Thanksgiving Idea 5: Pumpkin Bread Triffle

This pumpkin bread triffle was introduced by Tricia who should totally be a chef at a top restaurant in my opinion, at our cooking group meeting a couple of months ago. Everyone loved it! It looked so pretty, I almost didn't want to eat it because I didn't want to destroy the beauty of the triffle. I brought some home to share with my hub and cub and they both fell in love with it! I'm so excited to have this recipe and share it with you. I think it will be a great dessert for Thanksgiving dinner! Or just about any other dinners. :)

Pumpkin Bread Triffle

by Tricia Stainbrook

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 loaf pumpkin bread cut into small squares

( I used Krusteaz pumpkin spice mix for mine)

pumpkin pudding

(8 vanilla pudding cups mixed with 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling)

pumpkin mousse

(24 ounces stiffly whipped heavy cream, 16 ounces marscapone cheese, 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling mixed together on low setting)

caramel maple sauce;

melt 1/4 cup butter in small saucepan

add 1 cup extra fine (baker's) sugar

and 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil until it begins to turn golden, stirring often, then add 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup (can be omitted if you just want caramel sauce)

1 cup chopped pecans

Place about 1/4 cup pudding in bottom of fancy plastic cup or glass

then a layer of bread and then a layer of mousse. Repeat and top with maple caramel sauce and pecans

Makes 8 6 ounce triffles, could be done in one large glass bowl or made in smaller glasses for more smaller servings. Refridgerate for up to two hours before serving if desired, just wait to put the sauce on it until ready to serve!

Sook the Cook

Thanksgiving Idea 5: Pumpkin Bread Triffle

This pumpkin bread triffle was introduced by Tricia who should totally be a chef at a top restaurant in my opinion, at our cooking group meeting a couple of months ago. Everyone loved it! It looked so pretty, I almost didn't want to eat it because I didn't want to destroy the beauty of the triffle. I brought some home to share with my hub and cub and they both fell in love with it! I'm so excited to have this recipe and share it with you. I think it will be a great dessert for Thanksgiving dinner! Or just about any other dinners. :)

Pumpkin Bread Triffle

by Tricia Stainbrook

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 loaf pumpkin bread cut into small squares

( I used Krusteaz pumpkin spice mix for mine)

pumpkin pudding

(8 vanilla pudding cups mixed with 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling)

pumpkin mousse

(24 ounces stiffly whipped heavy cream, 16 ounces marscapone cheese, 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling mixed together on low setting)

caramel maple sauce;

melt 1/4 cup butter in small saucepan

add 1 cup extra fine (baker's) sugar

and 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil until it begins to turn golden, stirring often, then add 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup (can be omitted if you just want caramel sauce)

1 cup chopped pecans

Place about 1/4 cup pudding in bottom of fancy plastic cup or glass

then a layer of bread and then a layer of mousse. Repeat and top with maple caramel sauce and pecans

Makes 8 6 ounce triffles, could be done in one large glass bowl or made in smaller glasses for more smaller servings. Refridgerate for up to two hours before serving if desired, just wait to put the sauce on it until ready to serve!

Sook the Cook

Thanksgiving Idea 5: Pumpkin Bread Triffle

This pumpkin bread triffle was introduced by Tricia who should totally be a chef at a top restaurant in my opinion, at our cooking group meeting a couple of months ago. Everyone loved it! It looked so pretty, I almost didn't want to eat it because I didn't want to destroy the beauty of the triffle. I brought some home to share with my hub and cub and they both fell in love with it! I'm so excited to have this recipe and share it with you. I think it will be a great dessert for Thanksgiving dinner! Or just about any other dinners. :)

Pumpkin Bread Triffle

by Tricia Stainbrook

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 loaf pumpkin bread cut into small squares

( I used Krusteaz pumpkin spice mix for mine)

pumpkin pudding

(8 vanilla pudding cups mixed with 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling)

pumpkin mousse

(24 ounces stiffly whipped heavy cream, 16 ounces marscapone cheese, 1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling mixed together on low setting)

caramel maple sauce;

melt 1/4 cup butter in small saucepan

add 1 cup extra fine (baker's) sugar

and 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil until it begins to turn golden, stirring often, then add 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup (can be omitted if you just want caramel sauce)

1 cup chopped pecans

Place about 1/4 cup pudding in bottom of fancy plastic cup or glass

then a layer of bread and then a layer of mousse. Repeat and top with maple caramel sauce and pecans

Makes 8 6 ounce triffles, could be done in one large glass bowl or made in smaller glasses for more smaller servings. Refridgerate for up to two hours before serving if desired, just wait to put the sauce on it until ready to serve!

