Utilizing slow cookers during the holidays

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Utilizing slow cookers is crucial for the holidays because oven space is always limited, especially when you’re the visitor. Fortunately, you can turn just about ANY recipe into a slow cooker recipe.

Cooking Time Conversions

The biggest change is obviously the cooking time.

Generally, one hour of baking in the oven at 350 degrees is equal to about 6 hours on the “low” setting of your slow cooker and 3 hours on the “high” setting.

Oven cooking time	Slow cooker setting on low (about 200 degrees F)	Slow cooker setting on high (about 300 degrees F)
15 to 30 minutes	About 4 to 5 hours	About 1 ½ to 2 hours
35 to 45 minutes	About 5 hours to 6 hours	About 2 to 3 ½ hours
50 to 3 hours	About 6 to 8 hours	About 3 ½ to 5 hours

There are a lot of slow cooker conversion charts online, but I’ve found that they seem to be a little off, as in the cooking times are much too long. I used to think it was just my slow cooker, but I have multiple slow cookers and it’s the same with each one. So just like anything, error on the side of caution, and check your food at the minimum suggested cooking time.

Don’t Peek

Try your best not to take a sneak peak before the cooking time is complete. The lid traps heat and when you lift up the lid, you break the seal and allow cold air in which affects the cooking time.

Moisture

Slow cookers create a lot of moisture and none of the moisture boils off because it stays in the sealed slow cooker.  To reduce the moisture, cut the amount of liquid in the recipe by 1/3.

Also, keep moisture from ruining your dish by placing a tea towel under the lid so the condensation doesn’t fall back on top of the dish.

Conversely, slow cooker recipes should start out with some liquid. If a recipe does not include any liquid, add 1/2 cup of water or broth before cooking. Moisture is needed to produce the steam that allows the slow cooker to reach appropriate cooking times.

Cleanup

For the easiest cleanup in all of cooking, use either a slow cooker liner or make your own makeshift liner with aluminum foil. Aluminum foil also serves a dual purpose by helping the food cook more evenly

Keep food warm

Additionally, you're slow cooker can be used to keep dishes warm. You can stick your mashed potatoes in your slow cooker on Thanksgiving and choose the “warm setting” and it will keep your potatoes warm throughout without drying them out for several hours.

Here are a few of my favorite slow cooker recipes that I will be serving this Thanksgiving!

Slow Cooker Corn Casserole

Yield: Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients

1 (15.25-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (14.75-ounce) can cream-style corn

1 (8-ounce) package Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 cup low-fat sour cream

2 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Mix together whole kernel corn, cream-style corn, Jiffy corn muffin mix, sour cream, melted butter, and cheese.

Dump in slow cooker; cook on low for about 3 to 4 hours (check at 3 hours).

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole

Yield: Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients

4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Peel sweet potatoes, chop into 1-inch slices, and add in slow cooker.

Add water, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cover and cook on high heat for about 4 hours or until sweet potatoes are very soft.

Mash sweet potatoes until smooth.

Add butter and milk, and stir until combined.

Sprinkle chopped pecans on top and serve.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Pecan Pie

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

This is the first of three blog posts I'm sharing this week ahead of Thanksgiving, so of course it only makes sense for me to talk about pie first. Because even as we're wading our way through the stuffing and the green bean casserole, we're just really thinking about the grand finale--the pie!

So what makes pie so special? I think it's the fact that we tend to only eat it around the holidays. Cookies, cake, ice cream... I can eat that year round. But not many people bring pie to a gathering outside of the months of November and December. And I'm not exactly sure why because they're not difficult to make!

I think maybe a lot of people get intimidated by the crust. Really, that's unnecessary though. You know why? Because they make these things called frozen pie crusts! I know it sounds too good to be true, but they exist in pretty much every single grocery store.

I love using frozen pie crusts because they're extremely easy to use, and also, I highly highly doubt your guests will notice much of a difference between a frozen pie crust and a pie crust you spent hours making. In my opinion, the main event is the pie's filling. People don't call it a crust pie with pumpkin. They call it a pumpkin pie!

Personally, I use Wick's frozen pie crusts. Wick's is made in Indiana and you can find it in most stores in the state (I'm not sure about outside of Indiana). It's less than $5 for two pie crusts, so you can't beat that.

In most cases, before you use a frozen pie crust, you should just let it thaw about 15 minutes. But make sure to always follow the instructions on the package.

Also, it's important for me to emphasize that I'm talking about frozen pie crusts and not refrigerated pie crusts. Personally, I'm not a fan of refrigerated pie crusts because I think the taste is significantly inferior to frozen pie crusts, but that's just my opinion.

