Chasing pumpkins…

About a week or two ago I wrote about the Cinderella Pumpkin I roasted. I’ve made pumpkin cinnamon rolls (yum!) and pumpkin pie (blech! Fiber1 is not acceptable I don’t care what Hungry Girl says!). I still have a few cups of it left.

Now the pumpkin pie was not a total flop.  The crust was horrible but the pie insides were yummy. It was simple but it was missing something. RICE! Rice? Rice! It was the perfect texture and taste for rice pudding.  So in my infinite wisdom I created  Cinderella’s Dream Rice Pudding.

Cinderella’s Dream Rice Pudding

1 cup of rice- uncooked

3 cups of water

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup milk or water

1/2 cup of pumpkin puree

allspice or pumpkin pie spice

1. Add rice and water to rice cooker and turn on.

2. Once rice is finished cooking add condensed milk, milk or water, and pumpkin puree.

3. Mix well and add spices to taste.

4. Turn rice cooker back on until finished cooking.

Chocolate chips are a sweet addition to the serving plate when serving.

Makes about 6 servings.

It’s so easy and so delicious! My kids were even asking for more!

 

Don’t forget to check out Life as Mom for more holiday inspired recipes!

Make it work Wednesday- friends and fitness

Today was just one of those days. I knew I had to run for one hour. I was looking forward to it. I was also looking forward to Free Pie Wednesday with my PTA friends. The morning was such a blur. I honestly can not remember anything that we did! After picking up Ryan and taking him to school with Paige, Jason, Steph, and I came home for lunch and a few rounds of musical napping. They took turns laying in bed and nursing until finally they both took a nap.

 

However the nap was too late in the day. By the time I’d hop on the treadmill Paige would be home and shortly after Julia would be home. We would eat dinner and go to conferences. I just told myself that no matter what I was not missing my workout! Too often I chose everyone else over myself but tonight I was desperate for me time.

Conferences went great! We talked with the teachers for about an hour and many of my concerns were addressed. I was so relived to hear that Paige was not using potty words at school. We came home, took showers, and watched some Heroes before I left for pie! I was running late as usual (in my defense I did tell them I’d be running late but for normal every day life I give myself 5 minutes per child on the lateness watch).

I ordered some coffee and my free triple berry pie.

Yes, they do have Free Pie on Wednesday.

Note to future self- get the nutritional stats of pie before you order! It was tasty but not nearly 400 calories of tasty! I had only planned on staying until 9 pm. Ooopps! At 10 pm we all rolled out. I came home to find almost everyone sleeping.

 

I was beat from the day but a little jittery from the coffee. So I cleaned up the house and hit the treadmill. I caught up on Nip/Tuck (I’m not sure how I feel about this season yet!) and got my hour on the treadmill done.

Honestly, I just wanted to hop into bed when I got home but I made the committment to myself. I could have just plopped on the couch all mopey from the calorie free filled pie but I didn’t! I made it work!  I watched some sleazy t.v. and worked out.

Sure I’m going to go to bed smelling not so pretty but I’m going to bed knowing that I took out time for me. Giving me that little bit of momME time is good for everyone in this house. Even if I have to come home and clean.

Operation Chocolated Covered Kindness

It’s easy you click and people get to eat. Easy peasy! Simple!

Find out how you can help the chocolated covered one feed people across the world just by clicking here.

Chasing cake…

So last week I was really focusing on my cake recipe.  I think I made cupcakes with my secret ingredient (no I’m not telling you! It’s a secret!) about 4 times. I had cupcakes in beautiful tilt a whirl baking cups coming out of my ears! They were moist, beautiful, and dense. Dense is a great feature of a pound cake but not a cup cake. I worked on that recipe all week tweaking it in hopes of getting the texture right.  The secret ingredient makes a tasty little crunch on the bottoms. Unexpected but flavorful.

Almost perfection

 

 

I gained 5 pounds last week! EEEEKK!!! That’s like 50 cupcakes! I certainly did not eat that many did I? I may never know but I made sure that no cupcakes were made until Friday.  When I found the urge to bake I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I knew I had gone too far when I started eating the 3rd one so I took the left over’s to a friend’s house.  She happily ate them and gave me her comments.

 

I made a pumpkin pie with a hungry girl recipe that turned out less than stellar (Fiber1 crusts are not tasty. Don’t let anyone fool you.)  However the pumpkin filling would be perfect for rice pudding. It’s so fun to take a weakness and turn it into a strength!

For some reason it’s necessary for me to get feedback on my baked goods. I feel like my taste buds are not enough because really now I’ve eaten my fair share of stuff I didn’t like because it was in front of me. I’m terrified of hearing my stuff is crummy but then I still make it and force it upon people.

I crave the need to hear it’s good. I want to be a good baker. I love to bake. It’s so sciencey and that’s not me. Maybe that’s why I like it.