Sook the Cook

Happy Halloween! Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Okay, a quick post before I head out to trick or treating... Are you all excited to dress up and have some fun tonight? We are. We're dressing our 19-month-old son as a vampire - like Dracula and my husband and I will be his victims... I will have to take pictures and post them here so you can see. I will do that tomorrow.

Anyway, this is the last pumpkin recipe I have that I haven't posted on here. Like other pumpkin sweets, these muffins are soft and divine. It isn't hard to eat them up in a few minutes, really. :) Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from All Recipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. 

Happy Halloween! Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Okay, a quick post before I head out to trick or treating... Are you all excited to dress up and have some fun tonight? We are. We're dressing our 19-month-old son as a vampire - like Dracula and my husband and I will be his victims... I will have to take pictures and post them here so you can see. I will do that tomorrow.

Anyway, this is the last pumpkin recipe I have that I haven't posted on here. Like other pumpkin sweets, these muffins are soft and divine. It isn't hard to eat them up in a few minutes, really. :) Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from All Recipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. 

Happy Halloween! Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Okay, a quick post before I head out to trick or treating... Are you all excited to dress up and have some fun tonight? We are. We're dressing our 19-month-old son as a vampire - like Dracula and my husband and I will be his victims... I will have to take pictures and post them here so you can see. I will do that tomorrow.

Anyway, this is the last pumpkin recipe I have that I haven't posted on here. Like other pumpkin sweets, these muffins are soft and divine. It isn't hard to eat them up in a few minutes, really. :) Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from All Recipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. 

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cookies

Before I forget, I must introduce you to my menu bar just below the header. There you can access to my information, recipe index, family favorites, great Asian and healthy recipes posted on "My Fabulous Recipes" I have posted some pictures of me and my family on "About Me" if you are curious.

Okay, back to this amazing recipe -

I think you've noticed that I have been posting a lot of pumpkin recipes, mostly sweets lately. Our family shops at Costco from time to time and when we went there about a month ago, we saw 3 giant cans of pumpkin puree for $7. We couldn't pass up on that. So now, I've been cooking and baking with it as often as I can.

These pumpkin cookies have a texture of moist cake and every bite is fantastic. Oh and the cream cheese frosting on top. You could use normal icing (see spiced icing if you're interested) but my family is the biggest fan of cream cheese frosting. It's an addiction, really. I used the same cream cheese frosting recipe for "pumpkin cake roll". I usually like to add nuts or chocolate chips to pumpkin recipes but this time I didn't. And I was glad that I didn't. I could really taste the pumpkin in the cookies and it tasted divine without all the added sweets (except for the cream cheese frosting - that was sweet enough!)

I am so sad that October is almost gone already... I've been enjoying making fall treats and food lately. Now I guess I need to get ready for winter. (Okay, where I live though doesn't really have winter so maybe I can still enjoy some fall food until Summer hits!)

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

To Make Frosting: Mix confectioners sugar, vanilla, butter or margarine, and cream cheese together till smooth. 

Frost the cookies with the cream cheese frosting or drizzle the frosting on cookies.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cookies

Before I forget, I must introduce you to my menu bar just below the header. There you can access to my information, recipe index, family favorites, great Asian and healthy recipes posted on "My Fabulous Recipes" I have posted some pictures of me and my family on "About Me" if you are curious.

Okay, back to this amazing recipe -

I think you've noticed that I have been posting a lot of pumpkin recipes, mostly sweets lately. Our family shops at Costco from time to time and when we went there about a month ago, we saw 3 giant cans of pumpkin puree for $7. We couldn't pass up on that. So now, I've been cooking and baking with it as often as I can.

These pumpkin cookies have a texture of moist cake and every bite is fantastic. Oh and the cream cheese frosting on top. You could use normal icing (see spiced icing if you're interested) but my family is the biggest fan of cream cheese frosting. It's an addiction, really. I used the same cream cheese frosting recipe for "pumpkin cake roll". I usually like to add nuts or chocolate chips to pumpkin recipes but this time I didn't. And I was glad that I didn't. I could really taste the pumpkin in the cookies and it tasted divine without all the added sweets (except for the cream cheese frosting - that was sweet enough!)

