Crockpot Beef Stew

This recipe is easy. I mean REALLY easy.  Pretty much all you need to do is stick stuff in the crock pot, let it cook all day then come back and add some things at the very end of cooking. My Mom has made this recipe for years and it really is just that easy! It is the perfect warm meal for the upcoming cold winter nights.Every week Alex and I teach a Financial Peace University class and we have everyone over for dinner before the class. This is a recipe I’ve made for them and it received such great reviews I decided I needed to include it here on the blog.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:141]

Maple Pecan Pie

Alex needed a pie for a work event and I really wanted to make something he’d enjoy. He absolutely loves pecan pie so I decided this was the perfect thing for him to take to work. I actually forgot to take a photo of this pie before Alex took it to work, so the photo on this post is from Alex!I wanted to “spice up” a traditional pecan pie recipe. Since I’ve been so obsessed with the maple and pecan combination I decided this was a perfect way to make a regular pie a little more interesting. Everyone who tried this pie absolutely loved it. This is the perfect option for your holiday feast, your guests will be highly impressed.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:139]Source: Adapted from – Food Network Magazine, November 2015

Maple Toasted Pecan Crème Pie

I think at this point I can call myself an accomplished baker. I’ve posted over 200 recipes in the last year, and that’s only what I’ve made in the last year. However, this was one of the most difficult recipes I have ever made. The first time I made this recipe it turned into a pile of sticky goo so I had to make it a second time! I have no idea why since I followed the directions to the letter, but it just didn’t work the first time around. The second time it was fine but I still don’t know what I did differently.This was a SUPER yummy pie! I’m planning to revise the directions/ingredients in the future to make it more user friendly. However, if you’re feeling adventurous you might want to try this recipe. Make sure you have extra Maple syrup on hand in case you need to make this more than once.I used Trader Joe’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup for this recipe. It provides the finished product with a light, yet super maply flavor. It pairs perfectly with toasted pecans sprinkled throughout the pie and all over the top. The finishing touch is the fresh whipped cream, it is the perfect light compliment to the rest of the pie.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:138]Source: Adapted from – Food Network Magazine, November 2015

Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie

I don’t often make apple pie since it isn’t Alex’s favorite. But I decided since we were having guests over, and apples are in season, that I needed to try something new. This pie is the result! It is tart yet appley, and instead of a full crust on top you get a wonderful crumble!When I made this pie I used several different types of apples to give it a rounded taste. I used Granny Smith, Jonathan and JonaMac. I felt this combination would really bring a tart yet sweet taste when used together. I personally had frozen cranberries on hand, but fresh will work just as well.If you want more of a traditional apple pie flavor you can substitute apple pie spice for the spices called for in the recipe. Or you could add in additional cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. This will really compliment the apples in the pie and make this pie a little more traditional.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:137]

Butter Pecan Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I have been in love recently with the flavor combination of maple and pecan. These cupcakes do not disappoint. I am pretty much obsessed with butter pecan after making this recipe. I’m already trying to figure out where I can incorporate them again.These cupcakes were a huge hit! I made them to send into Alex’s office and these were the ones that received rave reviews. Alex also told me these were some his favorite cupcakes that I’ve made recently. I also gave several friends boxes with these cupcakes in them and they totally loved them!The blend of flavor in these cupcakes melds together perfectly. The cake itself is light, fluffy and has an amazing crumb. Personally I think if you’re going to have nuts in a cake you really need to commit and make it chock full of nuts.  If you like a less nutty cake I’d only add half the amount called for in the recipe. These will surely impress any who tries them![amd-yrecipe-recipe:136]

How To: Blind Bake a Pie Crust

With Thanksgiving fast approaching you may see pie recipes that call for “blind-baking” or “pre-baking” your pie crust. This is a very simple step that may be highly confusing to some cooks, especially if you don’t often bake pies.The first thing you need to realize is that blind-baking is VERY easy. You are simply prebaking the pie crust before you add the filling. This is most commonly called for when you have a cream filling or anything else that you don’t need to bake. Here are a few steps you can follow if you need to blind-bake your crust.First, you will want to use pie weights. This is key, in that if you don’t you will end up with a shrunken pie crust. If there is no filling inside the crust will slide down the sides while baking and you will end up with something that is unusable.If you don’t have pie weights on hand, you can simply use rice! I know, it’s a cool little hack that will save you a bunch of time searching for pie weights and money. You can reuse the rice over and over again since it never actually touches the pie. I keep mine in a ziplock bag after I use it and it has cooled. I just make sure to clearly label the bag so I don’t accidentally use this rice for cooking.You want to fill the pie crust as full as possible with rice. This will prevent any sliding of the crust what so ever. Make certain to put a piece of foil or baking parchment down first or else you will never get all the rice out of the crust.Bake your pie crust at the temp called for on the box or in the recipe. You typically will blind-bake a crust for 15 minutes with the pie weights, then remove the weights and bake for another 10 minutes. This will ensure your crust is crispy and cooked all the way through. Make certain it does not brown too much though as that can throw the taste of the finished pie off.Once you’ve cooled your crust you can add any type of filling you like to it. I hope this clears up some of the confusion you may have around holiday pie baking. (Keep an eye on the blog next week for this amazing Maple-Pecan Cream Pie recipe!)

Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Spiced Cider Cream Cheese Frosting

With the harvest season closing fast apples are seriously in season right now! I wanted to try making a cupcake full of fresh apples and topped with spiced cider. I wanted to really capture the taste of the current season and embrace everything that is fantastic about it.The frosting is my favorite part of these. It is sweet yet full of fantastic spiced cider taste. I’ve used Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider but any you might be able to find will work. I would highly suggest using locally sourced cider if you can find any close by. You can add a little bit of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg before adding the cider to the frosting. I used about 3 cups of powdered sugar for this and it was still slightly wet in my opinion. Make certain to check the consistency of the frosting occasionally until it reaches your optimal piping consistence.These are sure to be a huge hit at any harvest or fall party! They would even be ideal for a Thanksgiving dessert. You can easily double the recipe if you are planning to feed a large crowd.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:135]Source: Adapted from Food.com

Gluten Free – Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Scones

These were an adventure into the unknown.  I’ve never actually made scones before, either with regular flour or gluten free. We also had some friends coming over who avoid dairy so this was the perfect recipe to try!You can make a few substitutions to this recipe in order for it to be Paleo. I simply didn’t have everything on hand to make it that way. You will need to replace the baking powder with a Paleo baking powder, (1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar, ¼ Teaspoon Arrowroot Starch) the shortening with a non-hydrogenated shortening and the sugar with coconut palm sugar. The way I have it written below is simply gluten and dairy free.Everyone thoroughly enjoyed these scones. They are light, flaky and full of great flavor. I’ve used Enjoy Life Chocolate chips in this recipe in order to keep it free of allergens. If you’re not avoiding dairy you can feel free to use any type of mini chocolate chips you like. These are great for a breakfast treat, afternoon tea or simply entertaining guests.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:134]Source: Adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring – Nicole Hunn

Maple-Caramel Popcorn

Alex has been begging me to make another batch of my Caramel Popcorn and I finally had time to oblige. Since I try to never make the exact same thing twice, I decided to add maple syrup for a more complex finished flavor. And let me just tell you, this stuff is addicting! I actually doubled this batch since we were going to have company and they finished it off in a matter of hours.The maple and caramel flavors combine beautifully in this recipe. The finished product is an insanely delicious, fall flavored popcorn. I used Trader Joe’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup but you can use any maple syrup you have on hand, although I think a lighter maple syrup would lend a better flavor to this recipe.You can easily whip up a batch of this in under five minutes, the longest thing you have to do is bake the popcorn. This is a great recipe for a party or if you need something to impress your guests.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:133]

Ginger-Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

Cardamom is pretty much my new favorite spice. I haven’t baked with it much before this summer, but when I finally tried it, I absolutely love it! It really provides a warm spicy taste and pairs well with lots of other different flavors. These cookies capture fall flavor spectacularly. They are a must try this year!This is a quick and easy treat. When you’re in a time crunch this is a sure way to impress each and every one of your guests without trying very hard. The cardamom and ginger pair excellently together. The cardamom/sugar sprinkle on top lends a lovely extra pop of flavor to these cookies.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:132]

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats

I’ve never actually made rice krispie treats before this, I know right?! When I realized this I wondered how I could have gone so long without trying to make this iconic recipe. But I had a bag of pumpkin spice marshmallows in my pantry and I’ve been meaning to make this for a while.At first I thought these would be pretty terrible. But after trying them I was actually super surprised! They were pretty good. I got so many compliments on these, everyone was surprised with the flavor combination.These are a must try fall treat. They are super easy yet they will excite even the youngest of your guests. I’ve seen these bags of pumpkin spice marshmallows all over different stores, so now would be the time to try these. These are also fantastic if you need a quick treat since it will take about five minutes to make them, then you can leave them until ready to serve. Happy Baking![amd-yrecipe-recipe:131]

Gluten Free Black Bottom Cupcakes

The last time I was at my parent’s house I had a fantastic version of black bottom cupcakes. I decided that I finally had to figure out a gluten free version. I love the combination of chocolate cupcake and delicious cheesecake filling.You will notice in the photos that the filling is just sitting on top of the cupcakes. I didn’t mean to have such a light filling though! I changed the filling in the recipe below so it is heavier and will sink into the cupcake rather than just sit on the top. I prefer it when black bottom cupcakes have a filling inside rather than all over the top.These are a great idea if you need a quick and tasty treat. Since you don’t need to add any icing, that takes out a typical cupcake step. You can easily whip a batch of these up whenever you need a dessert to impress your guests.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:130]

Maple Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Toasted Pecans

Alex requested that I make cupcakes again for his office, and since I’ve been trying to make as many pumpkin treats as possible I decided on this recipe. I picked up a jar of Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup from Trader Joe’s and thought this would be the perfect place to try using it.I have to admit the frosting on this is incredible! It is one of my favorite frostings I’ve made so far. It is a wonderful blend of tart cream cheese and sweet maple syrup. The pecans add the perfect crunch to the top of it.These received rave reviews from Alex’s office. He even told me several people said they don’t normally like nuts but these were fantastic! If you’re looking for a great fall treat this is the perfect one for you.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:128]Source: Cake adapted from Kiss My Bundt – Chrysta Wilson

