Pumpkin Bread

There are dozens of pumpkin bread recipes to be had. But in my humble opinion, this one (from my mother-in-law) trumps them all...at least of the ones I've tried.


You may also want to try our chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.

Sautéed Chicken in Mustard-Cream Sauce

This is a great little recipe that looks and tastes great, but is in fact quite simple. The mustard sauce is quite tasty and goes well over other vegetables - in fact I would suggest serving it with some steamed asparagus and with our recipe for Roasted Cauliflower. This sauce would also be delicious over grilled fish or roasted potatoes.

Sautéed Chicken in Mustard-Cream SauceRecipe from Everyday Food, Great Food Fast
Pictures by Caroline
Makes 4 servings

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon dried tarragon (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh)*
*I didn’t have tarragon, so I substituted ½ teaspoon fennel seeds

Directions:
(Note: I always like to fillet my chicken breasts before I fry them so that they have more flavor. To do this, use frozen chicken and let partially de-thaw. Then, using a sharp knife, place one hand on the top of the chicken breast and slice horizontally through the middle to have two even halves.)
1. Sprinkle each chicken breast with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken; sauté until cooked through, 19 to 12 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a plate; keep warm.
2. Pour the wine into the hot skillet; cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Whisk in the cream, mustard, and tarragon. Cook, whisking until thickened, about 2 minutes.
3. Pour any accumulated chicken juices into the sauce. Right before serving, drizzle the cream sauce over the sautéed chicken.

Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower...did you forget about cauliflower? I know I did, and I actually quite like cauliflower, I just sort of forgot about cauliflower......so I found this simple recipe for roasted cauliflower, it incorporates a small amount of capers and the caper juice. Perhaps you haven't used capers much; the caper used in cooking is actually the bud of a flower that is picked and pickled. If left on the plant, the caperbud will flower and turn into a fruit called a caperberry. Capers are often served with fish, you might find them in some salads or Italian dishes, and it turns out they are a main ingredient in tartar sauce. Who knew? Pickled capers can be easily found in a bottle at your local grocery store.

Roasted Cauliflower
Recipe from Eveyday Food, Great Food Fast
Pictures by Caroline
makes 4 servings

1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), trimmed and cut into small florets

1 tablespoon olive oil

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tablespoon butter

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon capers (I would suggest doubling the amount of capers)

1 teaspoon juice

Directions (slightly modified)

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together olive oil and cauliflower; season with salt and pepper. Spread the cauliflower in a roasting pan. Roast, tossing once or twice, until the cauliflower is golden brown and tender, 20-25minutes.

2. In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook the garlic, stirring unitl lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the capers and caper juice. Pour over the cauliflower, and toss to coat.

Garden Spaghetti Squash Pasta

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? It is quite amazing actually. It looks like any other fall squash that you might find, it is equally as difficult to cut into, and its insides look similar to any other. But, once you cook it, you realize this is no oridinary squash and its name tells it all. A tender spaghetti squash will pull away from its rind in long narrow pieces, just like spaghetti noodles, it is quite remarkable!Another great thing about spaghetti squash, you can use it in place or in addition to spaghetti noodles! In this recipe I use half pasta and half squash for my noodles, but really you could use any ratio that you want. In the picture above you can see the difference between the two - now I use whole wheat noodles so the difference between the two is quite noticable. But for anyone that uses your typical white noodle, even your kids will have a hard time telling the difference.

Try it out and learn a whole new way to get one of your required servings of vegetables.

Garden Spaghetti Squash Pasta
Recipe and Pictures by Caroline
4 Servings

2 large chicken breasts, cubed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil for pasta cooking water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ¼ cups diced carrots
1 bell pepper, diced into 1 inch pieces
3 cups broccoli pieces
3 teaspoons dried basil
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken broth
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
½ to 1 large spaghetti squash, quartered*
Spaghetti noodles*

For the vegetable sauce:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Cook chicken 5-6 minutes over medium heat until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
2. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the same skillet that the chicken was cooked in over low heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, careful not to burn. Add the carrots to the skillet and ½ cup chicken broth. Cover and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the bell pepper and broccoli to the carrots. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Add the remaining chicken broth, butter, salt and pepper, and basil until the liquid is at a very low simmer uncovered. Add the chicken pieces. Continue to stir and cook at a low simmer until the liquid begins to reduce to about ½ of its original quantity and the vegetables are tender.
4. When the vegetables are tender, pour over pasta/squash combination, add the parmesan cheese, stir, and serve.

