Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Do you still have pumpkin seeds around?

Is this too late?

Either way, you should find some. Scoop out your pumpkin pie pumpkins for Thanksgiving and give those seeds a little roast!

We had a big carving party and the best part was that I kept all the seeds, thoroughly rinsed them, laid them out to dry overnight and roasted the seeds five different ways!



1. Traditional Salted: tossed with a drizzle of EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) and heavily salted.

2. Italian: tossed with a drizzle of EVOO and a sprinkling of Italian Seasoning.

3. Spicy (for 1 c. seeds): tossed with worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp. melted butter, a dash of cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp. chili powder and a dash of salt.

4. Mexican (for 1 c. seeds): tossed with worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp. melted butter and 1/4 tsp. cumin.

5. Sweet (for 2 c. seeds): tossed with 2 tbsp, melted butter, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and 1/8 tsp. allspice.

After coating the seeds with your desired flavor, roast on a foil-lined baking sheet at 250 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until slightly brown!

The sweet was, of course, my favorite. Cinnamon, butter and sugar always wins in my book.



These are a great snack by themselves or throw them in a trail mix, homemade granola, on top of a salad, crushed in a food processor and used as breading on chicken...the possibilities are endless!

Enjoy!
Laura

P.S. Read here for all the health benefits of pumpkin seeds! Not to mention that roasting your own is a lot more affordable than buying them at the store!

Happy Halloween!

I have such great memories of this holiday from growing up! It is my dad's birthday (click here to read how awesome he is) and so we always had a haunted house for all the trick or treaters that was legitimately scary and took a while to set up but was so worth it. We ended the night with all my parent's friends coming over for pumpkin pie and a birthday celebration. Who wouldn't love that as a kid? Some of my favorite memories are from this day!

Enjoy this Halloween round-up!

A great Halloween video...

(when she is carrying her...hilarious!)

 

A yummy Halloween snack...



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A creepy yet humorous Halloween costume...

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A gorgeous Halloween porch...

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A stunning Halloween tablescape...

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Possibly the most beautiful carved pumpkin I've ever seen...

 

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And the best Halloween movie ever...





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Does anyone NOT like the movie Hocus Pocus?

Laura

 

P.S. Today is also my due date! 







Pumpkin Pie Dip

Everything you love about Pumpkin Pie but without turning on the oven, making and pre-baking a crust and in a lot less time? Done and done.

A fluffy dip perfect for football watching, book club, or friends-giving!

And you don't have to tell anyone how simple and skinny it is!

I will most definitely be making this dip again, especially because it's so easy to have all these ingredients on hand for a quick dessert!

Served with sliced apples and graham crackers when around a group of people...a spoon is all you need if it's just you at home, on the couch, watching TV...not that I did that or anything...

 

 

Pumpkin Pie Dip

Adapted slightly from SkinnyTaste

Yield: A lot..this picture is only half the total amount!

Total Time: 5 min. plus chilling

 

Ingredients:

15 oz. can pumpkin

1 packet instant vanilla pudding mix

1 8 oz. container fat free cool whip

2/3 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Sliced apples and graham crackers for serving

 

Directions:

Mix pumpkin with pudding mix, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in cool whip. Chill until ready to serve!

 

Enjoy!

Laura

 



Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffins

I'm sure y'all have seen this same concept around- a muffin with only 2 ingredients! Or 3 ingredients! Or heck- only one ingredient!

Well, I'm on that same train but mine are a super complicated 4 ingredients! Whew.

My best friend from college's mom always made these muffins for us and they are now a fall staple.



Pumpkin, cake mix, water and cinnamon chips combined to make a moist, flavorful treat. Yep, still 4 ingredients. You can do it, I promise.

The cinnamon chips are made by Hershey's and can be a little tricky to find so stock up when you do. My mom and I found them at Reasor's in Oklahoma when I was back in the summer and I loaded up for this recipe. You can always use chocolate chips, too. I have and they are still delicious!



This is a great recipe that you can always have the ingredients on hand for unexpected guests or a surprise treat for your friends and neighbors!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffins

Yield: 24 muffins

Prep Time: 5 min. Total Time: 30 min.

 

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 can pumpkin (actual pumpkin, not pie filling)

1 c. water

1 c. cinnamon chips

 

Directions:

Mix cake mix, pumpkin and water in a large bowl until smooth. Fold in cinnamon chips. Scoop into greased muffin tins or tins lined with cupcake liners.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min. until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool.

 

Enjoy!

Laura

 

Caramel Apple and Pumpkin Spice Bread

I've heard that indecisiveness is common when you're pregnant.

Well, when you have delicious options like Caramel Apple Swirl and Pumpkin Spice Swirl bread, how is anyone supposed to chose just one? Pregnant or not.



Needless to say, I bought both at the grocery store last week.

Let the taste test begin!