When my husband and I first got married, we both were horrible cooks! But somehow over the years I’ve gotten better and more adventurous. This year I’ve branched out and made a lot of homemade stuff- tortillas, english muffins, bread, cinnamon rolls, and cake.

I am a good baker. I just need to lay off the cake!

Chasing time…

This week was a productive week as a mom.

This week was not productive as a runner.

I’ve been saving that extra hour we got last Sunday to use at some point this week for myself. It hasn’t happened yet.

I can feel my whole self off balance from missing 2 runs. I’ve been so tired lately and the kids have been going to bed late on the nights that Michael is working. I feel so guilty running while they are awake. Maybe I should just move the treadmill to the living room. Then I could just run run run. But then I’d miss out on making cupcakes and having tea parties.

So am I disappointed? Sure but my kids do come first. It’s in my job description. And somedays I could have pushed them to do something so I could run but I was enjoying motherhood this week. Next week I can returned to being a serious runner.

I’ve been pumping the kids full of cupcakes this week… I mean this week they have been awesome taste testers as I’ve been creating a cupcake recipe for the Pillsbury Bake Off. Yes I’m a crazy nut of a housewife but I really really want to win!  My children have already spent any potential prize money. When we are baking, they start talking about all of the toys and vacations to Disney World we can have.

Today was an exceptionally mom-tastic day.

The other day at the Giant Eagle they have Cinderella pumpkins for $1! Really!?!?!? $1? Yes $1. So I said “what the heck! Let’s try it!” so we did tonight. We washed up the pumpkin, gutted it, roasted it, and then pureed it. It was easy peasy and created a ridiculous amount of pureed- about 8 cups worth! I have no plan for this puree so anyone with any awesome family friendly pumpkin-licous foods- send the recipes my way!

Then I saw on Oh She Glows that she was making MamaPea’s Pumpkin Spice Roasted Chickpeas and lo and behold I had chick peas cooking up in the crockpot! Divine intervention I tell you! So after I cleaned up my pumpkin and cupcake mess I made some cheapy hummus (chickpeas and some of Annie’s Goddess dressing) and some roasted chickpeas!

This week has been awful with my eating. I’ve been trying to create more foods which means I know what is going in them but at the same time- cupcakes are not healthy no matter where they come from. I need to sit down with myself and think about why I’m choosing to eat. Is it because I’m hungry? bored? angry? happy?

So my goals this week are to find more time and happiness for me. It might mean running everyday, crafting a bit more, listening to my body when it comes to needs/wants in the food department, or just laughing more.

What will you do this week to get back an hour of time or to use your time wisely?

Make it Work Wedesday!

Today’s dinner was slightly thought out. Last week the Giant Eagle had a kick bottom sale on meat. I’ve been playing around trying out new things or reinventing tried and true recipes.  The husband is always crabbing about what’s for dinner. He’s a meat and meat kind of guy. Veggies beware!  So tonight I made a chicken pot pie sans veggies. Really? No veggies? I know I know. What kind of mom am I to not offer up a veggie at dinner!

Don’t fret! I made it work. Just because veggies weren’t in the dish didn’t make it less tasty! I pulled out a SteamFresh bag with broccoli and threw it on top of the bowls of “soup” as S called it.  Michael was happy and I was happy.

 

So how easy was dinner tonight? Well here’s what you need:

 

chicken- cook up what ever kind of chicken parts you want and debone if there are bones after cooking

2 cans of cream of something or other soup

1 can of milk (use the can from the soup to measure)

2 cups of mix veggies if you desire

Mix it up and dump into an oven safe dish big enough for it. Top with 1 package of crescent rolls. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown.

 

Viola! A tasty dinner in a flash!

 

So after a crazy day of what not I made it work!

So how did you make it work today?

Chasing money…

We don’t go out a lot. When we just had J and P it was a lot cheaper to go out and do things with the kids. For some reason fun = money around here and money is not as easy to come by! I swear every time I leave the house and I spend at least $20 so somedays it’s safer to stay home.

Amazone is a great indoor playground about 25 minutes from the house. At $7 a pop ($4 for Baby J) it’s not too bad until you pay for 3 kids! We did have a coupon for $1 off but that just basically paid for Baby J to get in. It’s definately a fun place to go but a killer on the budget. Today was the first day in months that all of the kids were off of school. We packed up and headed out to play with some friends.

Then lunch rolls around. I packed as many fruit snacks and graham crackers as I could but it still did not mask the smell of pizza. So $22 later for pizza and pop we were snacking.  Sure we could have left and ate at the Burger King across the street for a little less but the time involved in going somewhere else to save $3-$5 was better spent at Amazone.

After Amazone, we needed gas. When I did the Akron Marathon I received 2 coupons for free smoothies or coffee at Sheetz. WOOT! There was a Sheetz down the street so we got $10 in gas and $6 in free drinks! The Orange Cream Smoothie for the kids and  a latte for Momma!

