Chocolate Covered Caramel Goodness

So I've been sick this weekend and didn't really put together a big family meal. I'm just trying to take it easy and get better. Hopefully I'll have a wonderful meal to post for you next week complete with chocolate cake. Yum, Yum. In the meantime, Makena and I did make chocolate covered caramel apples today and let me tell you, they are so yummy. We got a big bunch of honeycrisp apples from Costco today and all the fixins to make the perfect Halloween treat. They were so easy and so much fun too. If you make these with your little ones, please be sure to be careful with the caramel. It gets very hot and very messy and that part should definitely be done by an adult. You don't want boo boos when trying a fun craft with the family. The basics of this apple are simple. I took caramel candies and melted then over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of water. Then I used dark chocolate candy melts for the chocolate coating. So simple.



Chocolate Covered Caramel Apples
1 bag (about 50pcs) caramel candies
2 tablespoons water
dark chocolate candy melts
white candy melts
Halloween sprinkles
Fall colored M&M's chopped
1/2 cup melted vanilla frosting
a few drops of orange food coloring
craft sticks
5 apples

Unwrap the caramel candies & place in a non-stick saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water. Stirring constantly, melt the candies. In the meantime, place a stick in top of each apple. Once candy is melted, dip apples in caramel making sure to scrape off the bottom. Place on wax paper or silpat liners. Let cool, then place in refrigerator for about an hour. Melt chocolate candy melts, white candy melt and vanilla frosting in microwave. Do so in 30 second intervals. Once vanilla frosting is melted add, orange food coloring. Dunk apples as you like and decorate with fall M&M's and Halloween sprinkles. Drizzle apples with the melted frosting. Place in the fridge to let chocolate set. Enjoy!!!!

Hallowen Fun

My little one has been begging me to make some Halloween treats so we came up with spooky cupcakes for our first concoction. To make things simple, I bought a boxed cake mix, frosting and picked up decorating gel in white, red and black. We thought it would be fun to make zombies and vampires and come up with different faces for each cupcake. I had so much fun with my daughter watching her creative mind at work. I think they came out great and trust me, they tasted even better.



Spooky Cupcakes

1 boxed cupcakes in your favorite flavor (we used chocolate)
2 cans vanilla frosting
black food coloring
neon purple food coloring
green food coloring
red decorators gel
white decorators gel
black decorators gel

Bake cupcakes according to package instructions. Let cool.

Divide vanilla food coloring evenly in four bowls (1 for purple, 1 for green, 1 for black/grey & 1 for white). Take 4 drops of neon purple coloring and color 1 bowl of frosting. Next take 3 drops black and 4 drops green food coloring to make "monster" green frosting. Add several drops of the black food coloring to a bowl of frosting to make a grayish color. If you want black frosting then use chocolate frosting and tint with the black coloring. Leave 1 bowl of frosting white. Frost cupcakes, some purple, some green, some white. Use the gray frosting to pipe hair with a medium sized star tip. Once you have frosted and piped hair onto the cupcakes, use the decorator gels to make the faces. Make any kind of design you and your little one come up with. This is such a fun project and a great way to get your kids in the kitchen and using their creative minds.

Family Fun Night

I think these days we're all looking for a meal that doesn't break the bank. I know that a lot of us turn to the convenience meals like frozen dinners and boxed meals like "Hamburger Helper". I know that I for one have been guilty of using convenience foods to feed my family from time to time. Well I have come up with a casserole that is inexpensive, tastes like Hamburger Helpers and isn't full of all the chemicals of a packaged dinner. Who doesn't like macaroni that is filled with cheese, ground beef and topped with buttery breadcrumbs? I know my family does. This is a simple casserole that can be put together in one skillet and can feed the whole family. Try this for you family tonight.

Homemade Hamburger Helper



1 pound 93% lean ground beef
1/2 box elbow macaroni, cooked
1 15oz can of whole tomatoes
1 package American cheese slices
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 small onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Brown ground beef over medium heat in a little bit of olive oil. Add onion once beef has been browned and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, tomatoes, american cheese and macaroni and mix well. Combine breadcrumbs and melted butter. Pour macaroni/beef combination into a casserole dish and top with butter breadcrumbs mixture. Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until breadcrumbs are browned on the top.

Sunday Fall Supper

So this week marks the start of my Sunday night suppers and our pick for the night was grilled pork tenderloin with sauteed vegetables and braised red cabbage. To finish the meal I made a pumpkin cheesecake with a caramel pecan topping. The meal just screamed fall dinner to me. It was a lovely and cool weekend here in NC and this meal was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

One of my favorite fall side dishes is braised red cabbage. I love the sweetness that red cabbage has and it pairs beautifully with pork. Of course it's not the best smelling vegetable to make but it doesn't have the same sharpness that regular cabbage can often have. It is staple in our household now through December. Now when I was planning tonight's meal, I asked hubby what dessert he wanted. Hubby isn't a big dessert eater but he didn't even skip a beat when he requested a pumpkin cheesecake. I was excited at the idea of yet another pumpkin recipe to discover. I searched the internet and my many cookbooks and finally settled upon a Paula Deen recipe. I added my own touch with the caramel/pecan topping and it was a delicious addition. This meal was comforting, warm and a great way to finish the weekend. I can happily get in bed, curl up with a good book, glass of wine and sleep peacefully tonight.

Braised Red Cabbage
1 small head red cabbage
2-3 slices bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken broth
3-4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

In a large dutch oven, cook bacon until fat is rendered. Remove bacon bits and add butter and olive oil to bacon fat. Add the cabbage, vinegar, broth, 1/2tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook covered for 20 minutes over medium/low heat. After 20 minutes, remove cover, add the remaining salt and pepper and cook until majority of the liquid dissolves.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust
1 3/4 cup gingersnap crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted

Cheesecake filling
3 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 15 ounce canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel/Pecan topping
1/4 cup store bought caramel topping
1/8 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk,sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

For Topping: Melt the caramel sauce of medium heat. Once melted add the chopped pecans. Mix together and it's ready for topping on the cheesecake.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours. Once chilled top with caramel/pecan topping and serve with freshly whipped cream.