3 Ingredient Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins



It should go without saying that these muffins aren’t going to taste like pumpkin muffins that you really truly make from scratch, but you know what… they were still good enough for me to eat about a dozen of them the night I made them.  Honestly, I was surprised by how tasty they were, and they’re so easy to make, that there’s not harm in giving it a try (unless you eat 12 of them like I did).  I know that some people make them without the chocolate chips, but I really really really think that it needs the chocolate chips.  Not just because I love chocolate chips, but also because it helps with the texture quite a bit, but I’ll let you make that call. 

Start with a box of moist yellow cake mix and a 15 ounce can of pumpkin. 

 Mix it up.  It is going to be a very sticky, thick batter, but don't worry.  It will all be okay.

 Throw in some chocolate chips, and mix them in.  I used a little less than half of a bag, and I felt like it needed a few more, but I really love chocolate.

 If you have awesome pumpkin liners, put them in the muffin pan.  If you don't, just spray it well with some non-stick spray.  These don't really rise like other muffins, so I really could have put more in each one, but I didn't think of that at the time. Hindsight is 20/20, of course.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. That's seriously all that you have to do.  Just be careful that you don't hurt yourself inhaling them!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pie



Original Oyster House is a restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama that makes a seriously awesome peanut butter chocolate chip pie.  For years, I have been saying that I wish I had the recipe, so the other day, I decided to Google “Original Oyster House peanut butter pie recipe,” and guess what… The Original Oyster House website actually has the recipe on it.  Man, was I excited (and a little disapointed that I waited so long for that Google search)!!

Start with 8 ounces of cream cheese and 1 cup of peanut butter.

Add in 8 ounces of powdered sugar.  The recipe calls for a tablespoon of Kahlua, but I don't keep Kahlua around, and I wasn't going to buy it just to put a tablespoon of it in a pie, so I just used 1 tablespoon of water to help break down the powdered sugar.

Cream it all together. 

Add 16 ounces of Cool Whip, and mix that in.

Then fold in 3/4 of a cup of mini chocolate chips. This is when my camera died, but I'm sure you can figure out the next step on your own.  Just pour it all in a chocolate or Oreo pie crust.  That's really all there is to it, and it's seriously sooo sooo yummy!!

Also, I had to borrow the first picture from Original Oyster House's website, as my camera died, and we ate the pie before I could take a picture.  I hope they don't mind.

Oven Fried Chicken

I recently became one of the last people in the world to get on the Pinterest train, and my only regret is that I didn’t join sooner.  Okay, maybe I also regret all of the time that I waste “pinning” things, when I should actually be getting stuff done, but if I weren’t on Pinterest, I would find some other way to waste my time. 

The first time I got on Pinterest, I saw where people kept pinning this recipe, so I decided that I needed to try it, and I’m sure glad that I did.  I definitely wouldn’t say that it tastes exactly like real fried chicken, but it’s so good that you won’t care.

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees, then measure out 2 1/4 cups broken bagel chips.

Put them in a food processor, and grind them up until they're teeny tiny.  Then pour it in a bowl.

Measure out 1 1/3 cups rice cereal (like Chex), then grind it up in the food processor, and pour it in the bowl with the ground up bagel chips.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the bowl.

Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt,

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper,

1/2 a teaspoon paprika,

and 1/2 a teaspoon black pepper.

Then, stir it up really well.

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place a rack on top, and spray very well with nonstick spary.  I know that you aren't supposed to use coated racks, but that's what I always use, and it works just fine.

In another bowl, mix together 1/2 a cup of light mayo with 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. I was really really worried about this part.  Mayo really skeeves me out, and I was worried that the chicken would be all mayonnaisey, but we couldn't even taste it.  However, I did have to go to take a shower after touching the mayo.  Yuck!

Put a piece of chicken in there, and cover both sides.  I used thin cut chicken breasts, and it turned out really well.

Then, put the mayo coated chicken in the bowl with the bagel chip/cereal mixture, and cover on both sides. Place the coated chicken on the rack, and coat the other 3 chicken breasts.

Spray the top of the chicken with nonstick spray, and bake for about 40 minutes.

Yummy!!

