C-Town

We had a fun trip to Cleveland this past weekend. Ryan had Fall Break, so we drove up Thursday evening.

Friday morning we took a trip to the Great Lakes Science Center. It's one of the museums we get into for free with our local museum membership. It's located right on Lake Erie, between the Brown's football stadium and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We spent a fun couple of hours there.



Friday afternoon Jess and I went to the Aveda school (only 3 minutes from her house) and got facials. They were so wonderful!

Saturday morning we headed to the West Side Market to find fixings for our dinner. We had no idea what we would be cooking that night and decided to buy whatever we were inspired with. After checking it out, we decided to get some Italian sausage since every meat place had lots of sausage. We also got some fresh spinach and sun-dried tomato pasta, and veggies. Ryan bought the boys a beef stick to munch on, which they proceeded to chow down.

We had lunch at an awesome place called Melt. They specialize in grilled cheese. I love grilled cheese and this place had so many varieties, yummy!

Sunday we headed to church and then to a clambake. Northeast Ohio is crazy for clambakes. Kinda surprising, huh? It was held at a park on Lake Erie and we had clam chowder, steamed clams, grilled chicken, corn, and sweet potatoes. The boys loved the clams and scarfed down about 15 of them!


After the clambake we had to hit the road. The boys were sad to leave Beck and Auntie Jess and Uncle Dan. They loved the time we spent together.

We stopped in Columbus on the way home to see my cousin Kim and her family. The boys loved playing with Tatum and Beckett. Brooks was amazed to hear that Tatum shared the same Great Grandpa!

We got home late that night and discovered that Mr Bear was not in our luggage. We think that we left him at the hotel. Hudson is a little sad about that and keeps talking about going back to the hotel in Cleveland to get Mr Bear back.

The crazy things Brooks says

When I went to pickup Brooks and Hudson at the Y the other day after my kickboxing class, Brooks said "Look Mommy, I got as sweaty as you did!" (Most mornings we're there, they take the kids into the gym to run around.)

He just randomly tells me things we should make for Thanksgiving:
Strawberry Pie
Biscuits
Graham Crackers with bananas
and today he said Pumpkin Pie. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Hudson talks about the H1N1 shot

Tasty Tuesday

I have some pumpkin recipes to share with you today...

We loved eating these Pumpkin Pancakes for dinner the other night. They were perfect on a cold and dreary fall day. I made a double batch and we had the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

Light & Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch clove
1 1/4 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and egg. Fold mixture into dry ingredients. Spray or grease a skillet and heat over medium heat: pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. This recipe makes six 6-inch pancakes.


I found this Pumpkin Bread when looking for a recipe to use the leftover pumpkin from the pancakes, and I had a block of cream cheese that was going to expire soon. I ended up making 1 large loaf (9x5) and 2 mini loaves. I brought some to a party Saturday evening and came home with a clean plate!

Pumpkin Quick Loaf With Cream Cheese Filling

FILLING

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temp
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 large egg or extra large egg
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind

BREAD

• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon clove
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup oil (not olive oil)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Set oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease two 8x4-in loaf pans, or use mini loaf pans if desired.
3. In a med bowl, combine all filling ingredients until smooth; set aside.
4. In another bowl, sift 1-2/3 cup flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg; set aside.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, oil, 2 eggs and 1-1/2 cups sugar, beat well.
6. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined.
7. Fold in nuts, if using.
8. Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter evenly into prepared loaf pans.
9. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of batter, and then pour on the remaining pumpkin batter.
10. Bake for 60-70 mins (if using the 8x4 pans), bake for a shorter time for mini loaf pans.
11. Cool in pans for 10-15 minutes.
12. Remove to a rack to cool completely.
13. Store loaf bread in fridge, wrapped tightly.

Alive

We're still alive. Hudson was sick a couple weeks ago, and Ryan and I have had a little something too, but we're all feeling better now. They actually swabbed Hudson for H1N1 and it was negative. I'm taking him in to get the H1N1 vaccination tomorrow morning. Since he has asthma, we don't want to mess around.

The boys are loving fall. Brooks told me he waiting for all the leaves to fall off our trees so he can hide in them. They are also obsessed with all things Halloween. They love to look at the costumes in the store ads. And they really love all the Halloween displays at the stores. We are going to a party this year, but they are not going trick or treating. I'm not into the whole Halloween thing.

I was going to take some pictures yesterday, but realized my camera's batteries were dead. Maybe I'll have some for Wednesday...

Tasty Tuesday

Here are some recipes I'd like to share with you this week.

This French toast is great on a chilly fall morning.

Apple French Toast Casserole

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 large apples, peeled and sliced thinly
  
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 8 slices Italian bread, 1 inch thick
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet and add apples.
2. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.
3. Add brown sugar, water, and cinnamon and continue to cook and stir for 10 minutes until apples are tender.
4. Spoon mixture into 13x9 baking dish.
5. Cover apples with bread slices, making sure to cover the entire surface.
6. Trim the bread to fit if you must.
7. Beat eggs until foamy, then beat in milk and vanilla.
8. Pour egg mixture over the bread slices.
9. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
10. In the morning, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let it stand while oven is preheated to 375 F.
11. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes, or until bread is golden and firm.
12. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
13. To serve on a platter, run a knife around the edges of the casserole, place platter on top of casserole, and carefully flip.
14. To serve individually, use a spatula to remove serving, place serving plate on top of serving and carefully flip so apple side is up.

I doubled this recipe and used half-and-half in place of the whipping cream. I also added in some fresh spinach that needed to be used.

Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage link, casings removed,crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes, drained,coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces pasta
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced parsley
• grated parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
2. Add sausage and crushed red pepper.
3. Cook until sausage is no longer pink, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes.
4. Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook until onion is tender and sausage is light brown, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, cream, and salt.
6. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, about 4 minutes.
7. (Can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and chill.).
8. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water.
9. Drain.
10. Bring sauce to a simmer.
11. Add pasta to sauce and cook until pasta is heated through and sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.
12. Divide pasta between plates.
13. Sprinkle with parsley.
14. Serve, passing Parmesan separately.

I upped the blue cheese to 3 tablespoons and you could use even more if you really like blue cheese. The boys even liked eating this on their salad!

Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Mix all ingredients together by hand in a small bowl until smooth.
2. Cover and chill for 30 minutes before serving.

Wordless Wednesday