Pumpkin Trifle

This has to be one of the easiest recipes and is totally amazing. I served these for a stake primary leadership dinner. You can make the trifle in a glass bowl or individually. I just used clear solo plastic cups for fast clean up. This is sinful and yummy. It reminds of England's sticky toffee pudding. It's deceivingly light tasting.

Ingredients:
1 loaf Pumpkin Bread- make or buy
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
Caramel ice cream topping sauce
Toffee bits

Whip cold cream and add in 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar and 1 t. vanilla. Set aside. Create trifle by layering ingredients. Cube pumpkin bread and place half in bottom of dish or cups. Drizzle caramel sauce liberally over cubes. Sprinkle some toffee bits over bread and caramel. Spread a generous layer of whipping cream. Repeat and garnish as desired.

Stake Primary Leaderhip Dinner

November Dinner, lots of food and good company!

ShayLynn's Salad

My sister in law ShayLynn made this salad and I missed tasting it. Elise said it was her favorite. ShayLynn was nice enough to share the recipe and now we make it all the time. It's great with grilled chicken for dinner.

Salad:
1 -2 heads romaine- shredded
Grilled chicken or rotisserie
Sugar Almonds: Mix 1/2-1 cup sugar with 2 T. water. Stir in 8 oz. slivered almonds and toast in oven or in a pan.
1 pkg. bacon, cooked and broken
1 pkg. craisins
1-2 cups grated motz. cheese

Dressing:
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup sugar or splenda
1/2 cup oil
1/2 T. dry mustard
1 red onion- sliced or minced
S&P
Mix dressing and adjust sugar and vinegar and seasonings to taste. Add in onion. This recipe makes a lot, but it's easy to half. If you are like me, you can add more nuts etc.. too!

Meghan's Salad

I call this Meghan's salad, because she made it, I loved it, and she gave me her recipe! I make it a lot. Meghan is an amazing cook and always has killer salad recipes.

Salad:
Croutons
Lettuce-chopped
1 cup or more swiss cheese (I sometimes substitute Italian blend shredded cheese)
Toasted almonds- as much as you like, the more the better
1 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 pound bacon
1/3 cup freshly grated parm cheese
Throw everything together, add what you like. Even grilled chicken is good added to this.

Dressing:
1/4 - 3/4 olive oil
juice of fresh lemon
3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
dash of splenda or sugar (opt)

Hot Baked Cheese Dip

This is a fun and different hot dip. It has green chilies in it and bacon, which is always a good idea. I made this for Thankgiving and really loved it. It's good with sourdough bread cubes and crackers.

Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
16 oz. cheddar cheese, grated (sharp is best)
4 oz. chopped green chillis in the can
chopped green onion (to your taste)
1 c. chopped ham
1/2 lb. chopped bacon (I used turkey bacon-- I don't know why) ;)
1 round loaf hollowed out
bread cubes and crackers

Mix first seven ingredients together and put in hollowed bread. Bake at 350 uncovered for 1 hour. Serve with bread and crackers. Heat back up well the next day.

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

This was given to be by a friend and then my sister and it comes with a "highly addictive" warning. It takes like a cinnamon roll on popcorn--especially with the drizzles of white chocolate "frosting" mmmm.

12 cups popped popcorn (about 1/2 cup kernels or 2 reg size bags of microwave popcorn) I used butter flavored popcorn because, well, why not.
1 cup Pecan halves roughly chopped or left in half
1 cup brown sugar
3/4-1 t. cinnamon (I added extra)
1/4 cup Karo syrup
1 stick of real butter (1/c cup)
1 t. good vanilla
1/2 t. baking soda
4oz or so of your favorite white chocolate

Directions:
Remove all un-popped kernels and place popcorn in large bowl. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Chop cold butter into cubes and place on top. Pour corn syrup over the top of that. Microwave in a safe bowl on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave 2 more minutes, stir, Microwave a final 2 minutes.
Remove and add vanilla and baking soda. Stir. Mixture with foam and rise. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and nuts, stir very well to combine.

If you like it crunchy:
Pour out onto a foil lined jelly roll pan and place in oven at 250 degrees for 30 min, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove and spread on large piece of parchment, waxed paper or foil. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. Let dry and break into chunks. Package or keep in a container.

If you like it soft:
Pour mixed popcorn out onto a large rectangle of parchment, foil sprayed with Pam or waxed paper. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. Let dry and package or put into a container or plastic bag.

Tricks & Treats Candy Bar Topiary

I wanted to make this last year and ran out of time. I first saw this idea from Dylan's candy bar in NYC. I took this picture quickly with my phone after I finished it, it's larger than the picture shows. Fast and quick and very fun-- if you can keep your family from picking treats off! Lynn took one right off the front- hello? Just keep extra treats around so it's not a temptation to muss up your tree! :)

This would be fun to take to a party, people can just pull treats off. ;) I think a Christmas Tree would be very fun to make- what a fun "anytime gift" this would be. Best part-- it only took about 10 min. to put together.

