November 8: Pumpkin Pie Failure and Success

I was in the mood for pumpkin pie, and Ty had been talking about making a pie, so this was a no-brainer.  As always, I'm trying to feed my family in a more healthy manner, so I decided to try the pumpkin pie recipe on the SweetLeaf website (this is stevia in powdered form). 

Unfortunately, the recipe on the website was not super clear on the measurement of the stevia.  It stated that we should use 1/4 cup of the SugarLeaf.  I thought this was odd, but if it was from the product's website why shouldn't I trust it?  I was wrong, though, and over-sweetened the pie which made it bitter so I had to toss the whole thing out!  I'm sure if we had made it the right way it would have been delicious! 

Ty was really disappointed and really wanted pie, so we made another pie!  For this, I just used the recipe on the Libby's canned pumpkin which I'd made before.  I did make the SweetLeaf crust again, though...yummy! (though it wasn't Koen's favorite)

Pumpkin Pie 2 cups pumpkin puree 1/4 cup SugarLeaf™ 2 cups half & half 3 Tbsp. pumpkin spice 4 whole eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 3/4 cup flour 9" pie shell (note: fresh-made or pre-made) Pie Shell (optional) 4 Tbsp. butter 1 cup raw unsalted pecans 1/4 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. SugarLeaf®

1. (Crust) Process the pecans into meal with your blender, coffee grinder, or food processor.
2. Melt butter in a pan over medium high heat.
3. Once melted, add the remaining ingredients.
4. Stir to combine.
5. Remove from heat and press nut mixture into the bottom of the pie dish.
6. (Pie) Combine all the pie ingredients and stir to combine.
7. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake at 325^oF for 30 minutes.
8. Remove and cool completely.
9. Place into the fridge and allow pie to set overnight.

http://www.sweetleaf.com/desserts/236-pumpkin

October 13: Sietsma's Orchards and Jar-O-Lanterns



Mmmmm...donuts and cider!

This was our first (but not last) visit to Sietsema Orchards and Cider Mill.  We go to church with the third-generation Sietsemas and wanted to visit their newly opened store and pick some apples to eat and make applesauce.  Our friend, Andy, surprised us with delicious donuts and cider for the kids -- they were ecstatic!  The trip could have ended there for them. :)  But we grabbed some bags and headed out into the orchard with Andy's directions as to what to pick and where to find the trees we needed: Cameos to eat and a combination of Jonogolds and Northern Spies for applesauce. 

Koen heard "Spy" and he was immediately interested.  The only spies he knows are on Cars 2 and he was excited to learn there was a Spy Apple!  Even though we picked them to make applesauce, he insisted on only eating Spies because, "This is the tastiest apple I have EVER eaten!"  I think I need to make everything related to Cars or some other movie/story/book he's interested in...do you think he'd go for Radiator Springs Roasted Chicken or Mater's Potaters?  ;)

Hanging out on the hay bales in the store at Sietsemas.

 After we picked our apples and purchased some cider we were off for home again. 

Koen had this day and the next off from school for the Christian School Teachers Convention, so he got to participate in our project for the day:  Jar-O-Lanterns!  I saw this idea in the October 2011 issue of Family Fun magazine and knew the kids would enjoy it! 

Begin with a glass jar.  Cut masking tape in basic shapes to create jack-o-lantern faces.  We used a lot of triangles, squares, and rectangles.  Place the tape on the outside of the jar to create a face.  Then paint the entire outside of the jar with orange paint.  The instructions from the magazine suggested acrylic, but I didn't have any so we just used orange craft paint from Target.  Wait for the paint to dry and carefully remove the tape.  Viola!  Your jar-o-lantern!  The magazine said to use a battery-operated tea light, but again, I didn't have any, so we used the good-old-fashioned votive candle and just set them on the counter for us to see and not touch. 

 

September 29: Paper Strip Pumpkin

The fall season is here!  It's time to think leaves, apples, and pumpkins!  I saw this cute idea on allkidsnetwork.com.  To duplicate this craft, you'll need an empty toilet paper roll, orange and green construction paper, glue, tape, and a scissors. 

First, cut the toilet paper roll to half its height.  Cut a strip or orange paper and glue it around the tube.  Then cut 8 orange strips about 1 inch wide.  I was so proud of Ty;  he cut all the strips himself!  He's been resisting using a scissors and I haven't pushed him, but he did a fantastic job cutting these strips while I held the paper for him.  We're making progress! :) 

Tape one side of one strip inside the toilet paper tube at the 12 o'clock position, repeating at the 3, 6, and 9 positions.  Tape the next four strips inside the tube inbetween these first four.  Now tape the ends on the inside of the toilet paper tube on the other end.  Once all the strips are taped in place, cut a leaf out of the construction paper and tape it in the middle of the tube.  (I'm sure the website explains this whole process  much more clearly!) :) 

When the pumpkin was complete, Ty decided he wasn't quite finished with project time yet.  He pulled out the bag of puff balls and created his colorful lamb (below).  He was so careful in placing each puff ball and so proud of his finished project!