Happy Halloween 2012

Roberts double layer chocolate cake all for himself...LOL

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Pumpkin Pie Bites

I’ve been in a mini-mood lately when it comes to baking and these bite-sized pies met my big craving.
They are really, really easy. Let me show ya.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that I used ready to roll refrigerated pie crust. It comes two to a box and if you roll each round pie crust a little bit thinner with a rolling pin, you can get 24 mini pumpkin-shaped pie crusts out of them. Make sure you use all the dough scraps and re-roll to maximize quantities.

Then, stuff each one in a mini muffin baking pan. This one holds 24.

Press the dough down, in and around the edge of each muffin cup. Make sure the stem for the pumpkin stays sticking out. You’ll notice I alternated cups above. I did this mainly to make sure the pie crusts didn’t touch each other. So I ended up baking these in two batches.

Fill each pie crust with pumpkin filling all the way to the top.

When they come out of the oven, they’ll be puffed up like this. Too bad they didn’t stay that way. That would be pretty darn cute.

But no, after they cool for a few, they’ll fall and be flush with the pie crust.
See… easy mini pumpkin pie bites. These would be really cute at Thanksgiving.

You can even drizzle them with melted chocolate to jazz them up a bit. Just melt some chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. You can also add a little bit of vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Then, transfer the chocolate to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off and drizzle away.
But wait… you say you don’t want to wait until Thanksgiving.
I don’t blame you.
So… pipe some chocolate faces on and make them in October.

Cute!
And I’ll say it again… easy!
Pumpkin Pie Bites
2 refrigerated ready-to roll pie crusts
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter
Optional
1/2 cup chocolate morsels
vegetable oil
re-sealable plastic bags
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box.
Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray. (Make 12 at a time, alternating cups to make sure pie crusts don’t overlap each other.)
Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie.
Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined.
Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove pies to cool and repeat with second pie crust. Place the muffin tray in the freezer to cool it quickly for re-use.
Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.
To decorate, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Add a little vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off. Drizzle or draw faces on pies.
Note: The cutter I used was 3 3/4 inches wide, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just use a round cutter around that size or slightly smaller to cut circle shapes out of the dough. Then make stems with the scraps. Press each stem over the edge and down the side of the dough before filling.
Pumpkin pie spice is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.
Enjoy!

LOVED IT!!!!

Saw this on pinterest and LOVED it.  Couldn't stop smiling.  I want to do this to our tree.  Ok maybe if I had a second tree ohhh how much fun to have this with little ones puttering about....LOL
http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/Holidays/Living-Room-/detail.esi?oid=11575124

I can do this

So I'm thinking what I can do is use bottles of sparkling cidar instead of the champagne.  I'll have to do this at our next family breakfast.  FUN FUN FUN.

One day .......

One day my grand daughter will lay her pretty little head to rest in this.  What do you think too much?


 

Love this luau theme

Great idea for Brides maids party

scavenger hunt for bridesmaids

Off to work today

Off to Bottom Line Utility.  Working with a new sales team.  The company has been in the construction arena but never in sales.  Having to train the company with a new culture.  Changing the company culture is not going to be easy.  Sales is the bread and butter of any organization and well when the owners have no sales experience  its a tough one.  Sales is not an easy thing and shifting a company culture to embrace this is difficult.  Sales people and rest of a company don't always see eye to eye.  It will be interesting. Oh I should mention I'm not really working for this company I've been hired as a consultant.  A bit more challenging since I don't have free reign to do as I like and so things are a bit slower.  Today is the first meeting with the new sales people to put some structure into the system.  Baby steps Baby steps....

Busy week

Monday, Monday Monday.  So much to do this week.  I've been a bit slacking on my house work so this week I will be ripping through my cupboards, cleaning tossing and moving on.  I noticed the other day that I have quite a few  dishes, pots and pans that need to be tossed.  They are either too old, ruined for some reason (and yet I still on hung on to it) and or just never used.  So I will be going thru the cupboards giving them a good cleaning.  A couple of weeks ago Robert and I cleaned out the garage and loaded an entire truck load of items to be donated.  The truck was so loaded that we had to use the cab as well.  When Robert got to the Salvation Army they were so excited and couldn't believe we were donating so many "good things".  It made us feel good.  So many things were still in their box and a couple of things still had price tags on them.  I kept thinking I was going to have a garage sale but just don't have the time for it.  It would have been nice to have the money, but helping those in need is sometimes just as rewarding. 

Ann and Lucy will be here this Friday so I've also got to get their room done up.  Eric (Danielles friend who was with us for a 10 days while working on a project in LA) just left last night so I'll have to strip the bed and actually we are changing the bed out in that room.  So the new bed will go in tonight and then I can give it a good cleaning and ready for Ann and Lucy.  Just as Ann will be leaving Harry will arrive.  The carpets need cleaning as well.  I'll see if I can't schedule that this week.  Oh and I've got to finalize Roberts Radiation appointment.  Also I've been consulting for the past couple of weeks over at Davids company.  He's putting together a sales team and has no experience with this so I've been working with him for a couple of weeks just a few days a week for a few hours a day.  Robert and I have been talking about it.  There is a part of me that misses corporate America but theres a bigger part of me that says NOPE not making another person millions.  I'm only interested in working for myself.  Is that bad?  Oh well always open for discussion :)  Better get going lots to do.

Halloween Family dinner (check)

What a great time we had last night with all of our family.  The girls were both here with their boyfriends, Jennifer & David and Rianne & Joe.  What a great night!.  Food was awesome.  Mexican BBQ and all the side dishes to make you full till the next morning.  Here are a few pictures of the night.

