Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Last Post

Well not my last blog post but my last tasty blog post involving pumpkin for this year.  I've been in love with pumpkin baked goods for the last 3 weeks now but it is finally getting to be a bit old.  Even my son wouldn't eat any more sweets yesterday because he's tired of the pumpkin flavor...I made these Cream cheese Pumpkin Roll bars on Saturday and I must confess that I could have eaten the whole pan of them if my family had let me.

Ingredients:




Cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin

1/4 cup water

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt



Cream Cheese Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg



Directions:



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Beat in 2 eggs, pumpkin, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and water until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin/butter mixture and combine until well blended. Spread about 2/3 of the batter evenly into the prepared pan.



In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the pumpkin batter. Dollop the remaining pumpkin batter over the cream cheese batter and spread out as evenly as possible. Use a table knife to swirl together the cream cheese and top layer of pumpkin batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center of the pumpkin batter springs back when touched. Cool completely in pan, then cut into bars.*One thing that I like about pumpkin roll is that it is served cold, so we put these bars in the fridge and ate them cold- they were delicious! You could eat them at room temperature too. I also thought that they were yummier on the second day (if they last that long!).

Recipe from: Let's Dish
 
Tween giving her thumbs up seal of approval.  Of course the dog was trying to be a part of the taste test as well.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Where did the Weekend Go?

Really it's Tuesday??  I would really like to know where my five days off went...and Monday just vanished... Good side to that is we leave for Vegas on Saturday and I'm taking Friday off to spend with the kiddos.  It's going to be our first weekend away without them.  First weekend away from our little bug ever...I'm feeling really sad but I'm also excited to get to spend some much needed alone time with hubby.  We are also running the Las Vegas Rock n Roll Half Marathon.  This is also a first for both of us.  I"m nervous since I haven't trained like I should but I'll run/walk my butt across the finish line just to mark that off my bucket list.

I'm excited to say that I did not have to look to blogs or Pinterest for weekend outfit inspirations.  I was able to dress myself quite well all on my own.  Without further ado as you all sit on the edge of your seats wondering what I wore over the weekend....

We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Wednesday.  Since we were traveling as well as preparing the entire dinner I didn't want to be to uncomfortable...
Top - Kohls
Jeggings - JC Penny's
Boots - Target last year (similar)

My little tween wanted in on the picture taking action:
Sweater, Pink skinnies - Kohls
Shoes - Vans

Saturday we had our son's godparents over for dinner.  Again I was cooking and cleaning so I wanted to remain cool but casual

T-shirt - Forever 21
Tank and ballet flats - Target
Jeggings - JC Penny

Sunday we went to 8:30 mass.  I used to get all dressed up to go to church but noticed no one else did so now I go a bit more casual

All from Kohls

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Meal Planning Sunday





Super proud of myself for keeping to my meal plan as best I could last week.  I have to stick to my plan this week until Friday.  Hubby are taking our first trip away in what feels like forever.  We are going to Las Vegas Saturday - Monday.  We will also be running our first half marathon on Sunday.  I am sure it will be a great weekend but I just know I'll miss my little bug since we have never been away from him overnight before.

Sunday - Chicken Salad

Monday - Doc's Chili and a baked potato

Tuesday - Grilled chicken, white beans, & steamed broccoli

Wednesday - Bubble Up Enchiladas - Weight Watcher recipe

Thursday - Turkey, Bacon, Avocado Rolls

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - VEGAS BABY!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS




Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Meet Franky

We adopted a little friend this holiday season that I am hoping will become a family tradition.  I've loved seeing all the Elf on the Shelf ideas on Pinterest that I just had to buy one for my kiddos.  We took him out of the box last night and read the story.  We also named him and went to elfontheshelf.com to adopt and register our little Franky.  The sight is fun and interactive and the kids can send messages to Santa and write their letters.  We are also going to be able to upload pictures of the adventures of Franky into a scrap book.  I'm not sure who is more excited about this me or the kids.  Even hubby is starting to come up with ideas of what we can do with Franky for the kids to find. 


Meet Franky




Last night we put him on the mantle

The first morning the kids found him on the wall candle holder

Look forward to future adventures of Franky


Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thankfulness and Another Tasty Treat

This week is all about being thankful and looking back and reflecting on how blessed my life is.  I have so many things to be thankful for I don't even know where to start.

* I'm thankful for my renewed faith.  I have not gone to church in almost 10 years.  I was angry at God for so many things that happened in my early 20's that I just couldn't see myself going back or being around people who went.  My faith had been shattered and it's taken this long to realize that being angry at God and the church isn't going to give me peace and understanding.  Instead it has just made feel bitter and resentful and in my heart I knew harboring those feelings were not going to make me a good wife or mother.  I've been going to a new church we found for about 3 months now and have been touched by the priest's messages each week that it keeps drawing me back.

* My husband.  I have an amazing husband and I am sure I don't tell him enough how lucky I am to have him in my life.  He is my best friend, my lover, my soul mate.  He is the one that often times brings me back to reality as I have a tendency to live in my own head.  I love him with all my heart and soul and am so grateful he is mine.

* My children.  I have two of the funniest kids I know.  There is not a day that goes by where they can not spark a smile in my heart and my face.  My 12 year old has lived with some of my hardest struggles but she still continues to come to me for advice, love, hugs and snuggles.  I couldn't imagine a life where these two kids weren't in my world.

* Through these national economic struggles I am thankful for my job.  Unlike a lot of people I like my job and what I do.  I like my boss and my co-workers.  There was a time a few years ago that my husband was laid off and we had to rely on my job as the main source of income.  It was stressful but we got through it and are stronger for it as a family and as individuals.

Lastly I'm thankful that I have found so many yummy recipes to try.  This weekend I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They were amazing!  My husband laughed at me when I took them to do some tailgating for a local college football game.  He wasn't making fun of me when all the college kids around our tailgate were coming up asking for some of the yummy cookies.




Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe courtesy George Duran



.Prep Time:15 minInactive Prep Time:2 minCook Time:15 minLevel:

EasyServes:

60 cookies.Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet

Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.





Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.



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Monday, November 21, 2011

Picture taking fail

The one time my husband compliments an outfit and tells me I look trendy I totally forgot to get a picture...what are the odds???  I've been trying to get my weekend outfits from inspirations I see through blogs and on pinterest.  So far I have been doing pretty good and dressing better if I do say so myself.  Saturday we went to a college football game and the skies threatened rain so I tried to dress warm.  Sunday we went to church and then the park.  Here's what I gleaned from the wonderful world wide web...


Sweatshirt - (similar)
Jacket - NY&Company (long time ago)
Jeans - Kohls
Shoes - Toms
(Was afraid it would rain and didn't want to wear my moccasins)



























Sweater - Kohls last year
Tank - Target
Scarf - Old Navy
Skinnies - Kohls last spring
Black Booties - Old Navy
 This was my inspiration for church on Sunday and the outfit that my hubby complimented. Can't believe I forgot to get a picture