Swap Time Sweetness

Fall is -- without a doubt -- my very favorite season.  Julie made it extra special this year with a collection of her wonderful handmades:  a quilted topper for my old tile-topped kitchen table, a matching place mat for my dough board, and a few extra autumn treats.  She is one extremely talented, generous, and thoughtful friend ... and I always look forward to our swap time sweetness.  Thanks again, Julie!

 A closer look:

In case you're wondering, these are the goodies I sent her way.  You can take another peek here if you like:

 

I hope the season is treating you well, friends.  Thanks for stopping by!

Halloween Harvest Giveaway

Well, friends ... how does a little Halloween Harvest GIveaway sound?

:::: Here's what I'll be crafting and sending to one lucky winner ::::

  {2 ghosts, 2 whimsical jacks, 1 moon, 2 bats, and 3 mini candy corn}

 {2 sunflowers, 2 crows, and 2 pumpkins}

As always, entering is simple: Leave a comment (for this post only) below and please make sure that you are listed as a follower.  One entry per person, please.  If you do not have a blog, please provide your email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you win.

:::: I'll choose the winner on Tuesday, October 5th  ::::

Thanks for joining in the fun!  Good Luck ... and Happy Fall!  

::: Guest Posting Today :::

Are you thinking about Christmas crafts yet?  

If you're on the lookout for a fun and crafty recipe ... check out my guest post here today at Making the World Cuter.  After all, it's never too early to start planning ... and this little recipe is always a winner.

Colleen's Kitchen Recipe Swap

Welcome to the Autumn Edition of our weekly recipe swap!

Please feel free to share any and all family favorites here until 11:00 p.m. EST on Sunday.

If you'd like to participate, please write up your post and leave the link (to that post only) below.  All I ask is that you also link back to me within your post so that your readers can join in the recipe swapping fun too.  You may also include the Colleen's Kitchen button above if you like.

I enjoy this little blog party so much!  It's always fun to check out new blogs and recipes.  So don't be shy ... and let the recipe sharing begin!  The more, the merrier.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

After some recent reminiscing about this local restaurant, Todd asked if I could find a recipe for Garlic Knots.  This one, I must say, did not disappoint.  And it was so easy to pull together the other night, the perfect companion to our favorite Crock Pot Italian Wedding Soup.

Garlic Knots

(adapted from Food.com)

Knots:

Use your favorite homemade or store bought pizza dough.  

**I made wheat dough and used about 1/3 of it for the knots**

Sauce:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 T minced garlic

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. oregano or Italian seasoning

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Once your dough is prepared, preheat oven to 400º.  Roll out dough into a large rectangle.  Use a pizza cutter and cut dough into strips.  Cut each strip in half.  Tie strips in knots and place on greased cookie sheet.  Brush with a little bit of the melted butter and place in the oven.  Bake 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix remaining melted butter with garlic and spices.  When knots are baked, remove from oven and brush with spice mixture.  Sprinkle with cheese and let sit for five minutes.  Serve immediately.

(click here for printable recipe)

Thanks, as always, for joining in the fun!  Have a lovely weekend!

Also linked to:

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Remodelaholic Recipes
Mommy's Kitchen
What's Cooking Wednesday

  

::: Guest Posting Today :::

Hi, friends ... and Happy Wednesday! I'm guest posting today over at Making the World Cuter.  Come check it out!

::: Menu Plan Monday :::

 

Well, folks ... we're settling into fall with some slightly heartier fare (including two of our favorite soups) this week.  And my ever-present baking list is pretty full again too.  

Here's hoping you'll find something to enjoy here as well.

     

 

Breakfast Staples:

• Mini Apple Pie Tarts (freezer)

• Berry Baked Oatmeal
• Cereal, fruit, and yogurt with granola
• PB Oatmeal Muffins

• Wheat Toast/English muffins with Maple Pumpkin Butter 
• Mommy's Kitchen Instant Oatmeal
• Crock Pot Apple Pie Oatmeal

• Spiced Blueberry Applesauce

Dinnertime Fare: 

 

• Crock Pot Italian Wedding Soup with Garlic Knots (new!)

