Favorite Fall Pumpkin Recipes

Fall is my favorite season.  I love the cooler weather and all of the beautiful colors here in Pennsylvania. I had a great time taking the boys to Merrymead Farm to the Fall Harvest Days and I got some cute pictures.  The adorable little pumpkin hats are hand made and were purchased from an etsy seller (since everyone asks!)

I also love pumpkin spice lattes, cider doughnuts, ginger snaps, and all of the other yummy fall eats.  I had a ton of pumpkin to use up, so I tested several new recipes this month.  The pumpkin chocolate chip muffins did not make the cut, but the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin spice cake were pretty delicious!  The pumpkin spice cake is especially good topped with some pumpkin icecream.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 365 degrees F. 

2.  Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg.  In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve baking soda with milk and stir into wet ingredients.  Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix well.

3.  Add vanilla and chocolate chips.

4.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet* and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown and firm. *I flattened the cookies first a little bit before baking.  These are a cake-like cookie (not crispy) and they do not flatten much at all during cooking.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin
1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, mix well.  Combine dry ingredients.  Stir into creamed mixture just until moistened.  Stir into creamed mixture just until moistened.  Stir in pumpkin and vanilla extract.

3.  Pour into a greased bundt or tube pan and bake for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes, or until it tests done.

I just made a really simple confectioners sugar glaze for my cake.  There are other glaze recipes that use butter, which are very good, but I just made this simple glaze.

Powdered Sugar Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar (preferably sifted)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. milk


1.  Mix together all the ingredients with a fork or whisk.
2.  Pour over cake.

Note:  I usually don't sift the powdered sugar for the glaze unless it is for something special.  My glaze does sometimes have some little lumps, but it still tastes the same. =)

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

As my former customers know, I didn't really do too many traditional casseroles at The Secret Chef.  This one caught my eye though, because it was just SO easy.  I had to try it!  It came out pretty decent.  I loved that the rice did not have to be cooked before assembling the casserole.  I was super lazy thrifty and used leftover rotisserie chicken.  I served it with steamed broccoli and baked sweet potatoes to make the dinner a little healthier.  This would be a good recipe to double and freeze one (unbaked) for later.  I tested it and it froze just fine!

Note to self:  Get some prettier casserole dishes if I am going to be making and photographing casseroles very often--  the photos came out very "blah". 

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
(serves 4)

3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 (6 oz) box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice Mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
approximately 2/3 can milk

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  Mix all ingredients together and pour into 2-quart casserole dish (sprayed with non-stick spray).
3.  Cover and bake 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

I'm Back!!! (with Sante Fe Chicken Burritos)

Hello Everyone!  It has been a busy four months with these little munchkins, but things are finally settling into a bit of a routine.  I am starting to have (a little) time to cook again so my plan is to update this blog with super easy meals, that even a mom of four month old twins can make!  I would also love to hear from any of you who have some quick, healthy meals you like to cook.  If I make and post your recipe, I will give the credit to you/your blog, of course!

The first meal I tested was Santa Fe Chicken Burritos.  The filling cooks in the crock pot. They were so easy and tasted yummy.  I will definitely make them again in the future. 

Santa Fe Chicken Burritos

1 can Black Beans, drained
1 can Corn, drained
1 cup Salsa, divided
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
8 oz. block cream cheese (you can use lite cream cheese, if desired)
fresh cilantro, optional
1 package Whole Wheat Tortillas


1.  Add the black beans, corn, and 1/2 cup salsa to the crock pot and stir. 

2.  Add the chicken breast and the remaining salsa.  Cook on high 3 hours.

3.  Add the cream cheese and cook 1 hour more.

4.  Shred the chicken using two forks, then spoon the mixture onto the flour tortillas and roll up into burritos. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.

I think the flavor of this dish depends heavily on the flavor of the salsa you use.  You can increase the flavor by adding some onion, chili powder, cumin, ceyenne pepper, etc.

The Twins are Here!!

Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to announce that Benjamin Reid and William Henry arrived on Wednesday, March 17th.  Benjamin was 3lbs. 4oz, 15 in. long, and William was 4lbs. 11oz, 18 in. long.  They were 6 weeks early, so they are still in the NICU learning how to eat and grow.  They are doing great and hopefully will be home soon!  I had a bit of a rough recovery, but am doing much better now.  I can't believe the boys are already 2 weeks old!  [Sorry the pictures are so small...  blogger made some changes and I need to figure out how to make them bigger. I will try again tomorrow!]

Savory Secrets Second Printing Update

Hello Everyone!  I finally have everything set with the printer for the second run of Savory Secrets cookbooks.  The books should be ready next week (about March 2nd).  If you would like to purchase a cookbook, they are $15.99 each, plus tax and shipping.  If you order 3 or more books, they are $14.99 each, plus tax and shipping.

Please pay for your book(s) via pay pal or by mailing a check (use chart below to calculate cost). Once your payment is received we will mail your book(s) out via media mail. If you need your order sent priority mail, please email me back for pricing.

To pay by pay pal: go to www.paypal.com and there is an option to send money to an email address. Fill out your info and send your payment to savorysecrets@yahoo.com

To pay by personal check: Please make check out to: "Gretchen Albanese" and email me at savorysecrets@yahoo.com for my mailing address.


