Caramel Apple Cake

If you have a love affair with caramel and apples like I do, then you will love this cake! It is very easy to make and is very moist! There are several things that I love about this cake... Let me count the ways! I love that the recipe begins with a store bought cake mix, making it a great shortcut dessert and perfect for entertaining (especially when time is short). I also love that you add Jell-O pudding, which gives this cake the moist texture. You will find this to be true as soon as you begin to cut the first slice. I also love that it showcases a few flavors that go hand in hand with the Fall season- apples, vanilla and caramel! Last but not least, I love that it is drizzled with caramel! This cake recipe will definitely take the cake when you serve this dessert at your next Fall gathering!

Caramel Apple Cake

1 pkg. (2 layer cake) yellow cake mix
1 pkg. 4 serving size Vanilla or French Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 c. water
4 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and coarsely chopped
20 Kraft Caramels, unwrapped
1/4 c. milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12 cup fluted bundt pan or a 10 inch tube pan. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, eggs and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Beat on high speed 2 minutes. Gently stir in apples. Pour into a prepared pan.
Bake 50 minutes to an hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 11/2 minutes, stirring 30 seconds, until blended. Cool 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Drizzle over cake.
Makes 16 servings.
* Note: Place caramels in freezer for 5 minutes before unwrapping- the plastic peels off in a cinch!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite season is Fall time and it is no wonder that it is my favorite season because there are so many delicious treats and dishes to make. I dare say that my husbands favorite cookies are pumpkin cookies. He adores them and since I adore him I whipped up a batch this afternoon to surprise him when he got home from work. I didn't have a good pumpkin chocolate chip recipe so I did a little research online before hand and came across this Oh, so scrumptious looking recipe and wanted to give it a try. The results were fantastic and it made plenty of cookies to share with a few of my neighbors. If you have a hankering for a fall treat, give this recipe a try it is truly one that will please your taste buds.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from mybakingaddiction.com

Ingredients:
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract
2 c. semi sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg. In a seperate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt.
2. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well with a spoon.
3. Add vanilla and Chocolate chips
4. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Apple Cider Frappe'

My friend used my recipe and made this drink for our craft night last week. I really enjoy making this drink for Fall gatherings. It is sweet and has a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon- two spices that are frequently used in Fall dishes. These two ingredients are also usually found in your typical warm winter drinks but this drink is served cold because it is blended with Orange Sherbet and Vanilla icecream. It is very refreshing and is a wonderful drink to serve at a Halloween Party or a Thanksgiving dinner!

Apple Cider Frappe'

Ingredients:
1 Gallon of Apple Cider (Don't use Apple Juice)
5 tsp. Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1 1/2 Gallon of Orange Sherbet and Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions:
Pour Apple Cider over ice cream. Add spices and mix with beaters until well blended. Serve Immediately!

Note: You could drizzle caramel over your drink to add a little extra sweetness!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Rolls

This past weekend I threw a craft night for a few of my closest girl friends. We made these darling count down to candy blocks. The advent calendar was so easy to make and I can't wait to use it to count down to Halloween with my kids this next month. My cute kidlets are chomping at the bit to start rotating the blocks! While we were busy crafting we had some delicious desserts and snacks to munch on! One of my all-time favorite fall desserts is Pumpkin Cream cheese Rolls. These cream cheese rolls are delicious and even though they might look intimidating to make they are really simple and very elegant!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Rolls

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup LIBBY'S 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts (optional), chopped
Filling:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)
For Cake:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.
For Filling:
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
Makes 10 servings

Note: Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Mushroom and Swiss Burgers

As the summer is drawing to a close I am trying to squeeze as many grilling recipes in while the weather is still warm! I came across this Hardee's Mushroom and Swiss copy cat recipe on the web and decided to try it out on my family. It was a huge hit with my husband and my two little kidlets licked their plates clean! This is very easy to make and requires only a few ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand! Give this burger recipe a try before the cold weather sets in and you have to put the grill away for the winter!

Mushroom and Swiss Burgers

Ingredients:
1 can Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 teas. Worcestershire Sauce
Swiss Cheese, slices
1/4 lb hamburger patties, I bought mine already shaped
1/2 teas. Accent Seasoning
1/2 teas. Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1/4 teas. Ground Black Pepper

Cooking Instructions:
Step 1 : Combine the soup, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce in a pan. Put on the stove and let simmer. Stir occasionally until heated through. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Step 2: Combine Accent seasoning, seasoned salt and pepper in a shaker or small bowl.
Step 3: Season your patties with the seasoning mixture and pan fry or grill until done.
Step 4: Place patty on a bun, top with Swiss cheese and the mushroom sauce. Enjoy!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Blackberry Pie

I love this time of year when Blackberries are ready to be harvested and made into yummy desserts and jams. I had some frozen blackberries left over from last years harvest and I decided to make this special weekend treat and use them up. I got my Blackberries from my Favorite Aunties Blackberry plants. She has the biggest, sweetest, juiciest blackberries I have ever laid eyes on! Blackberry pie is one of my favorite desserts and being able to use my Aunt's Blackberries make this dessert even better! This pie is to die for and is very easy to make especially since you can use pre made pie crusts if you are in a hurry or if you get frustrated with making homemade pie crusts like I do. You can also use Frozen Blackberries if you don't have any fresh berries on hand. This pie is definitely one to try the next time you have a hankering for something sweet! Serve this pie right out of the oven and top with Vanilla Bean Ice cream for a delectable dessert!

Blackberry Pie

Ingredients:
4 c. fresh blackberries
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 (9 inch) double pie crust, I like the Pillsbury brand
2 T. milk
1/4 c. white sugar

Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Press bottom part of crust into greased 9" pie plate. In a large bowl combine 3 1/2 c. of berries with 1/2 c. white sugar and 1/2 c. flour. Spoon the mixture into the pie crust. Spread remaining berries on top of the sweetened berries. Cover the pie with top crust and crimp edges to seal.Brush the top of crust with milk and dust with remaining sugar. With a knife or a fork, make small slits in the top of pie so the hot air can escape and cook the pie. Step 2: Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 20-25 minutes.

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza lover's will not be disappointed in this pizza recipe! I think it tastes just as good as something you would order in a Pizzeria, if not better! My family devoured this pizza, even my little kids loved it! This recipe is surely to be a hit at your home. I would recommend splurging and buying some really good BBQ sauce to make this pizza fabulous! The BBQ sauce is truly what makes the pizza oh so yummy! I would recommend Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. I found it at my local Wal-Mart, just near the other bbq sauces. This is also incredibly easy to make and you can have dinner on the table within 30 minutes! Great pizza and short cooking time- two great perks for a wonderful pizza night with the family! Enjoy!

BBQ Pizza Recipe

1 Store bought or Handmade pizza crust
Sauce:
1/2 c. BBQ sauce
3/4 teaspoon Honey
Toppings:
1 boneless chicken breast, grilled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small red onion, sliced
1/2 c. smoked gouda cheese
1/2 c. mozzerella cheese

Step 1: Grill Chicken breasts until fully cooked and cut into small strips. Set aside. In a bowl mix together honey and barbeque sauce. Set aside.

Step 2: Prepare pizza crust and press down and shape onto a pizza pan. Top dough with barbecue sauce and spread evenly over the crust. Top the sauce with a layer of Gouda and mozzarella cheeses. Then add sliced chicken and red onions on top of the cheeses.
Step 3: Bake in the oven at 485 degrees for 10 minutes or until crust is browned.

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Ashlee, The Culinary Queen