Easy Pumpkin Pie Spice-Revisited

 

This is a post on making your own pumpkin pie spice that I published last year but I felt it is relevant for this time of the year!  So Here it is:

 

 

 

If you are like me, you hate to buy the spice blends--especially since you probably have most of the spices on hand anyway. Pumpkin Pie spice is one of the most popular spice blends and is soooo easy to make your own!

Here is my recipe for it:

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1-1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Just put all in a bowl and mix. Put in a small lidded jar to store!

Voila...its done! Don't forget to label it!

Have a great day!
Fall Blessings,

Lisa

Puttin' up Apple Butter

Hello all,
  Isn't fall just a wonderful time of the year?  I love it!  Fall colors, sweater weather, spiced tea, hot apple cider and apple everything!  My family, especially my oldest son, loves apple butter and hot biscuits for breakfast. Well, DS #1 loves them anytime of the day, but I digress. So I decided to make my family very happy by making  some homemade apple butter for them!
  I love the canning instructions and recipes on  http://www.pickyourown.org.  They are so easy to understand and have great pics. So if you are interested in making it for the first time, I highly recommend them.  I am not affiliated with them, just love the site!  Here are some pics of my puttin' up Apple butter:

Thickening up!

 

Sterilizing jars in oven.

Every jar pinged.  Brings a smile to my face everytime!

 

Homemade Fall goodness for my Family!

 

Blessings,

Lisa

My

Great deal on peppers to dry!

Today I found a great brgain at our local Meijer--I bought 9 green peppers for just $2.84.  They were in the reduces section but were still in good shape!  I bought them up and am drying them to use later.
     I am using my Nesco dehydrator and I just love it. Here are pics of the process:

Here are the last 4 of them--I started before taking pics!

                       Wash and slice them into skinny strips.  Don't you just love my knife! 

Place on drying racks.

Put lid/fan on and set to 145 degrees and plug in for about 8-10 hours.

 

Viola!  Dried peppers to use all winter long!

 

Blessings,

Lisa

 

 

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

Here is a recipe I have been making this fall for my pumpkin loving family:

Easy pumpkin Muffins

1 box yellow or spice cake mix
1  15oz. can pumpkin
2 eggs
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 cup pecans (optional)
Sugar in the raw

Mix cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, spices and pecans together.  Scoop into cupcake liners ( mix does not raise much so fill liners up), sprinkle Sugar in the Raw on top and bake at 350 degrees for15 -20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Makes 15 muffins.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Lisa

Herb of the Week

                  

Thyme, a very popular and well known culinary herb, is very versatile.  It is great in salads, soups, breads, meats and veggies.  Very easy to grow, Thyme thrives in a hot, sunny, well drained location and is drought tolerant. So why isn’t everyone growing this wonderful herb?  No excuses…plan on putting it in your herb garden in the spring!

 Fresh thyme is sweetest if picked just as flowers appear and can be stored in a baggie in the bottom of the frig or in a glass of water on the frig shelf. When using fresh thyme, strip the leaves off of the stem (it can be woody sometimes) with your fingers or place the stem between the tines of a fork and pull it through.  One sprig of fresh thyme = ½ teaspoon dried thyme.

  To dry thyme, just tie a bunch together and hang upside down in a cool dry place.  Then strip leaves, crush and place in small jar. 

Here is a great recipe for easy Herbed Biscuit Muffins using the wonderful herb---Thyme:

Ingredients:

·         Cooking oil spray

·         2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

·         1-1/2 teaspoons fresh sage (or favorite herb), chopped or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage

·         1-1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or favorite herb), chopped or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

·         1/3 cup mayonnaise

·         1 1/4 cups milk (or buttermilk)

·         Kosher salt-optional

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray nonstick a nonstick 12-cup muffin pan with vegetable oil.

Whisk sage and thyme into the flour.

Using a large dinner fork, stir in the mayo and milk until combined. Do not over mix.

Divide batter evenly into muffin cups. Sprinkle Kosher salt on top--optional

Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes for muffins, until golden.

These muffins are very good with chicken or pork and mix can be used as pot pie top crust. Yummy!

Yield: 12 servings

 

Hope you enjoy the Herbed Biscuit Muffins!

