Halloween!

We have covered a lot of costumes in 9 years.....a firefighter, a princess, a baseball player, a ladybug, Dumbo and a mouse, a black cat, Frankenstein, Pippi ~ you get the idea. This year...well, here it is
The EARTH!

and Hoot, Hoot...an OWL!

Happy Halloween!

Enjoy all your treats!

Birthday Boy and His Birthday Treat for School!

JD turns 9 tomorrow! I can't believe how quickly the time flies! This was the baby we waited and prayed for, for a looooooooong time! What a joy he has brought to our lives! He is so full of adventure and activity that there never seems to be a dull moment. He lives life with so much gusto and energy! He will talk your ear off....unless he is fishing! Here is a little flashback....(sorry, the pics got out of order!).
I think this is one of my favorite pics of him...

First day of kindergarten...he couldn't wait to get on that bus!

Turning "5" with his best buds...

This was the year of the firefighter....

Wish they could stay this little...

Age 9

First year of football 2011

This is the fun treat he is taking for school......all you need is Mini Hershey Bars, Ghost Peeps, Graham Crackers.

Oh, and fun ribbon...

Package up.....

Tie with fun ribbon.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JD!

HAPPY EATING!

Happy Birthday, Jimmy!

Whew, what a weekend! I can't believe we actually got snow in October? Who has ever heard of such a crazy thing, who knows, maybe it will be 80 degrees on Christmas!! But, it was nice to sit back and not be in a hurry! Kinda makes me ready for more of the white stuff......
Today was my hubby's birthday! We had a great, relaxing day...church, lunch at Red Robin and lounging around the house, watching the kids play in the snow!

To end our evening, we had these for a little birthday treat!

Happy birthday to the best husband and daddy!

To make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae.......mix up your favorite cookie dough recipe. Take all of the dough and pat it into a round pizza pan. Bake. Cool. Serve with favorite ice cream and toppings!!

HAPPY EATING!

Pumpkin Roll = Yum!

I know I should be posting about what I had for dinner, however, last night the kids didn't love dinner (although the hubs did), so I will skip right to dessert....they all agree on this!! (BTW~we just had hot ham & cheese sandwiches last night....I made them on french toast though.....I think that was the part the kids didn't love)!

Mix together eggs and sugar until light in color. Add in pumpkin.

Once pumpkin is blended in, add dry ingredients and spices....some people mix the dry ingred. in a separate bowl~I don't. I know, I am a rebel.....but I have never had a problem with throwing stuff altogether so.....all I can say is go ahead, live on the edge!

Pour batter onto a 15x11 cookie sheet, that is lined with greased wax paper.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes after baking.

Now the tricky part.....flip your cake roll onto a clean, powder sugar dusted, lint free dish towel.

(And yes, the powdered sugar will fly!). Cool for another 5-10 minutes before rolling.

Roll up...and cool completely.

Once cool, unroll

Fill with cream cheese filling....

Roll back up WITHOUT the dish towel.

Store in refrig. until ready to serve. Slice and enjoy. Leftovers (if there are any) should be stored in the fridge.

PUMPKIN ROLL WITH VANILLA CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FILLING

3 Eggs

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2/3 C. Pumpkin (I used Libbys Brand)

3/4 C. Flour

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

2 Tsp. Cinnamon

1 Tsp. Ginger

1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg

1/2 Tsp. Cloves

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with waxed paper and grease the paper. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, blend eggs and sugars until thick and light yellow in color. Add pumpkin. Once pumpkin is blended in, add flour, baking powder and spices. Mix well. Pour into pan and spread out to cover the baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Dust dish towel with powdered sugar. Turn cake out onto towel. Cool another minutes. Roll up in a jelly roll fashion. Cool completely.

Once cool, unroll and fill with cream cheese frosting. Roll bake up (without towel).

CREAM CHEESE FILLING

8 oz. Cream Cheese

3/4 C. Powdered Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 C. Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped until stiff peaks form

DIRECTIONS: Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until smooth. Blend in the whipped cream. (Can also substitute 1 Cup of cool whip if desired).

