Sara Jane: Pumpkins!

Hi friends!

From now until January, be prepared for way too much excitement in my posts.  Like I told you last Wednesday, I LOVE everything about September, October, November, and December.  I love all the food, the decorations and the overall excited/giving spirit that most people seem to have.  

I'm not sure if it is the changing of the seasons or what but I have had way too much happiness in me the last few weeks.  Its the kind of happiness that all you want to do is turn the music up way too loud to sing and dance.  Yesterday, I tried to channel that happiness into something productive for the blog.  

We have had this huge pile of wood sitting outside of our house since July.  A lot of it is wood we picked up from my in-law's house, the pallets were delivered to our house by a friendly neighbor, and then there are just lots of scraps of wood from some remodeling we've been working on.  Hmmmm, what could I do with all this wood???  PUMPKINS!

This project was so easy.  I went through our huge pile of wood...

and found a few random pieces that I thought would make cute pumpkins.  I also I had my sweet hubby cut a few little pieces for the stems. 

Then came the painting.  I had a few little helpers for this part.  For their pumpkins, they painted then entirely orange.  For my pumpkins, I did the first coat white.  When that coat was dry, I painted an orange coat on top of the white.  For the stem pieces, I simply painted them green.

When everything was nice and dry, I distressed the wood with a piece of sand paper.  If you don't like that look then just omit this step.  Next, using my glue gun, I glued a piece of thin wire, which I curled, and the green "stem" to the top of the pumpkin.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  When I finally dig my harvest decorations out of the attic, I will decorate with leaves but for now, these will simply sit on my mantle as they are.  They brighten up my living room....I LOVE them!

I never feel like my posts are complete until I share with you a favorite recipe.  Today, I thought I would share with you a recipe my sister-in-law, Micky, gave me.  Gingersnap Pumpkin Pudding.  I have seen several recipes similar to this one but I have not liked any of them as much as I do this recipe.  It is always a hit when I have it at parties.  I use it mainly as a dip for gingersnaps or fruit although I am positive you could eat it by itself.  It is absolutely delicious.  We have it several times during the fall.  If you love all things pumpkin, you must try this gingersnap pumpkin pudding!

GINGERSNAP PUMPKIN PUDDING

Ingredients:

* 1 3/4 cup cold milk

* 1 package instant cheesecake or vanilla pudding mix (the small box)

* 1/2 cup canned pumpkin

* 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

* 3 gingersnaps, crushed

* 1 cup whipped topping

Directions;

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix together for 2 minutes.  (I use my electric mixer for this part).  Stir in the canned pumpkin and the pumpkin pie spice.  Let stand for a few minutes or until soft-set.  Fold whipped topping into pudding.  Sprinkle the crushed gingersnaps on the top. 

There you have it folks.  Have a great rest of your week!

Sara Jane

Friday Favorites: Cold Treats

Hello, hello!  What a week this has been!  Lisa and I were trying to brainstorm ideas for today, and "cold treats" popped into my head.  Probably because I'm 35 weeks pregnant and melting here in Arizona.  It's been crazy hot and I'm currently restricting my sweets intake until this baby comes.  That makes for a VERY grumpy pregnant lady.  And what's the one thing you want when you're trying not to eat sweets?  SWEETS!   So... It looks like I'll be torturing myself a little while reading about all the yummy, cool treats my sisters have found.

My treat is one I think I can actually eat!  I didn't even realize that it was a low-sugar treat until I read through the ingredients.  These orange creamsicles looked amazing, when I first saw them on Pinterest. You can find the original recipe here.  I love that the recipe uses honey or agave instead of sugar.  As I'm writing this intro, I still haven't made them yet, but my mouth is watering in anticipation.


Okay... through the magic of blogging, it's now 6 hours later.  I've made the creamsicles, and my husband and I have both tested them...AMAZING!!  I'm pretty sure it's the heavy cream that makes these to die for.  And the best part: they're low in sugar!!  I think I'll probably be living off of these for the next 5 weeks.  I even used the 50 calorie orange juice to reduce the sugar and calories even more.  I might try half and half next time to see if it affects the taste at all.  

A little cautious at first, but then she dug right in!

Final evaluation: you must try these,  especially if you like Orange Julius or orange-flavored treats.  They're the perfect combination of citrus and cream.  Obviously from the pictures, you know one 22 month old who agrees.  :)  Enjoy!!


Allison


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My cold treat isn't usually one that I make in the summer.  I usually make it throughout the fall and winter but sometimes a little Fudge is all one needs to get through the day (can you tell its been one of those weeks???).

This isn't a picture of my actual fudge (pic from
Allrecipes) but it is similar to what the end
result looks like.

My fudge recipe is probably the simplest one you will find.

Ingredients:  a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk, one bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and vanilla (optional).


Directions:  In a medium size sauce pan, stir the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips until the chocolate chips have completely melted.  I tend to like all my chocolate rather bitter but if you don't like it like that, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and stir.


