I feel like I’ve been away for much longer than a week! I hope everyone had a fan-tabulous Thanksgiving holiday.  I spent my week at Disney World! 

It was a very busy, very tiring, but very fun week with my hubs and the kids.  We crammed as much into each day as we possibly could, so the kids could experience as much as possible.  This was their first trip to Disney, and they were amazed!  As for me, I’m feeling a little…

Dopey Because the week (the whole month actually), went by like a blurrrrr! I will torture give you all a recap of our trip and pics when I get myself together.  Since it’s Cyber Monday…I’ve got to get some shopping done!!!  I’ll catch up with everyone ASAP!



I’ve seen all these cute things dealing with Indian corn….

So I thought I’d share them with everyone.  Since the kiddies will be out of school a few days next week, you may want something to keep them busy —especially on Thursday when you’re trying to get things done in the kitchen!  Get the bigger kids to help the little ones make these….

Indian Corn Craft from .  I thought this was super cute as well as super easy.  Always a plus with kids.  You basically just need paint, bubble wrap and construction paper!

This….

Ok, so it doesn’t look so great now, b/c I didn’t think about taking a picture before it got squashed, broken in two and “molded” back together, etc….Plus, it was made by a 2 year old. (with help of course!)  This is supposed to be “indian corn”.  It’s made of popcorn, raisins, dried apricots and butter.  Mix everything together with the melted butter and mold into “corn” shape.  My son made this at preschool.



from the blog Cupcake Wednesdays



I’ve made both of these in previous years, and thought they were pretty yummy so I thought I’d share.  They both came from allrecipes.com.

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 cup apple butter

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup evaporated milk

1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust

STREUSEL TOPPING:

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, apple butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in eggs and evaporated milk. Pour into prepared pie shell.

3.Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted 2 inches from the center comes out clean. Sprinkle streusel topping over the pie (see #4), and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

4.To make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine butter, flour, and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Stir until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans.

AND, since I couldn’t decide on just one recipe to share…

1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling

1 (16 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Combine apple pie filling and cranberry sauce in a shallow baking dish.

3.In a medium bowl, mix the butter, oats, and brown sugar until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit mixture.

4.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until browned and crisp.
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So there you have it, some desserts for your Thanksgiving feast!!  Hop over to and see some other fab desserts, and link up your own family traditions!  (Or new recipes you’re gonna try this year!)

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday links –

Yes, you read correctly…cookies. For breakfast.  What kind of mom gives their kids cookies for breakfast?  Well, this mom apparently.  My kids think I rock.  Today anyway.  My girls have been skipping out on breakfast lately.  Too busy “getting ready”.  Why do you need to spend more than 5 minutes getting ready for the 2nd and 4th grade?  Anyway, I know this is only the beginning of that drama.

I decided I would make something ‘portable’ that they could grab’n go, but I wanted it to be semi-healthy.  It needed to have some protein, and complex carbs.  Pop-Tarts, most granola bars, etc. just didn’t really have the ingredients in them that I felt my kids need for breakfast.  So I went on an internet search and found several breakfast cookie recipes, which are kind of like homemade granola bars shaped into a cookie.

I narrowed my search to one, b/c I had all the ingredients on hand.  It is full of whole grains from whole wheat flour, oats, and Cheerios (which I think are just thrown in for texture and to make you feel like you really are giving your kids something breakfast worthy).  There is also protein in the form of peanut butter and a serving of Egg Beaters….sorry Mr. Terrible Two, these are off limits for you.  As good as those ingredients sound, these are definitely not the perfect breakfast.  There is plenty of sugar in them…white sugar and chocolate chips!  However, I didn’t want to have a whole batch of “cookies” that the kids wouldn’t eat, so I didn’t mess with the sugar quantities this time.  It is a good base recipe to play with, and I’ll be experimenting with it (sorry kids).  I think some pureed prunes or carrots would be a good addition, as well as some walnuts or almonds and dried fruit.
Anyway, my kids chowed down on their cookies this morning.  They were actually excited to eat breakfast, and ate one before they even started getting ready!  Guess I’ll have to come up with more exciting breakfast options to get them to eat.  I do believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!  Of course, I think every meal is important, which is why my jeans are getting very tight 😛

Want the ?

