Girls Cross Country Halloween Party

Another one of the cross country girls' annual parties, is a halloween party.  We started off with supper, and then went into some games.  We are usually pretty creative in entertaining ourselves.  I had one planned game, and then we were going to carve pumpkins.  But, we got a little carried away in our creative entertaining, that we ended up not carving pumpkins.

My Mom hung some fun orange lights around our dining room, where we ate.  We did have this light-up witch's hat for the center piece, but it decided not to work right before the party.  So, I put a pumpkin there instead.

We had tacos- soft shell, hard shell, or nachos, with many toppings- mango salsa, sour cream, chopped black olives, cheese, lettuce, southwest dip, taco sauce, onions, and homemade salsa.  We also, had grapes, veggies and dip, taco dip, and I made the Pioneer Women's Pico De Gallo (it was delicious!).

My Mom put some extra sour cream in the plastic baggie, cut a slit at one corner, and then squeezed it out onto the taco dip to look like a spider's web.  What a fun and easy addition to make  it more festive?

To drink we had Izzy's and water.  I made some sugar cookies for a treat and then put out peanuts and candy corn and peanut m&ms.

We were to wear a custom.

This is my brother.  I am not sure what exactly he is supposed to be though.  He and my sister dressed up too.

For the one planned game, we wrapped each other up, in toilet paper, to look like mummies.  At the beginning of the party we had only six of the girls, an even number.  But, one girl joined us in time to get wrapped as a mummy.  Since, now, there was an odd number of us, six of us partnered up.  One person wrapped the other, with a whole role of toilet paper, to look like a mummy.  Then, the three mummies, wrapped the seventh person as a mummy.  It made it a little more difficult, because most of the mummies had no hands.

We got creative with the toilet paper scraps.

Who Knew?  Someone could make a dress out of toilet paper.

This poor girl made it state.

We, also, had fun dancing to some halloween music.  Then, we went downstairs and had an "America's Got Worst Talent" show.  We got very carried away in the show... we were doing it for like an hour and a half!  It was fun though.  We got some great laughs and some of the silliness out of us.

What I have been wearing...

With school starting, I wanted to start blogging about what I've worn to school.  Well, that has not been very successful.  But, I am definitely going to show you the pictures that I got.

With having a cast on, it made it more difficult to wear what I really wanted to.  Some of my pants are skinny at the bottom, and there is NO way that I would have been able to get that cast through them.  I ended up wearing sweats more that I like to.  I like wearing sweats, but not to school (I do wear them a couple times a year though).  I didn't wear sweats everyday, but I got my year's worth of wearing sweats to school.

This outfit (above), is from a while back, when I was in the cast.  I only got the cast off a little over two weeks ago.  The dress is from Old Navy, and the scarf is from American Eagle.

The picture right above and right below, are from right after I got the cast off.

The rest of the pictures are from this past week.  It was only a four day week, and I only got a picture on three of the days.  I am usually rushing out the door to school.

 I got the red pants at the end of last spring at Old Navy for only $1.49.  I got three other colors, but they cost $3.49.  Sadly, two of them are kind of small for me know.  I got two of them in one size and two in the next size up.  I love these pants!  They are super comfy.  And, UGG boots!

This was a meet day.  So, I just wore a team sweatshirt.

Finally, it's Friday!

It's Really Feeling Like Fall

This year, I have been really excited for fall.  Mainly because of the fall foods, the colors, and the cozy feeling fall brings.  I have been baking a lot with pumpkin and apples.  And, oh, the soups.... yummy.  The colors of fall are cozy.  It may be chilly outside, but the colors around, and outside, are warm.  It has been exciting to see the trees change colors.  It is also fun to have pumpkins around.

Lately, the air has been nice and crisp.  You know it is fall, when the air is cool and crisp.  It is "cold" outside, and I like it hot, but I am really enjoying the fall, crisp weather.

 Every fall, when someone makes a leaf pile, our dog gets the most use out of it.  She loves sleeping in the leaves at night.  She curls up into a small bowl, and stays nice and warm.

 

In the right, of the picture on the left, is an old flour tin.  It is one that my great grandma used.  My Mom's cousin had it in her garage, and when she was going through her garage, she thought that maybe my Mom would like it.  Of course, she did.  She brought it home, and put it in the basement.  Sadly, bugs invaded it.  That is why it is now outside.  So, we might have to get rid of it.  In the left, of the same picture, is a woodpecker house built for my great grandma, who is, by the way, known as Bestemor, which means "Grandma" in Norwegian.  It was built for her when she lived on the farm.  Behind the bird house, is a little part of a white fence.  That was also her's.