“Box Mix” Brownies

Sometimes you just need an easy dessert, most often I turn to box mixes to fulfil this need. However, I really hate using these since they just don’t taste like homemade. I wanted to fix this. I decided that I needed to create a homemade “box mix” brownies.These are SO easy to make! And when they’re finished they taste great! Everyone who ate them absolutely loved them. You can of course adapt them to whatever you like. The ones I made had semi-sweet chocolate chips in them. However, you can certainly add different chocolate chips or nuts if you prefer.The mix will stay good in the glass jar for several months. These would make excellent gifts come Christmas time, or they can be an easy dessert whenever you need it. You can make these in a large batch and simply put them in the jars (or a ziplock bag) for later.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:127]

Gluten Free Three Cheese Casserole

This is a recipe I make all the time. It is quick, easy and very yummy. The original recipe was something my Mother makes all the time and when I went gluten free this was one of the first recipes I switched over.I realized the other day though, that this was one I hadn’t yet included on the blog! I decided I needed to fix this immediately and post it right away. This is a great recipe for when you need a quick dinner, you can also prep it a few days before and simply bake when you are ready to eat.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:126]

Gluten Free Pumpkin, Cream Cheese and Chocolate MuffCakes

These aren’t exactly cupcakes and they aren’t exactly muffins. Hence the name, muffcakes! They however, are absolutely delicious! They are completely light, fluffy and the cream cheese/chocolate center pairs perfectly with the pumpkin spice outside.I sent these to work with Alex after keeping one at home for myself. I was quite sad though, after I’d eaten mine, and when Alex didn’t bring any extras home from work. These are treats I will make again and again. I’m even working on a chocolate (black bottom) version of these.You absolutely need to try these muffcakes. You will fall in love with them as soon as you make them. They are a great fall treat, and since they are gluten free anyone can enjoy them![amd-yrecipe-recipe:124]

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Buttercream

For the last few weeks I’ve been making pumpkin treats obsessively. If you’ve been reading the blog you’ll know this, and I certainly hope you’ve tried a few of these pumpkin treats. These are a simple pumpkin cupcake with spiced buttercream. They are excellent if you don’t want to commit a lot of time but need a great fall inspired dessert.These were the other cupcakes I took into my office. They quickly disappeared and everyone seemed to really enjoy them. I’ve topped these autumn colored with nonpareils. You can certainly top them the same way or leave them undecorated.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:125]Source: Cake adapted from Kiss My Bundt – Chrysta Wilson

Gluten Free Salted Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

When I saw these cookies on Annie-Eats I know I just HAD to try making these. However, I really wanted to be able to eat them so I decided to make them gluten free. They are of course absolutely incredible! If you don’t need to eat gluten free I suggest you head over to Annie’s blog and get her recipe for them (link is at the bottom of my post).These cookies are a great mixture of rolled oats, chocolate and salt. They have fantastic flavor that will really surprise you. The key to this recipe is to let the batter sit overnight in the fridge. I tried the dough both before I put it in the fridge and after it had sat overnight. The difference was in the blend of flavors. Before it sat overnight the dough was extremely salty, afterward the blend of flavors was perfect!I chose not to sprinkle coarse salt over the top of these cookies. I felt the cookies themselves were salty enough without it. I would highly suggest trying a cookie without the extra salt and seeing if you need it. Make sure you have a flaky sea salt, don’t use Kosher Salt, this will add WAY too much salt flavor. A nice fluer de sel would set it off nicely though.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:123]Source: Adapted from Annies-Eats

Chocolate Espresso Cinnamon Cupcakes

I went into the office a few weeks ago and I love taking cupcakes when I go in. I have several coworkers who absolutely LOVE coffee and I thought I’d make a coffee based cupcake for them to enjoy. Chocolate is a fantastic compliment to coffee and cinnamon really rounds out the trio.These cupcakes are super fluffy and full of fantastic coffee flavor. The frosting on top was described as “heavenly” by several of my coworkers. It is made with real coffee, espresso powder and cinnamon all in a buttercream base. I chose to sprinkle cinnamon over top to balance out the coffee flavor, however you can use whatever you like, cocoa powder, espresso powder or cinnamon.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:122]

Baked Honey Glazed Chicken

Do some days you just have dinner fails? Has this ever happened to you? Well this happened to me with this recipe. It was absolutely NO fault of the recipe, in fact what we were able to eat was delicious! Unfortunately I just forgot to set a timer and was working on other stuff and completely forgot about dinner in the oven. So sadly it burned, it actually charred quite a bit (as you can see from the photo).This recipe DOES NOT respond well to being left in the oven for over an hour. However, if you bake it for the listed time, you’re going to have a delicious chicken dinner. The glaze for this chicken is slightly spicy but it completely balanced out by the sweet. It would be wonderful served with rice, quinoa or pasta.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:121]Source: Adapted from Six Sisters Stuff