Mini Pumpkin Pie Tartlets

What is even better than pumpkin pie? Mini pumpkin pies that are bite size! These are dangerously good. You don't feel bad about popping one of these little bites of heaven in your mouth..but that could lead to "just one more"....so proceed with caution. The filling recipe is actually the recipe for "Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie" on the back of the can except I swapped out evaporated milk and used whipping cream. I have made many pumpkin pies over the years and I really like the spice blend in this recipe. For these tartlets I used half of a normal pumpkin pie recipe. You can double this and make 48 mini pumpkin pies if you want.

Mini Pumpkin Pie Tartlets

• half of a 15oz can of pumpkin puree
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large egg (1 to be mixed with the pumpkin and one for egg wash)
• 6oz whipping cream (3/4 cup)
  
• 1 box refrigerated pie crust (it will have 2 sheets of dough in the box)
• caramel & whipped cream *optional*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt...set aside. Beat one of the eggs either in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and combined spices to the egg. Mix well the incorporate. Slowly add the whipping cream to the pumpkin mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.



Lightly flour your work surface and unroll one of the pie crusts. Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a small 3 inch bowl) cut out circles of dough. Make sure that you position the cookie cutter to get as many rounds of dough as you can. Gently place the cut dough in the bottom of a mini muffin tin. Take any scrap dough and re-roll it. I was able to get 9 rounds from the first cut and then when I re-rolled the dough I got three more. Continue this process with the other pie crust to fill a total of 24 mini muffin tins.

Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and gently brush the outside edges only of the pie crust. This was give it a great shine and help it get a beautiful golden brown color. Remember, you only need to brush the crust the comes over the top edge.

Fill each mini pie with 1 heaping tablespoon of pumpkin filling, or fill until it comes right to the top. You don't want it to overflow, but you do want it filled up. These will sink a little once they cool, so under filling them isn't a good idea.

Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes or until cooked through (insert a toothpick and it should come out clean) and the crust is light golden brown.

Allow them to cool completely and then remove them from the muffin tin.

I decided to melt a few caramels with the tiniest bit of cream and then drizzle it over the top. I topped it all off with a little whipped cream. These came out fantastic! I hope you enjoy!

No Knead Bread

I've been using this recipe for quite a while now to make my own bread. This is *super* easy and really good! It does need to sit overnight to rise, so prepare ahead!

No Knead Bread

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3/4 tablespoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water

Pour the flour in a bowl with the yeast and salt. Stir gently to combine. Add the warm water and stir until it is incorporated. The dough will NOT be pretty. It will look shaggy and weird. That is totally normal. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and go about your business for 12-20 hours.





Once the dough has risen, wet your hands and remove the dough from the bowl with your hands.

This is how it looks after the first rise...weird...but normal!

Gently fold the dough under itself and bring to the bottom. This will create a smooth ball of dough.

Put it back in the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise again for another 1-2 hours.

When it is about 30 minutes before the end of the rise, set the oven to 450 degrees. Find a small oven proof pan. The size pan you use will determine the size of the loaf. If you use a small pan you will get a small higher loaf of bread. If you use a larger pan you will have a longer oblong loaf that will not be quite as high. It doesn't matter, they will all taste great. Just make sure the pan is oven proof and does not have plastic handles. Cut a piece of parchment paper so it will fit the bottom of the pan...set it aside for later.

Place the pan in the oven while it is heating to 450 degrees so it gets nice and hot. When the oven comes to temperature, remove the pan from the oven and carefully (it's SUPER hot) put the parchment in the bottom of the hot pan. Drop the dough in the pan on top of the parchment. You don't have to be super neat, it will be great! Put a lid on the pan and put it in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes. At the 30 minute mark remove the cover and continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

This is the bread at the 30 minute mark

The finished loaf of bread!!

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Source: Steamy Kitchen

Cape Cod Turkey Cutlets and Green Bean Casserole

We are getting closer and closer to Thanksgiving (except for my northern friends who already got to celebrate it!). Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday...only Christmas tops Thanksgiving in my house. There is something about creating family traditions over the years that just makes me happy. There are very specific things that happen every year at my house on Thanksgiving. My hubby and I get up very early to get the turkey in the oven. I usually cook a turkey that is somewhere around 24 pounds, so I need to get the bird in early. Once that is done, Bryan heads to Dunkin' Donuts to get us coffee with donuts and then stops at the gas station to get newspapers so I can look at the sales flyers for Black Friday shopping! (I *never* miss shopping on Black Friday). Then I look at sales flyers and spend the morning with Bryan and the kids until the parade comes on. That is usually when I get busier with things in the kitchen and spend the rest of my day cooking in anticipation of our first guest. Why all the talk about Thanksgiving you ask? Well, it's because that green bean casserole is one of our traditional dishes in my house. I will continue to try and post some of my favorite side dishes for Thanksgiving in advance so you can add it to your holiday meal this year if you want! This green bean casserole is NOTHING like that one you find on the back of a soup can. This is fresh, unique and delicious! For my dinner tonight I actually only made half of the normal recipe because it was only going to be Bryan and I eating it for dinner. I am posting the full recipe here for you. You can double this recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner if you are having a lot of guests for dinner.

Green Bean Casserole

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, washed and trimmed)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons vidalia onion, finely chopped
• 4 oz baby portabella mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup sour cream (8 oz)
• salt & pepper
• 1 1/2 cups french fried onions
• 1/2 pound shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash green beans and trim the ends. Cook in a steamer basket for 5 minutes, or until tender but firm. Remove green beans and quickly place them in a bowl of ice water to shock them. This stops the cooking process and lets the green beans keep their beautiful deep green color. Once the green beans are cool, cut them in 2 inch pieces and set aside.


Finely mince the onion and the mushrooms in to small pieces. In a skillet melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Stir in the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add flour and whisk for one minute. Whisk in the sour cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.



Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray. Add the green beans. Melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter and pour over the top of the beans. Now add the mushroom mix and gently stir to incorporate it with the beans. Coat with the cheese and then top with the fried onions. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until light brown and bubbly.

Cape Cod Turkey Cutlets

I picked up a package of four turkey cutlets at the store. This isn't so much a recipe as it is a method of breading. In a small dish pour about 1/2 cup of milk. Grab a gallon size ziplock bag and pour in 3 1/2 cups of cape cod potato chips. I used the sea salt and fresh cracked pepper cape cod chips. Crush until the pieces are small and resemble panko bread crumbs. Dip each turkey cutlet in the milk and then press into the crushed potato chips on both sides. Place the cutlets on a baking sheet with a wire rack. This will keep the bottom of the cutlet from getting soggy while it is cooking. I don't know about you, but I like a crispy breading. There is nothing worse than a great crispy top when the bottom layer of breading is soggy!

Cook in the oven with the green beans for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through. This will depend on the thickness of the cutlets that you have. I would be sure to check them at the 20 minute mark just to be safe.



Source: TFN