Okay, pie crust rant over. Now let's talk about this delicious pie.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pecan Pie is the ultimate pie for indecisive people. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. It's like the turducken of desserts! The first layer is a delicious pumpkin cheesecake, and then it's topped with gooey pecan pie filling. I dare you to find a dessert that does a better job of encompassing all of the flavors of fall. It's a total flavor explosion, and your guests will be so impressed! You don't have to tell them how easy it was to make. That can be our secret!

If it's your first time baking a pie, no worries! Follow these easy tips for a perfect pie on the first try!

• Make a “shield” for your crust. What I mean by this is when you’re baking your pie and you notice the edges start to turn brown shield the crust from the oven with aluminum foil. Do this by folding a square of aluminum foil into quarters and then cutting out the center of the foil so you can place it on top of the pie edges. I suggest putting the shield on the crust in the last 10 minutes of baking, but it's always best to just keep an eye on it.
• Bake pies on the lowest oven of the rack. This is because you want the crust to cook well on the bottom but you don’t want the top of the pie to burn.
• Place your pie on a cookie sheet before putting it in the oven. Pies are very delicate and hard to transport. If you put the pie on a baking sheet first, it’s easier to remove the pie from the oven.

If you missed my first post about Challenge Dairy's partnership with UNICEF to fight the childhood malnutrition crisis with their campaign called “Pin a Recipe, Feed a Child" check it out now! Through December 31, 2016, if you pin a recipe from the “2016 Pin a Recipe, Feed a Child” Pinterest board, Challenge will donate a meal to UNICEF for a child in need.



Pumpkin Cheesecake Pecan Pie
Yield: Serves about 8 people

Ingredients
For the pumpkin cheesecake layer

• 1 (8 ounce package) Challenge cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg

For the pecan pie layer

• 2/3 cup dark corn syrup
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Challenge butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 frozen pie crust, thawed (or your favorite pie crust recipe)

Directions
For the pumpkin cheesecake layer

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Beat the cream cheese for 1 minute until smooth and creamy
3. Add sugar and beat for another minute
4. Add pumpkin puree, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon and beat well
5. Add egg and beat until just combined; set aside

For the pecan pie layer

1. Combine dark corn syrup, sugar, 2 eggs, butter, and vanilla; mix in pecans
2. Add pumpkin cheesecake mixture to bottom of pie crust and spread until layer is even
3. Spoon pecan pie mixture on top of pumpkin cheesecake
4. Bake for about 50 minutes or until center of pie crust is set and toothpick comes out clean
5. Let pie cool on wire rack for at least one hour and then refrigerate until served

Idea for recipe adapted from Inside Bru Crew Life

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Easy Parmesan Garlic Knots

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Every year, someone is assigned “bread duty” for Thanksgiving. Usually it goes to the person who doesn’t want to make anything (or who you don’t trust to make anything).

But good bread is the foundation of every meal, and this year if you’re assigned bread duty you should embrace it and empress everyone with a delicious homemade treat!

Easy Parmesan Garlic Knots look fancy, but they could not be simpler!

Start with a can of refrigerated biscuit dough and cut each pre-sliced biscuit in half. Slightly stretch the dough so it looks like a rope and tie it into a knot. That right there is the most difficult part of the recipe. Except for the part where you have to open can of refrigerated biscuit dough. Why do they have to make it so scary?

Next your going to brush the biscuits with a butter-garlic-Italian seasoning-cheese mixture. You’re going to want to pour the mixture on the biscuits but resist because you’ll need the leftovers for later.

Pop the biscuits in an oven heated to 375 for about 8 to 10 minutes. Start checking on the biscuits at 8 minutes to see if the bottoms are golden brown. The bottom is the best indicator because if you only look at the top it may be too late and you’ll have burnt biscuits. And the only Thanksgiving rule is don’t serve burnt biscuits.

Once you take your biscuits out of the oven, brush them with the butter mixture again and watch as the warm biscuits soak up the melted butter.

Impress your friends and family and pop them in the middle of the table. You can serve with marinara sauce or plain. They’re delicious either way!

This time of year I feel especially grateful as I look forward to Thanksgiving and a table full of more food than all of us can eat and leftovers for days. 

However, I know that many people don’t get to experience this luxury, and millions of children go without food on a regular basis. Challenge Dairy is partnering with UNICEF to fight and raise awareness of the childhood malnutrition crisis with a campaign called “Pin a Recipe, Feed a Child.” 

In order to participate, all you have to do is go to Challenge Butter’s “2016 Pin a Recipe, Feed a Child” Pinterest board. For every recipe that you pin from this board, Challenge will donate a meal to UNICEF for a child in need.  These meals go to wherever UNICEF determines they are most needed, and in the past, Challenge Dairy says many of the meals have gone to children in the U.S.