Blessings,

Lisa

Gratitude Tuesday

Today I am grateful for Courage. My son Jonathan is one of the most courageous people I know.  He is also very ambitious.  He is curious about the world we live in and has the courage to go and explore this great big world on his own.  Two years ago he traveled to Mexico (alone) to study abroad. He booked his flight and got on a plane for the first time to Mexico City. I was so proud of him for going.  Upon arriving at Mexico city, he had to find the bus station and take a bus to Cuernavaca.  Then he had to catch a taxi to the boarding house he was to stay at. I cannot imagine flying to a foreign country, catching a bus, then taking a taxi to the boarding house all by myself.  That is courage.  Jonathan’s trip to study abroad didn’t work out for him so he came home early. After graduating, he found a job teaching Spanish at a local high school.  He paid off all of his loans and then banked the rest of his salary.  You see he still dreamed of travelling to foreign countries. After the school year was completed, Jonathan made plans to travel to Mexico again.  He visited with the family that ran the boarding house and toured all around Mexico. But still he dreamed of traveling more of the world. He applied for and was hired as an English teaching assistant in Andalucia Spain.  He had to travel to Chicago to apply for his visa at the Spanish consulate. The best part was he took his Brother with him! I love that they spent so much time together!   This was Michael’s first flight so he was very courageous to go along.  So Jonathan is preparing to leave tomorrow.  While I am grateful for Jonathan’s courage for wanting to see the world, I am praying for courage for me.  I am going to miss him like crazy—8 months is a long time.  He will miss Thanksgiving and Christmas with us.   This is HUGE because we have  always  been together for the holidays. I will need courage to make it through that.  So I am thankful for Courage—Courage that drives my child to explore the world and courage that will see me through the next 8 months.

Blessings,

Lisa

What's not to like about Pinterest?

?

I am addicted to Pinterest.  I love the great recipes, the storage ideas, the home decorating ideas and all of the garden décor.  I  have pinned tons of things I wanted to do and make.

The problems arose when I started making the recipes and doing decorating projects in my home.   The recipes had expensive ingredients, and I had to go buy things for the projects.     I wanted many new things.  Things I couldn’t really afford.  After pinning  daily for several weeks, I realized I was feeling dissatisfied with my home, my belongings and my life in general.  What good was looking at things I didn’t have and couldn’t afford?  I realized that my home, while not perfect, is a comfortable, liveable  place of refuge for me and my family.  We have adequate clothing, we have enough food to eat, and generally.... we have enough. Why make myself dissatisfied by spending my time wishing for things I do not need? So I have cut down on my use of Pinterest.  Have I given it up entirely?(please remember I am addicted to it but I now see the danger)  NO, but I am limiting my time on there and  trying to limit my pins to simple recipes and gardening tips.  I am grateful for what I have and I want to be happy about that, not dissatisfied because I want more.

Have you experienced dissatisfaction using Pinterest?

Blessings,

Lisa

Jelly Making Time again!

Guess what I did this weekend!  That's right.....made three batches of jelly/jam. 2 Grape jelly and one small batch of raspberry jam.  I had several more jars than in the above pic but I gave a jar to each of  my Aunts.  I love being able to share my jams and jellies and plan on using some for Christmas gifts.    

I just love giving homemade gifts at Christmas don't you?
Blessings,
Lisa

Healthy Chicken Salad--Whole Foods Recipe!

In my quest to find healthier alternatives for overprocessed foods, I have found a replacement for mayonaise or salad dressing--Greek yoghurt!.  My family loves chicken salad and tuna salad but I hate the fact that they contain mayo or salad dressing. By substituting Greek yoghurt I can make my Chicken salad and tuna salad much better for us. Yippee!

Here is a great rcipe for healthier chicken salad:

       

·         1 cup  Greek yoghurt

·         4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

·         6 teaspoons honey

·         Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste           

·         2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

·         3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted

·         2 cups red seedless grapes sliced in half

·         3 stalks celery, diced small

·         Fresh mint to garnish

Method: 

In a bowl, combine yoghurt, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.

When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing. Sprinkle chopped fresh mint to garnish.  Awesome served plated with fresh cantaloupe!

Nutritional Info: 

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Quote of the Week

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
                                                                                        -Colin Powell