Pumpkin Bars

Here is the recipe for the Pumpkin Bars I made this weekend.They turned out really good! They could be called bars or cake in my opinion. And I was glad there was some left over--that makes the best breakfast!! I am marking this recipe as one I will have to make again sometime!!

Pumpkin Bars

Recipe from: Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1-2/3 cups sugar
1 cup cooking oil
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional) -I omitted the pecans
1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)
Pecan halves (optional) -I used chopped pecans for my garnish

Directions
In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat together eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and oil. Add the flour mixture; beat until well combined. Stir in chopped pecans, if desired.
Spread batter in an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. Top with pecan halves, if desired. Cut into squares. Store in refrigerator. Makes 24 bars.

Cream Cheese Frosting: In a medium bowl beat together one 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened; 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened; and 1 teaspoon vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, beating until smooth.

What All I Accomplished This Weekend!

• I put up my Christmas Tree!! I was going to use a real one this year, but I didn't feel like waiting until so close to Christmas. I think it turned out looking pretty good!


• Hung the Christmas lights! We didn't go all out this year, we wanted to keep it simple. I was happy with the outcome!


• Went shopping with Malinda on Black Friday. We went kinda later in the morning, so most crazy people were gone by then. I almost finished my Christmas shopping!! Only 2 more gifts to get! What a relief!!


• I wrapped all my gifts!


• Made 2 pies for Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's. They turned out good! And we had a good time on Thanksgiving! I brought along a project to sew on while we visited, and finished!!


• Sorted all my kitchen cabinets! I saw my fondue pot, and now I am wanting to make some fondue! :)


• Washed my stove. I am glad I don't have to do this too often. Luckily, SOS pads makes this chore very easy!


• Made Pumpkin Bars for the Rowden Thanksgiving on Saturday. They turned out pretty good! Then again, anything with pumpkin I love!


• Made a pumpkin roll for Malinda to take to a family event. I don't think I could ever get tired of making those.


• Wrote some of my Christmas cards. I still have a select few to do still. I am wanting to get a good picture of Mose in a Santa hat, I think that would be cute.


• Got rid of all the pumpkins and guards...fall went by too fast!


• Finalized a nursery 'theme'!! Bedding: the train one from Land of Nod, we are going to order the crib skirt, bumper pads, and maybe the blanket. Hamper: I found one at JCPenney that has a dog on it, we are going to get it. Bookshelf: I found a John Deere one at JCPenney also. I haven't decided if we even need a diaper stacker yet, but I found one to match the hamper if we decide to get one. Crib: I think we will be ordering the one I posted about in an earlier post, or one very similar to it. Mobile: I think we are going with the dog one! I can't wait to get everything set up!!
  
• Went to watch the Lighting up the Court House. It was pretty neat. It was a lot better turn out then I thought it would be!


• Walked a few miles with Mom and Malinda. It is really nice Saturday afternoon! I was glad I was able to take advantage of it before I had to go to Matt's Thanksgiving!


• Spent a lot of time with Matt! He was off all last week, so it was nice to get to see him more often!

That is pretty much all the high lights from my weekend!! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!! :)

What I'm Thankful For..and Thanksgiving Plans!

Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I thought I would write some things that I am thankful for!

• My wonderful family! I couldn't of asked for a better one! They have always been there for me, and still continue to be. I don't know what I would do without them!
• My amazing husband! My life with him is better than anything I've expected to have. I am so grateful that we met. I can't imagine my life without him.
• My baby. I am so fortunate to be able to bring a life into this world. It is the best feeling in the world, I wouldn't change it for anything.
• My house. I am so glad that I have a nice warm home to come home to.
• My church. I love my church and church family. I actually enjoy going every Sunday, and to extra events there.
• My good upbringing. I was blessed with a good family my whole life, which made me into the person I am today. I wasn't only blessed with parents that love me, but Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. They were (and still are) a big influence on me.
• A good education. I am grateful that I was able to get a full education.
• My pets. I know what your thinking, 'is this lady obsessed with her pets?'. I love my pets, it is nice to come home to them everyday. They really add to a home, I think.
• My good health and my family's good health. I have been lucky and neither me or anybody in my family has been in too bad of health. I am so grateful for that.
• My job. So, I'm not making tons of money. But I am grateful for my job, especially in this economy.
• Being able to pay the bills. I can't imagine not being able to pay the bills or just go out and buy what I want to, without having to use a credit card.

