Pumpkin Pie Fudge Brownies

My sister recently pinned a meme on Pinterest that had Sean Bean poised over his sword ( I think it's a Game of Thrones reference) with the caption simply stated, "BRACE YOURSELVES, PUMPKIN EVERYTHING IS COMING!" I don't think that statement could be anymore more truer. My Autumn Delectables board has got pumpkin flavored everything, everywhere!

Chicken Mozzarella with Rotini

The closer I get to my due date, the more I find myself going back to some of the easier, but tasty dinners I first started out cooking when I first got married. I love challenging myself in the kitchen when trying out new dinners and such, but simplicity sometimes can't be beat, and this dinner is extremely easy to pull together on a rushed evening or pulling a rabbit out of a hat when you haven't grocery shopped in over a week.

Tuesday's Tidings!

1. FALL IS HERE AND I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!!!!

2. We had a wonderful time on vacation, but it's so good to be home. What's your favorite thing about coming home from a trip? Mine is sleeping in my bed :)

3. In true Fall fashion, today I'm wearing orange tank with a brown cardigan and JEANS!!! I am so so excited to be able to wear jeans.

4. I got the new iPhone 5 over the weekend and I have to admit, I'm using Siri more than I thought I would. Mainly, I'm using her to send text messages to my husband to ask him to fetch me things so I don't have to text or yell. For example, the last two mornings, I've asked Siri to ," Tell my husband I'm awake and I need coffee please." LOL! The last two mornings I've gotten up around 7am and I'm so tired and half asleep, I'm barely function-able.

5. Have any of you decorated for Fall yet or do you decorate for Halloween?

6. My two basil plants are nearly dead and I'm trying to bring them back to life. I think it's working because among all of the brown leaves, some green basil leaves are still hanging on for dear life.

7. Only 88 days till my due date!!!! I feel so behind! I haven't even done a thing to the nursery nor done really any shopping or even bought one baby outfit yet, lol!

8. I'm getting my hair done on Friday and I'm so ready for it. Seriously, my bangs are out of control long and Gracie wants to get some bangs. I can't wait to see how she's gonna look :)

9. Eden is having her 4 yr. Well Appointment this morning. I hope she doesn't have to get shots :/ but I plan on bribing her with candy to make the shots not so horrible if that's the case.

10. The little man discovered where one of my lower ribs was last night when I was cooking dinner. OW!

Weekly Menu 9/24-9/30

Am I the only one in shock that it is the last week of September? Where in the heck did the week go? We got back from vacation on Saturday and it was really sad and hard to leave, but it did feel really good to be back home, sleeping in my own bed and cooking in my own kitchen. Anyone else feel that way?

I got all of my "Fall" decor up Sunday evening. I never decorate for Halloween. I like Halloween, I think it's a fun holiday. But I get so much more bang for my buck by just using and buying Fallish decorations that I hate the idea of having to do both. Plus, Fall stuff is prettier in my opinion.

Our menu is somewhat up in the air this week. We're going to do a light grocery trip on Tuesday, just to pick up a few must need to have items, but I think our full grocery trip is on Friday or Saturday. So I'm getting creative with what we already have and making up a menu for this week and the following.

Monday

Shepard's Pie with a side salad

Tuesday

Garlic Spaghetti with green beans 

Wednesday

Nacho night

Thursday

Sausage and Bell Pepper Pizza

Friday

Pancakes

Saturday 

& 

Sunday

 These nights are up in the air. LOL, Not sure what we're going to do yet. 

Since we haven't had the chance to do really any shopping, I'm afraid my treats are up in the air next week. But don't worry, I've got some splendid ideas already written down. 

Penne with a Creamy Pesto Sauce

You know how sometimes you stumble upon a recipe that is so easy and such a no brainer, that you go,"Gee, now why didn't I think of that?" Well that is this recipes. Honestly, it is so so easy, my 8 year old could make this entire meal, and she hasn't even really begun to cook yet.

What I loved about this dinner, was that it was using up ingredients I already had on hand around the house. I always have a couple boxes of penne pasta lying around, because it's Josh's favorite and jarred pesto is pretty much a pantry staple too. If I don't have any jars in the pantry, I can guarantee there is one already opened in the fridge.

The hardest part about this meal, is waiting for the water to boil for the pasta, that's it! So in about roughly 10-20 minutes, you can have a delicious pasta dinner at your beck in call and ready for you to devour!

