Pumpkin Recipes

Fall seems to be in full-swing here in Savannah, considering it is supposed to dip down into the 40s this weekend! I even made a big pot of chili last night to kick-off the cool weather.

In the mean time, I am craving all things PUMPKIN! Yes, I have already drank my weight in half-caff, low-fat Pumpkin Spice Latte's from Starbucks, just in case you are wondering. And I plan on trying out a new recipe for Pumpkin Gnocchi this weekend...I'll let you know how it goes!

Here are two recipes which I've tried and loved. Johnny and I made the Pumpkin Creme Brulee's for Thanksgiving dessert a few years back. It is extremely rich, so you could probably get away with smaller servings. And I just recently made the Pumpkin Cobbler. I love it best warm with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream and/or whipped cream. YUM!!

Pumpkin Crème Brulee
Serves: 7

Ingredients:
2 c. heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
5 Tbsp. (2.5 oz) sugar, divided
10 egg yolks, beaten
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. powdered ginger
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. sugar for tops, or as needed

Combine the heavy cream, vanilla and half of the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks and remaining sugar. Add 1/3 of the hot liquid to the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Add the egg yolk mixture to the remaining hot cream, stirring constantly. Sire in the cinnamon, allspice and ginger. Fold in the pumpkin puree.

Fill buttered ramekins 7/8 full, place in a water bath. (Place ramekins in a deep roasting pan and fill pan with enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.) Bake at 325° until just barely set, cook 30 minutes, chill overnight.

Cover the surface of each custard with 1/8-inch of sugar, set ramekins in a pan surrounded with ice (so the custard does not become reheated when caramelizing the top). Caramelize sugar under the broiler or with a torch.


Pumpkin Cobbler - from THIS site

Ingredients:
6 eggs, beaten
3 cups cooked pumpkin
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. cloves
1 spice cake mix (or yellow cake mix if you prefer)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Mix eggs, pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices. Pour into a greased 9x13 cake pan. Sprinkle cake mix over the top. Pour melted butter all over the cake mix. Sprinkle nuts on top. DO NOT MIX. Cover with foil and bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 40 minutes.

Getting Ready...

It's almost time to welcome the man back home. I think it is actually starting to sink in finally. It is such a mixture of emotions....excitement, anxiousness, a little nervous, lots of happy tears, and relief. Would it be terrible for me to say that it's hard for me to remember what life was like when he was home? I had to email him this morning to find out what kind of soap he uses these days so I could stock the bathroom with his products again. What a weird feeling to not know what kind of soap your husband uses.



He is officially out of Iraq and currently waiting in Kuwait for his flight home. He sent me an email yesterday once they arrived to Kuwait after packing up and saying good-bye to the only "home" he's known for the past year. He said, "I am glad to be out of that place. It was weird leaving; It was like moving out of an apartment...you take one last look around and hope that wherever you go next is better, and hope to never go back there again."

Below is a video my mom sent me this morning with the disclaimer to not watch it at work because it was a tear-jerker, the happy kind. Well, everything is a tear-jerker these days; I am so my mother's daughter! And of course I didn't listen to her because I watched it as soon as I got into the office!

My favorite part on the video is when he points to the soldier and says "You ARE the man!"

What an exciting time...he's coming home...and he is actually gonna stay put for awhile!!

Recap

It was 53° this morning in Savannah when I woke up! I couldn’t believe it! I realize there are many places across the country that have already had their first snow, however, 53° is chilly for Savannah in September. Are there any other locals out there who think Fall weather is hitting us much earlier this year??!

Last weekend I spent Saturday at the beach with a few of my girlfriends. We had such an awesome time. We all brought something to contribute to our picnic and just spent the day talking, eating, snoozing, reading, and relaxing ocean-side. It really was therapy for my soul!

On Sunday, I spent the morning volunteering with the Food Ministry at my church. I spent 4 hours chopping and mixing to help prepare for a Missions Lunch that afternoon and I loved every second of it. I think they thought I was kidding when I said I could stand and chop vegetables literally all day long and actually enjoy it! It is a dream of mine to one day go to culinary school….wonder if that will ever happen J

The work week was only mildly painful. Luckily I was able to stay rather busy so it went by quickly. The evenings this week were spent catching up on my DVR since all my favorite shows are finally back on.

Johnny’s return date was delayed about a week which is a bummer, but honestly…what’s another week when we’ve already done a year of this mess! I am ready for it to be here though, fo sho!

I have a fun weekend coming up with lots of plans with sweet friends that I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with. Next week, I’ll be making lots of to-do lists and getting things ready for Johnny’s return….can’t wait!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Overwhelmed.

I'm feeling overwhelmed at the moment.

Because I have a lot to do before JOHNNY COMES HOME!!!!!

That's right friends, you heard correctly! We've made it through a year-long deployment in Iraq! There have been many necessary time-outs from life when it was all just too much to handle, a lot of ugly crying and a lot of randomness on this blog, but we made it. It wasn't anything that an extra large helping of God, a big dose of daily exercise and a few Xanax couldn't fix.

