Pumpkin Spice Marshmallow Rice Krispy Treats

Have you noticed, all things "pumpkin" are hot right now.  Who doesn't love {and wait all year} on a good Pumpkin Spice Latte?  Have you seen all of the yummy seasonal creamers in the grocery store?  I can recommend International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer {but that's another post}.   If you visit Pinterest, you will see everything from creative, decorative pumpkins to some of the yummiest sounding recipes on the planet.  Yes, Pumpkin is hot.

While grocery shopping over the weekend, I stumbled across these:

Yes!  Thank you, Kraft for creating this yummy treat!  They are good straight out of the bag.  If you're a snacker, you might want to grab an extra bag to munch on while you make the real deal.   When I saw these in the store, I remembered seeing a pin on Pinterest about pumpkin marshmallow treats.  hmmmmm...the wheels started turning.  It was convenient that Kraft even printed their recipe right on the bag.  ;)

So, I got a box of Rice Krispies & whipped up a batch.  These are made exactly the same way that regular rice krispy treats are made.  All of the pumpkin spice is in the marshmallows.  Let's just say they are a GOOD THING!

Look!  They are a cute little pumpkin shape & color.  And, they melted easily!

I had to snap this picture quickly.  They didn't last very long.  ;)

What pumpkin goodness have you discovered lately?

Glimpses from My Garden : First Fruits

I love fresh, homegrown tomatoes.  We are blessed with a 2 local farmers markets.  All the offerings are grown locally and many of the farmers depend on local sales to make ends meet.  I love supporting our local farmers because they work so hard to bring us delicious food.  For the past few weeks, I've been supporting our markets by buying tomatoes.  There is just nothing like a fresh, homegrown tomato.  I've been enjoying tomato sandwiches for lunch most everyday.  I'm just saying.....there's nothing better!

I will continue to shop with our local farmers, but I'm so excited that our tomatoes are finally getting ripe.  Here are our first fruits!  A couple of them look like romas, but they are all Better Boys ....and boy, are they good!  We've been having some yellow grape tomatoes for the past few weeks.  I haven't snapped any pics because they are usually consumed quickly...sometimes right off the vine.

I shared this picture on my personal FB page.  A friend commented that the tomato on the bottom was quite odd looking.  Yes, it is!  Amazingly....it tastes just like a sweet banana pepper!  {hoping my peppers will come on and do well.  They've had a slow start, so far}

So...do you love tomatoes?  What's your favorite way to eat fresh tomatoes?  BLT?  Tomatoes and mayo on white bread {that's an Old South delicacy!}, something a little more fancy?  Let me know!

If you have a local farmers market, show 'em some love!  You won't find food that is any better or more fresh anywhere!

Blackberry Cobbler Recipe {again}

I see Blackberry Cobbler on our menu for the weekend.  If you've run across some great berries lately, you might give my simple little recipe a go.  Be sure to pick up some vanilla ice cream too!  It's a sin to have cobbler with out ice cream, ya know!

Happy Hot Summer Weekend!

Snow Ice Cream Recipe

One of the joys of snow is simple treats like Snow Ice Cream.  Around here, we only get to make it once every 100 years or so because we rarely get enough snow to make it.  In honor of the blizzard sweeping across the nation, I wanted to share the treat we made during our snow storm in January of this year.

Like all good, true Southern cooks; I didn't measure anything.  This is strictly a "throw it together and tweak it til it tastes right recipe".  If you are an engineer or one who has to have detail instructions, this recipe may not be right for you.

Anyway, here we go . .

You need clean snow. {insert joke about avoiding the yellow snow here}  Put out a clean bowl to catch some,  if possible.  My bowl was an 8 cup Pyrex dish.  It was just about right to make enough snow cream for us.

8 cup Pyrex bowl.  It was full the next day after overnight snowfall


Bring in the clean snow indoors and dump into a large mixing bowl.  You will also need some sugar, milk & vanilla extract.

Add sugar; about 1/2 cup or to your taste

Add about 1 teaspoon {or a capful} of real vanilla extract

Add enough milk & stir until mixture resembles soft-serve ice cream.

