Happy Halloween, dear readers! I hope you all had a day filled with magic, mystery, and (of course) delicious food. Here is a festive fall recipe to celebrate the day.

I have adapted Paula Deen’s pumpkin bars so that they are more flavorful, and more munchable. Her recipe gives us a great start, with an unbelievably moist and tender pumpkin cake topped with fluffy cream cheese frosting. But extra spice and a thinner cake make for a more finger-friendly (and finger-lickin’ GOOD) pumpkin bar. And the toasted pecan topping really takes this tasty dessert over the top…

Pumpkin Bars
adapted from Paula Deen’s recipe

For the bars:
1 cup oil
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9×13 inch pans with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a medium electric mixer bowl, beat the sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate. Add the pumpkin and the vanilla, mixing until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture, mixing on low speed until smooth and creamy. Split the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth with a spatula. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together. Next, add the powdered sugar (be sure to sift it if it is lumpy). Add the vanilla, and beat the frosting until it is smooth and creamy.

Frost the cakes and slice into bars. Sprinkle with pecans, if desired. Yield 32 to 40 bars. Enjoy!!

If you ask me, fall is the perfect time for an easy. flavorful, crock-pot soup. We all seem to be so busy at this time of year, and everyone would rather be outside enjoying the crisp weather and beautiful fall colors than slaving over a complicated dinner recipe. So throw this easy chicken salsa soup in the crock pot and get outside and enjoy the day!!

To make this recipe even easier, you can add the onion and garlic to the crock pot raw, and use pre-cooked chicken cut into bite-sized pieces. The salsa in this soup is a great shortcut, delivering tons of flavor with minimal work! Use spicy salsa for a zestier soup. I always like to use low-sodium broth in my soups so that I can control the level of salt in the final product. I would recommend serving this soup with a nice cornbread or a handful of tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Chicken Salsa Soup

From AllRecipes.com

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 jar of your favorite salsa
1 package of frozen corn
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce, to taste
Sour cream, avocado, and/or cilantro for garnish

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the onion. Cook over medium heat until translucent and beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Empty the skillet into your crock pot, and add the chicken pieces. Brown the chicken over medium-high heat and add to the crock pot. Add the salsa, corn, beans,  chicken broth, and cumin. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-4 hours. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Serve with your choice of garnish.

When I was younger, there were nights when dad was in charge of feeding us kids. Now, truth be told, my dad is an amazing cook. But on a busy weeknight, he was known to feed us one of our quick and easy favorites: Beanie Weenie. A delicious mixture of hearty baked beans and juicy hot dogs, this easy dinner is sure to please kids and dads alike. Everyone knows you can combine a can of pork-and-beans with a package of hot dogs to make this fast and tasty dish. But I’ve designed a “souped-up” version of this weeknight favorite that piles on a few extra layers of flavor.

Homemade Beanie Weenie

1 12-ounce beer or cider
4 large kosher beef hot dogs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cans of your favorite baked beans or pork-and-beans
4 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons honey
A few shakes of Worcestershire sauce

In a deep skillet, pour the beer over the hot dogs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pot, saute the onions in the olive oil until they are translucent and beginning to brown. Stir in the beans, ketchup, honey, and Worcestershire and simmer over medium heat. Drain the hot dogs and slice them into bite-sized pieces. Fold into the bean mixture and serve warm with cornbread on the side.

Buttermilk Pie has been a favorite in our family for many years. There is something about the simplicity of the recipe that surprises me every time, because the end product is so amazingly delicious. It feels like cheating it’s so easy to make! The pie itself has no crust but holds is own with a deliciously rich and fluffy custard. As wonderful as it is plain, it’s even better topped with fresh berries and a dollop of whipped cream….

Buttermilk Pie
from Paula Dean

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9-inch pie plate

Measure all ingredients into a medium bowl and beat for 1 minute until smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream and fresh fruit. How easy is that?!?