Line a 9x9 (or 8x8 if you want them thicker) pan with parchment paper, pour in the chocolate mixture and put in the freezer until set.  When set, cut into bite size squares and enjoy.

Sara Jane
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Lisa: Outdoor Outings

Hello, everyone!  So many lovely posts last week about the fathers in our lives!!  I'm sure they'll all love their gifts.  They are all such good men! 

This week our posts will have the theme of Outdoor Outings!  Summer has come out in force here!  Temps are in the 80's and 90's already, the snow is almost gone from the mountains, and my two oldest are out for the summer and are ready to have fun! We love to pack up and head out into the wilds for hiking, camping, fishing,, and just spending time together!  One of our favorite things to do is to grab a picnic Sunday after church and head up into the mountains where the temperatures are significantly lower in the summer.  We have our lunch or dinner and enjoy the beautiful nature and then take a drive through the mountains!  So beautiful and such a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!   So for this week, I'm showing you my quick remake of a plain basket to a picnic basket.  I know. Amazing.  But at least it is easier to carry!

For this project, I just took some fabric I had on hand and cut it to the length and width I wanted.  I sewed them into straps and connected them through the handles to form a shoulder strap.  I also added a button and a leather loop so I could shut the basket and keep it shut!  Easy and fun!

Also pictured above is some pretty tasty Banana Coconut Pudding.  This is so good and so rich!  The coconut is very mild but makes it extra creamy!  It is a perfect dessert for a summer picnic, too!  So cool and no cooking required.  Fantastic!

Banana Coconut Pudding

Source: allrecipes

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

3 cups cold milk (I used 1 1/2 c. coconut milk and 1 1/2 c. 2 % milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

4 bananas, sliced

1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

Directions

1.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

2.  Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.

Lisa

Allison: Water Fun + Cool Treats = Summer

Welcome to another week!  Last week's theme was so fun!  A big "thank you" to all of those that took the time to comment about our blog!  We're so glad to know it's being enjoyed.  I know we're having fun, if nothing else.  :)

This week's theme was a little harder for me to relate to.  I'm no longer teaching full-time, and don't have any school-aged children, so being creative with the theme "summer kick-off" was a little tough.  Plus, I live in Arizona, where the temperature has been in the hundreds for multiple days now.  While others are waiting for it to warm up, I'm looking for a single cloud in the sky to give relief from the heat.  AND don't forget that I'm 6 months pregnant... better planning next time.

Sara, Gordon (Katrina's husband) and me.  I look adopted.

So instead, I thought to myself, "Self... what does summer mean to you?".  Growing up in Oregon, summer meant a few things: humid days, living in our bathing suits, playing on the slip 'n slide in the backyard, sneaking otter pops from the freezer in the garage, riding bikes in the cul-de-sac, and sleeping under the stars on the back deck.  So many good memories with my family!  For this week's post, I'll draw inspiration from two of those memories listed above.

Back to the pregnancy thing... I CRAVE cold things when I'm pregnant.  I joke that my first daughter is half milkshake, because I think I had at least one a day while pregnant with her (hence the crazy weight gain).  This pregnancy, I've tried to be a little more conscious of my sugar intake.  So I thought I'd share a low-fat, low-sugar version of this cool treat.

I found the Skinny Oreo Cookies and Cream Milkshake here.  Their picture turned out way better than mine, so I'm borrowing it.  Any excuse to buy Oreos...

The recipe was so easy to put together, and tasted great!  I didn't even feel guilty drinking it.  We don't have anything but almond milk and whole milk in my house, so I substituted with almond milk.  It's unsweetened, taking even more sugar out of the shake.  "I" was a big fan of this too...definitely a treat we'll have again!

Finally, I think that summer is synonymous with water fun.  The other day I had my first experience with an essential Arizona summer activity: the splash pad.  There are a bunch around here, but I'd never tried one.  But now that I have a kid who LOVES to be outside, I had the motivation I needed.

But there's another reason that we'll probably be visiting a splash pad again in the near future.  This is what happened for 2 1/2 hours after we got home from our water fun:

But I realize that splash pads aren't everywhere.  So I looked on trusty Pinterest, and found a couple of fun ideas that I'll probably try.

We all know that water balloons are fun.  But they take a lot of work, and then you have to clean up all those little balloon pieces.  I love the idea of sponge balls!  A great tutorial can be found here.

Next, I LOVE this sprinkler idea using only a soda bottle and $5 male to male adapter (that according to Pinterest can be found at Lowe's.  There was no actual link from the picture).  Hang it from a tree for tons of outdoor fun.  Brilliant!

I hope the rest of you enjoy moderate weather, while we sweat to death here in AZ.  But the end of the summer means a new baby in our household, so I'll enjoy the time I have with little "I" and my husband until then.  Have a great week!!

Allison