Sunday Family Dinner & Pumpkin Dip!

Our family is big on Sunday family dinners. It is a great way for us to get together and chat about the recent events in our lives and even just the normal day to day. This Sunday I decided to have both sides of the family over for dinner, with Chilli on the menu! It was a chilly (haha) and rainy day, the perfect day to cook and bake at home. Hubby made breakfast in the morning then I started the chilli. I love to start it early but let it simmer all day. Chilli is a perfect comfort food for a crowd since it can be left in the crockpot and eaten in shifts. One of the things I love with chilli is cornbread. I found a yummy recipe that says one to two eggs. Why can't it just say exactly how many. Well, as I get the recipe out, I realize that I am one egg short if I go with 2! Since I was doing two batches, I tried the recipe with three eggs. We had a little bit crumbly cornbread. Now on to the snacks...

Crumbly Cornbread. 

Pinterest is a great resource for recipes, it is a great site to search different types or recipes and see what others think of it! Well, if you are like me, you pin too many things that you will never make. My recent goal has been to try one new Pinterest project/recipe/idea each week. 

I can honestly say it has been a fun challenge. So for a snack for our Sunday dinner, this dessert/snack is perfect, so quick and easy but very creative too. I can't take credit for the creativity, you can check out the original post here at Carolina Charm. 

 The only time consuming part of this is carving the pumpkin. I am sure it would be just as good in a bowl but the pumpkin makes it even better! 

My attempt at the Pumpkin Dip! 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Fall baking. 

I can honestly say I am not much of a cook but I am learning one recipe at a time! With that said, I do love to bake. What I bake isn't always perfect but I love to bake. As a child/teen I loved to bake and decorate cakes for all the family birthdays (with 8 siblings, I think we had a party every month) and parties. I loved it! As I got older I still loved to bake but usually simpler things like cookies, muffins and other desserts. 

 A few weeks ago, while searching for pumpkin recipes,

 I found this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe and just had to try it. 

Pumpkin and chocolate, what more could a girl ask for? 

Please excuse my photos, I may have forgotten to take a picture before we tested the muffins and tossed most of them in the freezer! Working on better pics a little at a time! 

I also just stumbled on this recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins on another great blog The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood.  I will definitely be trying these next week! As I feel that it is necessary to try a new pumpkin recipe each week all throughout October & November! Maybe even December too. :-) 

Did you win?

The winners have been announced for my Soft Scrub giveaway...

 Was it you? Find out here. 

I am working on a new giveaway today! Check back tomorrow to find out what it is! 

Think laundry!

Changing leaves

I don't think we could have asked for better weather today and hopefully the upcoming week. It is a gorgeous day with all the changing leaves! I tried to snap a few photos of the beautiful colors of these changing leaves! 

Shutterfly cards!

Just wanted to share my latest Shutterfly card creation with you! 

Picture In Landscape 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly for beautiful Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

My Shutterfly Photo Book

Have I mentioned how much I love Shutterfly! The photobooks are perfect! I just recently finished a 43 page 12x12 Project Life 2012 photobook from Shutterfly! Today, I finished our Fall/October 2012 8x8 photobook! It turned out great! Click the link below to view it! 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create your own custom photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Have you made any great photo gifts or photobooks lately from Shutterfly? 

Farm Kings at Freedom Farms

Pumpkins 

Freedom Farms Fall Festival. 

A perfect fall day for a little meet and greet with the King Family from GAC's The Farm Kings from Butler Pa.  

Inside the market, a little bit of everything.
Eat local, eat fresh!  

The market, with some of Lisa's flowers and you can see "The Boss" Joe talking to a fan! 

Of course I had to meet the family & get autograph's from the family... Tim King. 

Joe King

Lights, Camera, Action! 

I even got to meet Lisa (The mother of the Farm Kings) and even chat with her! After watching the Farm Kings episode where Lisa shows her daughter how she measures without a measuring cup & by remember recipes, I had to tell Lisa how my Mom is the same way and I am more like Lisa's daughter! I have to measure & follow a recipe! 

Dan King

Dan preparing food for the guests.

The King family had a busy day at the festival and they were all working hard to keep up with the customers in between taking pictures & signing T-shirts! 

So many yummy goodies at the market, I picked up some Pumpkin Gobs, and Apple Cider! Along with a few freebies!

 

If you are local and you want to find the market nearest you, check out the 

Freedom Farm's website here. 

Several Locations include. 

 Freedom Farms Market, Butler Pa

The Market at New Ken, Pa

Boldy's Bakery, Butler Pa

Did you make it to the festival? Did you meet the King Family? 

Disney's Frankenweenie

There have been a lot of great new movies in theaters lately, I don't know about you but I love seeing movies that go with the latest holidays, such as Disney's Frankenweenie for Halloween! Disney always has the best movies! I just received a great gift from Shutterfly & Disney yesterday, a super cute treat bag & a free 8x8 Shutterfly Photobook! 

I better get working on that! 

I was browsing the Shutterfly website & found an app to Frankenweenie-Fy your pet... So I had to try it of course, too funny! You can try it here.

Plus if you are looking for Halloween snacks or treats to make with your kids? Here are a few great snacks to make in honor of Frankenweenie.

Batty Cupcakes: 

Disney's Frankenweenie :

From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

A stop-motion animated film, “Frankenweenie” was filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which elevates the classic style to a whole new experience.

In Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie” young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.

Pork Milanese with Orange & Red Onion Topping

The Rachael Ray show is a favorite of mine but I haven't taken the time to try too many of her recipes, even though I always plan to! Today was the day! I decided to make Rachael's Pork Milanese with Orange and Red Onion Topping. It was delicious! I couldn't find the blood oranges so I just used regular oranges. 

 It was actually really simple & relatively quick! My kind of recipe! 

  

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

As I have mentioned before, I love fall and cooking/baking. Today was a perfect fall day for trying something new in the kitchen, Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup! 

I found the recipe here and I love it! I made this once before and used the heavy cream & butter and it was delicious, but this time I decided to skip that part and it was still delicious! Definitely not as creamy so it depends on what kind of soup you are going for. 

 What did you make today?