All New Low

I hit an all-time low.

In my attempt to find something quick, easy, creative, and yummy for dinner...

I did this.

Yes.  That is a corn dog hot dog in a corn muffin and baked in a flower mold.

Bro asked, "So mom?  This is a hot dog in a muffin?"

Why, yes Bro, it is.

What?  Did I hear you say that you want the recipe?

Well, sure I will share! {{Just don't tell anyone that I did this.}}

Recipe

Make corn muffin mix according to box directions. {{Yes, the mix was from a box.}}

Add cut hot dogs.

Cook according to box directions.

Enjoy!

Tip:  Do not let hot dogs stick way out of the muffin tin or they will burn... like this.

Okay, so I know you didn't really want the recipe.  The kids and husband loved the meal... just sayin'.

Corn dog muffins - gross or not gross?

Let them eat... pie???

For those of you who are still eating pumpkin... I made this pumpkin goody for a dinner party I went to.

It was delicious and easy.  I used regular pancacke syrup from my refrigerator instead of the "pure maple" that the recipe called for.  I added the spider web design from melted chocolate in a ziploc baggy.  Since Halloween is over, you can skip that step.

I also made these to-die-for blueberry pie bars for my mom's birthday.  Yes, they taste as good as the picture looks.  Also, this makes lots of pie bars.  The recipe made enough to: celebrate with my mom, leave her with leftovers, have leftovers for my house, and share with the church mom's group as well.

Baking season is upon us!

My only regret is that my homemade vanilla extract is not ready.  boo-hoo.

Pumpkin Martini

More notes from the Pumpkin Pantry!

You KNOW I have a pumpkin passion.  Yum!  Over the weekend, Dear Husband and I took a few days to celebrate our anniversary.  During that time, we went to a great dinner overlooking some very quiet views...

and a little bit of a sunset over the clouds.

When the waitress took our drink order, she mentioned their signature Pumpkin Martini!

WAKE UP!

Did she say Pumpkin Martini???

She did!  It was great! 

Here is their recipe:

     Equal portions of:

     Fulton's Harvest pumpkin liqueur

     Vanilla Vodka

     Bailey's Irish Creme

Tip:  The bartender recommended putting in a splash less vodka and a splash more of the pumpkin liqueur than the recipe calls for.

Are you enjoying

pumpkin recipes this fall?

More Posts from the Pumpkin Pantry

Did anyone notice that my pumpkin to-do list included making a pumpkin pie from my own pumpkin... and I already completed the task?

Dear Husband {{in his infinite wisdom}} insisted that we I make a pumpkin pie from scratch... yep... cooking the pumpkin and everything.   Heaven forbid we just crack open a can of pumpkin and make a pie.

Not pictured:  Lulu.  She was sleeping ALL DAY long because she was literally up the night before ALL NIGHT LONG at an all night bowling event with the church youth group.  ALL NIGHT folks!  That's crazy!

While Sleeping Beauty Lulu slept, Bro, Brielle, and Dear Husband prepped the pumpkin. 

Then Bro scooped the guts out of the pumpkin...

and played in the pumpkin.

Next, Dear Husband divided the pumpkin into wedges so that they could be cooked in the oven.

Cooking the pumpkin in the oven took way too long (after an 1 1/2 hours the pumpkin was still basically raw and hard) so I cut up the pumpkin even more so that I could steam it... in batches.

Finally {{4 hours later}} I had some cooked pumpkin goop...

and I pureed it in the blender.

Meanwhile, while the kids took a nap, Dear Husband carved a jack-o-lantern for us.

Even baby Brielle was able to enjoy some of the pumpkin.

Here is our jack-o-lantern at night.

Here is our extremely delicious pumpkin pie.

Here is some left over pumpkin puree that I put in breastmilk storage freezer bags for Brielle.

How many more pumpkin recipes do I have left to make?  Anyone counting?  Do you have an idea I should add to the list?

Posts from the Pumpkin Pantry - My Personal Pumpkin Project

The Great Pumpkin Cook-Off Continues...

First order of business... many cheers for those of you who enjoyed your own homemade pumpkin creations over the weekend.  I am so so so very proud of you!

Second... I really have a pumpkin to-do list now.  Here's where we sit so far.

1.  Pumpkin Spiced Lattes
2.  Pumpkin Honey Butter
3.  Pumpkin Waffles
4.  Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
5.  Pumpkin Pie from my very own pumpkin
6.  Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
7.  Pumpkin Cheesecake Roll
8.  Pumpkin Baby Food
9.  Pumpkin Facial
10.  Pumpkin Dip with Gingersnap Crackers (got ths recipe from a coworker)
11.  Pumpkin Oatmeal
12.  Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

     or use this easy recipe here:

1 package yellow cake mix

1 package spice cake mix
1 large can pumpkin
1 bag chocolate chips

Mix everything very well. Scoop onto cookies sheets and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

13.  Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts
14.  Pumpkin Bars
15.  Pumpkin Souffle

Am I missing anything?
 

Fall Festivities. Day 5. Pumpkin Recipes.

Even more pumpkin recipes...

So, you bought the canned pumpkin and your pumpkin spices... and you made the pumpkin spice latte... but you are wondering what to do with the rest of the pumpkin.  I have the answer for y-o-u!

Top 5 Ways to Use Canned Pumpkin

1.  Pumpkin Spiced Latte (obviously).
2.  Pumpkin Honey Butter.  Yes, I made it.  Yes, I loved it.  Yes, it tasted great on my pumpkin waffles.  Yes, I am oh so grateful for the recipe!

