Weekend Recipe Review - Part 2 - Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars

The only thing that I got around to baking this weekend was Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars.  Well, I did bake a coffee cake for breakfast Sunday morning that I promplty dropped in the church parking lot, so we're not counting that.

Joelen mentioned these bars last week and I just knew that I had to find that recipe!

Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars from Bakespace

Bars:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1/3 cup rolled quick oats

Filling:

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups mashed pumpkin

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

Drizzle:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350

Bars:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and molasses until creamy.

Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture and place in a small bowl.

Scoop the remaining mixture into a 10 x 15 baking pan lightly coated with nonstick spray.

Add the oats to the reserved mixture and mix until combined - set aside.

Filling:

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.

Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves - mix until well combined.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined.

Scoop the mixture over the uncooked base and use an off-set spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the top.

Crumble reserved oat mixture over filling.

Bake until the topping is a golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Drizzle:

In a small bowl, mix together confectioners sugar, butter and vanilla.

Mix in just enough milk until the mixture will easily flow from a spoon - drizzle over cooled bars.

They came out prefect and were so "fall" tasting.  After the first day I knew they had to leave the house, so I sent them to work with Troy.

Weekend Recipe Review - Part 1 - Caldo Gallego

I only managed to make one out of the three soups on my wish list this weekend.  And boy am I glad that I did!  I made a few changes to the recipe and the result was a hearty, spicy soup that any meat and potatoes person would be happy with.

Unfortunately my camera seems to be dead, so no pictures (again).

Caldo Gallego
adapted from Crepes of Wrath

1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch slices - I used bacon.

1 15-ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium onion, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

1 large baking potato or 1/2 pound smaller potatoes, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large turnip, peeled and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces - I ommited this, but only because they didn't have any at the grocery store I went to.  I will add it next time.

1/4 pound ground chorizo

1/2 pound turnip greens (or other dark leafy green, such as kale or spinach), washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped - I used kale.

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large soup pot, bacon and chorizo over medium heat for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and the bacon is just crispy.

2. Add onion and cook until translucent.

2. Add potato and turnip to the pot along with enough water (I used vegetable broth because I had it) to cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes until almost soft but not falling apart.

3. Add the beans, greens, and red pepper flakes and continue simmering until the greens are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread. Serves 8-10.

Sometime in the near future I'll post the recipe and review for Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars.

What's Up for the Weekend?

"There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides You; there is no Rock like our God." - 1 Samuel 2:2

I've had this verse marked in my Bible for a while and it's really been drawing me lately.  I thought I would pass it along.  I know that here recently there have been times (and still are) that I really need a Rock to anchor myself to.  I'm so glad that we have one!

This weekend may be the first real feel of fall for our area.  I may be jumping the gun a little on this, but it sounds like soup weather to me!  Troy will be working nights and Brynne and Brooke will be at their dad's so it will just be Tori and me.  I plan to try out three new soup recipes.

Ina Garten's Cheddar Corn Chowder - This has been on my list for a few years now and I just haven't gotten around to making it.

Caldo Gallego - I think I can get Troy to eat it if I don't tell him about the turnip.

Leek, Broccoli and Potato Soup from The Crepes of Wrath - This blog has one of the absolute best layouts for recipes.  She makes everything look so simple!  This will be my first time cooking with leeks.

And of course I'll bake something as well!  I hope to bake Gingergread Pumpkin Bars.

I'll post reviews and hopefully pictures next week.  I say hopefully because my camera appears to be on the fritz.  I have another one somewhere... if I can just find it.

To celebrate the Autumn season I'm hosting my first Super Duper Soup Swap next month.  If you want an invite, leave me your email and I'll pass it along.  It's going to be a great time!

Goodies for the Guys - Snickers Surprise Cookies and Spicy Snack Mix

Some Tuesday nights Troy meets up with some of the guys overgrown teenagers from church and they play video games.  Who am I to judge though, I have a bunco group. :-)  I had told him that I would make snacks for him to take this week.  So despite a killer sinus headache I kept my word.  I'm glad that I did because I love to eat when I have a cold and these made for great snacks while the girls and I cuddled up on the couch to veg.

I wish I had been able to take pictures for this post, but the batteries were completely dead in my camera.  You'll just have to take my word for it that it all looked delicious!

Spicy Snack Mix aka Trash

This is something that Joyce, my stepmom, makes by the bucketful during the holidays.  It's easy, versatile, and HIGHLY addictive.  Mix up the cereal, add-ins, and seasonings to your taste.

