Maddie’s been obsessing over Halloween all year since we saw THE MONSTER last year! When we went trick or treating last year, some guy in an “Alien” costume. We should have noticed the front step was littered with abandoned candy. When we walked up & yelled “Trick or Treat” the door opened reaaaaaaalllllyyyyyyyyyyy slowly, smoke came out, an alien with a skull face slithered over to the door and held up a massive claw which we finally figured out, he expected us to “high five.” Most of the kids shrieked and some dropped their candy. Maddie & her friend Aston DID eventually high five him & get more candy to replace the candy they had spilled/dropped.

Here’s some of the poorly shot video. I was Foofah. If you know what that means, we are bonded for life. Or until our children move out.

Ever since, she’s been scared all year but dying to see more monsters.

Oh, here is a cute one of Maddie & Aston lest you think they were terrified the whole time.

Finally, the year passed & it was almost Halloween again! We headed over to the Grant School Halloween Festival a week prior.

First the girls got dressed.

A fairy princess.

And a Kentucky Wildcat cheerleader.

Maddie insisted on pulling Bea in the wagon. It seemed like a good idea at first.

But was slow-going. (30 minutes later we are now 2 houses from ours.)

Maddie went in the bouncy house.

Should I or shouldn’t I?

She went for it!

Her dismount.

Bea at the petting zoo.

This baby goat entertained everyone by jumping on his mama’s back.

Then he nursed from his mama as the outdoor part of the festival was shutting down.

After the sun went down we decided to venture into the “Haunted Hall.” The girl at the door asked us how scary we wanted it. How scary? That’s like asking how spicy you want your Thai food. “Medium scary,” I answered, playing it safe. We walked in and instantly 3 figures approached us, horrible, scabby, melty faced folks – Maddie shrieked in my ear – a never-ending shriek – which brought out the girl from the front who then ran through the hallway instructing the various demons, ogres, witches, corpses, monsters & what looked inexplicably like Batman’s “The Joker” to not be scary. The Joker thought it wouldn’t be scary if he sang “It’s a Small World.” The Joker was mistaken.

We went home & stewed on that for a week and finally the day had arrived, and it was Halloween. I tried to feed the girls this beautiful corn chowder I had made but no. They preferred not to fill up on vitamins & nutrients when they knew candy was coming.

I ended up doing what I end up doing every night, I ate the corn chowder myself. Maddie & G ate some later that night and everyone ate it the next day. What was I thinking?

Anyway, you will LOVE this corn chowder! If you have fresh corn, it’s better but you can definitely use frozen if that’s what’s available.

Here’s what you need:

NOTE: I either forgot to include before or changed some of the items in this picture after taking so enjoy the picture but read the directions!

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 bell peppers (red, yellow & orange), finely diced
4-5 ears of corn (I only had 4), kernels sliced off
1/4 c all-purpose flour
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups milk or half & half
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 c green onions
8-20 smallish potatoes (You can omit these if you don’t have them – just cut out 1 cup of veg broth and 1 cup of milk. If it’s too thick, add some back!)

OPTIONAL: bread bowls

1. Chop onion fine. I think I go overboard on this since people in my family are so sensitive about natural looking/shaped plant matter.

2. Saute chopped onion in oil/butter on medium high heat (you can do all 4 tbsp butter or all 4 tbsp olive oil or do what I did: 2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil.) for about 4-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.

3. Add chopped peppers & saute (stirring occasionally) for another 2 minutes.

4. Add corn for another 2 minutes. (ALWAYS stir occasionally to be sure all the veggies are coated in the butter/oil.)

5. Add flour & stir, being sure all the veggies are coated with flour.

6. Add the broth & stir. Soup will start to thicken at this point.

7. Add milk.

8. Remember the bag of potatoes in the fridge and quick as lighting peel & dice them! I made the pieces pretty small since I didn’t think I had much time to make them tender. Oh wait, you diced them already being that you probably read the whole recipe BEFORE you start cooking! Well, truth be told, the recipe I was looking at didn’t have potatoes in it and it was at this point I realized I had a lot of broth in my soup and a lot of potatoes in my fridge so I went for it! But you were prepared ahead of time. Add those taters to the soup & turn it to boil hard for about 7 minutes. Test a potato or two & turn it down low when they’re tender enough.

