Happy Halloween!

Harvest Party 2011

This year William insisted on being a pirate for Halloween (which he calls "Cowloween" even though he know thats not right). He has never seen a movie with a pirate in it besides the Jonah movie by Veggie Tales and we have no pirate books. It is a mystery to me really. I wanted Ruby's costume to go along with Will's so he was a pirate/Captain Hook and she was Tinkerbell. . .even though they've never seen Peter Pan. In the end they were cute and hilarious and I wanted to gobble them up.

Dirt Dessert in Mason Jars

Ok, so I am a little anal/ocd/obsessive about food so this is a crazy recipe for dirt dessert that uses only real sugar. It is obviously no where near healthy. I will be the first to admit it is way more complicated/expensive than just buying jello-pudding and oreos. . .but it helps me sleep at night knowing what I am feeding my children and other people's children. haha (I say this but the cupcakes I served were totally from Sam's Club. . .and they were delicious. . .so I am a walking contradiction) I made these for Will's birthday party and had lots of inquiries about the recipe. I sort of made it up as I went along but here is a basic recipe as far as I can remember making it.


Dirt Dessert in Mason Jars

Ingredients:

2 boxes of Trader Joe's Jo Jo cookies (I used chocolate but you could use either type)
2 packs of Organic Chocolate Pudding Mix ( I bought Dr. Oetker brand at Whole Foods)
1 carton Truwhip
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
2-3 containers of Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate Pudding (or you could buy another pack of pudding mix and prepare it. I just ran out of time so I went the fast route!)

Directions:

Process cookies in batches in food processor until cookies are crumbs, or place cookies in food storage bags and use a rolling pin to crush.

Prepare pudding according to package directions; fold in Truwhip topping. Combine butter, sugar, and cream cheese in another mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until smooth. Fold into the pudding mixture.

Spoon crushed cookies into the bottoms of the mason jars (you could also use little flower pots), next spoon in pudding mixture, another layer of crushed cookies and then finish with belgian chocolate pudding or box pudding.


Enjoy & then slip into a sugar-induced coma. (:

Will's 3rd John Deere Tractor Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Will's birthday with our sweet family and friends today. It was insanely windy and pretty chilly but the sun was shining. Will loved it and went to bed wearing his green bandana.



The spread included a vegetable garden, chicken wings, feed, pigs n' a blanket, haystacks and of course. . .



CUPCAKES!



Maybe I ate the rest of this once I got home. . .



We sent guests home with dirt desserts and little tractor boxes filled with goodies.



Cousin love



Watching trains



Ruby verses Tractor (the tractor won)



How cool is this corn pool? As long as you don't mind finding corn in your pull-up, diaper, pockets, neck rolls, etc hours later.



Happy Birthday to my sweet, hilarious, kind, creative, loving, crazy boy! I love being your mama. I love the joy you bring to our family. You are the best. Seriously, the best. Kiss, hug, high-five, pound. XOXO

Warm & Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge

A friend of mine gave me this recipe a few weeks ago and I finally got around to making it. Wow. So, so good! The textures and flavors go so well together and it is great for this cool Fall weather. You can use whatever type of milk and sweetener that you like, I just like to use whole milk and natural sweeteners. If you are a Trader Joe's lover like myself then know that they have all the ingredients for this recipe in their store including organic red quinoa. I cannot stop making this!


Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk, organic/raw preferred
1 cup water
1 cup organic red quinoa, rinsed (*If possible it is best if you soak the quinoa in 2 cups water + 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk, kefir or whey for about 12 hours. Give it a good rinse after soaking. This will make the quinoa easier to digest.)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pecans, chopped and toasted*
Maple syrup or raw honey for drizzling on top

Directions:

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle with maple syrup or honey before serving.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Ruby Turns 1!

So Ruby turned 1. . . about 3 months ago and we had a sweet little party for her. Our themes were sunshine and lemonade! She really is "our little sunshine" as she brings so much joy to our lives. Here are some pics from the day.



Me and my sweet girl waiting for our guests to arrive.



She started walking about a week before her birthday



Lots of lemonade to choose from



And maybe I'm a little obsessed with mason jars. . . just a little. . .



Even Ruby was sampling flavors



Lemon Creme Cake



Lots of sweet friends celebrated with us. . .not all cooperated with having their picture taken



She got a little help with the candle from her broski



She licked it twice and then was done.



We sent our guests home with cupcakes in jars and wands



Happy Birthday to the sunshine in our lives! MUAH!