Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli

So easy! And so good for a hearty autumn meal!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (16 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained
• 3 (10 ounce) cans beef stock
• 3 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 5 teaspoons parsley
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
• 1 (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 8 ounces pasta

Directions:

1. Brown beef in a skillet.
2. Drain fat from beef and add to crock pot with everything except pasta.
3. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours. Add pasta the last 30 minutes.

Serve with a nice crisp green salad and some garlic bread!

Lemon Custard Cake

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs (whites separated from yolks), room temperature
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter, melted3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk, lukewarm
• powdered sugar for dusting cake

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Grease and Line 8 inch x 8 inch baking dish with parchment.
2. Separate eggs and add the egg whites to a mixer and beat egg whites stiff. Place egg whites in a bowl and set aside.
3. Beat the egg yolks & sugar until light. Add butter and lemon extract. Beat for two mins. Add the flour and mix it in until fully incorporated.
4. Slowly start adding the milk and beat until everything is well mixed together. Add the egg whites, a third at a time and gently fold them in using a spatula, repeat until all egg whites are folded in. Pour batter into baking dish and bake for approx 60 minutes or until the top is lightly golden.
5. Cool and dust heavily with powdered sugar.

Lemon Loaf Like Starbucks

I made this yesterday. If it's not their "secret recipe', it's pretty close. I have bought it at a Starbucks before (goes great with a Chai Latte), and it's one of my favorites. This recipe is pretty easy too.

Ingredients:

Cake: 

1 1/2 cup(s) flour 

1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon(s) salt 

3 eggs 

1 cup(s) sugar 

2 tablespoon(s) butter; softened. 

1 teaspoon(s) vanilla 

1 teaspoon(s) lemon extract 

1/3 cup(s) lemon juice 

1/2 cup(s) oil

Lemon Icing 

1 cup(s) powdered sugar; plus 1 tablespoon. 

2 tablespoon(s) whole milk 

1/2 teaspoon(s) lemon extract

Instructions:

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Use a mixer to blend together the eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
Pour wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.
Add oil and mix well.
Pour batter into a well greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center of the cake comes out clean.
Make the lemon icing by combining all the icing ingredients in a small bowl with an electric mixer on low speed.
When the loaf is cool, remove it from pan and frost the top with the icing.
Let the icing set up before slicing.

Pumpkin Pie Dump Cake

If you have any pumpkin pies left over from Thanksgiving, or you want to buy a ready-made one for this recipe, all it takes is 3 ingredients! You'll find this a bit of a change from that pumpkin pie (that you may be sick of)!

Ingredients:

1 ready-made pumpkin pie

1 box spice cake mix

1 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.      Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray

3.      Place the pie in the dish (without its pan)

4.      Sprinkle the box of cake mix over top of pie.

5.      Drizzle the melted butter all over the top.

6.      Bake for 55-60 mins. Or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.