The time that Mr. H. pretends to eat some pumpkin and then accidentally does...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :-)

Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup cream

1 cup brown sugar

Bring butter, cream and sugar to a boil over medium heat.

Boil, stirring constantly, for two minutes.

Let cool and serve over ice cream or as a dip for apple slices.

Enjoy!

Great Northern Beans

1 bag great northern beans, picked and rinsed

leftover ham, diced

2 teaspoons onion salt

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 cups water

Place all ingredients into a crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours.

Serve with biscuits or cornbread and enjoy!

Roasted Autumn Vegetables

Roasted Autumn Vegetables
10-12 servings

1 bag of baby new potatoes, quartered

1 bag of carrots, peeled and sliced into sticks

1 bag of parsnips, peeled and sliced into circles

2 turnips, peeled, cut in half and sliced

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 white onion, cut in half and sliced

1 purple onion, cut in half and sliced

3 tablespoons oil
juice of one lemon

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine prepared vegetables in a large bowl.  Toss with oil.  Spread vegetables onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle seasonings over all.  Bake at 450° for 50 - 60  minutes or until veggies are browned and tender.  Enjoy!

Oh my stars was this yummy!  A perfect fall side dish or a meal in itself.  

I could have eaten a whole pan by myself. :-)

Caprese Salad

one 8 ounce ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced 

one package of campari tomatoes, halved 

a handful of fresh basil leaves

a drizzle of olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced

a sprinkle of sea salt

Layer mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil on a serving plate.

Drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar reduction.

 Sprinkle with salt.

Enjoy!

Menu Plan

Supper Menus

October 27th-Nov 2nd

Sunday

breakfast for supper - waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns 

Monday

fettuccine alfredo, caprese salad, french bread

Tuesday

fried ham, roasted autumn vegetables, rustic bread

Wednesday

great northern beans, biscuits

Thursday

frito pie (Halloween tradition :-), apple slices with homemade caramel sauce, roasted pumpkin seeds

Friday

leftovers

Saturday
out of town

It's National Pumpkin Day!

October 26th is National Pumpkin Day!

Here are some favorite pumpkin recipes to help you celebrate. :-)

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

Harvest Morning Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Oat Muffins

Mini Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Scones

Harvest Pumpkin Spice Scones

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Pie Coffee Creamer

Autumn Spice Cookies with Pumpkin Dip

Pumpkin Harvest Cookies

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Pie Crunch

Pumpkin Granola 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

Ducklings

The ducklings are almost three weeks old.

They are so cute!

Menu Plan

Supper Menus

October 20th - 26th

Sunday

leftovers

Monday

angel hair pasta with marinara sauce, ceasar salad

Tuesday

baked potato soup

Wednesday

soft tacos, guacamole, tortilla chips

Thursday

leftovers

Friday

out for supper

Saturday

tba - waiting to see what our weekend plans are :-)

We Bleed Maroon!

Gig' em Ags!

And we love #2 Johnny Football!

Fightin' Texas Aggies Class of '91 and Class of '94. :-)

Breakfast Hash Brown Casserole

Breakfast Hash Brown Casserole

adapted from Little House Living

makes 12 servings

Ingredients needed -

1 pound bulk pork sausage

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, diced

1 cup milk

1 tablespoons corn starch

1 bag frozen hash brown potatoes (no need to thaw)

1 8 ounce package of extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage in skillet until done.  Place sausage in a 9x16 pyrex baking dish.  In the same skillet, melt butter and sauté onion until softened.  Stir corn starch into milk and then pour into skillet with onions.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Combine hash browns with onion milk mixture and pour over sausage.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 400° for 45 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.  Serve immediately with salt and pepper to taste. 

This was very simple to throw together and a big hit with my boys.

As we scooped it onto plates, piping hot from the oven, 

I thought it would also be great spooned onto

warm flour tortillas with a bit of salsa on top.  

We may try that with the leftovers.

This can also be made the night before and popped in the oven the next morning.

This recipe is definitely a keeper.

If you try it, I hope you enjoy it, too! :-)

Menu Plan

Supper Menus

October 13th-19th

Sunday

invited to friend's house for supper

Monday

build your own sub sandwich, potato chips, veggie dip, pickles

Tuesday

out for supper

Wednesday

farmhouse beef stew, big daddy biscuits

Thursday

leftovers

Friday

gnocchi with pesto sauce, caesar salad

Saturday

slow cooker green chili chicken enchilada soup (new recipe)

Mini Pumpkin Muffins

you will need -

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup pumpkin

1 egg 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

and for the topping

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine oil, sugar, milk, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.

Add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

Mix well.

Spoon batter into mini muffin tin.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until done.

Combine cinnamon and sugar.

Dip warm muffins in butter and then cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Makes 36 mini muffins.

Tuesday Tidbits :-)

Well, the ducklings are very cute.

They are very fun to watch.

They are VERY attached to each other.

And, they are very...

poopy!!!  Oh my goodness -

these two poop more than when I had 

FIVE babies chicks in a brooder.

We're just changing out the paper often, 

and hoping their feathers come in FAST

so they can go outside where they belong. :-)

In other news,

I canned some 

apple jalapeño jam

last night.

It was tasty.

I got myself a sussy at the store over the weekend.

I've managed to break three, THREE,

oil lamp globes over the years.

So I decided this time to get a more 

sturdy one that hopefully will last me awhile. :-)

I just love a good oil lamp.

Weekend before last we lost power at the house for almost four hours

and I really missed having an oil lamp handy.

I'm also really enjoying the gourds

that my friend Sandi gifted me from her garden.

Wasn't that sweet? :-)