In rememberance

Today I remember . . .



 

12 years have passed . . . It still hurts to think about what transpired on that day.

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

We love to eat different jams, jellies, and even fruit butters around here.  It's usually just Hubby and I that do that.  Sometimes the Wee One will also try a new flavor of jelly.  The Imaginative One loves only grape jelly and don't you dare try to get him to eat something different.  He's not adventurous with his eating.

I had bookmarked this recipe last year and refound it today.  Since I was going to the grocery store, I got all the ingredients and and made a batch.  Yum!   And easy!!!

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

Adapted from Skinny Taste

Stars of the recipe:

• 29 oz. can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie blend)


• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (omitted it and it was fine)


• 3/4 c. apple juice or cider (I used cider.)


• 2 - 3 cinnamon sticks (I used Chinese 5 spice so I omitted this.)


• 1 c. brown sugar


• 1 -2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, to taste (I used Chinese 5 spice instead.)

Steps:

1. Combine the ingredients in a med. to lrg.  size saucepan.  Stir well.


2. Turn the heat onto high and bring the mixture to boil.


3. Turn the heat to medium low and let it cook down for 30 to 45 minutes.  Stirring frequently.


4. If needed, add more spices.


5. Enjoy on your favorite bread, biscuit, or even oatmeal!  (I'll share what I did with mine later.)

I froze 1/2 of the pumpkin butter and the other I put in the fridge to eat on my fav. ciabatta bread.

Individual Five Spice Apple Crisp

Last November my foodie pen pal introduced me to Chinese five spice and suggested I use it in some of my fall time recipes instead of pumpkin pie spice blend.  The five spice really does take it up a notch.  If you didn't know, Chinese five spice is a spice blend of cinnamon, star anise, white pepper, cloves, and fennel.  It's primarily used in Chinese cooking but is found in other cuisines.  

With fall around the corner and the pumpkin spice latte already at Starbucks, it's time to start my favorite flavor season.  I love fall flavors!  Apples, cranberries, and pumpkins, oh my goodness deliciousness.  Cinnamon is my favorite spice.  So if asked, my favorite seasons are the transition seasons - fall for it's bold flavors and spring for it's beauty.

I got some apples from one of our local produce stands so I decided to make myself an apple crisp.  Since the boys do not eat apple crisp, I decided to make myself my own individual apple crisp.  Instead of using cinnamon, I used the Chinese Five Spice.

Individual Five Spice Apple Crisp

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Stars of the recipe:

• 2 c. glass dish


• 1 med. apple seeded and diced (peeled if you want to)


• 2 tsp. Chinese Five Spice (1 tsp. and 1 tsp.)


• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar


• 1/4 c. quick cooking oats


• 1/2 Tbsp. butter, cut into fourths or halves


• Optional:  2 Tbsp. pecan or walnuts for topping

Steps:

1. Spray your glass dish with cooking spray.


2. Add the apples to the dish.  Sprinkle the apples with 1 tsp. of  Chinese five spice.


3. In another dish, mix the oats, brown sugar, and the other tsp. of Chinese five spice.


4. Evenly distribute the oat mixture over the apples.


5. If you are using nuts on the top, sprinkle those on top of the oat mixture.


6. Place the pats of butter over the oat mixture.


7. Microwave for 2.5 to 3 minutes.  Careful it will be hot.


8. Top with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.


9. Enjoy!

Yogurt Parfait

A few weeks ago, I posted about 6 easy breakfasts.  One of the breakfasts, I talked about was fruit and yogurt parfaits.  It is so simple and quick to prepare.  Plus it's delicious to eat and the flavors can be changed up depending on your mood.

Yogurt Parfait

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Stars of the recipe:

• 1/4 to 1/2 c. yogurt (flavored or plain - I eat Greek Gods nonfat plain Greek yogurt.)


• 1/4 c. of your favorite cut up fruit (I've been using my stone fruit fruit salad.)


• 1/4 c, of your favorite granola (Store bought or homemade)

Steps:

1. In a bowl or Mason jar put the yogurt in the jar or bowl.


2. Place the fruit on top of the yogurt.


3. if you are not eating the parfait right away, pack the granola and put it on top of the yogurt and fruit right before you eat.  If you are going to eat it right away, top with granola.


