Pumpkin Streusel Bread

Yes, I am the one that posted the Christmas ornament the other day...

But, I do realize it's still fall and Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away.

So here is my recipe to show that I am still enjoying fall for the time being ;)

I am a Serious fan of all things pumpkin.

Hunter apparently is too and he just didn't know it!

I really wanted to make an awesome pumpkin bread this year but every recipe seemed to have chocolate chips. 

Although I do love chocolate, I think it takes away from the awesome flavor of pumpkin.

That's when the idea of streusel popped into my head!

Thank goodness it did!

This recipe was a complete trial, but a complete success as well!

Yay!

So, I also may have gotten a little crazy ingredient-wise...

This recipe made me two loaves of bread and 12 muffins.

Perfect to take to a friend! :)

Ingredients:

• 1 can Libby's pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1) Mix Pumpkin, Sugars, Oil, Water, Vanilla, and Eggs until well combined. I used my Kitchen Aid and used the flat beater attachment but I'm sure a hand mixer would work just fine.

2) In a separate  bowl, combine Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg.  Stir together then gradually mix into the pumpkin mixture until all ingredients are combined. I used a half cup measurement to gradually add the flour mixture in. 

3) Spray bread pans with non stick spray, then coat with flour getting rid of excess flour after.

For the muffins I used cupcake liners but I'm sure non stick spray would work just fine. Then pour mixture evenly into pans. I filled each muffin about halfway. Once filled place in oven uncovered and bake 45-55 minutes for bread and 20-25 minutes for muffins.

4) Make streusel topping. Okay, making streusel can be reallyyy annoying. I know. But it's worth it!

Start by making cubes out of 1/2 cup un-softened butter.

Then add 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and a pinch of salt.

5) With a fork press the sugar mixture into the butter until crumbles form. It takes a little while, so don't give up!

6) Once your bread has been baking for half the time, take it out and quickly put streusel on top. Same with the muffins. Then place it back in the oven uncovered for the remainder of the time. This will alleviate burnt streusel. 

7) Let sit for about 10 minutes, then serve while still warm! With a little bit of butter if you wanna do it my way :) 

Yum!

And now I'm off to finish my next Christmas craft....

;)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

Holiday Nails Inspiration!

Doing your nails during the holidays is SO FUN! (okay for me it's pretty much ANY time of the year) 

During the fall/winter months it's so pretty to wear the bold and/or sparkly colors to brighten up dreary weather and compliment all the fall and Christmas decor.

Even if you just have one bottle of sparkly polish, you can use it in lots of different ways! 

So today I'm showcasing these five beauties. 

From left to right: Sally Hansen "The Golden Rule", Nicole by OPI "Haley Good Lookin", OPI "Mauving to Manitoba", OPI "Pompeii Purple", and OPI "The Thrill of Brazil." 

(Thumb-Pompeii Purple, Index-Mauving to Manitoba, Third-The Thrill of Brazil, Ring-Haley Good Lookin, Pinky-The Golden Rule)

Pompeii Purple is GORGEOUS. This picture just doesn't even do justice. It's like a reddish pink with a purple iridescence. Very flattering for all skin tones. So so pretty.

Mauving to Manitoba is a basically what is says. A dark mauve color-brownish, pinkish purple color.

 My husband jokes about the color mauve as I tried a long time ago to explain the color to him, but he still doesn't get it because it's too ambiguous (he's a guy, only understands ROYGBP). So now he jokes and just says everything is mauve because every color is in mauve. Haha! Which he does kinda have a point ;-) 

And that's just one of the funny conversations us Moores have.

The Thrill of Brazil  is a darker, true red. In case you're unfamiliar with undertones, a true red means it's not a blue or pinky-red (which is a cool toned) and it's also not an orangey-red (warm toned). I love true reds because they're neutral. And I have a neutral skin tone. 

Undertones can be confusing, ESPECIALLY FOR FINDING THE RIGHT FOUNDATION. 

Dude, that's a post all on it's own!

When I worked at Macy's at the Clinique counter couple years back that was 90% of my job. Most people came in looking for the right foundation. At first, I wasn't even a total pro with undertones so I was a little nervous, but I'm glad I was challenged because I became a total pro. My manager would commend me on my foundation matches/makeovers for people. 

So I'd love to share my knowledge with you and do a post about it if you have any questions or if foundation is just totally foreign to you!

That's what people like me are here for, no worries :-)

Haley Good Lookin' is actually more pink than in the picture. It's pretty opaque so multiple coats are needed. This is perfect for an accent color. Or painting it just at the base of all your nails.

The Golden Rule is really not that gold, because I don't like strong gold nail colors that look way to yellow. This one is a little bit more neutral. This would be fun to paint on your ring fingers and have all the other nails be red! 

Really, you should do whatever you want. 

It's glitter for crying out loud! Be creative and have fun!! :-)

So now you can look fabulous for the holidays (or maybe you know what you want as a stocking stuffer now??) ;-)

Stay Classy,

Simple Baked Potato Bar

This is one of those dinners that I think is pretty common, but just in case you forgot about it here is my version! I altered my mom's recipe. There are lots of ways to go about potato bar! 

Ingredients:

-6-7 red potatoes

-1/4 cup chopped green onions

-salt and pepper, to taste

-1/4 tsp. garlic powder

-1/8 tsp. cumin

-1/8 tsp. paprika

-1 tbsp. olive oil

-1 can of chili

-2 cups steamed broccoli

-shredded cheddar cheese

-sour cream

-bacon bits (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and cut up the potatoes into halves. Place all the potatoes inside a gallon ziploc bag. Pour in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and paprika. Seal it shut. Shake the bag until everything is mixed well and potatoes are evenly coated in seasonings. 

