Celebrate the season of autumn with your family by reliving your childhood memories; sitting by the campfire, walking through a corn maze, exploring a nature trail, leaping into a leaf pile, decorating your home for the season and making comfort foods There are many fun family activities in autumn. So what are you waiting for? Plan an autumn activity of your home and family and have some fun. Here are some ideas.
Tonight is the first cold fall night and I found that I was thinking about Halloween cookie recipes to serve at our annual gathering. Normally when I am looking for a unique recipe idea I will go to the food network but this year I went to Allrecipes.com and found witch cookie fingers.
The cook that shared the recipe mentioned that she made the base of the cookie from her sugar cookie recipe. Yes, the same recipe that we all use during the Christmas holidays so you know the cookie will taste good. Apparently instead of making the cookies the traditional way you would roll them in the shape of a finger and bake.
Then cool the cookies before applying the frosting for the fingernails. I love this idea and know that this cookie will be a hit at our party. I plan to add a few witch fingers to the dessert trays.
Learn other Halloween cookie recipes at Allrecipes
Acorns are a nut that comes from oak trees. We have 12 Oak trees on our property and in the past, I collected them during the fall season to be used as feed for squirrels and deer during the winter months. Feed for animals is good, but using the acorn nuts for food is a better idea because they are rich in B vitamins, protein and are also good for controlling blood sugar levels.
Acorn nuts are a good source of food for wildlife in the winter.
Ripe acorn nuts
You can collect acorns at parks or from your backyard but before you begin to gather the nuts know that not all oak trees are created equal and some produce acorns that are best left on the ground for wildlife. White Oaks produce a bland tasting acorns. Swamp Oak, Oregon White Oak, Emory Oak and Burr Oak are the best for harvesting for food recipes.
When we collect acorns we look for brown ones because they are ripe. Stay away from green or black acorns or ones with mildew/rotting You want a smooth and firm acorn with no damage to the nut. Toss out any imperfect acorns or leave them for wildlife.
Collect brown nuts only. Throw out the black or green nuts.
I do not know of an easy way to pick up acorns other than getting the family involved. My husband will rake all of ripe (brown acorns) into a pile then we fill our buckets with the best acorns we can find.
Get your acorns ready for processing by removing the shell (cap on top of the nut) then wash them off to remove any dirt or debris. In order to make the acorn tasty (a sweet nutty flavor) you will need to a water blanching; put the acorns into a stock pot, fill the pot with water that covers the acorns. Bring the water to a boil, turn heat to medium-high and blanch the acorns for 40 minutes. (water will turn brown) remove the brown water from the stock pot and refill the pot with fresh water and bring the water to a boil again. Repeat the process until the water is no longer brown.
When the water is clear (no more brown color) strain the acorns and allow them to dry. It is best to pour them out onto the counter, rather than leaving them bunch up in a pot. Or you can lay them out on cookie sheets.
One of my favorite beverages in the autumn season is pumpkin spice latte. Normally I buy a cup of this delicious pumpkin brew at Starbucks to enjoy but the costs for this drink does add up. So this year I found a recipe that is quick and easy to make at home. The pumpkin spice latte tastes so good that it became a fall favorite recipe.
I searched online and found several recipes at Allrecipes. What I like is that the recipes shared on this website by people that really enjoy cooking and all recipes are tested by their readers. This recipe got many rave reviews and one taste will tell you why everyone loves the autumn season drink.
For the pumpkin spice latte, you will need the following ingredients
Here is a latte recipe from Allrecipes enjoy! View another latte recipe in the video below.
Jot down the recipe on this card. Keep the recipe for yourself and give one to a friend. I think this card is very cute and would make a thoughtful gift for some who loves to cook.
One of the benefits of living in the Midwest is being able to go to one of the many farms to pick your own apples at the end of the summer. We are fortunate that there are apple orchards close by where we can spend the afternoon harvesting apples from the trees.
Normally our weather in late summer is hot during the day, so we always look at the upcoming weather forecast and try to choose a day that is cloudy or less hot.
A good way to find U-pick-it farms is to go to your local farmers market and ask another way is to watch your newspaper as there are sometimes ads. I recommend that you call the farm before you go. Find out if the apples are ready to be picked and if they prefer people coming on the weekdays or weekends. In the past, we drove an hour to a U-pick-it farm only to find out that they were out of apples.
Always dress properly for picking apples. I would recommend that you wear a comfortable long sleeve shirt and pants, hiking boots and socks are important and also a sun hat. Treat your clothing for an insect repellent that would include biting flies fleas and ticks.