Candy Bar Topiary

1 foam topiary- any size

pot to serve as a container

stick or bamboo skewer

Assorted mini candy bars

Ribbon bow for a topper

Cute cupcake liners for a topper (opt)

Glue or Satin Pins (I preferred pins, so candy could be removed easily)

Directions:

Staring with the bottom of the topiary, pin mini candy bars in any order, random etc.. all around the tree. Work your way up to the next level overlapping the bottom level slightly. You just don't want to see the pins. I used 2 pins per candy bar. Place in a pot or cute container and fill the bottom of the topiary with loose candy bars. To make this topper, flatten 2 cupcake liners out and snip around the liner edges to help it lie flat. Glue together with a suckers stick or bamboo skewer inside. Insert into the very tip of the topiary. Fuss with it until you like it.

Cupcake Wrapper Treats

When I saw this idea I went crazy with buying up all the cute cupcake wrappers. They look like little fortune cookies- perfect for treats, party favors etc.. You can use these for any occasion and craft stores, even Walmart had cute ones. Hobby Lobby's were my favorite!

Cupcake Wrapper Treats

Cute cupcake liners

Glue (I used Fabri-Tac-- by the way, where have I been that I didn't know this glue existed? It's awesome! Strong, fast drying like hot glue without the heat) but you can use hot glue as well. You can also stitch by machine, but that requires more work than I am willing to give... :)

Treats- I used dove chocolates, Hershey Bliss works and after dinner mints. I loved the dove the most because they have little sayings inside the foil--and they are yum!

Directions:

Fold cupcake wrapper in half.

Glue around the outer edge leaving 1/4 to 1/2" open at the end (enough room to push treat in)

Insert treat and push up the bottom center to a create fortune cookie shape.

Pumpkins!

These are inexpensive foam pumpkins. A project I'm kind of getting addicted to. The first shot is a topiary.

TOPIARY

3-4 foam pumpkins.

Black lace in different patterns 1/2 yd. for each pumpkin

Glue, needle and thread

Urn you have lying around your house.

1/4 " dowel

cream colored craft paint

For the topiary, paint some off white. I pulled off the stem and vines of all the pumpkins, except the top one. Fill the hole with hot glue (sawdust spills out)

Cover pumpkins tightly with lace and stitch bottom or glue and trim excess. Cut a small hole in the lace for the top pumpkin's stem and vine to poke out.

I was looking for a dot patterned lace, and being impatient and not finding one, I just inserted upholstery tacks around the pumpkin and then covered it with a double layer of black tulle yardage.

Insert dowel in the bottom two and stack in a urn large enough to hold them. Trim stick if needed and insert in the bottom of the top pumpkin. I'm in love with these.

PAINTED PUMPKIN

Using the craft foam pumpkins, paint off white and let dry.

Stud pumpkin with upholstery nails randomly or in swirls etc..

Tie off the stem lots of fun ribbons.

METALLIC PUMPKIN
1 foam craft pumpkin

Silver paint

craft sealer top coat spray paint

Paint and let dry. Spray with a sealer. Top with ribbons and stack in a basket or on top of a candlestick etc..

Union Square Cafe's Bar Nuts

On late afternoons Union Square in NYC will serve these amazing nuts at the bar-- I found this adaption of the recipe from Nigella Lawson a few years ago and -they- are- totally addictive. I like taking them to parties. It's an easy recipe and best served hot, but frankly I eat them cold too, and they are great! I have variations to the recipe which are noted below.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups (18oz) assorted unsalted nuts (I use almonds, pecan halves, whole cashews, shelled pistachios, macadamias, peanuts.) You can also use Brazil, hazelnuts etc.. basically whatever you like.

2 T. coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves ( I use 1/2 t. dried, which I grind fine in a spice grinder, because we don't like strong rosemary in things- you could chop it fine as well)

1/2 t. cayenne pepper (I usually double this)

2 t. brown sugar (I usually double this as well)

2 t. sea or kosher salt

1 T. melted butter (I use 1-2 T)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss nuts in large bowl to mix them up and then spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Toast in the oven until lightly golden brown, about 10 min. In a large bowl, combine spices, salt and melted butter. Basically, what I look for, is a soft burn in the throat and a hit of sweetness from the sugar. So if I don't get enough heat, I'll sprinkle in a bit more cayenne. It's a very flexible recipe. Toss the nuts in the spiced butter really well, then serve warm and watch the bowl disappear... ;)