Usually I try to mix recipes for the fall season into Halloween and Thanksgiving to make everything easy. October is our new recipe month, and we are trying all sorts of new recipes. This past week we tried a lot of new recipes, which I will put in reviews for after this post, and this week we're trying more new recipes curtesy of browsing on-line and magazines coming in.

I'm not a huge fan of majorly sweet sweets. I don't indulge in a lot of sweets for dessert or for snacks either. It just isn't how I like things. I rarely eat fudge. We never really have it here. We do try it at my Moms when we are at her house, though, because my Dad can not do without it. I can, though, and I think my husband also doesn't mind the more subtle (and more good for you) sweets.

So some of these are a mixture of good for you sweets and "wow, that's really bad for us..." sweets. But Mom always did say, the time for indulging is during the holidays, for the rest of the year is boring!

The others are mouth warming, tummy warming, tickle your ribs yummy food for the season, and I hope to keep these with my family as a wonderful meal selection permanently.

So on to some recipes!

I love spreads. I like spreads that are sweet, not so sweet, and spicey. I love them because if made right they can go on anything: bread, fruit, vegetables, cheeses, etc.. This spread is more of a splurge for me to try for myself, for once, than my family. I think my daughter may like it, and my eldest son, but my husband is not keen on pumpkin. So here is something I'll be trying for me and the kids while Dad enjoys his chocolate spread or hot pepper spreads!

Pumpkin Spice Spread

• 1 package of cream cheese, fat free or not. It's your choice!
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin, cooked, and chopped up nicely in the blender, chopper, or whatever you've got to do that with! (1/2 a can if you buy the pumpkin instead).
• 1/4 cup of sugar (or equivalent)
• 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Combine all of this in a mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour, at least. Your best bet is to refrigerate for one full day before using. This is yummy on bagels, breads, muffins, pound cake, angel food cake, vanilla cake, and so on..!

Carrot and Zucchini Bars

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 shedded carrot
• 1 medium zucchini, shredded (1 cup or so)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (or equivalent)
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup cooking oil (for light mix 1/2 cup applesauce)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and start combining dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl add eggs, carrot, zucchini, brown sugar, raisins, walnuts, oil, honey, and vanilla together. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture, stir well. Spread onto an ungreased baking pan, 3x9x 2 recommended. Bake about 25 minutes or until done. Cook completely before frosting with citrus cream cheese frosting (below). Cut into bars.

Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 package of cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon shredded lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon shredded orange peel

Mix all ingredients together. Use immediately. Keep cool when not in use.

Cheese Pumpkins

• 1 package of cream cheese
• several slices of sharp cheddar cheese (your taste for how much cheddar you'd like to taste in the recipe
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• pretzel sticks, small
• springs of parsley leaves

Combine cream cheese with cheddar cheese until paste like. Add garlic powder. Mix well. Form pumpkin shapes with cheese paste. Use a toothpick to make pumpkin lines down the sides. Shove the pretzel in the center to make the "stem". Top off with a dollop of parsley leaves to make it look nice and realistic! 

Ghostly Pie (Main Dish)

This is a Shepherd's Pie.

• 1 pound of ground beef (your choice of lean)
• 1 medium uniton, chopped up
• 2 1/2 cups mixed vegies of your choice
• 2 cups of diced tomatoes
• beef gravy (from roast dinner or canned if you need to buy canned)
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter or equivalent
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/4 cup mashed potatoes
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 375 and heat up a skillet. Add beef and onion and cook them for about ten minutes till cooked through. Drain them out. From the mixed vegetables, pick out 12 corn, peas, or carrots from them and set aside a moment. Put the rest of the mixed vegetables, the tomatoes, and the gravy into the beef mixture. Heat up well, and let boil. Once boiling reduce heat to near low. Cover and cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a 2 quart saucepan heat up the water, butter, and garlic till it boils. Remove and add milk and cheese. Once blended, add in mashed potatoes and the egg. Mix very well.

Spoon the beef mixture into a glass baking dish, 2 quart in size or 2.5 in size. With a large spoon top the beef mixture with six large mounds of potatoes and form to resemble ghosts. Place reserved vegetables (carrots, peas, or corn) into the ghost potatoes for eyes.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Oktoberfest Pie

• 1/2 pound of summer sausage or bratwurst - or your sausage choice
• 1 1/3 cup souerkraut, drained
• 1 cup shredded swiss cheese
• 3/4 cup biscuit mix (make your dry ingredient for your favorite biscuits as normal and use that for this recipe. Do not add in the wet ingredients!)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup beer (your choice)
• 2 eggs

Heat over to 400 degrees. Use a pie plate and prepare it for baking as you normally would for non-stick baking. Sprinkle sausage, sauerkraut, and cheese into the pie plate. In a bowl add remaining ingredients and blend well. Pour that into the pie plate over the other mixture. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Slowcooker Cranberry Apples

• 4 large cooking apples
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup cranberry apple drink
• 2 tablespoons butter or equivalent
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• nuts if desired, chopped up well

Core apples and fill the centers with brown sugar and cranberries. Place the apples into the slow cooker. In a small bowl fill with cranberry-apple and butter, pour over the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg

Cover and cook on low heat for 4 to 6 hours

There is a sauce in the base of the cooker after the apples are complete. Take the apples out, place in container of your choice. Spoon the sauce over the apples, sprinkle with nuts if you desire.

Apple Swirlies

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter or equivalent
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped dates (optional)
• 3/4 cup finely chopped and peeled apple
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice

In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup of the sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg well. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix well.

In a saucepan, cook the apples, dates, 1/4 cup sugar, orange zest, and juice over medium-high heat. Stir constantly. Let it thicken up and boil. Then remove from heat and cool

Roll or pat dough of the cookies into a rectangle between sheets of waxed paper. Spread dough with cooled apple filling. Roll the dough up with the wax paper helping you. Wrap it very well and seal it. Refrigerate this roll for at least 3 hours.

Heat oven to 475 degrees. Cut the roll with a sharp knife into slices. Place each cookie one inch apart from each other on a sheet. Bake 8 - 11 minutes or until browned. Remove after baking to cool.

Reviews of all of these recipes and more will happen next weekend!