Pumpkin Pecan Cranberry Muffins

And I'm back on my "fall flavors" kick.  Can't hold me down for long.

When I made zucchini muffins a few months ago, I was really surprised by how convenient it was for me to freeze the extras, then pop them out and into the microwave for breakfast on the go or a quick snack.  If you know me, you know that I'm usually on the go on the weekends.  So much to do!!!

I sadly ran out of zucchini muffins a few weeks ago and finally got around to making another batch of muffins.  This time, I had some pumpkin puree to use up, so I put it to excellent use.  I mean....pumpkin, pecans, and cranberry in one muffin.  It's like autumn in each bite!

This recipe is super simple too.  It comes together within a few minutes and all of a sudden you have 12 extra large muffins on your hands.  Who doesn't want extra large muffins?  Seriously!  Don't miss out on this!

(OK, I'm shouting now.  Calming it down...)

Bubble Up Enchiladas

I'm really into colorful food photos right now.  I don't know why, but I think it has something to do with me being in a "Mexican food" phase lately.  I'm trying to branch out to other food genres and I think I'm getting there, but in the meantime...colorful photos of Mexican food.  Oooohhhh.

Speaking of this, why isn't there a season for Mexican food?  Granted, I eat Mexican food all the time so I could care less whether or not there is a season for this.  Still, I think this cuisine needs its own spotlight.  Just my personal rant.  As per usual.

On another note, remember when I made that Bubble Up Pizza that I still can't get out of my mind?  Yeah, it was insane.  I had made a last-minute decision to only make a half batch of that pizza, which meant that I still had another roll of refrigerated biscuit dough on hand.  Since I am a food blogger and clearly cannot make the same dish more than once (in most cases), I decided to put a different spin on my next "bubble up" dish.

That's when I found it.  My new holy grail Mexican dish: Bubble Up Enchiladas.  I completely heart enchiladas but I made them once before and I have never made them again.  They were completely wonderful and tasty, but the time it took to make the filling, fill and roll the enchiladas, then bake them really took away from my "lounge on the couch with a mug of spiked coffee" time.  And that's important too, you know!

This bubble up pizza variation was simple, quick, and did not interfere with any quality coffee and food magazine time that I had set aside for myself.  If you're interested (hint: you should be), check out the recipe below and let this become one of your new, quick weeknight meals.

Demarest Farms - Apple Picking 2013

Sometimes you've just got to jump on the bandwagon.  And if that bandwagon just so happens to lead you to apple picking on a crisp Fall day, then so be it.

I wasn't sure I really wanted to go apple picking this year, but I think I nailed down the source of that "bah humbug" mood.  I drive my car a lot during a week.  I live in New Jersey, work in Pennsylvania, and while I'm staying out in PA, I have to drive my car virtually anywhere I want to go.  For the past few years, I've been apple picking at Terhune Orchards, a really cute farm out in Princeton, NJ.  I have a great time when I'm there, but the problem I face is that the drive there and back typically ends up being two hours each way.  In case you're wondering, this leads to exhaustion and a lackluster attitude, which is no bueno.

This year when my sister and nephew wanted to go apple picking, I was determined to find a new (and closer!) farm to visit.  After an online search, I ran into Demarest Farms.  They won me over because, besides being nearby, they had pumpkin and apple picking, hay rides, a kiddie area, and a convenient farm store.

Mexican Mac n' Cheese

Let's take a pause on all this pumpkin stuff. I can only handle so much. (PS - That's totally not true.) What is totally true is that I have too many other recipes that I want to make as well. Plus, let's face it, I'm going to bore my taste buds to death pretty soon.  Even though there's only one pumpkin recipe on my blog this season, that doesn't account for all the pumpkin coffees, lattes, sauces, and desserts that I've been eating on the side. I prefer not to talk about it. This may be the reason my jeans are having a hard time buttoning these days. Ugh. Yup, let's not talk about it.

I want to show you this Mexican Mac and Cheese that I found on SeattleDee's blog, On the Move-In The Galley. OTM-In The Galley was my assigned blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club. SeattleDee has a ton of tasty recipes on her site, but I didn't have enough time to make them all, so I decided to go with the recipe that "spoke" to me the most. Enter this dish.

Surprisingly, I have only one other mac and cheese recipe on this blog. I think it's because in the Bahamas we tend to bake our macaroni (It is "macaroni", not "mac and cheese".) and it has a slightly different texture than other mac and cheeses that I've come into contact with over the past few years. So I don't know what it is about this recipe but it pretty much drew me in and I knew I had to make it.

Please note that this recipe will not help me fit into my jeans this season. I'm a self-sabotager. But I am going to be a well-fed self-sabotager.

Crab Ravioli with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

I know you want it, so here it is.  Pumpkin.  I am finally falling victim this season's pumpkin bug.  You get some pumpkin! You get some pumpkin!  Everybody gets pumpkin!

Throwback shout out to Oprah.

Hmmm....ok, I'm done.

Just so we're clear, Oprah has nothing to do with this pasta dish that I made for you.  I'm just really getting into the swing of fall.  The Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts staff know me on sight as I stroll up to the counter to order some variation of a pumpkin-flavored drink.  So it's time to bring Fall into my apartment and onto my plate.  Let's get down with this pumpkin sauce today.

I bought this prepared crab ravioli a while ago, but it's been hanging out in my freezer for a few weeks.  I'm currently in a "clean all the things out of my freezer" mode, so obviously, this needs to be made.  Since I'm also in an "add pumpkin to all the things" mode, my two worlds collided in the form of this cheesy, savory dish.

Easy Chickpea Curry

I know you were creeping on this blog to look for some pumpkin recipes.  I understand.  That's pretty much what I've been doing in my spare time too.  I have been bookmarking pumpkin recipes like it's my j-o-b.  And I'm not sorry about it.  I'm already racing against time.  I saw Christmas candles and scents popping up in my local Bath and Body Works!  Shut it down right now!  I'm living for fall, people!  I've been scooping up as many Bath and Body Works fall candles as humanly possible.  (I love you Yankee Candle, but $28 for a candle?  Ain't nobody got time for that!  B&BW is seriously stepping up their candle game!)

On top of that, I've sipped on my first ever pumpkin pie martini.  I've also picked up my first can of pureed pumpkin from Trader Joe's.  (PS - My cashier at Trader Joe's claims there's a pumpkin body butter coming out this season.  I'm currently stalking the store.  Don't call the cops yet please.)

Anyhow, this whole rant is basically to tell you that I haven't given up on fall.  Most definitely not! I'm obsessed with it, but even the most obsessive person has to take a breather once in a while.  This is my breather.

It's an easy chickpea curry that I adapted from Jessica's little (totally not little) blog.  I pulled this dish together pretty quickly for lunch and it was seriously so easy.  I had the Pandora Marvin Gaye station going in the background.  Just so you know, singing off-key at the top of your lungs really makes time fly by.  I should be embarrassed by myself.  I'm not.