Carving Pumpkins...by Jenny

In my quest for wanting you to continue treat making for me, I’ve decided to do my part with a new blog post. I’ve found the perfect thing that I will be making. 

You buy the pumpkin and the wine and I’ll use my superior crafting skill and whip this up for you. You're welcome. This months debt repaid. Now please whip me up a cake. 

Jill here: I make fun of my sis for some of her "crafty" ideas - but this one is actually super cute! Makes me want to throw a Halloween party...


10.10.18: mummy pumpkin

10.10.17: Mickey's fall wreath

10.10.16: ghost garland lights

10.10.15: Halloween granulated wax layered candle

Yellow Squash Soup

LeDonna sent me this recipe and I'm going to make it today for lunch today, it's a little chilly out and starting to feel like soup weather. I like that this has few ingredients and seems easy to make - I'm anticipating that it will taste light and fresh with the addition of the lemon; and I might add some leftover rotisserie chicken so Dave doesn't complain about eating vegetable soup LOL, but will taste it first so I don't mess up the flavor. Doesn't this sound good?

Yellow Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 small yellow squash, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 T. butter
• 1 T. lemon zest

Cook all in covered saucepan until tender; cool. Puree in blender or with an immersion blender. Garnish with sour cream or parmesan if desired.

LeDonna's notes: I made this soup yesterday and we had it for dinner along with a salad of chicken, snow peas, tomatoes and avocado. To the soup I added Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning, garlic salt, parsley flakes, salt and pepper. I garnished with shredded mozzarella. It's lite and paired really well with the salad.


10.9.18: pumpkin pail

10.9.17: zombie brain cheese ball

10.9.16: baked crab cakes

10.9.15: spider soap

Tip-sy Tuesday: Mushrooms and Onions

Quick easy tip that I learned from Kyle after all these years of making mushrooms and onions to go with our steaks - I didn't know to saute onions low and slow, and mushrooms hot and quick. I always think of him when I'm making these veggies now! 

10.8.18: plastic spider earrings
10.8.17: test tube Reese's 'heart you to pieces'
10.8.16: my crafty sister (no, she isn't crafty - but she IS funny!)
10.8.15: cute and creepy carved pumpkin

Creamed Corn

I'm a firm believer in not eliminating certain veggies from my diet because they are "carb" heavy - because really, did anyone get fat eating too much corn or carrots? I think not. The exception to that rule might be veggies made following recipes like this one Cathy found for the most absolutely fantastic, rich, delicious, creamy, sinfully addictive corn - there isn't anything about this recipe to keep me from gaining weight, and I'm ok with that. Some things are worth the calories and this is one of them. We couldn't stop eating this, I even took some home for breakfast the next day. It's beyond good!

Ingredients:

• 2 (10 oz) packages frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 t. salt
• 2 T. granulated sugar
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• 2 T. butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 T. flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a skillet over medium heat, combine the corn, cream, salt, sugar, pepper and butter. Whisk together the milk and flour, and stir into the corn mixture. Cook stirring over medium heat until the mixture is thickened and corn is cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted. Serve hot.

'cream corn like no other' recipe found at allrecipes.com


10.7.18: around the campfire recap 
10.7.17: framed bats

10.7.16: Brooke makes a funky pumpkin

10.7.15: boo painted mug

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 40)

Dear Campers ~

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at MMDC this past week:

Posts ~

9/29: 🔥 (week 39)
9/30: confetti wrapping paper
10/1: tip-sy Tuesday: dividing batter
10/2: baby spinach salad with dates and pita croutons
10/3: 30-day plank challenge
10/4: spring rolls
10/5: baked zucchini 

What's cooking ~

• tuna noodle casserole
• grilled chicken sausages, orzo with roasted tomatoes and feta
• buffalo salad
• chicken spaghetti (recipe to follow soon)
• steak and gorgonzola fettuccini alfredo (recipe to follow soon)
• grilled chicken, veggie tots, kale salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• read "Before I Say Goodbye" by Mary Higgins Clark ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ good, suspenseful, thriller.
• read "A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman and if I had more than 5 stars I'd give them. Loved this book! Made me cry, which isn't easy to do, those are the best ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• our niece was home this weekend and we got to have an early birthday celebration for her - I made her the above fettuccini alfredo and a pineapple upside down cake (her favorite), then we played ping pong and had so much fun :) Happy early B-day Buffy! 

Spot (and Speedy the snail) seems to be doing really good and if his crazy zoomy swimming is any indication he is living the dream and happy. 

Can't believe how fast Halloween is coming - someone asked me if I have Halloween plans and I thought to myself "Halloween? That's so far away..." nope, it isn't. I don't decorate much, mostly my front porch with pumpkins and bats, I put up the skeleton wreaths, and I have a cool metal jack o lantern made from an old propane tank out there. That's about it. You? 

Have a great week!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor 

Baked Zucchini

I don't love zucchini, I think I've mentioned that before, but bake it with a crispy crunchy panko parmesan topping and I'd eat this every day. Every day. It's that good!

1 t. olive oil
1 pound zucchini, sliced 1/4" thick
salt and pepper
pinch of paprika

For the topping:
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 T. olive oil
8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stem

Heat oven to 350'. Brush 1 teaspoon olive oil on the bottom of an 8x8" baking dish. Arrange the slices of zucchini in the dish, overlapping as necessary. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.

