Yeast donuts

I just made the best batch of donuts!! I used Alton Browns recipe, you can find it on the food network.

Annual pumpkin party

We had our annual pumpkin party last night, the kids painted pumpkins and then ran around all night. Love that when kids come over thats all they want to do, so blessed to have so much room for kids to run!!

My dessert table.

No bake peanut butter bars

Ingredients:
* 1 cups butter, melted
* 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
* 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 1 lb. powdered sugar
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
*2 Tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Crush graham crackers into crumbs- get out some pent up frustration.(or buy crumbs if you’re feeling ‘zen’)

Melt butter in microwave safe bowl.

Add peanut butter, powdered sugar and graham cracker crumbs to butter and mix well. It will form a soft, moist dough. I used my Kitchen Aid for this - and it was a dream. If you feel like a work out - use a bowl and spoon.

Press the dough into a lightly greased 9x13 parchment lined pan (I LOVE parchment)

In another microwave safe container, melt the semi sweet chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds until they are completely melted and spreadable.

Spread on top of the peanut butter mixture till smooth. Melt dark chunks in the similar fashion and drizzle on top of the semi sweet. IF you want pretty little bars- score the chocolate now, for easy, no breakage cutting later.

Refrigerate until chocolate is set!

Caramel apples, cant keep the caramel from sliding down my apples!! Maybe its the humidity?!

Chocolate whoopie pies with marshmallow filling.

Mmmmmm....tang!

Cutie MJ painting!! He looooved painting, everyone was done and went off to play but he kept on painting for a while.

Tang!! In cute jars that I have been collecting!!

We even had a real spider at the party!! Creeeeepy!!!!!!

Super squad!

Annalyse had her first cheerleading performance last Thursday at the middle school football game. She did awesome, she is slowly getting out of her shy not wanting to perform in front of anybody stage. I was a proud mama!! I was also thinking of how cool it will be when my boys play football until I heard the boys crash helmets!! Sounds awful! Maybe we will do a less contact sport!! My Zander is a runner so anything with running he will love!! Madden might be the one that likes to knock people over!!
Fun times! She is so in love with cheerleading, she practices everyday, which is sometimes annoying! But I love the girl!!

Chocolate chip whoopie pies with ganche filling

Recipe coming as soon has I have some time to type it up!!

Pumkin patch

School was out Monday so I took the kids to a pumpkin patch, they had lots of activitys and fun stuff for the kids to do. Didnt get a ton of good pictures of the kids in the pumpkins, to busy running around and eating yummy food!

This horse has a blue eye!! So cool!! His name is Scooby Doo, my kids love Scooby Doo!!

That's my boy!! Brush the pony!

I love the weird pumpkins.

Zanderman the spider man!!

The girls!! All my kids really wanted was their face painted!

My little monster Madden!!

Nachos!

Icee's!!

Me and the kids.

Our Dinner Tonight

A giant cinnamon roll! I just took 2 cans of cinnamon rolls and un rolled them into a 9 inch cake pan.

I love fall baking!!! I bought 6 cans of canned pumpkin to kick off the baking season!! These pumpkin whoopie pies were so good! I love pumpkin and I love cream cheese icing! A match made in heaven. I ordered a whoopie pie cookbook so be expecting more whoopie pie recipes:)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
CAKE
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (one 15-ounce can) pumpkin
2 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

FILLING
8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons soft butter
2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum, optional

Directions
1) To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease two baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
2) Beat together the butter, oil, sugar, molasses, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
3) Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until fluffy.
4) Stir in the pumpkin.
5) Add the flour in two additions, mixing well after each addition.
6) Use a muffin scoop to deposit the thick batter onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2" around each mound.
7) Bake until the cookies feel firm; a slight indentation will remain when you gently press them in the middle, about 16 to 18 minutes.
8) Remove from the oven, cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.
9) To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy.
10) Beat in the sugar in two additions.
11) Add the vanilla and xanthan gum. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until very fluffy.
12) Stir in the crystallized ginger.
13) To assemble: Sandwich two cookies around 2 tablespoons of filling. For best storage, wrap each pie in plastic wrap.

Yield:
1 dozen 4" whoopie pies

Its begining to look and feel like fall..for the moment anyways.

The goody jars are filled with fall treats, the cookie jar looks a little low.
The table has a center piece.

Made a batch of Allspice muffins, and the first batch of pumpkin spice bread. Lots of fall/pumpkin recipes are bookmarked and waiting to be made, cant wait to do the pumpkin bagels!

As for the weather we finally got a break in it last week with a cool front, course it made me sneeze like crazy, but I kept the windows open anyways! And just as it was creeping back up to the 90's we got another cool front in yesterday, which is making my nose itch, run and sneeze! But it feels sooooo good! Highs in the 80's this week!! Fabulous! I don't know why the cooler weather puts me in such a good mood but it does. Maybe because we can go outside again. And I can bake again after the long, hot, not wanting to turn the oven on summer.

Tex Mex Enchiladas

These came really really close to the ones at our favorite mexican restaurnt here. I thought they were super, Annalyse ate 2 or 3 and Justin the big picky eater loved them aswell, he was the one that look for a recipe he might like.

Tex Mex Enchiladas
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
4 cups water
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
4 cups shredded American cheese, I used cheddar cause I cant stand American.
Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Heat the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring to crumble, until no longer pink. Drain off grease and season with chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Mix in the tomato sauce and 2 cups of the water. Simmer over low heat. Mix the remaining water with the flour and sugar until flour is dissolved; stir into the simmering meat sauce. Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
3.While the sauce is cooking, heat oil in another skillet over medium-high heat. Warm tortillas in the hot oil until pliable. Fill each tortilla with a little bit of cheese, and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish, reserving some of the cheese to sprinkle on top. Pour the meat sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas. Top with remaining cheese.
4.Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and lightly browned.