No-Bake Pumpkin Trifle

Post-holidays I had some leftover pumpkin pie filling that needed to be used up. 

Since I don't have a regular store of pumpkin recipes, I started searching for ideas. 

When I came across the idea for pumpkin trifle, I knew that it was perfect. 

Mr. A loves everything to do with trifle. Everything. 

So I found a couple recipes and modified them to make them easier for me :) 

Here's what I came up with:

Crunchy Pecan and Graham Cracker Crumb Layer

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs

3 tbsp. of brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup crushed pecans

5 tbsp of butter, melted and slightly cooled

Instructions: 

Combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cover with butter making sure it is evenly softened/mixed.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Layer

Ingredients: 

8 oz. of cream cheese, softened

1 can pumpkin pie filling

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Then add the pumpkin, vanilla, and sugar. Mix until Creamy. 

Whipped Cream Layer

Ingredients: 

Heavy whipping cream (whipped into whipped cream!)

Once all the layers are made, you simply layer them one at a time into each cup, and top with extra graham cracker crumb at the end.  I did 6 layers total (2 of each). Best if served fresh, but they can be refrigerated and eaten the next day - just watch the whipped cream doesn't settle too much!

That's it! 

This recipe made approx. 12 mini trifles (as seen above) and took approx. 30 minutes to prepare.

{yumm}

Don't Waste 'Em, Roast 'Em

For those of you who are in the habit of throwing away those gross pumpkin insides post Hallowe'en pumpkin carving sessions - halt! 

Don't throw the seeds away - roast them!! 

I'm telling you that they are delicious. 

Just rinse them in a collander to get all the pumpkin guck off.

 Spread them out on a baking sheet. 

Drizzle with olive oil and mix around. 

Drizzle with sea salt. 

That's it. Cook at 325F for 20 minutes and they are perfect! 

Of course you can always be more creative then us and add seasoning salt, or taco seasoning, or chili powder, or anything really instead. 

But we like the tried and true method :)

Don't waste 'em - roast 'em!

{yumm}

Happy Hallowe'en!

For your viewing pleasure... 

here are the lovely jack-o'-lanterns that the husband and I made :) 

Together: 

His Dodge Ram:

My Daisy the Rottweiler:

 Both pumpkins in their dark glory :)

Hope you have a frightfully wonderful Hallowe-en! 

{xoxo}

Fall DIY Crafts

Just wanted to highlight a couple of the crafts I made this year to celebrate the fall season :) 

Each of these was done on a very limited budget and/or used items that I already had in my cupboard/craft storage! 

Fall Popcorn Candles

Crafts actually don't get easier than this! All I did was put popcorn kernels around some orange candles. Added the perfect touch to my mantle!

Fall Cinnamon Candles

This one is a bit more complex, but still very easy!

Tools: mason jars, cinnamon sticks, glue gun, unscented candles. (and anything you want to embellish with)

Instructions: Use the hot glue gun to adhere cinnamon sticks to outside of jars. Add candles inside. Decorate as you wish!

I chose to use a thick ribbon, and jute string to decorate them. BONUS: when you light them, you get a faint cinnamon smell wafting through your home :)

Mason Jar Lid Pumpkin

Again... super easy and self explanatory! 

Tools: mason jar lids. Felt (or anything for leaves), Cinnamon sticks. String to attach lids. 

Instructions: Gather old mason jar lids in a row so they fit neatly into one another. Tie them all together at the centre using string (I used jute string). Cut felt to resemble leaves. Put felt leaves and cinnamon sticks into centre to resemble the prefect stem! (you can hot glue them on if you wish).

Ta-Da! Simple fall crafts!

{xoxo}

Autumn Musings

Up in northern Alberta we can already tell that our Autumn days are numbered. 

Is there any place on Earth that has Fall for 6 months a year instead of Winter??

If such a place exists I would like to move there... 

I just l-o-v-e this season.

I will soak up a nice walk in this weather whenever I get the chance... although my current circumstances (i.e. being pregnant) seem to limit the amount of walking time I can handle... especially when you stop at Starbucks first! 