Currently, there are 95 recipes on their Pinterest board but more recipes will be added throughout the duration of the campaign which ends on December 31, 2016.

Easy Parmesan Garlic Knots

Yield: Makes 16 garlic knots

Ingredients

• 16 ounces refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough
• 1/4 cup Challenge salted butter, melted
• 3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Open can of refrigerated biscuit dough and cut each biscuit in half
3. Roll each halved biscuit into a rope and tie into a knot
4. Place knots onto a prepared baking sheet
5. Mix melted butter, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt.
6. Brush knots with mixture; make sure to save leftover mixture for later.
7. Place in oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes
8. Remove from oven and immediately brush knots with leftover butter mixture 

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Mummy Pepperoni Pizza Bites

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays when I was younger. I grew up playing with two neighbor boys, and every year their mom would make us group costumes. If blogs had been big back then, she would have had the best blog because these costumes were amazing!

One year we were Mario characters (I was Princess Peach), another year we went as the Rugrats (I was Angelica), and then another year we were the characters from Harry Potter (I was Hermione). I wish I had some pictures of these costumes handy because I’m sure you all would get a big kick out of them!

Fortunately, we lived in a very large neighborhood, so we would go to dozens and dozens of houses! It was just a really magical day!

I haven’t dresses up for Halloween in quite a few years, but I do have an adorable dog who will let me dress her up! This year she’s the presidential candidate of the puppy party. The costume doesn’t seem to bother her, and honestly, I think she likes all the attention she gets while wearing it!

 I think it’s important to have traditions, especially when you have young kids or grandkids because they really do remember these things regardless of whether or not you think it’s a big deal.

This year I wanted to come up with an idea for a Halloween dinner recipe that could become a new tradition to serve each year. I saw this idea for pizza mummy bites on another blogger’s website, and I loved the idea!

Mummy pepperoni pizza bites require very few ingredients and are so easy to make! Start with a thin crust refrigerated pizza dough. Thin crust is ideal because you don’t need these to be very thick. And regular crust may puff up a little too much and not look like mummies. Cut as many 3 inch x 5 inch rectangles as you can out of the pizza crust. (I was able to get about 15 rectangles.)

Take one of your rectangles, lay it down landscape style and make several cuts into the dough so they look like strips. Spread a little marinara sauce on the side of the rectangle without the strips and then add cheese and a piece of pepperoni.

Fold the strips over across the toppings so it looked like it has a wrapped effect. And then add two olives for the eyes. Cute!

Before popping them in the oven, I recommend brushing them with a little garlic butter. It may seem like a lot of extra fat, but it’s not because you’re just brushing it on for added flavor and to prevent them from drying out in the oven. And if you use good quality butter like Challenge that doesn’t have any added hormones or preservatives, there’s nothing to feel bad about!

After you bake them until they’re golden brown, you can serve them with marinara sauce to dip them in! Or even tomato soup if it’s a cold Halloween night!

I hope you like this idea, and I hope it becomes a new tradition in your household! Happy Halloween!

Mummy Pepperoni Pizza Bites

Yield: Makes about 15 bites

Ingredients

• 1 can refrigerated thin crust pizza dough
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 15 - 30 pepperonis
• 30 sliced olives
• 1 Tablespoon Challenge butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Roll out refrigerated pizza dough and cut into 3 inch x 5 inch rectangles
3. Take one rectangle and lay it so it’s facing you in “landscape mode” and cut 4 strips halfway through the rectangle
4. Spread a small about of pizza sauce (about half a spoonful) on the side of the rectangle that isn’t cut in strips. Lay mozzarella cheese on top of the marinara sauce and then add one or two pepperonis on top of cheese.
5. Fold the strips over the toppings and tuck them into the other side of the dough.
6. Add two sliced black olives on top of dough so they look like eyes.
7. Place the finished product onto a greased baking sheet.
8. Combine the melted butter and garlic butter and use a basting brush or pastry brush to brush the garlic butter on top of each pizza dough mummy.
9. Bake for about 8 minutes or until the pizza dough is golden brown.

Recipe adapted from Printable Crush

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Pumpkin Gooey Butter Crunch Cake

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I have always loved cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. But when I was in the fifth grade I became obsessed, and Paula Deen was my inspiration! I used to tape her show on the Food Network (yes, I said tape) because it aired during the school day. And I would watch study it every evening.

Now this was pre-diabetic Paula so there was an entire stick of butter and pound of sugar in everything.