9. Add green onions & cheese. I usually prefer to grate my own cheese – I read something about the pre-grated cheese having mold inhibitors on it and it also seems kind of dry. That being said, I still use grated sometimes! In short, add whatever cheese you have, like, was on sale, etc. to the soup & stir, stir, stir!!!! Now it’s looking reallllllllyy good! NOTE: I hardly had any green onions. It was one of those times you’re in the store thinking, “Oh yeah, I have a TON of those!” when you don’t.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s Corn & Cheese Chowder.

Maddie ate some when she got home from trick-or-treating!

After taking inventory.

I know what you’re thinking. “Couldn’t she have poured that soup into a clean pot?” The answer is, “No.

I really couldn’t – I’m lucky I got that soup done at all. And it came out great but I agree, it, that moment, really wasn’t a photo op.

Growing a fall garden seemed like SUCH a great idea so I could avoid trips to the Farmer’s Market only to buy (& then let rot) lettuces and greens that appealed visually but that I had no idea what to do with. Well, I didn’t know my garden would grow so quickly and now I have to actually eat this stuff!! (What a problem to have?)

Last week I posted a pic of my fall harvest asking people what to do with it. I got a few great ideas and executed one of them a couple of days ago. I made the white bean soup with my Rainbow Swiss Chard & parsley. Incidentally, those leaves kept really well for about 5 days in the fridge – I washed them, wrapped them in damp paper towels & stored in fridge in a Ziploc. They were really fresh & crisp when I took them out a few days later.

This soup is extremely tasty, healthy, easy & soooooooo good for those chilly (70 degree) fall nights. (That parenthetical was for my sister’s benefit as well as anyone else whose Halloween was cancelled due to SNOW this year.)

Here’s what you need: (+ 1 more can of beans & a bunch of parsley & basil)

INGREDIENTS:
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
32 oz vegetable broth
3 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans (or white beans – I think mine are bigger beans)
1 (32 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1 bunch greens (spinach, swiss chard, beet greens etc.)
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c chopped fresh basil

1. Saute onion in hot olive oil over medium heat for 4 minutes or until translucent. Make sure to coat onion with olive oil & stir occasionally.

2. Add garlic and stir. Sautee with onion for about a minute.

I love garlic.

3. Add vegetable broth!

4. Add 2 cans of the beans and 1/2 of the tomatoes to the broth. Turn medium-high to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

5. To make soup extra creamy, add the 1 remaining can of beans and the rest of the diced tomatoes to your blender or food processor. Hello, I do NOT have a food processor. Christmas is coming, friends & family!!

I cannot emphasize enough how important holding the lid on is.

Not only does this thicken the soup but it also tricks family members into eating things they would never eat in a recognizable form.

Add the blended concoction to the simmering soup.

Isn’t it ironic that some people who gag at the sight of diced tomatoes (or any tomatoes) find odds & ends of pig guts comforting? Being one of those people, myself, I’m definitely not judging!

6. Add chopped greens (whatever you chose/have on hand), the chopped parsley & basil to the soup. Guess what? I didn’t have any basil. I cannot keep my basil alive in the garden (full/partial sun) or even in those window pots you can get at Ralph’s. But I think you ought to add basil to yours. Or not.

Have you seen Rainbow Swiss Chard? It’s a beautiful thing. I only planted it b/c of how pretty it was.

As you can see from my picture at the top of the post, my pot is quite “coated.” Yours won’t look like that. Mine looks like that because I set it to boil, then ran back to the girls’ room to break up a fight. There, I quickly forgot I was cooking and started reading “It’s Christmas, David!” Suddenly I remembered I had set something to boil, jumped up & ran to the kitchen. Sure enough it was boiling, probably for 10+ minutes. Boiling HARD. Anyway, I simmered it after that. We did not eat it right away as it was done just after lunch. So instead I spooned it into freezer bags to store & exchange with our neighbor.