I also determined that this is Joop's favourite season. That little dog kicks leaves up every chance he gets! Although I will say that he's equally excited to go for a walk at any other time of the year.

Sunny skies. Warm drinks. Energetic puppies. Beautiful scenery. Handsome husband. Gorgeous colours. No wind. Plenty to be thankful for on these Autumn days. 

Here are some pictures of what we happily soaked up during our fall stroll:

{xoxo)

Winterizing the Garden

Nothing like a cool October evening to motivate you to clean up the garden. 

Luckily we didn't have too much to clean up. 

Mostly because we didn't actually plant too much this year... (whoops!)

Step One: Baskets

All the flowers in here were dead anyway (I may have given up on watering them....). 

We had filled the baskets in the Spring with annuals, so all I had to do this fall was clean out the roots, and spread the remaining dirt over some low spots in our gardens. 

Easy peasy.

Step Two: Front Garden. 

Still blooming and looking lovely, but if I want to be able to plant the calla lillies again next year, I needed to save the bulbs before the ground froze! 

One skiff of snow a couple weeks ago (that's right... I've already seen snow this year!! Welcome to northern Alberta!), was enough to convince me that the bulbs needed to come out pronto.

Bending down in the garden was not as easy as it use to be! 

<imagine crazy-pressure-on-your-abdomen-as-you-try-to-bend here>

This baby is really starting to get in my way... but I'm not complaining :)

We also cut down the other plants so that they'd be ready for the spring next year too :)

*sigh* this may mean that winter and coldness are really on their way... 

At least we're ready for the winter now... not that I'm inviting it to come or anything...

The bulbs are safely stored in a cool area of the basement, so hopefully they will survive our long winter and be willing to grow again next year! They were really beautiful throughout the summer and I'd love to see them regrow!

This marks the end of my gardening posts for 2013. 

More to come in 2014 (dispersed between adorable baby pictures & posts!).

{xoxo}

Toffee Caramel Apple Dip

Doesn't this look amazing?!
It doesn't taste half bad either!
I was searching for a fall favor to send some guests home with after a party. I thought this would be perfect. Also, since I was planning to hand them out in small mason jars, I figured most people would be willing to take one home with them :)

Ingredients:
1 package of cream cheese
about 40 caramels (or one small package)
1 stick of butter
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 bag of toffee bits

Instructions:

1. To make caramel: Stir caramels, butter, and sweetened condensed milk on low heat until everything is melted. Stir constantly so it doesn't burn. Takes about 20 minutes.

2. Add cream cheese to the bottom of the serving platter (or mason jars).

3. Pour caramel onto platter as a thick layer. Top with toffee bits.

If you are adding it to mason jars, I found that this recipe made around 7 or 8 jars. I made a second batch to have one for each guest, and then I still had some for the husband!

Here's how they looked all packaged up!

Here is the party platter version - or husband version in my house :)

When the dips were ready, I wrapped each mason jar up with an apple and a "Thank You" tag. 

There was one jar for each guest to take home after the girls Pinterest party I hosted :) 
I picked the granny smith apples (although they are not usually my favourite) because I thought the tart taste would compliment the sweet dip.

{yumm}

White Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Looking for a fall baking treat??
Since one of my tasks for my recent Pinterest party was for each guest to bring a snack, I scoured Pinterest myself looking for something delicious to try and bake. 

What I found were: White Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles. 

White chocolate? Pumpkin? Perfect for a fall-themed party! 

You can find the full recipe I used on Pinterest here.

The only adjustments I made were: 

I used pumpkin pie filling (because I had it on hand!) instead of puree

I used more orange zest then it called for because I love the flavour

I used white chocolate melts (from Michaels) - much easier than trying to cook pure white chocolate! 

The recipe was easy to follow, but dipping these into chocolate was much more challenging then I anticipated! I used a very professional "fork & spoon" technique that I'm sure resulted in the beautiful messes you see below :)

In the end, they may not have looked amazing, but they tasted great! (if you like pumpkin, lol).

I added little flags when I displayed them, just cause... well.... I do that.

Next time I will watch for recipes that involve precise chocolate dipping! 

Maybe I'll leave those treats for the professional bakers :) 

{yumm}