Great Alternative to Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It's in Fall which is my favorite season and it's a holiday to celebrate everything you are thankful for. A time to reflect on what is important in your life and spend time with good friends and family.

One of the greatest perks of Thanksgiving is EATING! It's the only time when it is a-ok to stuff yourself full and roll over to the couch for a nap...only to get up an hour later and stuff your face again!

Here is a great Pumpkin Bar Recipe! Of course I tweaked it to make this special. Never follow a recipe to the letter - make it your own and have fun!

Pumpkin Bars With Egg Nog Frosting

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 cup Brown Sugar
2/3 cup Turbinado Sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugars, oil, applesauce and pumpkin until texture is light and well mixed. Stir together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until the batter is smooth. Spread into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Let cool completely before you add frosting.

Egg Nog Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tbsp egg nog
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions
Whisk together sugar and butter until well blended or use a mixer and mix on medium speed for approx 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and egg nog and continue mix until light and fluffy, adding more egg nog if needed depending on your preference. Sprinkle in nutmeg and stir well.

Spread over cooled pumpkin bars and add a pinch of turbinado sugar to the top of each bar if desired.


Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with family, food fun and Blessings!

Homemade Coffee Creamer

If you are like me and the millions of other folks affected by the slow economy, then I bet you have shaved some of your day to day luxuries. I used to treat myself to Starbucks coffee once or more a week. Then it changed to drinking coffee at home, to no coffee at all. Now that the weather is cold I am craving a nice warm cup 'o joe in the mornings. The funny thing is I hate the actual taste of coffee. I love the smell of it brewing but I could never drink the stuff plain. I laden it with creamer and not just plain creamer but the flavored stuff.

My two favorites are Coffee Mate Chocolate Raspberry and Pumpkin Pie Spice. It costs about $3.50 for a large container of this stuff.

Recently, I had an idea. Why not make my own creamer? I have a bunch of sweetened condensed milk in my pantry for desserts and I thought I would play around a bit.

I got out one of my Mason jars and emptied the sweetened condensed milk into it. I like the fat free version of SC milk, it makes me feel less guilty! Then I used half a tsp of pumpkin pie spice and poured 1.5 cups of 2% milk into the jar. I took some half & half, about 1/2 cup's worth and poured that in. Last, I put 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree in the jar. I took a spoon and stirred in to loosen the condensed milk a bit. Put the lid on and I shook it real well. The SC milk was still stuck to the bottom so I ran some warm water over the bottom portion for about 2 minutes and shook it until the SC milk was mixed thoroughly with the rest of the ingredients.

Creamer holds up well in the jar. Chill in the fridge for up to two weeks.

This turned out even better than the Coffee Mate stuff! I'll have to play around a bit for some fun flavors, like my beloved Chocolate Raspberry. Plus it was a lot cheaper than going to the store and buying the Coffee Mate.

The best part is Coffee Mate is full of saturated fats and it has partially hydrogenated oil in it. Now I can drink my cream with a little coffee and not feel like I am giving myself a slow death by ingesting all that ickiness!

For all the eco friendly folks out there, by making your own creamer in a mason jar you save another plastic container from ending up in a landfill. Every little bit counts, right?

Try this! Let me know if you come up with any tasty variations of this coffee creamer!

Micah Feeding Daddy

Spaghetti Squash: Great for babies!

I took the above video of Micah and Dad eating. It's cute because he is feeding Dad but Dad has no manners and he spoiled my cute video, lol!

We made spaghetti squash the other night and my 10 month old refuses to eat his baby food now because he wants to be like everyone else and eat big people food. My baby is all gums! Not one tooth! So finding something good for him to eat that won't choke him up can be complicated.

I steamed it and put sauce on top. I saved some plain squash for Micah to try and I made sure it was very tender and easy to cut. A tip I learned for cutting spaghetti noodles is to take a small cup and using the rim you can press it into the noodles and cut them a lot faster than with a knife. So I cut up the squash the same way into tiny pieces for him.

