HippieDog

Fall Picnic Cake

 

If you want your home to smell yummy before a little get together, this cake smells of cinnamon heaven :) It's my sister's recipe from when I was little. Cathy made this cake at least once a month, and I've always loved it! It's perfect for the holidays, picnics, potlucks and is yummy with coffee or cocoa.

Fall Picnic Cake

1 cup heaping raisins
1 tsp. soda
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour plus 2TB
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

In small bowl, pour boiling water over raisins. Add soda, stir and set aside to cool.

In another bowl, mix shortening, eggs and sugar until well combined. Set aside.

Combine flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in separate bowl. When raisins are cool (not too hot, OK if warm), add raisins to sugar mixture. Gradually add flour mixture until well combined. Add vanilla, mixing until smooth.

Pour in greased and floured pan. In small bowl, combine brown sugar, nuts and chocolate chips. Sprinkle over cake and bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping......sprinkle with cinnamon, if you wish.

Thanks Sis! xo

Here's a few photos of our kitchen :)

 

Hmmmmm.....now what to do with these apples. Maybe Jake will know.....

As you know, my favorite part of the kitchen :) My aprons and wooden sign that says, "Our home is open to God, Love and Friends". How perfect is that!

Above my cabinets.......happy things.

Old vintage cookbooks from Aunt Ruth, an old apple pie dish, my apple peeler and a sweet checkered apron that Dan's sister Judye made for him.

I've had these cushions forever. I love them! I'm so glad I didn't throw them out when they seemed "dated". Now they are perfect to me even though most of the ties are torn. I need to sew them back on. They are fun for the Fall Season and I always look forward to seeing them for a few months out of the year :)

 

Lastly, one large nut that escaped the baking bowl......Jake is a master at cracking eggs for my cakes and cookies :) He's such a help in the kitchen..... *wink*.

Yummy apple turnovers....etc

 

We had the yummiest-easiest dinner last night, Apple Pork Chop Stuffing. I forgot to get a close-up of the main dish but it's so delicious, you just have to try it :)

Apple Pork Chop Stuffing

6-8 boneless pork chops
1 can apple pie filling
1 package Stove Top chicken stuffing
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Brown pork chops in skillet, seasoning with season all and pepper. Spray crock pot with cooking spray and add apple pie filling. Top apple pie filling with pork chops. Prepare chicken stuffing as directed on package, spread over pork chops. Bake in crock pot 6 to 8 hours on low. Top with pecans right before serving, if desired. The original recipe is here , I changed it up a bit.

Of course I had another can of apple pie filling that I just had to use. These apple turnovers are just the best and easy.....easy. Oh yes, cherries would be yummy too!

Apple Turnovers

1 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry
1 can apple pie filling
cinnamon
powdered sugar
butter
whipped cream

Remove pastry from freezer and let thaw about 40 minutes. Roll out pastry on floured surface. Cut in four equal pieces. I used a decorative pastry cutter (pampered chef) to make a pretty edge. Brush with butter and top each square with a spoonful of filling. Sprinkle with cinnamon and fold corner to corner, making a triangle. Press edges together to seal. Using both puffs in package, you will have 8 turnovers.

Bake 400 degrees on parchment paper covered jelly roll pan for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Watch carefully :)

Cool on rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 

Place turnover on a pretty plate sprinkled with powdered sugar. Add additional filling, cinnamon and make a whipped cream smile. This step is optional but highly recommended :)

 

Or make your own whipped cream design :)

They are also delicious right out of the oven. Maybe with some vanilla ice cream? Yes, please!

Apple turnovers and Candy Land......how sweet :)
 

Setting the mood......

It's always nice to put away the Halloween and decorate for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday. I like to keep it simple with mini pumpkins, ornamental corn and candles. It just feels cozy and welcoming.

I have some yummy recipes coming up for you this weekend :)

Tonight we're watching the baseball game and Dan will undoubtedly watch me win another game of Scrabble. He's the smartest person I have ever known but for some reason.....Scrabble gets away from him. (wonder if he's letting me win on purpose?) hmmmm......

Haunted decorating

Don't get too close if you want to keep your fingers.....

 

Coffee is on......

Chandelier of skeletons and witches flying about....

 

if you look around, you'll find the creepiest things.....

Drink up.....

Sit by the cozy fire.....

Poor dear......she does miss him  :(

 

You're always welcome to sit by one of our guests.....

Don't worry, while your washing up in the guest bath he promises not to look.

 

Happy Halloween!