I am so sad that October is almost gone already... I've been enjoying making fall treats and food lately. Now I guess I need to get ready for winter. (Okay, where I live though doesn't really have winter so maybe I can still enjoy some fall food until Summer hits!)

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

To Make Frosting: Mix confectioners sugar, vanilla, butter or margarine, and cream cheese together till smooth. 

Frost the cookies with the cream cheese frosting or drizzle the frosting on cookies.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cookies

Before I forget, I must introduce you to my menu bar just below the header. There you can access to my information, recipe index, family favorites, great Asian and healthy recipes posted on "My Fabulous Recipes" I have posted some pictures of me and my family on "About Me" if you are curious.

Okay, back to this amazing recipe -

I think you've noticed that I have been posting a lot of pumpkin recipes, mostly sweets lately. Our family shops at Costco from time to time and when we went there about a month ago, we saw 3 giant cans of pumpkin puree for $7. We couldn't pass up on that. So now, I've been cooking and baking with it as often as I can.

These pumpkin cookies have a texture of moist cake and every bite is fantastic. Oh and the cream cheese frosting on top. You could use normal icing (see spiced icing if you're interested) but my family is the biggest fan of cream cheese frosting. It's an addiction, really. I used the same cream cheese frosting recipe for "pumpkin cake roll". I usually like to add nuts or chocolate chips to pumpkin recipes but this time I didn't. And I was glad that I didn't. I could really taste the pumpkin in the cookies and it tasted divine without all the added sweets (except for the cream cheese frosting - that was sweet enough!)

I am so sad that October is almost gone already... I've been enjoying making fall treats and food lately. Now I guess I need to get ready for winter. (Okay, where I live though doesn't really have winter so maybe I can still enjoy some fall food until Summer hits!)

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

To Make Frosting: Mix confectioners sugar, vanilla, butter or margarine, and cream cheese together till smooth. 

Frost the cookies with the cream cheese frosting or drizzle the frosting on cookies.

Simple but Amazing Taco Soup

When I first came to America, I came here as a volunteer (missionary) for my church back in 2002 when I was 21 years old and stayed until 2004. I was born and raised in South Korea and it was my very first experience coming to America... my first experience outside of my home country. I was excited about all the adventures ahead of me! I got to meet a lot of interesting people, and by "interesting" I mean "totally-crazy-or/and-awesome"!! It wasn't hard to fall in love with the people in America, really. But it was the food that I had a hard time with in the beginning.

Well, if you have been to Asia, especially South Korea, you will know that Korean food is way different from American. When my missionary friends took me to Taco Bell for the first time, I thought I would never survive in America for longer than a month. I thought if all American food was like this.. I could never live here for a year and a half! (Sorry to all Taco Bell fans.. I'm just not a fan!)

Well, after going through lots of stomachaches getting used to American food, here I am... running a food blog and most of the food that I post here are American style food. After a year and a half of my wonderful experiences as a missionary, I went back to Korea for about three months before I came back here for school. Well, for a while, I was in heaven. I got to try all the Korean food that I craved while I was in America. I mean, they have Korean restaurants here but they are not the same. Just like they say Mexican food here is different from the ones in Mexico?? I would never know because I've never been to Mexico. But then after about a month or so, I started craving American food. Not McDonald's or Pizza Hut, but like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese... well you get the picture.

Then I really craved Mexican food. I wasn't introduced to a lot of ethnic foods until I came all the way across the Pacific Ocean to America. What is it? Why does America have so many different kinds of food? (I'm not complaining, really) In Korea, they have two kinds of restaurants - all things Korean or fast food. They don't have Mexican food, Thai food, Indian food, Brazilian food, etc. Seriously, if there was one reason to keep me here in America, it'd be food, well, besides my family, of course.