ENJOY!

eat it now because it won't keep!

Hey Cutie!

Oh my Darlin' . . . they're back!

Clementines are back in season WOO HOO!

 If you haven't tried clementines,  you must!  They are the cutest, sweetest, easiest to peel little gems you will ever enjoy.  The season for the best ones is fairly short.  Although they are stores until the spring, they are best during December & January.  They are sometimes called the Christmas Orange so now is the time to get them.

Visit the Cutie website for nutritional info, where to buy, games, shop, etc.  I'd say grab one instead of a Christmas Cookie, but who's THAT good!  ;)

Merry Christmas!  Enjoy all the fruits of the season!

Pumpkin Pie is not just for Thanksgiving : recipe

Today is Sew Daddy's birthday.  He has always loved anything pumpkin.  When we first met, he let me know he prefer pumpkin bread over birthday cake anyday.   No problem!  I have a great pumpkin bread recipe that I used to make Pumpkin Muffins.  You can get that recipe here.  Ever since I've known him, I've made pumpkin bread for him in October.

This year he original declared he wanted a cheesecake.  That was good.  I like cheesecake too!  ;-)  Scratch that!

Instead, he decided that a pumpkin pie was in order.  No need to wait for Thanksgiving when you can celebrate a birthday with pumpkin pie a month early.  So, this is what I making for him today!  His favorite pumpkin pie!

The best recipe I've found is the one on the can of Libby's pumpkin.  It's easy, has great spice/flavorings and I don't have to dig through files, folders & clippings of old recipes.  It's right there on the can of pumpkin every single time!  Doesn't this look DIVINE!?  Whipped topping is a must! 

So, whether you have a pumpkin lover or just need to get a jumpstart on Thanksgiving ideas, here is the Pumpkin Pie recipe straight from the can of Libby's pumpkin!  ENJOY!

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (a must)

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Tomato Time & Zucchini-zilla

Our little garden is doing quite well!  I'm so excited that the tomatoes have finally ripened!!!  Of all the thing we planted, tomatoes are my favorite!  What's not to love about a BLT or just a plain ol' tomato sandwich.  GOODNESS!

Here is one of our yummy tomatoes.  We've been blessed with large fruit and no blemishes.

Our little grape tomatoes are coming in abundance and are so sweet! I've been putting them in everything from salads to sauteed spinach to a fresh tomato-basil-feta salad. They aren't bad to snack on either. You can see just a few of our bounty; along with a few little yellow heirloom grapes tomatoes. That plant hasn't done as well, but I'll definitely try again next year. The yellow tomatoes have a different, delicious flavor.

And then there's this . . ZUCCHINI - ZILLA

Our zucchini plants are huge.  The leaves are larger than dinner plates, but we have only a few blooms.  As of the weekend, this was the only zuke we had seen.  I found it when it was the size of a small cucumber so I decided to let it go another day or so.

Well, when I went to pick it, this is what I found :  Zucchini-Zilla!    I had never seen a zucchini this large!  I picked it thinking it would be pretty tough & nasty tasting.  To my surprise, it was very good.  I put part of it in a veggie mix which we grilled.  {I'll share pics & a recipe soon.}

If you have an abundance of tomatoes, you are probably looking for ways to use them.  This is one of my favorite, easy summertime recipes that won't heat up the kitchen.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

So far, So good!

My name is not Mary and I'm not usually contrary,

but this garden thing has worked out pretty well so far. 

It is our first year to have a true garden.  We've had tomato plants in the past,

but this year I wanted to expand {and hopefully cut the grocery bill a bit this summer}

It's all really a learning process for us, but it's been fun!

Sew Daddy built us 2 raised planting beds from these instructions.  The beds are WONDERFUL!  Did you see that he even dressed them up a bit with copper covers for the 4x4s in the corners.  Love that!  In this bed, we have planted lettuce, beans, eggplant, yellow squash and cucumbers.

The Tomato Jungle!  We planted some Better Boys, one grape tomato plant and an heirloom yellow tomato plant.  They seem to be pretty happy here.  Next year we will have taller tomato supports as we have in the past. We have these tied & rigged in some creative ways this year.

