Arrghh! Walk the Plank! - Happy (late) Halloween

I almost forgot to post our annual Halloween photo. This year we went as pirates because I already had the costumes. When Abigail was granted her wish from Make A Wish, we knew there would be a Pirates In the Caribbean night on the cruise. I scoured our dress up box and some thrift stores to come up with costumes. I wanted us all to tie in together, so I also purchase some "piratey" fabric and made some matching items to finish the costumes. With all of this time and effort invested, I knew we needed a reason to wear them again...tadaa...Halloween costumes!

Mad Scientist Birthday Party

Preserved Brain Cake...just what everyone needs at a Mad Scientist party. 

As promised, I am posting photos of birthday parties. I'm not doing much other posting, but if you join me on Facebook, I am posting my weekly dinner menus. Tonight was steak with a Greek barley salad and edamame. I'm hoping you will come over there and tell me what YOU had for dinner too.

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When Banana Girl said she wanted a Mad Scientist Birthday party WITH her best friend - I (of course) said, "yes!". It was a riot. I did the food and the other Mommy did the awesome science experiments. the girls had a super fun time. And they actually learned a few things along the way.

Don't you love the backdrop and the labcoats?? Donated by the Grandma and perfect for the occasion!

Please excuse the photos - they were taken in a garage at night. With all of these experiments we felt like the garage was the best place to set up.

We made slime - easy and a BIG hit. We packaged a little bit up in petri dishes for them to take home as part of their goodie bag.

We made "elephant toothpaste". This was pretty cool until the kids wanted to start playing with it. What a mess!

We made "milk fireworks", learning about oil and water in techicolor.

The dry ice was a big hit around the punch bowl. Notice the double helix cheese sticks?? We also served: Dissected chicken (whole roasted chickens), Amoeba Porridge (corn pudding), Radioactive Mush (orange colored mashed potatoes), DNA strands (green beans), and Cultured Worms (jello with gummie worms in petri dishes). I made little cards with the names on them and some test tube graphics.

We also served (the famous ever used) chip and dip tray filled with little goodies so the kids could make their own molecules. There were things like: mini marshmallows, grape tomatoes, grapes, dates, gumdrops and toothpicks to set it all up. I was really impressed at what some kids created!

Details of the cake, if you ever need to make BRAINS!!  This would be a great cake for Halloween or a doctor.

The key with brains is to not cross the middle line and keep them moving in swirls.

Happy Halloween 2012 from Narnia

Happy (late) Halloween from King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund and Queen Lucy!

 

Fall Fun: Tons of Ideas and Recipes

Harvest Moon Pie Pops

I have this love affair with fall. It's when I seem to really start cooking again. I mean, it's not as if I'm not cooking during the summer. My family is not starving to death if you were worried.


It's just I don't LOVE cooking in the summer. It's too hot in Georgia. Truth be told, it would probably still be too hot for me in Maine, but whatever.

Fall, on the other hand, begs for cooking. The amazing apples, sweet potatoes, squashes like butternut and pumpkin. All of them are glorious!! It's a joy to pull out the food processor, and hand blender to make soups and homemade apple sauce.

As I was reminiscencing and thinking of some fall recipes I really wanted to make, I thought I'd share some from the past....


Chocolate Acorn Treats

Mummy Dogs

Rice Cake Eyes and Apple Teeth (I know this photo is TERRIBLE. Thankfully I've learned a few photography tips since then!!)

Gumdrop Apple Turkeys

And of course, we can't forget the silly family costumes that have come in the past. This year it's another book. Stay tuned to see what we come up with!

Here are the scientist and four seasons.

http://fromchapelhilltochickenville.blogspot.com/2011/11/christian-scientists-halloween-costumes.html
http://fromchapelhilltochickenville.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-halloween-from-four-seasons.html

This one seems to be the online favorite.


The Three Little Pigs




Butternut Squash Wedges



Apple Pie Soup





Pumpkin Lattes and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes


Creamy Spiced Pumpkin Soup




Hot Chocolate Cake


Crockpot Apple Butter

Happy Fall and Happy Cooking!!

Homemade Butterfingers

I just started participating in what's know as the "Secret Recipe Club". It's a bunch of food bloggers secretly making each others' recipes. It sounded interesting, so I signed up. I really had no idea what to expect. For this month, I was referred to a blog called Hugs & Cookies XOXO with the instructions to, "go make one recipe off the blog". I discovered Danielle, the blogger is a talented cookie decorator and makes a bunch of gluten free desserts. I was having trouble focusing on the task at hand, since I was surrounded by treat after treat after treat on her blog. I was in a sugar high, when I arrived at this recipe, homemade butterfingers. Huh? This was a new one on me.

