Fall Weather = Lots of Cooking!!

I Love cooking... well I am not a BIG cook in the summer, it makes the house to HOT. With the weather cooling down I find myself cooking a lot more. Today was one of those days after I got the house cleaned, laundry done and put away and ironing sunday clothes, I still a lot of the day left... What to do?? COOK!!! Here is what I have cooked today and I thought I would share some of the recipes with you. Crock-Pot beef stew, Pasta Salad, Pumpkin Roll, Corn Bread and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies.

My Beef Stew is pretty simple just put....

2-3 lbs. beef stew meat

3 carrots, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

3-4 potatoes, chopped

Large can of beef brooth

salt & pepper to taste.

Throw everything in the Crock-Pot and cook about 3-4 hours on high.

Pasta Salad is also a VERY simple recipe....

2 boxes of cork screw pasta (we like the colored ones), cooked & cooled

1 cucumber, sliced

1 can Lg. olives, cut into the three

cherry tomatoes (I cut them in half)

1 medium size Itailan Dressing (I like Wish Bone Brand)

Mix all together...

I make this almost every week, Steve, Shelby and I like it have it for lunch.

Pumpkin Roll...

( I like I got this recipe from my friend Kim Robinson)

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

6 tbsp. butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 15x10 baking sheet; line w/ wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel w/ powdered sugar.

Combine floyr, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixing bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 13-15 minutes. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on a wire rack.

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a small mixing bowl until smooth. Carefully unrool cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. re-roll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate @ least one hour. Sprinkle w/ powdered sugar before serving.

Corn Bread:

(I got this from http://www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/ )

1 cup cornmeal

3 cups flour

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2/3 cup oil

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup milk

 Preheat oven 350. Add dry ingredients, mix well and add oil, butter, eggs and milk. Stir until just mixed (batter will be runny) Bake in a 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 35 minutes.

Honey Butter:

2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Whip all together w/ electric mixer and serve @ room temperature. (can be refrigerated and softened)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanila

1 2/3 cups peanut butter chips

Heat oven to 350. Stir flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop round teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes (do not over bake. Cool on wire rack. Should make 4-5 dozen cookies.

I have been cooking a lot of goodies lately... My sister gave me this GREAT idea to cook a bunch of goodies on Sunday and that way the kids will have lunch and after school snacks for the whole week. I have been doing this for about a month and I am LOVING it. We are SAVING a lot of $$ by making instead of buying snacks. Okay well this is how I have spent my Saturday afternoon. I hope you ENJOY!!