Okay, the point of this long, long intro (I never talk this much really) is that one of dishes I craved the most (besides stuffed mushrooms) when I was back in Korea for three months was this warm, spicy, filling taco soup. But it was impossible to get these ingredients there. No sour cream, no taco seasoning, no canned tomatoes, and cheese is so darn expensive there! But now I can have one my favorite soups whenever I want! So here is the recipe for easy taco soup. And the bottom line is... don't take it for granted. It's the things that you think you'll never miss you will miss the most. :)

Taco Soup

Printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
  
• 2 cups diced onions (I didn't add this due to my husband's hatred toward onions)
  
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pinto beans
  
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced
• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish
  
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Pickled Jalapenos, for garnish
  

Direction:

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot.

Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, black olives, (green olives), taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.

To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Simple but Amazing Taco Soup

When I first came to America, I came here as a volunteer (missionary) for my church back in 2002 when I was 21 years old and stayed until 2004. I was born and raised in South Korea and it was my very first experience coming to America... my first experience outside of my home country. I was excited about all the adventures ahead of me! I got to meet a lot of interesting people, and by "interesting" I mean "totally-crazy-or/and-awesome"!! It wasn't hard to fall in love with the people in America, really. But it was the food that I had a hard time with in the beginning.

Well, if you have been to Asia, especially South Korea, you will know that Korean food is way different from American. When my missionary friends took me to Taco Bell for the first time, I thought I would never survive in America for longer than a month. I thought if all American food was like this.. I could never live here for a year and a half! (Sorry to all Taco Bell fans.. I'm just not a fan!)

Well, after going through lots of stomachaches getting used to American food, here I am... running a food blog and most of the food that I post here are American style food. After a year and a half of my wonderful experiences as a missionary, I went back to Korea for about three months before I came back here for school. Well, for a while, I was in heaven. I got to try all the Korean food that I craved while I was in America. I mean, they have Korean restaurants here but they are not the same. Just like they say Mexican food here is different from the ones in Mexico?? I would never know because I've never been to Mexico. But then after about a month or so, I started craving American food. Not McDonald's or Pizza Hut, but like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese... well you get the picture.

Then I really craved Mexican food. I wasn't introduced to a lot of ethnic foods until I came all the way across the Pacific Ocean to America. What is it? Why does America have so many different kinds of food? (I'm not complaining, really) In Korea, they have two kinds of restaurants - all things Korean or fast food. They don't have Mexican food, Thai food, Indian food, Brazilian food, etc. Seriously, if there was one reason to keep me here in America, it'd be food, well, besides my family, of course.

Okay, the point of this long, long intro (I never talk this much really) is that one of dishes I craved the most (besides stuffed mushrooms) when I was back in Korea for three months was this warm, spicy, filling taco soup. But it was impossible to get these ingredients there. No sour cream, no taco seasoning, no canned tomatoes, and cheese is so darn expensive there! But now I can have one my favorite soups whenever I want! So here is the recipe for easy taco soup. And the bottom line is... don't take it for granted. It's the things that you think you'll never miss you will miss the most. :)

Taco Soup

Printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
  
• 2 cups diced onions (I didn't add this due to my husband's hatred toward onions)
  
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pinto beans
  
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced
• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish
  
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Pickled Jalapenos, for garnish
  

Direction:

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot.

Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, black olives, (green olives), taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.

To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Simple but Amazing Taco Soup

When I first came to America, I came here as a volunteer (missionary) for my church back in 2002 when I was 21 years old and stayed until 2004. I was born and raised in South Korea and it was my very first experience coming to America... my first experience outside of my home country. I was excited about all the adventures ahead of me! I got to meet a lot of interesting people, and by "interesting" I mean "totally-crazy-or/and-awesome"!! It wasn't hard to fall in love with the people in America, really. But it was the food that I had a hard time with in the beginning.

Well, if you have been to Asia, especially South Korea, you will know that Korean food is way different from American. When my missionary friends took me to Taco Bell for the first time, I thought I would never survive in America for longer than a month. I thought if all American food was like this.. I could never live here for a year and a half! (Sorry to all Taco Bell fans.. I'm just not a fan!)

Well, after going through lots of stomachaches getting used to American food, here I am... running a food blog and most of the food that I post here are American style food. After a year and a half of my wonderful experiences as a missionary, I went back to Korea for about three months before I came back here for school. Well, for a while, I was in heaven. I got to try all the Korean food that I craved while I was in America. I mean, they have Korean restaurants here but they are not the same. Just like they say Mexican food here is different from the ones in Mexico?? I would never know because I've never been to Mexico. But then after about a month or so, I started craving American food. Not McDonald's or Pizza Hut, but like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese... well you get the picture.

