Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi there everyone! I just wanted to drop in with a quick Thanksgiving post to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and leave you with a couple of quick recipes that my family and I are enjoying this year.  

One is a quick recipe for a 

Warm Apple Cider

 
 Here's what you will need:

One Gallon of Apple Cider
One Frozen Apple Juice Concentrate (thawed)
One Orange
One Tablespoon of Allspice
One Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon
One Half Cup of Sugar
About one fourth of a bag of Fresh Cranberries
Cinnamon Sticks
Three Granny Smith Apples


How beautiful this looks!!

You just put all of the ingredients into a crock pot and simmer on low all day! 

Your home will fill with the wonderful smells of the holidays and it is so yummy and it just makes you feel all warm and cozy! 

I even thought about packaging some up and sharing the love...





I just love giving and getting homemade simple gifts! 

Another yummy fall treat I've learned about lately is a recipe for 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins





These take a lot of steps to make, but once you get started, they are easy and soooooo worth it! 

Here's the list of ingredients that you will need:

Eight Ounces of Softened Cream Cheese
One Half  Teaspoon of Vanilla
Two and Three Fourths Cups of Sugar
Three and One Third Cups of All Purpose Flour
Three Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon
Four Tablespoons of Cold Butter
One Half Teaspoon Ground Cloves
One Half Teaspoon of Ground Nutmeg
Two Teaspoons of Baking Soda
One and One Half Teaspoons of Salt
Three Large Eggs
One 15 oz. Can of Pumpkin
One Cup of Vegetable Oil
One Half Cup of Milk

Okay, let's get started!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and put your muffin tin papers in your muffin pan. 



This recipe will make 24 regular sized muffins.

Now, in a small bowl, stir together your cream cheese, vanilla and 1/2 cup of sugar.




After mixing this together, set this bowl aside.

Next, combine 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and the cold butter in another small bowl and use a pastry blender to mix together, forming a crumb topping. 


When you get this all mixed, set this bowl aside also.

Lastly, in a larger bowl, mix the remaining 3 cups of flour, 1 and 3/4 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, the cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt together.




 In another large bowl, mix your eggs, pumpkin, oil and milk. 



Combine the dry mixture and the wet mixture together and set the bowl aside.

At this point, you should have 3 bowls ready to go!





By the way, this is just a side note... While washing my bowls, I noticed something. I'm sensing that I must like red and green bowls! 


Haha! :)

Okay, let's get these muffins going!

First, let's fill each muffin cup 1/2 full with the pumpkin mixture.




Next, we will put a dollop of the cream mixture into the center of each muffin cup (on top of the pumpkin mixture).




I have used a spoon, a ziplock bag with a hole cut on the end and a piping bag.  Here you see me using the piping bag, but to me, I have found the ziplock  to be the easiest, as far as mess is concerned.

Now, on top of the cream cheese, you will put a spoonful of the pumpkin mixture again.




 This will leave a nice little creamy surprise inside of each muffin!

Last, but not least, you will sprinkle on the crumb topping over each muffin cup.




You are now ready to bake!

Bake at 375 degrees for about 18-20 minutes. 
You will need to insert a toothpick to check to make sure they are done.




Aren't they beautiful????

Let them cool on a rack



Then enjoy these delicious treats that look as if you've bought them at a bakery!! 




I think that both the Apple Cider and the Pumpkin Muffins would be a great "Black Friday" snack on the go! 

I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday with those you love the most! 



 With much love from my family to yours

~ Psalm 107:1 "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." (KJV)





 

 

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Family Fun In The Fall

It's that wonderful time of year again!!

My very favorite time of the year!
Oh, how I've missed it! 





I love everything about the fall!

I've been very busy trying to soak up all the fun of the season!


Here's what I've been up to...

Anthony and I went on a hike and picnic on the first day of fall.












We enjoyed a visit from the kids one weekend and the girls, my mom and I painted pumpkins!








That was so much fun!! 

Then, this past weekend, we had a couple of  visitors.

They were the sweetest little guest..






One's name was Peyton




and the other one was named Rylee!

I told you they were sweet!