Basically you blend together the following ingredients:

2 tablespoons softened butter
1 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons canned pure pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3.  Pumpkin Waffles.  Use your regular waffle recipe but (1) substitute the milk for 1/2 milk and 1/2 canned pumpkin, (2) add 1 tsp. pumpkin spice {{you find it in the spice section of your grocery store}}, and (3) add 1 tsp vanilla extract.  Once you mix it all up you can add more milk if you want to get the desired consistency for pouring.  The result?  Delicious! 

Don't forget the pumpkin butter!  {{Anyone up for pumpkin-infused syrup?  Just askin'.}}


4.  Betty Crocker Pumpkin Swirl Brownies.  The only thing I did different was (1) I used 8 oz of cream cheese instead 3 oz and (2) I added 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice instead of the spices listed on the recipe.  They were amazing!

Okay... so this was going to be a Top 4 Pumpkin list until Yummy Mom posted another pumpkin recipe on her blog.  You can read Yummy Mom's post here... and get the pumpkin oatmeal recipe here.

5.  Pumpkin Oatmeal

In a small saucepan, combine these ingredients:

1 cup nonfat milk
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin or sweet potato puree (I used pumpkin, of course!)
1 tsp. vanilla (says it's optional, but I always love vanilla!)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Then, bring to a gentle boil. Stir in 1 cup old-fashioned oats, reduce heat, and simmer 2-3 minutes.

Bonus:  Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.  I am also thinking that I can buy the cinnamon rolls in the grocery store and add pumpkin and pumpkin spice to the icing packet before adding to the cinnamon rolls.  I'm going to try this concoction this weekend and let you know how it works out.

Here is your weekend to-do-list. 

{{Yes, I'm actually giving out homework!}}

Step 1:

Get thee to a grocery store to

buy canned pumpkin and pumpkin spice mix. 

Step 2:

Create something fun and delicious for your family!

Step 3:

Come back and tell us what you made and how you liked it!

How To... make a zebra-striped hair bow cake

Step 1 {{the most crucial step of all}}:  Locate one loving Fairy Grandmother to babysit a newborn. 

Next, bake a cake in a Wilton butterfly-shaped cake pan.

Trace the shape onto a piece of paper.

Draw your design onto the paper.

Ice the cake with white icing.

Place your template on the cake...

... and outline with black icing.

Fill in the shape with zebra stripes. 

Voila!

Coming Soon

How to remove permanent marker from a vintage lunchbox,

how to make a "funnel" when you don't have a funnel, and

{{ my personal favorite}} easy, no-sew solution to attaching badges and patches to scout vests.

Stay tuned! 

Lemonade

Someone once said, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  Which means... when you find yourself in a not-so-fun situation then try to make the best of it.

Ariane - I got goosebumps when you gave me the "lemonade" award.  I was bummed, to say the least, about no-baking my way through Christmas.  This award was such a sweet uplifter for my soul.  Although, my husband would probably say that HE is the one who deserves this award for putting up with me. tee hee hee hee!

For those of you who are new to my blog... (who am I kidding, I've had the same 12 faithful readers for the past year now)...  here is a recap.

This past November we moved into a home that doesn't have a working oven... and then...

On November 25 I posted that I was thankful for a working toaster oven.

On December 7 I made no-bake snowman cookies and announced that I received my first cookie swap invitation.  {{How are you supposed to go to a cookie swap if you don't have an oven?}}

On December 13 I reminded you that I still didn't have a working oven.

On December 14 I noted links to recipes for 4 types of holiday related no-bake cookies.

On December 17 I made no-bake oreo truffles... which I will make again for valentine's day.

On December 23 I planned a no-bake Christmas dinner.

On January 3 I made no-bake mint cookies.

On January 15... drum roll please... I presented my new, working oven!  What I failed to mention in this post was that I totally burnt the coffee cake that I made and smoke was taking over the whole house.  Dear Husband was kind enough NOT to poke fun about it.

Has life given you lemons lately?  If so you can cheer up with Susan's Lemon Cake (thanks Cake Mix Doctor), if you are not in the mood for lemonade.

Napmom's review:  This cake is wonderful and lemon-ey and always a hit at parties.  I recently made the cake to celebrate Lulu's awesome cheerleading performance just so I would have pictures for this blog post.  It was very yummy!

Napmom's Glaze Tip/cheat: Originally, I wasn't crazy about the recipe for the glaze. From now on, instead of making the glaze, I just warm up some store bought vanilla icing and drizzle it over the top of the cake. Much better (in my opinion).  If you have a good cake glaze recipe then please leave me a comment... I'd love to try it sometime.

Here is the cake recipe.

Serves: 16

Preparation time: 5 to 7 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes
Assembly Time: 5 minutes

Cake:

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3 ounces) lemon gelatin
2/3 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower
2/3 cup hot water
4 large eggs

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, gelatin, oil, water, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stope the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula, and place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it is light brown and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile prepare the glaze Combine the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.

5. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a serving platter. Spoon the glaze evenly over the warm cake so that it drizzles down the sides and into the center. Slice and serve warm, or let it cool before slicing.

Store this cake, covered in plastic wrap or placed under a cake dome, at room temperature for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Did life hand you lemons recently?  Was there someone there to help bail you out?  If so, this cake is a wonderful way to say 'thank you.'

I will be doling out some lemon awards of my own very soon.  Thanks Ariane!