Pumpkin Pie Custard

I love custard! Loooove it!

I loved it so much as a girl that when I was just nine years old my mother taught me how to make a simple four ingredient custard using the classic red and white gingham Better Homes and Garden cookbook. I learned pretty quick how to make it all by myself and loved that I could whip up one of my favorite treats all on my own. It's still one of my favorite recipes. Since my nine-year-old baking days I've branched out a little with my custard recipes. One of the favorites around our home now is this Pumpkin Pie Custard. I usually make up a double batch every week. My kids love to eat it as a morning snack and this past summer we found we loved the leftover custard in the fridge for a quick and easy breakfast. I love the pumpkin flavor blended with that classic eggy-custardy flavor. It's the perfect combination

This recipe is easy to whip together, the kids love it, and it's full of good for you ingredients. You really can't go wrong with this one!

Pumpkin Pie Custard
serving-pink-lemonade.com

(adapted from Nourished and Nurtured)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted and cooled

1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (if using canned pumpkin this should equal one full can)

1/3 - 1/2 cup honey or pure maple syrup (I stick with 1/3 cup but you can up it for a sweeter taste)

4 eggs

1/2 cup milk kefir, plain whole milk yogurt, or coconut milk (optional)

1/3 cup almond flour (I like Wellbee's for it's fine texture)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon Real Salt

Get the rest of the recipe over at Nourishing Bites.

Healthy Melt in Your Mouth Pumpkin Pie Bars

I'm always on the search for healthy desserts and nutrient dense snacks that will fill my kids hungry tummies right up.  This recipe fits the bill for both.  These pumpkin bars by themselves make a great snack but by adding a few chocolate chips to the recipe I've tricked my kids into thinking they're now dessert.  Personally my favorite way to eat them is by ditching the chocolate chips and sprinkling a few chopped pecans on instead. Sometimes I will even sprinkle three-fourths of the pan with chocolate chips and the other quarter with pecans so everyone is happy.

Not only are these pumpkin bars easy to whip together and free of refined sugar but they taste amazing!  They are so moist and light they practically melt in your mouth.  There's no reason to wait until fall to make these dreamy bars.  They are the perfect treat any time of year. 

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Ingredients:

3/4 cup creamy almond butter

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 well-ripened banana (should have lots of brown spots)

1/4 cup raw honey or pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon Real Salt

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips or pecans (optional)

Get the rest of the recipe over at Nourishing Bites.

Madeline Costume

In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines
Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.
They left the house at half past nine
In two straight lines in rain or shine.
The smallest one was Madeline.

(-from Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans)

I just can't get over my cute little Madeline!

I've said before that I'm kind of a Halloween Grinch.  My sweet little one year old almost didn't get a costume for Halloween this year since I figure if she's young enough to not care then I don't care to take the time to make a costume.  I know.  I'm no fun.  Super Grinchy.

I decided to browse Pinterest for costume ideas anyway--just for fun--to see what was out there because I was drawing a blank.  I had ZERO ideas.  As I scrolled through Pinterest the costume that stood out to me the most was Madeline.  We have loved the books at our house and I thought a little Madeline would be so sweet.  After all, my spunky little one year old is the smallest one in our family--like it says in the book.  It all just seemed to fit.

My little Madeline just loves her costume and she thinks wearing her sweet little hat is too much fun.




Here's a view of the back.



I tried to talk myself out of the costume but I just couldn't.  It all came together so flawlessly.  I already had the blue fabric to make the dress so I had no excuse.  I used a nightgown pattern from my stash that had raglan sleeves making it super simple to put together.  I got out of having to sew a collar for the dress by using a collared shirt I already had.  Last I added a ribbon around the neck.




Here it is all put together.



The hat I found at Target on clearance for a few dollars.  This was the only purchase I made for the costume.  Everything else I already owned--which is how I like to do Halloween costumes.  I added a black ribbon and it was all ready for Miss Madeline to wear.

I'm so glad I got over my ginchy-ness because I had so much fun putting this consume together.  I really don't remember the last time I was this excited about a project.  I even wrote a little poem about my own "smallest one" to go along with it--but I'm not really much of a poet so I'll save that one for the family blog.