• Chicken Stuffed Shells, carrots, and Outback bread  

• Breakfast Dinner

• Olive Garden Style Chicken and Gnocchi Soup and Rosemary Bread

• Homemade Pizza Night: Buffalo Chicken Pizza/veggies and dip
• No Fuss Night

• Paninis and leftover soup

Baking/Freezing List:   

• Morning Glory Muffins

• Everyday Bread

• Molasses Oatmeal Bread (new!)

• Take-Along Breakfast Cookies  (new!)

• Apple Brownies (new!)

• Blueberry Gingerbread (new!)

Colleen's Kitchen Recipe Swap

Welcome to the Autumn Edition of our weekly recipe swap!
Please feel free to share any and all family favorites here until 11:00 p.m. EST on Sunday.

If you'd like to participate, please write up your post and leave the link (to that post only) below.  All I ask is that you also link back to me within your post so that your readers can join in the recipe swapping fun too.  You may also include the Colleen's Kitchen button above if you like.

I enjoy this little blog party so much!  It's always fun to check out new blogs and recipes.  So don't be shy ... and let the recipe sharing begin!  The more, the merrier.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

If you're looking for a decidedly fall-ish granola recipe ... then look no more.  This Pumpkin Granola is not only simple and delicious, but it's low-fat and full of fall flavor too.  I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have this week!

Pumpkin Granola

(adapted from Food.com)

4 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups Rice Krispies

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4-1/2 cup real maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup dried cranberries, raisins, dried apples, etc.

Preheat oven to 325º.  In a large bowl, combine oats and cereal.  In a smaller bowl, combine remaining ingredients (except dried fruits) and stir well.  Pour wet mixture over dry until the oats and cereal are well-coated.  Spread granola on a large parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.  Stir and return to oven for 15-30 minutes more until golden and baked to your liking.  Cool and break apart.  Add in dried fruits if desired.  Store tightly covered.

(click here for printable recipe)

Have a wonderful weekend ... and thanks, as always, for stopping by!

Also linked to: 

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Remodelaholic Recipes
Mommy's Kitchen
What's Cooking Wednesday

{embrace the camera}

 

 

Emily's hosting another round of {embrace the camera} ... and it's Todd turn this week!   

 

 

 

Here's one of my all-time favorites from our summertime camping trip:

 

 

Have you embraced the camera this week?

::: Menu Plan Monday :::

Fall is most definitely settling in once again here in Midcoast Maine.  Which might explain all of the pumpkin and apple-themed items on our menu this week.  I hope you'll find something to savor as well ...




Breakfast Staples:

• Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal/Berry Baked Oatmeal
• Cereal, fruit, and yogurt with granola
• PB Oatmeal Muffins
• Breakfast Apple Pie
• Mommy's Kitchen Instant Oatmeal
• Crock Pot Apple Pie Oatmeal
• Take-Along Breakfast Cookies

 
Dinnertime Fare:
 

• Steelhead trout, parmesan couscous, and green beans

• Breakfast Dinner: Golden Delight Pancakes fruit, and sausage

• Ranch BLT wraps, chips, and veggies/dip

• Italian Sausage and Penne Pasta Bake (freezer), salad, and bread
• Steak Tips, corn on the cob, and camp potatoes
• No Fuss Night

• Chicken Quesadillas (using leftover shredded chicken)

Baking/Freezing List: 

• Maple Pumpkin Butter (new!)
• Pumpkin Apple Butter 

• Mini Apple Pie Tarts 

• Blueberry Freezer Jam
• Pumpkin Granola (new!)
• Chai Tea Mix

• Everyday Bread

• Molasses Oatmeal Bread (new!)

• Homemade Granola Bars

Colleen's Kitchen Recipe Swap

Welcome to the Autumn Edition of our weekly recipe swap!  Please feel free to share any and all family favorites here until 11:00 p.m. EST on Sunday.

If you'd like to participate, please write up your post and leave the link (to that post only) below.  All I ask is that you also link back to me within your post so that your readers can join in the recipe swapping fun too.  You may also include the Colleen's Kitchen button above if you like.

I enjoy this little blog party so much!  It's always fun to check out new blogs and recipes.  So don't be shy ... and let the recipe sharing begin!  The more, the merrier.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

The flavors of fall are on my mind this week, folks!  So I'm sharing one of our all-time pumpkin-themed favorites with you.  It's moist, flavorful, and just a little bit different.  

