Before and After

It was certainly time for the little man to get a hair cut.  Look at him, his hair is in his eyes.

I am certainly not the biggest fan of getting haircuts. I love to curls.  Every time we cut them off, I fear that they will not come back.  But so far, they have returned.  Here is the result of the haircut.

Doesn't he look handsome?

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins everywhere

This year we went a little overboard on the pumpkins.  We grew pumpkins in our garden.  We bought some.  We bought some more.  I bought some white ones.  We had a lot of pumpkins.

So many, that Charles could not carve them all, but here is what he was able to create.

Devil Donald Duck

 Carved Jack O Lantern

 Joey's first carving attempt (with Dad's help)

 Vampire Mickey

 Cookie Monster (Another Joey Creation) - And the pumpkin came from our garden.

 One Eyed Jack o Lantern

Bam Bam versus the Pirate

Now around our house there was a Halloween battle being waged.  Every year, I end up at the party store the weekend (or some time the night) before Halloween to pick out a costume.  This year I was determined to not be a part of the last minute rush.  So in September, I got Charles to pick a costume and away I went to order our costumes on the internet.  Woo Hoo! No Party Store for me this year. 

Well, as fate would have it, I was not destined to be that lucky.

As Halloween night drew near, Joey tells his grandma and everyone who will listen that he is was going to be a pirate.  Well that would have been awesome, if I had ordered a pirate costume.  Now, I listened to him tell me about the pirate and then I politely informed him that he was not going to be a pirate, but he was going to Bam Bam instead.  The response I received was: "No Bam Bam, Pirate." So being the sucker that I am, I ran off to the party store to find a pirate costume for my darling little boy.

Now, if you have ever been to a party store the weekend before Halloween, you know the zoo that it can be.  So I waited in line and got Joey his darling pirate costume.

Luckily, Joey had many occasions to wear his costumes.

Some how we managed to convince him to wear his Bam Bam costume to a birthday party the day before Halloween.

But on Halloween night, Joey would not join us in our family costume.  So Charles and I dressed as the Rubbles from the Flinstones.

But Moe the dog did help us complete our look.

And Joey wore his pirate costume.

We went trick or treating with our neighbor, who was also a pirate.  I think I know where Joey got the idea for his costume now.

Fall Has Arrived

It is not officially fall until I have made a little pumpkin bread and apple cake.  Those wonderful baked treats make the house smell warm and toasty.

Since I was hosting a play group, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to don my apron and make some baked goods.

The pumpkin bread was fabulous and a big hit with all the mommies.  They all wanted to take some home with them.

I still need to type up this recipe, but I got this one from my mother.  It is a true classic and a staple of my fall baking.

My other creation is my apple cake.  My husband absolutely loves this cake.  He was excited that I made him his own to take to work.

This recipe is one that comes from my southern cookbook entitled "The Land of Cotton."  Surprisingly this cake calls for oil instead of butter.

I encourage you to test this out in your own kitchen. The dish shown here is half a recipe. I sometimes make it in a loaf pan.  Just depends n your preference.

Fresh Apple Cake

2 cups sugar
1 1/4 Cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
3 cups chopped apples

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan. Mix sugar, oil and eggs. Add salt soda, vanilla, cinnamon, and flour. Mix well: add pecans and apples. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from pan and our glaze over cake while still warm.

Glaze:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine

Mix well and our over cake.


MY NOTES:
I don't add the nuts, it is your choice.  I have made this in regular cake pans and bundt cake pans, any will work, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.  It is a dense cake, so it takes a while to bake.  I also add a little apple pie spice (nutmeg, cloves) and usually about a tablespoon of cinnamon.

Octoberfest

September passed so quickly and here we are already in October.  Do you know what October means?  Why Octoberfest, of course!

What other excuse would I have to dress Joey up in some Authentic Austrian Lederhosen and get him to dance the chicken dance.

 

Joey had a great time hanging out with his friends and dancing to the music. 

Pineapple Squares

I do not care for pineapple, but my mother came across this recipe in the box and immediately became nostalgic for her childhood.  She told me how grandma used to make these all the time when she was a girl.

So off we went to my mom's to make pineapple squares.  Joey was thrilled about the prospect of making cookies, but did not enjoy the taste of pineapple.

This was a relatively simple cookie to make.  It is comprised of a two layers of dough with a layer of crushed pineapple in the middle.  The dough is a cross between a shortbread and pie dough.

When all is said and done, you add a few chopped walnuts on top.  After a little baking, here is the result.

Once they cooled, my mom tried one and said that we were on the right track.  They need a little tweaking, but all in all the flavor was there.

So for now, I will refrain from publishing the recipe until it is perfect.

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

 Yes, I actually made something called cheese burger pie.  My husband came home from work and saw the recipe sitting on the counter and said "Why?!? Why are you doing this to me?" 

This recipe probably came from the 50's where featuring specific products in recipes was popular.  This one called for good old Bisquick.  Apparently it is not just for pancakes.

It was a very simple dish to put together.  You brown a pound of meat (it called for ground beef, I per usual used turkey) with an onion.

You put it in a pie dish.  Then you top with a mixture of Bisquick, milk, and eggs.  Bake and then top with cheese until it melts.

The result was different.  It was was quiche like.  The pie was very fluffy and tasty I think I need to add to this into our regular dinner rotation. Despite what my husband thinks.

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cups Bisquick baking mix
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tomatoes, sliced, opitional
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 10" pie plate. Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Saute onions in oil. Add meat.  Cook and stir until beef is brown.  Drain and spread in the pie plate. Beat milk, baking mix, eggs, salt and pepper until smooth. Bake 25 to 30 minute. Top with tomatoes and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake 5 to 8 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.