Good Mornin', Good Mornin' to You

Can I be honest about something? Pinky-promise you won't judge me?

I love mornings. (GASP!) They are probably my favorite time of the day. Birds chirping, sun rising up, the day waking up, getting ready to go. I love it.

You know why else I love mornings?? BREAKFAST. How convenient is it, that my favorite meal of the day is served at my favorite time of the day?

Thursday mornings have become one of my favorites this semester. Every Thursday my roommates, a few friends and I wake up bright and early for prayer at 7:00a.m. We spend about 45 minutes, talking to the Big Guy, praying for each other, campus, the world, whatever is on our hearts that morning. For me, it really is a great way to start off the day ahead of me. After praying, we do what we always seem to do, EAT. I am in charge of what will be for breakfast that morning. We started off the semester doing pancakes, but one morning I switched things up.

We had these bad boys...


and they were a hit...


and became a favorite.


And they are super S-I-M-P-L-E to make. Canned biscuits+melted butter+cinnamon/sugar=pure breakfast bliss.

My mom used to make these for my siblings and I all the time when we were growing up, so I give her all the credit for these delicious, warm, cinnamony gifts from the heavens.

Carla's Cinnamon Biscuits with Frosting
1 can biscuits (flaky)
1/2 stick of melted butter
3/4 c. sugar (can also use brown sugar)
1-1 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 can white frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cinnamon and sugar. Dip biscuit in melted butter, covering whole biscuit. Then coat biscuit in cinnamon/sugar mixture, making sure to cover entire biscuit. Place biscuits in pie pan and cook for 17-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cover biscuits with frosting (for easier spreading, melt frosting in microwave for 30 seconds). Serve warm and enjoy! And I dare you, no, double-dog dare you to try and eat just one. Friends, it is impossible. ;)

An Adventure to the Pumpkin Patch

You've probably realized that there has been an influx of pumpkin related postings. I am sorry.

Ok, I'm totally not. It's fall and pumpkins are abundant. And besides, baking in the fall season without pumpkin anything, is against the law, baking law. So here you go, more pumpkins! Woo!

Lets start this post with a trip I took yesterday with some friends to a local pumpkin patch.

It was pretty fun, but hella expensive. They know how to make you spend your moola. (I can't fathom how much this little excursion would cost for a family of four. Mother-"Ok kids, start scrounging up every penny, nickel, dime, quarter you can." Kid-"Disneyworld!?" Mother-"Pumpkin patch.") You get my drift...

But nonetheless, it was a good time.

We spent the day looking at pumpkins (haha, obviously, Allison)...

Pet some goats...

Shot mini pumpkins...with excellent aim, I must say...

Went through a "haunted barn"...

(My friend One, was terrified.)

Got lost in a corn maize...

And of course, we ate.

And above all else, made some gosh darn memories.

You're craving something pumpkin, right now, I just know it. ;)


These Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffins will take care of said craving, straight up. Pumpkin, cream cheese, streusel topping, what more do I need to say?! Stop reading! Go make some!


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
adapted from Annie's Eats
makes about 2 dozen

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

Another Year Older, Another Year Wiser

Another year has come and gone and if I live to be in my 80s, a quarter of my life has passed. (Too morbid?) With 22 years under my belt, I feel like this is an opportune time to sit back and reflect on everything I have done, experienced, seen, people I have met and everything I have come to learn. Below is a list of 22 things I have learned and am still learning from.

22 Things I’ve Learned (about myself and life in general) the Last 22 Years….

-Facebook can be highly entertaining.

-Facebook can suck so much time out of your life and seriously hurt your GPA. (DAMN YOU!)

-As you get older you stop viewing your siblings as “siblings” but view them as friends and it’s totally awesome.

-Parents really do give great advice. LISTEN to them.

-Boys are dumb.

-Boys are sometimes really, really cute and sometimes smell really good, therefore making you forget how dumb they are. Oy vey.

-I can cry at the drop of a hat. (Whether that is watching my niece fall asleep or walking out of the theater after watching Marley and Me, looking at my sister and collapsing into each other sobbing hysterically.)

