Biscuits and Gravy

For those of you who have been with me on this blog from the beginning, will remember my post about the best homemade biscuits ever. I love making biscuits and gravy for breakfast on cold autumn mornings like this one. So I used the biscuit recipe and this gravy recipe given to me from a dear friend:

1/2 pound Jimmy Dean Regular ground sausage

1/3 cup flour

Salt about a tsp.

Pepper about a tsp.

1 Quart (4 cups) milk

Brown sausage in pan. Add flour, pepper and salt and stir for a few minutes until combined. Then add milk stirring until it is thick and bubbly.

So Yummy! Plan on hanging out in the kitchen for about 30-45 minutes when preparing this breakfast. (Great time to catch up on a good conversation with your kids, and help them make their lunches for school!)

I like to use cookie cutters for my biscuits for whatever season it is or upcomming holiday.

Acorn Sugar Cookies

I had so much fun making these acorn cookies! I used the recipes and techniques from this post. I am still practicing on having a steady hand, but I was happy with the colors, and the over all look.

Pizza Quesadilla

Put cooked tortilla on preheated griddle, spread pizza sauce, top with mozzarella cheese, favorite toppings (toppings shown are: sausage, mini pepperonis,and mushrooms) and top with more cheese...

I found these great little Hormel Pepperoni Minis last week at Walmart. I Love them! They are so cute, and they were on sale!

Now put a tortilla on top and cook until the bottom is nice and crispy, flip over and do the same until all the cheese is gooey...

Remove from the pan onto a cutting board, cut and serve hot!

Pizza Sauce
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can tomato puree

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon basil

1/8 teaspoon thyme

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Pour the left over Pizza Sauce into an ice cube tray and freeze. When frozen, put in freezer baggie for future single serving of sauce.

Candle ReUse, Recycle (or whatever you want to call it)

Look at this cute little candy dish. Would you ever think that it was once home to a delicious smelling pumpkin pie candle?

Do you have a candle on your candle warmer that's just about all used up? Or some candles you burned a while ago and have piled up in a cupboard somewhere thinking you might do something with them some day????

You might just throw away the candle when it's all gone.

Or you could.....

Make a candy dish or some cute little mini candles.

To make the mini candle (that looks a lot like a Reese's Cup):

Set the short, almost all used up wick in the middle of a mini muffin paper, and pour some of the melted wax around it. Then carefully carry it to the freezer and place on a flat surface and let it set for a few minutes...

and peel the paper off...

Then you have an adorable mini candle. You can burn it and still enjoy the candle scent, or trim off the black end of the wick and you have a brand new mini candle you can give as a gift. Jeff is 9 and made this candle with a bit of supervision and wrapped it up and is giving it to his school teacher for a little Thanksgiving gift.

If you just want to make the candy dish, melt the wax and pour into an old plastic container and throw it away in the trash. Then wipe the rest of the melted wax out with a napkin or paper towel. Warning: Never, I mean NEVER pour hot wax down the drain or you will be calling your plummer!!! Also ,Warning: If you don't have a candle warmer, but you want to melt the wax, NEVER melt it in the microwave if it has a wick in it, because it has metal and you could have a serious disaster if you put metal in the microwave!!! Instead, put it on a pan on the stove on medium heat (watching carefully) until the candle is all melted and then continue on with your project.

The other night I was thinking of all the things this adorable glass dish could hold, like: Veggie dip, Salsa, Buttons, Beads, Sea Shells, and, Oh, my...My mind just decided it's late and time for sleep and I can't remember all the great uses I thought of the other night. Well, You get the idea. It was really fun and easy to do. I liked this project and will do more, Because MY cupboard is full of used up candles!!! Now Im going to go eat one (or three, or four) of those candy corn pumpkins and go to sleep.

Fall Kitchen Table

What's on your kitchen table?

Banana Walnut Muffins

For this recipe I used my previous Marvelously Moist Muffin Recipe.

I followed the recipe EXACTLY. When it came time to add the fruit and nuts,

I added:

1 cup smashed over-ripe bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

and there you have it: Banana Walnut Muffins

I think they taste best, (more moist) after I put them in a plastic container or big ziploc bag for a day or two.

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Muffins
combine dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

combine, and then add to dry ingredients:
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup pumpkin
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

~spoon batter into paper lined muffin cups
~fill until almost full
~bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes
~cool for 5 minutes

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat with electric mixer:
1 stick (8 Tbs.) softened butter
1/4 cup (2 ounces) softened cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt

kids can decorate cakes

Three years ago (has it really been that long?) the boys decorated their own Halloween cakes for the school Fall Fest. They got their inspiration from magazines and websites. Baking and cake decorating with kids is so fun ( and messy)!