Recipe - Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Squares

Rice Krispie squares are one of my favourite things to make. Recently I've started making different versions for the holidays.  I found a recipe for pumpkin spice Rice Krispie squares so I decided to try them. I modified the recipe for the microwave.  I've never made Rice Krispie squares on the stovetop, so I wasn't going to start now.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Squares

3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste)
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of allspice
1 bag of marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies

 

 

Melt butter in a large microwaveable bowl, about 30 seconds.  Add pumpkin, marshmallows, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and allspice.  Stir to coat.

 

Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes until marshmallows are melted.  Stir together and then let sit until it reaches room temperature.  Then stir in Rice Krispies and press into a greased 9x13 pan.  If you mix them in too early the cereal will get too soggy. 

My taste tester liked them.

Want it Wednesday - Cats

This is random, but the other day I walked by an animal hospital and they had some pictures of cats for adoption.  I had two cats growing up - G.G. and Ashley; they were both grey and white.  Ashley still lives at home.  G.G. was the sweetest cat, she used to sleep under the covers with me and loved being picked up and carried around.  Ashley was nice too, more independent and not as sweet. 

I do want to get a cat someday, but not right now.  That doesn't stop me from looking at the humane society's website to see what animals are up for adoption. 

These are from the Etobicoke Humane Society:

Eden

Sasha

 

Skittles  (I think this name alone could convince Dave to get this cat)

And these are from the Toronto Humane Society

Teagan

 

Gaby

And although I'm not a dog person, I did think this dog was cute.  Plus I love when dogs have names that aren't "dog" names. This is Matt.

Weekend Recap - Lots of food

What a beautiful fall weekend!  The temperatures were seasonal, the sun was out, not a cloud in the sky.  I love summer, but I appreciate the crisp weather and of course the beautiful colours.

I need to learn more about this camera, this was my attempt at learning how to backlight, not sure I figured it out.

 

On Saturday morning we met some friends at High Park and attempted some family photos.  We played on the playground and then went through the zoo.

E was going with the "lean against the tree" pose, which made me laugh, which made for a number of bad photos. This one is pretty good. 

At the zoo, feeding the llamas.

E wanted to touch the chicken which involved me holding it.  I am clearly unsure about this but it all worked out fine.  It was surprising docile and very soft.

 

Afterwards, we went to La Cubana, a cute little Cuban place on Roncesvalles.  They were still serving brunch, so we all ordered the Cuban Breakfast and E had the French toast with bananas.  Everything was very tasty, and great for families.  I can't wait to go back to try their dinner menu, and fresh doughnuts for dessert!

 

 

 

Mango juice in an Incredibles cup.

On Sunday, I made our Thanksgiving Dinner.  I love turkey dinner, it is one of my favourite meals.  Since it was just the three of us, I tried keeping it fairly simple.  I made regular turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes (fully loaded, and inspired by this recipe), carrots, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce and gravy.  For dessert, we had a homemade pumpkin pie, and an apple pie from a farmer's market.  All very yummy!

I forgot to take a picture of the turkey before it was carved.

 

Yummy mashed potatoes.

Colourful and tasty!

 

 

Thankful for these guys!

  

Always pick both kinds of pie when given the chance.



Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! This year I am thankful for time.  Time with family, time with friends, time by myself.  I am thankful that I had time with special people that are no longer with us.  Time to work at my office, on this blog, and with my Arbonne business.  I am thankful for quiet moments, exciting moments, regular everyday moments, and special moments with people I love.  Sometimes we rush around thinking we have no time to do anything, but I am constantly reminding myself to live in the present, and enjoy whatever is going on my life at that time, even if things aren't "perfect".    What are you thankful for this year?

 

Friday Favourites

Linking up again for Friday Favourites with Andrea and Erika.  This will be random, as always!

1.  This Pumpkin Ale from Great Lakes Brewery is another fun pumpkin spice treat for the fall.



 

2. I love Chipotle, unapologetically.  I got a chicken burrito bowl for lunch the other day, it was great, that's all.

 

3. I stopped by Starbucks one morning this week and saw this bird's nest in the sign. 

 

4. My office hosted its annual client appreciation night.  Lots of fun foods were served, including these cute little desserts - pumpkin spice creme brule and apple crumble.  

 

5.  RAPTORS!!  The Raptors first home game is tonight, it's pre-season, but still exciting. We have tickets in the platinum section (courtesy of a friend).  We are looking forward to a great season!

 

Have a good weekend everyone!

Recipe - Salted Caramel Brownies

Fall marks the return of not only the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks, but also the Salted Caramel Latte, my personal favourite.  This is the brownie version, very decadent, but worth making. I have made these brownies a few times for potlucks and dinner parties and they get a lot of compliments.

The original recipe calls for brownies from scratch but I have made it easier by using a boxed mix.

Helping himself to some pretzels

Salted Caramel Brownies

1 cup crushed pretzels (I used my food processor)
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup melted butter
1 boxed brownie mix, made according to its instructions (I used Duncan Hines Chocolate Decadence)
Caramel sauce
Fleur de sel

 

Mix together the pretzels, flour, brown sugar and baking soda.  Pour in the melted butter and stir until combined and crumbly.  Press into a greased 8x8 pan. 

Pour prepared brownies over pretzel crust. Spread around to cover all corners.

Bake according to brownie mix directions.  In my case it was 45 minutes at 325 degrees and they were done when a toothpick inserted 1 inch from the side comes out clean.  My first instinct was that it had to be cooked all the way through but it is okay if the middle is a little fudgy. 

Once cooled, drizzle the caramel sauce over top.  Sprinkle with fleur de sel.  This is a key ingredient, since regular salt will just dissolve into the caramel.  The fleur de sel sort of stays solid.  It can be expensive if you can even find it in your local grocery store, but a little goes a long way and can be used in a variety of dishes.

 

**********************

 

While I was making these, E was "cooking" supper.  This is Cuddly Pal, a lemon, and an elastic stretching band in the pan in the drawer.  They were soon accompanied by an airplane and a pair of (clean) underwear. 

Want it Wednesday - Boy Clothes

Now that we are moving into a new season, E will need a few new clothes.  His pants from last year are a little too short, and many of his long sleeved shirts are more like 3/4 length sleeves, not the style he's going for.  We will also need a new pair of sneakers and winter boots.  I am hoping his winter coat will still fit him, this will be the 3rd (!) winter that we got out of this coat, which is crazy, but the first year the coat was obviously way too big.  It was from the Gap so it is good quality.  We may need some new snow pants, but we'll see.

First of all, I love these Toms.  We tried to buy them at the store last weekend but they didn't have E's size. I'll just order them from the website.

 

How cute is this Denim Shirt ?

 

This Striped Knit Hoodie would be great for those extra cold days.  E doesn't usually wear a sweater at school since they keep it pretty warm, but it is definitely cute.

 

 I kind of want this Gap T-shirt for myself.

 

I'm not sure who wouldn't want this Bear T-shirt!

 

We probably wouldn't get a lot of use out of this sweater, but it would be so cute.

 

 

As for pants, we'll just get a few more pairs of jeans (Old Navy has a great selection of styles), sweatpants, and maybe another pair of cords.  I'm not going to post pictures of the pants because they are a little boring.

 

I always thought little boy clothes weren't as cute as little girl clothes, but I was wrong - they are just as cute in their own way.