Easier than Pumpkin Pie...

So, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, my oldest son has suddenly taken to the flavor of pumpkin.  We were blessed with a pumpkin pie from our neighbor last week, and there is where it began.  I have also been on the hunt for a relatively simple recipe for pumpkin muffins and I found it!  Thanks to recipes.com!  How much easier could it get than just two ingredients!?  They are soooo yummy and moist!  They don't have the regular texture that cupcakes or muffins have, they are moist and, for lack of a better word, smooth.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 box Spice Cake Mix

1 15 oz. canned pumpkin

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Do NOT follow directions on cake box.  Mix ONLY the dry cake mix and the canned pumpkin on medium until well blended.  Mix will be thick.  After mixing you can add any additional 'mix-ins' such as raisins, chocolate chips, cranberries, etc. by gently folding them into the mix.

Spray or line muffin cups.  Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-24 minutes.   If using mini muffins bake for about 15 minutes.  They will be very soft and squishy to the touch.  Top with cream cheese frosting!

Blending Away...

I'm all for saving money.  I have to be.  With a family of eight, I admit and am no where near being ashamed to say that I will save a buck any way I can.  If there is a way...I will find it.  With that said, I follow several blogs from couponing to homemade gifts.  I also think it's funny how our society, trying to make things "easier" has almost made things more complicated.  A recent magazine I received in the mail had this thing-a-ma-bob that you could order, for only $14.99 to use to stuff the yucky food down the drain to your garbage disposal.  Nifty, ya...but really?  To me all that says is that I have one more "thing" to find a place for when it's not in use.  This brings me to what is known as The Magic Bullet.  it's a nifty contraption, but again.....really?  Sure, it would be nice to make single serve smoothies for myself (who am I kidding, the sound of it would be a call to my kids and I would instantly hear, "Can I have one?!") but there is a solution, and it was right up in my cabinet.   A common Mason jar MAGICALLY fits onto the bottom mixing part of my blender!  Now, I won't be making myself a personal smoothy....but I can customize everyone's with what ever ingredients they want (even though I may not choose bananas and lemon juice, but who's judging, right?).  Oh, ya...it's great for making baby food too, no deep blender pitcher to try to scoop stuff out from.

OH! For the Love of Puff Corn!

This past holiday season I held my first cookie exchange.  I was a little nervous, as it was my first time.  However, it proved to be quite a success and I am now planning on "Mandy's Annual Cookie Exchange" to join our other holiday traditions. 

    One of the goodies that my friend Allison brought, though, has proved to become an addiction of mine.  If I weren't so weak in the sweets department, it wouldn't be an issue.  And this is no ordinary snack.  The fact that the recipe really is 'too easy' makes it even more difficult to ignore.  I also use the word "recipe" loosely because I'm not sure if something that only has, mainly, two ingredients could be considered a recipe.  The funny thing is, I had heard of almond bark.  Heck, I had used it quite a few times.  Almond bark could almost fall into a category similar to that of bacon.  Many times I've heard my husband, Jeff, and several friends (you know who you are, wink) say "Everything is better with bacon", (of course, Jeff says the same thing about cheese too though).  This new "recipe" holds true to that for almond bark.  

    Another great thing about this snack is that it can end the fix of someone who has a sweet tooth, as well as those who prefer a salty snack.  As my friend Allison said, "People either love it, or they hate it."  I definately fall into the "love it" catagory.  Oh, and I almost forgot to mention (and I can't make this stuff up) but this was such a hit with many of the "Exchange" participants, that it caused a shortage of Puff Corn at the local Walgreens, which at the time was the only place here in town you could get it.  I'm not kidding, I sadly admit, that I even went so far as to speak with the manager to find out what day of the week the Cheetos guy came to 'replenish' their stock.  I can happily say now though, that I have since noticed the local King Soopers now carries it as well.  That is, until next Christmas.   It was a big hit to those at the exchange and many others have since asked how to make it, so here it is.

Ingredients (a.k.a. "recipe"):

1 4 oz. bag of BUTTER flavored Chester's Puff Corn

1/2 of a package of vanilla almond bark.

Colored Sugar Sprinkles (red & green for Christmas, pink & red for Valentine's Day, you get the idea)

Lay wax paper out on your work surface and dump out and spread the Puff Corn into a single layer.  Melt half of the package of almond bark either in the microwave or on the stove top as directed on the package.  When melted, drizzle the almond bark onto the Puff Corn and mix up with a spoon or spatula.  Sprinkle with colored sugar (don't be chintzy!).  There ya have it!  When it cools just break it up into bite size pieces!

Summer Smoothies!

  With having six children we are always trying to find something different, healthy and of course easy to fix that the kids will love.  With the exception of Thursdays, which are designated for muffins, I usually let the boys choose what they want for breakfast and every morning tends to be the same:  Cheerios.  I felt the need to mix things up a little today so this morning when I opened the fridge, I just started grabbing things.  Our boys love blueberries.  We will go through a 5lb. box in less than five days.  I also looked at the over-ripe bananas that I had.  I had one too many for a loaf of banana bread, so I snatched up one of those.  Again, with a family as large as ours, we often buy things in larger containers than that of the typical family.  I grabbed the large tub of yogurt that had just enough left in it for one person, but not worth starting a riot over because there wasn't enough for everyone.  The end product, a drinkable breakfast that everyone loved!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. blueberries

1/2 c. strawberies

1 ripe banana

1/2 c. vanilla yogurt

1 tsp. honey

2 c. milk

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until banana is well chopped up. (about 30-45 seconds)