Our Thanksgiving plans...

Thanksgiving Day- We are going to eat at Mom and Dad's house. I am making the pies, and maybe some dinner rolls. I am making my peanut butter pie and a pumpkin layer one. That evening we are going to go down to Glen and Allison's house for a little while.

Friday- I want to get some stuff done that morning. Malinda and I are going shopping that afternoon-I don't like people enough to go that morning again :) ...that evening I plan on going to the 'lighting up the square' in town.

Saturday- That morning I might get some of my Christmas stuff out. That afternoon is the Rowden Thanksgiving. I haven't decided on what to make yet.

I am going to be tired of food by Sunday!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and remembers what they are thankful for!!!

Some Bedding I Like!

I'm not sure I will be able to make my own bedding, depends on how much left to do with Christmas I have left in the beginning of December. I am hoping to use a John Deere fabric and making my own. But, I am wanting to have a couple of back up choice in case I run out of time.

Here are two of my favorites!!

This one I found at Pottery Barn. They are on the expensive end of things, but most of their items are worth the extra cost.

This one I found at Land of Nod. On the cost, the same goes as with the other one. But they have some nice items also.

http://images.landofnod.com/is/image/LandOfNod/300101%5FTrainsCribBedding%5F0702W?$share$

(And this site doesn't let you drag pictures, so if you want to see this on click on the link.)

If I do get time to make my own, this is the fabric that I am wanting to use.

Hopefully, I will be able to figure out if I will have time to make my own soon!

Let me know what you all think! :)

I Think We Found a Crib!

I found this crib at Target.com. We are thinking of purchasing it, but haven't fully decided yet--there are way too many choices!! I found it over the weekend, and then last night I found out that there is a recall on this brand of cribs. I'm not sure if this model is included in the recall or not.

I love the color and the style. I originally just wanted a simple non-convertible crib and then we would just get a toddler bed. But when I researched the prices of toddler beds and non-convertible cribs, we would be coming out about the same as getting a nice crib.

We will probably be ordering either this crib or a similar one by the end of the week!

Adorable Mobile!!

I have found the cutest mobile! My original plan was to do a theme of John Deere and farm animals. But so far, I haven't been able to find much to go with either one. I have found a lot of John Deere stuff, but most of it doesn't look like it belongs in a nursery. I stumbled across this mobile online, and I love it!!! I haven't decided whether or not to get it yet, but I am considering it. Here is the link to see a picture of it. Let me know what you think!!

http://images.landofnod.com/is/image/LandOfNod/1206041_DogCribMobile?$share$

Weekend Plans!

Tonight- Mom and I are going to run to Jeff to get some embroidery thread for one of projects. I have already started it, so I need to find a color that looks almost exact. I already checked the fabric store in town, and they had every color but the one I needed. Hopefully we have good luck tonight.

Saturday- I am attending a wedding. I think it will be a good time! And the weather is supposed to be nice!!

Sunday- Matt and I might go crib shopping!! I can't wait!! That evening is the Community Thanksgiving Service, which I am planning on attending.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

National Smoke Out Day!

Today is National Smoke Out Day!!! Why someone would want to smoke is beyond me. If the health risks aren't enough, you want to have yellow teeth, have their hair, clothes, car, etc. smell like smoke, plus the costs are outrageous!!

Happy Smoke Out Day!!!

Random

This week is flying by!! Here are some things I have been up to!!

* Mom and I are currently sewing some aprons. I bought the fabric and pattern a while ago, and I am just now getting around to making them. This is one of my projects that I want done by the time the baby gets here. The aprons I am making are: Halloween, Spring, a Christmas one for Lauren, pink John Deere and sunflowers, I think that is it. So far we have gotten two almost completely done!

* I have also starting sewing one of my Christmas gifts. And it is coming along better than I thought it would!