Happy New Year, dear readers!! Best wishes for a wonderful 2011 to you all!!

My mom has been making this recipe since the 1970s when, she says, it was “all the rage.” We have tweaked the original to suit our family’s tastes. It is a delicious and festive appetizer that we often serve during the holidays. My whole family gets excited and hovers around the famous cheese ring. I believe that the combination of cheese, jam, and nuts on a cracker is a Southern thing – if you haven’t tried it, it will change your life!!

Cheddar Cheese Ring
based on Rosalynn Carter’s Cheddar Cheese Ring

1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
Strawberry jam
Crackers

Toss together the shredded cheese, pecans, onion, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the mayo gradually, using only enough so that the mixture comes together in a mold-able dough-like ball. Use your hands to shape the cheese mixture into a ring on your serving platter. The ring should be about 6″ from edge to edge. You can cover and refrigerate the ring at this stage for up to 48 hours.

Fill the center of the ring with the strawberry jam. Serve with crackers. For those who aren’t familiar with this setup, you smear some cheese on the cracker and then top with a dab of jam. Enjoy!!

There is nothing like a day of baking cookies to get you into the Christmas spirit. I went on a cookie-baking rampage the other evening while listening to Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole sing my favorite Christmas carols on the stereo… Here is a “new” vintage cookie recipe that my family already loves that I am happy to share with you on this Christmas Eve Day.

These cookies truly do melt in the mouth!! They are delicious golden discs of heaven…. Their texture is soft and chewy, and they are sweet and buttery on the tongue. I used some very finely chopped pecans in mine, and each cookie is like a divine bite of pecan pie melting in your mouth! A hit of cinnamon or nutmeg would not hurt if you are craving a bit of spice…

Melt-in-the-Mouth Cookies
from Woman’s Day Collector’s Cook Book from 1960

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nuts, finely chopped (I used pecans)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the brown sugar, vanilla, and egg, and beat until the mixture turns a light brown color. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and nuts, and beat until combined.

Keep batter chilled while working with it. Drop by scant teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet, about 1 1/2″ apart.

Bake for 4-5 minutes. Cool for about 30 seconds on the sheet before removing to a cooling rack. Cool completely and store in an air-tight container. Enjoy!

Most people think of corned beef when they hear the word “hash” – this is not a corned beef hash recipe. This is a plain ol’ delicious ground beef hash recipe.

This incredibly simple dish is great for a quick and delicious weeknight dinner. It’s one of those dishes that has that magical ability to transform into something much more than the mere sum of its parts. With three main ingredients, this dish goes beyond the juicy ground beef, tangy-sweet onions, and crispy potatoes.

Hash was a staple in our household as I was growing up, and it was a staple of my mom’s childhood as well. In my opinion, it is imperative that you top your hash with a healthy dollop of ketchup. That said, this is a pretty versatile dish – you could add your own creative toppings or ingredients to suit it to your family’s tastes.

Hash

1/2 lb. potatoes (any kind will do)
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 onion, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Place your potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for about 10-20 minutes, until barely fork-tender. Cut the potatoes into 1″ wedges.

There are any number of ways you can make this dish come together. I like to brown the potatoes on all sides first in a lightly greased frying pan over medium heat. Remove them from the pan and set them aside.

Then cook the ground beef with the onions and drain out any extra fat. Then I add the browned potatoes back in and season to taste with salt and pepper. You could just as easily cook the onions with the potatoes and then the beef – or all three at the same time in one big frying pan. There is no wrong way to cook this dish.

PS: Today is VV’s second blogiversary – woo hoo! Thanks for reading and being a part of this project with me!

Dear readers, I was eating some beautiful strawberries the other day. They were sliced into beautiful heart-shaped pieces, and it made me think of my oldest friend, who is awaiting a heart transplant. She and I grew up next door to one another, romping and playing together since we were in diapers. She is just barely 29 years old, and is in need of a new heart. Her life depends on the generosity of some yet-to-be determined individual who decided to become an organ donor.

