What Does Autumn Taste Like?

Candy Corn and Peanuts

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Homemade Applesauce

 I've had this recipe hanging on the inside of my cupboard door since Carrie and William were teeny tinies.

The inside of my cupboard doors tell a story.

The recipe at the bottom is Aunt Norma's
apple butter recipe.

The recipe right above that is for "Mom's Biscuits."
It was hanging right there when we moved in...
something left from Mrs. Franklin.
The tape around it is yellowed now.

Beside it, to the right, is my good friend Debbie's recipe for dressing, dated July 12, 2006...in her handwriting.

I remember sitting at her kitchen table when she wrote it out for me.

Right above Debbie's recipe is the apple list from our local orchard.

It tells when each variety of apple is ripe.

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Matthew is eye-balling
the muffin that has his name on it.

My gourd candles before they rotted.

Chocolate Chip-Banana-Pecan Bread

Autumn tastes even better when there are little snowflakes flying around in the sky...

Why is it that when the cold weather blows in
and the leaves begin turning color,
I go into hibernation mode?

Just watch out for spring.

Until then...
Enjoying warm, tasty treat,

OhhhYeahhh

Brilliant idea.

Cookie Saturday.

Ohhhyeahhh.

That was one of the more popular ideas that I have had. 

One that the kids reminded me of often..."It's Saturday, Mom!"

It didn't last though.

My conscience killed it.

The guilt was overwhelming.

Another pretty good idea.

One that was a bit less guilt inducing.

Trail Mix.

Ohhhyeahhh.

We took this one on our camping trip back in June.

Delicious...although the boys would have opted out of the raisins if they could have.

This one will be joining us on our next camping trip.

Raisins are invited along.

Check out this beautiful mug of coffee.

My dear friend, Nicky, brought this mug to me back in June.  

She didn't know it, but on this particular day 

I was thinking of my mom.

This would have been Mom and Dad's

 47th Wedding Anniversary.

Sweet Nicky. 

She noticed that many of my mugs have a Christmasy/Winter theme, so she wanted to be sure that I had a beautiful anytime mug for my coffee.

Not only did she bring me that beautiful mug, but she also brought me a cheery little yellow flower and a package of Mackinac Island Fudge.

Ohhhyeahhh.

Thank you, Nicky.

Enjoying those Ohhhyeahhh moments,

A Taste of Home

Not too long ago, I asked my kids what they might think of someday when they thought of home.

I was really hoping that they wouldn't say, "Mom yelled a lot" or "Mom was always cleaning" or "Mom never cooked supper."

What they said made me smile..."The smell of just-baked banana bread and coffee."

I smile because it's those same sorts of things that make me think of my childhood home. Those yummy, homey kinds of scents that are way better than even the very best smelling Yankee Candle (which, in my opinion is the Spiced Pumpkin candle).

Those are the scents that can take me back to my childhood in an instant!

One of those very special memory foods is Apple Pizza Pie.
Mom made this one every fall.

For years now, we've made it a tradition to visit our local apple orchard (the very best apple orchard ever--that's just another one of my opinions). Each September when the Jonathan apples fill the trees, we pick a great big bag of those sweet-tart apples, bring them home, and make an Apple Pizza Pie.

It's something that we all look forward to...a very special part of our fall.




"Mommy's Yummy Pie Crust"

(This is copied directly from a recipe card that I must have copied when I was in the fourth grade...maybe 9 years old?)

For an 8 inch Two-Crust Pie
(I use a really big pizza pan, so I double my dough recipe.)

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons water

Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in shortening. Add water. Mix with fork.

Roll out dough and place in a pizza pan. Trim and flute the edge.




Apple Pizza Pie
I have no idea where this recipe came from. Mom's recipe cards usually give credit to the person who gave her the recipe...but this one, written in someone else's handwriting, has no original baker's name on it.

Arrange the slices from 7 - 8 apples (more or less) close together and neatly over round crust.

Sprinkle apples with 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle desired amount over apples. You may also add some nutmeg if you like.

Combine 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar; cut in 1/2 cup butter till crumbly; sprinkle over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the crust is brown and the apples are tender.

Now...drizzle with a thin confectioner icing. This is listed as optional on my recipe card, but we don't consider this an option in our house. :)




Yesterday afternoon...a beautiful, sunny, 70 degree day...we visited the apple orchard and picked a bag of Jonathan apples.

My brother, Rob, and his fiance...my soon-to-be sister-in-law (soon meaning three weeks away!)...were with us.

We took those apples home and made them into a taste of home.
Now I know why there is a recipe magazine with that name!

It's amazing how my childhood memories can make a connection to my children's childhood memories.

To me, Rob will always be my little brother, Robbie.
Silly Robbie!




Is it any wonder that I can't lose any weight?!
I'm busy trying to make some memories for my kids!
That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!


Enjoying the Journey,

Mixin' Things Up a Little

Trail Mix!

Here is something that I've always meant to make with the kids, but I always forget that I want to make it.

Do you ever do that?

I found this website,The Adventures of a Kitchen Girl, that posted a "Master Recipe" and some ideas for add-ins.
We decided that instead of having a "Master Recipe," we will try to include Sweet, Salty, Crunchy, Chewy in every recipe that we make. A great base ingredient for Trail Mix is cereal. Our base ingredient this time was Chocolate Cheerios.

This one was so popular, that we have decided to make a new combination every month or so.
Just wait until you see the Trail Mix that we have already planned out for the month of February!

I have to admit that we are not as health-minded as we probably should be. We have quite a bit of "Sweet" ingredients in this. Maybe as time goes by, we'll include some more nutritious choices into our Trail Mix.

Hey! Who's hand is that?
Daddy?















One thing that we learned was that if you add marshmallows to the Trail Mix, they will get tough--even if the mix is in a sealed jar.
I think that it must be like putting bread in with your cookies. The cookies stay moist but the bread gets dried out.
The marshmallows get sapped of their moisture.
I guess this makes the marshmallows one of your "Chewy" ingredients.



There's that hand again!



Snack-wise, this has been a nice change-of-pace.

And...bonus! You don't have to choose only one kind of snack! Include all of your favorites and you automatically simplify your life by simplifying your decision-making.

Have a scrumptious day,

The Donut Chronicles

Paul works a lot of weekends, so it's always a treat when we find out that he doesn't have to work.

And would you believe that when he doesn't have to work, he usually makes breakfast for us?!

Well, O.K....so he doesn't really "make" it.
But he does take care of it for us.

There's nothing like Marsh donuts!

Hmmm....
Nothing left of Joshua's donut.
Where could it have gone?
Just a few clues to go by...around his mouth...




and on his fingers.



Matthew can't really decide what to do with a whole donut.
In the past, I've cut his into little pieces.
Go ahead, Matty, dig in!

He's a bit cautious...maybe just a little sprinkle to start with.



Ah...he's thinking about having some more.



Maybe one more sprinkle.



That's not at all how I eat my donuts.
Josh either.

Ketchup, though, is a different story.
But that's a story for another day.

Where There Are Kids...

You remember those first years of marriage...just you and the love your life.
I look back at those years as the beginning of our family.
Paul and I made some very special memories, and without even thinking about it, we were working with God to lay the foundation for our family.

Days of just spending time together...getting to know each other.
Days made for beginning our own traditions as a new family.

And remember those first holidays with a new baby?
What fun! It was like being a kid all over again!
And as long as there are children in the house (kids, grandkids, great-grandkids...), Paul and I get to be kids everyday.

Every holiday, especially, is so exciting and so much fun to plan for!

Fourth of July is one of those exciting, fun days!

Where there are kids, there is fun!