Green Bean Painting

My kid will eat just about anything.  I made all of his baby food and experimented with some interesting concoctions such as my black beans, bananas, and yogurt surprise! He ate it all.  But then he started eating the same foods we eat and I got lazy.  If his gums weren't quite up to our weekly pizza I "supplemented" with organic squeezy packets.  If we're not eating healthy at least he is, right? I can't tell you how much money I've spent on those squeeze packets. They are $1.70 a pouch! Seriously?  Mr. F can eat 4 in one sitting.  I refuse to pay more for his serving size than I do for mine. I had to break him (and me) of the addiction.  So I bought the Beaba reusable squeeze thingy.  Thinking, I'm a genius.  So I bought a huge pack of green beans, steamed them, pureed them and filled my $15 reusable squeezy...and he promptly spit them back at me. Great.  Will try again with fruit? So I had this huge container of green beans that he clearly wasn't going to eat so we painted with them instead.  

I wasn't sure how he was going to take to this activity as he hates, yes hates, anything mushy to touch his fingers.  The first time he touched playdough he gagged.  What's wrong with this kid? However, he dug right in today.  Unfortunately, he didn't try to eat the paint. 

Think he'll want this piece when he's older?

Yay!  Using his hands!

Survived!

Dumplings...and I don't mean Mr. F

Girls Night.  Great Night.  J & H came over for "Asian" night.  I made Alton Brown's potsticker dumplings, J made "Asian Pasta Salad?" and H made an "Asian Salad." 

It was a fun cooking night, minus Mr. F screaming in the background and good talk time.  I'm not sure what to do about Mr. F?  He is completely attached and isn't interested wants absolutely nothing to do with anyone who isn't me.  It seems endearing...to a point.  Currently, I'm working on not killing myself.  On Monday the daycare let him scream for 2 hours before they politely said, "get your kid before we throw him." Suggestions?  I'm at a loss and tired of Everyone saying I'm just spoiling him.  No.  This kid is literally minutes away from a panic attack at 11 months!  

Anyway, somehow I was able to cook some pretty good food...

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork

1/2 cup chopped green onions

4 tbsp chopped red bell pepper

2 eggs

4 tbsp ketchup

2 tsp mustard

4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

3 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

30 to 40 wonton papers

3 to 4 tbsp veggie oil for frying

1 1/3 chicken stock, divided 

Recipe

~ Mix the first 11 ingredients together (I love recipes like this :))

~ Fill wonton papers (about 1 tbsp) and fold however you want...will make a lot!

~Brush pan (NOT non-stick) with veggie oil and fry 6-10 wontons for 3 minutes...don't mess with these!!!

~Drizzle 1/3 cup chicken stock, cover, slightly lower heat, and cover for 3 minutes

~Repeat and enjoy :)

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The Mondays

I definitely had a case of the Mondays today.  Apparently, so did Mr. F.
Yesterday was good and productive.  Today was not.
Thank God for small miracles...he was in bed by 6:30.

We did have a few minutes of serenity today...

15 Days of Pumpkin

1. Muffcakes

2. Pumpkin Overnight Oats

3. Pumpkin Pie Poppers

4. Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas

5. Pumpkin Risotto

6. Pumpkin Spice Cookies

7. Roasted Pumpkin Soup

8. Chocolate Pumpkin Tart

9. Pumpkin Fluff Dip

10. Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

11. Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

12. Pumpkin Roll

13. Pumpkin Pizza

14. Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

15. Pumpkin Maple Cookies

Pumpkin Maple Cookies

My final pumpkin recipe...at least until Thanksgiving. These cookies are pretty tasty but for a lot less work and a pretty similar cookie I like Pumpkin Spice Cookies with only two ingredients.  We are completely out of groceries and thankfully out of pumpkin so fortunately, the husband and Mr. F love these. The boys have been snacking all morning.  I hope you enjoy too!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 can pumpkin puree

Icing:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp maple syrup

Recipe:
~Blend butter and sugars in mixer while you prepare dry ingredients.

~Combine all dry ingredients.

~Add egg and vanilla to butter and sugar.  Once combined alternate adding dry ingredients and pumpkin puree until everything is combined.  

~Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop 8 cookies on each sheet.  They expand so don't put too many cookies on a sheet.

~Bake at 350 up to 25 minutes.

~Allow cookies to cool, (I skipped this step) drizzle icing  on cookies and soak up the sugar.

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

Yum.  Pumpkin bread=delicious. Zucchini bread=delicious. Together?  Yes, it's delicious AND it has two veggies in it!  That's healthy right?  I love diet food.  I borrowed this recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff and it would appear those girls know their stuff.  This bread was kid and husband approved so three thumbs up from this house.  I really like how it made two loaves too.  As it's actually edible, I can give it to someone and pretend like it's an old family recipe. Another plus :)

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
3 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup melted butter (yes, please!)
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Recipe:
~Combine all the dry ingredients. Make a well and add all the wet ingredients. Mix well and you're almost done!

~Pour mixture into two greased and floured loaf pans.

~Bake at 350 for 55 minutes

~As this is diet foot...go ahead and eat at least half the loaf.

Pumpkin Pizza

That's right, you read it right, pumpkin pizza.  This was my final attempt at making a savory pumpkin dish. It was a long road through Pumpkin Mac & Cheese, Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Risotto, and Pumpkin Enchiladas but I have finally found something I would eat again.  I could have seen this coming.  Pizza, duh?! Who doesn't love pizza?  It has carbs and cheese anything added is just a bonus.  I followed the recipe at Once A Month Mom and made a mini pizza (I wasn't willing to waste more ingredients on something that I was just going to have to purge later) and wouldn't you know it we could have eaten more! The husband still isn't sold on savory pumpkin and believes pumpkin belongs with sugar or cream cheese...only.  Give it a try and see what you think!

Once A Month Mom has a better picture

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small pre-made pizza crust
1/8 cup chopped shallots (I didn't measure...this is a guess)
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
dash of paprika
dash of salt
1/2 cup grated fontina cheese
sliced Spanish (not Mexican!) chorizo (I went to the wrong store and couldn't find this so I used pepperoni)
dash of sage~or use 1 tsp fresh sage

Recipe:
~Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil and cook shallots and garlic until tender.  Add pumpkin, paprika, sage and salt.  Cook together for a few minutes.

~Brush pizza crust with the rest of the olive oil and then spread pumpkin sauce onto crust. Add cheese and chorizo and sprinkle with fresh sage if using.

~Bake at 425 for up to 12 minutes depending on desired crust texture.

~Slice and finally enjoy a savory pumpkin dish worth savoring.

Crazy Perfect...

It's been a crazy perfect couple of days.  Mr. F learned to scream in my face, I painted his face, I made - remade - remade - and I think at least once more remade some Photoshop files, we ate chicken and pancakes because the waffle maker crapped out, and topped it all off with dessert.  Like I said kind of perfect.
I'm not sure what to do about Mr. F screaming.  I've consulted some experts and got the range of ideas from putting his nose in the corner (he's 11 months old?) to ignoring him.  Early in the day while I still have a little sanity left it's actually pretty funny to watch his little face as he belts one out.  But by about 3:30 I'm ready to go Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone on him (insert AHHHHHHH!).

In an effort to spend more quality time with him so he could see it's not necessary to hit the terrible twos already, we decided to do a little painting. It turned out to be more fun for me than him but I think he got the point as he only screamed to himself and his cousin today instead of at me.  Counts, right?

Today we were lucky enough to spend the whole day with Sister and her family.  She is one of three people Mr. F will let not only look at him but hold him too! As you can imagine, she's amazing.  We spent the day crafting making things that didn't work the way they were supposed. Absolutely not my fault. It started with painting pumpkins.  Someday I'll realized I'm not as crafty as I think I am and I'll save so much $ by just buying whatever it is I think I need instead of trying to make it, throwing it away, and then ultimately buying it anyway. When crafting didn't work out we decided to cook instead. The pumpkin roll definitely didn't look as good as it tasted. 50/50 right? Luckily, Nana (Sister's MIL) came over and sort of saved the day.  She had mentioned chicken & waffles days ago and my mouth has been salivating ever since.  I've never actually had chicken & waffles but seriously...chicken & waffles...could they be bad?  Surprisingly, the waffle maker from Goodwill preformed like a waffle maker from Goodwill and we ended up with chicken & pancakes.  No complaints. They. Were. Delicious. Nana made the most amazing chicken I've ever had in my life and the pancakes were a total win and end to a crazy perfect day.

