Pumpkin Oatmeal recipe

A month...a month!  It's been a month since I've last  written anything.  I wish I could say there is  a lot to tell, but alas.  I have had writers block and nothing else.  Onward!

I love pumpkin!  Last fall I started collecting pumpkin recipes...scones, pies, muffins, cakes....yum.   This morning I tried one of them.  I had about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of pumpkin sitting in the fridge left from another pumpkin recipe and it needed to be used.  Perfect amount for pumpkin oatmeal.  It's so warm and spicey and perfect for the cool, fall morning after Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

2 cups milk
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp dried cranberries
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts (or pecans)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp butter

In a saucepan, bring milk and salt to a boil.  While milk is warming, mix the oatmeal and the spices in a bowl.  When the milk is ready, stir in the oat and spice mixture, reduce heat to low and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the pumpkin and cook for 2-3 minutes more or til desired consistency.

Divide oatmeal into bowls and top with cranberries, walnuts, brown sugar and butter.  Adding a little cream around the edges is another delicious addition.

Simple and delicious!

Simplicities for October

I realize the month is almost gone, but maybe you can still take advantage of some of these ideas.  Maybe some of them you have already done and can reflect on the joy they brought to you and your family.  Either way, here's to a simple October!

* Plan an outing to a pumpkin patch.  Buy several pumpkins so you can carve, paint and otherwise decorate til your heart's content!  How about buying some little ones to turn into pies?  I cooked several last fall and had baggies of fresh pumpkin in my freezer through the summer. 

* Creat a seasonal table.  And it doesn't have to be the one you eat at!  Maybe use your piano or your mantel or a bookcase.  Angie over at Echoes of Laughter does a BEAUTIFUL job with seasonal decorating.  I get lots of ideas from her.  Thanks Angie!

* Try this fun idea for preserving fall leaves like they did in Victorian times:

                Trim branches from trees when the leaves have just turned and are at their best, before they start to dry.  Split the stems of the branches about 3 inches up from the bottom; stand them in a bucket of warm water for several hours.  If any leaves start to curl, pick them off.  Prepare a solution of glycerine and water by mixing one part glycerine with two parts water.  Glycerine can be found at pharmacies.  Bring the solution to a boil, gently simmer for 10 minutes and then let it cool completely.  Cut the bottom of your stems at a  very sharp angle and smash them with a hammer (wouldn't the kiddos love this part?)  Stand the stems up in the solution and store it in a cool, dark place until all the solution has been absorbed.  About a week to 10 days.  When you first notice tiny beads of glycerine beginning to form on the leaves, they are done!   Take them out of the solution, wipe them down with a damp paper towel and dry thoroughly.  The leaves will stay beautiful and bright for several seasons.  I think this one will have to wait til next season at our house.  Something to look forward to!

 

* Plant bulbs to show off next spring.  Tulips, crocus, daffodils.  How beautiful it will be!

* Mull cider and /or wine on the weekends.  Invite friends to enjoy it with you.  Our family enjoyed this on the first day of Autumn along with some gingerbread cookies.

 

So!

 

Before we get caught up in planning Thanksgiving dinner and all the other events in November, let's remember to enjoy October to its fullest.

 

 



A Few Crafts

 

Here is our Family Fall Tree that we made since last posting.  We had such a nice time together.  I found some good music on Pandora we all could enjoy and we scratched pretty designs in our leaves all evening.  Great memories were made and possibly a new tradition was started!

Today's project was inspired by this:

The bookshelf in JoJo and Mouse's room was in need of a little, um, straightening.  Seems no matter how we try to organize it, it always looks like this in a matter of days.  I thought about the beauty of baskets and wondered if that would help.  Then I thought about how much moolah I've already spent this month and decided I needed to get creative.  I searched through my own cardboard boxes and decided on a granola bar box.




                                     


I taped the ends back together, cut off the top and the cut out a piece from the front.  Then I searched through my papers so I could cover it.  I pulled out my pack of superhero paper, knowing it would be loved by the boyos!

 

Here's the finished product.  Now to get it into their room.

 



                                                                      
 I think it's cute!  And the boys will think it's cool.  Here are the shelves after I resorted everything.  More boxes/baskets are needed and more sorting needs to be done (do we still need "Goodnight Little Rabbit?")  but this is a start.  They can pull out a box/basket and when they are done the whole thing goes back on the shelf.  I just hope they remember to put the books in it...




What have you been crafting?

First day of Autumn

I love fall.  The cooling off from a hot summer, the smells of harvest and of the earth being tilled, the tastes of delicious soups, breads and other oven baked goodness...it's all so wonderful!

We spent our first day of Autumn out of doors, doing yard work.  The boys didn't even seem to mind helping out.  I think we were all ready for some manual labor in the cool autumn air.

A little trimming followed by a lot of clean up.

 

 

Even our good ol' girl enjoyed the nice day.  At 13 years old, she was almost puppy-like!


I picked up this craft at Hobby Lobby the other day.  You scratch the black off to reveal pretty fall colors...

AND I've got gingersnap cookie dough in the fridge!  So later this evening we'll have an autumn party with leaf shaped cookies and apple cider.  We'll work on our craft and hang the finished products from a small trimmed branch I rescued from the yard.  I'll stick it in a pitcher or vase and we can enjoy it as fall decoration in our home.

I'll say it again.  I love fall!  Don't you?