Costumes!

It's that time of year to start thinking of costumes to wear on trick-or-treat night. Last year we were Frankenstein and Pippi Longstocking.....wonder what we will do this year?

Oh that wig.....for someone who does not sew, it was a tad bit of work....

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles!

1 C. Butter
1 1/2 C. Sugar
1 C. Pumpkin (canned is fine)
1 Large Egg
2 tsp. vanilla
3 14 C. Flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
Rolling Sugar: 1/2 C. Sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. each ginger and allspice
DIRECTIONS: In large bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and pumpkin; mix well. Add egg, vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Beat into wet mixture a small amount at a time. Cover and chill dough for atleast 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with non stick spray. Roll dough into little balls; roll balls into sugar mix. Place 2" apart on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake 10-14 minutes.

Happy Eating!

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies!

Just us girls tonight! The boys went to football and since tonight was the one "free" evening, Riley wanted to stay home! So we finished homework, baked and found a REALLY fun new blog....One Charming Party! Oh, we oooohhhhed and aaaahhhed the night away. Also, some of the blogs I follow have been talking about this "pinterest"....I, being the nosy one that I am, googled it and well, I think I am addicted. I didn't join the site, but really, I could spend hours (oh, wait...I did spend hours) just looking at everyone's ideas and creativity!

On to more important things like brownies! Here is what you need for the brownies:

My helper...

Mixing the brownies~

Top brownies with Peanut butter filling~

Swirl with a knife~

Enjoy with milk!

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

1 pkg Brownie Mix (my mix made an 11x7 rectangle pan - a 9x13 mix would be fine also)

Ingredients to make brownies

3/4 C. Sugar

1/4 C. Flour

2 Eggs

1/2 C. Peanut Butter

DIRECTIONS: For Peanut Butter filling - Combine sugar, flour, eggs and peanut butter. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. For Brownies-follow package directions and spread brownies into greased pan. Drop PB filling over the top and swirl with a knife. Bake according to package directions.

HAPPY EATING!

Overnight Baked French Toast Casserole!

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when it came time to make this recipe. Typically my experience with french toast casseroles has been "bleck". They usually turn out soggy in the middle, which makes me tend to overcook the casserole trying to get the middle cooked. Well, let me tell you that my friend Paula Deen knows how to make a casserole! (and I only wish she were my friend~I could just imagine her and I having coffee and swapping recipes......what fun we would have!).

I made this casserole for a work party we were having and the results were great! It was such a nice dish because you prepare it the night before and then bake it the next day.
Here it is.....
Cube up your bread and layer in a well greased (I used butter to grease the pan) 9x13~

Whisk eggs, milk, half & half, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla~

Pour egg mix over the bread crubes and cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in fridge until next morning! (Sorry no photo).
Pull your casserole out of the fridge and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Mix up praline topping and spread over casserole.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. You can see I added blueberries to 1/2 the dish. I placed frozen berries on bread cubes before putting praline topping on.

Yummy, yummy, yummy! Paula recommends serving this with syrup. I thought it was plenty sweet without the extra syrup, but if your preference is extra sweet~serve yours with syrup.

Baked French Toast Casserole (adapted from Paula Deen)

1 and 1/2 loaves Pepperidge Farm Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swirl Bread (the thicker cut package), cubed.

2 C. Half and Half

1 C. Milk

2 Tbsp. Sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Praline Topping

1 C. Butter (2 sticks, softened)

1 C. Brown Sugar

1 C. Chopped Pecans

2 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend well.

DIRECTIONS: Cube bread and place in a well greased 9x13. In large bowl combine eggs, half and half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and beat with a whisk until blended. Pour mix over the bread cubes. Cover with foil and refrig. overnight. The next day, preheat oven to 350. Spread praline topping evenly over the bread adn bake for 40 minutes until puffed and lightly browned. Serve with syrup.

HAPPY EATING!

Mint Chocolate Chip Mousse Cups

Looks fancy but really is easy and your family will love you (well, more than they already do!).
Who doesn't love chocolate and mint? Okay, maybe there are some of you who don't but we do~so we enjoyed these low-fat dessert cups!


Mint Chocolate Chip Mousse Cups
1 pkg. Chocolate Pudding mix (instant)
2 Cups 1% Milk
1/2 of an 8 oz. container of Lite Cool Whip
1/2 C. Dark Chocolate and Mint Chocolate Chips
DIRECTIONS: Make pudding according to package directions. Fold in Cool Whip and chocolate chips. Divide evenly among 4 parfait cups. Top with a dollop of the remaining cool whip and a sprinkle of the chips. Enjoy!


HAPPY EATING!

Crockpot Meatballs!

I had my act together this week; well, as far as meals are concerned. With our evenings filled with practices, I thought it would be a good idea to get out the crock pot and have a meal plan together so we could be ready to eat and out the door by 5:15. Rainstorms have cancelled everything around here and we have found ourselves at home~two nights in a row now and we have enjoyed the meals, sitting around the table and taking our time and chatting about our days.
Today our meal was Spaghetti and Meatballs. These meatballs were fantastic and easy. I mean really, you mix them up, roll them into whatever size meatball you want, throw them in the crockpot and cover with sauce. That's it!
Meatballs in the crock ready to go~

Served up for dinner...

Mint Chocolate Chip Mousse Cups for dessert....

Crockpot Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef (you could also use ground turkey)

3/4 C. Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs

1 Egg

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

1 Jar of Spaghetti Sauce (whatever your taste, I used some of the Spatini Sauce I made and froze)

DIRECTIONS: Mix all meatball ingred. (except sauce) together. Roll into whatever size meatball desired. Place in crockpot. Cover with sauce and cook on low for 6 hours.

Serve with cooked pasta and garlic bread!

HAPPY EATING!

Soccer!

Riley's soccer has begun. Wednesday evenings are a little busy with football from 6-8 and soccer from 6-7 at two different locations. Thankfully, we can each take a kid and go......tonight though - a FREE evening, because of all the rain that we are having~practices are cancelled!! It is a good night to be indoors.
Ry is #14. She is playing on the purple shirt team (they don't have a name yet) this year. Her BFF is #12.

Drills....

More drills...

Go Purple Shirts!!