4. Enjoy!

Menu plan for week of Sept. 2

It's a few days late but better late than never.

Monday - eat at in laws

Tuesday - chicken, noodles, corn on cob

Wednesday - pizza sandwiches, roasted potato, veggies, corn on the cob

Thursday - ham, potato casserole, veggie

Friday - Philly cheese steak, corn on the cob, veggies

Saturday - cook out

French Toast

My two love French toast cooked by Moi instead of from the freezer section.  The Imaginative One gets a headache with store bought French toast/sticks.  

French toast is simple to make and you can try a variety of different breads.  I usually use sandwich bread or if I want to make sticks I'll use Texas toast bread because it's thicker.  When I made it on Saturday, I used ciabatta bread for Hubby, Imaginative One, and myself.  I used sandwich bread for the Wee One because he likes me to cut them into strips.

BTW:  Did you know ciabatta is Italian for slipper?

French toast

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Stars of the recipe:

• 1 large egg for every 2 pieces of French toast


• 1 - 2 Tbsp. milk for every 2 pieces of French toast


• 1 tsp cinnamon for every two pieces of French toast


• 1 tsp. vanilla extract for every two pieces of French toast


• bread


• toppings:  maple syrup, butter, fruit, powder sugar

Steps:

1. Warm up a flat griddle pan (my favorite) or skillet over med. heat.


2. In a flat wide pan, whisk together egg, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.


3. Using a fork or tongs, dip your bread into the egg mixture making sure to cover both sides.  (You may need to let it drip a little bit to get rid of excess egg before transferring it to your pan.)


4. spray your griddle pan or skillet with cooking spray.


5. Transfer it to skillet or griddle pan.


6. Allow it to cook until golden brown on both sides (3 to 4 minutes on the first side and 1 to 2 minutes on the second side.)


7. Transfer to a plate.


8. Enjoy with whatever toppings you like!

Our Super Trip ~ Day #9

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Day 8

We planned to leave early on Saturday morning so we could get to the Georgia Aquarium at a decent time.  It usually closed at 9 pm but on this particular Saturday, it was closing at 6 pm.  :(  

Before we left, the boys and I walked out to the beach.  The Wee One was crying because he did not want to leave the ocean.  The Imaginative One was looking for sea life while we were down there. 

Finally we got on the road and traveled to Georgia.  At one of the rest stops, I got a drink out of the vending machine but didn't have enough on me to get the boys anything.  (It was in the car.)  A gentleman approached me with 2 dollars for the boys.  The Wee One used his dollar to get what he had his eye on.  The Imaginative One kept his money.

When we were almost to our destination, we got into a traffic jam.  There had been an accident.  Luckily we only to travel on I-75 for about a mile so we got out of it pretty quickly.  We've driven through Atlanta on the highway but never on the surface streets so it was neat to see a different side of Atlanta.  

Once we got the hotel, we checked in and then walked through Centennial / Olympic Park to get to the Aquarium.  The line to get into the Aquarium was long even though we already had tickets.  Once we got to the front of the line, we realized it was because we needed to go through the metal detectors.  

We loved the Aquarium!  Our favorite exhibits were the 3D show, the whale sharks, the beluga whale, the frog exhibit, and the dolphin show.  

When we were done with the Aquarium, we once again walked through Centennial / Olympic Park but took extra time to enjoy our surroundings.  The funniest thing was seeing a man walking 6 dogs.  All 7 of them were wearing sunglasses.

Then we went to Waffle House for dinner.  We loved the service there.  Tracy (our server) made sure it was okay when the Wee One ordered a certain drink.  I thought that was great.

Afterwards we went back to the hotel for a little while.  We were going to ride the Ferris wheel that was across the way from our hotel.  However, we would have to wait for almost an hour and then pay $50.  That was not going to work with the boys.  They decided to go swimming but the water was too cold.  So we went to bed.  The boys had a pull out to sleep on.  The trouble was it was a single so the Wee One slept curled up at the top while the Imaginative One slept curled up on the bottom.