Menu Monday and Pumpkin Brownies

Happy Monday!  Let's start this week off right by celebrating that where I am at we officially have fall weather!  I say hooray for cozy sweaters, boots, sweater dresses, cute coats, hats, & warm scarves (find my favorite HERE).  Also with fall comes some great comfort foods and tasty treats!  I love nothing more than a great hot cocoa (favorite recipe here), warm baked pies, crock pot meals, and savory soups.

This week I am going to start by sharing a new Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Brownie that I put together this weekend when our friends were over for dinner.  The mix of ooey-gooey chocolate brownies and 'pumpkin cheescake' is fabulous!

Ingredients

use this recipe to make your brownie mix

1/2 can pumpkin

4 oz Neufchâtel cheese (or cream cheese)

1/4 t ginger

1/4 t allspice

1/4 t nutmeg

1/2 t cinnamon
1 T sugar...
...or more if you want it super sweet, I feel the brownies are sweet enough!

 

Grease your pan (I like to use aout 1/4 of a T from stick butter).  Heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Make your brownie mis and put that in your pan.  Combine 1/2 a can of pumpkin, 4oz of Neufchâtel cheese (or cream cheese), and the spices in another bowl.  Then plop blobs of this mix on top of the brownie.  Cut this with a knife to swirl in pumpkin.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Enjoy!

 

Meal 1 - Fish TacosI wanted some veggies to go along with our tacos, so on the stove top, I warmed up some corn, peppers and beans with a little spices. I put a sliver of butter in another pan, enough to barely coat the bottom. Then I put my tilapia on that pan and sprinkled seasoning as the fish cooked on one side, flipped, and seasoned again. Served with sour cream on whole wheat tortillas.

Meal 2 - Pot Roast
One of my fall favorites! I plan on asking the butcher for the meat that will be the juiciest and most tender. I will combine that will small potatoes, onion chunks, baby carrots, sliced celery, garlic cloves, spices such as thyme and sage, and a cup or so of water to keep it from drying out. Then I will let the flavors marinate and cook all day in my crock pot (8-10 hours!)

Meal 3 - Mushroom Soup & Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwiches
I saw this delicious meal from a link in Pinterest.  With it, we are making Grilled Goat Cheese sandwiches - TO DIE FOR! Simply make a grilled cheese as usual, but substitute it with the goat and mozzarella instead of your normal American or Cheddar cheese.

Grilled cheese tip: we put 1/2 T of butter into a pan that's heated on medium, let that melt a little and then add in our un-buttered bread & cheese sandwich. I let that cook a little until crispy, add another 1/2 T of butter, and crisp up the other side. 
Meal 4 - Oregano Chicken & Veggies
This recipe was posted on the eMeals Blog and I have wanted to try the yummy looking oregano seasoned chicken.  I am going to serve mine with some fresh veggies.  I am going to look for some squash that has been grown at local farms (keeping my fingers crossed for some good ones!)