Directions for the pasta/spaghetti squash mixture:
*I left the amount of spaghetti noodles and spaghetti squash open because you can cater the ratio of squash to noodles for your family. I personally like about half pasta and half squash, but if you prefer you can just use all spaghetti noodles.
1. While your vegetable sauce is cooking heat water for the pasta, adding ½ tablespoon olive oil (this will help your noodles and squash mingle). Cook to package directions, timing to finish with your vegetables.
2. Before draining your noodles add the spaghetti squash strips and gently stir into the spaghetti noodles; drain. Pour vegetable sauce over noodles, add parmesan cheese, stir, and enjoy!

Two options for cooking spaghetti squash:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place quarters of spaghetti squash and cut side down on baking sheet in about ½” water. Cook for approximately 45 minutes, or until squash is tender and will easily pulls away in long spaghetti noodle like strips. Once the squash is tender, use a fork to pull squash away from the rind – you will get long spaghetti noodle like strips. Add to the spaghetti noodles as in direction (2) above.
2. Or, place quarters of spaghetti squash cut side down in a glass pie dish in about ½” water. Microwave on high for approximately 5 minutes, or until squash is tender and will easily pulls away in long spaghetti noodle like strips. Once the squash is tender, use a fork to pull squash away from the rind – you will get long spaghetti noodle like strips. Add to the spaghetti noodles as in direction (2) above.

Note: You could leave out the chicken, use a vegetable broth and this could be a vegetarian delight! Omit any pasta and this could be a gluten free dinner...so many options!

Pomegranate Pork

I know what you're thinking: the sauce we're pouring over the top of these pork chops looks suspiciously like blood. It isn't. Really, I promise. It's actually a very delicious pomegranate glaze (and happens to be a lovely shade of red) that dresses up an otherwise boring pork chop.

Try serving with a simple side salad, Spiced Roasted Squash or Red Bell Peppers with Spinach and Raisins.

Pomegranate Pork
Recipe by Kelly
Pictures by Caroline

1 cup plain pomegranate juice*
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon orange peel
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless skinless pork chops, about 1-inch thick
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch pan.
   
2. In a small saucepan, heat pomegranate juice and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 3 minutes. Stir together cornstarch and water and whisk into juice; boil sauce until thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter and orange peel, stir until butter is melted.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil on high in a large skillet. Salt and pepper the pork chops, to taste. Add pork chops to skillet, browning each side. Remove from heat.
4. Place pork chops in pan and spoon pomegranate sauce over the top. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon more sauce over chops. Bake about 10 more minutes, or until the center is no longer pink.
5. Serve with more glaze over the top.

*If you can't find pomegranate juice, substitute with cranberry juice.

Caramel Apples

With Halloween approaching, it seemed appropriate to post some caramel apples. Yes, you can just buy a tub of caramel from the store. But this caramel is naturally delicious (and by natural, I mean no corn syrup, no preservatives, no sugar. It's just cream, honey and salt. Simple), and if you have about 40 minutes to spare, you might decide not to go back to the pre-packaged stuff.

If you happen to have a candy thermometer, this will be a lot easier. If you don't, fill a glass with cold water, and periodically drop a small amount of caramel in the glass (you'll need to change the water each time you do). If the caramel turns into a ball when it hits the water, it's ready. If it swirls around in the cup, it's not ready. If it turns into a rock solid mass, you've probably cooked it too long...hurry and eat it before it solidifies!


And finally, I've always loved the combination of caramel and apples, but hated eating them on a stick. There's just no getting around the messiness factor. But slicing the apples and then dunking them in one at a time is not nearly as visually appealing. So my very wise friend Kate suggested dipping the entire apple in the caramel, letting it set a few minutes, and then, once you're ready to eat them, cut one large slice from each side of the apple, leaving the core behind, and you with a perfect coat of caramel. Yum.

