Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I was craving something sweet so I went to pinterest like normal.  I have had some trouble with pumpkin recipes before, I could never get them to come out the way I wanted so, for the most part I have avoided them. But this recipe sounded sooooo good. It's a super simple recipe. I did modify it to suit my needs a little bit. Here is the post I based mine on : Pumpkin Spice Muffins

So here is what you need:

1 Box yellow cake mix
1 Can Pumpkin pie mix
1/2 tsp cake spice ( optional )
1/2 Nutmeg
1/2 Cinnamon
1/4 brown sugar

350 degrees for 16 to 20 mins. Mine were done right at 16. I used an electric mixer because it does get a bit thick. Also you could dust with powdered sugar if you'd like.

So I didn't have pumpkin pie spice like the original calls for but since I used the pumpkin pie mix I figured I didn't need it. I put in the extra spices and brown sugar because I wanted a pretty strong taste. So go ahead and season to taste! Have fun these were very yummy my two year old loved them!!

Here they are!

Pampered Chef Simply Sweet

I'm going to be posting some recipes from the Pampered Chef Simply Sweet  recipe book. I have always liked their products and many have lasted me several years. My mother still has things from pampered chef that she got over ten years ago. It's worth it if you have the money. Plus the parties are super fun!  http://www.pamperedchef.com/

Here are some recipes I'm going to post:

Cookie Section:
Spumoni Spritz Cookies
S'more Cups
Peppermint Crunch Bark
Caramel Chocolate Mini-Bars
Cookies and Cream Cheesecake bites
Lemon Drop Cookies
Rosemary-Scented Citrus Knots

Cake Section:
Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream Cake
Petite Buttermilk-Berry Trifles
Pumpkin-Maple Cream Trifle
Raspberry Champagne Cream Cake
Apricot-Cardamom Torte

Pies Section:
Sweet Orange Mascarpone Tartlets
Maple-Cashew Mini-Tarts
Profiteroles with Pomegranate Cream
Berries and Cream Croustade


Now this is going to take me some time because I will be typing it all in so I'm hoping to do one a day. These are NOT all of the recipes in the recipe book. Following is a full list in case you were wondering what else there was.

Full List:
Mini Meringue Pedestals
Chewy Peanut Marshmallow Bars
Spumoni Spritz Cookies
French Macaroons with Espresso Buttercream
S'more cups
Peppermint Crunch Bark
Double Ginger Cookies
Caramel Chocolate Mini Bars
Chai spiral cookies
Macadamia coconut blondies
Cookies and cream cheesecake bites
salted caramel candies
peanutty chocolate truffles
pistachio triangles
hazelnut Shortbread
Coffee Swirl Brownies
Lemon Drop Cookies
Giant Rocky Road Cookies
Cranberry Shortbread Streusel Bars
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Festive White Chocolate Fudge
Rosemary Citrus Knots
Cherry Jewel Pinwheels
Fiery Chocolate torte
Rum Raisin Carrot cake squares
Praline Peach upside down cakes
Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream Cake
Petite Buttermilk Berry Trifles
Chocolate Coconut Cake
Pumpkin Maple Cream Trifle
Plum Spice Skillet Cake
Lemon Pucker Cake
Hot Chocolate Trifle Cups
Raspberry Champagne Cream Cake
Boston Cream Pie Squares
Tropical Lime No Bake Cheesecake
Dark Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes
English Sticky Toffee Cake
Decadent Triple Chocolate Terrines
Apricot Cardamom Torte
Black Bottom Cherry Cheesecake
Orange Dream Torte
Strawberry Cream Cupcake Desserts
Bananas Foster Tart
Sweet Orange Mascarpone Tartlets
Upside Down Chocolate Mint Pie
Maple Cashew Mini Tarts
White Chocolate Mousse Pastry Horns
Fresh Nectarine Basil Pie
Cherry Mock Fried pies
Pear and Cranberry Phyllo Purses
Apple Almond Streusel Pie
Profiteroles with Pomegranate Cream
Berries and Cream Croustade
Butterscotch Chocolate Pie
Chocolate Napoleons With Sweet Ricotta Cream

