Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

I've been absent from my blog for a bit.  I have no GOOD excuse, so I won't make one... I've just been busy *shrugs*.

It's football time around here again for Caleb (two weeks left!) and we're also getting all ready for our Halloween party coming up in a week and a half.  Fall break starts today for the kiddos and they're super excited to have a few days off from school.  I'm hoping we make it to a corn maze this week.  We go every October!

I've been canning up a storm round these parts!  I've been blessed to have received fresh produce from several different people who had excess, so I've had a lot of impromptu canning days!  I've done peach slices, peach-lemonade concentrate, peach-maple syrup, apple pie filling, beet jelly, pickled beets, dill relish, apple steak sauce, green salsa, jalapeno pepper jelly, plums and tomatoes this past month.  I'm sure I'm forgetting something... I've done A LOT of canning!  I'm working on a canning e-book as well, but at this pace I should just plan on releasing it for canning season next year!

I'm loving the autumn weather!  Cool nights and warm days are fabulous!  I also love fall foods!  I use my crockpot at least twice a week in the fall and winter!  Today as I was smelling the delightful dish simmering in the crockpot I decided we needed a fall dessert as well.  I love pumpkin desserts!  Can't you feel the love? ;)

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 c. butter, softened
2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 c. flour
2 c. quick-cooking oats
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 c. chocolate chips 

Mix well.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheets or baking stones at 375 for 10-12 minutes.   This recipes makes a lot!

Potatoes with wheat berry

This dish is a old staple of the Chilean cuisine, usually popular with the peasant and found in the country side. When I was little, my family used to take month long vacations on the central coast of Chile, always on the same little village we were welcome at the kitchen of the villagers and play with their kids. I ate this same dish cooked over a firepit and hated it... 

To replicated this dish, I called my mother and she share her recipe, it was a happy day at my table, the flavors mild and complex bring back so many memories. I long to go back to Lipimavida.

My husband, also from Chile, but a city-boy had never heard about this dish, but he also embrace the soul warming nature of it.

It can be a entree or a nice companion for a steak or pork. I ate mine with 2 eggs sunny side up.

Potatoes with wheat berry

4 portions

ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped into small cubes
• 2 cups winter squash cut into small cubes
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and red cubes (yukon gold)
• 1 cup milk
• water
• 2 cups cooked wheat berry
• sal and sweet paprika to taste

Preparation:

1. Cook the wheat berry as directed on the package. 
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat warm the oil and add 1/2 tablespoon of sweet paprika. Fry the onion for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the squash and potatoes and cover with the milk, season with salt and cook covered 15 minutes. Add water if started to dry out.
3. When the potatoes are "al dente", add the wheat berry and stir, cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork and mashed some potatoes and pumpkin to achieve a stew consistency.
4. Serve hot.

Pretty White Pumpkins & Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice

I whipped these guys together in less than an hour using an old shower curtain!  Aren't they beautiful?  I'm so excited to start decorating for Halloween!

Now that we're into the fall season, so many recipes call for Pumpkin Pie Spice... A lot of people don't keep it on hand because it's so pricey, but it's very easy to make yourself!  Plus, all the ingredients can be found at the dollar store and most likely they're in your cupboard already!

Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/4 c. cinnamon
1 T nutmeg
1 T ginger
1 1/2 tsp cloves

Mix together well.

New Dishes!

I was out today on my weekly yard sale-ing adventure and I came upon a yard sale with boxes and boxes of stuff.  The guy said he buys storage units and this was stuff he just wanted to get rid of.  I unwrapped a couple of items and saw very pretty vintage china.  I was in a big hurry (it was time to pick Caleb up from football practice) but I wanted to dig through it all!  The guy said, "I'll give that stuff to you for $5 a box."  I grabbed both boxes of dishes and was off!  I wasn't pleasantly surprised to see what my $10 had bought me.  Eric claims I'm a "dish hoarder"... I guess I need to prove him right sometimes... It's good for his ego *grin*  I can't wait to clean it all up and use it! 

