Grandma's Baked Beans

You all are so lucky!  This is a secret family recipe that is AWESOME!!!  So awesome, I have to share it with you.  I never met my grandmother because she died when my mom was a teenager, but this is a favorite recipe my mom loved that her mom made when she was growing up.  My family eats these EVERY Thanksgiving & Christmas.  It is one of the sides I can't go without.  These are perfect for summer BBQ's as well & can actually be served WARM or COLD.  My family actually prefers them cold; my favorite is dipping my hot turkey/ham in some cold beans instead of gravy.  Call me crazy, but I dare you to try them both ways & see which way you prefer.    
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Grandma's Baked Beans


2 cups beans (we generally use pork & beans, whichever brand you prefer)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1/4 cup dark molasses


Throw everything in a pot on the stove & simmer 30 min to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  The longer the better :)

LIBBY'S Pumpkin Roll...slightly altered

Everyone loves a good jelly roll!  A pumpkin roll, in particular, is my favorite Thanksgiving dessert, because I will admit I am not a pumpkin pie kind of gal, but any other pumpkin treat, I usually love.  This recipe is one my family uses the whole holiday season.  I use LIBBY's recipe, with just a few alterations.  I prefer the flavor of pumpkin pie spice in the cake & my filling is slightly altered to make it a little lighter in texture (not calories) so after that big, heavy Thanksgiving or Christmas meal you can enjoy a treat without feeling like your dessert is sticking to your insides from a dense filling.  Plus, this is such an easy dessert to make ahead of time & freezes really well too.  I actually prefer to eat it slightly frozen (BONUS: it's easier to cut that way [frozen] too.)
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LIBBY's Pumpkin Roll, slightly altered by Amber (Dessert Now, Dinner Later)

Cake:

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel, extra for decoration)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup LIBBY's 100% Pure Pumpkin (not pie filling)

1.  Preheat oven to 375*F.  Grease 15x10 inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper (I prefer using parchment paper.)  Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

2.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in small bowl.  Beat eggs & granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick.  Beat in pumpkin.  Stir in flour mixture.  Spread evenly into prepared pan (I like to use my offset spatula to spread it.)

3.  Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched.  (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.)  Immediately loosen & turn cake onto prepared towel.  Carefully peel off paper.  Roll up cake & towel together, starting with narrow end.  Cool on wire rack.

Filling:

1-8oz pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature

3 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2-8oz tub light cool whip

1.  Beat cream cheese & butter until light & fluffy, with no lumps.  Add sugar & mix until incorporated.  (The regular recipe has you mix powdered sugar with your cream cheese & butter, but cream cheese frosting can be real finicky if you don't do it right.  If you do it like the original recipe says, you may end up with a sticky, stringy, very soft frosting that won't hold it's shape well.) 

2.  Add cool whip & beat until everything comes together.  Your whipped topping should stiffen/peak up with the beaters, but on RARE occasion, it could possibly get stringy (due to the type of whipped topping you use), so keep an eye on it & stop when it looks like this: 

Your hand mixer should leave little ripples in the frosting.

3.  Carefully unroll cake.  Spread cream cheese mixture over cake (Love using my offset spatula for this as well.)  Re-roll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate at least one hour.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired. 

*If you are going to freeze the roll, go ahead & wrap a layer of foil over the plastic wrap.  Remove from freezer 30 minutes before cutting & serving.  

This is a recipe worth altering, I promise.  The flavors from the pumpkin pie spice come out a lot better than the cinnamon/cloves, & the filling is so light & refreshing making this pumpkin roll a great asset to top off your fabulous holiday meal (or any meal) with.

Spiced Pumpkin 'n' Cream Cheese Streusel Topped Muffins

I've thought long and hard about the perfect recipe to start this blog with.  Better start on a good note right?  I want this recipe to bring you back for all the other recipes to come, & I am pretty sure I did a good job; just don't let the long name scare you away.  Since we are so close to Thanksgiving I can't help but crave pumpkin & even though Thanksgiving is only less than a week away, I had to make my pre-appetizer pumpkin muffin snack to get me ready for the big day.  


Fresh from the oven, one bite into this muffin gives you a nice, crusty top, soft, fluffy muffin, & ooey gooey center.  The aroma from the spices fills your house.  You definitely won't be needing to use a scented candle the day that you bake these.  More good news is, this muffin is only 145 calories, so you calorie counters out there (aka me & My Fitness Pal friends) won't completely wreck your diet eating one of these.  You can further "healthify" these muffins using splenda or whatnot (I personally don't go that far...some things [sugar] I can't give up), but I used unsweetened applesauce to replace the oil, & they are perfectly moist still.  
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Ready for the recipe?  Okay, here it is (oh, & no reference needed, this recipe is ala Amber):




Spiced Pumpkin 'n' Cream Cheese Streusel Topped Muffins (Yield: 16 small muffins)


*Make your items in the order I have them, having your mise en place ready (French for: everything in it's place) will help you when you are ready to assemble the muffins--

Cream Cheese Filing:

4 oz Neufchatel Cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese) COLD (straight from fridge)

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

Using a hand blender, cream these 3 ingredients until well blended (no lumps).  Put in the refrigerator to keep cold.

Streusel Topping:

1 Tbsp room temp/softened (not melted) butter

2 Tbsp dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp rolled oats

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

Put all ingredients into a bowl.  Mix with a fork or pastry blender until crumbs come together.  I usually rub the mixture between my hands to make it pretty fine.

Muffin Batter:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt


In a mixer, cream your sugars & eggs.  Add applesauce & pumpkin, then blend.  In a bowl combine all your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder & soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, & salt) & gradually add to wet mixture.  You might have some small lumps, but that is ok.  Once everything is incorporated it's time to assemble your muffin.


1.  Fill muffin tins with paper cups.
2.  Using a #50 scoop (or you can eyeball it) spoon one scoop pumpkin muffin batter into every cup. (should be about 1/4 full)
3.  Put 1/2 Tbsp of cream cheese mixture on the top-center of the pumpkin batter.
4.  Spoon two more scoops of pumpkin batter over the cream cheese mixture. (should be 3/4 full with everything in there)
5.  Sprinkle all the tops with streusel & bake at 375*F for 20-25 min.  Your muffin should spring back when touched.  Remove from oven & enjoy warm.  Be careful though, the cream cheese center might be hot.