I am currently trying to get things in order and crossed off my to-do list. Lots of little things, the majority of which are not mandatory, just pleasant niceties...things like having fresh flowers around the house and stocking our fridge and pantry with some of his favorite things. I want our home to be as welcoming and clean as possible!

I am also a bit overwhelmed and frustrated with work. There are many specific points of contention but my main frustration is currently because I don't think I'm going to be able to take the time off from work that I wanted to take when Johnny returns home. My leave hours are minimal and my boss won't allow me to take time off without pay as I have done previously. It stresses me out because I feel like it is going to be crucial for Johnny and I to reconnect and get back into the swings of things as quickly as possible since we have been apart for so long. I know it will all work out and Johnny and I will be fine even if I have to work that first week, I am just eager to hang out with my best friend again...duh :)

I still have another week or two until he arrives...but we are so close I get goosebumps every time I think about seeing his face again. This will be the longest stretch of time we will have spent with each other since we were married a year and a half ago!!!

It will be such an overwhelming relief to know he is back on American soil and "safe." After a year of earnest prayers being lifted up for his safe return home, they soon will all be answered.

Shoe Crazy

I don't know what it is about Fall, but around this time every year I become shoe obsessed.

I need-I want-I must have-kind of crazy.

Over the past few years, I haven't bought many pairs of shoes....and there are a few reasons to blame.

1.) I'm super duper picky. I mean really picky. If the heel is slightly too wide or the toe too round, it will completely ruin it for me.

2.) I have a hard time spending an absurd amount of money on one thing. And comfortable shoes that are made to last are expensive.

3.) I usually have an image in my head of something I want and will spend years trying to find it. Am I weird or what?

4.) COMFORT. Why in heaven's name would any company produce shoes that weren't comfortable? I just don't get it.

5.) Not only am I picky, but now that I'm a married woman, my husband usually gives me his input and he is even pickier! He actually usually dislikes most of the shoes I crave....which will probably include the ones below :)

This year I am turning over a new leaf and I am going to actually purchase shoes this year instead of just drooling over the choices. It's been too long and it's time to refresh my current shoe selection, they are looking pretty worn down actually. Here are a handful from the hundreds of beauties that I've got my eye on this year...

And they comes in this bright sky blue too...love it.




I love the black ones for riding the motorcycle and the yellow ones to match my purse. I'm obsessed with this burnt mustard yellow color lately.



Boots with a wedge, what a novel idea!



Ankle boots or aka "Booties".
I didn't like them last year, but they've grown on me I think. These peep-toe boots work in Savannah during the winter, but I don't think they'd be that practical if we lived in NY.


How killer would these look with a black skirt? Every outfit needs a pop of color...why not do it with your shoes?!

sources include: bakersshoes.com, ninewest.com, endless.com

Labor Day Weekend

Yes, it was alive and I only did it for Johnny. And that is a fact!

I spent this past weekend at my parents' home in Melbourne, FL. I am so lucky to have them within driving distance so I can get away for the weekend now and then. I know my parents probably never thought they would see their adult married daughter as much as they have this past year! They have been my main source of company and entertainment over the course of this deployment :)

This weekend however was different from most weekends; I was not able to be an "only child" as I normally am when I visit them since it is rare for any of my four sisters to be there on the weekends. My younger sister and her new boyfriend were also in town. So in an effort to entertain the new boyfriend, we set out for an Air Boat ride to search for swamp creatures.

My lil' sis and I modeling what kind of "swamp creatures" to be on the look-out for.

All five of us sat on the front row of the boat and donned lovely large, black headphones that I am sure had not been cleaned in between head usage. The headphones luckily (note heavy sarcasm) came with a microphone which we were told to place snuggly (not a word, but you know what I mean!) under our bottom lip. At one point during the ride, my tongue accidentally grazed the germ-infested microphone and I could have THROWN UP. If Clorox was safe to drink, I probably would've chugged some.

One of the many beautiful scenes we saw on our ride. The water was so smooth that I couldn't tell where the trees ended and where the water began. It was crazy to look at, yet so peaceful.

We didn't see too many "swamp creatures" since it was really too hot for the gators to be frolicking on the surface, but the scenery was beautiful and it was a fun experience to ride on an air boat.

As I said my goodbyes on Monday, it made me happy to think that the next time I'll be at my parent's house will probably be with my Johnny :)

Carb Overload

And this is coming from someone who LOVES carbs. I could literally have a baked potato, garlic mashed potatoes, french fries, a freshly baked yeast roll and pasta on the same plate and be completely happy. I would also go into a carb-induced coma , but I would enjoy every second of that delicious food before hand.



However, this new Bread Bowl Pasta from Domino's totally grosses me out for some reason. Have you tried it yet? Is it any good? If you could see my face right now, it would be a face of disgust and dismay. I actually just tried to take a picture of my face with my phone, but it wasn't very cute, so I'm not posting it here. Just use your imagination.

I am really interested to find out if someone has tried this yet or not...so if you have, PLEASE leave me a comment and tell me how it was!!