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin roll is a holiday classic, right?  The husband's family introduced this recipe to me and I've craved it ever since.  I think the original recipe has nuts in it but I have one of those families that's allergic to everything so I went straight cream cheese and sugar on this one. We topped off a really healthy (yeah right) meal with this little log and it was delicious. How am I ever going to get my "good fat" in for the day?

Ingredients:

Cake
3 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar (how could this be bad?)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup flour

Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz cream cheese~room temp
2 tbsp butter~room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Recipe:
~Preheat oven to 375.

~Mix all the ingredients for the cake together.

~Line a jelly roll pan/cookie sheet with lip with wax paper.  I also recommend spraying the wax paper with Pam or other strange butter like substance from an aerosol can. When you pour the cake batter into the pan it doesn't seem like it's going to enough batter but magically, it is.

~Cook cake for about 12 minutes.

~When cake is finished cooking allow it to cool completely while you prepare the cream cheese filling (delicious!)

~Again, just mix everything together...love these recipes. Spread evenly over cooled cake.

~Now it's time to start praying. My cake stuck to the paper because I didn't have the foresight to use Pam. If however, you used Pam and said your prayers your cake should roll right up into a log of perfection.

~Freeze for about 2 hours and then it's ready to eat or can hang in the fridge until you're ready to devour.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Yum yum totally yum.  Whole wheat pancakes can be really grainy and dry but these are not.  As I've mentioned before they are...yum.  I think next time I'll try them with pecans for an even yummier (ok, I'm done) breakfast.  This is also yet another kid friendly, Mr. F recommended pumpkin recipe.  I still haven't found the right savory pumpkin dish but this is definitely a plus for pumpkin on the sweet side.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg

Recipe:

~Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients and mix all the wet ingredients in at once.

~I used butter in a large frying pan and used about 1/3 cup batter for each pancake.

Mr. F getting sticky

~Serve with lots of syrup and get ready for a sticky but yummy mess!

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

The pumpkin mac & cheese can officially be added to the list of cool side dishes I'll make once a year. It was super creamy and I really liked the topping.  I got this recipe from the source, Better Homes & Gardens. Next thing I know I'll be paling around with Martha. Yeah right, she has WAY too many steps in her cooking. Of course, Mr. F loved it but the husband again only tolerated it.  I'm still of the mind that pumpkin belongs in sweet dishes rather than savory ones but like I said, I'll try this again next October.  Have you found any savory pumpkin dishes you love?

Ingredients:
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 cups milk (the fatter the better)
6 oz grated fontina cheese
2 1/2 cups macaroni (any kind you want)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 can pumpkin puree
1/4 cup pecans
1 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper, & sage

Recipe:
~Boil water and cook macaroni while preparing the pumpkin cheese sauce

~In a medium sauce pan melt butter.  When butter is melted and bubbling add the flour and stir constantly for about 1 minute.  Add milk and bring almost to a boil, stirring regularly until the sauce thickens.

~Take white sauce off the heat and add fontina and 1/4 cup parmesan. Stir until melted and then add pumpkin, salt, pepper, and sage to taste.

~Add pumpkin cheese sauce to cooked pasta and pour into 9x13 baking dish.

~Sprinkle bread crumbs, remaining parmesan, olive oil, and pecans over the top.

~Bake uncovered at 350 for about 35 minutes.  Allow about 10 minutes to cool off or risk not being about to taste anything else for the next two days.

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

This recipe is soooo more my style.  It's yet another 3 ingredient classic.  Why are all recipes not this easy and delicious? This pumpkin fluff dip was perfect for my book/wine club last night.  I told everyone it was "light" and you would have thought it was diet gold.  Because we were dieting it allowed us to have another bottle of wine...each.