Bring along bottled water and snacks. I like breakfast or protein bars, but if you are going to be out in the country you may want to bring along a fleece blanket for kids to use for an afternoon nap in the car or for putting down for a picnic lunch at the park or an open meadow.
Don’t forget your camera. Make happy memories with your family by spending the day in the country picking apples. These photos are great for scrapbooks and sharing on Facebook.
Pick enough apples for your favorite recipes for your family to enjoy throughout the fall season.
Orange is a color that represents the autumn season but that does not mean that you cannot decorate your bathroom for other seasons. I personally like an orange color scheme because these colors represent warmth and it is a wonderful contrast to my cream-painted walls.
You can decorate your home with patterns that are not traditional leaves, such as flowers, stripes, or abstracts. Here is an orange design that I created for the bathroom. The artwork consists of an orange leaf pattern that was mirrored to give it an abstract look.
The orange pattern bath accessories will look fabulous when coordinated with solid warm colors like towels in brown, beige, and orange. Accent your walls with decorative switch covers or wall art. Add a wicker or bamboo clothes hamper in a brown or tan color.
It is best to have solid color wall creams, beige, light orange, and tan would be complementary to the autumn colors in the shower curtain. When you shop look for paint that is mildew-resistant and has zero VOC. ( Paint can release a low level of toxic emissions into the air. The source of these toxins is a variety of volatile organic compounds known as VOC / Vocs are toxic solvents that get released into the air when you are painting.) I like Home Depot paint the Behr Semi-Gloss low VOC paint in the color Cream Puff.
Now that fall is here and a chill in the air my family and friends seem to eat more baked goods, brownies, cakes, and cookies. My friend's kids are getting excited about going trick or treating and normally I will buy Hersey kisses but last year I bought my friend's children special chocolate covered Halloween designed chocolate covered Oreo cookies. The cookies arrived individually wrapped so it was easy to hand them out to the trick or teeters.
My friends told me that the Oreos were wonderful and asked me where I bought them. I told them I designed the frosting top at zazzle.com. Here is the cookie that I gave to my friend's kids that were trick or treating on Halloween.
Zazzle has a variety of delectable sweet treats; candies, cookies, and brownies that you can buy as shown with a print on demand unique design or you can customize these treats with your own photograph and words. Thus making a special dessert for your gathering and a sweet gift for your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.
Have you bought the cookies, cakes, and candies from zazzle.com?
Zazzle.com also carries delicious sugar cookiesthat come in four or a dozen. These cookies are really tasty. You can taste the butter, sugar and a hint of lemon. This cookie is mouthwatering good. I have given the sugar cookies as gifts to neighbors and have arranged them in gift baskets for adults and children. Everyone loves sugar cookies,brownies,cake pops, and chocolate candies.
Decorating your home for Halloween is easy when you hang a decal on your wall. While shopping online today at Walmart.com I found a spooky Halloween decal that would look fantastic in my office or in my family room.
I liked that it was large and that it would take up most of the wall. Then all I would need to do is add a few decorations on my table, throw pillows for chairs, and a pumpkin or two. Before ordering the Halloween wall decoration I did read the customer's reviews and learned that the bats were individually cut from cardboard and that the tree and graveyard of the decal were one piece of lightweight vinyl.
All of the reviewers said that they had to tape the decals to the wall and I thought I would use two-sided gorilla tape so that the pieces would stay on the wall.
As you can see the room set that I created the decal looks great. If you are seeking easy Halloween decorations for your home then I would recommend this decal.
Here are a few Halloween products that I created at my Zazzle.com store
Using your own branches is a frugal and fun way to create unique decorations. I have created branch decorations for under $10.00, of course, it does take the time to complete but if you enjoy doing crafts then you will love making branch centerpieces.
The best time to gather branches in late summer or after the trees or shrubs have been pruned. If you have no branches then look for them at a park. Look for a branch that is 18 to 24 inches in length, it should have a straight center branch then side branches.
Clean the branch with warm soapy Dawn antibacterial dish soap to remove excess dirt. Let the branch air dry. When the branches are dry you would then treat them with a pesticide to kill any insects. Allow the branches to dry.
Spray paint the branches the color of your choice. I like the colors gold, silver or white, but you can choose the color that you like. Use a spray paint like the brand name Krylon or Rust-Oleum. It is best to spray the branches lightly otherwise it can be messy. You can always reapply the paint with second spraying.