Penne with Creamy Pesto Sauce

(Source: SCJohnson/Family Economics)

1 box, penne pasta

1/2 cup pesto

1/4 cup milk

Shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese (I prefer the shaved)

Fresh basil leaves, torn for garnish

Boil the penne noodles, according the directions on the package. Drain, and rinse with cold water. 

In a mixing bowl, combine the pesto and milk together. Toss with the pasta. 

Top the pasta with the shaved/shredded parmesan cheese and basil. 

Serve right away!

Szechuan Green Beans and Pork

I remember when Panda Express was all the rage. Maybe it still is the rage and I'm just really behind on where the cool kids eat these days. We don't eat at Panda Express anymore mainly because we don't eat  convenience food very much, that and if we're being honest, I find Panda Express to be a little salty. Now my dad on the other hand, LOVES him some Panda Orange Chicken. 

In early August, my dad and his new wife (she's from China) came to town and she spent one whole afternoon making traditional Chinese dumplings and side dishes. The food was awesome! It was seriously some of the best Chinese food I've ever ate. Once they left to go back home to Vegas, I was left with several awesome Chinese condiments and some leftover ground meat that she had used for the dumplings, ground pork being one of them. Aside from bacon and ham, Josh and I don't eat a lot of pork, so I was really at a loss as to what I should do with the leftover 1/2 pound of ground pork, so I did a simple Google search for it and found an awesome recipe, that reminded me a lot of the green bean chicken recipe you can order at Panda Express, however this recipe is soooo much better, no offense Panda!

Tuesday's Tidings!

1. We're in Sunriver on vacation and having a great time. I'm still trying to get over this cold that bumped into me last weekend, but I definitely feel better than I did last week and I'm not about to let a stupid cold ruin my vacation. I'm drinking tons and tons of water, taking my meds, and trying to get enough rest. Not always easy when your sleeping in a bed that isn't yours.

2. Grace learned how to swim underwater today. My in-laws took the kids to the family swim center here in Sunriver and helped Grace learn how to swim and I think she's caught the swimming bug now. I'm hoping this continues because my mother in law has offered to continue teach Grace through the winter at our community pool in our town.

3. In the 2 1/2 days we've been here, I've ridden about 16-17 miles on my bike. It's definitely a challenging workout now that I'm pregnant. I'm not sure if it's the extra baby weight or the fact that I'm 2 weeks away from my 3rd trimester that is making the whole biking thing more or a challenge than when I'm not pregnant. But it's so much fun and I know I've worked hard when I get off and I'm feeling tired. I'm being careful to listen to my body and not push it to hard though.

4. The little man is finding all the biking activity fun though. He starts kicking and jumping around half way through our rides, lol! Of course, he's a pretty active fella anyways; nights are his favorite time of day.

5. I would like to know, who's pre-ordered the iPhone 5? I'm really excited about it!!

6. Has anyone seen that Thomas English Muffins have a pumpkin spice version for a limited time? I'm so drooling over these. For the last few weeks I've been eating an english muffin with my yogurt and I love it! Now I have to have these! So far, I haven't seen them in any of the stores up here, but I am keeping my eyes peeled!

7. I think these Candy Corn Oreo Truffles are the cutest thing ever and I want one right now! I want to bake some up as soon as I get back home!

8. I feel like such a lame-o. Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte has been out for a few weeks now and I haven't even had one yet. Have you?

9. I want to try Spaghetti Squash this year. I've never cooked with it before. Do you guys have any favorite recipes you think I should try? If so, please link it up in the comment section. I would love to check them out.

10. What is your favorite vegetable that Fall brings?

Make Ahead: Baked French Toast

One of my favorite meals for dinner is breakfast. Breakfast for dinner is almost always more appealing than having breakfast for breakfast. I like my morning meals to be smaller and my evening meals to be more indulgent. But I have been known on occasion to really throw caution to the wind on Saturday mornings and eat a large brunch! I say brunch, only because, when the time rolls around in my house that we're all up and running about, it's close to 11am and then breakfast becomes brunch, and I will eat whatever meal my husband puts in my face.

But sometimes cooking breakfast, brunch, or even dinner can take fooorrreveerrr! Ya know what I mean? When I'm not the one cooking and I'm starving, sometimes I just want to light a fire underneath my hubby and say, "Hurry Up" - ever so sweetly, of course. That's why I love me a good make ahead meal! I love to just get all the work done in the morning - or the night before - and then throw it in the oven when I am good and ready. Not the other way around.

