Thankful for Co-workers

I am so very thankful for the ladies I work with

in special education! 

I took them each some mocha hot cocoa for Thanksgiving. 

Each one of them make going to work every day something to look forward to.

And that is something to be truly thankful for. :-)

At the deer lease...

I love weekends at the deer lease.

Especially when the weather is nice

and we get to borrow brother-in-law's rv. :-)

And this weekend,

my daughter got an 8 point!

This Breakfast Idea is Quick, Easy, Fun and Yummy!

Love this idea I saw on pinterest!

A bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast ring.

All you need is -

1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls

8 slices of pre-cooked bacon

4 eggs, scrambled

and

2 slices of cheese, cut into 8 pieces

Lay out the crescent rolls in a circle.

Lay a slice of bacon on each roll.

Place a 4 pieces of cheese around the center of the crescents.

Spoon scrambled eggs on to the cheese.

Top eggs with 4 more pieces of cheese.

Fold up points of crescents to the center and pinch to seal.

Bake at 375 degrees for 17 minutes.

Slice into 4 wedges and enjoy!

So fun and easy.

And goes together quickly enough even for a school morning. 

My family loved it!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween ideas from years past...

Boo!

Scenes from a Halloween Kitchen

Creative Halloween Costume

Homespun Scarecrow Costume

Our Favorite Popcorn Balls

It's Caramel Apple Time!

Pumpkin Time

Decorating for the Trick or Treaters

Hope your Halloween is full of treats and no tricks! :-)

Muffin Monday - Cinnamon and Sugar Muffins

you will need -

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 cup cinnamon chips

1/4 cup chocolate chip

cinnamon sugar 

to make -

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  

Mix well.

Combine milk, oil and egg.  

Mix well.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.  

Mix just until combined.

Stir in cinnamon chips and chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into muffin tin lined with paper liners.

Sprinkle muffins generously with cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Apple Cider Doughnut Pancakes

ingredients needed -

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

1/3 cup milk

1 cup apple cider

1 apple, peeled and grated

cinnamon and sugar for topping

to prepare -

Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

Mix egg, oil, milk and cider.

Combine dry and wet ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in apple. 

Make pancakes on butter greased griddle.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Top with butter and maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Delicious served with pepper bacon, juice and coffee.

Maple Swirl Biscuits

These maple swirl biscuits were so delicious! 

They are very similar to quick cinnamon biscuits

but with a definite fall flavor.

Luckily my family really enjoyed them as well,

or I might have eaten the whole pan! ;-)

It officially looks like fall around here! :-)

I'm a little later than usual getting my fall decorations out. I'm still just so tired in the evenings after getting home from work that I hadn't been able to seem to find the energy to get my boxes out of the closet. But, Friday evening, an opportunity presented itself!  My daughter went to the local high school football game and Mr. H. and my son headed out of town to watch our nephew play in his football game, so...I took advantage of a quiet house and just decided to push through and put everything out all at once and get it done! It was just in time, too.  All weekend long it was rainy, dreary, and cool outside and I was so glad that it felt like (and smelt like!) FALL at my house!  

I put out leaves and decorations all over the house,

but my two favorite places to decorate are the butler's pantry

and the hutch.

I am LOVING this Better Homes and Gardens candle I picked up at Wal-Mart.

It is "Simmering Apple Cider" scent.

Only $5 for a large 18 ounce size candle,

and I think it smells just as good and strong as a Yankee one. 

I tucked away my summer dishes and put out my fall ones,

along with some cookbooks I enjoy using in the fall.

I have this new one on special display. ;-)

It just so happens that when you turn to page 30...

you'll find one of my recipes!

And, of course I have out a nice size dish of candy corn.

A fall favorite of mine!

Southwest Tamale Tart

I tried a new recipe Monday night,

combining ideas from Bisquick

and 2 Maids a Milking

to make a Southwest Tamale Tart.

Ingredients needed are -

1 cup Bisquick baking mix

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 can (4 ounces) diced green chilies 

8 ounce package Mexican blend shredded cheese (divided)

1/2 cup beef broth

1/2 pound chicken tenders

1 envelope taco seasoning mix

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) corn, drained

sour cream and picante sauce for topping

Combine baking mix, corn meal, chilies, 1/2 the cheese, and beef broth.

Grease a tart pan and pat corn meal mixture into bottom of pan.

Meanwhile combine taco seasoning and 1 cup water in a saucepan.

Add chicken and simmer until done.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks.

Place shredded chicken in tart pan on top of corn meal mixture.

Layer the beans and corn, and top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Let cool 5 minutes and then cut into wedges.

Serve with sour cream and picante sauce on the side.

Enjoy!