Cheerios Breakfast Cookies

•3/4 cup granulated sugar

•1/4 cup canola oil

•3/4 cup peanut butter

•1/4 cup water

•1 tsp. vanilla extract

•1/4 cup egg substitute (such as Egg Beaters)

•1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

•1/2 tsp. baking soda

•1/2 tsp. salt

•1-1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats **I used old-fashioned

•3 oz. mini chocolate chips  **I used a 1/2 cup of regular semi-sweet (all I had)

•3 cups Cheerios cereal  **We always have these on hand!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat sugar, canola oil, peanut butter, water, vanilla and egg substitute together with an electric mixer until well-combined. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, oats and chocolate chips. Very gently, fold in the Cheerios. Drop the dough (it will be sticky) by rounded quarter-cupfuls onto an ungreased or silpat-lined cookie sheet. Flatten the dough gently with your fingertips.  I about an 1/8th cup more water b/c it was very dry.

Bake cookies in the preheated oven 13 to 15 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container or freeze in a sealed Ziploc bag for up to two months.  **I found ours only needed to cook for about 11-12 minutes.  I guess it just depends on your oven.

Makes 20 breakfast cookies.
Per cookie: 206 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 26 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g protein, 9% Vitamin A, 2% Vitamin C, 3% calcium, 21% iron **info per

So, go make your kids some cookies for breakfast!

Pumpkin Spiced Scones with crystallized ginger and ginger molasses icing -or- orgasm in yo’ mouth.  These things were fabulous.  Incredible.  Deeeevine.  However, they have a very distinct flavor.  If you do not like ginger…these are not for you.  I happen to love ginger, especially after eating these babies.  Which caused me to need to spend extra time on the dreadmill.  I mean treadmill.  Notice I said I “need to” not “I did”.  I did my usual mileage (barely), but just couldn’t do more.  Apparently, scones are more conducive to laying on the couch instead of running.  Anyway….I’ve seen a few recipes around blogland for pumpkin scones, pumpkin scones with crystallized ginger, etc.  Today, when I started looking at the different recipes I decided on one from Pinch My Salt.  Then, I made a few changes…which I know shocks no one who has read my blog more than five minutes.  You should go to the site, b/c it has way better pictures with prettier icing  – just so you’ll know what it’s supposed to look like!  But I don’t care how they look, they tasted incredibly awesome.

1 C. whole wheat flour

1 C. cake flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. ground allspice

1/4 t. ground ginger

4 T. Smart Balance 50/50 blend

1/4 cup crystallized ginger (chopped)

1/2 cup pumpkin puree 

1/3 C. heavy cream

6 T. brown sugar

1 t. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper/silicone mat/cooking spray (whatever you have). 
3. Cut butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator. 
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices.
5. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine too).
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. 
7. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender/two knives or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. 
8. Stir in the crystallized ginger if using.
9. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just combined. The dough will be very crumbly, this is okay.
10. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and make a pile with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky. 
11. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. They should be light brown on the bottom when done.

Icing: For ginger molasses icing, stir together 1 T. molasses, 1-2 T. milk, and 1/4 – 1/2 t. ground ginger (to taste). Adjust the amount of sugar or milk to make the icing the consistency you want. It should be pretty thick. For cinnamon icing, mix together 1 C. powdered sugar, 2 T. milk, 1/4 – 1/2 t. cinnamon (to taste). Again, adjust amounts to change consistency. Icing can be brushed on or drizzled.

**I was confused abt the icing…the ginger molasses icing. – should it have powdered sugar too?  I assumed so since it was super thin otherwise, but also very sweet.  Not sure about that part, you’ll have to experiment like I did.  My icing was too thin, but I didn’t want to add anymore sugar, so I ended up brushing it on the scones not pictured.  The plate that is pictured was devoured moments later somehow disappeared.  I have no knowledge of what happened to it.  They were stolen, I’m sure of it. (lie)
 
This recipe requires a lot of steps and bowls…

But I have to say it was worth the clean up.  Like Mr. Grumpy?  Definitely fitting for me first thing in the morning.  Or anytime really.  I sure wish I had not put the remaining scones in the freezer, b/c I’d really like another one.  (I have no idea if they freeze well, but I had to do something to keep myself from gorging on the entire batch.  Plus, my Dad likes ginger so I thought I’d save him some.)

