Pumpkin Cupcakes

Lily's school is having their Halloween Party tomorrow, so we had to make some sort of dessert to bring. It is fall and I have been loving all the pumpkin baked goods from Starbucks and such, so we decided to try making the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins from Sisters' Stuff. We added some cream cheese frosting (because, come on, what isn't made better with a little frosting?) and some cute little Mellowcreme Pumpkins and Halloween Sprinkles (of course). Hoping they will be a hit with the kiddos tomorrow :)


Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
3 cups sugar
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pans or use baking cups.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Fill cups 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes.

You can also make 3 loafs of bread. Bake bread for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

**Just a warning this makes a TON of batter. We got 24 regular sized cupcakes, 24 mini cupcakes, and two mini cakes. **

Monkey Bread

The girls and I made this yummy recipe from my MOPS buddy, Rebecca, for breakfast this morning. They had so much fun dipping the biscuit pieces in the sugar mix!

How much sugar can I get on one piece?

Monkey Bread

3 cans of buttermilk biscuits
3/4 cup of sugar
1 Tablespoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Cut biscuits into quarters. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small plastic bag. Shake each biscuit piece in bag with the cinnamon and

sugar until coated. Spray 9 x 13 pan. Arrange biscuits in pan. Cook butter with brown sugar on medium heat until bubbles, stirring often to avoid burning; add vanilla. Pour evenly over biscuits and bake 25 minutes.

Some Yumminess

It's been awhile since I posted any recipes. There just hasn't been anything any good worth putting up. Until, we tried some yummy pumpkin cookies. They were delish. The perfect fall treat! **So, I just realized how much the picture of my cookies makes them look like a certain part of the female anatomy. In real life, they are much more orange...**

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups self rising flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp salt
Pumpkin Spice Hersey's Kisses

Instructions
1 - preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a cookie sheet
2 - in a large bowl, mix sugar, egg, shortening, and vanilla. cream together.
3 - in another bowl, sift together flour, salt, and cinnamon. stir into the creamed mixture.
4 - stir in pumpkin.
5 - spoon dough onto greased cookie sheet
6 - bake for 12 minutes (more or less, depending on size of cookies), place one unwrapped kiss on each cookie, then cool

We also made these. Yum.

Did You Know...

that you can fill crescent rolls with chicken and yumminess and make a pretty good lunch? Someone made me something similar to this after Ava was born and I have been meaning to try it. So, today, I finally did! I just took 2 crescent rolls, still stuck together, and filled them with some leftover chicken cacciatore and mozzarella cheese. Pinch them together at the tops and bake them up. Yum. I will say to be careful and try to get it even when you pinch the tops together, because I had one little spot that was not quite cooked. I want to try this again with some chicken (gonna try using canned), brocolli, and cheddar cheese.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

We had this last night and it was yummy. Thought I would share!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 chicken quarters, cooked and shredded
3 c chicken broth
1 c water
1/2 T cumin
1/2 T oregano
1/2 T chili powder
2 T taco seasoning
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups (ish) frozen corn
1 small onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 c of picante salsa (around)
4 -8 corn tortillas, sliced up
Mex Cheese (optional)
tortilla chips (optional)

Bring chicken broth, water, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and taco seasoning to a boil in a large pot. Add onions, peppers, tomatoes, and salsa. Let simmer for about 5 minutes or so. Then, add chicken, corn, and black beans. Cook for about 15 minutes more or until corn is done. Add tortilla strips. Top with Mex cheese and some crumbles tortilla chips, maybe some sour cream...yum (and so super easy)!

Valentine's Day Fun

We had a pretty relaxed V-Day weekend. Nathan came down with some sort of the sickies. He says it's the flu, I really hope not because while the girls have flu shots, I do not...Anyhow, due to the sickies, we had a pretty mild weekend. Lily and I did some baking Friday night. We made Rice Crispy Treats with some pink and red sugar on top (I know, just what those need, sugar on top).



We also made Cookie Brownie, which I think we are going to rename Death to Diets, because they are pretty much a combination of every sweet there is. I am going to post to recipe here, too, because, well, they are super yummy! But, eat them in small pieces because they are super sweet, too!





Yes, that is brownie batter with lumps of cookie dough in it. You then cook it and put icing on top...wow. If I make this again I think I will forgo the icing. It really doesn't need it. Anyhow, here's the recipe if you need a sweet fix!

On Saturday, we got up and exchanged some small gifts. The girls gave Nate some chocolate covered cherries and we gave them some little Barbie dolls and a little tea set. So fun! Ava loved the Barbie and Lily made us have a tea party later in the day!





Also, my mom sent the girls some super fun toys. She got Lily this super cute Fairy outfit and sent Ava a cute little Glo Worm doll. She also got them both some little plants to grow and the growing wash cloth things.






Hope you all had a great weekend and Happy Valentine's Day!

