Easy Lo-Cal #Latte #Recipes!

I love pumpkin season, aka FALL!

I also love a good pumpkin spice latte. But I don't like the price or the calories or the waiting in line... So if you agree, save your time and money and try one of these lower calorie, easy to make...

FALL LATTE RECIPES!

Pumpkin Spice Latte
Fill cup 2/3 full of coffee
Add milk and sugar to taste
Stir in 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Top with whip cream and a dash of spice

Easier still, use pumpkin spice creamer

Apple Cinnamon Latte
Fill cup 2/3 full of coffee
Add equal amounts of milk and apple cider
Add sugar to taste
Top with whip cream and a dash of cinnamon

Candy Corn Latte
Fill cup 2/3 full of coffee
Add milk to taste
Stir in 1/4 tsp sugar
Stir in 1/4 tsp vanilla
Top with whip cream and a splatter of vanilla

Notice what ingredient is in each of these (besides coffee & milk): a spritz of whip cream. Whip cream is awesome for sweetness on a diet--it's low calorie, low carb, and adds loads of fun and flavor!

And just for fun, I tried another experiment and video taped it for you! Check it out =)

Happy, cozy, Fall sipping!

And don't forget to enter the contest for the words of wisdom!

Candy Corn Cookies

Ever have so much to do that you just have to ignore it all and bake something??

Well, the need to bake doesn't strike me very often, but today I needed a cookie! My son was just informed that his Army ship out date was moved up to October! (Last we heard it was January) And since it's Fall, and I love candy corn, I decided to make some candy corn cookies! Why not?

Now, I'm not the greatest in the kitchen. I'm more of a scientist than a cook... I love to experiment. So I don't have a recipe for you, I just followed my twenty-year-old Betty Crocker cookbook recipe for chocolate chip cookies and put in candy corn instead of chocolate chips. But only in half the dough--my son doesn't have a lot of faith in my experimenting and doesn't care for candy corn, so I chopped up some Hershey bars and put those in the other half.

Here's what happened...
The candy corn melted--not like smooth melty chocolate, but like that red sugary candy apple coating --and stuck to the pan... Fail!

But I was able to salvage most of the cookies with only a couple minor casualties. Here are a few good ones--and they tasted pretty good too.

Do you like to experiment in the kitchen? That's how recipes are born!
And what Fall Favorite Foods do you look forward to?

Yay for Fall!

I'm glad I wasn't a pilgrim

Those pilgrims were tough people. They made a horrendous ocean crossing, then built their homes, suffered horrible new diseases, and finally survived a grueling winter. Their numbers dwindled, but many survived. And here we are!

But those early settlers were also inventors - we are always searching for a way to make life easier and solve life's problems! Check out these gadgets I saw at a museum this summer, from games and entertainment to clothes washing and cooking... each new generation wants to do it better!

 

I can't remember what some of this stuff was, but it was so cool to see it all. I can just hear the grandma of these inventing pioneers, "In my day, we washed our clothes on rocks at the stream."

I doubt I would've been tough enough to survive. I can't imagine living without electricity or plumbing. Heck, I can't imagine living without a dishwasher. I despise cooking and cleaning as it is - I'd never be able to kill a chicken, pluck the feathers, and butcher it for dinner! Ack!

But then again, I probably would've been fine not knowing what I was missing. Just like I don't know what I'm missing in the future - What will they think of next??

What could you "not live without?"
Happy Monday!

Tasty Trick or Treats

Tammy's back!!! And we're lucky to have her. Tammy is all sorts of fun and awesomeness. If you're not following her blog, well, that's just not smart. Go follow...HERE

I think Halloween treats have been kicked to the curb compared to Thanksgiving and the show-off Christmas. Plus, since this year my little nephews are here and they're used to Disneyworld's Halloween antics, I have to make the food super creepy good! Therefore, Pinterest was smokin' with all my research. Wanna see my menu idea?? Take a look. IF YOU DARE!!!

  *Donuts made with plastic fangs and chocolate chips.
  *Bloody fingers made by slicing a finger nail and several lines for finger                                                  creases out of a hot dog; add ketchup for blood.
  *Mummy hot dogs made with cheese wrapped around the hot dog by cut                                                up crescent roll dough.

*Pumpkin barf made from guacamole; pair with chips.
*Spider eggs made from hor d'oeuvres with olive slices and whole olives.

 *Zombie head is made from meatloaf with onion eyes/teeth and bacon on top.
 * Zombie body is chicken legs, thighs, sausage, hotdogs, etc.

*Popcorn hand made with popcorn and candy corn for nails in plastic glove; 
      pair with spider ring.
*Pumpkin made from dyed rice krispie treats and tootsie roll stem.




TAMMY'S QUESTION TO THE READER:
1. Do you have any favorite Halloween treats?
2. Think you'll try any of these creepy foods?
3. Ever mix candy corn and peanuts? (So good!)

Tammy is a really real housewife...after trying to sleep in, hit snooze 3 times, rush 4 kids to school, go to work, come home to cook, clean little messes here and there, run kids to functions, swap laundry, work on current book, and kiss heavily on my man. Then...and only then, does she claim her housewife queen crown...which slides off as she falls asleep with book in hand. 

Jack-O

When the spooks have a midnight Jamboree
They break it up with fiendish glee
Ghosts are bad, but the one that's cursed
It's the Headless Horseman, he's the worst

...