Easy Shredded Chicken

How To Make Shredded Chicken In Your Crock Pot

Making your own shredded chicken breast is easier than you think! My favorite way to do this is in my crock pot. It makes perfectly shredded chicken every time which you can use for quick recipes throughout the week.

Here's how easy it is to make:

Put the chicken breast in your crock pot, cover it with water or chicken broth if you wish so that the liquid is completely covering the chicken.



Cover and cook on high 4 hours.



Remove from crock pot and place on a dish. When cool enough to handle, shred it with two forks.



Store a container in your refrigerator to use throughout the week.

http://www.skinny-bits.com/2011/02/how-to-make-shredded-chicken-in-your.html

Hotel Purcell

As always during the summer months our home is filled with family members coming and going.  The last few weeks we've seen quite a few family members and have had quite a few stopping by and spending a night or two or three with us.  Robert and I have always opened our home to those needing a place to stay, welcoming the opportunity to visit with family.  We've lived here in Costa Mesa for our entire marriage (10 years next year) and have never spent a summer without the occasional guest.  At some point our home was dubbed Hotel Purcell.  Between the girls and their college friends and Robert's family coming and going our home has always been full. 

This year has been no different.  We've had Roberts Aunt Loto from Hawaii and her daughter Teresa.  They were here as Teresa settled in her son in a local Jr College.  It was nice to have the time with them and get to know them better.  We didn't see them too much during the day but often met up for dinner.  Auntie V came over and stayed a few nights with us during the time that Robert had his surgery.  It was nice catching up with Auntie V.  Robert's brother Dicky was also with us during Roberts surgery for a couple nights.  Robert so appreciated having his brother here.  They are very close and I know he misses seeing him daily now that he lives in Utah.  Roberts cousin Elliott and his wife Mafou were here a few nights as well.  They had used a couple of Roberts buddy passes and were not able to make their return flight home for a couple of days so we were able to have them here with us.  We shared dinner with Elliot Mafou and Jen and Dave.  Then were able to meet up with Roberts dad and his girlfriend.  Danielle's friend from Utah Eric and Tyler came for a week to visit, great boys.  Eric usually comes out several times during the year to visit.  Always a delight.  He's back for his second visit this summer.  Ann and Lucy are coming in next Friday from Samoa and Harry will arrive the following week.  So you see Hotel Purcell is in full force.  I just realized summer is over....oh well. 

Making this for Halloween Party

7 Layer Bean Dip

Ingredients

• 2 cups of refried beans, either from one 15-ounce can or homemade
• 1 teaspoon (or more) of bacon fat (or 1 strip of bacon, cooked and minced) optional
• 1 teaspoon of chipotle powder, Tabasco chipotle sauce, or adobo sauce, more to taste (or plain chili powder to taste)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green Anaheim chiles (canned) OR a Tbsp of chopped pickled jalapenos (more to taste)
• 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
• 1 hot house tomato, cut in half horizontally, seeds and juice gently squeezed out and discarded, chopped
• 1/3 cup of sour cream, or if you can get it Crema Mexicana (Mexican sour cream)
• 1/2 small can of sliced ripe black olives

Method

1 Heat the refried beans in a medium sauté pan or cast iron skillet. Stir in enough water to get a creamy, easily dip-able consistency, about 1/4 of a cup. The taste of refried beans is greatly enhanced by bacon fat; we'll add a teaspoon to canned beans or a tablespoon or more to taste if we are making the beans from scratch. If you don't have bacon fat, you can cook up a strip of bacon, chop it up fine and add that to the beans. If you are trying to avoid pork, note that most canned refried beans are made with added lard, so check the ingredients. You can use olive oil instead, to help the consistency of the beans.
Mix in the chipotle chili powder (or Tabasco, or adobo, or regular chili powder) and cumin to taste. Note that the avocados and the sour cream will cool down the spiciness of the beans considerably, so you can afford to be a bit more spicy than you might think. Stir in salt to taste, depending on how salted your refried beans are to begin with, and depending on how salty the tortilla chips are that you are serving with the dip.
2 Once the beans are hot and bubbly, spread them over the bottom of a warmed serving dish. Immediately add the shredded cheese so that the heat from the beans helps melt the cheese. (The cheese doesn't need to be completely melted, but even if it is just a little, it will help the dip stay on the chip.)
3 Layer on the chopped green chilies, chopped avocado, chopped tomato. Spoon on the sour cream (or crema Mexicana, crema fresca, or even cream fraiche). Top with sliced green onions and olives.
Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

Butterfinger Brownies

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coarse sea salt
2 cups coarsely chopped Butterfinger Bars (approx 16 “Fun Size” bars)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°
Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl.
Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until incorporated.
On low add your dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking soda) until just combined.
Stir in your chopped Butterfinger.
Spread in a 9×13 baking dish and bake for 25 minutes until center is JUST set.
Remove from oven and cool completely.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Butterfinger Buttercream:

Ingredients

1/2 cup room temp butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 1/2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped Butterfinger Bars (approx 4 “Fun Size” bars)

Instructions

Cream the butter and shortening together until smooth.
Add in you powdered sugar on low speed. Turn speed up to medium and mix until smooth
Stir in your chopped Butterfinger. (I sprinkled mine on top rather than stirring them in!)
Spread on your cooled blondies

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Getting ready for our Family Halloween Dinner

 

 

We are having a Family Halloween Dinner this coming Saturday and I am getting ready for it.  We are having a pumpkin carving contest too.  It actually just our monthly dinner with Dayna but I decided to have some fun with it and make it a Halloween party.  I'll be sure to take some pictures as I plan on decorating and having some fun with the food as well.  Can't wait for the fun.