Cooking with Parker

So I have 2 new recipes this week- cajun slaw and pumpkin gooey bars....totally unrelated.  But both utterly delicious!  And cute little Parker was an excellent little sous chef.  Very eager to play the drums with pots and pans and lick the whipped cream off of the beaters....I'm training him well, eh?

Cajun Slaw

1/2 cup mayonnaise                                      1 12oz pkg brocolli slaw mix                   
2 T creole or whole-grain mustard             2 small bell peppers, thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon                                            3 scallions
2 T drained horseradish                               2 teasp Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons brown sugar

Whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, horseradish, Cajun seasoning and brown sugar in a small bowl. Toss the slaw mix, bell peppers and scallions in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise dressing and toss to coat.
*I didn't have scallions, so I threw in some chopped tomatoes instead- it was great!*

(This is from Food Network Magazine, May 2012 or at the Food Network website)

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Ingredients

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cake, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.  Pat the mixture into a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan. 

Prepare filling:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. 

Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. 

Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Like Father, Like Son....Parker very interested in the Coke cans

a boy after my own heart

I also tried something new tonight- I baked a spaghetti squash- it was AMAZING- the smell in the kitchen was intoxicating, and it was so incredibly simple!

Here it is after I scraped it out of the shell.  I also made a homemade spaghetti sauce and poured it over the squash like they were my noodles.  It was really delicious!  This might be a good way to get more veggies in my children one day if they ever get too picky....