Ingredients

•  1 stick butter melted
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-2/3 cups flour (I use 2/3 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.
3. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completelely
4. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

I got this recipe from http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dessert-recipes/pumpkin-whoopie-pies

Oatmeal Muffins
 
  1 cup oatmeal
 1 cup buttermilk (or sour milk)
 1/3 cup applesauce
 1/2 cup brown sugar
 1 egg, beaten
 1 cup flour
 1 tsp. baking powder
 1/2 tsp. salt
 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup raisins 

Mix all ingredients together.  Stir in nuts and raisins last after everything else is mixed. Put into muffin tin and bake at 400º for 20 – 25 minutes

I have just discovered this product.  Some of you ladies may already know about it but I had never heard of it.  You all know that I have made my own laundry soap for years.  I have always had trouble with it leaving my clothes looking dingy.  I would make a batch and by the time I used it up my clothes would be looking like I hadn’t even washed them.  YUCK!   Then I would buy a box of store bought detergent and use it up so my clothes would look clean again.  Then repeat the process.  So I was reading on line and one of the recipes was saying you could add bluing to your detergent.  What?  I immediately jump up to the google bar and type in, “What is bluing?” It is something you add to your wash to make your white clothes remain white.  You can buy it online.   Our local supermarket carried it.  Can you believe that?  I had never even noticed it before.   Well, as of right now, I am thinking it is the best thing since sliced bread.  I have been using it for about 2 weeks.  My whites are still white.  I think I have found my solution.  Also when using homemade laundry soap, my towels usually become water resistent.  They would not absorp water.  This has not happened since I started using the bluing.  YEAH!  I hope this post doesn’t sound like a commercial for bluing.  I just wanted you ladies to know, in case any of you have been having the same problem.  I also bit the bullet and purchased some lavender essential oil to add to it.   I avoided buying it for years because, well, everything you add to it makes the cost go up more and I wanted to keep it cost effecient.  But I really like for my clothes to smell nice after they have been washed.  I admit it.  I like smelly things (good smelly things). 

I also tried something new today.  I made my own fabric softener.  The recipe I used is:

I got this recipe from food.com.  I want to remind you all that baking soda and vinegar fizzes at lot when mixed together.  Now, I knew this but for some reason I put my baking soda in and then just started pouring in the vinegar.  HUGE MESS!  My thanks to my darling girls who came to Mom’s rescue with lots of towels.  Anyway just a reminder.  I used lavender essential oil in mine, so now I have lavender laundry detergent and lavender fabric softener.  My clothes should smell great.

Well, that’s my day.  I hope you have a great evening and God bless.

Remember a while back I said we were working on a big surprise.  Well, here they are.  We have baby chicks!!!!!  Aren’t they sooo cute?   The girls and I are so excited.  Hubby is a little more reserved but we know he’ll come around.   Our friends, the Horns, gave us the red ones.  The others came from Tractor Supply.   We got them Saturday.  They spent the weekend inside as it was extremely cold here.  We moved them out to their coop yesterday.   We pulled a quilt down over the roost and put a light inside so they stayed nice and warm.   I will be posting more pictures all along to let you all know of their progress.

It is a little warmer here today.  At least no snow or ice.  Hopefully, we will be able to hang clothes outside to dry.   Today is supposed to be our warmest day of the week.  Colder with rain for the remainder.  Oh well, this is the last week of March.  In April, things start warming up more.  We will be doing school as usual today, with breaks to go check on the chicks.  The girls have already been out once this morning.  They want them to be used to them and not be afraid. 

I made a new recipe yesterday for pumpkin muffins.  They turned out pretty good.  The recipe I used is:

Original Recipe Yield 1 dozen muffins

Today I am making laundry soap.  I am trying a new recipe.  I have experienced some problems with the old recipe I have been using.  I have been making my own laundry soap for about 2 years now.  The problem is that my towels, dishcloths, washcloths, napkins etc have become very non absorbent.  It is like they have a water repellent on them.  I am not joking.  I can have a spill, put a napkin down on it, leave it and come back in about l min. and the spill is still there.  The napkin is just laying there on top of the spill.  I have tried lots of different things to solve this problem and none of them seem to help.  I have used vinegar in the rinse, used fabric softener, not used fabric softener.  It is still the same.  I came across this recipe at the Hillbilly Housewife.  It is a little different from my old one.  We’ll see how it works.  Hopefully this will fix my problem. 

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

• 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, shaved
• 4 cups of hot water to melt the soap
• 3 gallons of hot water
• 1 cup of borax
• 2 cups of washing soda
• 1 cup of baking soda
• 1 large Rubbermaid container about 4-5 gallons size

Here’s what you do:
Grate the soap into a saucepan. You can use either a box grater or a food processor for this. I recommend you do not use whatever tool you use for grating soap with food. I was able to buy an extra food processor very inexpensively at a thrift store.

Add 4 cups of hot water to the pan.  Simmer on low until the soap melts completely into the water.

Add borax, washing soda and baking soda to the hot water. Simmer on low until it desolves with the soap. If the mixture is not melting, add more water if needed.

Add 3 gallons of hot water to the large container. Add the mixture to the hot water. Mix with a large spoon until it
completely dissolves.
Let cool overnight. You will notice that it turns into a thick gel. Use 1 cup of this homemade laundry detergent per load of laundry.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

Well, the snow did come yesterday-about 4″.  So no family coming today.  Hopefully, Dave, Jess and the boys will get to come about the middle of the week.  I’m not sure when Chuck will come.  The girls are excited today.  There is enough snow to make snow cream, which is a favorite around here.  There probably will be some sledding today too.  The winds are supposed to start later today so we’ll just have to see how everything goes.  The cows don’t seem to mind the snow at all.

I took these pictures from our dining room window.  Later today, we will be going down to the barn to get milk.  I will try to take more pictures then.

Hubby completely surprised me yesterday morning.  We very seldom get each other gifts at Christmas but this year he got me this wonderful mixer.  He even braved Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve to get it for me.  Complete surprise!  I got up yesterday morning, went to turn the coffee pot on and there it was.  I squealed out loud and he just smiled that beautiful smile of his that always says “I love you”.  He said with all the cooking and baking I do, he thought it would come in handy.  Well, it certainly will.  I made a batch of banana nut muffins in it this morning.  I used a different recipe than I normally use and I think I like it much better.  The recipe is:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used whole wheat), 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/3 cup applesauce, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. allspice, 2/3 cup mashed bananas, 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.  Combine all ingredients.   Pour into muffin tin.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 min.  I used my large muffin tin and got 6 muffins.  Very good.

No church today because of the snow.  I sure am glad we got to go Friday night to the candlelight service.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

The girls and I made molasses cookies today.  They are one of my favorites.  I thought I would share the recipe I use:

1 cup butter- softened, 1 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup molasses, 2 eggs-slightly beaten, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 2 1/4 tsp. ground ginger, 1 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, 4 cups flour (I use 3 cups whole wheat and 1 cup unbleached all purpose)  Combine all ingredients and drop by spoon onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min.  Sprinkle tops with sugar.

These cookies always make me think of fall, however it has been pretty warm here today, upper 80′s.  The night temperature though has been cooling down nicely.  It was mid 50′s this morning, nice sleeping weather. 

Enjoy your day and God bless.