Through The Camera Lens

Three for Thursday: Super Bowl Recipes - Packer Style

Chili with Pasta & Wisconsin Cheddar from the kitchn

Grilled Bratwurst from Cooking...

Source

Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds

OK, going for 4 as I can't forget Cupcakes!

Mini Football Cupcakes from Project Domestication

Three for Thursday: Edible Trees

Source: Busy Mommy
Source: Dreaming of Winter  Source: Lemonpi

Three for Thursday: Christmas Cookies

Christmas Cookie Sticks Homemade Peppermint Oreos Cinnamon Snowflakes

Three for Thursday: On the Thanksgiving Menu

Decided to try this Pumpkin Cheesecake instead of the regular pie this year. Will bake an Apple Pie for a back-up. :)
These Cornucopia Rolls look too cute for leftovers, must have on the Thanksgiving Table!

And can't forget the Spiced Cranberries with Mandarin Oranges, Pecans & Port.

Of course there will be Green Bean Casserole & Stuffing but thought it'd be fun to see if any of these catch on and become new Traditional dishes.

Are you trying any new recipes this year? I'd love a link!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Been wanting to make a Pumpkin Cupcake since September and finally got to baking yesterday! After many searches & recipes added to Evernote - found one that had the flavors I wanted - a bit of maple in there and these are yummy!

I used a pan similar to this one, cut them in half and filled with the frosting & topped with some chopped nuts. Adjusted baking time to about 18 minutes.

Recipe is a layer cake from Very Best Baking:

Vermont Spice Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1/2 cup NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 11 ozs. cream cheese (an 8-oz pkg plus a 3-oz pkg), softened
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons maple flavoring*
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts and nut halves

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 325° F. Grease and flour two 9-inch-round cake pans.

FOR CAKE
COMBINE flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in small bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat for 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin, evaporated milk, water and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared cake pans.

BAKE for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

FOR MAPLE FROSTING
BEAT cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Add maple flavoring; mix well.

TO ASSEMBLE
CUT each cake in half horizontally with long, serrated knife. Frost between layers and on top of cake, leaving sides unfrosted. Garnish with nuts, if desired.

Hope you try these Fall Treats!

Three for Thursday: Halloween Treats

 
Dulce De Leche Pumpkin CupcakesChocolate Peanut Butter Monster Brownies

Cookie Witch Hats

Baked Potato Soup

My first attempt at capturing a dish for "Cooking Up A Memory" class & my family recipe album. There are things I will do differently in my next food shot & still working on getting lighting figured out but feel it's a lot better than I usually get with my dark kitchen!

I first had this version of Baked Potato Soup at a weekend crop about 8 years ago and have been making it for the family ever since, so thought I'd pass it on. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

• 10 slices bacon
• 1/2 C chopped onion (optional)
• 2 C cubed potatoes (I've upped this to 3 Cups)
• 1 C water (*see directions)
  
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 C sour cream
• 1 1/2 C milk
• cheddar cheese, shredded
• green onions, sliced thin
  

Cut bacon into little pieces. Reserve some for garnish. Over medium heat in 3-quart saucepan, heat bacon until browned. Add onions; continue cooking until  tender. Drain grease. Add potatoes, water (*you want to have enough water with potatoes to get them tender & not burn/stick), salt and pepper; continue cooking until potatoes are tender 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to low; stir in soup, sour cream and milk. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Top with reserved bacon, green onions & cheddar cheese.

Hoping to get another family recipe cooked & photographed this weekend, along with "Breakfast with the Firemen" on Sunday. Get to check out the station renovation as well, should be nice!

Any fun plans this weekend? Have a good one!

Three for Thursday: Autumn Treats

  (Photo Source)

Can't go through Fall without Caramel Apples! Found a few recipes & many topping ideas here.

(Photo Source)

Or Pumpkins and of course, have to have a Fall Cupcake - so dying to make these Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting I came across at Baked Perfection.

(Photo Source)

And last but not least, Apple Pie. I love a rustic freeform Apple Pie.

What is your favorite treat for Fall?

@ Home With Claudine: Watermark Resist (& an Ice Cream Sandwich)

Our second week in class was Watermark resist techniques - I (& others) it seems had some issues with Versamark vs Ranger Clear Resist stamp pads and got the reverse image we were aiming for. After stamping, we used water down black paint to brush over and the image is to come through in the teal, mine didn't work, wiped with paper towel & got this. Thought it was pretty cool so moved on to  this Peeled Paint technique, swiping the Versamark pad across the red page and then brushing over with pink paint:

And lastly using paint & a few sprays of water then stamping on to some sticky back canvas, I LOVE this stuff!!!!

Still working on my project for Week 2 and on other techniques, lots of fun stuff in this class!

Last week I mentioned making a treat, but things didn't go as planned with ingredients on hand so we decided to make these:

Found the recipe here but used Red Velvet cake mix, cookie dough ice cream & rolled in some mini chocolate chips and even though I had set for hours in the freezer, I couldn't fight the humidity and they began to melt while shooting, it's HOT, still yummy though!

Have a great weekend! Our town is having it's "Days" which includes a huge parade, hoping for some fun photo ops!

Summer Salad: BLT Salad with Basil Mayo Dressing

I love making this salad for dinner I found here a few summers ago.

BLT Salad with Basil Mayo Dressing

• Romaine lettuce, cleaned & chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 pound bacon, cooked & cut into bite sized pieces

Croutons

• French Bread, cut into thin slices
• Olive Oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Season bread slices with salt & pepper, place in skillet and drizzle with olive oil. Heat on medium high until toasted.

Basil Mayo Dressing

• 1/4 C mayo
• 1/4 C sour cream
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/4 finely chopped fresh basil

Combine all ingredients in a small container to make dressing. 

Cut bread into bite size pieces and toss with lettuce, tomatoes and bacon. Add dressing to taste and toss.

For those hardier appetites adding some sliced grilled chicken is delish! And sometimes I like to add some red onion also.

Hope you enjoy!