Pumpkin Muffins

It's pumpkin season! This has to be the most healthiest, moist, and delicious muffins I've ever made. Pumpkin is rich in fiber and vitamin A. I also added walnuts for protein. Now that's a power breakfast!

Ingredients for 24 muffins:
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl blend all wet ingredients: pumpkin, eggs, applesauce, oil, water, vanilla. In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients: sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture until blended. Add 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup walnuts and set the rest aside for topping. Pour mixture into muffin pans and sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the muffin.

Slow Cooked Beef

The temperature outside dropped on Sunday. Summer is over which means it's time to bring out the crock pot. I love autumn. This is the time when I make my favorite seasonal dishes.

I am very fortunate to have a friend who raise cattle and gave me some of his locally raised beef. (If anyone is interested in a cow share, please contact me.) I got about 3 pounds of chuck roast which is perfect for the slow cooker. Below is a recipe for the beef dish I made and pictured above. Measurements are approximate since I rarely use measuring cups while cooking.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 minced garlic clove
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups thick sliced carrots
8-10 small potatoes
3 lbs chunk roast
1 cup wine
2 1/2 cups water

1. Using a large pan, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil on low heat until the onions turn a little opaque. Set this inside the slow cooker.

2. Season the beef with pepper, salt, and cumin. Increase the heat to medium -high and using the same pan, sear the meat on both sides. You just want to brown the outside of the meat. Put the chuck roast aside in the slow cooker.

3. De-glaze the pan by reducing the heat to low-medium, add 1 cup water and wine to the pan which should now be covered in brown bits from when you seared the beef. Take a whisk and carefully scrape this off to mix with the water/wine. Pour the mixture through a strainer and into the slow cooker.

4. Add carrots, potatoes, bay leaf and the rest of the water if you think you need more. (Do not try to cover the entire meat in liquid since the beef will add more liquid as it cooks.)  Slow cook on low heat for 8 hours. Everything comes out super tender and flavorful.

Clams, clams, clams!

This Labor Day weekend my future sister-in-law found a handful of huge clams in the Chesapeake Bay while we were fishing. (Thanks Lindsey!) Since these clams were so big, you can't eat it whole but the tough clam meat is great for making pasta with clam sauce.

To open the clams I put them in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes with a wet paper towel over them. Unfortunately, one of the clams did not open and I had to throw it out. After rinsing out the clams I minced the meat and sauteed it with approximately 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp garlic, 1/2 cup chopped onions, and 1/4 cup white wine. Since I only had three clams to work with, I supplemented this with a 10 oz can of baby clams. Mixed in cooked thin spaghetti, salt and pepper to taste with a squeeze of lemon. It turned it pretty good but I really wish I had shredded parmesan cheese to put on top.