Pumpkin Spice Syrup and Pumpkin Spice Latte

Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte is back!

No Starbucks in the morning

So Wednesday morning I got a craving for the deliciousness of Pumpkin Spice Latte.  I left my house 15 minutes prior to my usual departure time.  When I get to Starbucks, I realize I left my wallet at home because it had been knocked over.  I left dejected because I couldn't have a tasty PSL.

Once I got back to my car, I looked through my purse and found a five dollar bill!  Success!  Once I got back into the Starbucks, there was a line so I had wait for my coffee.  Then there was traffic so it was stressful getting to work on time.

So it's no Starbucks in the morning.

Making the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte 2 years ago

Two years ago, I posted a recipe for pumpkin spice lattes.  It called for blending the pumpkin puree, vanilla creamer, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.  Then you added it to the hot coffee.  It was good but sometimes you would end up with pumpkin puree at the bottom of your mug.  Not so good.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Sryup

I saw this recipe last year but never could find the cheesecloth so I never made it.  A few weeks ago, I found cheesecloth so I made my own pumpkin spice syrup.  The cool thing about this syrup is I know exactly what is in it.  I can also control the amount of pumpkin pie spice in my syrup.

Stars of the Recipe:

• 1 C. water
• 3/4 C. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. Combine the water and sugar in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Heat in the microwave for 4 to 5 minutes.  (Mine took 4 and a half minutes.)
3. Remove and stir until sugar is dissolved.
4. Add the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
5. Drain over a cheesecloth or small sieve.
6. Store in an airtight container (Mason jar) in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Stars of the Recipe:

• 1 to 2 Tbsp. pumpkin spice syrup
• 1/4 to 1/2 c. half and half milk
• 6 oz. hot coffee (The stronger the better.  Or use a pumpkin spice blend coffee.)
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Directions:

1. Add syrup and half and half to the mug.  (Make sure the mug is big enough.)
2. If you are not using a Keurig, warm the milk up in the microwave for about a minute.  Add hot coffee and then mix together.  Add whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice if you want to.
3. If you are using a Keurig, brew the coffee over the half and half and syrup.  Top with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice, if wanted.
4. Enjoy!!!!

Kitchen Tip - Slow Cooker Freezer Kits

My life has gotten crazier.  I've been back to work for a month now.  

This year I work at the building that starts and ends the latest.  This means I can clock off at 3:45.  I usually don't leave the building until 4 o'clock most days.  The earliest I get home is 4:30.

Here's the dilemma:  Hubby has to be at work by 5:30 3 days and the other 2 days has to be at work by 6:00.  Even though there are 2 days, he has to be at work at 6:00, he has to drop Know-it-All at Kung Fu by 5:30.

So how do I get dinner on the table? 

There are 4 ways.

1. Tell Hubby what to cook 
2. Freezer cooking
3. Slow Cooker 
4. Food preparation during the weekend.

I'm to discuss the slow cooker method.  

My slow cooker looks nothing like this slow cooker.

Once or twice a month, I make freezer slow cooker kits.  The bags need to be labeled with the date, contents, and then cooking directions.

I then freeze them.  When I'm ready to use the slow cooker kit out of the freezer and put it in the slow cooker.  Sometimes I use a slow cooker bag.  Other times I don't use a bag.  It's easier to clean up if you use a bag.  

You can certainly thaw your freezer kit in the fridge the night before.  I don't because it takes longer for the frozen meals to cook.  During the day, I am busy teaching so I don't always have time to call or text Hubby to tell him to turn the slow cooker on keep warm or when to do that.  (If I tell him prior or leave him a note, it won't necessarily be done.  I have to call or text him.)

Here are some great blogs to find slow cooker recipes that could be frozen:

Eat at Home

Sidetracked Sarah

The Sassy Slow Cooker

A Year of Slow Cooking

Once a Month Meals

Please be careful with using potatoes.  Russet potatoes will brown easier because the amount of starch in russet potatoes.  Use red or yellow potatoes instead.  They are less starchy.

Oh, some recipes have you put some of the foods closer to end of the cooking time, I make 2 bags with the part you put in first and then the other bag.  I put both of those bags in another freezer bag.

As we eat some of the slow cooker freezer kits, I will start to post some of the recipes.  That is I'll post the recipes of the ones that were hits with my family.