Food for the Soul

As part of Nina's Food & Nutrition class they had to make a table setting using non-table items that represent something about them.  Nina is my music nut.  She is super passionate about the music she listens to... How did I end up with an Emo daughter?  I thought her all-music table setting came out cool!  She needed to have things that represented a dinner plate, cup, napkin, fork and knife in her setting.  Fun, huh?

This is a great way to teach kids about the proper way to set a table!  Have them find items around the house to represent what would be on the table (and the table itself!).  Let them be creative and enjoy the outcome!

Dutch Oven Cooking

I LOVE cooking outdoors!  I used to have a dutch oven, but it was one of those things I let the ex keep in the divorce (along with the 4-wheelers and all other camping stuff *sigh*).  Since we were going camping for Labor Day weekend I decided to "splurge" and buy another dutch oven.  I camped last year without one and I missed the experience.  I found a dutch oven for $24 and bought a lid-lifter for $6 so it wasn't too big of an investment for something I used SIX times in one weekend!  I promise I'll use it A LOT!  I just love campfire cooking!

Although I don't use "recipes" for my dutch oven adventures, I thought I'd share a few easy dutch oven ideas!

 Fruit Cobblers/Cakes are super easy to make in a dutch oven!  This one consisted of a big bag of frozen peaches (the girls sliced them up and froze them last fall for me) mixed with some apple juice, topped with a cake mix I whipped up with some Sunny D.  I found dutch oven liners for $1/each and grabbed a couple.  They're great for things like cakes.  I buttered it well.

This dessert was awesome topped with Cool Whip!!!  You can alter this to use just about any canned fruit or pie filling!  You can use whatever flavor of cake mix you want and whatever liquid you have on hand.  It's pretty forgiving!

 Popcorn is another fun dutch oven treat.  You can see I used the top of the dutch oven to heat my saucepan of butter to pour over the top.

I just threw some oil and popcorn into the hot dutch oven and placed it on the coals.  When the popping slowed down I pulled it out of the fire and stirred it until everything had popped.

Chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding mix, water and Heath bits were a delightful combo.  I topped the mixture with a can of coconut-pecan frosting when it was done cooking.

Of course I served this topped with Cool Whip as well!  It was a big hit!

Another dutch oven goodie I concocted this trip was a great dutch oven breakfast with bacon and sliced potatoes.  When the potatoes were done I poured a couple dozen eggs over the topped and cooked until done.  Then cheese went over the top.  Delightful!

Sliced potatoes were cooked in oil and topped with leftover pulled pork and cheese for another great meal.

Over-ripe bananas were mixed with a corn bread mix and placed in a buttered pie tin.  I placed the pie tin into the dutch oven and baked until done.  Yummy!

I've never used briquettes with a dutch oven.  I just throw it on hot coals and place more hot coals on top.  Typically if you're baking a cake or other bread-type item you'll want more coals on the top than the bottom.  If you're placing the dutch oven in a fire pit with an actual fire still going you'll want to turn the dutch oven every couple of minutes so it heats evenly and doesn't burn one side.  Everything tastes so much better while camping!

Shabby Chic Bathroom Update

I love my shabby chic rooms!  My bathroom may be small, but it's pretty!

Large glass jars ($1 each at a yard sale) and sticky chalkboard sheets ($1 on clearance at Michaels) combine to hold all the bathroom odds and ends in an organized way.

I picked this cupcake soap up in a boutique!  It's so adorable!

The shower curtain is from Target.  I love the prettiness of it.

Little feminine touches are everywhere.

The clock was a $1 thrift store find.

The only thing my bathroom is lacking is a mason jar chandelier... That ended up in my living room after Eric fed me some such nonsense about the bathroom door not being able to open and close if I had a chandelier on the ceiling... DETAILS! *wink*