Today, I made this cake.  When I had it finished, I got a good laugh at it.  It had TOTALLY fell apart.  It is the Pioneer Women's Coffee Cream Cake.  I wasn't sure if it was going to turn out at first.  Like, it would taste right, turn out.  In the picture in the cookbook, the cake looks a lot darker... like a chocolate cake.  So, I made the cake, and double checked to make sure I had all the ingredients.  Then, I baked it.  But, it looked a lot lighter.  I checked the recipe again, to make sure I didn't forget anything, like chocolate.  Noo, I didn't.  So, I checked the recipe on her website, to make sure that didn't have an ingredient that the cookbook didn't have.  Nope.  It didn't.  But, the picture on her website, of this cake, looked lighter like mine.  That gave me a boost of confidence.  Also, the cake took way longer to bake, then instructed in the recipe.  Finally, the toothpick came out clean, and it was done.

I let the cake cool, then, took it out of the pan to cool some more.  But, it fell apart.  I tasted it.  It was pretty good.  I made the frosting, and frosted the cake.
  

The cake was DELICIOUS!  The top frosting was the best.  Super yummy!  It doesn't matter if the cake is fallen apart, it still tastes great.  I would definitely suggest making this cake.
P.S. I think the recipe on her website is frosted a little differently than how it is frosted in the cookbook.  I would definitely suggest purchasing the Pioneer Women Cookbook.

Chicken Spinach Garlic Pizza

I am not a big pizza fan.  Well, at least not of the typical, modern-day stuff.  If I am going to eat pizza, I want it to be homemade, or from a really good pizza place, that doesn't make the really greasy stuff.

We have always been into making homemade pizza (not that we don't get frozen pizza too).  But, I hadn't ever done anything, not to typical.  I wasn't a fan of the typical pizzas:  sausage, pepperoni, plain cheese.  So, I wanted to try to make something else.  I came up with this Chicken Spinach Garlic Pizza.  This pizza is SO good.  I have tried it at a couple different pizza restaurants.  But, they haven't been as good as when I make it at home.  There is never enough spinach, or chicken, or flavor.  The best place that I have found this pizza at, so far, is Fat Lorenzo's.

Chicken Spinach Garlic Pizza

Homemade Pizza Dough
Pizza Sauce
Minced Garlic
Fresh Spinach
Chicken
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, or other pizza cheese

 On a floured surface, roll out the dough into either a circle, rectangle, or other fun shape.  We usually make our own little personal pizzas, so they don't always end up being a specific shape.  But, I am making this pizza for a few of us, so it will be a bigger pizza.






Grease a pizza pan, or line a cookie/bar sheet with parchment paper.  Place the rolled out dough on top.

 Mix 2-3 spoonfuls of garlic in with your pizza sauce.  Smear the sauce over the dough.  Put on however much you like.









I like a lot of spinach... not just a piece here and there.  Cover the pizza with a layer of spinach.  I found that putting the spinach on the bottom helps keep it moist.  If you put it more on top, it may get kind of dried out.

I also like a lot of chicken.  I like to cut up a grilled chicken breast to put on the pizza.  But, you can use whatever cooked chicken (shredded) you have.  I have done rotisserie chicken that we shredded up.







What I don't like, is, too much cheese.  So, I just do a light layer of cheese.  But, had however much you like.  Then, roll the ends in, to make a yummy crust.

 Bake according to your pizza dough recipe.  We do ours at 500 degrees for about 10-12 min.

 Let cool, cut, and ENJOY.

Variations:

 Above:  I didn't roll the ends in and I added some roasted red & green peppers and onions.

Add on some fresh tomatoes to the top.  YUMMY!

Chicken Casserole

We like having some sort of pasta dish the night before a meet.  Well, the other night was a pre-meet, so I made this chicken pasta casserole.  We ended up not eating it because no one ended up being home that night... well besides my dad.  So, we had the casserole tonight instead.

 This is one of those go-to, easy, quick to make dishes... that is also delicious.  You can make it ahead of time, refrigerate it, and then stick it in the oven to heat up when you are ready to eat it.

