Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Shortbread Bars

She has done it again. Satisfied me with some amazing looking (and soon to be tasted) Pumpkin Treats. I just had to share it with you.

If you want this recipe, go to one of my favorite websites Picky Palate.

Pumpkin Tarts

If you want to make these cute pumpkin tarts, go to Picky Palate.

I will be trying them sometime this season.

My Favorite Pumpkin Walnut Cookies

I Love pumpkin baked goods. Last fall I made these multiple times because they were so yummy. They do take some time, so if you are looking for a quick fix, these are not for you. I will have a quick pumpkin recipe up soon that is Oh-so-easy!

But please try these at least once.

You will not regret it.

Pumpkin Walnut Cookies

By: Land O'Lakes

Cookies Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) canned pumpkin (pumpkin comes in 15 ounce cans; not pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar (I recommend sifting this)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice)
Walnut pieces, if desired

Direcetions:

1.) Heat oven to 350°F.

2.) Combine butter, brown sugar and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy.

3.)Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Continue beating until well mixed.

4.) Reduce speed to low; add flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

5.)Stir in 1 cup walnuts by hand.

6.) Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool completely. (I let them cool on

the baking sheet for 5 minutes
before transferring them to a cookie rack to finish cooling - they are soft and delicate, so be careful.)

7.) Combine all frosting ingredients except walnut pieces in medium bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until smooth. Frost cooled cookies. Garnish with walnuts, if desired.

Yield: 5 dozen cookies

Pumpkin Love

If you know me at all, you know I love pumpkin and now being pregnant, all I want is to fulfill my cravings. Here are a couple that I found online that I am going to try and make this fall. I will give the recipes to you as I go.

What do you think?

In the mood for some pumpkin?

Blood Stain Removal

I have to admit that I am the worst at getting any kind of stain out of anything.

Today, my 5 year old got a bloody nose and dripped it everywhere on our brand new carpet.

I was scared that it was ruined and that I would have to replace and patch the whole piece of carpet.

I asked my neighbor if she knew what to do and of coarse she did....she always does.



So, in case you don't know (cause I sure didn't) here are the steps to getting Blood out of your Carpet/Clothes.

1.) Get a wash cloth wet with COLD water (Hot will make the stain set and harder to get out)

2.) Get a couple of dry paper towels.

3.) Dab (don't scrub, it will spread the blood) the water onto the blood so that the blood gets wet. Don't add too much water or it will bleed to surrounding area.

4.) Take your dry paper towels and dry up water and blood. You will be amazed at how it absorbs.

5.) Repeat 3-5 times on each small area.

*** At this point the majority of my blood was already out of my carpet***

If you still have some blood on your carpet or you are working on clothes, follow the following instructions...

1.) Mix 1 Tablespoon of Oxyclean and 1 Tablespoon of baking soda. Add just enough water to make a paste (it will dry out if you dont use it right away, so you will have to continue to use water).

2.) Place paste on blood stain. Let sit about 30 min.

3.)If cleaning carpet get a wet rag and dab up oxyclean mix. If you put mix on clothes, throw clothes into washer and run like you normally do.

4.) Dab the carpet area dry with dry cloths.

This worked miracles for me.

Hopefully you have success too.

Taco Ring

I tried a Taco Ring the other day. It was pretty simple and a great way to break up the monotony.
Here are a couple of pictures. It is pretty self explanatory.

Afterward I added Lettuce, Salsa and Sour Cream to the middle. It was a yummy simple meal that the kids loved.

Waffles with the Most Amazing Strawberry Sauce.

I have to apologize for the lack of posting. Between having my computer down for the last couple of days and having morning sickness, little has gotten done around my house.

Yes we are expecting baby number 3.

I have not wanted to cook at all. I got a new cookbook yesterday from William-Sonoma called Cooking Together. My 5 year old LOVES it (to say the least). She was so excited to pick a recipe and help me cook dinner last night. She was oh so helpful.

Here is the waffle and sauce recipe that we Loved.

Waffles Sticks with Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients For Sauce:
2 c. hulled strawberries
2 T. Brown Sugar
2 T. Orange Juice
1/4 t. Vanilla

Directions for Sauce:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside or Freeze for Future use.

Ingredients for Waffles:
1 1/2 c. Flour
2 T. Sugar
2 t. Baking powder
1 t. Baking Soda
2 Large Eggs, Separated
2 c. Buttermilk
1/4 c. Milk
1/4 c. melted butter
1/4 t. Vanilla

Directions for Waffles:
1. Combine all dry ingredients
2. In a separate bowl combine Buttermilk, milk, butter, vanilla and egg yolks.
3.Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. With an electric blender blend egg whites until white and fluffy forming soft peaks. Then fold egg whites into the flour-buttermilk mixture and stir until blended.
5. Pour on waffle iron and cook. When the waffle is ready, transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the over. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding each finished waffle to the baking sheet without stacking the waffles.
6. Cut the waffles into sticks or wedges and serve with the strawberry sauce for dipping.

My kids loved the strawberry sauce and even wanted to drink it.

I don't blame them. It was delicious! The orange juice adds the perfect touch.

This is a life long recipe that we will use over and over again. Not just on waffles, but over ice cream, on crepes, pancakes, cake, etc.