Then I really craved Mexican food. I wasn't introduced to a lot of ethnic foods until I came all the way across the Pacific Ocean to America. What is it? Why does America have so many different kinds of food? (I'm not complaining, really) In Korea, they have two kinds of restaurants - all things Korean or fast food. They don't have Mexican food, Thai food, Indian food, Brazilian food, etc. Seriously, if there was one reason to keep me here in America, it'd be food, well, besides my family, of course.

Okay, the point of this long, long intro (I never talk this much really) is that one of dishes I craved the most (besides stuffed mushrooms) when I was back in Korea for three months was this warm, spicy, filling taco soup. But it was impossible to get these ingredients there. No sour cream, no taco seasoning, no canned tomatoes, and cheese is so darn expensive there! But now I can have one my favorite soups whenever I want! So here is the recipe for easy taco soup. And the bottom line is... don't take it for granted. It's the things that you think you'll never miss you will miss the most. :)

Taco Soup

Printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
  
• 2 cups diced onions (I didn't add this due to my husband's hatred toward onions)
  
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pinto beans
  
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced
• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish
  
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Pickled Jalapenos, for garnish
  

Direction:

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot.

Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, black olives, (green olives), taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.

To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Pumpkin Puff Pancakes w/ Apple Cider Syrup

Are you looking for a perfect fall breakfast food? This is it, everyone! You have to make these for breakfast or maybe for breakfast-for-dinner sometime. I was first introduced to these amazing pumpkin pancakes about a week ago by Hollie at a cooking group that I am in. And now I've told all my in-laws that I'm making these for breakfast on Thanksgiving. Oh and the apple cider syrup... it smells heavenly. And it makes the pancakes truly amazing. I'm planning to make a jar of it this weekend. I'm really excited about it.

Pumpkin Puff Pancakes w/ Apple Cider Syrup (from Hollie F.)
Printable Recipe

Pancakes:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup milk

1/2 cup pumpkin

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 egg whites

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl. In a different bowl, mix all wet ingredients together, reserving egg whites. Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into mixture. Cook 1/3 cup pancakes on hot pan. Serve with apple syrup.

Apple Cider Syrup:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup corn syrup

3/4 cup apple cider

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil and let simmer 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Puff Pancakes w/ Apple Cider Syrup

Are you looking for a perfect fall breakfast food? This is it, everyone! You have to make these for breakfast or maybe for breakfast-for-dinner sometime. I was first introduced to these amazing pumpkin pancakes about a week ago by Hollie at a cooking group that I am in. And now I've told all my in-laws that I'm making these for breakfast on Thanksgiving. Oh and the apple cider syrup... it smells heavenly. And it makes the pancakes truly amazing. I'm planning to make a jar of it this weekend. I'm really excited about it.

Pumpkin Puff Pancakes w/ Apple Cider Syrup (from Hollie F.)
Printable Recipe

Pancakes:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup milk

1/2 cup pumpkin

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 egg whites

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl. In a different bowl, mix all wet ingredients together, reserving egg whites. Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into mixture. Cook 1/3 cup pancakes on hot pan. Serve with apple syrup.

Apple Cider Syrup:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup corn syrup

3/4 cup apple cider

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil and let simmer 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Puff Pancakes w/ Apple Cider Syrup

Are you looking for a perfect fall breakfast food? This is it, everyone! You have to make these for breakfast or maybe for breakfast-for-dinner sometime. I was first introduced to these amazing pumpkin pancakes about a week ago by Hollie at a cooking group that I am in. And now I've told all my in-laws that I'm making these for breakfast on Thanksgiving. Oh and the apple cider syrup... it smells heavenly. And it makes the pancakes truly amazing. I'm planning to make a jar of it this weekend. I'm really excited about it.

Pumpkin Puff Pancakes w/ Apple Cider Syrup (from Hollie F.)
Printable Recipe

Pancakes:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup milk

1/2 cup pumpkin

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 egg whites

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl. In a different bowl, mix all wet ingredients together, reserving egg whites. Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into mixture. Cook 1/3 cup pancakes on hot pan. Serve with apple syrup.

Apple Cider Syrup:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup corn syrup

3/4 cup apple cider

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to boil and let simmer 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.