Don't forget to like my Facebook page.

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Last week I started working nights, and I was so extra sleepy that I didn’t cook a single thing.  I’m serious; I didn’t even use the microwave.  However, this week I have gotten my act together.  Well, kind of together.  Okay, maybe not really together, but more together than last week. 

Earlier this week, I made Buffalo chicken sandwiches in the Crock Pot.  Sometimes I just get on a kick where I want to cook everything in the Crock Pot, but I don’t really think that there’s anything wrong with that.  Especially not when it’s as yummy as this stuff.

Start by putting 2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts in the Crock Pot.

Pour in a bottle of Buffalo sauce.  I have been using Frank's because it has zero calories, but I'm a wimp, and I have decided that it's time to find a new brand, because it's too spicy for me.  However, the Bunny loves it.  I told you that I'm a wimp.

 Sprinkle an envelope of Ranch seasoning mix.

 

Don't even worry about stirring it up.  Just put the lid on, and cook on high for about 4 hours (or on low all day).  I cooked mine on high for about 6 hours, and it was perfectly fine.  This recipe definitely isn't fussy!

 Once it's done, take two forks and pull it all apart.  Sorry about the weird picture!  The sun was quickly setting, so it looks funky, but it's definitely more appetizing than it looks right here.



These sandwiches are perfectly acceptable to eat on paper plates.  Actually, you could just wrap it in a paper towel like the Hubster did, and no one will think twice about it.

Enjoy, and I will update if I find a better brand of Buffalo sauce for my wimpy taste buds.

Crock Pot Pumpkin Bread Pudding

I know that this time of year, everyone eats pumpkin everything.  Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin doughnuts. Pumpkin coffee.  Even pumpkin beer.   I pride myself on my commitment to eat this delicious squash year round, and try not to get overly excited (at least not outwardly) about the seasonal goodies that abound.  However, when I saw this recipe pop up on my Facebook newsfeed a few weeks ago, I just had to try it… or modify it, and try my own version.   

I was a little bit underwhelmed at first, and for about a week or more, I have been thinking about just deleting the pictures along with the thoughts about writing about it.  Then I realized that all that was missing was a buttery bourbony sauce to go on top (like the one with this recipe).  I drizzled some maple syrup on top of mine, which was good, too, but a real, proper sauce would have just done great things for this bread pudding.   Anyway, I’m sorry about the ugly picture of the final product.  I was quickly running out of daylight, and honestly, I was just ready to eat!

Start with some hard white bread, and cut it into cubes.  You will need about 5 cups.  I used our electric knife, which made the job so much easier.  If I had just used our regular knife, I would probably still be in there sawing away.

Then put the bread cubes in the bottom of the Crock Pot.  (Again with the sideways pictures! I promise that I will figure out how to fix this one day soon!!)

Throw in a couple of hand fulls of golden raisins.

Then, put 1 1/4 cups of milk in a bowl.  Preferably a pumpkin colored bowl.

Add 3/4 of a cup of canned pumpkin.

Add 1/2 of a cup of honey.  (On a side note, don't stick the little plastic bear in the microwave, thinking that you are going to melt that last little bit of honey out.  You will melt much more than the honey in the bottom.)

Add 2 whole eggs and 3 egg whites.

Add 1/2 of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 of a teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/8 of a teaspoon of ground allspice, and a pinch of ground clove.

Stir it up with a whisk.

Pour the wet mixture over the bread cubes.

Mix it all up. 

Turn the Crock Pot (or slow cooker of choice) on low, and cook for about 4 hours.

We left the house for a little while, and mine cooked for 4 1/2 hours, and it was VERY burnt around the edges, but cooking times will vary, so just keep an eye on it.

And here it is: the final ugly picture. It was pretty tasty though!!

Here's your recipe:



Crock Pot Pumpkin Bread Pudding

5 c. bread, cubed

1 1/4 c. milk

1 c. golden raisins (optional)

3/4 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. honey

2 whole eggs

3 egg whites

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

pinch of ground cloves

Put bread and raisins in the crock of a slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl, and pour over bread and raisins.  Stir and cook on low for approximately 4 hours.

Check me out (and "like" me) on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TheSleepyCook