Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

We’re well into Autumn, and with all the pumpkin pancakes, bread, cookies, and other recipes I’ve seen on the Internet, I decided it was time I got on board. I made pumpkin bars (it was really like a pumpkin cake) with cream cheese frosting. My oven isn’t great, since it doesn’t stay hot very well, so baking doesn’t always go as planned. But they turned out! I had lots of compliments from Hubby and friends.

 Ingredients:
  • 4 eggs
  • 1-2/3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt

I substituted vegetable oil for canola oil, since that’s all I had. I also used 3 teaspoons of baking powder total, since I was out of baking soda. It worked! I’m not sure how it changed the texture of the bars, since I’ve never made them before, but they were delicious.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, and oil together.

Mix the pumpkin, eggs, sugar, and oil together.

Add in the dry ingredients and mix together.

I used extra baking powder, since I was out of baking soda.

Pour the mixture in a greased baking pan and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Check to make sure the middle is set before removing. My oven takes longer to bake things, so it was over an hour before the bars were set!

After removing from the oven, let cool, then cover with frosting. I still haven’t bought a hand mixer, so I just used store-bought cream cheese frosting. I covered the pan with plastic wrap to serve later.

These bars tasted great fresh and even the next day!

They were very easy to make, and a big hit, so I’ll be making them again soon! You can view the original recipe here along with a cream cheese frosting recipe.

What’s your favorite pumpkin food to make?
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Italian Polenta Cheese Bake

Traditionally, polenta is Italian peasant food. It’s extremely inexpensive to make, since all you really need for basic polenta is water, cornmeal, a pot, and a heating source. I love polenta because it’s so versatile. You can bake, fry, or grill polenta in a variety of shapes with different complementary ingredients. It can also be served soft.

This polenta cheese bake is derived from several different recipes around the Web. For this recipe, you will need:

  • 6 cups of water
  • 1 3/4 cup of corn meal
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3 cups of shredded cheese
  • 3 cups of ground hamburger or Italian sausage
  • 1/2 jar of pasta sauce
Except for the water and cornmeal, all the measurements above are approximate, and you can add or delete as you like.

Preheat oven to 350. Bring water and salt to a boil in a large pot. Whisk in corn meal, a little at a time. It’s very important to not add it all at once, or it will get lumpy. Turn heat down to low.

Whisk in cornmeal, a little at a time

Let polenta cook until it thickens, about 15 minutes. Stir often to remove lumps. Once thickened, remove from heat. Add butter and cheese.

Remove from heat, add butter and cheese

Mix polenta with meat and spoon into baking dish. Since it’s just the two of us, I actually only used half the polenta and a smaller dish. The rest I’ll freeze as cakes for a meal at a later date (see instructions at bottom of this post).

Mix polenta with meat and spoon into baking dish

Pour pasta sauce over polenta and meat mixture.

Place pan in oven until sauce is bubbling (approximately 15 minutes).

Remove from oven, let cool, and serve!

Recipe adaptations:

  • Use milk or cream instead of water
  • Add caramelized onions
  • Add garlic
  • Add mushrooms
  • Add mixed veggies
  • Substitute ground chicken or turkey for beef
Polenta freezing instructions:
To save polenta as cakes for a later date, after removing polenta from heat, pour into a square baking dish. Let cool, then cover and place in fridge over night. Cut hardened polenta into square pieces. Place pieces into freezer-safe container and place in freezer.
 What are your favorite polenta dishes?
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Shepherd’s Pie (Slow Cooker Version)

If you’ve been following my cooking posts, you know that I try to break my Crock-Pot out at least twice a week. I’m always looking for new recipes for one-pot meals. It’s been years since I had Shepherd’s Pie, so I can’t say that this recipe is authentic, but I found it quite tasty and will be making it again.

The Shepherd’s Pie recipe takes a little more work than my usual slow-cooker meals, but wasn’t too bad at all. I’d say the most time-consuming part was peeling and mashing the potatoes.

I tweaked the recipe slightly, cause that’s what I do. 🙂 Seriously though, I do like to use what I have on hand.

My Ingredients:

  • 4 potatoes
  • 1/3 cup cream
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • salt & pepper (to taste)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 small bag frozen mixed vegetables

To begin, I pierced each potato several times with a fork before I popped them in the microwave. I turned the potatoes over after about 8 minutes and cooked them for 15 minutes total.

In the meantime, I chopped the onion up and sautéed them in olive oil in a frying pan on the stove top. After they became translucent, I added the garlic and let them cook for about 30 more seconds.

Onions for slow-cooker shepherd's pie on My Life: A Work in Progress

Next, I added the ground beef and chopped it up as it cooked and browned. When the meat is cooked through, stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, and about 1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper.

Mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch in a cup of water, then add to the pan. Keep stirring and let the mixture thicken a little. Then remove from heat.

Ground beef for slow-cooker shepherd's pie on My Life: A Work in Progress

In the meantime, my potatoes had cooled, so I peeled them and mashed them with the cream and butter. Next, I added salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon the meat/sauce mixture into the bottom of the slow cooker. Then layer the frozen veggies on top. The original recipe only called for 1 cup of frozen veggies, but this didn’t seem enough to me. If I’m making a one-pot meal, I want there to be plenty of veggies to make it healthier. I added an entire small bag.

Frozen veggies for slow-cooker Shepherd's Pie on My Life: A Work in Progress

Finally, layer the mashed potatoes on top.

Slow-cooker shepherd's pie on My Life: A Work in Progress

My Crock-Pot gets to a high temperature very quickly, so I set mine for about 2.5 hours on low.

The first time I made this, I followed the original recipe and set my Crock-Pot on low for three hours. When I turned the cooker off, the potatoes were getting crusty on the edges and sticking to the pot. Another way to solve this possibly would be to spray the inside of the cooker with Pam or another non-stick spray, before adding the food. (Or smearing butter…butter’s always tasty.)

The result:

Slow-cooker shepherd's pie on My Life: A Work in Progress

Slow-cooker shepherd's pie on My Life: A Work in Progress

It was simple and inexpensive! It could be made even healthier too, by using skim milk instead of cream and leaner ground beef. It was a hit with hubby, so I’ll be making this again. You can view the original recipe here.

What are your favorite Shepherd’s Pie recipes?
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