Chicken Casserole

Noodles
Cooked shredded chicken
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (healthy request)
Milk, cream, sour cream, chicken broth, or a combination to juice it up
Shredded cheese (about a half cup)

To cook the noodles:  Bring a large pot of water, with a little salt, to a boil.  Add noodles.  Give them a little stir.  Once the water is back to a boil, cover the pot, and turn the heat off.  Allow the noodles to sit in the pot for 20 min.  After 20 min, drain the water out, and you will have nicely cooked noodles.  This is how we cook cook all our noodles - for everything.  They turn out just right this way.

Mix the cooked noodles (about one package, but if that looks too noodley for you, do less), cooked shredded chicken (however much you think looks good, we probably mix in about 2 cups), and the cream of mushroom soup.  It will need something to juice the dish up, so add in as much as you want to make it juicy enough for you, of the ingredients listed above.  Add in a little of the cheese.  Mix it all together.  Sprinkle a little cheese on top.  Cover.  Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Variation:  Add in some finely chopped onion and/or red/green peppers.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Creations

One of my favorite breakfasts is oatmeal.  It makes a cozy breakfast on cool mornings... in the fall, winter, or early spring.  I don't like the quick 1-minute stuff though.  I like the old fashion oatmeal.  With oatmeal, there are so many different toppings, that it can be different every time.

To make sure that I get a well-rounded meal, I cook my oatmeal in milk.  I do not like it cooked in water and then adding milk because otherwise you will get a watered down milk and a hot/cold mixture... yuck!  I cook my oatmeal usually in at least half milk and half water to cooked all in milk.  If you less milk then water, you will still get the watered down milk taste.  Every once in a while, I will add a splash of milk at the end, but only a tiny splash.  Then, I always had chopped walnuts, but you could add whatever nuts you like.

To Cook the Oatmeal:  I pretty much follow the instructions on the Quaker Oat oatmeal container.  So, measure out your milk, and water, into a saucepan.  Heat it up on LOW.  Heating milk on high will end up in a mess... trust me, I know.  When the milk is hot, it may not be boiling, add the oatmeal.  Stir occasionally.  After a few minuets, with the heat still on, I turn the heat off, and cover the pot.  Let sit for a couple minuets, before you dish it up, top, and enjoy.

Here are some oatmeal toppings I enjoy.

My Morning Apple Crisp

I call this "my morning apple crisp" because it seems just like apple crisp.  Apple crisp as oats in it, so the oatmeal would represent that.  Cooking the oatmeal in milk gives it the creaminess, which would be like the butter.  The cinnamon for the flavor.  And, of course, apples, because apple crisp wouldn't be apple crisp without apples.  The maple syrup would be like the sugar in the apple crisp.  Then I add nuts and raisins... just because I like them.

Follow my cooking instructions.

Add raisins in the last minuet or two that the oatmeal is sitting in the pot.  This will make them nice and plump, or soft.

Dice up an apple.  I usually only dice up half the apple to put on my oatmeal, and then I just eat the other half.  Usually I peal the apple, but you don't really half to.

Add some nuts.

Sprinkle just a pinch of cinnamon over the top.

Add some maple syrup.

 

And, Enjoy!

Fresh Fruit

Basically, just cook the oatmeal.  Then add whatever diced up fresh fruit you would like.  Add some nuts and honey or maple syrup if you desire.

Peaches and strawberries with nuts.

  

Yuummmmy!

Blueberries and Strawberries with honey and nuts.

Peaches and raspberries.

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries with honey.

Frozen Fruit

Frozen fruit is great for in the winter.  I keep some frozen fruit in the freezer, and then when I need some, I pour some into a little bowl, and defrost it in the microwave.  The fruit will get really juicy.  So, I pure SOME of the juice out, before I put it on the oatmeal.  Then just add some nuts, honey or maple syrup, or whatever you like, and enjoy!

Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries with honey.

Dried Fruit

When adding dried fruit to your oatmeal, I suggest adding it to the oatmeal the last minuet or two that it is cooking/sitting in the pot.  This will make the fruit plumper and juicier... and yummier.  Then top it with nuts, honey or maple syrup, or whatever you would like.  You can use raisin, craisins, dried cherries, etc.

Raisins with maple syrup and nuts.

Pear

This is a new combination that I tried.  It is pretty much the same as "My Morning Apple Crisp", but with different fruits.

Add craisins in the last minuet or two that the oatmeal is in the pot.  If you want to, you can add the pear in with the craisins.  It makes the pear chunks a little warmer and yummier.  I, then, also added more pear on top, along with honey and nuts.  This would also be good with maple syrup.