Happy Cooking,

Traci

Foodie Pen Pal - May 2014

This month I was paired up with Sara from Austin, Texas.

She sent me some cool food.  One was caoco beans covered with white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate. They are delicious.

She also sent me some gingersnaps that were shaped like the state of Texas. They are yummy ! I love ginger and cinnamon so these were perfect.

Sara sent some Texas chili spices and buttermilk cornbread mix.  I can't wait we have these for dinner. She also sent me the recipe for the cornbread.  Win win!

Lastly she sent me some steel cut oatmeal and a recipe for 5 minute steel oatmeal.

Thanks Sara for the great box!

Recap of What I Ate This Week - Week of May 3

Last night, my boys were over at my mother-in-law's house.  She has a man made pond.  Sometimes we find wildlife such as frogs, toads, and even a blue heron hanging around the pond.  I was in her house when I heard the Imaginative One "has caught a frog!"  I ran outside and sure enough the Imaginative One had caught a frog.  Really it was an American toad.

They played with that American toad for an awful long time.  George Senior (their name for the toad) was a good sport.  He (or she) did try to hop away because that is in their nature.  But other than that, George Senior let them play with him (or her).

That was our adventure yesterday.

This week was a crazy one for dinner.  On Wednesday, I had a chiropractor appointment.  I never know what time I'm going to get done with the appointment.  The office is about 15 minutes away from home.  After a certain time, it's just easier to pick up fast food on the way home because by the time I get home, it will be time for Hubby to leave for work.  I need to remember to have a freezer meal or crock pot meal on those days.  

I had an awful day on Friday and did not feel like cooking at all.  I wanted to curl up in a ball and just cry.  I'm not going into what happened on Friday.  It was nothing to do with my family.  

Now onto our eats:

Sunday - We ate my mother-in-law's house.  I brought over the pulled pork.  She cut up carrots and celery and made some cole slaw.  We also had chips with the sandwiches.  I ended up with enough pulled pork left over that I froze a fourth bag of it.

Monday - I had some paperwork I needed to complete at work.  So I did not know when I would be home to cook dinner or if I really was going to have time to cook dinner.  It was breakfast for dinner night so I bought some frozen waffles.  We also had some already cooked bacon that I froze.  We had it with strawberries.

Tuesday - We celebrated Cinco de Mayo a day late.  I made a taco soup when I got home.  The boys were a little hesitant about eating the soup.  Hubby loved it though.  He had his with Fritos.  I had chips and salsa with mine.  The boys just ate their soup with no side dish.

Wednesday - As I said I had my chiropractor appointment.  I ended up getting us McDonald's which is a treat.  I need to have better planning.

Thursday - It was my birthday.  Hubby made the boys and himself spaghetti and garlic bread.  I went out to eat at Piada's Italian Street Food.  Oh, my goodness - SO good!  Then I went to see The Other Woman with Cameron Diaz.  Great movie.

Birthday Cupcakes

Friday - As I said, I had a horrible day so I did not feel like cooking.  Hubby brought us a pizza from work.

Saturday  - The Wee One and I went on a mommy-son date.  We went to my favorite farmer's market - Second Street Market. and then shopping.  Lunch was Chick Fil-A again.  The Wee One loves chicken nuggets!!!!!!

While we were at Second Street Market, we picked up fingerling potatoes, fresh green beans, and ciabatta bread.  

I cooked up chicken tenderloins, the green beans, and roasted the potatoes for dinner.  The Imaginative One ate his portion of the potatoes, 1/2 of one of mine, and his dad's potatoes.  Hubby wasn't home when we ate dinner.

After dinner, we went over to my mother-in-law's for dessert.  My niece and I both have the same birthday so we sang to her and I .  My mother-in-law made brownies for her and a fruit pizza for me.

That's what we had for dinner this week.  

Mom, What's For Dinner? - Week of May 5

This week is going to be a crazy week.  It's my birthday, anniversary, and getting paperwork done for work type of week.  

My birthday is going to be a laid back affair.  I'm going to be able to wear jeans to work because I contributed to a food pantry drive we had at work.  I got a "golden ticket" that will allow me to wear jeans on any day as long as I turn in the ticket.  I'm using it on my birthday.

The boys have dance class with their grandma in the evening.  Hubby is going to be working.  So I will be by myself.  I'm going to have dinner at Piada Italian Street Food.  Yum!  Then I'm going to go see The Other Woman with Cameron Diaz.  

