A beautiful day

Guess what Jubal and I did today after school?

Pumpkin Muffins

Here is a great recipe I found on Pioneer Woman's website. Jubal helped me so this one is good to make with the kids. They are so moist and yummy and pretty healthy too! You can top with cream cheese frosting or just a cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Happy Fall Baking!

Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins (With Cream Cheese Frosting)

Muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 heaping cup pumpkin puree or just plain ol' canned pumpkin
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional!)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 12 muffin tins.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until all incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined. Pour into greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle generous amounts of cinnamon-sugar over the top of each unbaked muffin.
Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Ice with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup softened butter
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 pound powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins, or place into a large pastry bag with a large star tip and go crazy!

Store in fridge, as icing will soften at room temperature.

A new home

Okay, I am guilty. I am guilty of having some plastic bags in the house ;). My excuse: I really like having them to use as trashbags and picking up after the dog. For years I have just stuffed them in a back corner somewhere, out of sight, and sometimes out of mind.
Well, I was inspired a couple of weeks ago and now they are stuffed in a cute little sack in my kitchen. I got the idea from this tutorial and it turned out really cute. The other neat thing about it is that you can use any fabric scraps that you may have. I have quite a stash of scraps so I was eager to use some up. So now, all my plastic bags that were stuffed in a corner are now hanging in their cute happy home in the kitchen. Nice.

Good Bye Taco bell!

I love taco night at our house. It's so easy to prepare and the fam really enjoys eating them. So tonight, I had it all ready and I was going to have dinner ready a little earlier so that we could have time to play before Jubal's bedtime. I got all my ingredients together but could not find my Taco Bell taco seasoning. Hmmm....where did I stash it? I looked in all kinds of places in the kitchen and could not find it. I concluded that the cashier forgot to put it in my bag. Bummer! Should I run to the store? No, I don't feel like hurrying out the door, wasting gas, waiting in line, and having a late dinner. Of course! The internet. So I did a search and found a wonderful recipe (on allrecipes.com) for some homemade taco seasoning. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. It was wonderful! And I can pronounce the ingredients. So naturally I would love to share it with my blog friends.
You will need to double the recipe to make enough to season a pound of ground beef. There will be some leftover as well. For every pound of beef, chicken, or tofu, add 3 tbsp. of the mixture and 2/3 cup of water. You can also add about 1/2 tsp per batch of flour to thicken it up a little. Cut the amount of red pepper flakes/powder in half if you don't want it to be too spicy hot.

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes/powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Find

I like to make my own cookies. It's so much healthier than the cookie doughs in the store and a lot more satisfying. However, there are days that I feel a little lazier and don't want to labor that much in the kitchen.
A few months ago, Ingles had a sale on some organic cookie dough from the Immaculate Baking Company. I bought it, tried it out and it is SO GOOD! So I thought I would promote them because of the reaction my family had to the cookies. They are made from all natural ingredients and there are no hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. So even though a sweet tooth can be a dangerous thing, you can feel good that the ingredients are in pure form.

Disco Pajamas

The other day I went through my big bin of fabric to try to simplify. I cleaned out a bunch of fabric but still have a fair amount left over. So, I am trying to make some fun things with what I do have. My first little project was pajamas for Jubal. They turned out really cute too. I think they look like they come out of the disco era. When my little red head wears them, it is super precious! I got the pants idea from this tutorial:
www.instructables.com/i/How_to_Sew_Your_Own_Pajama_Pants/.
It is super easy and quick. I think I made his pants in about 30 minutes. I like that kind of project! For his little shirt, I took an old white t-shirt and appliqued a star onto it. I encourage you to try making the pants. They are well worth it.

Snow!

We saw our first snow today. I love this time of year!

Headband tutorial....finally!

Here are quick and easy to understand instructions for making a headband. Sorry it has taken me so long to post this. If you end up making one, let me know how it goes. At the bottom of the page, I included the website that I got this tutorial from. Have fun!!!!

• Main Piece: Cut 1 rectangle from your fabric as shown in Diagram 1. The width range of 4.5" (11 cm) to 12.5" (32 cm) results in finished headband widths ranging from 2" (51 mm) to 6" (15 cm), respectively. Multiply your desired finished headband width by two and add 0.5" (13 mm) to determine the exact fabric width to cut.
• Connector Piece: Cut 1 rectangle from your fabric as shown in Diagram 1.

Note: Any grainline orientation should be fine, but laying the long sides of the rectangles crosswise (i.e., perpendicular to the selvage) will use the least fabric yardage.