This soup is supposed to be very good after freezing. Since I knew nobody in my house (except for yours truly) would like this soup due to all the ahem, green things & tomatoes, I froze it in 3 parts and will be reheating it this week.

What I learned about freezing soup:
1. Soup with fresh veg freezes better than soup made with frozen veg.
2. Do not freeze soup with potatoes. The potatoes are not tasty & get a strange consistency.
3. Pour soup into airtight containers or bags leaving a little room to expand.
4. Freeze soup in bags flat so they are more easily stored.
5. Store in freezer no longer than 3 months.

Stay tuned for the post with someone eating the soup! I did taste it a whole bunch & it’s yummy. I plan on serving it with a parmesan crusty toast & will share the results!

Love to hear any comments below on what you did differently or how it came out for you! Thank you, Dena, for this idea!

This weekend G headed home to his high school reunion. Knowing I’d be alone with the kids for a few nights, I thought I’d whip up some yummy meals ahead of time to avoid resorting to boxed macaroni & cheese.

Breakfast is always a headache for me. I mean literally, I have a headache during breakfast. I just can’t get to my coffee quickly enough! Maybe I should put it next to the bed? Anyway, I thought to myself, “What’s a surefire breakfast that everyone loves & that will fill the kids up all morning?” and instantly thought of my dear dad’s cheese grits recipe. My dad makes the best breakfast and this is probably everyone’s favorite dish. Two Easters in a row I’ve served it and there have never been leftovers. Plus, they’re easy.

Here’s what you need:

INGREDIENTS:
8 c water (for grits)
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 c grits
4 eggs
1 c milk
2 tbsp butter
1 or 1 1/4 lb cheddar, grated
1 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp cayenne
paprika & parmesan to sprinkle on top

1. Set water to boil. (I leave the lid on as it boils faster.)

Look, I even took a pic of the control knob.

This thing was so dirty I was compelled to Photoshop it. Not clean the actual knob, just Photoshop the picture of it. Did I really do that?

2. Whisk eggs & 1 tsp salt.

Then add milk & beat.

3. Your water should be boiling by now. Listen VERY carefully. Read VERY carefully. Read BEFORE you attempt. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. This is the only part that requires care. I took the liberty of doing this carelessly and you’ll see what happened to me. Ok. Ready?

READ FIRST:
Add 1 tsp salt to the water. Next slowly add grits to boiling water STIRRING ALL THE WHILE. Do NOT stop stirring to run for your camera or call your dad to ask about when to add butter. If you do, you’ll have this or these:

Grit balls

I had to start over on the grits. Dad blame it! Here’s what they should look like:

Ok. NOW you’re ready to add the grits. Go for it!

Once you’ve added & stirred ALL the grits, turn the heat down low, cover & finish cooking. Every once in a while take a gander in there & give it a stir. Should take about 30 minutes but check your grits instructions as they can vary. Should be sort of cream of wheat-y in texture – viscous but pourable.

5. Preheat oven to 350 & grease a casserole dish.

6. Slowly add cooked grits & butter to egg mixture, stirring constantly. Add cheese, Worchestershire sauce & cayenne. STIR, STIR, STIR!! You want that mixed “real good.”

If you’re short on time you can use pre-grated cheese. I don’t think it tastes as good. But I usually kick myself for NOT buying it.

Look at that!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

7. Sprinkle some grated parmesan (or a handful of the cheddar if you prefer or if you just don’t have any parmesan cheese) & paprika on top. Bake until bubbly & browned (about an hour.)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Some of these directions are loose – that’s just how it is. In fact, when I called my dad to ask him about the butter, “Dad, when & where do I add that butter?” he laughed and told me, “Whenever you want! Add it to the hot grits, or add it to the egg mixture, or forget to add it. Nobody will say you didn’t add it at the right time or “Oh, you forgot the butter!”

I felt like a real square.

So, don’t worry! As long as you slowly add things and stir, stir, stir you will be fine!