I saw Pioneer Woman make this as a breakfast a few weekends ago on her show on Food Network and I loved how easy it looked!

Now, I happen to adore french toast. It was always my #1 favorite breakfast my mom would make for me as a kid. In fact (and this is going to sound so ridiculous), I loved my mom's french toast so much, I would make her cut it up for me because in my mind, the bite sized pieces she would cut just tasted better than when I would cut into it. Okay, I know, that's a little cray-cray, but honestly, that's how my mind works.

This french toast is more like a bread pudding, and boy do I love me some breeeaad puuuddding! It's the consistency and texture of bread pudding with all the flavor elements of french toast rolled into one! How good does that sound? You're thinking pretty dang good right? Well, it gets better. Remember how I told you you could make this ahead? Yeah, you can make it the morning you're going to serve it for dinner (like I did), or you can throw it together the night before and bake it in the morning, if that's your poison! Or, if you're one of those go-getter types, you could always skip the make ahead part and just make it and bake it in the heat of the moment! It's up to you!

Now, tell me, what is there not to love about this kind of a meal? To finish a masterpiece like this off, all you need is some warmed syrup and fruit. I liked the combination of blueberries and strawberries, but depending on the season, you could always serve up some buttered sautéed apple and pear slices, or segmented grapefruit and oranges would be delightful too. Or, you could be really naughty and just skip the healthy fruits all together and eat this all by itself. It's whatever your hungry little heart desires! The choice is up to you!

Baked French Toast

(Source: The Pioneer Woman)

Butter, for greasing

1 loaf of crusty sourdough or french bread ( I used french bread)

8 whole eggs

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 TB vanilla extract

Topping:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp salt

ground or grated nutmeg

1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces

warm syrup, for serving

berries or fruit, for serving

To make the Breadish Pudding French Toast: Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter. Tear the bread into chunks, and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a large bowl, whisking together the eggs, milk, cream, sugars, and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed, or make and bake it right away. 

For the Topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Add the cold, chopped butter, and with a pastry cutter, mix together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles and crumbs. You can store this mixture in a plastic bag in the fridge until you're ready to bake the french toast or scatter it evenly over the french toast. 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, bread pudding like consistency or for 1 hour plus for a firmer texture. 

Top with warmed syrup, butter, and fruit. 

Blueberry Bran Muffins

My breakfasts don't consist of a ton of food. I don't like the full feeling first thing in the morning. I prefer something light, to hold me over until a snack or lunch time. I like a big breakfast every now and again, but generally, my yogurt and a slice of toast smothered in jam is the perfect amount for me, pregnant or not! But since I am pregnant, it's important to be smart about the things I'm eating and putting into my body. I like to indulge, but I don't want to get carried away with it. Lighter breakfasts allow me to indulge later in the day if a craving comes about.

Since I'm pregnant, little things tend to come along with pregnancy that can make you uncomfortable...I won't name names, but let's just say how important it is to fight back with fiber, fiber fiber! But not all foods filled with fiber are yummy. So, if I was going to make a bran muffin full of fiber, it was going to have to be a yummy one! This muffin fits the bill perfectly!

These muffins, though pretty dang healthy, are actually very yummy! The sweetness of the blueberries combined with the spice of the cinnamon is such a perfect marriage of flavors. And hey, blueberries are a super food, so not only am I making this little man inside me a mini-Einstein, but I'm also making my body extremely happy, which is a win/win!

So, don't be scared that these muffins have bran in them. You don't really taste the bran - instead you taste sweet healthy goodness that is guaranteed to make your body happy, pregnant or not!

Blueberry Bran Muffins

(Adapted from: Chocolate & Zucchini)

Yield: 12 muffins

1 cup wheat bran

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

 1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup unrefined sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup blueberries

1 cup plain greek yogurt

2 TB vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, at room temp. 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the first 7 ingredients until combined. Gently, fold in the blueberries. Set bowl aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients bowl and carefully combine. Note that the batter will be very thick and somewhat lumpy, but combine until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated, but not over mixed. 

Scoop the batter into the muffin liners, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 12-18 minutes until the muffins are set and golden. 

These muffins are great at room temperature. But, I always fix mine sliced in half and zapped in the microwave for about 10 secs, with a small dab of butter.