Oh, My Goodness...Deliciousness

Well, this morning in my gym class, our instructor person was talking about how good soup would be today. So, I got it in my head that I wanted soup for dinner. Of course, we didn't have anything I needed to make any type of soup...I was not about to attempt another trip to Publix with the monkies (we did that Tuesday). Anyhow, we had some chicken and frozen veggies, so I decided to make a Chicken Pot Pie, and boy, oh, boy, am I glad I did. It was so super yummy. I wanted to share the recipe with you all in case you are looking for some yummy warm confort food on these chilly nights!



I got basic recipe for the crust from Smitten Kitchen.

Chicken Pot Pie
Crust:
1 c water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt
a little bit of pepper
2 sticks (or 8 ounces or 1 cup) of very cold unsalted butter, cubed into 1/2-inch pieces

Filling:
2 chicken quarters, boiled, chopped (you can also use a whole chicken or left over roast chicken)
3 c (ish) frozen veggies
1 c chicken broth
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
salt and pepper to taste

First, boil your chicken. I usually put a little salt in the water just because it makes for a more flavorful broth. While the chicken is boiling, you can prepare the pie crust.

Fill a one cup liquid measuring cup with water, and drop in a few ice cubes; set it aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and pepper. Now, here is where I varied from Smitten Kitchen. I don't have a pastry blender, which looks like a really neat kitchen tool, but anyhow, I threw all the above ingredients and my butter into my kitchen aid with the dough hook attachment. Then, I let all them mix around a bit and added a little water. You want to keep slowly adding water until your dough starts to stick together, like...well, dough. You will probably have to take it out of the mixer and use your hands mix it for a bit. It will be a little stickey. Once that's done, wrap it up and put it in the fridge for a least and hour. I think if you follow Smitten Kitchen's directions, your dough will probably come out more flakey than mine did.

After your dough has chilled and you chicken has been boiled, de-boned, and chopped up, make a quick egg wash (an egg and a but of milk mixed up) and brush that on to your pie pan. Separate your dough into two equal pieces. Roll out one and lay it into your pie pan. In a separate bowl, mix all the filling ingredients and then pour them into the prepared crust. Now, roll out your other half and put it on top. Slice a couple holes in top. Brush egg wash across the top (makes it nice and brown and yummy). Then, sprinkle some pepper and salt (I like to use kosher salt just cause it is coarser, but you can use whatever) on top and pop it into the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until both top and bottom are a nice brown color.

Enjoy!

** Here is a substitute I found for the Cream of Chicken Soup. Tastes just as good and could save you a trip the grocery :)

1 T butter
3 T all-purpose flour
1/2 c chicken broth (can use stock from boiling the chicken)
1/2 c milk
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour keep stirring until smoother and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the chicken broth and milk, a little at a time, stirring to keep smooth. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil; cook, stirring constantly, until it thinkens. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed to taste.

Yumminess!

We had this awesome Corn and Crab Chowder last night and I wanted to share the recipe, because, yummy, it was so good! It was a recipe by Rachael Ray that I tweaked a little bit. Definitely worth a try, though!

Corn and Crab Chowder

1 tablespoon vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced *I used 3, cause we like thicker soups and such*
2 ribs celery, chopped * I used 3 or 4*
1 medium yellow onion, chopped *Again, I used a bit more*
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced *I used some sort of Southwester Corn mix that had the peppers already in it, but it would probably be better with an actual pepper or two*
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning blend
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock or broth *I used chicken broth and some shrimp stock that we made, it probably would have been really good with some crab stock, from the crab shells*1 quart whole milk
3 cups corn kernels, scraped fresh from the cob or, frozen kernels *I used frozen, and probably a bit more than that*
8 ounces cooked lump crab meat *We had fresh crabs that Nate caught, cooked, and shelled for me*
*I also added a cup or so of shrimp*

Directions

Heat a deep pot over moderate heat. Add oil and butter. As you chop your veggies, add them to the pot: potatoes, celery, onion, and red bell pepper. Add bay leaf to the pot. Season vegetables with salt and pepper and Old Bay seasoning. Saute veggies 5 minutes, then sprinkle in flour. Cook flour 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and combine. Stir in milk and combine. Bring soup up to a bubble. Add corn and crab meat and simmer soup 5 minutes. Adjust the soup seasonings. Remove bay leaf. Ladle soup into bread bowls or soup bowls and top with oyster crackers, hot sauce and sliced scallions.

Craziness, Craftiness, and Yumminess

So, I am just going to role a bunch of things into one post because I don't feel like breaking it up into a bunch of different ones, so this is going to be a long one...

