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.

Tales of Xillia

Never in my life have I pre-ordered a video game or felt the need to buy a Collectors Edition...until the US release of Tales of Xillia.  I pre-ordered my collectors edition of the game back in May and anxiously awaited its August 6th release.  I have played through a number of the Tales series games, but this is only the 2nd one that I own.  I didn't get the package until yesterday, since I refused to pay extra to get it on release day, but it made for a very exciting Monday evening.

Here is the box it came in.  It was much bigger than I expected.

Top of the box with the very pretty logo

The front of the box has a flap that reveals the contents of the box on one side and a few pictures of the figure on the other.

The back of the box

When you open the cover of the box the inner flaps show the 2 heroes of the game

Now for the good stuff, what in the box.

Obviously the game is included...BUT WAIT!! THERE'S MORE...

A CD of music from the game

It also came with a super cool art book which will certainly come in handy if I decide to cosplay anyone from the game.

And last but not least it came with this awesome figure of the female hero in the game

If you haven't checked out any of the Tales games I highly suggest it.  They have great characters, story, and music.  What more could you want?