This bed also has some zucchini, carrots and peppers.  I don't know if the carrots will do well because they are shadowed by the massive tomatoes and zuke plants.  Several varieties of peppers are slowly coming along on the far end.

Green Tomatoes!  The promise of good things {and good meals} to come!

Our 1st squash {and first harvest} on the vine . . . . . . . . then freshly picked.

Little Gracious and I also planted some flowers seeds on Mothers Day.  Our flower bed is doing well.  The birds did feast on a few of our sunflower seeds, but most survived and are growing tall.  They are at the far end of this bed. 

Zinnias are in the middle.  I adore zinnias in the summertime.  They make the best cut flowers and really bright up the house.

Although not in this shot, we also planted some carnation seeds and some other little miscellaneous flower seeds; just to see what grows.

Life is GOOD!

I'd love to hear about your garden this summer!  What are YOU growing?

Calamari, anyone?

Ok, I tried it . . .  for the first & last time in my life. 

Little Gracious wanted to try calamari.  Sew Daddy has had it and likes it.   I'd never had it and had no desire to try it, but . . . the things you do for your kids.

So, I tried it.

It wasn't as bad as I thought, but still too chewy for my liking.  I'm "texture-sensitive" with food and the texture of this was not pleasing to me.  I had to concentrate on the marinara rather than what it was.

The little fried tenticles didn't help.  I almost felt like I was on an episode of Survivor when they eat the weird stuff.  LOL

Thank goodness the rest of the meal was better.  Give me a grilled grouper sandwich anytime!

Quick Broccoli Chicken Stirfry Recipe

I know
Mom!  What's for dinner?
The age old question.

What's the answer?
Maybe I can help with that!

This is one of my family's favorites so I have it in the dinner rotation often!  Easy Peasy, baby!

I don't have a formal name for this recipe.  Call it Broccoli Stirfry, Broccoli Chicken Stirfry, Asian Stirfry, Oriental Stirfry . . . well, you get the idea.  Let's get on with the details.

First, let me say that Sew Daddy grills a huge batch of chicken every Sunday; enough for me to use during the week for dinner, salads, sandwiches, etc.  Cook once, eat lots.  It works for us. {love that Sew Daddy!}

To make this super simple recipe, you need the items pictured above along with a few other things.  I'll give you the basic instructions and you can improvise as you like.

Saute a bag of broccoli slaw {available with the bagged lettuces in the produce section} in Kraft Asian Light Sesame Dressing {available in the salad dressing aisle}.  Use as much dressing as you like.  Use a little to start because you can always add more to taste.  As the broccoli is going, add a dash of low sodium soy sauce &/or teriyaki if you like.  If you don't, leave it out.  You can add matchstick carrots, water chestnuts, onion, peppers, mushrooms . . . anything you & your family like in a stirfry.

Once the broccoli is crisp tender, serve it up; topped with grilled chicken and some crunchy chow mein noodles.  If you have some silvered almonds, that would be a nice touch too.  This dish is great alone or served with some steamed rice or orzo on the side.  I like using chopsticks. . . . at least till I get down to the last few bites; then I need a fork. 

This was our dinner last night.  YUM!  I've shared this on Twitter & on Facebook so I wanted to share it with my blog readers too!

ENJOY!!!

