Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Yep that's pumpkin you see...remember I made a TON of pumpkin puree a few months ago? Well, I need to use it up! :)


Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a Bundt pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine eggs, sour cream, pumpkin, and oil. Beat well with a mixer until well blended. Add flour mixture a little at a time, beating well after each addition, until well combined. Scrape down sides, then blend in the vanilla extract.
4. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack for ten minutes, then invert cake onto wire rack and let cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Adapted from: Pinch My Salt

Andrew helping to make the Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Oh how Andrew loves to help Momma cook/bake! He is a GREAT stirrer :)

Baseball Season has begun!!!

We were all SO excited be heading south to Corvallis for the OSU vs UCSB Baseball Game. Andrew, Brent and I had a GREAT time and the Beavers won...so even better. The only thing I need to remember for the next game....get two corn dogs. I got one for myself and Andrew ended up eating almost the entire corn dog by himself :(

Andrew & Paint!!!

Easy Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

Easy Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

1 package peanut butter cookie mix
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
1 egg
Raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven 375. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cookie mix, oil, water and egg until dough forms.
3. Shape dough into 36 (1-inch) balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
5. Remove from the oven and immediately press in center of each cookie with a tablespoon and fill with raspberry jam.
6. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 36 Cookies.

Sweet and Smoky Oven Spareribs

Sweet and Smoky Oven Spareribs

1 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 pounds spareribs, cut into 4 slabs, rinsed and patted dry
2 teaspoons paprika
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

1. Heat oven to 200.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, paprika, salt, garlic powder, cloves and cinnamon. Place each slab of ribs on a piece of foil large enough to fold into a packet. Sprinkle spice rub over the ribs, patting it in generously on all sides. Turn the ribs meat side down and tightly fold the foil to make sealed packets. Put a cooling rack on a baking sheet, place the foil packet on cooling rack/baking sheet and place in oven.
3. Bake 4 hours at 200, then reduce the temperature to 175 for another two hours or until a fork easily penetrates the meat.
4. Open each packet carefully and pour the accumulated juices into a saucepan. Boil the juices and reduce them by half. Stir in paprika and vinegar.
5. Remove the ribs from the foil and coat them with the sauce.

Serves 4
Source: smittenkitten.com

Andrew needs glasses?

Nope he just likes wearing Mr. Potato Head's glasses :)

Cheese Crackers

Cheese Crackers

2 cups coarsely grated medium cheddar
5 Tablespoons butter
3/8 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, running the machine dough forms. Put dough in fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
3. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out 1/8-inch thick. Form shapes with a cookie cutter, dipping it in flour from time to time to ensure a clean cut. Transfer crackers to an ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheet with a 1/2 inch between them.
4. Bake the crackers on the middle rack for about 15 minutes, or until they are barely browned at the edges. Remove from the oven and set the cookie sheet on a rack to cool.

Adapted from: smittenkitchen.com

Brent's Home Brewing - Batch #5 - Tailspin IPA

Above is our fifth batch, Tailspin IPA.

Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil

Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil

1 pound spaghetti
Salt
3 lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for serving
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for serving
Ground black pepper
Small handful fresh basil leaves, shredded

1. Cook spaghetti in well-salted water to al dente in a large, wide-bottomed pot.
2. While pasta is cooking, zest lemons until you have a little shy of a tablespoon of zest. Juice lemons — you’ll have anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice.
3. Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water. Dry out your pot, then boil the olive oil, cream, zest and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water together for two minutes over high heat. Return pasta to pot and stir until coated. Add the cheese, lemon juice, and the remaining pasta water and toss everything together. Stir in basil and season generously with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, drizzling individual portions with a bit of extra olive oil and sprinkling with extra Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4 to 6
Source: smittenkitchen.com

Grandma and Grandpa Roth come to visit!

St. Patrick's Day Pajama Bottoms

Made these pj bottom's for Andrew for St. Patrick's Day. I made them a little long...opps...oh well, he'll grow right? :)

St. Patrick's Day Bow Tie & Neck Tie

Making this matching neck tie for Brent was harder then I thought it would be. At least I got it done in time for St. Patrick's Day :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day Bow Tie

Just finished making Andrew's bow tie for St. Patrick's Day. I love it.

I think he likes it too :)

I was inspired by Larissa. Check her out. The directions were pretty clear but I think for the next bow tie I will do a few things a little different but not much different. I'm going to try to make a tie for Brent with the same material but time is running out, we'll see if I can get it done.

Strawberry Shortcakes

Is it so wrong to want this for breakfast?

Strawberry Shortcake
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup Bisquick Heart Smart mix
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup milk
whipped topping

1. In medium bowl, toss strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar until coated. Let sit .
2. Heat oven to 425. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, 2 Tablespoons sugar, and milk until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by 4 spoonfuls. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes.
3. Using knife, split warm shortcakes. Fill and top with strawberries and whipped topping.

Adapted from: Bisquick

Spiced Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Spiced Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

For cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup walnuts (optional), toasted, cooled, and chopped

For frosting
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1) Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
3) In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in walnuts (if using).
4) Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Reinvert cake onto a rack to cool completely.
5) Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Sift confectioners sugar and cinnamon over cream cheese mixture, then beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting over top of cooled cake.

Source: Gourmet.com
Note: Your frosting should look white. Mine looks brownish because I put in 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon in the frosting instead of 1/2 teaspoon. Opps! It was still super yummy!

that's what she said.

could he be any cuter?

Chocolate Waffles

Chocolate Waffles

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs, beaten
4 Tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk, at room temperature
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1) Preheat the waffle maker according to it’s instructions. Preheat the oven to 200.
2) In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Whisk to blend. In another bowl combine the eggs, butter, vanilla and milk. Whisk to blend well. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.
3) Pour batter into waffle iron and cook until the waffle is crisp and cooked. Transfer finished waffles to the preheated oven and repeat until all the batter has been used. Serve immediately.

Source: Food Network

Brent's Home Brewing - Batch #4 - Red Hound Ale

Above is our fourth batch, Red Hound Ale.

BUSY Saturday

Andrew had a visit today from Aunt Melody, Uncle Bridger and Cousin Bryce! For 3+ hours those 2 boys played and played and played :)
Dadda started taking down the dog run...this will be where Andrew's play structure will be going...

After Andrew has gone to bed we always notice some little "gift" he has left for us...tonight's was the crew from Toy Story 2 lined up on the piano...LOL

Curious George Exhibit

Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Compote

Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Compote

For Pancakes:
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1.5 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/8 cups buttermilk
2 Tablespoon (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1) Preheat an oven to 200ºF.
2) In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until frothy. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Stir just until the batter is smooth and no lumps of flour remain; do not overmix.
3) Heat a non-stick griddle pan to medium-high heat. Ladle batter onto the griddle, scatter a few blueberries over each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the batter is set, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining pancakes.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

For Compote:
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/8 cup sugar
1.5 Tablespoon water

In a blender, pulse the blueberries, water and sugar. Add to a small sauce pan
and heat on medium-low for about 11 minutes until it becomes thick and sticks
to the spoon. Serve warm. Makes about 1/4 cup.

Source: Ginas Skinny Recipes

Pint Size Pirate

"Pint Size Pirate: JUST GIVE ME THE CANDY AND NO ONE GETS HURT Walloon Lake, MI"