* Work is picking up. I can't believe how many people rush in to pay when they aren't due until December 31st. I guess that way they won't forget!

* I am hoping for nice weather so I can actually get a few things done. I need to clean out my car, burn trash and do laundry (I am hoping to be able to hang it on the line). Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow!

* I am going to put up a peel and stick art thing tonight. I got one on sale at Kohl's. I love them, and this will be the first one in my house. I can't wait to see what it looks like!

* I can't believe that Thanksgiving is exactly 1 week away!! I haven't decided what I will be bringing to Mom and Dad's house, or to the Rowden's yet. But I know one thing, I can't wait to have some green bean casserole!! That is one thing that I never make/eat other than on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Well, that is about all I can think of right now! I hope everyone is having a great week!! :)

Fall Supper Recipes!

The Fall Supper was a success! I had fun trying out a few new recipes and I think they turned out pretty good! There were a lot of people at the dinner, and the food was delicious! Overall, it was a good time!

Here are the recipes/pictures for the items I brought!

The chocolate covered pretzels I made for the bazaar!

Pumpkin Roll


I made two for the bazaar. I absolutely love pumpkin rolls! And they are surprisingly easy to make! Here is the recipe I always use.

Prep: 45 min
Cooking: 13 min
Cooling time: 1 hrs refrigerating
Yields: 10

Ingredients

CAKE

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

FILLING
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions
FOR CAKE:PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar. COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts. BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack. FOR FILLING:BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired. COOKING TIP:Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

Peanut Butter Pie

This pie was a success! Even though I didn't get to try it, I know that it had to taste great!

Ingredients

1 pkg. 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. plus 1 tbsp. creamy butter

1 c. cold milk

1 pkg. 3.4 oz. vanilla pudding mix

2 1/2 c. cool whip, thawed, divided

1 Oreo pie crust (I made my own Oreo pie crust by crushing the Oreos and mixing them with melted butter)

3 squares semi sweet baking chocolate

Directions

Beat cream cheese and 1/2 c. peanut butter until blended. Add milk and dry pudding mix; beat 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 c. cool whip, spoon onto crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Microwave remaining cool whip and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on high 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after each minute. Cool completely.

Spread chocolate mixture over filling in crust. Microwave remaining peanut butter in small microwaveable bowl for 30 seconds. Drizzle over pie (I didn't drizzle my peanut butter, I ended up swirling it in with the chocolate mixture). Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

Apple Crumb Pie

I am not a fan of anything with baked apples. But I think I might of even tried this one. It was really fun to make, and it was nice to try to make a different pie than pumpkin, like I usually make! :)

12 servings prep: 20 minutes
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; and 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 single pie crust (9 inch)

Crumb:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

pinch of ground cloves

3/4 c. unsalted butter, put into pieces and chilled

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:

6 golden delicious apples (2 3/4 lbs), peeled and cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves

1 tbsp. powdered sugar

Directions

Arrange a rack in the lowest slot of your oven. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Make your crust and refrigerate until ready to add filling. Crumb: combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and cloves in bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until crumbly. Stir in nuts, if using.
Filling: in a large bowl, toss together apples, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and cloves.
Spoon filling into the pie shell, mounding slightly in the center. Top filling with crumb topping. Place on small foil lined baking sheet.Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees, bake for 30 minutes more, until fruit is tender. Loosely tent pie with aluminum foil during last 20 minutes. Let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours/ (Can be mad a day ahead. Cover pie and store at room temperature.) Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

*I hope everyone who made it out to the Fall Supper had a great time!

Weekend Plans!

Tonight- After work I am planning on walking. I figured we better take advantage of the nice weather! After that I am going to make my pies for the Fall Supper. I am making Apple Crumb and Peanut Butter Pie; both new recipes! Wish me luck!

I am also going to make a couple of pumpkin rolls, chocolate covered pretzels, and peanut butter balls for the bazaar.

Tomorrow- I am going to get up early and do my last load of laundry for the week. I was going to do that this morning, but I didn't get up quite early enough for that! :)

I am also going to roast a turkey and make my bread for the dinner.

