Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!

These are oh so good! And even more so, they are so easy! I could sit here and eat the whole pan. Good thing they are low fat and low calorie! Top them with a piece of candy corn!

1 butter recipe (or any flavor you want/have)
1 can pumpkin (I just used Libby's)
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinammon

Mix together, it will be dry, but okay!

Preheat oven to whatever the box says.

Cook them according to box directions.

I got 21 cupcakes out of this, I will make them fuller next time as they don't rise much.


Cream cheese Frosting (from allrecipes)
1 8oz package cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter, stir in vanilla and add in powder sugar. Frost cupcakes, this made plenty probably enough for more than 24!

Tastes like spaghetti and meatballs risotto

I was watching Rachel Ray's talk show and she made this, and immediately I wanted it! So I made it for dinner that night! It was really good! I haven't really cooked anything new lately, but I hope that I get back in the kitchen!

Ingredients
1 28-ounce can tomato sauce or puree (I used Prego because I didn't have enough plain tomato sauce, but I will use regular sauce next time)
1 quart chicken stock
2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus some for liberal drizzling
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2 tablespoons tomato paste (didn't have any, I need to find the stuff you keep in the refrigerator)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced
1/3 cup breadcrumbs, eyeball it (I used frozen meatballs because I didn't have the ingredients to make these)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 pound ground beef, pork and veal mix
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, a small handful


Preparation
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Place the tomato sauce and stock in medium saucepot and heat over low heat. Keep warm.

Place a medium-sized pot with rounded sides over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan EVOO. Add onions and 2 cloves of garlic and sauté a couple of minutes to soften. Add the rice and turn to coat. Toast for about 1 minute then add the tomato paste and stir a minute more, stir in wine and cook until the liquid evaporates. Begin adding a couple of ladles of the tomato-stock at a time. Each time you add the liquid, stir the risotto vigorously to develop the starches. Rice will cook 18 minutes total. (If the rice is al dente and creamy, yet you still have a ladle or 2 of liquid left, do not feel forced to use it.) In the last minute or so of cooking time, stir in the butter until it melts then add 1/2 cup cheese, a couple of handfuls. Turn off heat and stir in basil.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, moisten the breadcrumbs with milk. Add egg, meat, parsley, 1/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper to the bowl and mix to combine. Score meat into 4 sections and form 8 small balls from each section, the size of marbles. Place the balls on a baking sheet and coat them with a liberal drizzle of EVOO. Bake 5 minutes until cooked through and golden.

Serve risotto in shallow bowls topped with 8 mini meatballs per serving.