Hey y’all! Today is report card day ’round Angie’s Pangie’s house and I, being the eternal optimist, have decided that is cause for a celebration. I am quite positive that one of my three lovely daughters will pass at least one class – and that is enough reason for me to make a treat.
It doesn’t take much.

Anyhow, these cute little donut holes decorated to look like acorns are easy and fast, but the perfectly cute solution to any call for a fall treat.

Just smear peanut butter or chocolate frosting over the top of a donut hole. They look more realistic if you use unglazed donut holes, but these are glazed and they look just fine, too.

Roll the peanut butter or frosting in some toffee bits or crushed nuts and shove half a pretzel stick in for a stem.

That’s all it takes to make these little tidbits of heaven! I promise your children will love you for it. And, I figure if the reports aren’t that great I’ll just eat them myself.

Do”nuts” work for me! Stop over at We are THAT Family to see the other Works for Me Wednesday posts for other great tips and tricks.

Hi everyone! Here are a few links to help you kick off your weekend, hope you enjoy!

Cuteness alert: I love this fall themed soap!

Did you know that during October kids eat free everyday at Boston Market? I totally wish there was one close to me, roasted chicken is one of my favorite comfort foods. If you’re like me and live in a Boston Market deprived area, check out KidsMealDeals.com with their searchable database for other places you can take the kids instead. I’m all about free!

Check out this tutorial on how to preserve fall leaves! I’m late to the game for my fall wreath this year, but I full intend to get involved.

I totally need to get with the program and make my own ultimate spice rack.  Wow! Just . . . wow.

These little place cards are perfect for the buffet table this holiday season so no one has to say “Wazdat?!”

If you’d like to join the fun and ship some cookies to a Soldier, join me and a bunch of other folks over at Baking Gals. Every 6 weeks or so we bake some cookies and pack them up and ship them out! It’s a good thing! Here’s a few I sent this month.

I’m going to leave you with this Upside Down Apple Pie. Ohhhh, help me!

That’s all for today.

xo~

AP

I love to make treats for people. For my kids, for my husband, for my husband’s friends . . . whoever, I just like cooking and baking stuff for people. It makes me happy.

Here are some cupcakes I made recently for my husband to take to game night. Aren’t they pretty?

Welp, these are even more cool than you might think because once you bite into them you find an extra little treat – they have icing in the middle!

You can use any old cupcake recipe, I like to use my chocolate cake recipe. After the cupcakes have cooled, just use a melon baller to scoop a small portion of the cupcake out and set it aside. Pipe or spoon icing into the hole and add sprinkles if you’d like. Pop the top back on, pushing down slightly and then ice the tops!

Yum! Making cupcakes with icing in the center is fun, easy and makes them a special treat for everyone. Works for me!

After you’ve read about these cupcakes, I hope you’ll head on over to We are THAT Family to read all the great tips and tricks.

This is an open letter for all of you to read.

Dear Summer,

I miss you already. Fall is nice, but you’ll always be my favorite. Come back soon.

xo-AP

*Angie Pangie sighs*

I guess it could be worse, it could be winter, right? At least we still have pumpkins, onions, apples, plus a few tomatoes and peppers left.

Last week I used my peppers to make some spicy cornbread muffins. I served them along with my super-secret-recipe chicken tortilla soup.

Well, it’s not really super-secret. I only have a couple of super-secret recipes. They’re too secret to even tell you what they are.

Here’s that soup.

Looks good, doesn’t it? Let’s see – that’s one can of refried beans, one can of white beans, one can of tomatoes with green chilies, one can of chicken broth and the leftover cut up rotisserie chicken from the night before. Mix it up, heat it up and top it with tortilla chips, sour cream and cheese. That’s it. No. Really. That’s it.

If I’m going to make one of my super-easy soup recipes like potato soup or tomato bisque or chicken tortilla soup I always try to make something a little special to along with them. It helps me alleviate my guilt for not spending hours in the kitchen. (Yeah right. As IF that would ever happen. I mean the guilt part would not happen. As it turns out, I do actually spend hours in the kitchen.)