Menu Plans

Supper Menus
September 23rd-29th

Sunday
pot luck luncheon after worship
Monday
southwestern tamale tart, tortilla chips, jalapeño ranch dip
Tuesday
very busy evening with family going 15 different directions!  = out for sandwiches 
Wednesday
corn and cheese chowder in a bread bowl
Thursday
savory beef sandwiches, tomato soup, carrot and celery sticks
Friday
tba
Saturday
tba

Happy fall! :-)

My favorite season has arrived!

Do you love autumn, too?

What are your favorite things?

You can find my list of 

"Wonderful Things of Autumn"

here. 

I love to decorate during the fall season.
I always start my decorating
by putting out my autumn dishes.

And I LOVE to cook and bake
when the season turns cooler.

Soups, stews, doughnuts and cider, fresh breads...
I could go on and on. :-)

Here are some of my family's very favorite recipes
for this time of year -

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Apple Pancakes with Cider Syrup

Apple Cinnamon Scones

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

Harvest Pumpkin Spice Scones

Autumn Spice Muffins

Autumn Chowder

Farmhouse Beef Stew

Autumn Tossed Salad

Saucy Chicken Sandwiches

Braised Autumn Pork Chops

Chicken Pot Pie

Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings

Pumpkin Harvest Cookies

Vermont Maple Oatmeal Pie

Cream Filled Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Pumpkin Pie Coffee Creamer

Happy fall!
I hope you enjoy every moment! :-)

One of these things is not like the others...

I was so happy this afternoon

 to discover the first egg laid by my Ameraucana breed chicken!

My other chickens all lay brown eggs,

so the first blue/green egg was quite eggs-citing. :-)

It was especially sweet that I found it today,

since today has definitely been "one of those days"

if you know what I mean!

Hoping it's a sign that things will soon be looking up! :-)

Linked to Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #75 
Farmgirl Friday Blog Fest #1
Homestead Revival Barn Hop #80

Fall is Coming!

The first sign of fall at our place,

is always the apperance of the berries 

on the American Beauty Berry shrubs in our yard.

I always notice them right after school begins.

They grow wild all over our property.

A favorite treat of the birds, coons, foxes, squirells and deer.

And, they whisper to me, that fall is on the way! :-) 

Menu Plans

Supper Menus
September 9th-15th

Sunday 
out for dinner
Monday
old fashioned chicken and dumplings
Tuesday
fettuccine alfredo, casear salad, french bread
Wednesday
sliders, spicy potato wedges, baked beans
Thursday
texas chili, jalapeño cheese cornbread
Friday
homemade pizza
Saturday
out of town

Menu Plan Monday is Back!

The winds of change are blowing around here at Heritage Schoolhouse.  Next week my daughter will begin her sophomore year of high school, my son is going into junior high, I am starting back to work after staying home for fifteen years, and my son will begin playing on a competitive soccer team that will require travel most weekends.  Whew!   It is going to take awhile to adjust to our new routines.  I know one thing that I can do to make the transition smoother is for me to get back into the habit of routine menu planning.  When my children were little, and during the years we home schooled, I almost always menu planned, but after the kids started back to public school three years ago, I gradually stopped planning.  Mostly due to the fact that I had much less pressure to know what was for dinner each night.  I had the luxury of waiting until the last minute as well as the opportunity to stop by the store when I was in town after dropping the kids off at school or before I picked them up.  This year, after working all day and picking the kids up from school, stopping by the store around 5:00 pm will probably not be too high on my list of favorite activities!  I need to have a weekly plan and get my shopping done once a week. So, therefore, Menu Plan Monday is back!  I hope you get inspired to get your menus planned in advance, too, and if you have any favorite weeknight meals that your family loves, feel free to tell me about them in the comments.   

Menu Plan
August 19th-25th

Sunday

out to eat

Monday

fettuccine alfredo, lettuce and tomato salad, rosemary rolls    

Tuesday

hamburgers, spicy potato wedges, baked beans

Wednesday

mexican lasagna, chuy's jalapeño ranch dip, tortilla chips

Thursday

old fashioned chicken and dumplings, lettuce and tomato salad, brownies

Friday

poppyseed chicken, buttered corn, lettuce and tomato salad, dinner rolls

Saturday

out of town

August 10th - National S'mores Day!

Yummy!  Campfire s'mores 

and summertime just go together!

This year for S'mores Day I was stocked up.

Plenty of graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate...

Plus we tried cool, refreshing s'mores parfaits.

Just layer chocolate pudding, graham crackers, 

marshmallow cream and top with marshmallows.

Want to start the day off right?

How 'bout s'mores for breakfast?

Why not?!

Try S'mores Muffins.

S'mores in a Jar

are fun, too!

Happy S'mores Day!

Can I have s'more? :-)