It's been so busy, busy!!! Good days! Fun days! Parties! Sweets! Thankful thoughts and gestures.
It doesn't ever happen though ... by just happening. It takes lots of preparation to plan school parties and treats and family meals! So, I was in the kitchen again. (I do enjoy this! Really!)
Hadassah and Matthew both had school parties that I helped with. I made a pumpkin dessert dip for Matthews class.
PUMPKIN DESSERT DIP:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 7 oz. jar of marshmallow creme
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Mix all ingredients until well blended; cover. Refrigerate for several hours or until chilled. Serve with cup-up assorted fresh fruit and ginger snaps!!!
Matthew's class did a craft. We took a pine cone and glued a head, eyes, and a beak on it. They traced their hands and wrote their thankfulness on each finger. We glued that on for the tail.
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I also baked cupcakes for Hadassah's class. I went with "PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE' CUPCAKES"!!! (Many thanks for the recipe from a blog called "Annies Eats"! Love her food inspirations!) I love the icing on these cupcakes!
For the cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups flour
3 Tb. instant coffee
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
2 cups pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
For the frosting:
2 1/4 cups heavy cream, chilled
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, instant coffee, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixture on low speed, ad the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.
Fill the cupcake papers and bake for 20 minutes, or until done. Let cool 10 minutes before removing them from the pans. Cool completely.
To make the frosting, place the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip on medium-low speed at first, gradually increasing to high speed. Blend in the 10 X sugar gradually. Whip until stiff peaks form. Frost the cupcakes! If any left-overs, refridgerate cupcakes.
Hadassah's class also made little turkeys out of oreos and candies. Cute. They also put together soup in a jar. The dry ingredients were measured and then the instructions came along with it, telling how much liquid to add when you cook the soup.
School left out at 11:30 AM. Vacation didn't start for me though ... not yet. My house was dirty. Laundry was waiting on me. The kids were on a sugar high from all their party treats! I really had to stop and ponder the thought of the real meaning of this Thanksgiving Holiday!
I was thankful for my warm house. For my energy to clean it. For dirty laundry ... for were it not for our children, the laundry pile would be too small. For my hyper kids, because they are healthy and energetic and full of life!