These jalapeno muffins are the perfect accompaniment for southwest soups and chilis. They’re served with a sweet honey butter, which makes them mellow and amazing. I think you’re going to love the way they spice up your easy dinner nights.

Spicy Corn Muffins with Sweet Butter

From Recipezaar

Start out by mixing the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix up gently and just enough to get everything wet. Don’t worry about lumps right now.

Chop up your pepper – wear gloves! Remove the seeds and membranes.

Mix in the corn and pepper and stir gently to combine.

Pour into muffin tins that have been sprayed or try my WD-40 for baking. Fill with about 1/4 cup of batter, or 2/3 full. You should get 8 muffins, or 6 if you make really big muffins.

Bake these for 14-16 minutes at 400 degrees. While they are baking mix up the honey butter. I <3 honey butter. Lots. It makes everything taste good. These muffins are good without, but they’re fantastic with it – so don’t skip this step! (Forgive the blurry picture. It’s likely I was shaking because of the great amount of will power I was exerting to not eat this muffin immediately.)

Once again, without the pictures:

Vegetable broth is both hard to find and overpriced in my area. After being disgusted with the price I decided to take matters into my own hands. The results were phenomenal!

Here’s how you can make a delicious and flavor packed vegetable broth.

After you make your creamy corn or regular corn recipes don’t toss the cobs! Even if you have to stick them in a zippered bag until you have time to get to them later, that’s fine. You can keep them in the back of the fridge or the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Place 4-6 corn cobs in a large pot and add 8 cups of water.

Slice into an onion to open it up. You don’t need to remove the skin or chop it up. Break a large clove or two of garlic in half, no need to peel those either. Break a clean stalk of celery in half. Add the onion, garlic and celery to the pot with the corn and water.

Bring everything to a light boil over medium heat then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for half an hour or so.

Add a half a teaspoon of salt and stir.

Carefully drain the broth through a fine wire-mesh strainer and throw away the corn cobs and vegetables. Line the strainer with a coffee filter or paper towel and strain the broth again.

Cover and let cool. You can store this in the fridge for a week or you can freeze it to use later! This is a wonderful broth to use in soups such as vegetable, minestrone and potato.

Vegetable broth is easy to make and tastes wonderful! Works for me! After reading today’s kitchen tip I hope you’ll head on over to We Are THAT Family to view all the other Works for me Wednesday tips.

Some of you may remember last fall when I tried to make some sweet and salty pumpkin seeds and they just didn’t work out?  I’m not exactly sure why, maybe because I’m a glutton for punishment, but I was determined to try again.

I tried a different method this time and I’m happy to report I’m not a total failure after all. Wow, did these ever turn out fantastic! Which is probably good,  since I don’t think my bruised ego could have stood another failed attempt.

No, not really, I’m just kidding. I’m actually getting really good at being o.k. with screwing up recipes. It’s just part of trying out new things and trying to improve on recipes that just don’t work. You have to grow some thick skin and brace yourself for a few flops. Sometimes when something comes out poorly I think “Ha! I should take a picture of this and blog it.” Then I come to my senses and dump it in the garbage.

As far as these pumpkin seeds go, I think the biggest testament to their goodness is that my girls have been begging me to make a second batch because they finished off the HUGE first batch I made in a matter of two days.

This method includes roasting the seeds, then coating them with caramelized sugar (oh wow!) and then tossing them with the seasonings.  It works just right! These are wonderful after school goodies!

Here’s how to get make your own~

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Clean the goop off the pumpkin seeds and rinse them well. Blech! Pumpkin guts!

After the seeds are really clean you can spread them out on a cookie sheet and let them dry. I let them sit overnight, but that was because I was being lazy. I had just processed 5 pie pumpkins and I didn’t really care about roasting the pumpkin seeds right away.

After the seeds are dry,  roast them for an hour at 300 degrees. Every 15 minutes I take mine out and stir so that they don’t burn. They should be all toasty looking, but not black when they are done.

