Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Pancakes

 

  What do you do when you want pancakes, cinnamon rolls and something with pumpkin for breakfast? Well this morning I was leaning towards pancakes because I knew I could add the pumpkin to those and then I thought why not add a cinnamon swirl.......so I did and they were absolutely divine!

Swirl:

1 freezer quality zip lock bag

1/2 stick butter melted

1/2 C brown sugar

1 T cinnamon

 Mix these things together then set in the fridge so the butter starts to harden again while you work on the pancake batter.

3/4 cup of pumpkin puree 

1 1/2 cups of Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake mix

3/4 C Milk (add a little more if too thick)

1 T pumpkin pie spice

Mix these things together in a bowl and get your griddle all hot and ready. I put a small pat of butter down and let it melt then pour on  a little pancake batter. Grab your ziplock of goodness ( the cinnamon and butter filled bag you put in the fridge) and snip the corner just a bit. now you are going to use it like a pastry bag and squeeze the goodness out that little corner. Then start in the center of the pancake and make a swirl pattern on the pancake with the cinnamon goodness. when pancake bubbles at the edge you are ready to flip it! flip it over and let it the sugar and butter melt into that pancake! when it has browned just a tad pull if off and you really don't even have to butter these babies! However I do recommend that you make the cream cheese Topping below and drizzle it on top!

Cream Cheese Topping:

3oz Cream cheese

1/4 C powder sugar

2 T Milk

soften cream cheese and blend with sugar the slowly add milk to the consistency you would like!

Pumpkin Spiced French Toast

Well September rolled in and everything in my life gears up for Fall. I cant help but just love everything about it! I also begin to cook a lot of things with pumpkin and what better way to kick off September than to make some French toast?!
here is what you'll need:

6-8 slices of bread ( i toast them, I like them dried out so they soak up the batter better. I also use a good nutty grainy bread. I like Arnold's)
1/2 can of pumpkin
1/4 cup of half and half
4 to 5  eggs ( i have fresh yard eggs and they are kinda small so i used 5)
1/4 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
1tsp of vanilla
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 T of honey
5 T butter
Powdered sugar or whipped fresh cream, or syrup for topping!

whisk everything from the pumpkin to the honey together! Heat a griddle pan up nice and hot! place a dab of butter in the pan and let it swirl around. dip a piece of toasted bread into your batter and place in hot pan. let cook 3 min or so ( depends on how hot you got that pan) and then flip. I like mine to get just golden on each side then remove from heat and top how ever you desire!! I am a fan of alternating all three toppings. sometimes you want maple syrup.....sometimes you want some powdered sugar (this makes me think New Orleans and beignets) sometimes you want to whip up a think fresh cream and put in a touch of sugar and cinnamon and really just go to heaven!
I sure hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!!!!

Creamy Chicken Marsala

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Needed a twist on Chicken Marsala. I love the stuff dearly but just wanted to play with it a bit. So here is what I did.

Boil a whole bag of Rigatoni in salted water drain but save about a cup of the pasta water.

3 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces

1 onion chopped

1 pacage of chopped mini portabella mushrooms

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup of marsala cooking wine

3/4 cup of heavy cream

1 cup of parmesan cheese

1 cup of mozzarella cheese

1 stick of butter

salt and pepper

Minced fresh parsley

salt and pepper your chicken and melt 2 tbs of butter in large pan. cook chicken till browned and remove from skillet and set aside.

throw in 1 more tbs of butter and add the onions, mushrooms and garlic. cook about 5 minutes and then add your Marsala wine. cook an additional 3 minutes. add your chicken back to the pan and let soak in some of that goodness. add your cream into the pan and a little pasta water and stir. Add half of your parmesan cheese and stir again.  

Place hot pasta and rest of butter into a large pot and stir it a little then pour in the contents of your pan that contained the chicken and sauce. add the rest of your cheeses and stir well. if pasta looks to dry add a little more pasta water. sprinkle with pepper (taste it before you add more salt) and sprinkle a little parsley over the top! enjoy!!!