How NOT to Give Yourself A Spa Hand Treatment

17 Easy Steps : How NOT to treat yourself to a spa hand treatment:

1. Drop your paraffin warmer in the floor.
2. Make sure you have a batch of sausage balls in the oven that have to come out in about 2 minutes.
3. Don't forget to spill wax in the cat's dish so the food is one giant clump. It makes the cat food easier to clean up.
4. Stand there for about 2 seconds; so that you can process what just happened, because you believe this is surely a bad dream. Realize you are indeed awake.
5. Call for someone to bring paper towels & the garbage can. Call loudly because one is outside with a leaf blower and one is getting ready. No one is even remotely near by.
6. Thank the person who brought the can, saw the mess, noticed your happiness level and then hit the road quickly. You know what they say: "if Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"
7. Realize you need a new garbage bag because the can is full & grab a spatula on the way back through the kitchen. You'll need it.
8. Rescue the sausage balls from the 400 degree oven; just in the nick of time.
9. Return to the scene of the accident & commence to scraping up all the wax you can only to realize there is still ALOT of wax on the floor.
10. Have a lightbulb moment! Get the hairdryer {and more paper towels}
11. Lay paper towels in the floor and blast them with the hairdryer. It's amazing how paper towels absorb re-heated wax.
12. Repeat, repeat, repeat, ad nauseum.
13. Take the paraffin warmer outside, avoid the temptation to throw it in the trash and bring that hairdryer. You'll need it because dried wax is all over the outside of the contraption.
14. Eat a few sausage balls with each trip through the kitchen. Nothing like some good healthy stress food while in the midst of a crisis. Give thanks that you had the where with all to get them out of the oven before they burned to a crisp.
15. Set aside about an hour of time and 100% of your temper. That will come in handy for clean-up.
16. Be happy that the family left for a bit so that you can gain your composure and have a few more sausage balls all to yourself.
17. Remember how blessed you are and look forward to actually dipping your hands IN the paraffin spa for your next treatment.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
life is good!

Easy Crockpot Chicken & Dumplins

So the weather is colder, you are busy and the daily question from this family is:

Mom, what's for dinner?

EASY CROCKPOT CHICKEN & DUMPLINS

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts {frozen is ok}
1/2 onion, quartered
1 can Cream of Chicken soup {reduced fat is ok}
1 package Crescent Rolls {reduced fat works here too}

Place chicken in the crockpot and add just enough water to cover or almost cover. Add the quartered onion and season with salt & pepper. Cook on low to medium, depending on when you start. If you get this going before work in the morning, set your cooker on low. If you start in the afternoon, like I usually do, medium will work. Cook until chicken is tender.

Remove onion from crockpot & discard. Take 2 forks and shred the chicken right in the crockpot. {If your crockpot has a non-stick finish, remove chicken to shred then put it back in the pot}. Add cream of chicken soup and whisk. Replace the cover and let this go until about 15 minutes before you are ready to eat. Now add the crescent rolls. Simply pinch the dough into bite-sized pieces, drop into the crockpot, then stir gently. Add a bit if dried tarragon if you like. Replace the lid, let the dumplins cook at least 15 minutes and dinner will be ready when you are.

This is great served with Jiffy cornbread muffins.

I've mentioned making this recipe several times on Twitter & Facebook. It seems that someone always asks for the recipes so I decided to share it here. ENJOY!

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins : recipe

If you noticed the fine print at the bottom of yesterday's post, you know that it was Sew Daddy's birthday. He has always preferred pumpkin "something" rather than traditional birthday cake. Maybe it's because his b'day is on October, I don't know. Before meeting him, I was never a big pumpkin eater {and my name's not Peter}.

Early on in our marriage I found this recipe for Pumpkin Bread and it became his instant favorite.

This year I decide to make muffins rather than loaves. We just happened to have fun Halloween cupcake liners on hand! Yea! Wanna make your own pumpkin muffins this weekend? Here ya go!

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins

Dry ingredients:

1-1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped pecans {optional}

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Makes 24 muffins.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add all wet ingredients and mix well by hand. Pour into 24 lined cupcake pans. Bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Don't overbake so the muffins will be moist.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Delight

Sometimes, something is so good, you just have to share with friends. This, my friends, is one of those things.

Little Debbie Pumpkin Delights

We are talking GOOD and yes, they are delightful! We look forward to them every year. You see, they are only available in the fall; usually September & October. They just TASTE like autumn! I was so excited to find them on my grocery shopping excursion yesterday so I bought 2 boxes. It's a Mom Thing, I suppose!

I left some for you, I promise. No, Little Debbie hasn't compensated me for my post, but if they'd like to send some Little Debbie goodies this way . . . . I'm just sayin' ;-)

If you are ready for cooler weather, crisp breezes and falling leaves, a Pumpkin Delight will bring the taste of the season to you. What a great snack or lunchbox surprise for the little ones {or your husband!}

Enjoy the season!