Fall Bucket List

Summer slips away, Fall is moments away...
at least it feels that way to me today.

Time for a free Fall printable : )

I left a blank frame in the upper right corner
for you to add your favorite

Family Fall photo.

CLICK AND PRINT



Organization with AstroBrights Colored Paper

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
As this summer slips away and our colorful New England fall arrives, my calendar and thoughts are reving up for the busy last quarter of the year.  We all have full schedules with school starting and school activities to track and note on our calendars. Of course, there is also the never ending home maintenance To Do List.  Leaves to rake, gutters to clean, windows to wash...you know the drill. Don't forget the "faster than you think" approaching holidays; plan the menus for your family dinners, Holiday Present Wish List and Size tracker lists to create.  Organization becomes vital at this time of the year for many of us. AstroBrights Colored Paper is perfect to help create that organization by assigning a beautiful, bright and attention getting color to different subjects in my Home Binder! The super bright colors stand out and they come in 23 colors so you're sure to find a color for everything. They're excellent for making brochures, invitations, cards, and so much more. AstroBrights is the only paper that I've found that is a truly brilliant shade.
AstroBrights Paper gives back to the community with "Give a Brighter Year" sweepstakes  where you can win a cash prize and school supplies valued at $30,000 for the local elementary school of your choice.  I can think of a few schools that would benefit from this prize.  Entries are accepted via the Astrobrights on Facebook.
You can also participate in the family-friendly "Make Something AstroBright" design challenges, also found on Astrobrights on Facebook. Unleash and share your creative projects with photos or videos.  Be certain to use #goastrobrights when sharing on social media, like Twitter and Pinterest.  Each week one lucky entry will win a Visa Card!

Cinnamon Rolls-Pinterest Inspired

Today is my Pinterest Inspiration Day.  After seeing so many yummy looking and sounding cinnamon roll variations on Pinterest this past week I decided to copycat from all of them and add my own twist.  They turned out great!  Hard to go wrong with homemade cinnamon rolls : )

 Cinnamon Rolls Recipe:

Ingredients:
Cinnamon Rolls:
1 box of yellow cake mix
2 packages of active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups of warm water-120 degrees
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups flour
Filling:
I large box instant vanilla pudding
1 cups brown sugar
1 cup of granulated sugar
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, melted
raisins (optional)
Frosting:
1 large can cream cheese frosting
(I use 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/2 cup cream cheese with 2 teaspoons butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla to make frosting.)

Directions:

Mix yeast and warm water until dissolved. Combine cake mix, salt and flour in a large bowl. Add warm water/yeast mixture and vanilla to cake mix, salt and flour mixture. Mix well, completely combine ingredients. Cover and let rise for one hour. Punch down and let rise

again for another 30-60 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle shape, approx 1/4″ thick. Once dough is rolled out, brush with melted butter. Sprinkle dry vanilla pudding mix over dough. More sprinkling with brown sugar and granulated sugar, cinnamon and lightly dust with nutmeg. Add the raisins into the filling layer if desired.

Starting at end opposite from you, roll the dough towards you until all dough is rolled into one long piece and pinch seam to seal. Slice dough into 24 equal sized pieces.

Place rolls in two greased 9×13 pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Enjoy!

A pan of these quickly disappeared in my house!

Chilled Orzo, Bacon, Asparagus and Grape Tomato Salad

Staying cool has become part of the summer of 2012 for us. Today we hit 101 degrees!  If dinner cannot consist of ice cream, Popsicles and root beer floats, a chilled salad will suffice : ) ...with ice cream and root beer floats to round out those pesky food groups.

Chilled Orzo, Bacon, Asparagus and Grape Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

8 oz. orzo

1 bunch fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 lemon, zest and juiced

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Shredded Parmesan Reggiano

Directions:

Bring 2 large pots of salted water to boil.

To one pot, add asparagus and blanch, about 2 to 3 minutes. Plunge blanched asparagus into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

To the second pot, add the orzo. Cook per package instructions. When tender, drain and place in a large bowl. Add blanched asparagus, tomato halves and bacon crumbled.

Whisk olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir in parsley and grated Parmesan Reggiano.  Stir into orzo and vegetables mix.

This can be served warm or cold.

Yum!

Eggplant Parmesan

Do you have family favorite meals handed down generation to generation and the entree has no written recipe in a box nor is it scribbled on the back pages of a scrappy old cookbook?  So do I.  No measurements, just basic tad of this, smidgen of that etched into memory.

In our house, a favorite is

Eggplant Parmesan.

Slice washed eggplant in 1/2 inch slices.  Coat in egg wash, then coat in seasoned breadcrumbs-I add to the seasoning with fresh parsley and oregano, and some grated Parmesan cheese.  Saute in olive oil until golden brown.

A simmer a pot of sauce made from crushed tomatoes, "pinch" of granulated sugar, fresh oregano, basil, garlic
and beef base.

The sauce simmers for maybe an hour or so.

In casserole dish spaghetti noodles cooked al dente.

I add a small amount of sauce to top of noodles.

Stack or layer sauteed eggplant.

More sauce to cover eggplant completely.

Fresh shredded mozzarella cheese on the top of the sauce and it is ready to bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes
(covered until the last 10 minutes, then remover tin foil to brown cheese lightly).

Let's eat!

Chicken Caesar Subs

My daughter stopped by and made Chicken Caesar Subs for us last night.  Delicious!  Scrumptious Chicken Caesar Sub copycat recipe was definitely on order tonight!

 Mixed spring lettuce, crispy bacon (chopped), cooked chicken, shredded Parmesan cheese and creamy Caesar dressing-combine in bowl.

Toast whole wheat sub rolls and fill with heaping Chicken Caesar mix.

Perfect for another hot evening.  Thanks Rie!  You are my favorite daughter : )



On a mental vacation...

My sister, Kat, emailed me she is on a mental health day.  I think I will join her on a mental vacation...exhale and nap in the hammock strung between the two palm trees on the beach : )  Feeling the relaxation already...now where in the world is the guy with the drinks in hand?  Where will you go on your mental vacation?  I'm thinking Boro Boro for us Kat...