Diagram 1

Sewing

1. Fold the short sides of the main piece in half with right sides together and, using a 0.25" (6 mm) seam allowance, sew the long raw edges together to create a tube as shown in Diagram 2. Repeat with the connector piece.



Diagram 2

2. Turn the main piece right side out and press so that the seam is positioned at center back (CB). Repeat with the connector piece. Use a safety pin or loop turner to turn the pieces right side out if needed.
3. Insert the elastic inside the connector piece using a safety pin or loop turner.
4. Sew the elastic and connector piece together at one end with a 0.25" (6 mm) seam allowance as shown in Diagram 3. (On the other end, just leave the end of the elastic sticking out for now; you can pin the end of the connector piece to the elastic to keep it in place if needed).



Diagram 3

1. Mark the short ends of the main piece about 0.375" (10 mm) away from each long (folded) edge as shown in Diagram 4. In between the markings on each end, make pleats as needed so that the width in between the markings matches the width of the connector piece, which in this case is 0.625" (16 mm). If your main piece is on the narrow side, try one knife pleat in the center; if it's on the wide side, try multiple knife pleats. You can also try an inverted or box pleat as shown in Diagram 4. Pin o r baste stitch the pleats to secure them.

Diagram 4

1. Lay the main piece down with the front side facing up (i.e., CB seam facing down). On top of the main piece, lay the connector piece down with the back side facing up (i.e., CB seam facing up), aligning the edge of the connector piece that is sewn to the elastic with one of the ends of the main piece. The connector piece should be laying on top of the pleated portion of the main piece and should fit just within the markings you made on the main piece. Fold the short sides of the main piece 0.375" over the connector piece (the folded sides will overlap), and sew all layers togethe r with a 0.25" (6 mm) seam allowance as shown in Diagram 5.

Diagram 5

1. Turn the headband right side out and test the fit by trying on the headband while stretching the elastic to the unattached end of th e main piece. Cut elastic to desired length.
2. Repeat Step 4 with the other ends of the elastic an d connector piece.
3. Repeat Step 6 with the other ends of the connector piece and main piece.
4. Turn the headband right side out.

**www.alteredcloth.com/blog/2007/07/how-to-make-a-h ead band-version-2-the-wide-headband.php

Beware...some major transparency

***I hope that whoever reads this is challenged and encouraged to trust in God's ways. He loves us so much and knows what is best. His timing is perfect. This is a testimony of how God is teaching me this invaluable lesson. He is so good!

Ever since I was a young girl, I dreamed of getting married to prince charming, having a handful of kids and living happily ever after. Being a homemaker and mommy has been a desire of mine for as long as I can remember. Well, I married my prince charming 11 years ago and had a son 5 years ago. My dreams and hopes seemed to be coming true.

For the past 3 years, I have experienced some of the hardest challenges I have ever faced regarding my desires. At this point, a future of having more children doesn't seem to be in God's plan for my life and family. It seems my Lord has other plans....plans that are beyond my control and plans that I don't fully understand. In the midst of this inner battle, Jesus has given me peace and direction. I read an incredible book and it helped me to understand that if life isn't going exactly the way "I want it to", trust God to lead me in the way He wants me to go. Set new goals and pray about them. Deep down I wondered if I even had other goals. If so, what were they? How could I figure them out? I really believe that God has given me the desires that I have but He also knows what is best for me in His time and in His way. He made me and He deserves my devotion and trust.

I have prayed over this so much and the Lord has reminded me of a few things. First, I have a husband and a son that I love very much. I need to invest my life in their lives and be thankful for what the Lord has already given me. He gave them to me and I need to treasure them. Second, I don't need to focus on what I don't have but what I do have. Third, I believe that God has given me a love for babies for a reason. I may not be able to use it directly in my personal life but I can share that love in other ways. As a result of this love and passion I am pursuing the realm of nursing. Now I dream of one day being able to put my love for babies and mommies to work and help them during a very life-changing time. (As well as loving my growing 5 year old miracle baby ;) I am excited about my new journey and looking forward to the things God is going to teach me. I don't know what the future holds, but God does and that should be enough for me. I still have days that I struggle with my biological clock and emotions but I rest in God's peace. He knows and understands how I feel. I am SO thankful for His hope. I choose to focus on Jesus and the things that He has planned for me. Sometimes those plans are not always what we plan or even dream of. This life is not my own, it belongs to the God I serve. What greater privilege do I have than this?