Well, as if the white-out/ pooh incident wasn't enough mischief to last her a month (let alone a week), this is what greeted me after Lily's nap last Saturday:


I'll give you one guess who left the high-lighter in there! Yup, the same intelligent man who left the white-out...my hubby! He's a very smart guy, I mean he's in dental school, but come on, nap time and office supplies do not mix!!! The blanket on my bed now has big yellow high-lighter spots on it. They go nicely with the big white-out stain on my sheets!

The weather here is finally starting to cool down (yay!) which is allowing us to get outside a bit more. I love the "fall." I guess Florida doesn't get fall in the sense that the states up North get, but I love the cool down (just wait, though, come December, I will be complaining that 50 degrees is way too cold...anyone know a place where it stays like 70 year round?). I can't wait...just a few more weeks and we should be open the windows! A few days ago, we decided to go for a walk (since the weather was so nice is the point I was trying to get at). We walked over to the basketball courts in between Maguire and UVS and Lily ran around and played her own version of basketball for a bit.

Okay, so not exactly the most appropriate outfit for playing basketball, but isn't it cute?

I like this picture, because it really captures the true essence of Lily. See how she is blurry because she is moving and Nate's not? That is Lily. Always moving. A constant little blur.

Daddy helping her dunk. Kinda.

She got tired tired and didn't want to walk the rest of the way home, and, since Nate's a softy, Daddy carried her home.

Last night, since the weather was still fantastic, the girls and I went with Nate to his football practice out at Flavet Field. It makes Lily crazy to watch Nate play sports because she always wants to be in on the action. It was to fun to go out, though. She got to run around and Ava and I chilled on a blanket. The weather was amazing! I am hoping it will keep it up for the softball game tonight!

She was "pracising" football (yes, she is holding a tennis ball).

Ava is really starting to chunk up. Check out those cheeks (and chins!)...

Sitting on someone's football (I don't know whose it was, she swiped it an brought it over to our blanket).

I went outside to clean out the car today and Lily had to come with me. So we put on her new favorite dress (a garage sale find that is a bit too short). She discovered this dress a few days ago and thinks it is awesome. It's really loose and flowy, so she can swoosh in it. I can remember loving dresses like this when I was a little girl. It's pretty cute on her too. I definitly think I am going to try to make this for her. She could twirl and twirl in it!

I didn't have any shoes out for her and Ava was sleeping, so I told she would have to go out bare foot. She responded, "But, Momma, I not a bear."

I have a few crafty things to post.


We made these cute frames in MOPS yesterday. They were super easy and fast. I added Sisters across the bottom and put on some sparkly flower things. I haven't put a picture in it yet, but I am going to put this one. It's one of my faves of the girls so far.

Here is another diaper holder to replace the one that got swiped. I also wanted to post a link to make these. They are so easy and fun if you sew. They also make great gifts. Here is the tutorial. I make them a little differently, but this will give you the same basic thing.

Also, I made a new diaper bag. It is not the most professional looking thing ever, but it gets the job done. Here is the tutorial I used for it. It was definitly a learning project. I used snaps for the first time and did my first zipper. I would make the strap longer if I could do it again, because I like to be able to put the strap across my body and this one is just not long enough to do that with.


Oh, and here's another bag for Lily. I wanted to make her one with her name on it for MOPS. I also ordered some cute name labels for the girls to put on their drinks and stuff from this Etsy shop. They are way less expensive than a lot of places I have seen them. I will let you all know how well they work once I get them in.


Oh, and for the yumminess section of this post, I have a couple of recipes I have tried out recently that turned out to be delicious that I wanted to share.

First, I made these Peanut Cornflake Balls. They were pretty yummy and super easy to make. Always a plus. Also, We tried out Holy Cake Mix Cookies. These were also super easy and yummy. I used a dark chocolate cake mix and mixed in white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped up marshmallows. They were delicious! Today, I am planning on trying gout some Chocolate Chip Cookies and some Coconut Ice Candies. I'll let you know how they turn out. Hopefully, they will be good because I want to bring them as a thanks to the girls who watched Ava for me last week!

Mmmm...Chocolate Banana Bread

Lily has found a love of cooking. She has so much fun helping bake or any kind of cooking that we will let her help with. This has created more than a few messes...and, on occasion, some interesting tasting food as she likes to pour and sometimes goes a little overboard. Anyhow, because she enjoys this so much, I have been trying to bake with her at least once a week. This morning, we made some yummy Chocolate Banana Bread. This bread has wont he Betty Crocker award at my MOPS group 2 years in a row and is super yummy, so here are the pics of us, well, Lily, baking this morning and the recipe for this mmm, good bread.




Chocolate Banana Bread

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour 1/4 c cocoa powder
1 c sugar 1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 tsp salt
4 ripe bananas mashed well 1/2 c unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 c white chocolate chips 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
1/2 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non-stick spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, bakin gpowder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips. Scrape batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top of the bread with brown sugar. Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire to cool and then remove the bread for the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Alright, hope everyone enjoys this! I am off to wrangle the little ones!