I havent dressed up for Halloween in years but when I saw this idea at Make it and Love it, I couldnt resist. So this what I made based on that...

Since we are having a boy I painted a baseball bat in his hand...

I also made this candy corn costume for my little girl. It took me a while to figure out what to make for her because she hates even changing out of her pajamas. So when I decided on a Candy Corn I made her into it the only way I thought she would wear it...

I just laid out a dress she already had onto freezer paper. Cut it into 3 equal sections pinned it onto my material, cut, and sewed it.

I did do the front neck and back neck differently....

And as luck would have it she was pretty happy once she got into the thing...

I also made these adorable bows for her hair to match from this tutorial...

I was in the mood for something cute so I decided on candy corn themed treats. I have 2 easy ideas, and they are both treats from boxes, so they are super super simple.

The first one is a cupcake. I used a yellow cake mix divided it in 2 bowls and colored half yellow and half orange. The directions are below.

The second one is Jell-O. One box of lemon and one box of orange topped with whipped cream. The directions are below. Just another way to add some delicious, simple fun to your Halloween.

Candy Corn Cupcake

Recipe Partly from: TidyMom.net

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
3 Large Eggs
1/2 cup Butter, not Margarine
1 cup of Water

Yellow and Red Food Coloring

Yellow Cupcake Papers

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in the microwave. Put cake mix, eggs, butter, and water in a large bowl and mix on low for 1 minute and on high for 1 minute.

2. Put half of your batter in a separate bowl. Color half the batter yellow, approx. 50 drops, and half your batter orange, approx. 50 yellow drops and 8 red drops. Mix well. 

3. Fill 18 cupcake papers 1/4 full with yellow and 1/4 more with the orange batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Frost with The Best Vanilla Buttercream

Candy Corn Jell-O

3 oz box Lemon Jell-O

3 oz box Orange Jell-O

Heavy Whipping Cream

Powdered Sugar

1. Prepare lemon Jell-O according to the fast set directions and divide between 5 glasses. Place in fridge for about and hour and a half. 

2. Once the yellow Jell-O has chilled prepare the orange Jell-O according to the fast set directions and pour on top the 5 glasses of set yellow Jell-O. Place in fridge for another hour and a half.

5 cups Golden Grahams

5 cups Corn Chex

5 cups Rice Chex

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Corn syrup

6 Tablespoons Butter

1 batch Chocolate Pudding

2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream

3 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar

1 box Chocolate Teddy Grahams, Crushed

Gummy Worms

Milano Cookies

Black Food Writer

1. Whip heavy cream until almost completely whipped, add in powdered sugar and finish whipping. 

2. On the pudding recipe, after pouring pudding through the mesh stainer, mix in the whipped cream. Once combined add in half of the crushed Teddy Grahams, stir. Pour mixture into 8x8 pan or individual serving dishes and sprinkle the rest of the crushed Teddy Grahams on top. 

3. Write on each cookie RIP and place into pudding. Put on gummy worms and refrigerate until cold and set. About 2 hours.

I shared this at 
Sweets for a Saturday
Sweets This Week

The other day I wondered how hard it would be to make homemade chocolate pudding. Turns out its not that hard. It does take a little time, but the result it well worth it! 

I have a fun Halloween treat that I made with this pudding and I am going share it on Friday. So come back!

Chocolate Pudding

Recipe Source: SmittenKitchen.com

3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
1/8 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Whole Milk
6 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1. Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in the top bowl of a double boiler. Slowly whisk in the milk, incorporating the dry ingredients. Place over gently simmering water and stir occasionally, scraping the bottom and sides with a heat proof spatula. Use a whisk if lumps begin to form. After 30 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken, it will coat the back of a spoon, add the chocolate. Stir for about 4 minutes, or until the chocolate has melted and the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

2. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a serving bowl and pour into individual serving dishes. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding and smooth it against the surface before refrigerating to prevent a skin from forming.