Ingredients:

1 can pumpkin puree

1 small package instant vanilla pudding

16 oz Cool Whip

Recipe:

~Mix all three ingredients together.  Yep, that's it. You're finished, it's ready.  

~I got crafty and put my dip in a pumpkin and served it with apple slices and graham crackers.  

Chocolate Pumpkin Tart

I put more work into this tart than I prefer to put into to cooking and it was definitely out of my comfort zone but worth it.  It was sweet, creamy, and wait for it....a little tart. This recipe is from Anna Olson, a chef who has some really cool (if work intensive) desserts. I wish I was a food photographer, well any kind of photographer, so I could do this delicious tart some justice.  Unfortunately, I'm not. 

Ingredients:

Chocolate Crust:

1 cup flour

¹⁄4 cup cocoa powder

4 tbsp brown sugar

¹⁄4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla 

Pumpkin Filling:

1 8-oz package cream cheese at room temperature

¹⁄2 cup brown sugar

1 cup pumpkin purée

1 tbsp cornstarch

¹⁄2 tsp cinnamon

¹⁄2 tsp cardamom

¹⁄2 tsp ginger

1 egg

2 egg yolks

Ganache Topping:

2 oz bittersweet chocolate

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp corn syrup

Recipe: 

~Using a food processor blend all of the ingredients for the chocolate crust and form into a patty and chill for at least an hour.  I left mine overnight and it was really hard to roll out the next day

~Roll out the dough into a circle and put into a tart pan (I had to buy one...first timer here). Chill the tart shell for 30 minutes...see what I mean about all the work? ~Preheat to 350° and bake the crust for about 25 minutes

 ~In a medium bowl mix all of the ingredients for the pumpkin cream cheese filling 

~Pour pumpkin cream cheese filling into cooled chocolate crust and bake for 25 minutes 

~For the ganache, melt the chocolate, butter and corn syrup and pour over cooled pumpkin cheesecake . Chill for at least 2 hours before slicing. 

~Seriously, so much work.  

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

When I can't make something taste right I improvise and make it spicy.  That's what happened with this soup. I finally got it to the right consistency and then I added too much syrup.  Naturally, my next step was to continue adding cayenne pepper...good for digestion. Ultimately, I think I finally got the composition right and than added a ton of pancetta for good measure.

Ingredients:
1 small onion
1 pie pumpkin
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup pancetta
1 Tbsp cayenne
salt & pepper
croutons (store bought or homemade)

Recipe:
~Roast pumpkin 350 ~ Peel, cut, drizzle with olive oil, roast for about an hour
~Cook pancetta in large soup pan, set aside
~Saute onions in pancetta drippings (sounds gross but is really delicous) until tender
~Add roasted pumpkin, maple syrup, and seasonings to sauteed onions ~ cook for about 2 minutes
~Add chicken broth ~ cook for 5 minutes and re-season if necessary
~Add heavy cream ~ cook until warm - don't boil!
~Blend soup in food processor or blender
~Serve with pancetta and croutons
SIDE NOTE ~ make your own croutons, they're so much better.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

This recipe is another 3ish ingredient classic.  Admittedly, I have always frowned on processed foods, especially right after I eat a frozen pizza or can of Raviolis, but not anymore.  I've spent hours working on pumpkin recipes this week mostly to be told "eh, it's not bad." But for the second time in this challenge I've used a box cake mix and I get, "Oh my God! Are there more of those?" It's official, I cook like a professional chef with a little help from Mr. Hines and Mrs. Crocker. These cookies are even better than the Muffcakes I made earlier in the week because you don't have to worry about those pesky cupcake wrappers.  As soon as these babies are frosted (or not) you can pop them right in your mouth and you won't even have time to feel guilty before you've finished the second one. This "recipe" is about as far from organic as I can get and unfortunately, I love it.