In a small bowl combine the panko and parmesan, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and stir until all the breadcrumbs are soaked with the oil. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the dish and bake until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve with marinara on the side if desired.

recipe by Sunny Anderson, Food Network

10.5.18: paper strip pumpkin

10.5.17: mummy picture

10.5.16: m&m cookie bars

10.5.15: squash ghosts

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Do you love spring rolls? I do. I've never made them and woke up the other day thinking I should.

Note: do other people wake up thinking about what they want to make that day? I'm totally normal, right?

And look - they turned out! Sort of like an egg roll but not fried; spring rolls are filled with fresh veggies and rice noodles, you can dip them (I come from a family of dippers!), and they're easy to make... what a nice, healthy, fresh, pretty lunch we had today ;)

For rolls:

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli noodles
• 8 (8 1/2") dried rice paper sheets (also called spring-roll wrappers, but the dried kind, not frozen)
• 8 jumbo (21-25 count) cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh Thai basil (regular basil works too)
• 2 large romaine leaves, chopped (about 1 cup)

For 2 dipping sauces:

#1 - 

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced

#2 - 

• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

Assemble rolls:

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Cook noodles, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, then rinse noodles and drain again. Cut noodles into shorter pieces with scissors.

2. Fill a large baking dish with hot water. Dip 1 rice paper sheet briefly into water to soften slightly, about 1 second, then lay on a work surface. Note: the sheet will continue to soften, so don't worry if it seems too rigid at first. 

3. Arrange 2 shrimp halves over half of sheet closest to you, then sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons noodles, 1 rounded teaspoon each of mint and cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon basil, and 2 tablespoons lettuce, leaving 2 inches uncovered on each side. Starting with bottom edge, begin to roll up sheet tightly around filling. After 1 roll, fold in ends of rice paper like a burrito, then finish rolling. Make 7 more rolls in the same manner.

Make dipping sauces: 

Stir together water, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, chili sauce, and garlic in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir together hoisin and peanuts in another small bowl. Serve on the side with rolls. 

Rolls can be assembled up to 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered with damp paper towels and plastic wrap.

per roll: 82 cal, 0.7g fat, 3.3g pro, 15.8 carb, 0.6g fiber

allrecipes 6/16


10.4.18: skeleton hand wreath
10.4.17: sissy's Halloween decor (remember that awful bloody dining room table?)
10.4.16: photo coasters
10.4.15: pumpkin bisque

30 day plank challenge

Well I should have started this a couple days ago to make it easier to remember what day I'm on, but I'm still going to do this plank challenge for October - who's with me? Saw it on FB, so obviously it must work hahaha. 

I'm starting today with Day 3 - 30 seconds (if you aren't ready for 30, start slower and build where you can listening to your body.  Every little bit counts - but please don't hurt yourself!) 

It was this or "Sober October". So plank challenge it is 😂

Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Pita Croutons

I've been spending SO MUCH TIME going thru photos on my phone and computer - side note: I'm developing a system finally after all these years to try to organize them, I think it's going to help a ton but sooooo time consuming - don't know about you guys but I take a picture when I see a recipe, craft, inspiration from wherever and then of course completely forget about them. I'm talking hundreds if not thousands of them! Going thru years worth of ideas is a bit overwhelming...on the plus side, you don't have to wonder if I'll ever run out of things to blog - the list is endless! But it does bring up one problem - I get recipes, photos, and ideas from my friends and family all the time (which I love - please don't stop!) but sometimes they get pushed down the list and then I lose track of them...like this great salad from Janis. I've never thought to make croutons from pita bread, so good!

1 T. white wine vinegar
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 1/2 oz. pitted Medjool dates, quartered lengthwise
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. olive oil
2 small pitas, about 3 1/2 oz., roughly torn into 1 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup whole unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped
2 t. sumac
1/2 t. chile flakes
5 oz. baby spinach leaves
2 T. lemon juice
salt

Put the vinegar, onion, and dates in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and mix well with your hands. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes, then drain any residual vinegar and discard.

Meanwhile, to make the pita croutons,  heat the butter and half the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the pita and almonds and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring all the time, until the pita is crunchy and golden brown. Remove from the heat and mix in the sumac, chile flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside to cool.

photo from the "Jerusalem" cookbook

When you are ready to serve, toss the spinach leaves with the pita mix in a large mixing bowl. Add the dates and onion, the remaining olive oil, lemon juice, and another pinch of salt. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

Serves 4

source of original recipe

Note: when I read "sumac" in the ingredients I thought "what the? Like poison sumac?" but then I did a little research and nope, it's totally edible and a popular spice used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean diets. It has a tangy lemony flavor and can be used in many different ways like in dry rubs, marinades, dressings, and sprinkled on food before serving. Learned somethin' new today :)


10.2.18: baggie wreath
10.2.17: caramel apple pudding shots
10.2.16: vegetable soup
10.2.15: bloody candles

Tip-sy Tuesday: dividing batter

Well here's a tip I should have thought of years ago - when making batter that gets divided equally into two (or more) pans, like 2 cakes or bread pans, I struggle with getting them even so one cake is invariably taller than the other (which doesn't look good if you're making a two layer cake) or I'll have different size loaves of bread...

Then I got the idea to use my kitchen scale - now I pour the batter into the pans and put them one at a time on the scale, then spoon batter from one to the other until they weigh the same. Now they are exactly the same size. I appreciate that this idea is probably commonplace in other bakers' kitchens, but not in mine so I'm now super happy to have this trick up my sleeve.


10.1.18: peeping tom pumpkin
10.1.16: coffee treat
10.1.15: mossy halloween wreath