Hallow's Eve

We made treat bags for Jake's school out of lunch sacks. Fill with goodies, cut top with fancy scissors and tied together with ribbon or yarn. For some spookiness we attached a spider and stamped a black cat. Remember.....don't let a black cat cross your path, especially on Hallow's Eve!

I couldn't forget about Jake's Wonderful teachers. They received Black Cherry Soda tied with black ribbon and spiders :) Creepy---creep---Creepy!

 

Who would have guessed this? It's Thomas!! This little boy just steals our heart :)

I'll be back later tonight with some photos of our SPOOKY HOME. We are just finishing up the last minute decorating. Have a Spooky Evening!

Ghoulish Chicken Pot Pie

Ghoulish Chicken Pot Pie

2 cups cooked chicken breast, cut in bite size pieces
2 small packages frozen stew vegetables, cooked
2 cans cream chicken/mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
2 packages ready made pie crusts or homemade

Boil chicken breasts with a few onion slices and salt for 1 hour. Set aside to cool and cut in bite size pieces. In saucepan combine soup, milk, pepper, bay leaf, vegetables and chicken. Simmer on low, stirring frequently for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

Place pie crust in pie pan, pressing sides to shape of pan or with fork. Add pot pie filling and top with a second pie crust, shaping edges.

If you wish, cut cute cookie cutter shapes with an additional pie crust to decorate your pie. Cut 4 slits in pie to vent. Bake 425 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Since we used another pie crust we had a bunch left. What to do....make sugar-cinnamon crustos of course. Making these always reminds me of my sister, she made these all the time when I was little. My sister cuts hers in long strips, just like the real sugar crustos. In honor of Halloween, I wanted to use cookie cutter shapes....of course! Bake 400-425 for 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Jake, on the other hand. Well, he had macaroni and cheese for dinner with an ice cream cone for dessert. I knew he wouldn't touch the pot pie, so we made an exception this time :)

 

A very proud ice cream cone owner!
 

Creepy Cupcakes

Go ahead......have a cupcake :) Hope you're having a Creepy Weekend!

xo
 

Spooky Caramel Apples and Crafts

Jake and I made Caramel Apples today. My favorite part, besides eating them is the Spider :) We melted a couple bags of caramels, added water and some vanilla. When everything was melted real perdy we rolled our apples (Granny Smith) in the caramel and quickly dipped the bottom in pecan bites. Our apples were set to cool on buttered wax paper.

When everything was set, we put them in a cute cup cake liner and the creepy spider crawled up to rest.

Next up, we're going to try caramel meets chocolate and some different sprinkles. YUM!

Some new Fall Dish Cloths will be available through my Website later today. Great for cleaning up after making caramel apples and stuff like that :) Grasshopper Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, Creme de Mint and Orange Creamsicle flavor-colors. Gift wrapped with a kissable tag :)

 

More Halloween Bottle cap Magnets too.
 
 

Good for hanging all your Creepy Stuff on the fridge :)

 

Happy Haunting......

Big Pumpkins meet mini cupcakes

We all had a date with the Pumpkin Patch this weekend....

Looking for the Great Pumpkin.

These two fellas are actually the same size.....lol

Maybe this one......

The Perfect Pumpkin

 

We stopped over at Grandma and Grandpa's too and Grandmother was making mini cupcakes.

I love the Betty Crocker decorating cupcake icing with 4 different types of designs. Fun and easy :)

Yummy spice cake with whipped vanilla frosting.

 

Thanks Grandma :) They're delicious!

Candy button love.....

I made these cute candy buttons as my "thank you" gifts at my Boutique. Just wished I would have remembered to pass them out to all my guests! grrrr:) I'm slowly but surely getting these yummies to all of my sweet friends.  

The purple and green and plain milk chocolate shown below are my favorites. I'm thinking of making a pretty Autumn mix. They are so realistic that a couple friends ( I won't mention your name Jenette) thought they were real and didn't understand why she had to sew them on the witch she purchased! LOL

The theme of my Boutique this year was candy so sweet but not always to eat. So I went with lots of fun candy color designs. I also brought back a lot of old school items, next year I will have all new designs. All one of a kinds.......I'm really excited and hope the ideas don't pop out of my head.  

Thanks to Bake it Pretty for the great tutorial and button molds :) They are wonderful and so much fun!!!!

   
 
 See you soon with a few more Annie's and some goodies to share :) I'm still working on filling orders and I'm a bit behind, please forgive me. Everything should be shipped mid week.  xo