Ingredients:
1 Box spice cake mix
1 Can of pumpkin puree
Cream cheese frosting (from a carton or some of you may even be good enough to make your own...I wasn't)
Pumpkin pie spice (optional) - I added about a tsp to the frosting

Recipe:
~Preheat oven to 350
~Mix spice cake power (what is that stuff?!?) and can of pumpkin puree
~Spoon onto cookie sheet - I was able to get about 24 big cookies
~Bake for 15-20 minutes
~Once cookies are cool, frost and immediately shove into your mouth

Pumpkin Feta Spinach Risotto

Is it day 4 or 5 of the pumpkin challenge?  Who knows anymore?  Today I made a pumpkin risotto that was pretty good but would have been great if I had served it with a spicy chicken.  Live and learn. I adapted this recipe from one I found on All Recipes.  I'm not usually a huge fan of All Recipes because there are SO MANY recipes, it's overwhelming. However, I've found some pretty good grub there lately.  This is one of them...

Ingredients:

1/2 pie pumpkin

1 small onion

1 cup arborio rice

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 oz crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup roasted pine nuts

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup chopped fresh spinach

salt, pepper, & garlic salt to taste

Recipe:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Peel pumpkin, (yes, who knew you could peel a pumpkin?) cut into cubes, toss with a little olive oil and salt

-Roast for about an hour on a parchment lined cookie sheet

-While pumpkin is cooking dice onion and saute until tender in olive oil.  

-Add uncooked arborio to onions and saute for about 3-5 minutes

-Slowly add chicken broth about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring regularly. Allow rice to soak up broth before adding more. Continue this process until rice is tender.

-Season with salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

-When pumpkin is just about finished put feta on top of pumpkin and roast for about 5 more minutes

-Mash 1/2 of the roasted pumpkin and feta and toss with chopped spinach and pine nuts into risotto. Mix well

-Top risotto with the rest of pumpkin & feta.

-Serve with spicy chicken!

Pumpkin Patch

The natural teether

Today was a rare cool Texas fall day. Sister and I loaded up ALL of the kids and headed out to the pumpkin patch at Elgin Christmas Tree Farm. Having that many personalities was a little stressful but totally worth it.  Sister was actually on time (way to go sister!) and Mr. F loved riding in the car with his cousins.  Once there he decided the fun was more or less over.  The animals, pumpkins, and other screaming kids were only mild distractions between fits. Bright side? I think I found a pumpkin he may actually fit in.  Yes, I'm going to try to put him in a pumpkin...again.  Because the morning was going so well we decided to test our luck at a restaurant. Surprisingly, no one killed anyone else and Mr. F had brisket! It's official, he's a legit Texan. We all survived the day and finished it off with Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas which my nephew said he politely was not going to eat.

What most of the day looked like

Look!  Neither of them are screaming!

A sweet moment

Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas

I made my first savory pumpkin dish and it was yummy!  I would never have put pumpkin and enchiladas together but the amazing women at Once A Month Mom did and again...yum.  I altered their recipe just a bit to ensure it's unhealthiness but my picture looks enough like theirs to make me think I actually did it right. Mr. F loved them and the husband put in a hard work out so he was willing to eat anything ;)

Ingredients:
1 large onion
3 Tbsp of butter
2 cups cooked chicken (I like mine shredded)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup chicken broth
1 can of black beans
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
16 corn tortillas
1 round block of shredded Queso Fresco (Yep, I used it all)

Recipe:
-Melt butter in frying pan and add diced onions.  Saute onions until tender
-Combine the chicken and black beans with the onions and put aside
-In a medium bowl mix pumpkin, whipping cream, chicken broth, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, salt, and pepper
-Put a small amount of the pumpkin cream sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan
Side Note ~ you can fill the tortillas now but they will probably crack and split. For most people this isn't a problem.  For crazy people with a slight tendency towards OCD, you can fry the corn tortillas for about 10 seconds each side in veggie oil and they are pliable (and let's be honest better) and much easier to work with
-Whatever your method - fill tortillas with chicken/bean mixture and a little queso fresco, roll up and place in pan with seam side down
-Pour the rest of the pumpkin cream sauce on top of tortillas and top with the rest of the queso fresco
-Bake at 425 for 25 minutes and get ready for some cheesy pumpkiny goodness!

