Green Bunny: Five Favorites [Paper Brands]

I recently spent an entire Saturday scrapbooking with no interruptions (at a hotel conference room) and it was FABULOUS (thanks, honey!). I had a lot of catching up to do. Most of the layouts I worked on were from Summer and Fall:

LOVING Echo Park paper right now! Used 'Sweet Summertime' on a number of layouts last weekend, 'Little Boy' is utterly adorable, and 'Everybody Loves Christmas' was used a bunch in my December Daily.

And a couple more I [heart] right now:

Pretty much anything by October Afternoon, especially 'Fly A Kite' and 'The Thrift Shop'

'Lemonade' by Basic Grey

Bo Bunny Press 'Olivia'

'Lil Man' by Cosmo Cricket

Joyeux Kitchen: Favorite Fall Soups

"Soup is to the meal, what the hostesses smile of welcome is to the party. A prelude to the goodness to come." --Louis P. De Gouy

I've been sick all week!  I'm going to let a couple of my favorite ladies do my work for me today.  Here's a list of my five favorite fall soup/stew recipes to warm you up.

Rachael Ray's Tortilla Soup
Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder With Chiles
Pioneer Woman Roasted Vegetable Minestrone
Rachael Ray's Uptown Down-Home Chili
Beef and Guinness Stew

The corn chowder is Doug's favorite, spicy and savory and delish.  With all these recipes, I leave out the mushrooms because they're on Doug's "I'm not eating that!" list.  I have no idea if the mushrooms would significantly impact the flavor.  I puree the tortilla soup (Mom's favorite) with the hand blender to prevent he-who-shall-not-be-named from picking out all the vegetables.  For the chili recipe, I never keep gouda on hand and usually sub in some sharp cheddar or monterey jack cheese.  Enjoy!!

Happy Carving Everyone!

For everyone making their annual trips to the pumpkin patch...

LOVE this creepy crawly pumpkin! Visit The Family Fun website for Jack-o-Lantern patterns, Halloween crafts, recipes, and more.

And, look for a new post from Sarah coming later today!

Green Bunny: Fall At The Patch

Always one of my favorite outings with the kiddos!



For the locals: We love this farm...Scholz in Orting, WA.

This fourth-generation, working farm is incredibly kid-friendly with so much to do. Fall Harvest kicks off the first Saturday of October every year. And...oh yeah...it's FREE!

This outing was when we [gasp] only had three kids between us...and, man did they have fun. There is a huge sawdust mountain with trucks and diggers galore, many photo opps including some of the kids' favorite characters, a small pumpkin field for the little guys, farm animals, and more.

Joyeux Kitchen: Grandma's Applesauce

Happy birthday, Johnny Appleseed!  In honor of the apple-man here's one of my favorite fall recipes.

• Have a big bowl of cold, salted water ready (to keep the fruit from discoloring).
• Peel and core 8-10 apples (Grandma Nell swears by Gravenstein).
• Cut into chunks, keep apples in the salted water while you're chopping.
• Transfer apple chunks to a stockpot, add 3/4 cup water, a pinch of salt and 1/3 cup sugar.
• Cook until mushy and dump into jars or any airtight container.

Doug's Grandma Nell makes this every time the family gets together for a meal.  It sounds like such a simple thing but it's really delicious, and she's right about the Gravenstein apples.  They have a lot of flavor that you just won't find in run-of-the-mill grocery store Red Delicious.

Orchards In Western Washington

Lindsay and I took the kids to an orchard, so we have apples-a-plenty.  Can't wait to make this with the girls!  I found some great apple activities online, too.  Here's a link to an apple coloring page, and I found Disney's old Johnny Appleseed movie on YouTube, Part 1 and Part 2. 


The kiddos at the orchard we visited in Olympia.  Never saw the apple trees but brought home some yummy apples to make sauce tonight!



Fall TV Lineup...Our Picks!

Fall TV...Wahoo! (FINALLY)

And the award for 'MOST EXCITED ABOUT' goes to:

GLEE Tuesday @ 8 on FOX

Before we start, I think we'd both like to say:

"THANK YOU TECHY NERDS WHO CREATED DVR! OH HOW WE LOVE THEE"

Lindsay's Picks:
How I Met Your Mother Monday @ 8 on CBS
Neil Patrick Harris, need I say more? He is fabulous and hilarious and the rest of the cast is also great. Already in its sixth season, Follow Ted as he tells his kids how he met the love of his life through flashbacks.

Raising Hope Tuesday @ 9 on FOX
NEW: Hoping this comedy about a young, single father sticks. Looks promising. Love Martha Plimpton (you recognize her from Goonies & the movie Parenthood, for anyone my age)

Running Wilde Tuesday @ 9:30 on FOX
NEW: Happy to see Keri Russell back on TV. Will Arnett cracks me up. He was on the totally hilarious canceled-for-no-good-reason show some of you may remember called Arrested Development. Married to actress-comedian Amy Poehler. Can't imagine what it must be like living in their house!

Big Bang Theory Thursday @ 8 on CBS
If you are not watching this show, start immediately! Dan and I LOVE this one. It is fun & quirky!

Fringe Thursday @ 9 on FOX
Watch it...watch it...watch it! Joshua Jackson (Pacey, for Dawson's fans!), LOST producers, and a branch of the FBI that deals with mysterious deaths. Not for the squeamish, but a great drama with sci-fi elements (which is not my normal TV viewing choice). Starting the third season.

