Happy Belated Thanksgiving. (October 12th)

So yeah, Thanksgiving was last Monday October 12th.

I am thankful...yep sure am! I am very thankful for my family & friends!
I am thankful for food on the table and shelter over our heads!! :)
We celebrated on Sunday instead as there is always alot of cooking in the household.
Mom & I always do the cooking, no one EVER invites us to their house for a change which would be nice every now and then! Cooking for the entire family is a challenge.
Anyways so yeah...nuff about the complaining there...lol...
So I made cranberrry, apple & pork sausage stuffing, cooked the turkey, did mashed taters, yams, homemade pumpkin cobbler & apple pie. (first homemade apple pie ever) My mom did up the salad, and all the steam veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts). Even my 6 yr old ate the brussel sprouts...he said they tasted funny but he likes them....lol... He definately is his fathers son!! The 10 yr old and I don't care for the Brussel Sprouts...ICK!!
So yes lots to eat for lots of ppl. We only had 1 night of leftovers left. Amazing!!
So HAPPY BELATED THANKGSGIVING to my fellow Canadians! Hope you all had a great day with your families!!
Now a lil pic of my baby eating his Thankful Dinner!

Ok so now on to other news! A HEALTHY 26 year old woman who just lives over the bridge in the next city over died this week from the H1N1. She has a young baby boy! :o(
Soooo...tests are being done about why she died & what type of strain she had.
Things like this are so fricken scary especially so close to home! The news reported that over the past couple months that all the tests for the H1N1 flu in people have come back 99% positive.
How scary is that!! Ackkk!! Can I go hide in my own private bubble now?
Stay healthy everyone!
TTFN!!
hugs, Bonnie

Up at the butt crack of dawn??

Ugh...so this is the day I have been totally dreading.

Found out earlier this summer that there is epilepsy in my hubby's family, and our youngest child who I call "E"-man is now having a 2nd EEG done. The first one came back negative, so we are now getting a sleep deprived one done. This could explain why he has "space outs" or is "zoned out" every now and then. So I was told to keep him up until 10pm which is 2 hours past his usual bedtime, and then to wake him up at 2am and keep him up until his appt which is at 7:30am.
In which he must fall asleep for them to do the test. ARG!!! So it was a bit of a struggle trying to get him up, but he's up, we're up. We've been playing CandyLand, Memory, Watched Scooby Doo The Movie, ate some cereal, He's now playing with the Nintendo DS while I write this blog. In about half hour I'm going to take him outside for a lil walk in hopes the cool air will keep him awake...lol..
So this is why I am up at the butt crack of Dawn. The time now is 4am ish. *yawn*
I'm pretty much ready for bed, but I have my coffee going. Poor kid isn't allowed any caffeine or chocolate before the procedure. *BOINK* ackkkk!!

TGIF!! Ohhh yea its Thanksgiving here in Canada on Monday so my boy will have plenty of time to catch up on his sleep before he returns to school on Tuesday.

Ok..so I'm off to grab another cup of Coffee and to get dressed for my invigorating walk!!
TTFN!!
hugs, Bonnie

Pumpkin Spice Latte & Pumpkin Muffins

Mmm more Pumpkin Recipes...another latte and a Pumpkin Muffin recipe
again from Baking and Books.


Pumpkin Spice Muffins (with and without brown sugar topping)

Ingredients: Makes 15 medium sized muffins
• 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2/3 cups vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs

For the topping (optional):
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature

Cookware: muffin pan

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and spices.

In a medium bowl combine the pumpkin puree, oil and eggs with a hand held mixer. Add to the dry ingredients and mix well, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a spoon frequently. Spoon into buttered muffin pan, filling each muffin mold a little over halfway.

If you are making the topping: combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon, then cut in the butter with a fork or knife. Stir until the mixture begins to look like breadcrumbs, then sprinkle on top of the muffin batter already in the pan.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before digging in. :yum:

Note: Muffins based on an AllRecipes.com recipe.

Pumpkin Spice Latte (My Recipe)
Another, slightly more decadent version of this drink can be found here.

Ingredients: Makes 2 servings
• 1 1/2 level tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (+ a pinch for sprinkling later)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups strong coffee (brewed using 2 tbs per 1 cup of water)
• 2 tablespoons Coffeemate creamer
• 4 to 8 teaspoons of granulated sugar
• Nutmeg (optional)

Begin brewing coffee.

In a blender combine the milk, pumpkin, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla. Pour into a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the milk begins to froth slightly. Remove from heat.