Hubby is going to my favorite cupcake shop and getting me a cupcake.  Yeah!  

Now to the menu:

Monday - Waffles, bacon, and strawberries

Tuesday - Taco Soup, Chips and Salsa

Wednesday - Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad

Thursday - Hamburgers, Chips, and Raw Veggies (For Hubby and boys) - Piada Italian Street Food for me

Friday - Skillet chicken with tangy sauce, green beans, and roasted potatoes

Here is a printable version of the menu:  Mom, What's For Dinner - Week of May 5  (We had bacon not sausage links on Monday.)

For more menu ides, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Mom, What's For Dinner? - Month of May

I'm going to do something different this month.  This month, I'm going to write a menu plan for the whole month.  Each month I'm going to post the menu for that week because the menu might have changed.

Week of May 5 - 

• Monday - Waffles
• Tuesday - Taco Soup
• Wednesday - Spaghetti
• Thursday - Hamburgers
• Friday - Skillet Chicken with Tangy Sauce

Week of May 12

• Monday - Pancakes
• Tuesday - Bramble Beans
• Wednesday - Chicken Alfredo
• Thursday - Pizza
• Friday - Ham in the Crock Pot

Week of May 19

• Monday - French Toast
• Tuesday - Chicken Noodle Soup from Freezer
• Wednesday - Homemade Hamburger Helper
• Thursday - Tacos
• Friday - Grilled Chicken

Week of May 26

• Monday - Waffles
• Tuesday - Taco Casserole
• Wednesday - Baked Mac and Cheese
• Thursday - Quesadillas
• Friday - Meatloaf from the Freezer

Review of What We Ate - Week of April 27

Last week was a successful week out eating:

On Sunday, I made skillet chicken with a sweet and sour sauce, warmed up precooked rice from the freezer, and cooked up some corn.  We shared this meal with my mother-in-law and another family member.

Monday - I made baked French toast and bacon.  

The family loves this meal.  The Imaginative One kept trying to take strawberries from my plate because he had already eaten all of his.  I told him there were more in the fridge but he didn't want them because they were not cut up.  Stinker.

Tuesday - I made a beanie weenie type dish with pinto beans and kielbasa.  I served it with cornbread.  We also had a salad. 

Both Hubby and I enjoyed the meal.  The Wee One ate his food with little complaint.  The Imaginative One was picky about the food.  Totally annoying.

Wednesday - We had sausage penne pasta skillet, salad, and copycat Zaxby's garlic bread.

The Wee One didn't want the garlic bread so he had a piece of the cornbread from the night before.  The Imaginative One had plain pasta, sausage, and salad.  Hubby loved the pasta and garlic bread.

Thursday - It was a total wash for me.  I came home from work exhausted.  We had testing and then I was observed.  Emotionally and physically draining.  The family had left-overs and I ate at Burger King for my dinner.

We did make microwave S'Mores after Cub Scouts though.  

Friday - I put pork in the crock pot and added a homemade barbecue sauce to it.  It was cooked on low all day.  We had pulled pork sandwiches, salad, and French fries.

There was enough pulled pork left over that I froze 3 bags of it.  We are going to have some of it for our dinner tonight.

Saturday - I had a hair appointment and then wanted to run some errands.  The boys ended up going with me because Hubby had a meeting in the afternoon.  I didn't want to be worrying about what time I got home.

We ate Chick-Fil-A.  The Imaginative One and I also shared an order of pretzel sticks.  We also had a smoothie.

Since I didn't cook what I had planned for dinner on Thursday, I cooked it up on Saturday.

We had either plain cheese quesadillas or pizza quesadillas with corn on the cob.  The Imaginative One and I were going to see Rio 2 at the movie theater so we wanted something quick and easy.  Hubby loved the pizza quesadilla!  Both the Wee One and the Imaginative One loved the plain cheese quesadillas.  Corn on the cob is always a great treat at the house.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what we ate during the week.  Next week is going to be crazy so I don't know if I'll be able to share what we ate.

Copycat Zaxby's Garlic Bread

We love garlic bread at our house.  Actually 3 of the 4 like garlic bread.  The Wee One will not eat any.  He will not taste it at all.  Hubby, the Imaginative One, and I do love it though.

When we ate at Zaxbys, I fell in love with their garlic bread.  When I got home, I decided to recreate the garlic bread at home.  I've made it twice.  Both times it was delicious.

