Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater.....

It is October, that glorious time of year when apples are being harvested and pressed into cider and pumpkins have ripened on the vine, and Halloween.  Have I ever mentioned how much I adore Halloween?  I will shortly be taking pictures of the glory that is Halloween in my house :)  The other night I was craving something warm and fallish (I know it isn't a word), but you know what I am talking about right?  Something warm and filled with fragrant spices.  So I whipped up some pumpkin cookies cause they are fast and easy.  They were good but I left the chocolate chips out for my crazy family.  For the most part they like chocolate they just don't seem to like it in baked goods.  I was missing them however.  Plus the can of pumpkin I used was huge and I only needed 1 cup for my recipe.  So over the last week we have had pumpkin fest at our house so that we don't waste what was left of the can.  Pumpkin can be kinda expensive these days.  So here is what we have had.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes, Pumpkin Pie French Toast, and Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Carmel Glaze, all have turned out amazing.

Not the best pictures I know, but I have already explained that one :)

Soup Season

I have been so excited for things to cool down a bit so we can get to those yummy delish soups and other comfort foods.  I am also excited to go into the kitchen to cook and have it warm me up instead of roasting me to death.  My sister Melissa made this for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago as a appetizer and I must admit I have never liked tomato soup.  I loved this and have also come to realize that tomato soup when it doesn't come from a can is fantastic!!!  Especially when paired with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Smoky Bacon and Tomato soup
Smoky Bacon and Tomato Soup Ingredients
• smoked bacon, chopped  (about 1 lb)
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• stalk of celery, chopped
• 6-8 carrots, peeled and chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 – 2 quarts chicken stock, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream (optional)
Preparation
Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat with the chopped bacon, cook until crisp. Remove the crispy bacon from the pot and drain most of the grease.
To the soup pot, add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots and some salt and pepper. Cook, until they start to get tender
Remove the tender veggies from the pot to a blender, add ½ of the bacon, throw in a big splash of the chicken stock, the oregano and the tomatoes and puree until smooth. I usually have to blend half and then the other half.
Return to the pot, place back over medium-high heat and add the remaining chicken stock, sugar, and heavy cream, if you are using it. Bring up to a bubble and simmer
Serve the Smokey Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches alongside.

Sit a spell.

About a month ago our church sponsored the annual Father and Sons camp out.  I love that weekend because Lance takes the little man out for an over nighter and I get to spend time with my girls.  We started our evening with dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory, which the girls have now dubbed their favorite restaurant.  On the way home I just had a feeling.  I knew if I stopped at the DI (Utah's version of Good Will), I would find something magical.  I was right, I scored an awesome chair and a small lamp that I actually had to dig for it was all tangled  up with parts from a ceiling fan.  Fast forward to today and I have finished the chair's makeover.  So do you want to see??

This chair is up for sale for 30.00
I had acutally decided to leave this lamp its origional color, until I realized that someone had replaced the top electical part with silver and the rest of the lamp was antique brass :(

So it got a coat of Krylon Ivory and a good dose of glaze :)  So this done I had to figure out where to put this little cutie.  The lighting in the living rooms isn't great so I put it on the piano, perfect little piano lamp.