Teacups and Toasters

Today was a chill day. I got rained on by a very cold rain. The wind bristled and there was the most beautiful little orange leafed tree standing stark and half stripped. It’s autumn and I adore it. After making my way home from an intriguing outting, the weather and scenery had convinced me that an autumn meal was direly needed.

I’d already set out some pork, so I rustled up a can of cranberry sauce, cooked some carrots, peas, crescent rolls, and for dessert a Pumpkin Meets Chocolate Pie. I’m considering changing the name to Coffee Swirled Pumpkin Pie, or maybe Pumpkin -Planted in Chocolate Grown With Coffee Rain -Pie. Either way, you get the gist. I was expecting a little more chocolate and ended up with a coffee tinted pumpkin pie. Yippie! A pleasant surpise indeed.  This is how such a pie came to be:

1.) A can of Libby’s Pumpkin Pie mix

2.) 2 large eggs

3.) 2/3 cup of Chocolate Caramel flavored International Delight Coffee Creamer (I’m lactose intolerant..I needed something to replace the evaporated milk)

4.) An Oreo pie crust

5.) Mix up 1-3 and pour into 4

6.) Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then turn it down to 350 degrees and bake for another 55-60 minutes.

7.) Cool on a wire rack

8.) Enjoy with a cup of coffee!

Apparently, I can’t cut a pie of this texture without it falling apart and I take blurry pics when I’m hungry. My camera battery died, so thus you’ll have to deal with the blurriness. Just make your own and you’ll see it’s not fuzzy after all.

UPDATE:  It’s much better after you leave it in the fridge over night..I’ve eaten almost the whole thing by myself..oops!

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence.”

2 Samuel 22:1-3

Since, I recently posted about how I’m not always up for using recipes, I thought I’d share a recipe hack that I discovered earlier this week.

Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownies are not actually very chewy. if you follow the directions on the back of the box. Granted, they are good, but they are cake like no matter whether you follow the chewy directions, or the cake like directions.

If you really want to get fudgy chewiness out of this box you only need to use 1 egg (not 2 or 3), 1/4 cup water (as suggested), and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil (not 1/4), and of course the mix.  Cut out a few minutes on the bake time (I didn’t count..sorry!) Oh, and keep the same oven temperature!

*As a final note, Duncan Hines, I really do appreciate your boxed mix of brownies and many of your boxed cake mixes because not only are they tasty, they are also lactose free. A lactose free cake mix that is tasty is indeed hard to come by. Maybe you could work on a lactose free icing?…   ::wink wink::

MMMM….Cheeewwwwwyyy!

In the opening to the book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament, the prophet is asking God why there are so many horrible things allowed in society. God’s answer beginning in verse 5 was this:

“Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-  You would not believe if you were told.”

It is so easy to look at the world around us and wonder why so much chaos and so many horrors are allowed to persist. It is an ancient question, but the answer is not a remnant only of old, but is a living answer in our own society. God is doing something. We just may not be able to see it all of the time. After all, our own wisdom is finite and fallible. We may not even be able to process it, if we were told.

Remember:  “He is before all things and through Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17

Playing in the kitchen is something I must do occasionally. I’m not big on using recipes. Granted, I do appreciate them when I need my dish to turn out well. Need = guests coming over. On a daily basis though, I do prefer to play.  This recipe is a product of kitchen play. They turned out pretty well despite the lack of recipe. At least, my husband and Partycake enjoyed them.

Things you will need:

1.  an egg

2. 1 cup flour

3. 1/2 cup white sugar

4. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

5. 4 tbsp of butter or butter substitute (I used Smart Balance Light)

6. 1/4 tsp baking powder

7. 1/4 tsp baking soda

8. 1/4 tsp cinnamon

9. 1/4 tsp nutmeg

10. 1/4 tsp ginger

11. chocolate syrup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with paper liners, or grease with no stick cooking spray. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the egg, flour, sugar, & vegetable oil. Place the 4 tbsp of butter or butter sub into a microwavable safe dish. Drizzle chocolate syrup over the butter and microwave on high for 25 seconds. Add butter and chocolate melt to the other ingredients already combined. Stir. Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Combine. Pour into muffin tin.

(Warning, this recipe only makes about 10 muffins. Part of the playing is that I make small amounts, in case things don’t work out!)

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until inserted butter knife comes out clean. The muffins will be a warm brown color once done. The edges should be a little crispy. Allow the finished muffins to cool on a wire rack. Once cooled (about 20 minutes) drizzle with chocolate syrup and enjoy!

A big thank you to Parent Hacks today for sharing my lollipop hack! I hope it helps other parents with those difficult medicine moments!

And of course, a big welcome to all visitors from Parent Hacks! Have a look around at my mish mash of posts and let me know what you think.

Coming soon….a festive dessert post….yummy!