P.S. If you're already thinking about holiday food gift love, keep this recipe in mind.  It's on my list most years, baked up and packaged in decorative mini tins.  

 Pumpkin Ribbon Bread
(a family recipe from Auntie Elly)

Filling:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 T flour
1 egg
2 tsp. grated orange zest

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and flour together until smooth. Add egg and mix well. Stir in zest and set aside.


Batter:

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 325º. Combine pumpkin, oil, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in sugar, salt, and spice. Mix well. Stir in flour and baking soda. Spray two 9x5 pans and pour about 1/4 batter in each pan. Spread half of filling in each pan. Top with remaining pumpkin batter. Bake 70-90 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 

(**I often bake these up in four mini pans for about 60-65 minutes.**)

(click here for printable recipe)

 

Thanks, as always, for sharing in the recipe swapping fun!  Have a wonderful holiday weekend if you can ... and come back soon!

Also linked to: 

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Remodelaholic Recipes
Mommy's Kitchen

{embrace the camera}

Emily's hosting yet another round of {embrace the camera} today!

This week I'm sharing a picture of myself with all three kiddos ... taken just before we picked blueberries for the last time this season over Labor Day Weekend.  As usual, Brendan is refusing to look at the camera.  But it's all good ... and it was such a great morning!

Have you embraced the camera this week?

Cinnamon Salt Dough Gingers Tutorial

Though the holiday season is still months away, it's never too early to start planning and crafting.  These sweet little bowl fillers are simple to make and easy to decorate ... with little or no painting required.  If you love gingers, I hope you'll give them a try.

You will need:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup cinnamon
1 1/2-2 cups water


large mixing bowl
wooden spoon
rolling pin
extra cinnamon for dusting


gingerbread cookie cutter
circle cookie cutter
peppercorns


baking pans
aluminum foil
cooling racks

craft paints/paint pens
stencil brush/small paint brushes

poly spray/wax for sealing

Step 1:  Assemble ingredients and mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup cinnamon, and 1 1/2-2 cups water in large bowl.  Stir to combine.

Step 2:  Use your hands to knead dough a few times until it's pliable but not too sticky.


 

Step 3:  Dust work surface with cinnamon and roll out a small portion of dough.  You may roll out your dough as thick or as thin as you want.  I prefer mine to be slightly on the thicker side, but don't be afraid to experiment.

Step 4:  Use your cookie cutters to form your gingers.  Circle cutters may be used to make ginger faces if you like.

NOTE: If you prefer a simpler or more primitive ginger, you may want to use some peppercorns for eyes and buttons.  Peppercorns have the look of traditional cloves, but are so much cheaper.  I often find mine at Dollar Tree or The Christmas Tree Shop.

Step 5:  Gently press peppercorns into your ginger cutouts and decorate to your liking.  

NOTE:  If you would like to make these into hanging ornaments, make your holes now with a toothpick or straw before baking.

Step 6:  Place gingers on foil lined baking sheets and bake at 300º for 60-75 minutes.  The cutouts can be placed fairly close together as they do not spread like edible cookies do.

Step 7:  Remove gingers from oven and place on cooling racks.  Allow to cool completely before decorating further.  I often leave mine out overnight.  Do not be alarmed if cooled ornaments have a grayish or uneven hue to them.  They will be uniform in color and slightly darker once they are sealed.

Step 8:  If you're planning to paint your gingers for a more whimsical look, use a white paint pen or thin brush to make the icing zigzags. A black paint pen or thin brush works well for the eyes.  Pink cheeks may be added with a bit of paint on a stencil brush or paper towel. Highlights can also be added with the tip of a thin paint brush or paint pen.

  




NOTE:  To ensure that your gingers last, you may seal them with a couple of coats of spray poly or you may dip them in melted wax as explained in this earlier tutorial.

Enjoy your ginger creations! 

Also linking to: 

::: Menu Plan Monday :::

 
Last week's heat wave was a doozy here in Midcoast Maine!  Which meant that some of our dinner plans were put on hold in favor of a few "cold plate" meals and one impromptu but oh-so-heavenly oceanside picnic.  Much of my planned baking was also a bust.

