Spiced Pumpkin Cake, Muffins, Bars

This recipe is AMAZING! It was passed along from my friend Sarah, who found it at epicurious.com. I have 3 variations for this recipe, all crowd pleasers. Within the last year, I have made this recipe over 10 times because everyone asks for it! See my variations below.

Yeilds 1 bundt pan or 2 cup cake pans or 1/2 sheet pan

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 bag of mini m&ms

1 cup coarsley chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions. Mix in mini m&ms and walnuts if desired.

Butter and sugar the pan you are using...

1) Bundt cake pan: bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until knife comes out clean.

2) Mini cupcake or regular cupcake pan: bake for 25 - 35 minutes, or until knife comes out clean

3) Sheet pan: back for 20 minutes, or until knife comes out clean. Cut into square bars and frost.

Frosting (optional for cupcakes and bundt)

12 oz whipped cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Mix together and refrigerate if not ready to spread. ENJOY!

Homemade Marinara

Nothing tastes better than home-cooked marinara sauce. A while back I found a great recipe from Giada for marinara; I have since modified it and love the outcome. The sauce tastes slightly sweet and garlicy, and there is always plenty of leftover to use for a pasta dish later in the week. Typically I make this with chicken parmesan or a baked piece of chicken and a melted piece of provolone on top... so good!

1 small onion chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

3 celery stalks, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 32 oz can of crushed tomatos (you can always use a can of diced tomatoes which makes the sauce more chunky)

1 can of diced tomatoes

2 cups of chicken broth

1/2 tsp ground thyme

1 tsp oregano dried

1 tsp parsley dried

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Saute onions over medium high heat with good olive oil. When halfway translucent mix in carrots and celery. Saute until onions are cooked through. Add the garlic, cans of tomatoes, chicken broth and all the spices. Bring all contents to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium low, partially cover the pot with a lid. You need some of the liquids to evaporate and thicken. Let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If you have a handheld blender use it here! If not, then take out batches of the sauce and blend in the blender, returning to a new pot. The sauce should be nice and thick. Taste and add salt / pepper if needed.

You can freeze leftover sauce for up to 3 months.

Use with my simple chicken recipe! I will post later...