HAPPY EATING!

English Muffin Garlic Bread...

Who doesn't love an english muffin? All those nooks and crannies for the butter...topped with cinnamon sugar for a breakfast treat....made into those little pizzas you ate as a kid. Well, tonight I made them into little garlic bread treats. Oh. My. Word. That's all I have to say, well, that and have a good weekend!!
Spread with butter and Italian Garlic Bread mixture...

After baking...ready to eat!

English Muffin Garlic Bread Rounds

2 English Muffins, split

2 Tbsp. Butter - softened

2 tsp. Tastefully Simple Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning Mix

Sprinkle of Mozzarella Cheese

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to the broil setting. Split muffins and place on a baking sheet. Mix butter and seasoning mix. Spread onto muffins. Place under broiler - watch closely, and remove from oven when bubbly and lightly browned. Add cheese and return to oven. Broil until cheese just melts.

HAPPY EATING!

Crock Pot Beef Stew!

I'm back. Sorry for the small delay between posts. Life happened! This week the weather has made a turn (for the better, if you ask me) towards cool & crisp! I love the crispness of the morning air as we wait for the bus and I have my coffee; the crispness on the football field at night...also, I unfortunately love the "comfort" foods of Fall! This week I reached out for some beef stew. I could mix everything in the crockpot, turn it on low and walk away! Gotta love that!

Crock Pot Beef Stew
2 lbs. beef cubes
3 Large Baking Potatoes, cubed
1 Bag Small Baby Carrots
Peas or Green Beans
1 Can Beef Broth
1 Can French Onion Soup
DIRECTIONS: Place beef, potatoes and carrots into the crock pot. Pour soup over them. Add 1/2 to 1 can of water. Place lid on crock pot, turn on low and walk away for 6-8 hours. After cooking time, I flipped crock to high and added peas (probably about 1/2 bag). Also, I mixed 1 Cup beef broth with 4 heaping tablespoons of corn starch. I then whisked that into the beef stew mix. Stirring until thickened. Serve these a variety of ways. I made egg noodles and a green salad. You could serve it over rice or with cornbread...the list is endless.

After dinner I treated myself to this little treat!

I found the mix at Stauffers but they also have it at Darrenkamps. Just mix with hot water and enjoy!! I love fall!

Happy Eating!

Applesauce Day!

4 Bushels of Apples, 1 Victorio Strainer, Sugar, Cinnamon, Containers and 2 Gals = Approx. 56 Qts. of applesauce!

Quarter apples (no need to peel or core the apples) and place in a large stockpot with just enough water to cover the bottom:

Cook apples until soft and squishy! Dump into funnel of the strainer and crank....sauce comes down the slide! Add sugar and cinnamon to your taste and place in containers.

Allow to cool before putting on lids and placing in freezer!

Enjoy Applesauce all winter long!

HAPPY EATING!

Antipasto Kabob Appetizers!

I am sorry for the pause in posting recently! I feel like I have had "cookers block" recently! I so enjoy the Fall and all things that go with fall ~ but have found that life has been busy and there hasn't been a lot of time for cooking and creativity!!

I made these little appetizers when were together with our Adelman, Miller and Frederick friends the other week! They were pretty tasty (the appetizers, not the friends....).

Antipasto Kabob Appetizers
1 Can Black Olives (I used medium sized)
1 Jar Green Olives
Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 lb. Cooked Salami, sliced (from the deli counter)
1/2 lb. Pepperoni
Fresh mini Mozzarella Balls
1 pkg. frozen tortellini, cooked according to pkg. directions
1 C. Zesty, Free Italian dressing
DIRECTIONS: Cook tortellini accordin to package directions and rinse under cool water. Place cooked tortellini in a large ziploc bag and pour dressing over. Seal bag and marinate 4-6 hours or overnight. Slice salami into quarters. Thread ingredients onto 3" wooden skewers, starting and ending with an olive. Enjoy!

HAPPY EATING!