Store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.

Caramelized French Toast

In the spirit of Catz in the Kitchen's breakfast week, I present for your consideration, Caramelized French Toast. And, yes, it's as yummy as it sounds. Actually, the idea here is very simple - rather than cooking your French toast in a more standard ingredient like butter or oil, cook it in something that will caramelize it. It's virtually irrelevant what French toast you make; the key is what you cook it in. The Bon Appétit recipe that served as my inspiration here called for thick slices of French bread, but I used the sandwich-style sourdough that I had in the cupboard. I think you could use this recipe on essentially any standard kind of sandwich bread and be quite happy with the result.

Tuesday's Tidings

1. The babes and I are doing really good! His heartbeat was perfect, my weight gain is perfect, and my next appointment is set for when I'm 30 weeks along and I get to take the Glucose test! Fun times!

2. My dr. didn't see the need to prescribe me anything. Honestly, I don't feel awful enough to take antibiotics and with a virus like that, it's likely it wouldn't do anything anyways. So I'm going to let it run it's course, but if I get worse, he will call me something in.

3. Grace's guitar lessons started back up yesterday. She walks in the front door after my Father in law dropped her off and she said, I'm loaded down with music, lol! Tis the season for back to school and music lessons!

Weekly Menu 9/10-9/14

My dinner menu for the week is not a full 7 days this week. That's because we're leaving on Saturday to go on vacation to Sunriver (my favorite place on earth) and we'll be gone till the following weekend. I'm so excited!!! This is the trip we as a family look forward to all year long, so I guess this counts as a baby moon? We're not leaving our kids behind, obviously. So it's not like a super romantic getaway, but it is a fun family vacation that is always filled with such wonderful memories, and to be honest, I don't think I could leave me kids behind. I love having them with my, lol!

Chocolate Cheesecake

When my dad comes into town from Vegas, he has one request of me, and that is to make him a cheesecake. Last year, I made him a Two-Tone Cheesecake. This year, I made him a chocolate cheesecake, because he has a deep love for chocolate!

Asian-Style Turkey Burgers with Chipotle Lime Mayo

When you're searching for and trying out new grilling recipes during the summer, most of the time it's about finding an idea and tweaking it until you're satisfied. Admittedly, Chels is better at sticking to recipes than I am, but that could be because she handles most of the baking (such an exact science!), while I handle most of the grilling (anything but exact!). However, when Chels came across this recipe at Tracy's Culinary Adventures back in January, it looked amazing just the way Tracy had made it! Now that we've made it a couple of times (once in the winter with a grill pan and once in the summer on the actual grill), we have made one or two changes to keep things interesting. I would recommend making this recipe mulitple times in both ways - keep things in the Asian vein by following Tracy's recipe word-for-word, and then add a little Mexican fusion by trying our twist!

Tuesday's Tidings!

1. I know it's been a few weeks since I have regularly posted, but you would not believe our month. We literally had family in town the whole month and there just wasn't time to cook or post about cooking. I didn't have anything really to share with you in terms of food, because we were with family every night. But I promise, I'm back to posting and tomorrow, Josh has a delicious burger post he is sharing with you all!

2. How was everyone's Labor Day? We didn't do much of anything at all, and it was nice to just be lazy around the house.

3. Now I know, back to school starts for a whole bunch of your kiddos tomorrow, right? In our neck of the woods, school always started the day after Labor Day, but for my little Gracie, school is still about a month off yet. One of the benefits to homeschooling is starting when you want! We traditionally start in October, usually right around the 2nd week. In September, we go to Sunriver as an annual last vacation for us all. All the families have cleared out and we're left with beautiful weather and the bike paths and village to ourselves. It's the perfect time of year to go!

Weekly Menu 9/3-9/9

And it's the first week of September and I am finally back with a post. I realize that it's been awhile and I apologize, but this month has been so crazy, it's a miracle I'm still alive! I had thought that the weather was going to stay in the low 70's, but, for the next week, the temps are creeping back up to the mid 80's. But I don't care, I can live with the 80's and my menu is going to be kind of all over the place. A little grilling, a little bit comfort, with some new dishes thrown into the mix.

Josh is actually sick right now. He came down with a cold a few days ago and you know, it just sucks being under the weather when the summer is still lingering, but it sucks even more when your sick on a holiday weekend. So I'm trying to take care of him as best I can.

This week my menu looks like this: