pumpkin dutch baby pancakes

Well, I guess it is technically a pancake, and not pancakes. Either way, this requires no stovetop and no griddle, just the oven. Gotta love lazy Sundays.

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe, so here you go...

Pumpkin Dutch Baby Pancakes
Serves 4 (I'm convinced it really only serves 2-3 because I always want seconds)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk (I've used whole and 1%, I don't think it makes a big difference)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (The first time I made this, I only had salted butter. It came out alright)
Powdered sugar (for the top!)

Directions:
Combine milk, flour, eggs, pumpkin, spices, and salt into a bowl and mix.

Spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Place butter in the pan, put in oven, and preheat to 450 degrees. When butter is hot and sizzling, remove from oven and pour batter into hot pan.

Put pan back into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and fluffy.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve with coffee (coffee + powdered sugar...an absolute must).

Obviously, as soon as I snapped this photo, I then dumped 4 more pounds of powdered sugar onto my pancake. Really, I made these so I would have and excuse to eat powdered sugar.

Also, I think it might be prettier if you double the ingredients and bake it in a 9x13 pan, but since I am basically just a 1 person household, I really don't need a 9x13 pancake for myself.

In other news, I am going to NYC next weekend. I've been informed that I haven't been in over 5 1/2 years. I've also been informed that I need to get out more. I'm looking for cheap, tasty things to eat while I am there. Any ideas?

10 miles + half marathon training: week 8

I ran my very first double digit training run today! 10 miles! Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a run. By the end, it was more like a crawl. Towards the end of my run, I had a 13+ minute split (you can see all my splits under the half marathon training plan tab). What I did was...I ran the Tufts 10K for Women and then ran the 3.8 miles home. I would not recommend running a race, taking a 1 hour break, and then running some more. During my run home, my legs got really sore...really fast (hence the crawl).

Long sleeve tech tees! My favorite. This was a great race. First of all, it's FLAT. Second, it goes through Boston and along Memorial Drive in Cambridge. I love Boston races and I love racing on my normal running routes. One gripe: While waiting at the start, every 10 seconds the announcer would yell out "AM I GOING TO SEE YOU AT THE FINISH." Yes lady, if all goes as planned, you will be seeing me at the finish. That's the goal here.

This past weekend, I also made some pumpkins muffins!

I am trying to use up the things in my pantry so I made these with Trader Joes Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix.

But I have a GREAT pumpkin muffin recipe that can be found here. It's better than the Trader Joes mix and takes about the same amount of time to prepare. Also, please note at how much better my photos are looking! I got the iPhone 5 and the camera is amazing! So much better than the one on my iPhone 3.

Let's see if I'll stick to this week's training plan. I didn't do such a great job last week...

Half Marathon Training Plan: Week 8 (Oct 8-15)
Monday: 10 mile run (Tufts 10K for Women + 3.8 mile run)
Tuesday: rest day!
Wednesday: 20 min cross train or easy run
Thursday: 60 min run
Friday: rest day!
Saturday: 25 min run or cross train
Sunday: 2 hour easy run (I'm going 10.5-11 miles!)

easy pumpkin muffins

Confession: like many people, I love muffin tops! (or muffies as they call them at Panera Bread). I plan on getting a muffin top tray very, very soon. Until then, regular muffins will have to do. These pumpkin muffins are super easy to make (and not as super sweet as the Trader Joes packaged pumpkin mix). Definitely worth it to make them from scratch! Trust me on this one.

(I can't remember where I got this recipe from...sorry)

Pumpkin Muffins
Makes 12 muffins...and probably even more muffin tops!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (Another confession: I always use twice as much pumpkin pie spice as I am supposed to. So when I made these, I probably used at least 2 teaspoons. You can also do so at your own risk)
1 1/4 cups + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (Again, I definitely probably used at least 2 teaspoons of cinnamon because I love it!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt until smooth. Then whisk in flour until just combined (be careful not to whisk too much).

In another bowl, stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Divide batter into muffin cups, then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture (Confession #3: I may have sprinkled even more pumpkin pie spice here).

Bake until puffed and golden brown. A wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean - about 25 to 30 minutes.

Let cool and then eat.

Final confession: I stock up on canned pumpkin when its on sale in the fall and winter so I can eat these year round (including over the summer when I first made them).

first post + pumpkin mac and cheese

Hello Everyone,
Seeing as this is my first blog post, I am probably supposed to say something profound or what this blog is all about, but I am not really sure at this point (and I need to finish packing). So I will leave that and other introductions for later.

Here's what I do have: a SUPER delicious recipe for pumpkin mac and cheese.

Ingredients:
1/2 a box of pasta (I think it's 8 ounces)
1 pound brussel sprouts
6 (or more!) strips of bacon
1 apple
1 onion
1 can of pumpkin puree (16 ounces?)
1/3 cup of half and half (or milk)
3/4 cup of your favorite melty cheese. fontina? gruyere? whatever works.

Directions:
Drizzle brussel sprouts with oil and roast at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Boil water and cook the pasta.

In a frying pan (or a wok!), cook bacon until crispy, remove bacon from pan and chop into small pieces.

Pour off most of the bacon fat. Then saute diced apples and diced onions for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin puree, half and half, and half a cup of cheese. After a minute, add brussel sprouts, bacon, and pasta. Stir together.

Pour everything into a baking dish and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 10 minutes at 425.

Then eat it!