3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The pudding will keep for up to 3 days.

I shared this at
Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Recipe Source: Jennifer Belliston

Baked Pie Crust

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Sugar

2 Tablespoon Cornstarch

2 Tablespoon Flour

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 cups Milk

5 Bananas

1/2 cup Whipping Cream

2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Vanilla

Graham Cracker Crumbs

1. In a medium bowl beat eggs. Add sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt into the beaten eggs. Mix together. 

2. In a medium saucepan put milk and just before it stars to boil remove from heat and whisk in the egg mixture. Place pan back on a med-low heat and whisk constantly until thickened. Once thickened place through a mesh colander to remove any small pieces of scrambled egg that may have formed.

3. Place saran wrap directly onto the pudding to avoid a film from forming and place in the fridge for several hours until cold. 

4. Once your pudding is cold, add in the vanilla. Slice 5 bananas and mix into the pudding. 

5. Pour into a baked pie crust. Whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla and cover pie. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Sweets This Week
Sweets for a Saturday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
 

Its that time of year again, the time when all I want to do is have soup because just looking out the window makes me cold. It warms my insides just thinking about how good this soup is. It tastes exactly like a baked potato with everything on it. Its creamy and delicious.

Loaded Potato Soup

Recipe Source: StolenMomentsCooking.com

1. In a large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside. Cook the onions in the bacon grease until tender left in the pot.

2. Add the potatoes and chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. With a slotted spoon, remove about a cup of potatoes. Place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Set aside.

3. In a small sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes on med-low. Whisk in milk, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened. Slowly stir in to stock pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Stir bowl of smashed potatoes back into pot.

4. Add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese, three-fourths of the bacon to the pot. Add pepper. Stir to combine. Cook an additional 5 minutes.

5. To serve, top with some shredded cheese, bacon and sour cream.

I am on a small quest to find new pumpkin recipes. The only ones I have are pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and breads. I also need to find a use for some apples I bought to be a decoration and I am realizing that that's a nice thought but now they are going to go bad and what a waste of really delicious apples that would be. So luckily while looking for a new pumpkin recipe I found this and it not only has pumpkin but it also had apples. 

I haven't ever made muffins so I was so interested to make these. They turned out so moist and flavorful. My girls scarfed them down. It sounded like an odd combination but its definitely going to be a recipe I make again.

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Recipe Source: AllRecipes.com

Muffins:
2 1/2 cups Flour
2 cups Granulated Sugar
1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2 cups Apple.. peeled, cored and chopped

Streusel Topping:
2 Tablespoons Flour
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
4 teaspoons Butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 20 muffin cups with paper liners.

For Muffins...

In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl mix together the eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chopped apples. 

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin and fill 3/4 full.

For Streusel...

In a small bowl combine flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over muffins.

Bake muffins for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

One of the most flavorful dinners we have had around here in a while. Its light, creamy & fluffy.

Chicken Pillows 

Recipe Source: TheGirlWhoAteEverything.com

Chicken Pillows:

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
3 cups, approx. 3 Chicken Breasts, cooked and diced 

2 - 8oz cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1/4 cup Butter, melted
2 cups Italian Bread Crumbs

Gravy:
1 - 14.5oz can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 - 0.87oz pkg Chicken Gravy Mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese and sour cream until well combined. Stir in salt, pepper, onion, and chicken.

2. Take 2 crescent rolls and push together at the seam to make them into a square. Make sure you seal the seams well so your filling doesn't come out. Place approx. 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the center of each square. Fold the dough corners to the center over the chicken mixture and pinch in the middle to form the pillow.

3. Dip each pillow in the melted butter on both sides. Coat with the bread crumbs on both sides. Shake off excess crumbs. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

For the Gravy...

Mix cream of chicken soup, chicken gravy mix, and 3/4 can of water in a small pot. Whisk until smooth and heat until warm. 

Serve your chicken pillows with gravy poured on top.