After I take my turkey into town, Mom and I are planning on going to a local craft store.

I am waiting tables tomorrow night. So from about 4:00 on I will be working at the dinner.

Sunday- Lots of resting from being busy the day before!! :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! :)

Happy Veteran's Day!!

Thanks to all the Veteran's for all that you have done and continue to do for your country!!

My New Ring!!

Here is a picture of my ring. It originally only had one side to it when we got married. For our anniversary, Matt bought me the other side. I love it!! I have already got a few compliments on it, and I have only been wearing it for one day!! I think I picked a good husband! :)

Weekend Recap!!

Friday- Matt and I went to a birthday party for Matt's Grandpa. (See post below for my sweet and sour meatball recipe.)

Saturday- Got up early and did some laundry and hung it on the line. The weather was wonderful!! I headed in around 10:30 to go to another craft sale--I think this is the last one for the year. I didn't buy anything. But we ate lunch there. I had chili, which was very good! It was fun to look around anyways!

That afternoon I went to Mom and Dads to visit with them, and did a few things around my house.

Matt's boss was impressed with the work he has been doing with a company that he told him to take his wife out for a nice dinner this weekend and bring him the bill. So for for dinner, Matt and I went to the Eagles, we ate with Malinda and Mat. We were going to go to Matt's Steakhouse, but Matt had been pretty busy all day and just got back from hauling cows around 5:00, so we didn't really feel like driving over there. It was still a good time though! Although, I am never sitting on the table by the auctioneer!! :)

Speaking of hauling cows--I guess we are 'cow owners now'...exciting, right? :)

After dinner, we went to a benefit dance. It was a good time visiting with people, and listening to the band--which was actually very good!

Sunday- This morning I went to church. After that I did my weekly grocery shopping, did a few things around the house, and then headed to town. Since the Fall Supper is Saturday, Mom and I picked up trash at church and clipped a few branches. We also walked 2 miles around town.

I am going to be so disappointed when the weather turns cold for good!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Barry's Famous Meatballs

Last night we went to a fish fry for Matt's Grandpa Herb. It was a good time and lots of good food! I made sweet & sour meatballs, I call them 'Barry's Meatballs', since my uncle Barry was the one that I always knew of making the recipe. He would go into Gerbes and buy them all of the time from the deli, eventually he asked the lady that worked there for the recipe. They are the best meatballs ever!--or at least in my opinion! :)

Here is the recipe!

Barry's Famous Meatballs

Meatballs:

3 lbs hamburger

1 c. milk

2 c. oatmeal

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

1 tsp. dried onion

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. chili powder

Mix the above well and form into balls. Put in long flat casserole dish or pan.

Sauce:

3 c. brown sugar

3 c. ketchup

1 tsp. mustard

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce

Mix the above well and pour all but 1 cup over meatballs. Bake at 350F for one hour. Drain excess grease and pour last cup of sauce over meatballs. Bake in oven for 5 to 10 minutes longer.

(This makes about 36 two inch round meatballs).

My New Purse!!

Matt and I ran to TJ Maxx after my last doctor's appointment to see if I could find a purse. For the last few months, I have been using reusable grocery bags. Needless to say, I really needed a new purse. All of the purses that I have are designed for a teenager. So I was so excited to find one that I liked in TJ Maxx!! The brand is Nine West. I have a feeling that I would never own anything from that brand if it wasn't marked down to 1/2 price or even more that it is at TJ Maxx!

I tried to find a picture of it online, but it must be so last season .... :-)! So I took a picture of it! Now I finally have a purse, and I won't have to get another one for a long time...that is the best part!! :)

Pot Roast...Check!

I have now successfully made a pot roast! Hard to believe I have never made one. I tried to think back what I made for dinner last fall/winter and I couldn't remember. But this year is different! It turned out so good, I think I could of just ate the bread and vegetables. I made the bread with my bread machine....oh, how I love my bread machine. It is the easiest way to make bread..and it tastes just as if you kneaded it yourself! It was definitely a nice Sunday dinner and a good way to end the weekend!