While the seeds are roasting, mix up the salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and 1/3 cup of sugar in a bowl and set it aside. You’ll need this later when the seeds are all hot and gooey with melted sugar.

Once they are roasted, heat oil over high heat in a large skillet. Because I had so many pumpkin seeds I used a little more oil. Peanut oil works well here if you aren’t allergic because it doesn’t burn at high tempetures. But, if you don’t have peanut oil or can’t use peanut oil, you can use corn or olive oil instead.

Add 1/4 cup of sugar and the pumpkin seeds and begin to stir. Continue to stir and cook until the sugar melts and the pumpkin seeds start to caramelize. Take care not to burn the seeds!

Ohh, that’s looking mighty tasty . . .

Remove the seeds from heat and add them to the bowl with the sugar and spices and stir. Keep stirring until they are well covered and the spices seem evenly distributed.

Let them cool before you eat.  Store these in an airtight container for up to a week. Of course, it’s unlikely they’ll last that long!

Here is the recipe again with out the pictures

You might remember that I mentioned that I had recreated my own version of Pumpkin Delights? Well, in order to do that I knew I was going to need some type of pumpkin filling. I figured I’d have to make pumpkin jelly, but I knew that pumpkin jelly was going to be a total pain to make and might not even turn out right.

That’s when it dawned on me. I could try to make pumpkin butter. I mean, I love apple butter, so why not?

It’s true – I love Apple Butter. I mean L-O-V-E, like in a totally committed kind of way. I’ve been making apple butter for years and we have a rather exclusive relationship.  Every year I increase the amount I make and every year I run out way before apples come into season the next fall. Sooner or later I’m going to make more than we can eat, but I haven’t gotten there quite yet.

So, what about PUMPKIN BUTTER? I started wondering . . . could anything be as good as apple butter? Is that even possible? Would apple butter get it’s feelings hurt if I cheated on it with pumpkin butter?

Well, I did a little searching and sure enough, pumpkin butter is easy to make. As a matter of fact, some people were even making it with canned pumpkin!

Now, I didn’t get all crazy like and use canned pumpkin, but I shared this recipe with a few friends before I posted it here for the rest of you and every one of those ladies did use canned pumpkin and every one of those ladies raved about their pumpkin butter. And, when I asked “Do you think this recipe needs to up on the blog?” I was answered with a very loud and very definite “Oh Heck Yeah.”

So here you go. Now please don’t go running off and tell apple butter. But most importantly, please do not skip this recipe, it is simply to die for.

P.S. This totally rocked in the pumpkin delight cookies, too.

Pumpkin Butter

7 cups of pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1 1/2 C apple juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/2 C brown sugar

Start with (and adjust as you’d like):
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cinnamon sticks + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Folks, this is about as basic as it can get. The hardest part of this recipe is trying to sleep through the heavenly smell while it cooks. That, or maybe taking the time to clean the mess up afterward.

All you do is mix it up in your crock pot and set it on low.

Let it cook overnight, or for 8-10 hours if you have a fire marshal for a husband. Place a screen or a splatter guard over the top – do not use a regular lid since we want this to cook down and get thick.

Mix well and remove cinnamon sticks. Test for spices and add if necessary.

In the morning make some toast and put a big glop on the top. And, don’t come looking for me when you gain 3 pounds after eating the entire batch, because, seriously, it’s not like I didn’t warn you.

Spoon into jars and store in the refrigerator. Canning is not suggested with mashed pumpkin, so you can freeze it or keep it in the back of the fridge.

Just a short note this week to wrap things up and get the weekend started.

First off, do you twitter? Did you know that I post a new recipe everyday on my Twitter feed? Follow me and you’ll get recipe ideas from me every day! How awesome is that?! Since it’s a recipe and it’s on Twitter – does that make it a Twitter-pe?

I’ve been working on getting costumes and such ready for Halloween. I saw a bag online that I really liked that was intended to be used for kids to carry their candy. I was going to buy a tote bag pattern, but then I came across the U-Handblog site and was able to find a pattern for free! If you sew at all, you should really check this out!

