Pig Candy Devils on Horseback

Linda got a new job!! 

I had made normal Devils on Horseback (bacon-wrapped dates, sometimes stuffed with cheese, big '70s appetizer) for our Halloween party and I still had a lot of leftover dates. For a special new job treat I decided to upgrade with some brown sugar and chili pepper because pig candy is delicious. 

2 dates for each slice of bacon
brown sugar
chili pepper
toothpicks

Creamy Cheesy Enchiladas

This is an enchilada for when what you really want is 80+% nice creamy cheese sauce, 20-% enchilada. You could of course adapt this to have a more hearty filling (that's what Michelle would do - there would probably be more vegetables involved and it would be awesome), but Linda and I wanted something warm and cheesy. 

My mom, her best friend and her friend's daughter, whom we've known for about 20 years, came over for dinner and to check out our apartment, which is still kind of new to us since we moved in mid-July. I got home from work at about 5:15 and they were coming to eat at 6:30, so I wanted to make a dinner without much prep. Butternut squash soup, rice and these enchiladas soup fit the bill.

For more traditional-ish or different enchiladas, try:

Vegetarian Enchiladas with Mole Sauce
Enchiladas with Mango Sauce
Pumpkin Enchiladas with Green Tomato Sauce
Pumpkin Enchiladas

And for normal enchiladas, make your own enchilada sauce.


Creamy Cheesy Enchiladas
Adapted from the Pioneer Woman

2-1/2 cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken

2 cups chicken broth

3 Tablespoons canola oil

12 whole corn tortillas

1 whole onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

3 whole 4 oz cans whole green chilies, diced (I didn't include these this time - apparently canned chilies are a seasonal food at TJ's - have to make way for all the pumpkin..)

1 whole jalapeno, seeded and finely diced (Didn't include this either because my mom is very sensitive to spice - the rest of use just used hot sauce)

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour (I used gluten free flour for Linda and it worked fine)

1 cup sour cream

2-1/2 cups monterey jack cheese, grated

salt and pepper, to taste

hot sauce (optional)
cilantro, chopped

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

My family recently sent my younger sister a care package. It was Nick's idea really. Kelly and my mom contributed goodies from Sephora, my dad added chocolates from Germany, and I baked her cookies. Specifically pumpkin oatmeal chocolate butterscotch chip cookies. That's a mouthful! Anyways, she's living all the way out in sunny California and loved the package. We miss her lots and are so excited to have her back for Thanksgiving.

By the way, I was trying to get Rex out from under the table with the cookie though I didn't give it to him. He gets enough treats. My mom gave him a whole hot dog the other morning :) The recipe is from Taste of Home.

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

I cup pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start with all room temperature ingredients! Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl. Then add the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla and combine with a whisk. Combine the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl and stir with a fork. Then stir the dry ingredients into the wet in 3 parts. Then stir in the chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls about 1-2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.