These are quick and easy to put together which is a win-win in my book.   

Stars of the recipe:

• Texas toast bread
• 1/4 to 1/2 Tbsp. softened butter per slice of Texas toast bread
• 1 tsp. garlic powder per slice of Texas toast bread
• 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt per slice of Texas toast bread

Steps:

1. Butter Texas Toast bread on both sides.
2. Lay down on a greased cookie sheet making sure none of the pieces are touching.
3. Sprinkle garlic powder on both sides and seasoning salt on one side.
4. Broil for 3 to 4 minutes, flip and broil for 2 to 3 more minutes.  Watch the bread so it doesn't burn.
5. Enjoy!

Foodie Pen Pal - April 2014 Edition

This month I was originally assigned to one person but did not hear back from them.  So Lindsay reassigned me with Carol.  We've emailed each other back and forth.  In fact we emailed each other last night and today.

One cool tidbit is that we are both teacher and are dealing with the end of the school year behaviors, Common Core, and testing blues.  

To check out what I sent her, check out her blog entry.

Here's what she sent me:

These are good.  I have the remainder of the bag in my purse/bag in case of emergency.  I don't have many of these almonds left.  Yum!  

Yum!  I love yogurt and granola.  Almonds are also one of my favorite nuts.  I had this with my yogurt this morning.

I love Larabars.  In fact, while we were in Disney I ate Apple Pie Larabars for breakfast during half of the week.  So these will be gone soon.

She sent me 2 of these.  I tried one of them tonight for my afternoon snack.  Oh, my goodness.  So delicious!!!!!!!!!  It was just what I needed after a second day of testing and then teaching my sixth graders.

Thank you Carol for great snacks!

For more information about Foodie Pen Pals, visit Lindsay's blog - The Lean Green Bean.

Mom, What's For Dinner? - Week of April 28

This week we are administering the Ohio Achievement Assessment to the students in my room.  This is very stressful for both the students and especially the teachers.  

I need a few comfort meals to make up for the stress I'm going to be feeling.

Monday - Baked French toast, bacon, and strawberries

Prep:  Soak Pinto Beans, Prepare Overnight Oats

Tuesday - Pinto Beans and Kielbasa, corn, and cornbread

Prep:  None

Wednesday - Sausage Penne, Zaxby Texas Toast, salad

Prep:  None

Thursday - Pizza Quesadillas, Carrots

Prep:  Prepare Overnight Oats

Friday - Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans

This week I found a menu planner template that I love.  It's from Simplified Pantry.  Mystie creates meals from a basic pantry list.  She also has a great resource that she has created with recipes using her master basic pantry list.

Here's a link to my menu plan for the week:  April 28th menu.  

There is one change to the menu.  We are not going to have rice with the quesadilla.  

Also I don't plan for Saturdays and Sundays.  I may cook on Saturdays but nothing is set in stone because we may or may not be at the house.  Also Sundays are spent at my mother-in-law's house.  Sometimes I cook dinner like last night or she cooks dinners.  Or we both cook portions of dinners.

For more great menu plans, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Copycat Zaxby's Sauce

In late July early August we traveled to the beach and on our way there and on the way back home, we went on a road trip to see Monticello, Appomattox Courthouse, Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, and the Space and Rocket Museum.  

After we left Zoo Atlanta, we traveled to Huntsville, Alabama.  We ended stopping at a random park in a town called Fort Payne.  They had a beautiful fence with the word Alabama on it.

I knew we were in Alabama so I thought it was letting visitors know what state they were in or something.  

Any who, we ended up stopping at a Zaxby's in Fort Payne.  The wall was decorated with albums and pictures of the band named Alabama.  They were from Fort Payne.  That was why there was the beautifully decorated fence at that park.

On a side note, we also traveled on part of the Trail of Tears when were in Fort Payne.

I fell in love with Zaxby's after we ate dinner there.  So much so when we traveled to Walt Disney World, I had Hubby stop there once on the way back and once on the way home.  

There are no Zaxby's in Ohio.  Kentucky, yes.  Indiana, yes but none in Ohio.  :(

So I did research and found the special sauce they give out with the chicken dinners.  It's not the same but is still tasty.  In fact Hubby loved it!  He couldn't stop dipping his fries and chicken strips in it when we had it for dinner.

