muffins!

in the spirit of fall, i figured it was high time to bake away, pumpkin style. i've also officially declared tuesdates my night to try new recipes, and so last night these delicious pumpkin chocolate chip muffins were on the menu! and according to the boy, they're a definite success - moist and scrumptious!

 

here's the recipe, & it's a cinch!

[source]

ingredients:

2 cups canned pumpkin (its slightly more than a 15 oz. can)
2/3 cup oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. each- ground cloves, nutmeg, and ginger
1/2 tsp. salt

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 muffin pans with 24 cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.  Gently whisk by hand until just combined, being careful not to overmix as the texture will become gummy.

Fill liners with 1/4 cup batter (cups should be about 2/3 full).  Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting. 

Enjoy!

taco salad

now that i have to make my own meals every morning, afternoon, and evening, the old go-to pastas just aren't cutting it anymore! here's a very simple taco salad recipe - and it was delish!

 

ingredients:

1 freshly sliced tomato

romaine lettuce

1/4 cup cooked jasmine rice

tortilla chips or a flour tortilla

1/4 cup refried beans, heated

sprinkle with mozarella

i would, of course, add sour cream, but alas, i'm out - which is probably good for the calorie count! ;]

fondue-ing

once upon a time, a girl & a boy celebrated 7 months of happy 'togetherness.' though t & i aren't religious 'celebrate every month' kind of people, this month, i wanted to do something for him. unfortunately, life happened and our plans didn't quite work out (raincheck rock climbing!), and so i spur of the moment thought of the fondue dipping set that's been sitting in my kitchen cupboard for ages - chocolate covered marshallows? how could you go wrong?!

i was pouring over foodgawker all day trying to find the simplest fondue recipe, and this is what i found - & it worked:

6 oz. baking chocolate (or chocolate chips - semi-sweet/dark/your choice)

1/4 whipping cream

place both ingredients in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds / stir / continue heating at 15 second intervals, stirring after every interval. all together, it shouldn't take you longer than 2 or 3 minutes until the chocolate is creamy and smooth - just keep stirring!

we invited over some of our dearest 'couple' friends jesse & kelly (an incredible artist - check her out!), and enjoyed a night in. luscious chocolate, marshmallows, strawberries, graham crackers, and cheesecake awaited us.

JUST as i had finished taking pictures of our scrumptious spread, BANG! i turned around, and there lay the bowl in perfect halves and chocolate everywhere:

instantly, we all started laughing, and quickly dug in before the chocolate oozed all over the table. and so our classy affair turned into quite the mess - oh, but it was memorable.


more importantly, i now need a new fondue set.

the end.