Pumpkin Chocolate Birthday Cake

Claire's birthday was last week and I am feeling a little behind on blogging. She just went down for a nap so hopefully I can get this written before she wakes up. 

I should preface this by saying I love pumpkin stuff. From jack o lanterns to cookies, anything with pumpkin in it tastes good. This was definitely a factor in choosing a birthday cake for my little girl. Plus, her birthday is in the middle of October, right at pumpkin harvesting time. 

Lets get to it. Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup
2 tablespoons Flour
1 cup Baking Cocoa
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon Fresh-Grated Nutmeg
3/4 cup Buttermilk
1 1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree(you could use the fresh stuff from a pumpkin if you're feeling up to it)
1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 1/4 stick Unsalted Butter, softened
1 1/2 cup (firmly packed) Dark Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
5 large Eggs

i just noticed That the first letter of every word I write is capitalized. i don't know how to make that go away.

Anyways, lets get baking!

A layered cake is tricky, especially for someone how has never made more than a rectangle box cake by doing nothing but adding eggs and milk. You will need a round cake pan. Three would be prime because you could cook them all at once. I did it with just one pan. 

preheat the oven to 350F

Begin by cutting out a circle piece of wax paper to put in the bottom of your cake pan. It makes removing the cake way easier. Put butter or baking spray on it if you so desire. 

Now we put all the dry stuff into one bowl mixing them together as we add. That means, the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In another bowl mix the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla. In yet a third bowl, beat the eggs, butter and sugar together.

Now we put it all together. Add the dry stuff mixture(flour etc.) to the eggs bowl. then add the pumpkin buttermilk mixture. So your third bowl should probably be the biggest. Is it confusing yet?

Now we bake

Pour you batter into three pans(or one if thats all you have). we bake for about 30 minutes or until a fork come out clean when you poke it in the middle. let the cakes cook for a good long while before you try and remove them from the pan. 

Now we stack it. Take the first cake and cover it with you frosting of choice. I used a fall vanilla frosting. when its frosted add a cake tot he tower and repeat. When you're done it will look like this:

Happy Baking

Read more: Chocolate Pumpkin Cake and Cupcakes Recipe - Country Living 
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Meatball Subs

Alright, as much as we would all like to live off pumpkins and pastries, we need a little substance. Marilyn put together theses meatball subs and they were very tasty, so here is a main course for you to try.

First things first. Here are the ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped italian parsley

That covers the meatballs, now for the sauce ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 28 ounce can crushed no salt added tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
freshly ground pepper to taste

Then the sandwiches require some hoagie rolls

Okey Dokey lets get cookin!

Turn your oven to 450 F and start lining a baking pan with foil, then brush it with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Next grab a big bowl and combine the meatball ingredients. Out of that you should be able to make about 24 meatballs and put them on the pan. like so:

Marilyn felt her meatballs were a little bland so feel free to add a little extra spice into your meat mixture. Bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes or until they're done. 

While those meatballs are cooking get to working on your meatball sauce. Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan and add the onion on a medium heat. Let them cook (sauté) for about 8 minutes and then add the garlic. Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, and pepper to the mix and let it boil. 

Hopefully the meatballs are ready by now because they are going in next. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover it. Being an average joe, I don't have cover for my pan, so I generally throw a dinner plate over the top of it. This can be a little hazardous because the plate gets hot so you've gotta be careful. Keep it covered around 5 minutes stirring now and then. 

At this point you are pretty much done. Put the meatballs on your hoagie roll as desired and enjoy.

Marilyn and I both thought they were good meatball subs but a little bland. Add some spice as you like but as it is this recipe gets a rating of 3 out of five spatulas up!

Marilyn and Claire did most the cooking on this one. They are super cute and get 5 out of 5 spatulas up!

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

Average Joe is Back!

Marilyn and I have been eating out a ton and we are sick of it. Why do we eat out so often? Great question. Its because after almost five years of marriage and two years of parenting we are still terrible cooks.

We need to learn, its a must because it will save us money and make us healthier. Not to mention Marilyn's aspirations to go on the TV show Master Chef. So here we go:

Round 1- Pumpkin Pie

Its October and you can't go to the grocery store without seeing lots of bins full with pumpkins. I have a video with Claire in one of them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sML12LnhDPY Anytime I've ever made a pumpkin related dish I've used canned pumpkin pie filling. Its always been tasty so I never wondered what real, fresh pumpkin would taste like. After all, pumpkins are just for jack-o-lanterns...right? Wrong! So here is a quick look at fresh pumpkin pie. Make it, eat it, and the pie will speak for itself.

You may notice I'm wearing a very small apron. Its my daughter's. I couldn't find the old average joe apron so I used the one I had.

Lets take a look at the ingredients:

1 Sugar Pumpkin...(it may also be labeled "pie pumpkin")
1 9 inch pie crust ...(I've tried making my own pie crusts and the store bought ones are always better)
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
12 oz evaporated milk

Lets begin with the pumpkin. Grab a sharp knife and cut that thing in half. Clear all the goop and seeds out. Don't forget to cut the stem off. Then put it flat side down on a cookie sheet covered in foil. Cook it at 325 F. for about half an hour. You want it to be soft when you poke it with a knife.

While the pumpkin is cooking grab a mixing bowl and put on your favorite baking song. I'm thinking "Beat It" by Michael Jackson," especially considering we've gotta beat a few eggs.

Crack those two eggs first thing and get to beating them in the bowl. Now add the brown sugar- beat it. Add the salt- beat it. Add the flour- beat it. Add the pumpkin pie spice- beat it. Add the evaporated milk- beat it. Because "no one wants to be defeated."

Now we wait because our pumpkin probably isn't done just yet.

When its done let it cool a bit and then use a fork to get all the pumpkin insides separated from the pumpkin outer peel. It should come out fairly easily. If you're having a hard time and it isn't soft throw it back in the oven until it is soft.

Put the good, soft, pumpkin insides in a bowl and start mashing. If you have a food processor now would be a good time to use it. I, being an average joe cook, do not have one, so I worked it into a puree with a fork and a potato masher.   Note: Puree basically means its been blended, mashed, and mixed up.

When you have a good puree, take a two cups of it and add them to your mixing bowl. Mix it up good or you can still beat it if your baking power song is still going. When its good and mixed pour the mixture into your pre-made pie crust. Put some foil around the crust because otherwise it will burn crispy. Bake it at 400 F for about 40 minutes. When you have about 10 minutes left pull the foil off the crust. Do the fork trick(poke the pie in the middle) if it comes out clean you're all done. Pull it out and let it cool.

Here is the finished product. I lost a few pieces of the crust taking off the foil so be careful when you take it off.

You will be tempted to eat the pie tonight while its warm but its better after a night in the fridge with a little whipped cream on top. It doesn't look perfect but it tastes good. This pie was made by an average joe cook.

Enjoy