Copycat Zaxby's Sauce

Adapted from Ranker

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 c. mayo
• 1/2 c. ketchup
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 to 2 tsp. black pepper

Steps:

1. Mix the mayo, ketchup, and garlic powder until combined.
2. Add the Worcestershire sauce and mix until combined.
3. Coat the mixture with black pepper and mix until combined.
4. Put in the fridge for 2 hours before serving.
5. Enjoy!

(I put mine in the fridge for an half an hour and it still was delicious.)

Kitchen Tip Tuesday - Hard Boiled Eggs in the Oven

I have a confession.  No matter what I cannot make hard-boiled eggs the conventional way.  The eggs' yolks don't fully cook.  

I have an egg cooker that I use at times.  However, I didn't want to use the egg cooker when I was cooking up the eggs my sons' were going to dye using Kool-Aid.

I looked up hard-boiled eggs and found a way to hard boil eggs in the oven.  Some people may say it is easier to make boiled eggs the conventional way.  But for me who is hard-boiled egg challenged, this is a great option.

I would start with a couple eggs to find out what is the best amount of time to cook the eggs.

Oh, and on an unrelated note - Hubby walked into the kitchen while we were dyeing the eggs.  He told me that it smelled like Kool-Aid, not dye.  Hubby did not realize we were using Kool-Aid instead of the traditional store-bought egg dyes.

Stars of the recipe:

• large eggs (preferably a week old - This will work better if the eggs are slightly older.)
• mini muffin pan

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 325 to 350 degrees depending on whether your oven runs hotter or cooler.
2. Place the eggs in a mini muffin tin (the larger side in the tin).  
3. Bake for at least 30 minutes.  (I would check one egg and add time in 5-minute increments until the eggs are done.)  My eggs took about 37 minutes at 325 degrees.
4. Remove from the oven.  If there are brown spots on the eggs, don't worry.  
5. Place in ice water or a strainer.  If using a strainer run cold water over the eggs to stop the cooking process.  The brown spots should rinse off.
6. Store in the fridge.
7. Enjoy alone or in your favorite recipe!

Mom, What's For Dinner? - Week of April 21

This is what I woke up to last Tuesday morning.  We got an inch of snow overnight.  It had started as rain the day before.  During the night, the temperatures dropped to the lower 30's so the rain changed over to snow.  The crazy thing about the snow was that it was on cars, trees, and grass.  Since it had been in the 70's two days prior, there was no snow on the road.  It was a beautiful drive to work.  

Just so you know, where we live in Ohio, we don't normally get snow in mid-April.

That afternoon it was still spitting snow.  Yuck!

The weather has become springlike since that rare snow.  Today the temperature is in the high 70's.

Onto the menu this week:

I've got to go get my license renewed on Tuesday and need to stay late on Wednesday and Thursday to work on some paperwork.  So my menu needs to be easy and something my husband can cook up with little instructions.

Monday - Out to eat

Tuesday - Chicken fingers with homemade Zax sauce, crinkle fries, homemade Zaxby's Texas toast, fresh veggies

Wednesday - Orange Chicken over rice with veggies

Thursday - Ravioli with spaghetti sauce, garlic bread, salad

Friday - Breakfast for Dinner

Saturday  - ???

This post is linked to I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Planning Monday.

For a printable version of this menu, click this link.

Happy eating, Traci

Mom, What's for Dinner? - week of April 14

After a couple weeks off from menu planning, I'm back to menu planning.  We did have a menu plan last week but we didn't always follow the plan.  

We got back from Walt Disney World on Sunday night at 8:30ish in the evening and then I was back at work at 7:15 am the next day.  So last week, we ate mostly out of the freezer or ate out.  Finally on Saturday night, I felt like making a complete meal - meatloaf muffins, mashed potatoes, and fresh corn on the cob.  The family was happy for a home cooked meal.

I'm now back on track for cooking dinner for the family.

Here's our meal plan for this week:

Monday - oven baked French toast (recipe to posted later), sausage patties

Tuesday - navy bean soup, ciabatta bread (from Second Street market), and fruit salad

Wednesday - breaded pork chops, roasted broccoli, and rice pilaf

Thursday - tacos, apple enchiladas

Friday - eat out - We are going to the zoo.

Saturday - pizza with family

For more meal plans visit I'm an Organizing Junkie's menu planning Monday.

For a printable version, click here.

Happy eating, Trac