Caramel Apples
Recipe from 101cookbooks.com
Pictures by Caroline

6 small apples, unwaxed*
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup honey

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I actually used aluminum foil). If serving on a stick, push a lollipop or popsicle stick deep into each apple - in through the stem. Fill a large bowl 1/2 full with ice water and set aside.
2. In a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan heat the cream and salt until tiny bubbles start forming where the milk touches the pan - just before a simmer. Stir in the honey. Bring the mixture to a boil. Now reduce the heat to an active simmer and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 15-20 minutes minutes or until the mixture reaches about 255-260F degrees (just barely in the hard ball stage).
3. To stop the caramel from cooking, very, very carefully set the bottom of the saucepan in the bowl of cold water you prepared earlier. Stir until caramel begins to thicken up - you want the caramel to be thin enough that it will easily coat your apples, but not so thin that it will run right off. If the caramel thickens too much simply put the pot back over the burner for 10 seconds or so to heat it up a bit.
4. Tilt your sauce pan so all the caramel forms a pool on one side, and use your other hand to dunk and twirl each apple until it is thoroughly coated with caramel.
5. Place each apple on the parchment lined baking sheets and allow the caramel to cool and set.

*If you buy your apples at the grocery store, they will inevitably be waxed, which means the caramel will slip right off when you dip the apples in. If you buy your apples from a farmer's market or pick your own, you can avoid this.

Spiced Roasted Squash

When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of the American Girl Dolls. My personal favorite was Samantha, but I couldn't help reading all the books for each of the dolls, even if I didn't particularly like that doll. Molly was the one I never really liked. I still don't. But I do remember reading one of the Molly books where her mother serves her mashed squash for dinner (at least I remember it as squash. It could have been sweet potatoes, but that would make this story inapplicable to my post...so let's just say it was squash). Now Molly hated squash. And one day during WWII, her mother tried to feed her squash. Molly refused, and mother told her she couldn't leave the table until she finished her squash.

So Molly waited. She stared at the squash and hoped it would disappear. It didn't. So she waited longer.

And still refused to eat the squash. By this point, it had become cold and tasteless, possibly resembling cold baby food. Yuck.

Her mother finally took pity on her. She took the nasty squash and reheated it, added a bit of cinnamon (and I imagine a bit of butter), and suddenly the nasty squash was quite delicious. And edible. So Molly ate it and bonded with her mother and everything was ok.

When I was trying to think of what I could do with the squash sitting in my cupboard, I thought of Molly's cold squash. But I thought that maybe if Molly had been given this squash, this warm, buttery, cinnamon deliciousness, she might have just eaten it in the first place.

If you like the looks of this, but want your vegetables and meat all in one dish, try the Fall Pork Dinner.


Spiced Roasted Squash
Recipe by Kelly
Pictures by Caroline

Serves 4

1 small butternut squash, quartered and seeded
1 medium acorn squash, quartered and seeded
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 nutmeg
dash of cloves
dash of salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place squash on a large cookie sheet, face down (skin side up). Pour about 1/2 inch of water onto cookie sheet and bake 30-40 minutes, or until squash is almost tender when pierced with a fork.
2. Remove squash from cookie sheet and let cool about 5 minutes. Carefully peel skin off of squash (you may have to cut a few pieces that aren't quite done yet).
3. Chop squash into 1-inch cubes. Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 12 inch pan.
4. In a small bowl, melt butter. Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Pour over squash and stir.
5. Bake squash 10 more minutes, or until squash is tender.

Chicken Corn Chowder

This is one of my favorite blustery, cool day dishes, and I've been waiting to share it with you for weeks! It includes some of my favorite fall vegetables- butternut squash, and potatoes, and then, of course, bacon. Bacon makes everything taste better. Kind of like butter. If you use butter, you know it's going to be good! (Maybe not healthy, but definitely tasty!)

The original recipe suggests using a purchased roasted chicken to make the prep faster and easier. They're right- it does help speed things along and makes the soup delicious, but buying a pre-roasted chicken and pounds of fresh vegetables can get expensive. You may want to either omit the chicken (this chowder is hearty enough without it) or just broil and chop a couple of chicken breasts you have on hand.


Chicken Corn Chowder
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit Octboer 2003
Pictures by Kelly

Serves about 10

10 bacon slices, chopped
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups chopped red and green bell peppers (about 2 large)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
9 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled seeded butternut squash
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 16-ounce bags frozen corn kernels
1 cup whipping cream
4 cups diced skinned roast chicken
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Cook bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.*
   
2. Pour off all but 1/4 cup drippings from pot. Add butter to pot; melt over medium-high heat. Add onions and 1 cup bell peppers. Sauté until onions are soft, about 10 minutes.
   
3. Add flour; stir 2 minutes.
   
4. Mix in broth, then squash, potatoes, and thyme; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until squash and potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.
   
5. Add corn, cream, and 1 cup bell peppers. Simmer until corn is tender, about 10 minutes.
   
6. Add chicken (if including) and 1/2 cup cilantro; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Ladle chowder into bowls; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro.