As you can see, I made the half recipe since it was only the 3 of us. It’s easily halved if needed.

Final verdict: these grits BOMBED for my kids. Neither one of them would touch them though Maddie’s eaten (& loved!) them twice. I ended up eating theirs and mine. Great.

Oh well. You win some & lose more. I love ‘em & they’re great reheated for a few days!

Maddie wanted “flowers & butterflies” at her birthday. I found this idea on Pure & Yummy. It was surprisingly easy. Between these & the store-bought Breakstone’s French Onion Dip

it was my most asked about recipe at the party. Really people? Store bought onion dip? (But honestly, I love it too!)

Here’s what you need for the strawberry lemonade cupcakes (filthy toaster not included):

CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 c flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon zest
12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1.5 c sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c milk
2 c fresh strawberries, chopped

For syrup:
1 c lemonade concentrate, thawed
3/4 c confectioner’s sugar

Get started!
1. While you are preheating the oven to 325, look at the clock.
What? Only 10:37PM? PERFECT time to start making these for tomorrow!

2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt & lemon zest

Zesty!

in a bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until it is fluffy.

4. Add sugar and eggs (one at a time).

5. Add half of the flour mixture & mix on a low speed.
(Someone forgot to take pictures of the next few steps. I was “in the zone” i.e. tired.)
6. Add milk and mix until smooth.
7. Finally, add the remaining flour mixture & mix on low until JUST blended.
8. Fold in strawberries.

Now spoon mixture into the paper liners

Bottom

Side

about 3/4 of the way to the top.

You should have 24 cupcakes.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. I did the toothpick test- it should come out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool.

Now you’re ready to make the syrup! Get out your “ingredientses” (as Teresa Giudice calls them):

This is really easy: just whisk together the confectioner sugar & lemonade concentrate in a small bowl. With a toothpick, make holes in each cupcake (deep holes as you are going to saturate each cupcake by drizzling the icing over the tops and into those deep holes (that’s what he said.) How many holes? I dunno – 6-8? 4-10? Whatever you’re up for! In the original recipe she made mini cupcakes but I made standard sized so you decide! WARNING: this is likely to make a sticky mess so put something under the cupcakes to catch that stuff unless you really love cleaning & re-cleaning your counters.

I made a plain vanilla buttercream for the frosting because I wanted something firm and less sweet (HAHA!! – RIGHT!) that could hold up those butterflies. This is SO easy and I completely forgot to take pix. I added fuschia food coloring to it and voila! I had pink frosting upon which a butterfly could light. (Light?)

Anyway, here’s a link to the recipe!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Make sure your frosting is firm enough to hold the butterflies. Just add powdered sugar until it’ll work!

How did I make those dad-blamed butterflies, you ask?
First, all you need is:

1. Wilton’s Candy Melts (whichever color(s) you like) for the WINGS. (From Michael’s or Party City or you can even order online.) I had green & brown.

2. Store-bought frosting for the BODIES.

3. White or colored non-pareils (which I totally forgot to add)

4. A couple of Ziploc bags.

Here’s what you do:

1. Cut up pieces of wax paper. A piece for each set of wings and another little piece for each antenna. Put them on whatever surface you plan to use to cool them.
2. Add about 1/2 cup brown (or whatever will be your OUTLINE) candy melts to a Ziploc bag. Follow the directions on the Wilton’s bag. It will tell you how long to microwave, then massage/mix, microwave some more. When it is all melted and gooey, close the Ziploc and cut a corner off of it.
3. Put your drawing or printout of the wings/antenna under each wax paper so that you can trace it with the melted candy. Apparently I did not take pix of this but I will attach a PDF of my drawing in case you want it. Trace the outline of the wings and antennae (they should not be connected).

Antennae

4. Now melt whatever colored candy melts you got in another Zip-lock. This will be what you use to “color” the wings. Just fill in between the lines. Don’t worry about being too perfect. Thank garsh I got a pic of this!

You’ll get the hang of it quickly!

Buttload of wings!