Who Do You Think You Are? Friday @ 8 on NBC
I have always had an interest in historical stories about family roots. This show is produced by Lisa Kudrow and follows celebrities as they find out where they came from...or 'who they are'. This show aired about 6 episodes last spring and is starting a new round this Fall. Completely interesting!

Sarah's Picks:
Chuck Monday @ 8 on NBC
Doug and I love Chuck!  Never seen it?  Brief overview: Chuck Bartowski is a man who wears many hats: a tech geek at the Buy More, video game enthusiast, and NSA agent/international man of mystery.  (A surprising number of criminals hatch their evil schemes in Chuck's hometown of Burbank, CA.) 

The Middle Wednesday @ 8 on ABC
Love to see a normal, messy, middle class family on primetime TV.  As far as I'm concerned, anything with Patricia Heaton is a winner. 

Cougar Town Wednesday @ 9:30 on ABC
YES!  I'm excited about this one.  Monica...oops, I mean Courteney Cox, is hilarious as Jules.  Her romance with Grayson is smokin' and the jokes are so funny, belly-laugh city.  Bonus: Rachel, oops, I mean Jennifer Aniston, is guest starring this season as Jules' shrink!  Friends reunion!!  (Too many exclamation points usually drive me crazy but in this case it's warranted.)  !!!

& of course NBC's entire Thursday night comedy lineup:

Community @ 8
Doug and I's pick for laugh-out-loud comedy.  There's nothing not to like about this show.  It's a great cast, Chevy Chase and Ken Jeong are awesomely inappropriate.  Joel McHale is the dark horse of sexy primetime leading men--his abs and penchant for finding excuses to remove articles of clothing, his dry sense of humor, his witty banter with his costars... it's all very, very good.  And Betty White guest stars this season!

30 Rock @ 8:30
Alec Baldwin is my older-man crush (well, him and Tom Selleck... it's a close tie).  Anyway, Baldwin and Tina Fey have great chemistry; last season's finale with Matt Damon, as Liz's love interest Carol, was top notch and he's back for Season 5!  Super funny, lots of pop-culture and industry references that some folks won't get (a little like Gilmore Girls) which makes it even more comical. 

The Office @ 9
The last season!  What are we going to do without Michael Scott?  (That's what she said.)  Can't wait to see how they wrap it up.  (Or maybe that's what she said.)

Summer to Fall

I used to be a person who didn't really enjoy summer because I don't care for those HOT, HOT days. In the last couple of years, a few things have changed in that department...

Without question, Fall is still my favorite season. However, with two very energetic little boys who LOVE being outside, I have learned to love the sunny summer days (air conditioning helps too). There is just something about chubby little arms in a blue baby pool and running barefoot in the grass that makes me smile.

A summertime moment.

As we encounter the changing seasons:

I will gladly put the sunscreen away in favor of fuzzy fall hats,
I will order a few caramel apple ciders instead of my 'usual' at Starbucks,
I will bake snickerdoodles,
I will enjoy snuggly Sunday football with my boys,
I will watch two little men run through the pumpkin patch,
I will make stew,
I will make Logan some Super Scoopers,
I will enjoy every moment!

What are your family's favorite Fall traditions?

Joyeux Kitchen: Perfect Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (If you call it a muffin it doesn't count as dessert!)

**I know the ingredient list looks long-ish, but I made them with time to spare over naptime while baby-sitting an extra 15 week old.  No worries.**

On Monday morning this week, I pulled eagerly into the Starbucks drive-thru on Kent's East Hill.  I was eighth in line, waited 21 minutes, and was rewarded with a Grande Nonfat Yes-Please-Whipped-Cream Pumpkin Spice Latte and a Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin that looked like it had gone for a roll in the hay with some buttered, sugared, (potentially fried?) pumpkin seeds.  Heaven.

Must.  Find.  Recipe.

 

I looked at a lot of different variations in my quest for the Perfect Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin, even some claiming to be 'just like the ones from Starbucks,'  and this particular confection from Country Living had everything I was looking for: a rich, cream-cheesy topping, a crunchy element, and just the right amount of spice.  I adjusted the recipe to meet my needs; originally it called for the cream cheese to be placed in the middle of the muffin, like a filling, but fillings disappear in the oven... I like it on top!  Also, I added more butter and less flour to make the streusel more streusel-y.  Grunt: More butter.  (That was a Home Improvement reference.)

(Makes 24 muffins.)

For the cream cheese topping you'll need:

8 oz. brick of cream cheese, room temperature

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

For the crunchy streusel you'll need:
5 tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped (I used my food processor)
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

For the muffin batter you'll need:
2 1/3 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups solid-packed pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Pop some liners into two 12-cup muffin pans (or spray them with cooking spray, but liners work better).  Mix the cream cheese filling ingredients in a small bowl with your hand mixer and set aside.  Toss the crunchy streusel ingredients in another bowl (actually, I think using your hands works best for streusel--dig in there and mix it up good!) and set aside.  Combine the dry muffin ingredients first (sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon) and in a separate bowl mix the eggs, pumpkin, oil and vanilla together.  Start your KitchenAid and slowly add the wet to the dry.  Fill your muffin cups (about 2/3 full) and top with 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture.  Sprinkle some of the streusel on top of each muffin and bake until golden and a tester, inserted into the center, comes clean -- 20 to 25 minutes depending on your oven.  Cool on wire racks.  Sigh.  Happy September, everyone!