Pumpkin spiced cake

Another version of the easy pumpkin spiced cake - with cream cheese frosting!
Cream cheese frosting is simple! 1 bar of butter, 1/2 bar of cream cheese, 2 cups of sugar; that's it. Be sure to have the butter and cream cheese at room temperature.
The cream cheese frosting pairs well the spiced pumpkin cake.

What to do with all the pumpkin stuff after the carvings are done?
Roast the pumpkin seeds and turn the pumpkin pulp into puree!
I roasted/toasted the pumpkin seeds with a little salt in a wok for about 10 minutes.

Puree the pumpkin leftovers and make pumpkin muffins. I used a box of spiced cake mix, three eggs and 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree. They came out really moist and tasty!

Happy Halloween!

Today I made a simple mac and cheese dish. What kid doesn't like mac and cheese?
Here's a simple recipe that only takes about 30 minutes to make, and another 30 minutes for baking if you like a creamier sauce and crispy top.
All that is need is a few simple ingredients: pasta, butter, milk, flour, shredded cheese
If you like a crunchy top after baking, then add a thin layer of panko bread crumbs to the top before oven time.

Here's the base recipe:
http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/easy-mac-and-cheese/956631
Enjoy! Let me know how you like it.

Next, I will try adding sauted onions and garlic or paprika to give it a little more flavor.

Spanish Rice and beans with chicken. Easy to make and the extra ingredients really help bring down the salt level.
One package of Spanish Rice (Target brand), one can of kidney beansm(16oz), and 2 chicken thighs, diced.
Add kidney beans and chicken about 5 mins before the rice is ready.
Yummy and easy!

The No-knead bread became a craft project!

 


Fun for the little ones to get involved.

My favorite No-knead bread recipe. It's so easy with just 4 ingredients! Simple artisan bread for a fraction of the cost!
Crispy exterior and soft interior. Also great as bread bowls for soup, just adjust the dough size.

My recipe at BigOven.
Since the recipe contains no preservatives, the bread does not stay crispy on the outside past 2 days.

Treat bag

Cute addition to an ordinary treat bag.

Nice and bright for Spring!

Add a tissue flower pompom.

I used half a sheet's width for each tissue, and used 3 or 4 pieces of tissue per flower. The center is held by two pipe cleaners.

Oreo lollipop treats

Chocolate dipped Oreos Pops with sprinkles.

Treats for children and teachers.

It's really easy to make. The children love it. It's also "pretty".
For best results, use "double stuff" and pre-dip the stick with chocolate.
Please let me know if you have tried this!