Ummmm Sticky

Okay so the play dough that I posted was fine for the one afternoon that it was being played with but by the next day it was like a nightmare sticky goo! I tried to add corn starch to it and it didn't fix it. If you child will play with just the bag of it so that it doesn't have to be directly touched it would be okay but my toddler won't do that. I ended up having to throw it away. I will be trying a new recipe soon and I will post when I find a new one that is good!

Play Dough

Well it is another rainy day here in Western New York  Since we can't go out and play Grant and I decided to make play dough. Well I decided to make him play dough as he sat on the table and played with the one color we already had. He was more than joyful when I started putting new colors on the table. 

I got the recipe off of pinterest.com but here is the link to the actual web page http://www.accidentalearthmother.com/2010/11/04/playdough-recipe/ I used this one because I didn't have any cornstarch.

1 cup plain flour

1/4 cup salt

1 tblsp vegetable oil

a few drops of  food colouring

1/2 cup boiling water

Knead it for a few minutes before giving it to your child it may need more flour to be less sticky but this type is going to be a little more sticky than others because of the lack of cornstarch. I am going to get some when I go to the store and add it. Here is a picture of our play dough bagged up:

Grant had a great time playing with it, a little messy but worth the joyful playing he did!

-Amy

Crockpot BBQ chicken

This is one of my favorite meals. I used to use a recipe but now I do whatever looks good. Here is my BBQ version! 

First I cover the bottom of the crockpot with brown sugar and drizzle vinegar over it. Sometimes I put some red pepper flakes in too but this time I used lemon pepper seasoning. 

Then I just lay the chicken on top of all of that. 

I use my favorite BBQ sauce!

Sweet Baby Ray's is the best! I pour over enough to cover most of the chicken. It's okay if it runs off it won't matter later. If I have a smaller bottle of the sauce I use the whole thing but this big container I can four uses out of for this recipe. 

Then I set the crockpot for four hours. After two or three hours or whenever I have time I break apart the chicken so more of the sauce can be absorbed. When it's ready it should be soft enough to break apart to a pulled or shredded look with just a fork. Pick your favorite rolls, something more sturdy than hamburger rolls work best. My family loves it and I hope yours does too!! - Amy

Popsicle Stick Wall Art

   I've been seeing a lot of Popsicle stick wall art stuff on pinterest lately so I decided to give it a go for myself. So I decided to do something simple. I didn't really know where I was going to go with it at first but here it is anyways!

First I covered a medium piece of canvas the cardboard backed kind, not the wooden frame type.

Then I set the sticks down on the canvas to see how many I would need. The picture just shows the amount I ended up needing.

I then painted the sticks and after I did the pink and blue I decided to go for a sunset look.

And this is the finished product hanging on my wall. I used hemp cord to hang it. I just hot glued it to the back. I used regular white glue for the sticks. And yes it is a little crooked but you get the idea. It's not the best thing ever but it did give me something to do for a while and was a great stress relief. Kids would probably love to do this too. Oh yes, and I used acrylic paint.

Hope you enjoy it and try it for yourself!

Amy

Teaching Colors

     My son is showing  a lot of interest learning colors. He tries to name the color of everything. Right now most things are yellow according to him. I correct him gently and then he changes what he thinks too. I've been reading color books with him and he doesn't stay interested very long but he seems to be interested in computer things so I've decided to make him a slideshow with power point. This way he can learn colors and also to press the space bar to go to the next slide. When I have finished I will find a way to post it up here so maybe other people can use it for their kids. I will take off the title page that has our names on it and replace it with something else. It's a simple slide show but hopefully it will do the trick in capturing his attention and keeping it for long enough for him to learn the difference between colors. Have a great day!


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