.

King Cake From Ashley J

Ever since I found this on my friend, Ashley J's, blog, I've been in love.  Best homemade king cake I've found, and we had tried at least 10 different recipes since moving to Omaha, so far, far away from the "real" king cakes.

She got the recipe from Nayda E...man, Thanks Nayda for this!

I am putting it here b/c I felt guilty/worried about giving so many people links to her family blog!

SWEET DOUGH:

1 pkg yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 cup butter (softened)

2 eggs

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender. In a separate bowl, beat eggs; add to yeast mixture. Stir liquid into flour mixture with a spoon. Let rise about 1 hour, and then stir down. Let rise again an additional hour. While dough is rising, prepare cream cheese filling by combining all the ingredients and mixing them until smooth.

CREAM CHEESE FILLING: (I maybe sometimes double this, lol)

1- 8oz. pkg. of cream cheese (softened)

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp almond extract

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Punch down dough (this dough is enough to make 2 small king cakes, or 1 big king cake). On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Lightly butter the entire rectangle. Spread cream cheese filling on bottom of the long end of rectangle. Sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1-2 teaspoons Ground Cardamom (may substitute ground cinnamon) over entire rectangle.

Starting at end with the filling, roll rectangle as you would if you were making cinnamon rolls. Twist and place on a greased cookie sheet in a ring, connecting and tucking the ends together. Let rise for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Watch carefully while baking. If it becomes golden brown before finished baking then place foil loosely over top and let it cook for the remaining time. Insert baby underneath while still warm. Allow it to completely cool after baking then frost.

* If you'd like to add a fruit pastry filling, allow the king cake to completely cool then using a knife, cut the top half completely off; apply filling in the center and place the top back on; use the frosting to hide where the cake has been cut.

FROSTING:

1 stick butter or margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup marshmallow cream (optional)

3 cups powdered sugar

milk to consistency

To decorate, beat frosting ingredients well and spread over cooled king cake. Sprinkle with green, gold, and purple granulated sugar. (Tip: to color sugar, add a few drops of food coloring to 1/4 cup sugar in a zip top bag, then seal and shake)

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars by Heather (from Jess's LSU vs. FL game)

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

2 cans (8 oz each) crescent dinner rolls

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 Heat oven to 350°F.
2 Unroll 1 can dough. Place in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Stretch to cover bottom of dish, firmly pressing perforations to seal.
3 In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 cup of the sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Spread over dough in baking dish.
4 Unroll second can of dough. Carefully place on top of cream cheese layer. Pinch seams together.
5 Pour melted butter evenly over top. Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over butter.
6 Bake about 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate for easy cutting. Cover and refrigerate any remaining bars.

Crissy's Tortilla Roll Ups

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1 (1 ounce) package dry fiesta-style ranch dressing mix

1 cup chunky salsa

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas

After spreading on the tortilla shells, I wrapped each one in saran wrap and placed them nice and snug in a rectangle bowl or dish. Cut right before eating. Serve with sour cream and/or salsa for dipping.

PB frosting

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. 

Aunt Jane's Bread Pudding

½ stick softened butter (not melted) to grease pan

1 quart hot milk (heat in microwave or on stove)

4 lg. eggs

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons flour

½ c light corn syrup

½ tablespoon vanilla

½ loaf stale French bread, cut into 1 inch squares (do not use sliced bread.  Trust me)

½ cup raisins

½ cup crushed pineapples

½ cup whipping cream

½ cup sugar

½ stick butter

Preheat oven to 357*.  Spread ½ stick softened butter in a 9x13 pan (coat sides and bottom)

Mix eggs, sugar, flour, syrup, and vanilla.

Add hot milk.

Stir in raisins and pineapple.

Add bread and let soak 20 minutes.

Pour into pan and bake for 25 minutes.

 Remove and cool for 10 minutes. 

Turn oven to 425* while it is cooling.

Pour whipping cream over the top of the pudding. 

Sprinkle on the ½ cup of sugar.

Top with small pats of the butter all over the top of the pudding.

Return to oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, but not more then 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne from Our Best Bites

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne
slightly adapted from this recipe by Martha Stewart

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone* (6 ounces) you could also make that 1/2 mozzarella
• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

*Note on Cheese:
Sometimes provolone cheese can be hard to find.  I don’t always encourage the use of pre-shredded bagged cheeses (because ‘ve found they usually contain additives and therefore don’t melt or taste as good), but in this recipe I’ve used a *good* quality one, like Sargento, and it’s turned out great.  Actually in this batch I used Sargento’s Provolone/Mozzarella mix.  You’ll find that with packaged cheese mixes, provolone is often mixed with other white cheeses and that’s totally fine.  Just try to find one that is mostly provolone, like a 50/50 mix.  The other easy option is to go to the deli department where you can buy sliced cheese.  Just ask for a 6 oz chunk and you can grate it yourself.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.
2. While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.  While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes).  Use a little extra olive oil if needed.
3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot (I just use the pot I cooked my pasta in), melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.  If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie.  If cooking, sprinkle on top.
5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer instructions:
To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool.  Cover pan well with plastic wrap.  Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil.  Freeze for up to 3 months.  To bake, preheat oven to 400.  Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside.  Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.