Create a foil packet out of aluminum foil leaving enough overlap on the sides to completely cover all the potatoes. Pour the ziploc bag of potatoes into the foil packet. Sprinkle all of the green onions on top of potatoes. Wrap up your potatoes in the foil and make sure all the sides are sealed well so nothing can fall out. 

Bake for about 40mins or until fork tender. 

Top the potatoes with warm chili, steamed broccoli, cheese, sour cream and bacon bits. Yum! Enjoy!

Stay Classy,

Fall Wreath!

I was kinda late in the game for decorating a fall wreath, which is funny because this might be my favorite wreath I've ever made! I love all the rich colors.

But anyhow, here is a little inspiration in case you need ideas!

Stay Classy,

You've Been Booed!

I SO wish I would have remembered this fun little tradition earlier in the Halloween season!

Growing up this was something I always looked forward to.

Then the kids in my neighborhood grew up and the tradition just kind of died.

I was thinking about Holiday traditions to start with my family today and suddenly I remembered this little game my neighborhood friends and I would play during Halloween and decided I have to carry it on because it brought so much fun and joy to me when I was younger.

So, when I got home today I quickly made this little printout and told Hunter that we were going to do it tonight.

Sure it might seem silly that the two of us did this when we don't have kids to come with us yet, but it was SO much fun to do it together!

I made cookies and got little treats to set on their doorsteps, Hunter knocked on the door, then we ran and hid to watch their reactions.

We were laughing the whole time and who doesn't love a little adrenaline rush? ;)

So, I'm sorry I'm posting this when Halloween is on Friday but you could always do it tomorrow night!

It's still a fun little family activity and you are doing service by giving treats to your neighbors and friends!

I also wanted to make sure I posted this now so I don't forget next year.

Now go Boo someone!

(and no, it isn't "boo" like when someone does something bad its "Boooo" as in what a ghost says!)

Click Here to Download

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

A Spookley Family Home Evening

 

If your kids are anything like mine "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" has been on a few times in the last week...and few is an understatement. As I was surfing Pintrest for a fun Family Home Evening activity for Halloween I came across this perfect idea.

 Spookley the Square Pumpkin Lesson. 

This lesson was great to teach the girls about standing out, being a leader and choosing the right. This lesson also works great for older kids because the questions are more in depth but I easily reworded them for my 5, 2 and 1 year old. After the lesson we colored Spookley. I found a great print out here

  Spookley Coloring Page. 

Make sure you set your printer to just print Spookley. 

I hope your kids enjoy this as much as mine did!

See ya!

Alana

Easy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

I'm so happy it's fall! I am all things pumpkin this time of year...or anytime of the year...

However, I am certainly not one that loves to spend a ton of time in the kitchen. I like things simple and quick! And this is definitely one of them. 

This is an adapted recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff. Can you tell that I love them?? 

Mine is different from their Chocolate Pumpkin muffin recipe though...

Because I do NOT like chocolate. 

Um, WHAT?!?! WHY?!

You're a GIRL and you DON'T like chocolate?! 

What does your husband get you for Valentine's Day?!

Flowers. He gets me flowers. 

And a nice evening out to dinner. That's all this girl needs! :-)

Now that I got that out of the way, let's move on. 

This recipe is super adaptable so do whatever you feel like! 

And these don't taste super pumpkin-y to me. 

They did for Jensen, but he's not a crazy pumpkin lover like me. 

I think they have the perfect balance of pumpkin taste without feeling like you're eating it out of the can. They're just moist and soft and full of flavor!

Easy Pumpkin Muffins:

1 box yellow or spice cake mix (or whatever cake flavor you want)

1/3 cup cinnamon applesauce

1 can 15oz. pumpkin puree

1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tbsp. cinnamon

Directions:

**DO NOT follow directions or use ingredients on the back of cake mix box**

Preheat oven to 350. Add the cake mix, pumpkin puree, applesauce, and spices to a large bowl. Stir until well blended. The batter will be pretty dense. 

Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Lightly spray the inside of each liner with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon batter into each liner until 3/4 full. The shape of the muffin will be a little irregular due to the density of the batter. This makes about 12-14 muffins. 

Bake for 18-22 minutes (might need to bake them longer depending on your oven. I did mine longer) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

OPTIONAL: You can also make a really yummy and simple streusel topping! Which I'm totally doing next time. This one I found from Marty's Musings

Streusel Topping:

1/2 stick of margarine, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

Mix all 3 ingredients in a separate bowl. After you have spooned the pumpkin batter into cupcake liners, sprinkle the streusel topping onto each muffin and press down slightly. Enjoy!!

Stay Classy,

Tomato Tortellini Soup Recipe

Well, in southern California it doesn't feel like there are any seasons...but according to the calendar we've jumped right into fall! 

I just love soup and salad with some yummy bread. 

Isn't it such a warm and cozy combination??  

And then I REALLY love this dinner because it involves my two loves: pasta and bread. 

So there ya go. 

Having said that I don't think I need to make this dinner sound any more delicious :-)

Ingredients:

1 (14oz) can stewed tomatoes (after opening, cut them up into pieces)

4 (14.5oz) cans chicken broth

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

1/4 parmesan cheese

1 16oz. frozen package peas and carrots

1 12oz. package refridgerated tortellini 

(I get the huge 2 pack "Five Cheese Tortellini" at Costco and freeze them. When needed I cut them apart and use one entire package. You can definitely use less if you want!)

2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (optional)

Directions:

In a large pot, combine first six ingredients. Boil for 10 minutes on medium heat. Then add tortellini and chicken. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until tortellini is heated through. Right here I boil it for another 5 minutes. Makes about 3 quarts. (Yay for leftovers!!) Serve with a spinach salad and warm garlic bread. 

Stay Classy,