Pumpkin Creme Pies

WARNING: These cookies are addictive!


I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and knew I HAD to make these. I think one of the reasons I love this time of year is that pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors!

I made a few modifications to the recipe as I went along so my changes are in brackets.

Cookies:
•1 cup Brown Sugar
•1 cup Sugar
•1 cup Vegetable Oil
•1 can Pumpkin (15 Oz.)
•2 whole Eggs
•1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
•3 cups All-purpose Flour
•1 teaspoon Baking Soda
•1 teaspoon Baking Powder
[I just added up all of the amounts for Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves and put in that much Pumpkin Pie Spice]
•1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
•1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
•½ teaspoons Salt
•½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
•¼ teaspoons Ground Cloves


FILLING:
•1 package Cream Cheese Softened (8 Oz.)
•1 stick Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
•1 package Powdered Sugar (16 Oz.)
•3 drops Vanilla Extract
•2 dashes Cinnamon [about 1/2 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice instead of cinnamon]


Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pumpkin Creme Pies: Beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.

Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.

Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter. [I made them a little smaller to make them easier to eat]

Transfer each square to a baking sheet. Bake for 11 minutes, or until firm, and cool on a rack.

Cream Cheese Filling: Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece.

Enjoy right away, or chill overnight. These keep very nicely in the fridge for at least a few days.

And in the end you get....



So Yummy!!!

Easy Fajitas for Two

The end of the month and the end of the grocery money has challenged me to make some creative dinners this week. It has actually been kind of fun! Here is a "must do again" dinner recipe I made up as I went...

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast portions (cut into strips)
1 T oil
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 clove garlic
splash of water
salt
pepper
cumin
tortillas

Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Slice onion, pepper, and mince garlic, add to skillet. Stir for a few minutes until tender crisp. Remove from skillet. Put chicken in skillet and cook until no longer pink in the middle. Add salt, pepper, and cumin after the first minute or so.

Once the chicken is cooked through, add the veggies back in. Splash in some water to deglaze the pan. Cook until mixed together, add more seasoning if needed.

Microwave tortillas for 15-20 seconds.

Spoon chicken mixture into tortillas and eat!!

We will be having this simple meal again very soon!!

I am the Face

October is National Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss month. There are an estimated 2000 women a day who lose their baby in one of these ways. About one in four women in America will experience pregnancy/infant loss.

Most of them suffer in silence and don't know the resources available to them. For many, this will be one of the most trumatic experiences of their life. I AM THE FACE is a campaign to raise awareness of these women and provide support and resources.

Please visit www.iamtheface.org to learn more.

Please help because I AM THE FACE.

Serving tray - updated for the season

I have been eyeballing a cute little dish at Marshalls for at least a few months. I think every Marshalls in Orlando had a least one. It was cute. Really cute. But it wasn't the right color....


Don't get me wrong, I love red...it is an accent in a few rooms here, but this just wasn't the right red. To me it just screamed "Valentine!"

The other day, Mom and I were shopping together and she said "why don't you get this and change the ribbon?" I really should have thought of that earlier.

Today I made a quick trip to find some ribbon (which I got for $1). And came home did a bunch of other things like work and baking...then I got out the ribbon and the dish.

In less than 10 minutes (which included taking pictures and washing the dish), I had this pretty dish sitting on my counter...


I am so excited to take my new dessert in this cute fall dish to our church dinner (if it turns out, I will show you pictures).

I broke my blog :(

Sorry everyone :(

I broke my blog! (and my phone, and my computer...but those are not relevent to you right now)

It looks funny. I am sorry. I will fix it as soon as I can.

Promise!

:)

Cupcakes for everyone!

Have you ever had this conversation with yourself?

"Hmm, there is a cake mix in the pantry."

"Yes, but you don't need cake right now."

"I KNOW, but that doesn't stop me from WANTING cake right now."

"Well, yes, but are you going to eat the ENTIRE cake?"

"Umm, I could make cupcakes, you know, for portion control!"

"You will STILL have the same amount of cake even if it is cupcakes."

"But I WANT cupcakes and obviously if I can have this long of a conversation with myself about the cupcakes I am crazy and NEED the cupcakes!!"

I really have had that exact conversation (and be glad you missed the one about ice cream from Tuesday night!).

Here is the PERFECT solution! Did you know you can freeze cupcake batter???? I had no idea until I read it on the Homebased Mom. So I am giving you all the link directly for how to freeze cupcake batter HERE.

Because how awesome would it be to be able to tell myself I will eat one cupcake (give one to Mark because I do know how to share) and then freeze the rest for some other day???? I WIN and me in the future wins too by getting fresh from the oven cupcakes on some other night as well.

I think I am going to go make some cupcakes now...and my first freezing attempt will be to freeze the batter in the little cups so that I can easily make them up for a quick treat on another day.

Pesky Cords

This has been the view behind my desk since we moved. Which means it is also the view that greets me each time I walk from my kitchen to my office. Ugg. It looks messy! But I need each and every one of those little cords to make everything on the top of the desk turn on.

I was trying to find a solution to this problem. A cheap solution. I had read about cord covers, even bought some...but I don't need these cords to necessarily be covered, just hidden from view. What to do? What to do?

DUCT TAPE!! Yes!

So, taped all of the cords to the back of the desk or to the floor under the rug. And it looks more like this:


So much better. Much less messy.

And soon (very soon) I will be aquiring a small shelf to hide the pile of cords and power supplies and routers next to the desk. Baby steps and all...