Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

The Perfect Taste for Fall

The Good:  I made these for my co-workers when I worked at the hospital and they were gone quickly.

The Bad: Fall only comes once a year!

The Ugly:  Crystallized ginger is extremely expensive unless you find the right store.

Suggestions before starting:
I like to "seal" cakes and cupcakes with a thin layer of icing while it is still warm to keep in the moisture.  As you can see in the picture, I was a little impatient when I went back to finish icing them so the icing became a bit runny and not so pretty.

If you don't already have ginger, cinnamon or ground cloves and are wondering if this recipe would be worth buying those spices, check out our Chai Tea recipe.  All three of this spices are in both recipes and are delicious!

Penne A La Vodka

Hearty and tasty

The Good: Absolutely delicious and easy to adjust to your own taste-buds and spicy level!

The Bad: The recipe takes a bit of time to cook up.
The Ugly: Be careful on the type of tomatoes you use.  We have made this recipe several times and it tastes a lot different (and gross) if you use cheap tomatoes or crushed/diced tomatoes.

Suggestions Before Starting:

When buying ingredients, be sure to buy the better tomatoes... We like Del Monte.

It is best to have all ingredients measured and ready before you start.

Be careful when cutting up the tomatoes, sometimes they squirt at you.

We add crushed red pepper instead of black pepper to make the recipe a little bit spicy and so it pairs better with red wine.

As always, feel free to use your favorite noodle type.  I like to use Rigatoni, Penne or Farfalle (bowtie) in order for the noodle to hold in the sauce!  Remember to adjust the time you start the noodles to how quickly your stove heats up and how long your noodles take to cook.  Our stove is generally very quick so we turn the water on when there is 5 minutes left of the vodka step.

If you need help with how to use fresh garlic please visit our older post.

I like to "cook" the sauce into the pasta on low heat for flavor for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly so the heavy cream does not burn.

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pull-Apart Bread

The Loaf

The Good: Makes the perfect New Years' Eve party appetizer (or any party for that matter)
The Bad: It probably won't be the healthiest in your party-snack lineup
The Ugly: Not good for people with allergies to deliciousness!

Suggestions Before Starting:
Although this particular recipe calls for a round sourdough loaf and bacon bits, don't panic if you can't find or don't have either. It is really quite flexible. We substituted the sourdough loaf with a round Italian loaf, and bacon bits with actual pan-fried bacon. Feel free to substitute the cheddar cheese with any kind you like as well!

Double Tomato Brushcetta

Flavorful and appetizing

The Good: Delicious and easy to make.

The Bad: Tomato seeds are slimy and messy.

The Ugly: Not good for tomato allergies.

Suggestions before starting:

If you are unclear about mincing garlic or what a clove is visit Garlic, Yes Please! for further instructions.  Remember when cutting bread to use a serrated knife.  Allow the blade to cut the bread by using long strokes rather than applying large amounts of pressure.  When spreading the cheese be careful not to leave any on the pan b/c it is extremely difficult to wash off the pan.  Be cautious when using the broiler setting.  Stay close by otherwise you will have burnt bread instantly.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

"Pork Chops to Live For"

Pork Chops, Smashed Potatoes and Bruschetta

The Good:  Put these succulent chops in the cooker early in the day and forget about it until dinner time!

The Bad: I would like a little more flavor kick but my guests still thought the flavor was perfect.

The Ugly:  Apparently a double batch does not fit in my cooker!

Suggestions Before Starting:

Make sure your slow cooker is big enough before starting! If not, you can cook any extras in a casserole dish in the oven at 400 for an hr.

Next time I would add a couple smashed garlic cloves.  I love garlic!
Make sure you remember to dip the edges of the chops into the flour, as well as, browning them. Don't wear dark colors while using flour! lol

Remember you only are browning the outsides.  This helps to seal in the moisture and give chops a nice color, not to actually cook it.

When placing ingredients into cooker, we started with a layer of soup mixture and did it in layers to make sure everything was evenly distributed.

Come back soon for the Bruschetta and Smashed Potato recipes!

Mint Tea Punch

Mint? Lemon? Orange?  Refreshing overload?

Yes PLEASE!

The Good:  Mint Tea Punch is absolutely refreshing. Great on a hot summer day!

The Bad:  Good things come to those who WAIT! Unfortunately the tea blends together better by the 2nd day.  Hang in there it will be okay!

The Ugly: My mint plant looked beautiful before I took 12 sprigs off of it... now it looks kind of small.

Suggestions before starting:

If you would like a less sugary version feel free to use Stevia or honey instead of sugar and adjust the measurements to your liking.

For a more natural lemon flavor you can use lemon balm leaves. (Lemon balm has tons of health benefits: decreases depression, anxiety, indigestion...)

I started my mint and tea bags in a bowl to make it easier for mixing and for fetching out the tea bags.  Once we were ready to add the cool ingredients I switched to the pitcher.  As long as the bowl is easy to pour it works great!
The recipe does not specify what type of tea bags to use so we used some cheap black tea bags that we bought in bulk! (Thank you Neko Knit for pointing this detail out!)

Where in the World are the Wicked Chefs?

I wanted to apologize to our followers for our surprise hiatus.  Dave and I have been crazy busy but I know this is no excuse not to be cooking.  While we were gone: we've been moving, cleaning, buying antique furniture (love our dining room table and hutch, hiding in all our new photos!), Dave's working 60+ hrs a week, I'm working 1st, 2nd and 3rd shift... and the list goes on and on!  We have good news though!  We have recipes that will be uploaded soon and they're coming with a surprise new feature!  We miss being in the kitchen and especially miss your feedback.  Tonight we will have a delicious summary recipe for all of you and we can't wait to hear from you all (new feature will not be featured tonight sorry).  As always, we would not suggest it unless we love it ourselves.  O boy, I ramble... anyways we look forward to being back and can't wait to share some more delicious recipes with everyone.  Happy cooking!