This is Iron Chef!!

I want to start a recipe exchange, thanks to the great idea of my sister-in-law Kristie. Anyone else want to be in on this? I also want to include this in the idea: Iron Chef Competition.

While I was on my trip, (yes, I actually still am ON my trip but it's over tomorrow) I went to this fun party with an Iron Chef theme. The theme was Apple vs. Pumpkin. So everyone brought a dish made of apples or pumpkins and then we sampled everything and judged it and various recipes won. I want to do this as a party sometime, but here's how I want to incorporate it now.

1. Pick two ingredients for the recipe exchange.
2. Everyone who wants to can email me a recipe based around either ingredient.
3. Afterwards, I compile the list and email it or post it on this blog.
4. Anyone who wants to, can try and make one recipe from each group (don't pick your own recipe though), eat it, then decide which was the better recipe.
5. Leave a comment on my blog saying which recipe you liked the best.
6. I will compile the votes and we'll see who wins!

So, now that I can look at it, I can see that it's a lot of steps and maybe not the most fair way of doing this, but I couldn't think of a better way to do it. I think it's a good idea, but maybe I should just simplify it to a regular recipe exchange. What do you think?

Treatless, Weightless

What does a woman do when she is constantly facing this ugly battle?

A) She wants to lose weight
2) She loves to make goodies
D) Making goodies=eating goodies=not losing weight

I resolve to continue making treats, to test my self-control, and GIVE AWAY the treats. Eek.

Spooky Attempts

I'm thinking about making one of these. Has anyone ever done this before? How many feathers do you think it would take?
And maybe sometime I'll attempt to make these.

Fall Inside, Summer Outside

I know it's still early, but I think we can all agree that September is a Fall Season month. However, Arizona stays in the 90's throughout September, and it never really turns to autumn. So I broke out my fall decor (greatly improved due to a fall wedding I did last year) and made my living room colorful, well, more colorful. These aren't the greatest pictures, but I love it!

Why We're Not Buying a House in Mesa

I found this adorable little new house village near us and I really wanted to go look at them. They were very affordable and brand new. I would love to move into a house. I would love to decorate it and make it feel all homey and have our own place to park and not worry about upstairs neighbors being too loud or maintenance crews not doing their job. I would love to feel like I was an adult, owning something that requires responsibility and maturity. I would love to have a big, new kitchen where our family can hang out and I can cook whatever I want. I want to set up a guest room to entice our family and friends to come visit us more. And of course, I would love the tax write-off.

But after much thought and the blatant realization that we don't have money for a house right now, here are our reasons why we're not buying a house here.

1. The most obvious reason: Not enough money. We have negative income right now since my husband is a student, but it could have been profitable for us to purchase a house since we're paying between 800-900 a month just for rent right now. Still, these houses were a little out of our price range and we're not looking for a fixer-upper right now.

2. We don't want to get tied to a financial obligation right now. The housing market in Arizona is horrid--one of the worst in the nation. Just ask my aunt Wendy who is currently looking for a buyer for a home in Queen Creek. That does not instill much confidence that we would be able to find someone to buy our house once hubs school is done and we move away. I'm NOT staying here forever.

3. With every house comes a bunch of extra financial responsibilities. You have to buy a fridge, and a washer and a dryer and a bunch of furniture to fill up the space. You have to pay taxes every year and pay for repairs and the like. We don't have that money.

4. We don't really have time right now to take care of a house. Although it would be lots of fun, a bigger house means more to clean and a lawn to mow. My husband studies for hours every night and all weekend long and I have a baby to look after, so I think we'll be okay without the extra work.

Best Apple Pie

I have to document this recipe before the crinkled up, greasy paper that it's written on gets lost or dissolved. This is a VERY popular recipe for perfect apple pie. Even my husband loves it, and he doesn't like pie.

Superb Apple Pie

1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup salad oil
2 T. cold milk

Combine flour, sugar, salt, salad oil, and milk. Mix until well blended. Pat in bottom and sides of a pie pan, do not roll out.

Filling
4 c. sliced apples
2 T. flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Toss lightly with sliced apples. Pour into unbaked pie shell.

Topping
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. margarine or butter
1/2 c. sugar

Combine flour, margarine, and sugar. Mix together with fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of pie.

Place pie in paper bag and seal. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes, no peeking!

Try this recipe...it's so hard to fail. I made some pies from this recipe last year with some pretty old apples that had lost most of their crisp and crunch and they were still very popular!

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

I really want to try making these. They look so good, so ginger-y, and SO autumn. Here's the recipe:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Counting Down to Halloween

When I think of October, I think of falling leaves, chilly weather, sweaters...but mostly Halloween. I love Halloween. It is my second favorite holiday. And if we didn't have Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas wouldn't be nearly as fun.
As a child, I loved Halloween because I loved to dress up, go trick or treating, jump in leaves, and eat candy. Even after I graduated from trick or treating, I would plan Halloween parties with my friends and go to dances, still dressing up. I've been a witch, a cat, a princess, a mad scientist, a knocked-up white trash bride, and many other ridiculous personifications.
But I never really knew that my love of Halloween would carry into adulthood. I think I might love it more than I used to. I get nervous and jittery just thinking about getting out my fall decorations, carving pumpkins, and baking all kinds of autumn treats. I love buying Halloween candy, perusing the various stores and their fall/Halloween stuff. And I love planning my Halloween party menu, decorations, and invitations. And this year, I love thinking about dressing up my baby boy and showing him off at the parties.

Welcome to My Brain

My regular blog wasn't really the place for this. My regular blog is about my life, for my family and friends to read, to see what's going on with me, my hubs, and my wonderful baby boy. But seeing as it's September, and the beginning of the Fall season, I am feeling inspired to post ideas of everything and anything that makes me happy. You are welcome to browse my inspirations and add comments if you like. But this is MY happy place, so let's keep it simple.