I made the scones on Sunday, so this morning I’m having pumpkin oatmeal.  I’m wondering when I’ll start to look like I have jaundice.  I actually rushed my first child to the pediatrician when she was very young b/c she started turning orange.  Turns out, it was just because she was mainly eating orange veggies 😀  The doc thought it was pretty funny.  Some nurse I am.  But, you know how it is with your first child, you freak out about everything.  Now, after 3 kids, they have to be bleeding profusely, have an object embedded somewhere, or thick green mucous before heading to the doctor.  mmmm, green mucous.  That’s a nice thought to go along with my pumpkin scones.  Sorry folks, that’s life with kids.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and getting ready for THANKSGIVING!!  I can’t believe how fast the month of November is flying by…crazy.  I sure hope Santa is getting his mess together.

Monday blog hops….., , ; Recipe linkys – 

This summer I posted a “blog post” by my 9 year old daughter.  I call her my little sponge, b/c she sucks up and holds onto to everything she’s ever seen or heard.  This comes in handy when it comes to vocabulary tests, math facts, etc.  Not so great when she tells ALL to family, friends, neighbors, you get the picture… But her previous post, found here, was regarding nutrition, what to eat, what not to eat, why McDonald’s is evil, etc.  Well, Number One has created another informational post that I thought I’d share – this is a compilation she came up with from some literature from her running club and from her dear mother.  She has just a few typos, which I have left, b/c, well, she’s 9. And it’s cute.

Happy Friday!!

It’s Thursday and I’ve been missin’ the …so I’m reposting my Pumpkin Biscuits for Share a Spoon!  This month is all about Thanksgiving…and today is about your favorite sides. 

We always have turkey, ham, stuffing/dressing, chicken salad and they are DELICIOUS.  And they are all made by my mother.  Yes, I am almost 40 years old, and my mommy does all the cooking for Thanksgiving.  The sides vary…but usually there are green beans (you should check out ‘s good ol’ southern style green bean recipe), rolls of some sort, cranberry sauce, potatoes or rice, deviled eggs.  They vary a little depending on what my mom feels like fixing.  But…I’m thinking that these would make an awesome addition to the Thanksgiving table.  Not this year, b/c I’m missing Thanksgiving FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER at my parents’ house.  We’re going to Disney World.  But, I don’t want to talk about that.  I’m depressed about missing Thanksgiving.  It seemed like a good idea over a YEAR ago when we made the reservations.  Now…not so much.  A LOT has happened in the past year.  Anyway, I didn’t want to talk about it, and here I am talking about it.  Moving on…

Pumpkin Biscuits from Cooking Light… and Me

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces *I used Smart Balance 50/50

1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk *I added a teaspoon of vinegar to skim milk (b/c I never have buttermilk!)

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

3 tablespoons honey

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Chill 10 minutes. (I forgot to chill for 10 minutes)

3. Combine buttermilk and honey, stirring with a whisk until well blended; add canned pumpkin. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times. Roll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds (as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope). Reroll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 1 3/4-inch biscuit cutter to form 14 dough rounds. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400° for 14 minutes or until golden.
Remove from pan; cool 2 minutes on wire racks. Serve warm.

*I’ll be honest (b/c when am I not?), I just kinda kneaded it some, patted it some, flipped it a couple of times….all that direction of folding, etc was a little too much for me to handle with 3 kids running around – but I’m sure it would have made even fluffier, flaky biscuits

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree

1 cup packed brown sugar  * I used about 1/2 cup since I was adding chocolate chips

1/2 cup buttermilk  * Skim milk with tsp of vinegar – let sit for a few minutes

1 egg  * 1 T. milled flax seed with 3 T. warm water in place of egg

2 tablespoons butter, softened  * I used applesauce instead

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips { very well rounded 1/2 cup 😉 }

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Sift or dump the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl. Mix in the pumpkin, brown sugar, buttermilk, egg substitute and butter applesauce until well blended. Pour into a 9×5 inch loaf pan and smooth the top.  Or make mini loaves!

3.Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  I think I cooked mine for about 30 minutes since I used the mini loaf pan.