He absolutely loved it! He had two helpings and I had to give him a bath afterwards he was such a mess!

Is it Friday Already?

Wow. I've neglected my DD blog! My OTHER blog is taking up my posting time! I need to learn to give equal attention to both!

I've also started working evenings and weekends and I think that has a lot to do with my poor blog management skills.

So hopefully you will forgive me...

In the meantime I have a dilemma. I have to make a main course for like 20 people. We are in brokesville right now and I am at a loss as to what to make. Yes, me...lost in my own kitchen!

I need a budget friendly giant recipe to feed a small army! I am turning to you for help! I have to cook this on Monday. It can't be a stew, chili or lasagna since that has already been served recently.

I am pondering making pulled pork sandwiches since I have a bunch of pork in my freezer...but I like having a few options to choose from!

I'm depending on you fellow bloggers to come up with something CHEAP & YUMMY!! - Tried & True recipes are even more Fabulous! Please don't let me down!!

It's Not Delivery!

It's faster than delivery. It's cheaper than delivery. It's even HEALTHIER than delivery!!

Who knew homemade pizza could be so easy! For those of you who don't know your way around the kitchen I'll tell you right now it does not involve using Bisquick!

I made pizza frm scratch tonight and it seriously took me less than a half hour! My whole family loved it! I can honestly say I do not think I will ever order another pizza again!

Here is the recipe! If you try it I would love to hear your feedback!

I just made pizza tonight and it was SO easy!

Pizza Dough: (Picture to come soon)

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp italian seasoning (oregano, basil, etc)
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil
1 cup warm water

Pizza toppings:

2 tbsp olive oil
Pizza or tomato sauce
diced tomatoes
turkey pepperoni
olives
mushrooms
mozzerella cheese
marble cheddar cheese
green & red peppers

Anything your heart desires just throw it on!



Combine flour, salt, sugar, seasoning, garlic powder and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out in a thin layer on a large non-insulated greased pizza pan.

Pour olive oil in a dipping bowl and using a marinating brush lightly spread olive oil around edge of crust. Spread 1/4 cup of sauce all over crust leaving about 1 inch for the crust. then add diced tomatoes.

Top remaining with whatever you desire!

Bake at 375 degrees C (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Watch for the edges of the crust to turn golden and cheese is bubbly.

Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

Dinner in 30 minutes or less and everyone loves Pizza! There will be no leftovers stewing in the fridge after this meal!!

Leftover Challenge

Today is cleaning day for me, which means I should be cleaning right now instead of blogging! I had to take a break after doing the dishes because I am frustrated right now. We have been so hard to save money and I just threw a ton of it down my garbage disposal.

I try and make home cooked meals every night. Sometimes if we are out and about we may stop for something but most of the time we dine at home, which saves us a ton of money. Lately I have been trying to cook portions the right size for my family because we are terrible at eating leftovers. Still, I find we have tupperware containers all over the fridge full of food no one wants to eat.

What is the big deal about leftovers anyway? Why do people avoid them like the plague? I honestly look forward to some leftovers. Like if I make pasta, chili, soup or anything like that it tastes even better after a day or two of sitting in it's juices. Last night my husband made garlic cheesy potatoes and I could not wait to eat the leftovers for breakfast.

I have a 5 day rule on my leftovers. Anything after 5 days gets tossed. So today was tossing day and I threw out pasta noodles, baked beans, veggies, baked potatoes, and some chicken. I feel disgusted every time I throw food away, not just because of the money going down the drain but because there are people in this world who go hungry each day and the idea of throwing food away just makes me feel so guilty.

So with that being said, I am going to challenge myself to get these leftovers eaten all week. come Monday, I don't want to throw food down the sink. My plan is simple, if I cook something and there is food left over, I will pack what I can for my husband's lunch at work and if there is more leftover, I will either eat it the next day or serve it to my family along with whatever else I make for dinner that night.