Mr. Angie Pangie is working on building us an office in the basement. We decided that since Lilly was going to be a middle school student (playing a trombone) that she needed her own room.

Could you resist that face? Yeah me either.

So, we gave our office space up to her. Since then I’ve been working at our big table. You can imagine how excited I am about the prospect of moving all my junk important papers out of the dining room! I’ve been spending a lot of time deciding on how to decorate the new space and I’m so excited that I came across Rhonda’s blog, Southern Hospitality, and her post on Beadboard Wallpaper. Check it out! For those of us that aren’t very handy with the power tools (besides a blender or food processor, that is) this is a great solution.

I can’t wait for some quality time in the kitchen this weekend. I plan to make a crock pot ham, applesauce donuts and pumpkin ice cream. It’s definitely fall around Angie Pangies’ house!

That’s all folks! Be here tomorrow for a crockpot recipe that you can’t live without. Here’s a sneak peak . . .

xo- AP

Ready for the worlds best BBQ chicken sandwich, made by YOU? I’ve shared this method with quite a few friends over the years and it is quite popular. This will quickly become one of your go-to dinners. The leftovers are great, they heat up easily and even freeze well.

Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in your crockpot. Frozen is fine. I usually use a couple of pounds, but you can make more or less. If you want to use bone in chicken, go ahead, but adjust the cooking time accordingly to make sure it is thoroughly cooked.

Layer a sliced onion over the top.

Drizzle barbeque sauce over the top.

Put the lid on and cook 5-6 hours on high, or 8 hours on low. Did you know that every time you lift the lid on the crockpot you can add as much as 2o minutes to your total cook time? The crockpot relies on the heat it builds up over time to cook the food. So, try not to open the crock pot unless necessary.

When the chicken is done, remove each breast to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the meat. Place the meat into a bowl and continue shredding until all the chicken is shredded. The onions will be soft, so you can shred those right along with the chicken.

Spoon some of the juices from the crockpot over the shredded chicken. You can also add more BBQ sauce, if you desire. Serve on buns with fries, chips, cole slaw or a salad.

Have you tried these sandwich thins yet? We love them! They range (depending on the manufacturer) from 95-110 calories each and they are soft and taste fantastic! Lot of flavor for just a few calories.

If you want to really kick up the flavor, marinate the chicken breast in apple juice the evening before you make the chicken. This step is totally optional, but it does taste wonderful!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches work for me!

After you check out my tip for today, I hope you’ll hop on over to the hosting blogger’s website, We are THAT Family, and have a look at some of the other great tips and tricks that are listed.

I picked these just for you . . .

A few links to end the work week. Just some random recipes, items and websites I’ve found this week that I want to share with all of you. Have fun exploring!

Penny Raine talks about how to make Jalapenos Poppers. I just love these little morsels of deliciousness.

I found this link to enter and win a coupon for a free Lean Cuisine entree. You can enter every week and they give away 125 coupons every Friday! I like free food.

Check out this recipe for Tiger Bark.  I’ve made it twice now and my kids (even Lilly since it’s chocolate) beg for more when it’s gone. It takes like 5 minutes to make. Even though it was posted for The Holidays I quickly realized that it is a year round winner.

Besides, you do know that there is only 83 days left until Christmas, right? *Angie Pangie ducks to avoid swinging*

My current guilty pleasure are Little Debbie’s Pumpkin Delights. So bad. So good. These are a seasonal item, so I tried to tell myself that since they’re only here for a little while and I have such a small window of opportunity I should go ahead and eat them. But, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, so I decided to make my own version and came pretty close!

The Culprit

and the substitute . . .

I love to make crab-apple jelly and applesauce in the fall, but I often skip it because of all the work involved in peeling, slicing and coring the apples. I do have one of those nifty peeler/slicer/corer machines, but it’s messy and still more hassle than I care to deal with. A friend told me about the Victorio Food Strainer & Sauce Maker a couple of years ago – you literally toss in the apples and turn the crank. It separates everything out. I really want one. No, I Need one. Maybe this will be the year I break down and buy one.

Until next week ~

xo-AP