Warm Pumpkin Spice Pancakes & Pumpkin Spice Lattes (or Gingerbread)

I love pumpkin: pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread. I mean really love it as much as I love cranberries and apples and well everything else fall. Fall is probably my favorite season despite the fact that the fresh air kills me. I'm allergic to all the pretty flowers that grow in the spring AND all of the pretty leaves that fall and get moldy in autumn. It kinda stinks when your favorite times of the year to be outside are the ones that make you miserable. MacGuyver always says he's going to buy me a bubble to live in. (I've never seen it, but I heard there is a movie.)

I made these pancakes last week and the kids were thrilled and even the husband liked them, which is saying something because he doesn't love pumpkin. So even if you a not the most pumpkin loving person, you might try these out. You can also adapt both recipes to create a gingerbread taste, by omitting the pumpkin, adding more ginger spice and a little molasses.

Every Thursday the kids and I enjoy a "day in". Since I homeschool the kids, we have decided that once a week we will stay home and do whatever we feel like. It always starts with a yummy breakfast. You know the kind that you promise your kids you will make and never have time to on normal crazy days? A normal morning for us involves a lot of "hurry up", "eat your food" and "stop kicking your sister". I'm I the only one with mornings like these? This is why my little family has Thursdays - for "yes" time. Yes to pancakes, yes to games, yes to stories read at the table, yes to wrestling, yes to bike riding and whatever else they can think of. BTW, there is a great book called "Yes Day" that my 3 year old told me about. It's so cute and all the kids love the idea of a "yes day" at our house.

I usually make extra of whatever they choose for breakfast on Thursdays (pancakes, waffles, coffee cake, quiche, or bacon) and save them for one of the hectic mornings as a reheat. This pancakes starts out like our traditional buttermilk pancake recipe, but you just add the spices and the pumpkin puree. And if you make the pancakes, you are going to want to make the latte...trust me they go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Warm Pumpkin Spice Pancakes - Chocolate chips optional :)

2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/3 c buttermilk
1 c sourdough starter or milk
1/2 c pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp oil
1 egg

Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl with whisk. Add buttermilk, starter, pumpkin, oil and egg to the dry mixture. Whisk until combined. Can be thinned with milk or water if the batter is too thick to easily pour. When griddle or pan is hot, pour batter on. At this step you can add chocolate chips if you like. Cook until bubbles form and then flip.

If you want to make gingerbread pancakes, you need to increase the ginger to 1 tsp and decrease the cinnamon to 1 tsp. Then omit the pumpkin and sugar and add 1/4 c molasses.You can even serve them with molasses as the syrup!

Pumpkin Spice Latte OR Gingerbread Latte

1 cup milk (I use skim)

1 Tbsp canned pumpkin

1 Tbsp sugar (or substitute)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (which is basically mostly cinnamon with ginger, cloves and nutmeg added) I just add a little of each, never measuring

1 c strong brewed coffee

Brew the coffee. While brewing, get out a glass measuring cup, the kind you use for liquids. Measure the milk and then add the pumpkin, sugar and spices. Put it in the microwave on high for 1 min - 1:30. You want it hot, but not boiling. When the coffee is brewed, combine your coffee, spiced milk and vanilla in a large mug. You can top it with whipped cream and cinnamon if you want to go over the top, which I of course did!

Variation: if you want to make a gingerbread latte, you omit the pumpkin and up the ginger spice a little and add use molasses as your sweetener. Equally delicious!

The "Christian Scientists" - Halloween Costumes 2011

I had to share this year's Halloween costumes. This year we didn't do a book theme like we have in the past. Instead I used it as a way to homeschool at the same time. We all went as scientists. I was a geneticist, trying to create a child that looks like me, which I have failed at miserably. The others were: a rocket scientist, a neurologist, a herpetologist, marine biologist, neurologist, and botanist. You should have seen my daughter set people right when they guessed she was a "nurse"!

Happy Halloweenie! Mummy Hot Dogs

Are these a crack up or what?? My kids love them and so we usually make them sometime around Halloween. And really, who can resist a hot dog wrapped in a cresent roll?  It really only takes those two ingredients...hot dogs (I picked up bun-lenght for serious mummy's) and crescent rolls. Mustard is an optional ingredient.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. My generic package of crescent rolls contains 8 rolls. I pressed them into four flat rectangles, by combining two rolls together. I thought using a rolling pin would be a good idea, but don't try it. It's a sticky mess, fingers are the best bet.

Now you want to cut the bandanges, aka strips of crescent roll. I used my pizza cutter wheel, but you could use a knife. These don't have to be neat or even even. I managed to get 7 - 8 strips out of each rectangle. You don't want them too thin or they will break when picking them up off the counter. You don't want them too thick or they look funny on your mummy *groan*.

Wrap pieces of dough around each hot dog to look like "bandages," stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. About 1/2 inch from one end of each hot dog, leave a space so hot dog shows through for "face." If you have gaps in your strips or overlaps, it only makes the mummy look more interesting and rustic.

On ungreased large cookie sheet (used my wonderful generic silicone mat as usual), place wrapped hot dogs. The naked ones look mighty chilly!

Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With a toothpick of mustard, draw eyeballs and even a mouth if you like. How seriously easy is that????

Woooooo! Happy Halloweenie!!