I know what you are thinking, "Aimee, why make this stuff when you can just go out and buy a bag of  Butterfingers?" I guess that's the question I could ask about most of the things I make. There are so many different reasons, beyond teaching my children to love good food, which i definitely my overriding reason. One is cost, sometimes I can save money when I make it myself, like oatmeal packets. Sometimes it just tastes better, like cake with fresh buttercream icing. Other times, it's more like a challenge...a throw down. Can I really make this???

This butterfinger recipe from Hugs & Cookies was just that. Would it be possible to make Butterfingers, which my husband LOVES, that really taste like that peculiar crumbly candy? I had to walk in faith with Danielle. Turns out the answer is....yes! With only three ingredients you too can make candy magic. You don't even have to use your stove or oven!! Here's the three ingredients you'll need....

{I know I have four things on this tray, but I just wanted to show you that you could use either chocolate chips or melting chocolate (I used a mix of both, since I didn't have a lot of either).}

 

Are you noticing the crazy secret ingredient for this recipe?  It's CANDY CORN! How wild is that? If you want to make these butterfingers, go out now and buy a clearance bag of candy corn, since it's only around during the Halloween season. Go now... I'll be waiting.....

.........back with your $.50 purchase? Good. Here's the recipe.

Homemade Butterfingers(makes 36 pieces of candy)
1/2 c candy corn
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
chocolate for melting

Put the candy corn in a glass dish (or just be lazy and melt it in the measuring cup). Zap it in the microwave for 1 minute and then stir. If it's not a melted mess like the photo below, put it back in for 15 seconds. You don't want to burn it which is easy since candy corn has a very high sugar content, like 99% sugar. The other 1% is food coloring, ha!

To this scary neon orange goop, you add the peanut butter. Stir until it's all mixed well. Your hand may fall off...mine did. Pour the ugly brownish mixture into a foil lined 8x8 pan. (If you want more bars, you could easily increase this recipe to fill a 9x13 pan, just keep the ratio 1:1 for the candy corn and peanut butter.)

 

Cool the mixture in the fridge (about 10 minutes) while you melt your chocolate. I'd like to use a double boiler for melting chocolate, that is if I had one. In the meantime, I just melted the chocolate in the microwave in a glass bowl. By the time you get the chocolate melted your mixture will be ready for cutting. I used a large bread knife, but I think a pizza cutter would work better in the future. I also cut my pieces TOO big. I had to go back and half them, which created about 36 pieces. This stuff is rich!

 

After you cut your pieces dip them in chocolate and let them cool. Or you could be really lazy smart and just pour chocolate over them, but you'd use more chocolate that way. The point is, you want them to be covered in chocolate just like the real candy bar. I wasn't very careful about covering the bottom, but enough dripped down on my wire racking to cover them mostly. Don't look too closely ;)

So how does the end result stack up against the real thing? I say, spot on! They taste so much alike people may not even know you made them. Since we just had Halloween I happened to have an original Butterfinger in the kids' treat drawer. I cut them both open to show you the color difference. I actually think the homemade version is prettier. The original is crunchier and flakier, definitely more crumbly (ie messy), but you can imitate that if you store them in the fridge. My Butterfinger Connoisseur Husband liked the original, but I noticed he ate quite a few of my version too. I sent most of them in to Awana to celebrate Super Bear's birthday (more on the amazing Magic Tree House birthday party we had soon). The kids and the grown ups there LOVED them. I was a little embarrassed to tell them how easy they were to make.  This is one cooking experiment I'm glad I took on. Danielle thank you for entrusting me with your delicious recipe!! I'll be back when I need another sugar rush. And I think I'll sign up for this Secret Recipe Club thing again. You never know what you'll discover.

Harvest Moon Pie Pops

Happy Almost Turkey Day!!!

In need of an easy Thanksgiving centerpiece??? These are waaay simple and like the chocolate acorns, they make a cute decoration for your table (at least until Uncle Jimmy or Cousin April starts munching). Here's what you need: original flavored large moon pies, popscicle sticks, cookie icing, fall themed candies, cello bags, and some ribbon. After having worked with the moon pies, I do not recommend the new flavored ones (peanut butter or mint). Although I think they taste much better than the original, they don't hold together well because the filling is is not sticky like the original marshmallow. I'm not sure about the vanilla and banana but I think those are more like the marshmallow ones, so they may work.

My big kids (8 and 5 1/2) were in charge of this project and they really didn't require much supervision. We had a big yard sale to get rid of a bunch of our baby stuff and the kids sold these goodies at their very own table.

First insert a popscicle stick into the middle of the moon pie. Each circle got decorated with the candy choices using a little cookie icing (bought from the clearenced Halloween section) as glue. We used candy corn (wait til you see what I did with the leftovers),

We made a bunch of flower designs, but they could be done as turkeys?  Or maybe save this project for Christmas and do little trees or snow flakes on them. What about Valentine hearts? There are tons of possibilities!

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!!