We were so excited to have the pitter-patter of little feet running around our house all weekend! 

I planned lots of fall fun for us to enjoy while they were here.








We visited a pumpkin patch farm, painted our faces, painted pumpkins, watched movies and did lots of fun things in the kitchen!  We loved having them and can't wait until their next visit! (Hopefully, Baby Sister Charlee will join us next time too! )

While they were here, I tried a fun fall idea that I found on Pinterest and I thought I'd share it with all of you!

It's a new spin on Caramel Apples...


Here's what you will need:

Apples 

Caramel Sauce

Small Wooden Skewers

Toppings of Your Choice


Let's start with the Caramel Sauce.


This is a Pioneer Woman recipe and it is super easy and delicious!







Ingredients

1 Cup of Brown Sugar
1/2 Stick of Butter
1/2 Cup of Half and Half or Heavy Cream
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla
1 Pinch of Salt

Mix all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium low heat.  Cook until thickness is to your liking (probably not more than 15-20 minutes).  Keep in mind that it will continue to thicken a little while cooling.  

Now, just set that aside while you assemble the toppings!

You can let your imagination run wild here! 

Here's what I chose for our apples...

Toasted Coconut

I just spread some coconut flakes on a cookie sheet and toasted them at 350 degrees for a few minutes.







Toasted pecans




Colored Sprinkles, Graham Cracker Crumbs, Chopped Peanuts, Sea Salt and Mini Marshmallows!

Here's the fun part though...




You serve your toppings from a muffin tin!! 

You place a different topping into each cup of the muffin tin! 

Wash and slice your apples.

Set up a "dunking station" !




Then gather everyone to the table for LOTS of Yummy Fun!!!




 






This was a HUGE hit for the entire family! 


You really should  give this recipe idea a try! It's lots of fun!

I hope you are enjoying the season with those you love the most.

~ <3 ~

Have a great week!

Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (KJV)




 
 

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Sweet Georgia Summer

As most of you know, we have been working the winter storm damages in the New England area. We've been there for just under 4 months!  We counted the trip a blessing because we needed the work and we loved seeing that part of the country!  After a while though, we start to really miss home, family and all the comforts that we are used to! In the middle of June, we took a little break and started toward home.  We headed straight for a vacation with some of our family to Saint Simons Island in Georgia for the first part of our "reunion home".
 


We enjoyed the scenery and we enjoyed family!
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
The week was over before we knew it, and it was time to get back to it! Anthony would head back to Boston to finish up work, Avery and Jamie would go back to school, Ashley and Ricky left for Costa Rica for a mission trip,  and Austin was headed to camp! That left me home alone, so I planned a trip to go see Mama and Daddy in our Home Sweet Home of Georgia...
 
Everything was in full bloom! I decided to snap a few pictures of my country view!
 
On the road to my parents house...
 
 
 
My Mama and Daddy
 aka
 Grandmama and Grandaddy
 live here.
 
 
Grandmama's Flowers...
 


 
The apple tree out back...
 
 
Grandaddy's Garden...
 
 
Grandaddy's Chickens...
 
 
 
 
We had a great time catching up and my Daddy and I were able to visit trade day and a Farmer's Market nearby so that I could take home some fresh fruits and veggies to process and can!
 
Here's what I brought home...
 
 
A glorious site!!!
 
Tomatoes, onions, peppers and garlic for
Homemade Salsa
 
 
and
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
 
 
Squash for
Squash Relish
 
 
 
Blueberries for the freezer and for Blueberry Jam
 
 
 
Corn for the freezer
 
 
The most beautiful Blackberries...
 
 
and Farm Fresh Eggs from our sweet nephew Levi
 
 
What wonderful gifts from God!!
 
I spent 3 days straight canning and putting up food in the freezer! 
 
I loved every single minute of it!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
I'm so thankful for work, fresh food from the garden, the simple things in life,  faith, family and HOME!!
 
I hope you all are enjoying some fresh tastes of summer too! <3
 
~ <3 ~ <3 ~ <3~
 
~ Galatians 6:9 (KJV) "And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."