Ingredients:

2 cups each - Corn Chex, Rice Chex, Cheese Nips, Bugles, Pretzels
1 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
2 Tbs worchestershire sauce
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere's)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250.

In a large bowl combine cereals, crackers, pretzels and nuts.

In another bowl combine melted butter and remaining ingredients.

Pour over cereal mix and stir thoroughly to coat.

At this point I usually end up adding a bit more of whatever seasoning I want and stirring to coat.

Spread onto 2 sheet pans and bake for 1 hour, stirring at least twice.

It's going to smell amazing so be sure to let it cool enough that you don't scorch your tongue before you start eating it!  This will keep in an airtight container for just about forever.


Surprise Sugar Cookies

This recipe was inspired by the Snicker Surprise Cookies posted by Joelen the other day.  Candy bar inside a cookie!  What a great idea!  But I knew that I would be pressed for time and didn't want to make cookie dough.  I just happened to have a roll of sugar cookie dough in the fridge.

Ingredients:

1 large roll sugar cookie dough or your favorite sugar cookie recipe
18 fun size Snickers bars

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  It's okay if you don't do this step, just don't grease them!

Cut each candy bar in half.

Take one piece of candy bar and cover it completely in cookie dough.  I cut the log of dough into 36 equal portions because I'm nerdy like that.

Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.  A little underdone and chewy is better than overdone.

Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  This part might not be necessary if you're eating them as soon as they cool enough to handle, like I was!

These were yummy, but next time I will cut the candy into 3 parts and make smaller cookies.  They were bigger than I liked.

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

What a wonderful weekend!

This weekend was packed with activities!

Saturday morning my friend Laura and I ran our first 5K together. We participated in the Race for the Cure My personal goal was to finish in less than 40 minutes and I did it! My unofficial time (using the stopwatch on my iTouch) was 39:20. Not the best time, but I have great starting place to improve from.

I will have pictures from the race photographer soon, but until then here are a few that troy took.

The start of the race.  I'm on the other side of the lady in the pink cap.  On the other side of me is Laura, representing with her maroon A&M top.  You can barely see her.

After the race!  We Did It!  I'm very sweaty and my hair is WILD from the humidity.  We celebrated with a yummy lunch at Olive Garden.  I'm sure I consumed way more calories than I burned during the race. :-)

And of course.... the obligatory picture of Tori.  The kids were great while I ran.  They also enjoyed the bananas, apples, and oatmeal cream pies that were handed out after the race.

That evening we took a group of Brynne and Brooke's friends to the Galleria to ice skate to celebrate their birthdays.  The plan for the corn maze was scrapped due to inclement weather.  We couldn't have made a better decision.  They had a wonderful time!

The entire group on our way in.

Everyone did great!  In this picture there are actually a couple of exta girls.  What can I say?  They make friends quickly.

And nothing makes for a better ending to a great day than a little ICE CREAM!

I hope that everyone has a wonderfully blessed week!

Hellooooooo, hello, hello, hello.

It's been approximately a million years since I've written anything in this blog. Well, it's high time I started! Here's a quick run down of the past year.

- All of the kiddo's are a year older. Tori is now TWO, Brynne just turned eleven, and Brooke will celebrate her tenth birthday later this month. We're headed to Dewberry Farm tomorrow evening to celebrate the olders girls' birthdays with their friends. It should be great fun and I'll be sure to blog about it.

- I've begun leading a Wednesday night Bible study and prayer group. I am so blessed and thankful that God has chosen to use me for this. I have learned more and grown closer to Him through it. You will never hear me say that I'm teaching, since most often I feel I'm learning so much myself.

- A few weeks ago I successfully completed the Couch 2 Five K program and will be running my first 5K TOMORROW morning. Three months ago I would have thought this impossible. Seriously folks, if I can follow this program anyone can! I have big fitness and running goals and I promise to keep everyone posted.

- I've been cooking up a storm and have been stalking, I mean following, many wonderful food blogs. I'll be sure to share those blogs and their wonderful recipes with you.

There, that should just about cover it. And I promise that it won't be a YEAR before I post again.

Have a blessed weekend!

Happy Birthday Mom.

Today would have been Mom's 55th birthday. She's been gone for 15 months now and I still miss her every day.

Your Mother Is Always With You

Your mother is always with you...
She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.
She's the smell of bleach inyour freshly laundered socks.
She's the cool hand on yourbrow when you're not well.

Your mother lives insideyour laughter.

She's crystallized in every tear drop...
She's the place you came from,your first home..

She's the map you follow with every step that you take.

She's your first love and your first heartbreak....

and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, Not space...

Not even death....

will ever separate you from your mother....

You carry her inside of you....

- Author Unknown.