It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

So with  fall coming on and the leaves changing I've got Fall Fever. And I've got it BAD! I love the crisp mornings, and the air just smells different.  With Autumn in the air everyone starts getting ready to set in for the winter. Apples and pumpkins start showing up in abundance in the farmer's markets. And I can't wait for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all the BAKING.  I know it's kinda early, I usually don't start getting this antsy until the first week of October but this year I just couldn't wait!

So this morning while perusing all the pumpkin recipes on Pinterest I got a craving for a pumpkin donut. Not seeing one I decided to make my own recipe.  I can't take full credit for this one being as I used a recipe for a baked cake donut I found and just omitted, substituted and added new ingredients to come up with this one.

I got about 38 donuts outta this...
Donuts
 4 cups all-purpose flour
 1 1/2 cup sugar
 2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
4 large eggs,
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large can pumpkin pie mix
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Glaze
  1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chocolate chips
1 cup cream
1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar




For the Donuts whisk your dry ingredients together and then mix your wet ingredients together in seperate bowls.  Mix the two bowls together and then add the chocolate chips.  I spooned about 1/4 cup of batter into each of the holes in my donut pan. Spread the batter evenly around and then bake at 325 for about 12-14 minutes. When the tops are springy they are done.

While donuts were cooling I made my glaze. Simmer the cream or you can use half and half on the stove but be careful not to scald it.  Using a metal bowl I poured the cream over the remaining chocolate chips and let it sit for a minute or two. Then I whisked it still smooth, and started adding the powdered sugar a half cup at a time.  Be sure to whisk it until its smooth.  I made the mistake of thinking it was smooth and when I put it on my donuts figured out it wasn't. I still had little bits of powdered sugar running through my chocolate. Next time I'll use the kitchen aid with it's whisk attachment.

My kids were drooling over my shoulder and watching through the oven door. Every time the timer beeped Boo jumped up and down screaming the donuts are done! Can't tell he likes donuts can ya? Even now while they sit cooling he's standing guard over them! Hope this one works out for everyone the way it worked out for me!

Crunchy Mac and Cheese

Kids have funny a sense of taste. My three for example: Tato HATES spice. And I mean hates. She won't eat anything if it has black pepper on it, or if she thinks it does. Little does she know she actually eats it all the time! Boo on the other hand LOVES spicey things. He loves hot sauce on his eggs and hot and sour soup. Part of that is his SPD. He tends to be hyposensitive when it comes to food. But even before we noticed problems he was all for anything spicey... Just like his Mom! Brookers is just plain a grazer. She doesn't care what it is, if it's food she'll eat it!

So how do you please such a picky crowd? My answer is crunchy mac and cheese. My kids named this dish crunchy because of the cereal I put on top. The idea for this dish came one night when we ordered Pizza Hut. For some odd reason we decided to order their mac and cheese with bacon too. It tasted good. We liked it. Little did we know that there was something better in the works.

A couple weeks later I got to thinking that that mac and cheese was really good but I thought I could make it better. After several months of trial and error I came to this recipe.

• 1 stick + 3 TBSP (reserved) margarine melted
• 5 TBSP flour
• 6 c. milk
• 4 oz. velveeta melted
• 4 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 8 oz. mild or med. cheddar cheese cubed
• 1 c. grated colby jack cheese
• 1 lb bacon
• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 2 c. Honey bunches of oats cereal crushed
• 2 TBSP mustard
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Fry bacon till crisp and remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain grease.
3. Melt stick of butter in large pot then add flour and mix to form a roux. Let flour mixture cook for 1 minute then slowly add milk. Whisk together till smooth and mixture starts to thicken.
4. Then add melted velveeta and whisk till smooth. Next add your grated sharp cheddar a handful at a time. Allow the cheddar to melt in between handfuls so that it does not clump and melts smoothly.
5. Once sauce is thickened and cheese is melted add mustard, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Whisk together and set sauce aside.
6. Cook macaroni in boiling salted water for five minutes. It will finish it's cooking in the oven.
7. While macaroni is cooking crumble bacon. Add remaining reserved melted butter to crushed cereal and set aside.
8. When pasta is done drain thoroughly. Add cooked pasta, half of the bacon, and cubed cheese to the sauce mix well and pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle in order the remaining bacon, colby jack cheese, and cereal mixture over the top of mac and cheese.
9. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly throughout and golden brown.

Footnotes

• You can substitue any mixture of cheeses that you feel pair well. This dish also reheats very well in the microwave. I like to serve this as a main dish meal with a small salad and dinner rolls. Also works great with skim milk and whole wheat pasta for a healthier version. The kids just eat it up! Literally!