So when you're riding home tonight
Make for the bridge with all your might
He'll be down in the hollow there
He needs your head, look out, beware

With a hip-hip and a clippity-clop
He's out looking for a head to swap
So don't try to figure out a plan
You can't reason with a headless man

Lyrics borrowed from The Headless Horseman song from Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow cartoon

This is one of my all time favorite Disney cartoons - so fun to watch at Halloween, and scary! Plus Bing Crosby narrates and sings - awesome nostalgia!

To wrap up the week, I'm sharing one of my kid's pumpkin crafts... turns out you can make a pumpkin or jack-o-lantern out of just about anything!


This lovely pumpkin is made from orange cloth wrapped around a full roll of toilet paper. The stem is brown construction paper folded and rolled up. Ta daa!




And check out this cool carved pumpkin trailer from BH&G...



But wait - stop by Marcy Hatch's Mainewords. They have an awesome pumpkin carving fair and she treats us to some great shots of them! Check these pumpkins out from a couple years ago.

People get more creative every year with their carvings. Minions are prevalent again this year. And I love carving - usually mascots from my boys' favorite teams... What jack-o's have you seen?

Happy October!

Peter Peter, Pumpkin Eater

Had a wife but couldn't keep her.
Put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well.

Time for some tasty pumpkin treats!

I was so excited when I found this recipe that I had to make these special Pumpkin Brownies right away! They were delicious! (we had to try them before I even took a picture!) And they came out close to the picture in the magazine. (from Southern Living)

And to show you my lazy housewife side, here's the recipe from the magazine. See the blue lines? Instead of using those 50 ingredients to make the brownie batter, I used a brownie box mix and followed the pumpkin portion. SOOO much easier!

Another pumpkiny-goodness recipe is from my sister-in-law for pumpkin bars - the cream cheese frosting is to salivate and drop dead for! And they're easy enough for me to make more than once =) Here's the recipe (from Taste of Home)

CREAM CHEESE FROSTED PUMPKIN BARS
1 can (15oz) pumpkin
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup veg oil
2 cups biscuit mix
2 tsp cinnamon
raisins (optional, I don't use them)

Frosting:
1 pkg (3oz) cream cheese
1/3 cup butter
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioner sugar

Beat pumpkin, sugar, eggs, and oil. In separate bowl, combine biscuit mix and cinnamon then add to pumpkin mixture.

Pour into greased baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Done when toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and butter till fluffy. Add milk and vanilla. Beat in confectioner sugar till smooth. Spread over bars. Store in fridge.

Sorry, no pic. I can't make more than one recipe a month, week.

And then there's the easiest pumpkin treats - grocery store bakeries have an abundance of pumpkin cakes, muffins, and cookies.

Then there's Starbucks with the PSL - but I make my own at home with a little pumpkin creamer, sugar, and if you like whip cream, give it a spritz then top it off with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice!

I also love to go to Target this time of year - they find all the delectable flavors of the season - in creamers and candy! Mmm mmm!

I even like pumpkin seeds!


Do you love pumpkin? I actually found a couple of people who don't. I had to unfriend them (JK!!) What's your favorite fall flavor? (I must say, Apple is a close second for me.)

Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate

The first one said, "My it's getting late."
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "We don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run! Let's run!"
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?"

Ooo, went the wind.
Out went the light.
Those five little pumpkins
Rolled fast out of sight!

That is my favorite pumpkin, Halloween, fall poem. And this is my favorite season. It has the best flavors and scents - like pumpkin!

Scents make a house homey.
Whether you're hosting a party, showing your house to sell, having some company, or just need a comforting boost - adding a scent to the air will transform your mood and extend a welcoming hug to those who enter. (Was that a bit thick? Oh well!)

A few years ago, I had a neighbor with three daughters whose house was spotless and smelled heavenly no matter when I popped over... she made me sick!

Since my boys are wandering lumps who shed clothes and trash everywhere as they walk through the house, I'm on my own for cleaning and gave up on that perfection. So I totally stole her idea to warm my own house with yummy scents.

Here are some ways to spruce (a nice winter scent! ha!) up the air in your house with pros and cons:

• Candles - most scented candles don't give much fragrance as they burn, but they do have good scents without burning and they're decorative
• Wax Tarts - I like these. They're reusable and they give a lot of aroma. **TIP: To remove a cold tart, put the whole thing into the freezer for 3-4 minutes and the wax will slide right off!
• Plug-Ins - These are great for bathrooms or other stinky rooms and they last a good long time (a month or more)
• Reed Oil Diffusers - stick you put in oil. Oil is messy and gets on your fingers then your fingers smell strongly of the oil for a long time. This can be a problem with some of the oil plug-ins too, yes I found out the hard way. But these sticks work well. I think they're easier to find refills for now.
• Bake sweets! - You've probably heard this one before, but the smell of baking is the most inviting smell there is!

My favorite scents:
pumpkin anything!
apple anything
acorn? I have a really inviting candle and it says it's acorn
candy corn
vanilla, the old stand by
cookies
most fruits - especially orange & cranberry
coffee anything
caramel
wines
citronella!

Bad scents, to my sensitive nose:
herbs - I just don't like them
linen
autumn anything - just doesn't work
chocolate
flowers are surprisingly not that sweet...
anything they try to put a scent to that shouldn't have a scent... you know

What are your favorite scents? Any nose-turning ones? Do you have another way to smell it up right?