*Although the recipe doesn't call for it, because it tastes good (and because my husband is a bacon fiend) I sometimes include the bacon pieces in the chowder. If you'd like to do so, add them back in when you add the chicken in step 6.

Gingered Pear-Apple Cobbler

Fall might possibly be my favorite food season. Of course I say that nearly every season, but it's really hard to beat any recipe featuring apples.

Unlike the peach cobbler we posted during the summer (which tastes quite a bit better than Kelly's pictures might lead you to believe) this cobbler's topping is a cross between biscuit and pie crust and is placed on top of the fruit rather than below it. The flavors are simple, enhancing rather than disguising the apple, pear, and ginger.

Please don't be intimidated by this recipe because it has several steps. I promise it's really not difficult; you just need a little bit of time to prepare things. And it's oh so worth it.

Gingered Pear-Apple Cobbler
Recipe from The All-American Dessert Book
Pictures by Caroline

Filling
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 1/2 teaspoons peeled and finely grated fresh gingerroot
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
6 tablespoons apple juice or water
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 1/2 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples* (about 3-4 medium sized apples)
6 cups peeled, cored, and coarsely sliced pears** (about 5 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch pan (If you have a Dutch oven, use it instead of a 9 x 13).
   
2. In a large pot, thoroughly stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in butter, ginger, lemon zest, apple juice and lemon juice until well blended. Heat over medium high heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot, just until thickened slightly and translucent.
   
3. Add the apples. Let the mixture return to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently for 3 minutes. Add the pears and the vanilla. Cook, stirring gently, for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Pour into 9 x 13 pan.
   

*Choose tart apples such as Granny Smith
**Choose slightly underripe Bosc or Bartlett pears

Dough
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/2 cup sour cream, plus about 1 1/2 tablespoons for brushing on dough top
2 teaspoons cold water (optional)
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling on dough top (optional)

1. In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Using a pastry blender, forks, or your ginertips, cut in the butter until the mixutre has the consistency of coarse meal (if you have a food processor, use that!).
2. Lightly stir the sour cream into the flour mixture, tossing until evenly incorporated. Briefly knead the dough in the bowl until it holds together. If necessary, work in cold water a teaspoon at a time until the dough is moistened but not soggy.
3. Let the dough stand for 5 minutes to reduce stickiness.
4. On a lightly floured surface (or between 2 sheets of parchment paper) Roll or press the dough into a rectangle slightly smaller than the 9 x 13 (or dutch oven). Peel the dough off the floured surface or parchment paper. Place the dough gently over the top of the fruit.
5. Using a greased knife, cut large slashes for steam vents in the dough top.
   
6. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the fough all over with sour cream (we warmed ours slightly in the microwave for ease of brushing). Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
7. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top is well browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the dough comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve with ice cream, if desired.
   

Sunday Pot Roast

I would guess that most of our readers have a great pot roast recipe. However, I thought we should add one to our collection of recipes here at Two Little Chefs. Because let's face it, sometimes you just need to cook up a traditional Sunday Pot Roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots. So here is a simple pot roast recipe that is sure to please.

In our house we love carrots, so I add lots of carrots - basically as many as I can fit into the crock-pot. But if potatoes are your thing, or maybe even celery, go ahead and put as many in as you want. Just make sure that there is enough liquid to come up to about 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the rim to ensure that everything gets cooked.

Sunday Pot Roast
Recipe and pictures by Caroline
Makes 4 servings

2 or 3 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick pieces (or your potato of choice)
2 cups baby carrots (or more)
1/2 large red onion, cut into wedges
2lb. beef pot roast, or chuck roast
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons beef base, or beef bouillion
1 teaspoon dried basil

Directions:
1. Place half of the vegetables in bottom of crock-pot
2. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Brown roast on each side, and then place on top of vegetables. Add the rest of the vegetables around the roast.
3. Combine water, wine, Worcestershire, beef base, and basil. Pour over meat and vegetables.
4. Cover. Cook on low heat 10-12 hours. Or on high heat 5-6 hours.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

The day my friend Ginny brought me a slice of this bread, I knew we would be friends. And we were. Our mutual love of food provided us with many a conversation while our husbands discussed guns and biking.

I guess this bread is really more like chocolate cake that happens to have zucchini in it than the other way around. But if you take something that already tastes pretty dang good and isn't too bad for you and then add chocolate, you know it just can't go wrong.