I’ll never forget the first recipe of Paula’s that I made—Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. I was so excited to make it for Thanksgiving! You see, pumpkin gooey butter cake has a yellow cake mix crust and a pumpkin filling that has the same texture as pumpkin pie.

My mom was concerned after finding out it had an entire pound of powdered sugar and 16 tablespoons of butter, but she didn’t care after one bite. In fact, no one cared that there were nearly 1,000 calories in a piece the size of a thumbnail. Even my cousin who doesn’t like pumpkin loved this.

Now that I create my own recipes, I wanted to develop something similar to the gooey butter cake, but with a little different texture. I know some people who say they don’t like pumpkin have the biggest issue with its texture. And I understand that. It definitely can be slimy especially when it sits around and develops a pool of water on top from condensation. So for this recipe, I wanted to make something with a little crunch! Instead of using all of the cake mix for the crust, I saved a cup of it and made a streusel to go on top with brown sugar and pecans. If you don’t like pecans or maybe you’re allergic to nuts, you can always substitute the pecans with chunks of graham crackers or whatever else you prefer.

I also changed up the pumpkin layer a bit so it has significantly less sugar and butter. Don’t worry, it’s still incredibly delicious!

If you look at the recipe, it may seem complicated because there are three different layers. But really, it’s very simple. There are only seven ingredients in this entire cake—you just use them in different proportions at different times throughout the recipe. I separated each layer in the ingredients list because I think it’s easier to see as you’re making the recipe.

I wanted to call this recipe “Pumpkin Crunch Cake,” however, I just found out that already exists! So I just went with “Pumpkin Gooey Butter Crunch Cake!” If you have better ideas please let me know!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Crunch Cake

Yield: Makes one 9x13 cake

Ingredients

Base

• 1 (16.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix (reserve 1 cup)
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons Challenge butter, melted

Filling

• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

• Reserved 1 cup cake mix
• 4 tablespoons Challenge butter, melted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine cake mix (minus the reserved 1 cup), egg and melted butter; mix well. Press evenly into bottom of pan.
3. Combine pumpkin, 3 eggs, brown sugar, milk, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla and pour      evenly on top of base
4. Mix together reserved 1 cup cake mix, melted butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and pecans. Sprinkle mixture evenly over pumpkin mixture.
5. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, and test for doneness with a toothpick.
6. Serve warm or chilled.

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Mini Caramel Apples

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Caramel apples are a classic fall treat! But I don’t know anyone who enjoys biting into them. They’re so big and they get all over your face and you practically lose a tooth in the process.

But then it occurred to me if I make mini caramel apples, like cake pops, they’re much easier to eat! You can just pop them in your mouth without getting a facemask of caramel in the process!

So the concept for mini caramel apples looks simple enough, but it’s a little more complicated than what you may think. It’s important that you follow these tips in order to make this adorable little dessert a success!

1. You should use Granny Smith apples. Normally, I’m not a fan of Granny Smith, but they’re known for being less juicy and that’s what you want. You see, the biggest issue with making these a success is the fact that because the apple ball doesn’t have skin, the caramel has trouble sticking to the outside because of the apple’s juice. So you want to start out with the least juicy apple possible.

2. It’s crucial that you squeeze the apple balls into a paper towel to remove excess juice before dipping into caramel sauce.

3. Do not let you caramel sauce cool off too much! You want it to stay warm so it easily coats the apple.

4. Make sure you get some of the caramel sauce about ¼ inch up on the stick so that it creates a better seal when you dip it into the ice water bath.

5. The ice water bath is absolutely necessary because it helps sets the caramel.

Mini Caramel Apples

Yield: Makes about 16 mini caramel apples

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Challenge butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3 Granny Smith Apples
• Crushed peanuts, sprinkles or mini chocolate chips.

 Other necessary items

• Candy sticks or toothpicks
• Small bowl of ice water

Directions

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and honey, stirring with wooden spoon until combined.
2. Slowly add the heavy cream and let mixture come to a boil.
3. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring continuously and then set aside.
4. Peel apples and then use a melon baller to scoop out apple balls.
5. Thoroughly dry apple balls with paper towel to soak up any extra moisture from its surface.
6. Insert candy stick into apple balls, making sure to not puncture the other end.
7. Dip apple into caramel, letting any excess drip off.
8. Immediately stick it into ice water bath for a few seconds to harden caramel.
9. Press caramel apple into crushed peanuts or desired topping.
10. Immediately transfer them onto plate with wax paper and stick in freezer for at least 15 minutes to finish setting.
11. Once caramel is hard, remove from freezer and enjoy.

Recipe adapted from Instructables and Divas Can Cook

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