So, what are your kids being for Halloween this year?  Do you make or buy your costumes or do a little of both?

Halloween Snack

Last year my son had a Halloween party for preschool that included a pot luck lunch.  I brought a cheese, cracker and summer sausage tray to share.  Since I had a mini pumpkin cutter I decided to make the platter a little more festive by cutting the cheese into pumpkin shapes.  They were a hit with the kids.  And don't worry, none of the cheese scraps when to waste.  My kiddos where happy to snack on them that night.

What do you do to make Halloween fun at your house?

Zoo Keeper Costume

My daughter decided she wanted to be a zoo keeper for Halloween this year.  I think it such a unique and creative idea--and I have to say I was relieved that she decided to break her three year trend of being Super Girl!

This girl loves learning about wild animals and even created her own little wild animal pocket book to go along with her costume.  She had so much fun researching different animals, picked two for each letter of the alphabet, and included them in her book along with a photo and interesting fact.

This costume was super simple to put together.  I found a plain brown shirt and put a "zoo keeper" patch on it (she added a long sleeve black shirt underneath because it was cold).   The hat I happened to find at Hobby-Lobby and the pants she already owned.  Since the costume was so simple (and a little plain) I let her pick out a snake to add something fun.  

 

 She loves her new stuffed snake and it's no secret that her brothers are jealous. 

This girl is ready for an adventure (and Halloween)!

What are your kids being for Halloween this year?

Simple Super Hero Costumes

Super heroes are a popular choice for Halloween at our house.  Last year my two oldest decided to be Super Man and Super Girl.  This year my five year old picked Batman so I couldn't help but have my almost-two-year-old be Robin.

I kind of have a little competition with myself when creating Halloween costumes for my kids.  How simple can I make them, how inexpensive can I create them for, and how much of it can I reuse after Halloween is over.  I think this Batman costume is a winner!

Here's the break down:

Plain black pants and shirt (can be worn as regular clothes after Halloween) - Target

Black cape  - Dollar Tree (only $1 of course)

Batman belt - made free from leftover scraps

Batman mask - amazon.com ($3.54)

While this costume looks simple my son was very specific about how he wanted it.  He wanted to be a modern all-black batman.  He didn't want a logo on his shirt and he let me know exactly how he wanted the belt made.  This is a boy who know's what he wants.  I think his costume turned out perfect!

My busy little two-year-old makes a great side kick.  He wants to be just like his big brother and is constantly copying everything my five year old does.  Usually he loves to get his picture taken but this time he was not in the mood.  I made him a cute little yellow and red reversible cape but he wanted nothing to do with it.  Sniff :(  I'm just happy that I got him to wear the belt--even if it was only for a few minutes.  The cape and belt were both free since I made them from my scrap pile.  I bought a plain red shirt from Target and added the Robin logo and stripes using Wonder Under.  The green pants were my biggest challenge.  I looked everywhere for green pants!  I was about to break down and make some and then I checked JC Penny.  They had three different styles of green pants!  Of course!  I think he makes one cute Robin--even without his cape :)

And here's my super duo!  Not the best picture but the only one I got of them together.

Interested in making a super cape for your child's Halloween costume?

Be sure to check out my free templates here and here!

Homemade Crunchy Caramel Popcorn (using only unrefined sweeteners)

Every autumn around Halloween my mom made caramel popcorn when I was growing up.  I love this stuff.  I made it myself the first few years my husband and I were married, but since our kids came along there always seems to be so many sweets this time of year to add one more thing.  This year though I broke down and made some.  My daughter informed me that she would not like it but after convincing her to take one bite she was hooked and we sat there together and ate half the bag between the two of us.  Oops! 

 Some people like their caramel corn soft and chewy, but I like my crunchy.  I adapted my recipe from Kimi's over at The Nourishing Gourmet.  I love that she uses no refined sweeteners and I also love that it tastes just like the stuff I ate growing up.

Be careful.  This stuff is seriously addictive.

Crunchy Caramel Popcorn

3/4 cup popcorn kernels, popped

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sucanat

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Melt the butter, sucanat, and honey in a small pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes, stirring regularly.  Meanwhile, place the popcorn in a large bowl with plenty of room to stir (you may need to use two bowls).  Once the mixture has simmered for the allotted time add baking soda and vanilla.  Mixture will become foamy.  Remove from heat and pour over popcorn.  Stir until well coated.  Place popcorn onto two jelly roll pans in a single layer.  Place in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes.  Caramel will harden completely once cool.  Remove from pan and place in air tight container.  Enjoy!

