What’s for supper

I am not much of a cook but every once in awhile I will find a recipe that I enjoy making for my family. I do love to bake so my meals are always followed by something yummy. It “encourages” the boys to at least try the meal when they know that a nice homemade cupcake is waiting for them afterwards. Since we had a little taste of fall last week I was inspired to cook a meal worthy of autumn weather so I went out and bought organic pumpkin puree for homemade pumpkin cupcakes and  the fixings for White Chili. My house is still filled with the scents of ginger, cinnamon and allspice.
Here’s the recipe for the White Chili from my Betty Crocker cookbook. This recipe is awesome and is great with a dollop of sour cream on top. I go easy with the basil since it’s such a strong flavored spice. I start out using only 1 teaspoon and add a sprinkle if needed. I used the full amount my first time making this and it overpowered the flavor.

• PREP TIME20 Min
• TOTAL TIME1 Hr. 30 Min

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

4 cups 1/2-inch cubes cooked chicken or turkey

3 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz. carton)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon dried basil leaves

2 teaspoons ground red chilies or Chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cans (15 to 16 oz. each) great northern beans, undrained

1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)

Blue or yellow corn tortilla chips

• 1 Melt butter in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic in butter, stirring occasionally until onion is tender.
• 2 Stir in remaining ingredients except tomato and tortilla chips. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve with tomato and tortilla chips.

Here’s the recipe for the Pumpkin cupcakes which I found on MarthaStewart.com They were awesome as well. The only thing I would change is adding less butter next time. I am not sure how that would change the recipe but the cupcake liners were very greasy once the cupcakes were baked and cooling. The cupcake itself was not greasy so I am not sure I would cut out that much or maybe just add a tablespoon more of flour. I’ll test this out next time. This time I doubled the liners so in this photo you can’t see how much absorbed into the first liner. Anyhow the recipe says it yields 18 cupcakes but I ended up with 24 nice size cupcakes. More to enjoy!  I frosted them with a cream cheese frosting and topped them off with grated chocolate toffee bar. To.die.for!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.