Pumpkin Pie Poppers

Even though these little poppers were pretty tasty, it's only day 3 of 15 and I'm already starting to look at pumpkin grudgingly.  Mr. F is really enjoying my experiments, especially this one. Do you think pumpkin is like carrot and he'll turn orange after repeated ingestion? These poppers were good with coffee this morning but would be a great dessert if you added a little egg white and sugar to the top.

Ingredients:
1/4 can of pumpkin (I really hate recipes that don't use the whole can ~ luckily have 12 more chances to use it)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Dash of ginger
Dash of cloves
Dash of salt
2 Tbsp maple syrup
OR ~ Do the smart thing and use 1/4 can of pumpkin pie filling
3 Tbsp almond milk
1 can of crescent rolls

Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350
Depending on your choice above - mix all of the ingredients or just the pie filling and milk
Make little pouches out of the individual crescent rolls
Scoop about 1 Tbsp of pumpkin mixture into crescent pouches and press together.
I didn't do this but I think it would be good to brush the tops with egg whites and a little sugar...yes, yum.
Bake for about 15 minutes
DO NOT enjoy these right away or you will burn your face off and not be able to enjoy the next 12 recipes.

Pumpkin Overnight Oats

Cold Oatmeal.  This is one of those things that is going to have to grow on me.  Pinterest seems to be in love with the stuff and the husband and Mr. F like it too.  I'm still not a huge fan.  This little pumpkin concoction isn't too bad though.  I still think it would be better warm.

Ingredients
1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 a mashed banana
1 tsp honey
Dash of pumpkin pie spice
Granola and pecans for topping

Instructions
Mix everything together and put it in the refrigerator for the night - this is one of those really tough recipes
Top with granola & pecans in the morning and enjoy your cold oatmeal!

Muffcakes

As of today I am officially starting 15 days of pumpkin.  For the next 15 days my family will suffer through the unusual, unbelievable, and hopefully some "umm....more please." I didn't want to start off with a bang and set expectations too high so I did the easy recipe first.  I like to call them pumpkin muffins and again pretend that I'm eating healthy.  Because muffins are healthy, right? The husband wouldn't have it and said they are definitely cupcakes and just because I didn't put icing on them doesn't mean they are healthy.  We compromised with "muffcakes." This recipe is one of the first things I ever pinned and actually made. The very best part about this recipe is that there are only 2 ingredients!

Ingredients
1. Box of yellow cake mix (seriously, what flavor is yellow?)
2. Can of pumpkin
3. (Optional) frosting

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Put cupcake wrappers in a muffin tin.  I sprayed my wrappers because these muffcakes get pretty sticky
3. Mix together box of yellow cake mix (who knows what's in there...this is not organic) and can of pumpkin
4. Spoon pumpkin mixture into 12 cupcakes wrappers
5. Bake for 25 minutes
6. If you are frosting your muffcakes wait until they cool and scoop some of that delicious solid sugar on top and quickly shove one in your mouth!

Almost Made It...

Since I have finally accepted that I'm fat and have actually been trying to do something about it my goal has been to run the Race for the Cure 5k in November.  I've been "running" for the past two or three weeks and today I finally saw a difference.  A friend of mine introduced me to Lake Pflugerville (it's a big pond) which has a 3 mile track around it.  I've only been out there a few times but today I almost made it the entire 3 miles!  Mr. F was screaming most of the time so I just kept up my pace to try to finish a little earlier and I did!  I cut off two minutes from my time last week and I only had to walk once for about a minute.  Now obviously, I'm no marathoner but it was pretty exciting to finish today and not feel like a total pile of sludge.  I promptly rewarded myself with Chuy's...

The best part about running :)

Water Painting

It was a beautiful day today so we took advantage and sat in the car most of the day.  I finished his birthday invitation last night and had them printed and addressed today.  With any luck, they'll actually go in the mail tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the printed did not do the job I was hoping for.  I need to find a new printer. Any ideas?
We did finally make it outside and did some water painting...kind of.  Mr. F wanted to drink the "paint" so it wasn't as educational as I had hoped but I think he had fun :) Plus I think we came away with only 7 mosquito bites!