Monster Patches

 I love summer-time because my boys can wear shorts.  And shorts = no holes in the knees.  But it is officially autumn here and we are back to wearing pants.  And we always have lots of holey pants.  

I patch them on the inside.  I patch them on the outside (sometime with camo patches which my boys love).  But this time I decided to try something a little different--a monster patch.  (I was inspired by this post which I found on Pinterest but since it's in another language I had to make up my own instructions and that's why I'm sharing my tutorial!)

First I flipped the pant leg inside out and roughly stitched a large square of red fabric over the hole. I folded the fabric in half so that it will (hopefully) last a while.  Make sure that your square is much bigger than the actual hole.  And I used  blue thread so that you wouldn't be able to see it from the right side.

Next, I cut some jagged teeth and big round eyes out of felt. I put the teeth right inside the hole and stitched them in (again with blue thread).  Then I stitched on the eyes with white thread and gave him x's with green embroidery floss. 

 It was pretty easy and W loved them!  In fact, I think every boy in his class loved it too.  He came home so pleased that everyone wanted his monster patch.

Simple Halloween Costumes

My kids just can't get enough of their super capes.  It is seriously their favorite dress-up toy.  My daughter is being a super girl for the third year this Halloween and with my son's super hero birthday party last month he decided to jump on the bandwagon too.

I like to make my kids Halloween costumes every year but I also like to keep them simple.  Really simple.  So this year they got to wear the new capes from my son's party, and I made them both a belt.  My son informed me that he need a shirt with a "S" on the front so I used a $5 shirt from Target and a smaller version of my Superman template and we were good to go. 

Super simple for me, and I have two happy super hero's ready to go out and save the world, or at least ready to go out and collect some candy . . .

What are your kids being for Halloween this year?

Ghostly Pudding Cups

Inspired by Amy's healthy Halloween snack and these cute frankenstein pudding cups I set out to make a cute, easy Halloween treat for my boys.  What I came up with is so super easy that anyone  can do it!  All you need is a vanilla pudding cup and a sharpie!

And viola!  You have a little ghost pudding cup.  I'm excited to pull these out for dessert tonight.  The boys are going to love them!

Roasted Seeds

I love roasting pumpkin seeds every fall.  My mom roasted them when I was growing up so I feel like it's a tradition.  I could eat them year round, but the two pumpkins we buy every year never seem to have enough seeds to last us very long.

Last year when my mom came to help after baby #3 was born she made some delicious acorn squash with apples for dinner.  She saved the seeds from the squash and roasted them up.  They were so yummy and I couldn't believe I never thought of doing that.  I always threw the seeds away.  Now they're a favorite snack at our house.  My kids always groan when they see I'm making squash for dinner but they get super excited when they see me roasting up the seeds for a snack.  Those tasty little seeds are gobbled up quick at this house.

Roasted Pumpkin or Squash Seeds

1 cup squash or pumpkin seeds

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

Rinse seeds in cold water and make sure all the the pulp and strings are removed.  Drain and pat dry.  Stir seeds in a bowl with remaining ingredients making sure they are fully coated.  Place seeds in a single layer on a baking tray (I like to place parchment paper underneath for easy clean up).  Bake in a 250 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until brown and crispy (pumpkin seeds may take an extra 15-20 minutes).

Enjoy!

Healthy Halloween Snack

With all the candy that comes with the month of October, how about a healthy Halloween snack?  I think we need some of those too.

The other day I picked up some mandarin orange cups from the store . . .

and with some inspiration from Aimee I created these festive little orange jack-o-lantern snacks.  

Aren't they cute?

A sharpie marker is perfect for drawing on the little faces.  I'll be serving these for lunch on Halloween next week.  I think my kids will love them.

Another idea is to draw a little face right on the peel of an orange or clementine like Ann did here.  Great idea!

So, are you ready for Halloween?  Costumes all done?  Or are you still finding time to squeeze in the finishing touches?