if not now...when?

*happy thanksgiving to you*

we had our cute little politically incorrect thanksgiving feast at the kids school today. they all made macaroni necklaces and pilgrim and indian hats. they ate a turkey feast, and chased each other around the playground. we dodged the rain - whew! here are a couple of pics of the kids in their finery. :)

next year, they both get to be pilgrims - they are very excited! :)

i took my pumpkin crunch cake to the feast that we prepared for the teachers and staff. they got "real" food. i don't know how "thankful" we would appear if we made them eat that school food. **shudder** everyone loved the cake and wanted the recipe, so i thought i'd share it here. it's not my recipe - i'm not even sure where i got it, but dang, it *is* good!

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) -- (29 oz.)

1 can evaporated milk -- (12 oz.)

1 C. sugar

3 eggs

1/4 tsp. cinnamon  (i use a little cinnamon and a little allspice)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 C. chopped nuts (i use pecans)

1 cup butter -- melted and cooled

Frosting:

1 pkg. cream cheese -- (8 oz.)

3/4 C. Cool Whip

1/2 C. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9" x 13" pan with waxed paper. Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and cinnamon together and pour into pan. Sprinkle yellow cake mix (dry) over pumpkin mixture and pat nuts on cake mix. Spoon melted butter over nuts evenly. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then carefully invert and peel off waxed paper. Let cool for about 30 minutes. Mix frosting ingredients together, frost cake and refrigerate.

BEWARE!!!! this dessert is terrible for you, but you won't be able to stop eating it, and anytime you take it to a gathering, people will want you to bring it forever and ever and they'll also want the recipe! ;) it's sooooo good!

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to my so cal readers, here is something you might want to look into for some serious christmas fun. the fillmore and western railway up in fillmore, CA (west of valencia and magic mountain) offers a christmas tree train. you and your family take an old-fashioned train ride to a local christmas tree farm to pick a fresh christmas tree. your tree is cut down and loaded on to a train flatbed for your trip back to their vintage train depot. they also offer a north pole express train and dinner with santa. fillmore isn't exactly close to orange county... but we don't have too many options for fun things like this locally. they have pictures on their website. i don't know if i am going to make it up there this year, but i would love to hear about it if anyone does. we have gone up there for the thomas and friends days, and it is a great daytrip for something really unique. :) and with gas prices way down, this might be a fun way to spend a day!

i hope that everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving full of family, food, love, and lots to be thankful for. we will be spending the day with family tomorrow, and i just feel with all of the uncertainty in the world right now, it is important to remember how much we DO have to be thankful for. it's easy to forget when we hear so much doom and gloom in the news. i know that for me - we have our children and everyone is happy and healthy. seriously, what more could i ask for? yep. lots to be thankful for in my neck of the woods. (((((hugs))))) to all my friends out there. i am also so thankful for YOU! :) happy thanksgiving!

the cooking begins...

i'm not hosting thanksgiving - thank god - but tonight, i made homemade cranberry sauce from scratch. i'm actually not a huge thanksgiving food fan, but i might like cranberry sauce now. :)

(and the following is one of the reasons why i'll never be like the pioneer woman or those other fancy food bloggers - the light in my kitchen completely bites... :P)

it was my first time! thanks, cooking light.

Basic Cranberry Sauce

Make this tangy-sweet sauce up to two days ahead, and refrigerate it. Serve with turkey, chicken, quail, duck, or ham.

Yield

14 servings (serving size: 2 tablespoons)

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2  cup  fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
• 1/4  cup  water
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  honey
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground allspice
• 1  (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries
• 1  (3-inch) cinnamon stick

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Discard cinnamon stick; cool completely.

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i hope they don't all want the canned stuff! ;)

here is another recipe i totally want to try - this would be great if someone was having a small-ish dinner for one of the holiday - really good for NYE! from ina garten, how GOOD does this sound??

Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese

Preheat the oven to 375; get a bunch of pears (Anjou pears, ripe but firm) one for every two guests you'll have. Cut the pears in half, scoop out the middle, cut a sliver off the back of the pear so it'll sit flat in a baking dish. Toss the pears with lemon juice so they don't turn brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish (or a few baking dishes, depending on how many pears you're roasting.)

Mix together 3 oz. crumbled blue cheese (like Stilton), 1/4 cup dried cranberries, and 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts halves (using more of each in equal proportion for more pears; this recipe is for 3 pears) and stuff the pears with a ball of the mixture. Finally, mix together 1/2 cup apple cider, 3 Tbs port, and 1/3 cup light brown sugar--then pour over and around the pears. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until tender. Set aside and let come to room temperature.

Take a bunch of arugula, dress with lemon juice, olive oil, and some of the basting liquid from the pears. Mound on plates and place a pear on top; easy and beautiful.

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i MUST make these pears. :)

THANK YOU so much to all of you who still read my blog and had the awesome words of encouragement for me to come back. it made me feel all warm and happy inside! :) and tell me, what are YOU having for thanksgiving this year?

the holidays are upon us!!

i know that i haven't blogged in months, but with the holidays here, i am ready to go.

it's that time again!

i'll be posting local orange county christmas events and light display, cool shops, recipes, gift ideas - all the good stuff. ;)

i'll be getting ready this week, so check back - it's all christmas, all the time! merry merry! :)