5. Let them cool. I actually made these the night before and left them out. Out of reach, that is, of tiny hands.
6. Frost your cupcakes. I used Wilton’s cheapest disposable bags with tips that didn’t even fit! I just forced the tips in and hoped for the best! After frosting the cupcakes (making sure my frosting was on the “stiff” side) I stuck the wings in and using a small round tip and another frosting bag I connected the wings with the brown bodies. What did I make the brown bodies with, you ask? Good question! I used that Duncan Hines store-bought chocolate frosting. It’s very firm and since you barely need any of it, who gives a fig if it’s not homemade? Who’s gonna notice? Then stick the antennae in however you like them!

Thank garsh only my hands are in the picture at that hour!

I wish I had more photos of the decorating steps. That part was done in the morning up against the clock so I had no time for fanciful pix. But I’m sure to do it again and will leave myself more time. Or not!

Don’t worry too much about these – they’ll look cute – you don’t have to be a perfectionist about them. I saw other versions of these that were VERY cute with different colored butterflies, each matching its own cupcake. That was way too ambitious for me, not to mention both Michael’s & Party City were out of pink candy melts.

The butterfly idea came originally from a book called Hello, Cupcake! via Pure & Yummy.

Here’s where I got stuff:
- cupcake tray – TJMaxx
- Wilton’s Candy Melts & napkins, plates, etc.(Party City)
- Frosting bags & tips (Michael’s)

REFLECTION:
Next time I will cut out 1/2 cup of the sugar in the cupcake recipe. It is just too sweet though I got TONS of compliments on them. I don’t think anyone would notice if it were gone.

I think that covers it! Please comment below if you have any questions, if I forgot anything. I probably did!

Why on Earth would anyone be baking ANYTHING here in Los Angeles? It’s in the high 80′s already at 11AM. I had this baked oatmeal in mind last weekend or week when it was getting cool & fall-like out and since I had all the ingredients, I went for it!

This recipe is great for a wholesome breakfast that can be reheated. Make it Sunday night and you have breakfast ready for the week!

Here’s what you need:

(I don’t necessarily recommend Skim Milk – it’s just that’s all I had in the house. I would use 2% or whole depending who you’re cooking for.)

And this:

This is optional:

I can’t help but notice these photos in the background.

Who are those good-looking lads?

Those aren’t lads! That’s my sister and me!! My mom liked to keep our hair short.

Libby

Me. (That turtleneck was itchy.)

INGREDIENTS:
3 c rolled oats
1/2 c brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c melted butter
1/4 c apple sauce

OPTIONAL:
raisins or cranberries

chopped nuts

ground flax seed

frozen blueberries
(No picture b/c I don’t actually have any!)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Feel free to add a teaspoon of ground cloves if you have them. Or don’t!

3. Beat eggs into wet ingredients (milk, vanilla extract, apple sauce & melted butter.)

4. Add wet ingredients to dry & stir until combined. Add any of the optional ingredients you desire (i.e. have)!

5. Spread into greased loaf pan.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes (depending on your oven.) I did mine for 25 minutes because I don’t like it too dry.

7. Slice & serve! You can eat it as-is (sliced on a plate) or serve in a bowl with milk. This keeps well in the fridge for about 5 days. I haven’t actually had it longer than 5 days.

Bea loves it. Maddie doesn’t care for it. George has a raisin issue. He likes raisins solo but he doesn’t like them “in” anything. These are curious issues upon which I am not qualified to comment.

Checkout the original recipe. I replaced half of the butter with apple sauce & I also halved the amount of sugar that was in the original. I tried it two ways so far:

1. Replace ALL the butter with apple sauce. and

2. Replace half the butter with apple sauce.

VERDICT: Some butter is yummy! This is NOT news. In the future I’ll use 1/4 c butter and 1/4 c apple sauce. Still cut the sugar as I think 1/2 c is still a lot of sugar. Also, try to use apple sauce with no sugar added. The ingredients should say, “apples” and nothing else.

What variations did you try? I’d love to hear from you below!