First up, toasted with a thin layer of butter. Hands down- Caramel Apple Swirl bread takes the cake. The apple flavor is strong but not overpowering. It tasted actually very fresh and made me feel like I was smack dab in the heart of Autumn. Despite the heat blazing outside.

The Pumpkin Spice Swirl bread was still delicious, don't get me wrong, but this was a competition and like all good competitions, there can be only be one winner.

I knew both of these breads would be even better as french toast.

And I was right.

The Pumpkin Swirl bread got the normal French toast treatment.

But the Caramel Apple Swirl Bread got kicked up a notch.

An apple and cinnamon-cream stuffed notch.

Reminiscent of the Peaches 'n Cream Stuffed French Toast but with a fall twist.

 Caramel Apple 'n Cream Stuffed French Toast

Prep Time: 15 min. Total Time: 25 min.

Yield: 2 servings

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

For the apples:
1 thinly sliced apple
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp. white sugar
1 tbsp. water

For the filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cooked apple

For the French toast:
4 slices Caramel Apple Swirl Bread
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Diced apples and maple syrup, for serving

Directions:
First, cook the apple. Combine all the apple ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the apples are tender but still have a slight crunch. About 15 minutes.

To make the filling, in a small bowl, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract, until smooth. Spread cream cheese filling on slices of bread; top with cooked apple slices. Make two French toast "sandwiches."

In shallow pan, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture, on each side. Do not let the bread sit in the egg mixture for very long.

Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium-high heat. Cook French toast sandwiches, on both sides, until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes each side. Serve warm with diced apples and maple syrup.

Enjoy!
Laura

Football Menu

As if it even needs to be said, we spent last Saturday at home watching football!

There were 7 of us here for all the night games and I thought I'd share our menu to make your decision easier this upcoming weekend with all the options out there!

This menu was perfect for this amount of people and even had leftovers of the chicken which I have been using for tacos and salads for leftovers this week. Gotta love that.

We started out with chips and Skinny Taco Dip from Skinnytaste...
(although the hub doesn't like olives and I forgot to buy shredded lettuce so it was slightly different yet still delicious!)



Then I cooked a 3 lb. bag of chicken tenderloins at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, flipped them for about 10 minutes more.  I had coated them in a mixture of oil, water and buffalo chicken seasoning from the grocery store. (You could use any marinade or Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce would be good, too!) And- voila!- boneless buffalo chicken tenders!

...all served with a side of Oven Fried Pickles from The Culinary Couple that were super yummy and so easy! I will definitely be making these again.

 

And we finished the night off with Pumpkin Spice Kisses, of course!

 

 

I loved that I didn't spend all day/night in the kitchen prepping food and actually got to enjoy football and our company! I made the cookies before Saturday and made the dip and prepped the chicken in the morning.

 

Also, it was great that I didn't do my typical overboard spread and had the perfect amount of food. Hope this makes your Saturday menu planning a little easier.

 

Now to decide what to make this weekend...

Laura



Another Monday List

1. Jackpot. An entire list of pumpkin recipes that are all low-fat and healthy. Click here to feel like you've won the lottery. I'm most excited about the Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Yogurt Cupcakes.

 

2. Apple season is just starting up and I am excited to hopefully do some canning this week! I'll keep you updated.

 

3. Free advice: keep one dish sponge in your dishwasher and one to use in the sink. Every time you run your dishwasher, switch them out as you unload your dishes. That way your sponges stay as germ-free as possible. And when one starts to bite the dust, switch it out with a new one!

 

4. Staying on the cleaning topic, after washing and drying your towels (bath, kitchen, etc.), and are putting them away, put them on the bottom of the stack in the closet or drawer. So, you are pulling your towels from the top of the pile and replacing the recently washed ones on the bottom. That way you aren't using the same few towels over and over again and wearing them out. I heard this from Martha (Stewart, if you aren't on a first name basis like we are) once.

 

5. I can't stop perusing Etsy for little girl headbands. How are there so many cute options? But what if I buy newborn size and she's born with a massive head (like my husband keeps telling me that he had) and none of them fit? These are the things that keep me up at night. Oh, and my top-heavy, kool-aid man-esque self (see photo for example).

 

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Oh yaaaaaa (said like the kool-aid man, of course),

Laura

Bundt Part 2

Y'all. This is so exciting. After writing yesterday's post on Nordic Ware Bundt Pans, I went downstairs to look at the bundt pan that was my grandma's and she brought it up here in May.

It's the classic bundt pan made by Nordic Ware!

So, I immediately had to find a delicious recipe to fulfill my bundt cake desire. Here are some contenders...

Pumpkin Spice with Creamy Pumpkin Glaze

 

Blueberry Bundt Cake

 

Root Beer Float Cake

 

 

Apple Bundt with Brown-Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze

 

There are way too many delicious looking options and the shape the gorgeous pans provides makes the decision even harder! Can't wait to try!

 

Bundt is a funny word.

Laura