Pretzel Turtle Bites

These pretzel bites have been popping up all over the internet recently.   The day before christmas Eve my mother decides that she wants to get in on the action and make them as well.  The original recipe calls for Rolos, but due to the popularity of these things every store we went to was sold out of bags of Rolos.  They did have bags of the mini Rolos but we were afraid the chocolate to other stuff ratio would be off.   We browsed the candy aisle and finally decided to go with Dove caramel filled milk chocolates.  Then we got home, got some wine, and set to work making these little treats.

Pretzel Turtle Bites

Ingredients:

• Pretzels (I chose the mini twists but any roundish shape should work)
• Pecan halves
• Dove caramel filled milk chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Arrange the pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet. 
2. Place one chocolate covered caramel candy on each pretzel.    
3. Bake for 4 minutes. 
4. While the candy is warm, press a pecan half onto each candy covered pretzel. 
5. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Celsius Cosplay - Tales of Symphonia

Last weekend I traveled to my 2nd ever Anime convention.  This time it was Youmacon in Detroit, Michigan.  For this convention I decided I wanted to cosplay a character by the name of Celsius.  She is the summon spirit of ice in the game Tales of Symphonia.   The outfit itself is relatively easy but her skin is gray, so I had to paint myself from head to toe which was a bit complicated.

If you like my cosplay please like my facebook page and follow me on twitter @forstericosplay 

This a picture of Celsius from the game

This was the start of the cuffs.  I made them with old padded bras covered in gold fabric.  Yeah...I'm pretty resourceful. 

Here was my body paint test  the top right section is Kryolan aqua color.  The other two are different shades of pax body paint.

I have a lot so say about the body paint.  It was a very interesting process.  The paint I used is called pax and it is made by combining equal parts of prosaid adhesive and acrylic paint.  When it dries its like a weird 2nd skin and does some weird wrinkly stuff, but over all its very good for all day wear and it won't rub off on your clothes or anything you touch.  After going through this process I have some tips for anyone trying to apply this type of body paint.

Pax Tips

• paint your hands last
• make sure you have someone help you
• do one body part at a time and make sure to powder it as soon as it dries, if not you will stick to yourself
• only use pax on your face if you don't plan on making many facial expressions
• allow at least 2 hours to paint head to toe
• removing this stuff sucks, I'm not sure there's any avoiding that. 

The tape grid I made for coloring the ribbon.

Finished ribbon.

The finished product.  

I'm so proud of how my Celsius cosplay turned out! I can't wait to wear it again at Acen.  Be sure to keep an eye out for me if you attend.

Spiced Pumpkin Applesauce

Last week I bought a bunch of apples at the farmers market.  I opted to try to make applesauce with them which was a new adventure for me.  The combination of pumpkin and apples is great for fall so I used up more of my canned pumpkin and tossed it in with the apples.   I wanted my apple sauce to be healthy so there is no sugar added, but you can certainly add sugar or honey to sweeten it up a bit.

Spiced Pumpkin Applesauce

Ingredients:

• 5 medium apples
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

1) Core and slice apples

2) Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours.

3) Remove cinnamon stick and blend to desired consistency.  I used an electric mixer, but you can use a food processor, blender, or a potato masher depending on how chunky or smooth you want it.

Pumpkin Hummus

Up until last summer I had never tried hummus before.  Man was I missing out.  Now its one of my favorite snacks, and its great on everything.  I had never tried making my own hummus before, but when I saw a recipe for pumpkin hummus I knew I had to try it.  It was much easier than expected to make.  Only issue I ran into was when the cup got stuck in the base of the blender and I thought I was going to have to destroy the entire thing to free my hummus.  Luckily it didn't come to that and after about 5 minutes of panicking I got the cup off the base and enjoyed my snack.

Pumpkin Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 15oz. can of chickpeas (drained)
• 1 clove of garlic
• the juice from 1 lemon
• 6 tbsp canned pumpkin
• 5 tbsp tahini
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp water
• salt to taste

Instructions:

1) Place everything in a food processor and blend until smooth.  That's it!

Sangria Clara

Last week we had a girls night and at first I was just going to to bring wine, but then I decided some sangria sounded really good.   I'm not a fan of red wine so I went with a nice white sangria with apple and cinnamon flavors that would be perfect for fall.  It doesn't take much time to prepare, but make sure you have enough time to let it sit overnight to let the flavors come together.

Sangria Clara

Ingredients:

• 1 cup  water
• 1 small bunch fresh mint
• 1/2 cup  sugar
• 3 cloves
• 4 short cinnamon sticks (I used 2 and broke them in half)
• 3 1/2 cups white wine (I used Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc) 
• 2 cups  sparkling apple cider
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 small apples, cut into chunks
• 2 small oranges, sliced thin crosswise
• 2 small peaches, cut into chunks

Instructions:

1) In a small saucepan, combine the water, mint, sugar, cloves and cinnamon sticks over medium heat. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature.

