Pumpkin Crunch Muffins

Trying something a little new today.

I wanted to post this recipe because it's just too good not to share.

I'm not one of those gifted people that come up with their own recipes.

I am just starting to figure out how to modify recipes to suit my family's tastes.

I have a long way to go until I start giving culinary advice however. 

Let's be honest, that day may never come.

My Mom used to make these for us as kids and they wouldn't last the afternoon.

{You should know, though, that my Mom is a dietitian and treats were infrequent.}

Fiona now loves them just as much as we did.

I especially love that this recipe uses only one bowl.   

When I have to mix groups of ingredients separately it bugs me.

I know, I know, lazy, right?

I'm the same with pots.

Thanks Mom, love you!

Pumpkin Crunch Muffins

2/3 cup Milk

1/2 cup Pumpkin

1/2 cup oil {I use canola}

1 Egg

1 3/4 cup Flour

1/4 cup White Sugar

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Cloves

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 cup Raisins

Preheat oven to 400F.

Spray muffin tin with Pam.

Combine mild, pumpkin, oil and egg in large bowl.

Add remaining ingredients, stir until just blended.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Sprinkle {GENEROUSLY - this is the best part} with brown sugar.

Bake for 15-20 mins {until a toothpick comes out clean}.

Makes 12 muffins.

Note: I also have made this with 2/3 cup pumpkin and 1/3 cup oil to cut the oil a bit and they turned out great.  You could probably even go 3/4 and 1/4 with good results.

Pinterest: Keep it and Kill it

Keep it:

Simple way to free green onions it's called.

This actually works!

They do grow and the bonus is that it looks great sitting on your counter.

The only problem is that you have to save the white parts for regrowing and sometimes you want to use those for cooking.

It also doesn't work forever, I mean how could it?

You can't just grow infinite green onions out of water, right?
I found that after a while they had less flavour.
I'm talking a month plus though, still pretty good!
Also, change the water fairly often or they get slimy.

                                                                       Source: thekrazycouponlady.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

 1 week!

Kill it:
I thought this would be a cute project for Fiona.
You know, watch it grow, like you do with the beans in elementary school.
Well, I'm sticking with the beans since what was supposed to look like this:

                                                                Source: fun-frugal-mom-survival-tips.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

Ended up looking like this:

6 weeks later, nada!

I actually went back to the website to see if I was doing something wrong and the page is not found now so this project is dead.

Picture Friday: 2nd Edition

I have been meaning to share more of Cedric's newborn shoot.

"Isn't he 7 months old tomorrow?" you might ask.

Yes, but honestly I haven't even delivered all his birth announcements.

Give a girl a break ok?

And no, he did not weigh 1&1/2 lbs, the scale was sitting on the ground.

All photos by Just Married Photography.

It's Something Unpredictable

Photo courtesy of Jenna McColl-Easby

This weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada.

I'm thankful that we are able to make time to have meals with both our families.

That both have very strong, loving families.

That we have a beautiful family of our own.

I'm also thankful for another family.

Our shop family.

It drives me crazy how some big corporates say that they care about their employees.

Who's they?  

The CEO?  

Does he know the employees?

Now I'm not trying to say the proverbial "Man" is all bad, I've been treated quite well at large companies.

My point is that there's a difference between "taking care of" and "caring about" your employees. 

Well, we take care of our employees but we also really care ABOUT them.

We often put their well-being ahead of our own.

So when someone leaves this shop family of ours it's sad.

We had such a situation yesterday.

The parting is probably best for both sides.

Sometimes if it's not a good fit then you just can't force it.

I did, however, find myself sitting up last night thinking about his family.

He wasn't just a number to us, we knew his family's names and some of their struggles.

I know he will be fine, he's an inspiring person who has done so well for himself and his family with little to start.

In the end it's right.

Introducing Our Boys

After writing yesterday's post it struck me that I have never talked about our own dogs.

Jeff and I both love dogs.

Definitely dog people.

I also love cats, Jeff not so much.

When Jeff and I were living in our downtown loft we were restricted by the condo bylaws.

We could have "small dogs". 

There was no definition as to how small they needed to be but I had always loved Pomeranians.

When I first made this suggestion I think Jeff thought I was joking.

These weren't "real" dogs, he's always had "real" dogs.

I did my research and found a good breeder in Saskatchewan.

We could have our puppy in a matter of months.

Jeff agreed and he was on his way.

When Jeff got home I was sitting with Bailey on the couch.

He asked "where is he? Did you pick him up?" looking for something more substantial.

When I put him down, Jeff could do nothing but laugh at the hamster sized fluff-ball running towards him.

As we all know though, tough guys fall hard and Jeff quickly fell for that fluff-ball.

About a year later we decided Bailey needed a friend and added Piper to the family.

They were our babies.

I dressed them up {sorry to admit it} and we took them everywhere.

They were even walked down the aisle at our wedding in tuxedo collars.

{I'm so ashamed.}

That is, until we had real babies.

We still love our boys but treat them much more like the pets they are.

I'm sure they're relieved.

Goodbye

Rex

Approx. 2002? - October 1, 2012

I'm not sure when Rex was born.

It was always an estimation due to his unusual barging into the family's lives.

In the dark times of Jeff's life Before I was around a very hairy and homeless Rex and his pregnant girlfriend jumped into Jeff's car.

They could sense this sucker dog-lover right away I'm sure.

Most people would shoo the intruders out and drive away.

Not my Jeff.

He let them stay, found the girlfriend a home and welcomed Rex to the family.

Rex was asking for help, Jeff obliged and Rex never forgot it.

He was a loyal, obedient and friendly dog.

He loved being around people so loved his days at the shop.

When Jeff moved out, Rex stayed with his best friends Diesel and Max with Jeff's parents.

Jeff gets his dog loving ways from them you see.

We said goodbye to Max about 6 years ago.

We said goodbye to Diesel in March.

You know when a couple has been together for a long time and they pass within months of each other.

Rex and Diesel were that couple.

Lifelong partners who couldn't go on without the other.

We found out Rex had cancer a couple weeks back.

It took him quickly and quietly.

We love you Rex.

Leaves: AKA, Reliving My Youth

We had a beautiful weekend.

It was made even better because we got to relax with Jenna and Steve who you may remember from their fantastic wedding.

As I said on Friday, Jeff took the weekend off.

{He did however run to the shop at 9pm to grab payroll hours, sigh.}

Now to the subject of this post.

I have been dreaming about the day that our kids would love to play in the leaves.

Raking a big pile to jump in just takes me right back to teased hair and Tiffany.

I might have to wait for Cedric to do the jumping though.

Feefs kept inviting people to sit "in a my house".

So we surely couldn't mess up the walls.

It was said many times over the weekend that this was probably our last warm one.

But c'mon now, we're Canadian.

We'll still be walking, playing and sitting around the campfire until at least -20C.

Speaking of cooler weather, I saw something truly shocking...

Christmas is 12 weeks away you guys!

12 weeks!

Anyone have any toddler-friendly Christmas charity suggestions?