Thankfully this week's weather is promising to be much more refreshing ... so here's what's on the menu at our house.  I hope you'll find something new to enjoy! 



Breakfast Staples:

• Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal/Berry Baked Oatmeal
• Cereal, fruit, and yogurt with granola
• Wheat bagels with strawberry cream cheese
• Mini Apple Pie Tarts  (freezer)
• Mommy's Kitchen Instant Oatmeal
• Crock Pot Apple Pie Oatmeal (new!)

• Monkey Muffins  (freezer)


 
Dinnertime Fare:
 

• Breakfast Dinner: Breakfast Apple Pie (new!), fruit, and sausage

• Spinach & Sausage Stuffed Shells, garlic bread, and salad
• Chicken Stuffed Shells, carrots, and Outback bread
• Kid-friendly dinner/No Fuss Night
• Crock Pot Mac & Cheese, veggies, and Outback bread
• Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos

• Chicken Quesadillas (using leftover shredded chicken)

• Ranch BLT wraps (new!), chips, and veggies/dip



Baking/Freezing List:  Still working on replenishing my freezer/snack stash this week ...

• Morning Glory Muffins
• Holiday Gingerbread Muffins
• Lemon-Blueberry Drop Scones (new!)

• PB Oatmeal Muffins

• Homemade granola 

• Peggy's Granola (new!)

• Mommy's Kitchen Instant Oatmeal

• Take-Along Breakfast Cookies (new!)

 Have a wonderful week and don't forget to click here for more menu-planning inspiration.  Thanks so much for visiting!

Colleen's Kitchen Recipe Swap

Welcome to the Autumn Edition of our weekly recipe swap!  Please feel free to share any and all family favorites here until 11:00 p.m. EST on Sunday.

If you'd like to participate, please write up your post and leave the link (to that post only) below.  All I ask is that you also link back to me within your post so that your readers can join in the recipe swapping fun too.  You may also include the Colleen's Kitchen button above if you like.

I enjoy this little blog party so much!  It's always fun to check out new blogs and recipes.  So don't be shy ... and let the recipe sharing begin!  The more, the merrier.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

As many of you know, we are officially back-to-school here in Midcoast Maine.  Even if Mother Nature didn't exactly get the memo.  In spite of the heat, we still need to eat, right?  And my kiddos are always willing to sample a new breakfast treat or two.  

These little muffins did not disappoint.  They were quick to make, tasty, and filled with things that are almost always on hand around here.  Plus they have a silly name.  What could be better?

Monkey Muffins

(adapted from Taste of Home)

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 T skim milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs until combined and then beat in bananas, PB, milk and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to wet, stirring until just combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Spoon batter into greased muffin cups.  Bake mini muffins for 14-16 minutes and larger ones for 22-25 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans. 

Makes roughly 72 minis or 18 standard sized muffins

(click here for printable recipe)

Thanks, as always, for sharing in the recipe swapping fun!  Have a wonderful holiday weekend if you can ... and come back soon!

Also linked to: 
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Remodelaholic Recipes
 

 

{embrace the camera}

Emily's hosting yet another round of {embrace the camera} today.  So I decided it might be fun to share this little photo from our trip to the Botanical Gardens.  It's different, but it's fun.  And I just loved this quote from the Miss Rumphius book: "You must do something to make the world more beautiful."

  

Have you embraced the camera this week?

 

Summertime Rewind: Botanical Gardens

Though summer is still hanging on with a vengeance here in Midcoast Maine, I thought it would be fun to share a few of our summertime day tripping adventures with you all over the next few weeks.  Just in case you're close enough to enjoy some of our favorite places too.

As many of you know, The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is one of our very favorite family-friendly locales.  Especially now that the brand new Children's Garden has been unveiled.  It was, without question, well worth the wait.  We thoroughly enjoyed exploring all of the sweetly appointed out buildings and gardens.  There was so much to see!

  

Each space is inspired by a well-known children's book, or collections of them.  Just imagine Charlotte's Web, Miss Rumphius, Blueberries For Sal, and Peter Rabbit coming to life.  And those are just a few of the books used to create this new space.  The list goes on and on.

  

Thanks, as always, for stopping by!  It's always lovely to have you here.