The Christmas Village

It's one of those things that you remember from your childhood. You remember looking at all the little people and the lights. You remember how you felt, that feeling of comfort that it brings. As I place each little figure in it's own special place I hope that my children will remember it fondly. Maybe one day they'll have their own little Christmas village.

Comfort in a mug.

My comfort food is actually not a food at all. It's a nice hot beverage. It doesn't really matter if it's hot cocoa, coffee, a latte, or tea. I'm not afraid to try new things either. Today I tried a nice frothy mug of Pumpkin Spiced Latte.  I've had the Dunkin Donuts version and it was delicious. But at $3 a cup, I thought that I would try my hand at making it at home. It was super easy to make. I found the recipe online at http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/beverage/diy-pumpkin-spice-latte-096277. The smell of pumpkin pie just wafted through my kitchen. It was heavenly. The final result tasted nothing like Dunkin Donuts, but it was still very tasty. So hears the recipe if you would like to try it yourself. Feel free to leave me a comment telling me what your favorite comfort food or drink in some cases may be.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Makes 1-2 servings

2c milk
2tbl canned pumpkin or 1tsp of pumpkin spice syrup
2tbl sugar or Splenda to taste
2tbl vanilla extract
1/2tsp pumpkin pie spice
1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup espresso or 1/2c of strong brewed coffee)

In a sauce pan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you have a blender just whisk it. Pour into a large mug or two mugs. Add espresso on top.

Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with pumkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top

Would you eat a horse? Ya or Naaaaa

Sorry about the title. I just couldn't help myself. So one of the hot new news stories is Obama legalizing the slaughtering of horses for consumption in the US. When I first read this story I thought "This can't be real". How barbaric. Lets just grab some clubs and put loin clothes on and live in caves. Then I read it all over FB. Surprisingly enough though it didn't seem to bother that many people. Then I started to think about it from different angles. When compared to just another farm animal, it doesn't seem like it's that bad. Although I would never eat one myself. I'm not a very big meat eater anyway. I think that horses are beautiful animals but does that mean that we should eat pigs because they're ugly. Just kiddin... I don't really think that pigs are ugly. They're cute when they're babies. I would love to hear your comments on this. What say you?

~This Moment~

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soule Mama

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soule Mama

Butternut squash soup

This is one of my favorite fall recipes. It's perfect. I've made it twice in the last three weeks and I'm already thinking about a third. It was a great treat to share with the girls at small group yesterday. The hardest part about making it is peeling and cutting the squash. Man those things are a pain to peel. It's so worth it though. You can make this with or without the Cayenne pepper. When my kids were babies I used to make it for them without the spice. Now I add just enough to give it a little kick. Oh yeah and you can cut the calories by using Neufchatel in place of the cream cheese.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

6 C peeled and cubed butternut squash (~3lbs raw squash)
6 tbl chopped onion
4tbl butter (you can use less of this if you want)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2-8oz packages of cream cheese * I only use 1 and it works fine.

In a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until tender. Add all other ingredients except the cream cheese. Bring it to a boil and cook for 20 min, or until the squash is tender.

                                                             My dinosaur food processor.

This is the messy part, puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in two batches until smooth. Return to saucepan and heat through. Do not allow it to boil. Then remove it from the heat and it will thicken as it cools.

That's it... now your done. Enjoy with friends!!!

Something crafty

OK, first let me start by saying I'm sorry for my disappearing act. I've been very preoccupied with things none digital lately. But I'm back and I wanted to show you something fun and crafty that I made last night. I love canning jars and I have a ton of them around my kitchen. So yesterday while I was poking around the web I found this: http://www.acharmingnest.com/2011/06/ball-jars-i-love-you.html 
It's a cute little tutorial on how to change an ordinary canning jar into a soap dispenser. These things sell for like $15 on Etsy.

Looove it!!!

I'm thinking Christmas gifts. You could really make these things dressy with ribbon and stuff. I like it alone with no frills. Less stuff for me to keep clean you know what I mean jelly bean. Now it's your turn. Ready, set, go!!