I am not sure how well this will go since we are good about eating leftovers already. Though I have never tried serving them with dinner the next evening so we will see if that works.

This whole situation has got me curious...

Do YOU eat your leftovers? What do YOU do about them?

Food That Warms The Belly!

All summer long I have been excited for Fall. I love when the weather has a nice crispness in the air and the trees make that rustling sound as the wind blows them down our sidewalk.

What I don't like is when Fall turns into Winter and it gets so cold your nose and toes feel like they are going to fall off!

It is times like this when a nice big bowl of chili is perfect!

Here is a recipe I made last night. The Pumpkin adds a nice rish texture to the base of the chili, plus it is chock full of nutrients so eat it up!

Pumpkin Chili

1 lb ground turkey breast
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 clove chopped garlic
1/2 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can pumpkin puree
1 can Great Northern Beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can Butter Beans (rinsed and drained)
1 small can of tomato paste

Brown the turkey, add onions, garlic, green pepper and spices cook approx 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, pumpkin and tomato paste and simmer for 20 minutes on low heat. Add beans and continue simmering for 1 hour stirring as needed.

Serve garnished with cheese.

For truly good chili never follow recipes perfect. Each person has their own unique taste so if you want to add other veggies or spices go for it!

Great chili is even better when paired with Corn Fritters. These are not exactly fat free but they sure taste good! I found a great recipe here:
Corn Fritters

I had a foster mom who made these every time she made a big pot of chili. I remember fondly the tradition in her home for Christmas. On Chistmas Eve she would whip up a pot of chili and make these delicious fritters. We all sat at the table together to enjoy this warm comfort food. After dinner we would all go in a back room and read Twas The Night Before Christmas as her son "Santa" would stomp on the roof and ring a chain of bells. We all would grin with anticipation until we got the go ahead to come out and see all the presents he left during his visit. She was awesome because we got to open not one, not two...but ALL our gifts on Christmas Eve!!

Every time I eat fritters I think of that moment. Which gets me wondering...what foods trigger fond memories for you? I'd love to know!!

Proud To Vote!

I posted more about my thoughts on voting today on my other blog: Mad Boastings of a Cheapskate Mom

Catsup

Or Ketchup? Well I meant to say Catch Up, lol!

I think the nasty strep has left our home. Finally. My two older boys are still on antibiotics but they both are playing and going to school again so Mommy gets a break and I can come here and play again!

When I was sick my hubby did the shopping and he bought like 10 kiwi's from the grocery store. I have no idea what to do with kiwi fruit so when they started to turn I decided to get creative. Don't be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to food. I love using other people's tried and true recipes especially on Allrecipes but sometimes you can have more fun being creative.

One morning last weekend I was pondering what to do with my kiwi fruit when my 5 year old asked me to make pancakes. Ah-ha! I will make kiwi pancakes! So I pulled a basic pancake recipe from allrecipes: Good Old Fashioned Pancakes and doctored it to add the kiwi. I used 4 kiwis and 1/3 cup of applesauce, put that in the food processor and added it to the pancake batter. I used whole wheat flour and turbinado sugar. I also like to use the free range brown eggs with omega 3's.

I sliced up 3 more kiwis and garnished the pankcakes by spooning some reserved kiwi puree and adding slices to the top. I served with 100% Pure Maple Syrup (from Wisconsin!) and a pat of butter.

Here are my Kiwi Pancakes!



Another view - yummy I am getting hungry!



Speaking of Catsup or Ketchup I am so pleased to announce that Heinz has made Organic Ketchup!



I bought two big containers of it at Cosco. It is really tasty. It is made with all organic ingredients. The only question I have is that it says "Organic certified" and one of the ingredients is Natural Flavoring which I doubt is organic. So I wonder if this will be the new trend saying "Organic Cerified" but maybe there is some room for frankenfood ingredients...who knows? In the meantime this ketchup is awesome!

Enjoy your Monday!