When we were growing up, our moms would take us to this wonderful breakfast place in Atlanta called the Original House of Pancakes. Our moms’ favorite item on the menu was the famous strawberry waffle. Up until recently when my friend’s mom moved away to be with her as she awaits her transplant, our moms  were still in the pattern of meeting every Thursday morning to eat a strawberry waffle at the OHOP and to share news of our families.

This morning, my husband and I had strawberry waffles for breakfast at home, and I thought of my dear friend, waiting for her new heart.

Have a heart? Then I hope you will consider becoming an organ donor today. The lives of my friend and many others depend on our caring and generosity today.

Click on the heart to learn more about organ donation.

Strawberry Waffles for Two

1 cup strawberries, sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
2 waffles, made from your favorite recipe or a mix
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Whipped cream

In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and the sugar. Toss gently to combine

Make your waffles so that they will be nice and warm when served.

Sprinkle the waffles with the powdered sugar. Top with a dollop of whipped cream. Spoon over the strawberries and any juice. Serve immediately.

Happy (belated) Fourth of July, dear readers! Among the many American traditions that go along with Independence Day, one of the greatest is EATING! This dish is based on a recipe from one of my favorite old fashioned American cooks: Nathalie Dupree. She calls this deliciously fresh dessert “Liberty Cobbler” for its red, white, and blue hues. It is essentially a strawberry cobbler with a blueberry sauce. The flavors are every bit as colorful as these pictures portray: a terrific combination of crispy cobbler, sweet-tart berries, and cool and creamy topping.

My dad even said that this was the best cobbler he had ever eaten. It’s definitely a winner!

PS: I need to add a special thank you to my father-in-law for picking the blueberries I used in this recipe from his blueberry patch!

Liberty Cobbler
Adapted from Natalie Dupree’s recipe in New Southern Cooking (1986)

Cobbler:
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 scant cup milk

Blueberry Sauce:
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar with the sliced strawberries. Toss gently and set aside.

Put the butter in a 9×13 inch baking dish and place in oven to melt. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a whisk, stir in the milk and the remaining cup of sugar to make a smooth batter.

When the butter has melted, remove the dish from the oven. Pour the batter into the melted butter. Spoon the strawberries and any juice evenly over the batter.

Return to the oven and bake about 30 minutes. You will know the cobbler is done when the batter has risen up around the berries and turned golden brown.

To make the sauce, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat so that the mixture boils. Meanwhile, coarsely puree 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries in a food processor. Add the puree to the sugar syrup along with the lemon juice. Bring the mixture back to a boil, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add all but a few of the remaining whole blueberries to the mixture. (The rest will be for garnish.) Cook for about 1 more minute, until the whole berries begin to soften.

Serve the sauce warm over the cobbler topped with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

When it comes to pumpkin pie, I’m a pretty traditional girl.  If I’m not making my recipe using fresh pumpkin, then I tend to rely on the trusty recipe on the back of every can of Libby’s Pumpkin.  It’s reliable, easy, and delicious.  From time to time, I’ll amp up the spices in this recipe to make a deliciously zesty pie with an extra special zing!

Spicy Pumpkin Pie

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
1 12-ounce can of evaporated milk (NOT condensed)
Whipped cream for garnish

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a deep pie dish with the pastry shell, crimping the edges, if desired.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and eggs until frothy.  Add the pumpkin and stir to combine.  Gradually add the evaporoated milk, whisking until smooth.

Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared pie shell.  I like to use foil to cover the exposed edges of the pie crust so that they don’t burn.

Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then turn your oven down to 350 and continue to bake for 40-50 minutes.  You can test to see when the pie is set by inserting a knife into the center of the filling.  If it comes out clean, then  your pie is done!

Serve warm or chilled, topped with whipped cream.  Enjoy!