Pricing Chart:

1 book ($15.99ea) = $15.99 + (0.96 tx)= $16.95 + 2.38 shipping = $19.33 (total for ONE book)

2 books ($15.99ea) = $31.98 + (1.92 tx)= $33.90 + 2.77 shipping = $36.67 (total for TWO books)

3 books ($14.99ea) = $44.97 + (2.70 tx)= $47.67 + 3.16 shipping = $50.83 (total for THREE books)

4 books ($14.99ea) = $59.96 + (3.60 tx)= $63.56 + 3.55 shipping = $67.11 (total for FOUR books)

5 books ($14.99ea) = $74.95 + (4.50 tx)= $79.45 + 3.94 shipping = $83.39 (total for FIVE books)

6 books ($14.99ea) = $89.94 + (5.40 tx)= $94.27 + 4.33 shipping = $98.60 (total for SIX books)

7 books ($14.99ea) = $104.93 + (6.30 tx)= $111.23 + 4.72 shipping = $115.95 (total for SEVEN books)

8 books ($14.99ea) = $119.92 + (7.20 tx)= $127.12 + 5.11 shipping = $132.23 (total for EIGHT books)

Please email me for pricing on orders of more than 8 books.


And in case anyone wants an update on the twins =) ... it looks like I will be delivering early, probably in the next week or two! Of course, I am really trying to get these books out before then! My family will be helping (again!) to make sure the books are packaged and sent out, if Mike and I are unable to do it ourselves. Thank you everyone for asking about me. I will update on the blog once the babies are here.

Gretchen

Happy Holidays!

Hello Everyone! Many of you have already heard that I was put on strict bed rest last week. That means no more cooking for me for the next three months. It's a good thing I made this recipe and took photos a few weeks ago in anticipation of doing a holiday post!

If any of you are still looking for a good recipe to make for Christmas or New Years, this ham recipe is delicious and it is so unbelievably easy to make!

Maple Cranberry Glazed Spiral Cut Ham

2 cups whole berry cranberry sauce
½ cup real maple syrup
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 spiral cut ham (We typically used Leidy’s® fully cooked, bone-in, spiral cut hams at The Secret Chef- they were actually half of a ham- and they weighed approx. 6-8lbs. each. I have also had good results with Costco and Smithfield hams.)

Note: This meal should serve at least 8-10 people, depending on the size of your ham.

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Place ham in a heavy baking dish or roasting pan. Cover ham with foil and bake until almost heated through, approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours (cooking time will depend on the size of ham that you are using). If you are using a pre-cooked ham, you just need to heat it up, be careful not to over-bake it.

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, mix together the cranberry sauce, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the glaze is melted and thickened slightly.

3. Uncover the ham, and baste with the maple cranberry
glaze. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 20-30 min,
basting several more times with the glaze.

If you are making this dish ahead to freeze: Mix the
maple cranberry glaze ingredients in a small freezer
bag instead of cooking it. You can freeze the glaze and
ham for up to 3 months. Thaw thoroughly in the
refrigerator (it will probably take several days for the
ham to thaw completely). Continue at step 1 to bake.

Enjoy! And Happy Holidays!

Cook Book is Done!!

I have great news: The cook book is finally done, just in time for the Holidays! It is called "Savory Secrets: Favorite Recipes from The Secret Chef". It is 176 spiral bound pages, color cover and 5 color photos inside. The cost is $15.99 per book ($16.95 including sales tax). If you purchase 3 or more books, the cost is $14.99 per book ($15.89 including sales tax).

Your first opportunity to purchase the cook book will be at the Central Bucks Family YMCA Holiday Craft Fair, Dec. 4 and 5th. The holiday fair is open to the public and admission is free. Santa will be making a visit by fire truck Friday night. We are offering to free gift wrap for any cook books purchased at the YMCA holiday fair!

The Holiday Fair hours are:
Friday, December 4th: 9am - 8pm
Saturday, December 5th: 9am - 2pm

The address of the Central Bucks Family YMCA is:
2500 Lower State Road
Doylestown, PA 18901

If you are unable to make the fair or live out of the area, you can order your cook book by mail. If I receive your order, with payment, by Monday, December 8, 2009, SHIPPING/DELIVERY IS FREE (anywhere in the continental US)! For orders received after December 8th, please include $4.50 for shipping and handling. Orders must be received by Friday, December 18th for Christmas delivery. The $4.50 shipping and handling fee covers shipment of up to 4 books. For orders greater than 4 books, please email me at: savorysecrets@yahoo.com to discuss shipment options and cost.

You can pay with a credit card via paypal. My paypal account is under savorysecrets@yahoo.com. Please send me an email for my mailing address if you would like to pay by check.

Please include the following with your order (I am not sure if you can note this in paypal, if not, just send me an email at savorysecrets@yahoo.com with the shipping info, etc.):
1. # of books you are purchasing
2. Shipping address
3. Your email address
4. Your telephone number
5. Your payment
THANK YOU

1 book ($15.99ea) = $15.99 (0.96 tx)= $16.95
2 books ($15.99ea) = $31.98 (1.92 tx)= $33.90
3 books ($14.99ea) = $44.97 (2.70 tx)= $47.67
4 books ($14.99ea) = $59.96 (3.60 tx)= $63.56
5 books ($14.99ea) = $74.95 (4.50 tx)= $79.45
6 books ($14.99ea) = $89.94 (4.50 tx)= $95.34
and so on...


THANK YOU! AND HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!