For each serving: Pour 1/2 cup of the pumpkin mixture into your coffee mug. Add 1 generous tablespoon of Coffeemate creamer. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, then add 1 cup of brewed coffee. Add 2 to 4 teaspoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you like your drink, I added 3 tsps.) Top off with a touch more ‘pumpkin milk’ then sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Spice Latte II

So I have this friend who linked this recipe she was trying.
It sounded yummeh!! ~ Thanks Michelle!
I will have to revamp it 2 my liking since I don't really care for the coffeemate creamer.
(Picture coming soon)
Recipe came from Baking and Books

Ingredients: Makes 2 servings


• 1 level tablespoon pumpkin puree
• 1 cup milk (whole if you dare!)
• 1/2 tablespoon light brown sugar (packed and leveled)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg (+ a pinch for dusting later)
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups strong coffee (brewed using 2 tbs per 1 cup of water)
  You can also use a shot or two of espresso instead of coffee.
• 4 tablespoons Coffeemate creamer
• 4 to 8 teaspoons of granulated sugar
• Whipped cream

Begin brewing coffee.

In a blender puree the milk, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour into a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the milk is warm and begins to froth slightly. (About 4-5 minutes.) Remove from heat.

For each serving: Pour 1/2 cup of the pumpkin mixture into your coffee mug. Add 2 generous tablespoons of Coffeemate creamer. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, then add 1 cup of brewed coffee. Add 2 to 4 teaspoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you like your drink, I added 3 tsps.) Top off with a touch more ‘pumpkin milk’ then cover with whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve immediately

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake Anyone?

Ok so my favourite time of the year has come!!

YAY~~ Welcome FALL!! I love to bake with apples and pumpkins so I am always on the prowl for some great recipes!! I have come across a few that I am interested in trying!
(picture to follow once I make it)

Like this Pumpkin Pie Milkshake Recipe that came from Sara @ Best Bites
Mmmmmmmmmm!!!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin, canned or homemade
1/4 - 1/2 C milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
a few graham crackers

Pop it all in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. I used somewhere between 1/4-1/2 C.

A note about blenders: Here's the problem with making thick, diner style milkshakes at home: A lot of times you have to add so much milk to the thing to get the blender to process that it turns into a milk-slushie instead. Or you have to blend and plunge, blend and plunge, etc. You know the drill, right? So if you have any trouble with your blender, I would recommend blending everything but the ice cream first and then mashing it into the ice cream by hand (well, with a hand. Holding a fork or spoon :) If your scooped ice cream sits out at room temp while you measure the other things and get them all ready, then by the time you mash it all together it should be a good consistency.

Sprinkle with crushed graham cracker crumbs before serving.

Ok quick...

somebody call 911- (kidding) Who the heck stole September?

They better give it back!!

OMG I can't believe today is the last day of September.
Seriously I am in shock! I have been so busy with life it isn't funny.
Both the boys settled into school pretty well. My boys are in grade 5 & grade 1 and now I have all this spare time it's weird. I don't know what to do with myself. But actually I do.
I haven't worked since I was pregnant with my oldest who is 10 1/2. Soooo it's time to dust off the old resume, redo it and get back to work PT and make some extra money.
Anyways.. just wanted to poke my nose in and say hello.
I'll be back next month...hahaha!!
HAPPY FALL!!
WOOOOOOO!!
hugs, Bonnie

Welcome September!

Wow...I can't believe it's September already!

The whole month of August swept right by me without a post!
School starts here a week today! And my baby will be in school full time!
"D"man is going into grade 5 & "E"man is going into grade 1.
The kids class lists are supposed to be posted by Friday so we shall see. Time for me to get out and get a part time job and make a few extra bucks.
Summer has pretty much gone here. It's cooler and sunny for now. Our pool is too chilly to swim in. We have shade covering the pool & the backyard 95% of the day, and we don't have a pool heater so it sucks when the pool is too cold. We are expecting rain by the end of the week.
I read an article saying that in the US they are expecting 50% of their population to be infected with the H1N1 virus which is really scary with school just around the corner. So now onto their Flu shots...just wondering how many ppl are thinking about getting them?
I really am not too sure about it since it is new strain of the flu, and we don't really have much info on the results of the shot after it's been given.
Well I just have to edit some photos before posting them for my Lasagne Recipe that I made Sunday night. Mmmmm it was nice having lasagne. It's been a long long time.
Oh I changed my blog theme and I really like it, but I really don't like how I have to keep adding my links n such. I wish that everything would transfer over without losing anything. LOL oh well..I'll be working on adding my links as well.
TTFN!!
Hugs, Bonnie