So me, being the frugal ish woman that I am, figured “hey we are only 20 minutes from Great Harvest now. We should go.” So we did. I picked up some Honey Wheat, Honey White, and Apple Scrapple. The kids were slightly wired from the smoothie and Amazone which created 3 minuets of chaos in Great Harvest. No bread nor children were harmed however I think the workers were concerned for my well being. $16 for 3 loaves of bread is a lot but the bread is worth the drive and the money once you taste it.

The ridiculous amount of money spent today is really just a drop in the bucket for some. For us, this was a very very special day out that won’t be repeated for a long time and that’s okay. I’m so lucky to have kids that just love playing together. The best and most expensive gift I have given them is each other. Even when they are beating the snot out of each other, my kids love each other with every ounce of their being.

 

Now remember for November we are doing the grocery challenge and since it’s November 3, the food purchases come out of the $200. YIKES! This is why we don’t eat out that often!

 

$200- 16 (bread)-22 (Amazone)= $162

 

It’s going to be a creative month!

Chasing challenges…

I can’t believe it’s November already. Last year at this time we were planning out the family vacation to Disney World. In all seriousness NOTHING will ever top the magic of Disney at the holidays. From snow on Main Street in 80 degree weather to the icy blue hue of Cinderella’s castle at night to even the tropical fun of the Polynesian, Christmas in Ohio is not nearly as cool or exciting.

However I can at least attempt to re create some of that Disney magic at home. So instead of a Christmas tree, I’m challenging myself to create the perfect Polynesian Christmas in cold cold Ohio. Last year when we stayed at the Polynesian we saw Christmas Palm trees and l0ts of leis and flowers. We heard Elvis Christmas songs and ate Dole Whips every day. So sure we might not be able to swim on Christmas but we can still recreate that magic at home. I think the kids will be excited for this new twist on Christmas because it’s almost a year later and at least twice a day I hear a story that starts with “You know when we are at Disney…”

 

Also as life and money start to run away from me, I’ve decided to continue my quest for the perfect Pillsbury Bake Off recipe. The girls think it would be awesome if I won (and of course I promised them another Disney trip if we win) and have already started to imaginary spend the money. Okay I have too. So watch out Bake It Pretty ! You are my new favorite shopping spot and inspiration to continue my quest for the perfect cupcake.

While daydreaming on my treadmill tonight and thinking about my cupcakes (yes I dream about food on the treadmill- probably because I like to watch food network while I sweat!) I was thinking about how cool it would be to challenge myself to create a weekly post devoted to Making it Work. So viola! Make It Work Wednesdays (two snapped up and around town!) was born.

On Make It Work Wednesday I will challenge myself to create something useful from something I already have. It’s like I have Tim Gunn staring at my fridge, dresser, child, or craft project. he tells me that it’s not exactly what the judges (usually my husband or children) are looking for but it’s a great start. Right before I start to cry he tells me to “make it work.” And then by the magic of television I do! Okay maybe not the magic of television but the magic of Mommy Power makes it all happen.

This week will debut my newest challenge. I’m hoping it makes me either a better mother or a better wife or a better cook but most importantly a better version of me.

 

Chasing choice…

Normally I had this huge routine that has to happen before I leave the house. I absolutely hate leaving toys and stuff on the ground. I can not pry myself out of the house until the floor is picked up. (Well that and I hate stuff on my counter!)  I feel like it’s one less thing I have to worry about when I get home from where ever.

Last week, I told my husband how important running was to me. For most of this year I didn’t want to admit how important it was to keeping me happy, healthy, and overall a good mom.  It keeps me balanced and less edgy but I hated giving up time from my family to run but I just couldn’t drag my butt out of bed in the early morning to do it. I would normally get all of my night-time chores done, be exhausted, and fight myself to get on the treadmill at 10pm. This was not good for me or my body- exercising too late makes me unable to sleep which causes me to drag the next day.

My husband worked later than usually last night. I figured I wasn’t going to get my workout in. My house was a semi disaster (really no more than 15 minutes away from company ready but still) and I just plopped on the couch to fold some socks. My husband came home and told me to go run.

For the first time in ages I took 5 minutes to get dressed and kiss everyone good-bye before I was out the door.  In the past I would have dilly dallied for 15 minutes getting the house ready to leave and them have to come home to it being crazy again.

Instead I chose me and ran for 1 wonderful sweaty hour.

I came home centered and happy to clean up real quick before a nice hot shower.  Balance was restored in my universe.

Now I may not always chose me but I know it’s okay to choose me sometimes. I don’t have to feel guilty about it either.

Will I ever give up a game of candyland for a run? Nope. But will I give up a clean floor just to get out and hit the pavement? Probably.

Beauty Tip of the Day