When branches are dry, secure them so they are standing upright. Buy from the craft store a Styrofoam block and a hot glue gun. Push the branches into the center of the Styrofoam block and use a glue gun to keep the branches in place. Gluing around the top of Styrofoam and the base of the branch is good.
When branches are secure you would then put the Styrofoam block into the display box or vase. If using a vase to display your branches then choose one that is not clear, a pattern or color vase, pot or urn is best.
Decorating Ideas
Decorate your branches with glitter by spraying the tip of the branches with glue then dust the branches in the glitter.
You can also decorate your branches with Halloween lights or garland. For autumn drape a swag of autumn leaves or small lightweight autumn season ornaments.
Here is another way to decorate, learn how to use the leaves from your trees.
Autumn is the last season before the bitterly cold weather so our family always spends quality time outdoors doing activities with our teenagers. Most people think that teens do not enjoy traditional activities but if you start them out doing the same things every year they do look forward to the activities, especially if they can bring along their friend.
Here are a few autumn activities that my family enjoys
On a sunny afternoon, we make plans to go to a pumpkin patch. Pick out pumpkins for decoration and for carving into a Jack O’Lantern.Our teenage kids always like picking the biggest pumpkin that they can find. Half the fun is getting it back to the car.
I will watch for the advertisement for the fall bazaars in my hometown then check out the activities, looking for the traditional autumn activities like pumpkin carving, drinking apple cider, going for a hayride, or enjoying roasting marshmallows on an open fire for s’more chocolate treats. Teenagers love participating in the carving contests, they will eat smores and listen to live music. City festivals are always fun for families with teenagers.
Know that teenagers have different interests so my husband will plan an ATV outing. He will choose a trail where the trees are in full autumn color. Sometimes he brings along a picnic lunch, other times just snacks and drinks for the kids. Everyone loves this outing especially if the day is warm and sunny.
What activities do you do with your family during the autumn season?
Chocolate pie is one of my favorite desserts, especially during the fall and winter months. my family craves comfort foods and this caramel chocolate pie is satisfying.
When you serve this pie to your family and friends they will scrape the side of the plate with their fork and when they finish they will feel comforted. It is very chocolaty and the nuts make it taste delicious.
Here is the chocolate pie recipe
You will need the following ingredients
Store bought ready-made chocolate cookie crumb crust
30 vanilla caramels
½ cup caramel ice cream
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 cups chopped unsalted peanuts or pecans
¾ cup semisweet chocolate morsels ( I like Ghirardelli)
¼ whipping cream
Optional: vanilla ice cream for topping
Turn on the stove to low heat and melt caramels with the caramel ice cream in a saucepan. Keep stirring, then add ¼ cup whipping cream, stir to blend all ingredients.
Remove saucepan from the heat
Add nuts to pie filling and stir
Add pie filling to the 9-inch pie plate
Spread the filling over the crust
Let the pie set until it is cool, then cover with saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Make the topping for this pie by melting the semisweet chocolate morsels in a saucepan over low heat. When chocolate is melted stir in the remaining whipped cream.
Top the caramel chocolate pie with the melted chocolate. Drizzle the chocolate over the pie. Recover the pie and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
Cut and serve with vanilla Ice cream
Here is a video that will show you how to melt chocolate in a double boiler.
A hearty casserole with nutritious ingredients is a great way to fuel your family with energy. Plus this casserole tastes great on a cool autumn day.
When it comes to preparing dinner for my family I like to make casseroles because they will provide my family with a balanced meal and the preparation is in on pan, less mess, easy cleanup. Tonight I am making a chicken casserole that is hearty, filling and tastes great.
Ingredients needed for casserole
3 eight ounce chicken breast filets (pre-cooked)
½ pound egg noodles (pre-cooked)
Sea salt, fresh cracked pepper
12-ounce jar of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup fresh Italian cheese, I use Kraft natural cheese, five cheese blend; mozzarella, Parmesan, provolone, Asiago and Romano
3 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
1/4 cup Mayonnaise ( I use Kraft olive oil Mayonnaise)
¼ cup low-fat sour cream
½ cup low-fat milk
*** you can substitute chicken with turkey.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 then lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish
Dice the chicken breast and put in small mixing bowl
Add the chopped artichoke hearts, spinach, and egg-noodle to the chicken, then mix all ingredients.
Next add the garlic, parsley and ½ cup of the Italian cheeses, salt, and pepper and mix into the chicken and vegetables.
Using a whisk mix mayonnaise, sour cream and milk together in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Then add cream sauce to the pasta, chicken, and vegetables and blend all ingredients.