-I now appreciate my hometown and where I come from more than I ever have.

-Don’t judge. Ever. Don’t judge anyone, anything. Nine times out of ten you’re wrong.

-I can plan out every intricate detail of my life, but I’m never going to be in complete control of it.

-I change my mind about things. A lot.

-I have regrets, but I’ve learned so much about myself because of these regrets.

-I have been and will be disappointed by people.

-I have and will disappoint people.

-There are times where I feel like I can do anything. I am invincible.

-No one’s invincible.

-As much as I want to, I can't and won't please every, single person.

-Change isn't easy.

-Change can be unbelievably refreshing.

-High school was great, college is 20 times better.

-I do have a plan and purpose for my life.

-My life? Yeah, it's not about me.

Allison’s 22^nd Birthday Cake (Thanks Mom!)

Luscious Four-layer Pumpkin Cake

adapted from Kraft

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin, divided

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

4 eggs

1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, divided

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

1/4 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cake mix, 1 cup pumpkin, milk, oil, eggs and 1 tsp. spice in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round pans.

Bake 28 to 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely.

Beat cream cheese in medium bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and spice; mix well. Gently fold in COOL WHIP. Cut each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife; stack on serving plate, spreading cream cheese filling between layers. (Do not frost top layer.) Drizzle with caramel topping just before serving; top with nuts. Refrigerate leftovers.

I'm Coming Home

The weather is a-cha-cha-changing. And I LOVE it. Fall is without a doubt my favorite time of the year. The temps are starting to drop, mornings are much crisper, the trees are starting to change into the beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows.
And there is so much to look forward to in the fall. Pumpkins, Halloween, Fall Break (a much needed two-day vaca here at KU) and my hometown's homecoming.
"Homecoming?"
"Yes, homecoming."
"You mean like a football game, high school dance and a couple getting crowned king and queen?"
"Well, kind of..."
I'm sure those are the first things that pop into your head when you think of "homecoming." And it's right, well probably for every other town, than mine.
You see my hometown's homecoming isn't just a high school thing, it's a whole community thing. I'm talking, week-long, town shuts down, people from all over the country come to this small southeast Kansas town celebration. There are talent contests, a chili cook-off, hospital bed races (yeah, I don't know), class reunions, a carnival, a parade, food vendors, arts and crafts fairs, a car show, and much, much more. And we do have a football game. And we do have a homecoming queen, but electing her is quite unconventional. Rather than having the student body vote, we have the "FBW Homecoming Queen Pageant." Yes, a pageant, with contestants, talents, interviews, and a panel of judges. Let me humor you for a sec...

2006 FBW Homecoming Queen Pageant, with my buds and fellow contestants, KP and Kaylie.

And the best part of participating in the pageant? Ridin' on a dang float! Yes, I waved the whole time.

At this point, I've probably lost a few of you. You're not understanding this whole "community homecoming" thing. I try explaining homecoming to friends in college and they just don't get it. I've decided it's one of those things that one must experience to understand. And this year some friends did get to experience the greatness of a Fredonia Homecoming.

Meet Bridget and Caitlin. Newbies to the great town of Fredonia. We took them on a driving tour.

They saw the water tower...
Took pictures off the "mound"...

Checked out the giant, metal yellowjacket outside the high school...

Which I believe they enjoyed, oh so much.

They also sampled local fair. A Fredonia staple-Tri-Mee, for the best beefburgers and cheapest drinks.

They had a great time and my friends and I had a great time showing them around. I got to do a lot of great things this weekend at homecoming. I played some bingo, two-stepped at a local bar, tried a deep-fried Oreo (whoa!), saw old classmates, had some good laughs and a couple of beers, and spent time with family and friends.

A great homecoming was had by all and I can't wait for next year's.

Now on to the recipe...
This recipe just reminds me of fall! It's got pumpkin, so of course that's what I automatically think of. These cookies are super soft and darn delicious. The recipe can be altered with different dried fruits, different chocolates and adding nuts. Go crazy! Try whatever!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from My Baking Addiction
makes about 4 dozen

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter; softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; combine until all ingredients are incorporated. Fold in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.