2)  Remove and discard the mint leaves, cloves, and cinnamon sticks, and pour the mixture into a large serving pitcher.  Add the wine, cider, and orange juice.

3) Mix in the fruit and refrigerate overnight.

More Pumpkin Beer

Happy October!!  Just like last year I've spent the last few months stocking up on as many different pumpkin beers as I could find.   I also picked up a pumpkin wine and a pumpkin cider.  Again, I don't know a lot about beer but here are some different varieties to look out for.  This years varieties include some which have an alcohol by volume (ABV) a bit higher than average beer.  I'm excited to give them a try.

Pumking - Southern Tier Brewing Company - ABV 8.6%
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale - Saint Louis Brewery - ABV 8.0%
Fat Jack Double Pumpkin Ale - Boston Beer Company - ABV 8.5%
HornyCopia Pumpkin Ale - Rex Beverage Holdings - ABV 5.7%
Redhook Out of Your Gourd Pumpkin Ale - Redhook Ale Brewery - ABV 5.8%
Ichabod Pumpkin Ale - New Holland Brewery - ABV 5.2%
Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale - Boston Beer Company - ABV 5.7%
UFO Pumpkin - Harpoon Brewery - ABV 5.9%
Pumple Drumkin Spiced Ale - Cisco BRewers Inc. - ABV 6.0%
Pumpkin Lager - Lakefront Brewery - ABV 5.8%
Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin - Shipyard Brewing Co. - ABV 9.0%
Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale - Hoppin' Frog Brewery - ABV 8.4%
Smoked Pumpkin Cider - Tieton Cider Works - ABV 6.4%
Prairie Pumpkin Wine - Prairie State Winery - ABV 10.0%

Pumpkin Grilled Cheese

I'm always on the lookout for new things to do with pumpkin, especially canned pumpkin which I always have a few cans of on-hand.  Needless to say I was super excited to see the new Food Network magazine which included 50 things to make with canned pumpkin.  The first thing that really jumped out at me was a recipe for pumpkin grilled cheese, and lucky enough I had all the stuff to make it. It was really easy to make and all of the flavors came together nicely.  I have changed the recipe slightly, since I didn't think the pumpkin flavor was quite strong enough.

Pumpkin Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

• Bread
• 1.5 Tbsp canned pumpkin
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
• 2-3 strips cooked bacon
• Monterrey Jack cheese

Instructions:

1) In a small bowl combine pumpkin, honey, and mustard.

2) Spread mixture on one slice of bread.  Then add cheese and bacon.

3) Top with 2nd slice of bread and grill until golden brown in a buttered skillet.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

We are having a brunch at work to kick off the new fiscal year.  I love using work events as an excuse to try out a new recipe.  The air has been a little brisk lately and its really had me craving some fall flavors.  What says fall more than apples and pumpkins?  I decided to combine those two wonderful flavors into a muffin.  I sampled one when they came out of the oven and I must say they are the perfect fall treat.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 medium peeled, cored and chopped apples
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons butter

Directions:

1. 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 18 muffin cups or use paper liners.
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3. 2) In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. 

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2. 3) In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil. 

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2. 4) Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. 

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2. 5) Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
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4. 6) In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

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2. 7) Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter.

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2. 8) Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
3.  

Swirled Picture Frame

I have a ton of picture frames from Ikea, so I'm always looking for ways to spice them up.  For this one I decided to use some basic acrylic paint and do a swirl design on the from.  Then I added some googly eyes in the corners to give it an extra Halloween touch.

Pick your colors and place random dots of paint on the frame.  Use a toothpick to swirl the dots together and cover the frame.

After the entire frame is covered be sure to let it dry for at least 24 hours so the paint is completely dry.

Add whatever embellishments you like and display.

Peach Banana Bread

I've been trying to eat healthier lately, and that means I've been buying a lot more fruits and veggies.  I haven't been quite as good about actually eating them.  This led to me having some fruit that was very quickly approaching its point of uselessness.  My bananas were pretty much all brown and my peaches were squishy.  I knew I could use the bananas for banana bread, but I don't really like plain banana bread.  Then I thought maybe I could toss the peaches in there too, so I did, and I must say I'm pretty pleased with the result.  It tastes like normal banana bread with a hint of peach and an awesome cinnamon sugar crust on the top.

Peach Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup mashed banana, about 2 large bananas
• 1 cup peach, chopped into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, soda, powder and spices. Make well in center.

3) In small bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk in oil, vanilla and banana.

4) Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir just until moistened.

5) Fold in peaches. Do not over mix.

6) Pour batter in a 5X9 loaf pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

 7) Bake 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.