Add the casserole ingredients to the baking dish. Smooth out the top so that the surface is flat. Garnish the casserole remaining Italian cheese.
Put in the oven and bake for 18 minutes.
Remove and let the casserole rest before cutting. I serve this casserole with a side salad and dinner rolls.
Here is another chicken casserole recipe that you may like.
Autumn is the perfect season to go antiquing or hit the area garage sales. I know in my city we tend to shop for bargains in the spring and the autumn because summer is too hot. Normally I do not go to garage sales in the spring but autumn is a must on my to-do list. This is the time of year when you can bargain shop for autumn and Christmas decorations.
Here is a photo of my best buy at an autumn garage sale.
It is best to know what you are shopping for and to check out the newspaper on Wednesday and look for garage sales that offer a list of products that they are selling. Then make a list of the garage sales that you want to check out.
The night before the garage sale I will do a drive-by. If they are setting I will park get out and ask if I can take a quick look. Many times if you find something that you love you can buy it ahead of time. Otherwise, plan to go to the garage sale at the crack of dawn. In my experience, everyone has the same idea so if you want something special then it is best to get to the sale early.
Things that I look for at garage sales; vintage china, leaded glass ceiling light covers, sterling silver flatware, vintage table lamps, table linens, trivets, crystal or cut glass perfume bottles, hat boxes, vintage dolls, art deco jewelry, bag and gloves and holiday decorations and ornaments. My husband shops for vintage cameras, 1970s Peter Max posters and autumn season posters or prints, antique door knobs or knockers and antique train sets.
Going to garage sales in autumn is something my husband and I enjoy, we think of it as entertainment because it is a fun thing to do. Plus when we find something of value and it is a good price we are ecstatic.
Fall is here and out comes the pumpkin and other comfort foods recipes. Pumpkin is one of my favorite food ingredients and pumpkin cookies that are dipped in white chocolate are by far my favorite autumn comfort food. Know that my mom’s recipe never called for the chocolate, I came up with that extra ingredient all on my own. You bet I am a chocolate lover and pumpkin and white or semi-sweet chocolate is delicious.
Here is the recipe:
1 cup white sugar 1 cup light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup canned pumpkin puree 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup unsalted butter, softened 2 cups (12-ounce bag) white or semi-sweet chocolate chips
**You will also need parchment paper to line cookie sheets or Pam non-stick baking spray
1. Combine flour, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. 2. Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl until creamy. 3. Beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth. 4. Gradually stir in flour,baking soda and salt into the mixture by hand, then add the chocolate chips. 5. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheets. 6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the cookie edges are firm. 7. Let cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack
Here is a recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. The look and the recipe sound easy and delicious.
This year we are blessed with warm weather so I find that I am making plans to be outdoors on the weekend with family. In my hometown, there are many activities, including hayrides at the park, bonfires, and church bizarre. Those activities are always fun but this weekend we took to the nature trails at the Audubon Center just south of Joplin Missouri.
The nature center was built on land that is adjacent to Wildcat Park and Shoal creek. This is the perfect location for watching birds and wildlife in their natural habitat.
Today we visited the center first to see what they had on display and to pick up their brochure for upcoming winter events. My husband and I enjoy the night owl watch and also like to participate in other wildlife events held at the park.
We decided to have lunch before taking our walk since there were tables available under the pavilion. So we ate a picnic lunch of sandwiches from Panera and we both had coffee. Lunch was good but instead of rushing off to the trails we sat for an hour and enjoyed the beautiful day. You could not ask for a more beautiful day, the sun was shining, and the temperature was 72 degrees.
After lunch we took to the nature trails, we saw a few black-eyed Susan’s in the wildlife gardens, some butterflies, and gray squirrels. There were hawks circling above us but other than that no deer or other wildlife was in sight.
The trails were windy and at one point the tree's overhang was so thick that no light was coming through. The path turned dark and rather spooky. We quickened our pace and soon we were back in the sunlight.
There was a bench close to Shoal creek and we sat to take in the view. This section of the creek is where you could see the bluffs on the other side. We had heard stories of Indian markings on the bluffs and that there were caves in this area, but in order to get to the other side, one would need a boat so we will plan to do that on another day.
The nature trail at the Audubon center is very scenic and I believe it is 20 miles long. Needless to say, we did not walk the entire trial. Instead, we looked at the tree's leaves that were starting to turn. Many were orange, yellow, and a few dark red and we enjoyed the beautiful autumn day.
