Making Home

Newly-married and getting settled in!

by

Freebie Printable: March Bible Verse Calendar

ESV Mar 11

To continue in the Bible Verse calendar, here are downloads for the month of March in three versions, ESV, KJV, and NIV.

I had fun with the color scheme for this month. The cherry blossoms reminded me of Japan, lasting only a couple weeks at the most. And of course, there is the obligatory shamrocks throughout the month.

ESV Mar 18

Instructions:

  1. Download the .pdf file below.
  2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
  3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
  4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
  5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
  6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

Download:

March ESV (pdf)
March KJV (pdf)
March NIV (pdf)

Bible In a Year Plan March  (doc)

Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

by

Freebie Printable: February Bible Verse Calendar

Feb 03 ESV

To continue in the Bible Verse calendar, here are downloads for the month of February in three versions, ESV, KJV, and NIV.

As you can imagine, this month’s theme is love and the verses are full of great verses on the love of God and showing love to others. I hope they are an inspiration to you in the following weeks. FYI, the black and white headshots are of Presidents Lincoln and Washington on their respective birthdays.
Feb 22 ESV

Instructions:

  1. Download the .pdf file below.
  2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
  3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
  4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
  5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
  6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

Download:

February ESV (pdf)
February KJV (pdf)
February NIV (pdf)

Bible in a Year Reading Plan February (doc)

Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

by

Winter Recipes

There are a couple things I learned to love only when I had them while living abroad. One is a persimmon and another is daikon. I can’t abide red radishes. Never have been able to stomach them. I don’t know if the Japanese white radish is more mild, but it is definitely one of my favorite things. I snatched up a couple when I saw them on sale at my local Kroger (yowzas! how international!) and decided I need to do something with them.

Here’s the scoop on daikon.

The word daikon is Japanese for “Large root.” They look kind of like a big white carrot about 10-14 inches long. The flesh is crisp and juicy, with a mild, peppery flavor slightly hotter than a red radish, particularly near the bottom. Daikon is used raw, cooked and pickled. Peak season: Fall-winter, available year-round. Health highlights: Low in calories, fat and sodium. No cholesterol. Excellent source of vitamin C. contains enzymes such as diastase that may aid digestion. Goes with: Herbs, spices and flavors: cilantro, dry sherry, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, scallions, sesame oil, soy sauce. Foods: Apples, beef, carrots, mushrooms, napa cabbage, onions, oranges, parsley, pork, rice, shellfish, snow peas. Info from “Fresh Produce Guide.”

We froze a lot of the leftover ham from Christmas, so I pulled out some of it and decided to make some soup!

Chunky Ham and Cheese Soup

Ingredients

IMG_20140104_1555562 cups water
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes (Idaho or russet)
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced daikon (or chopped celery)
1/4 chopped green onions
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cooked ham, cubed
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, mix the water, potatoes, carrots, daikon, onions, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. You should probably leave the pan uncovered. I thought there might be a mistake, so I put the cover on it. When I was about to do step#4, I realized that my soup was going to be too watery, so I ladled some of it out. With the pan uncovered during this step, the water will evaporate out of the pan and leave you with the right amount of broth.

2. Mix the ham into the vegetable mixture. When I cubed the leftover ham, I included some of the bits of fat. It just adds the right kind of flavor to the broth while the vegetables are stewing, but you can prep it as you wish. I left the soup on the heat while I worked step #3.

IMG_20140111_144702_652_13. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour until smooth. Slowly pour in the milk. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes, or until thickened. stir in the Cheddar cheese until melted. This is the first time I’ve made a cheesey soup and I was amazed at how it turned out. Trust me, I would not have thought to add flour. The key is to watch it fairly constantly. You should work on this step once you have the veggies and ham done. I’ve been using Tillamook cheese recently and I love the flavor, consistency, and that it comes from cows not given artificial growth hormones. I have yet to cut myself while shredding it, so that’s always a plus.

4. Mix the cheese mixture with the rest of the soup and serve. Makes 8 servings.

This soup was a big hit with the Huz. We have some more ham leftover, so I might have to make another batch before the end of the month. We had a massive cold snap (like the rest of northern USA and Canada) and the soup warmed us right up!

Amish White Bread

Sometimes even the smell of bread baking in a house can warm up the place. During the -10*F weather we had earlier this week, that was just what I needed. I’ve become disenchanted with white bread bought in a store. I recently watched a video about this compound called azodicarbonamide. It’s a compound used to bleach flour in the US. It’s also found in foamed plastics…like yoga mats. Yum! It’s banned in Europe and Australia and has been thought to increase propensity for asthma.

Check it out in your favorite breads’ ingredient lists – even the ones that say whole wheat bread. The only ones I’ve found so far that don’t have this compound in it are potato bread and Nature’s Own butter buns. So I decided to make my own, take control of what we are putting in our bodies.

Ingredients – for 1 loaf

IMG_20131229_212511_007_21 cup warm water
1/3 cup white sugar
1 pack active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbl vegatable oil
3 cups flour

Ingredients – for 2 loaves

2 cups warm water
2/3 white sugar
2 packs active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 cups flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Stir in the yeast. Depending on how old your yeast is, you might try to proof it first before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. Proofing is where you let the yeast foam up a bit, about 2 minutes. If it doesn’t, then the yeast might be too old. For fresh packets of yeast, go right ahead with the recipe. It’s best to use the yeast as quick as possible.

2. Mix salt and oil into yeast mixture. Add flour one cup at a time. I hand mix the flour at first and then use a dough hook with my mixer when it gets too hard to mix myself. Let the mixer go for a while, until the dough is balled up around the hook. It might still be a little sticky.

3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Dough should be smooth and not sticky. Place in a well-oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Rub butter on the inside of a bowl that’s bigger than the doughball. Roll the dough around enough to coat the whole thing with butter. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise for one hour. The doughball should be twice its original side.

4. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, divide in half (if making two loaves). Shape into loaves, please into a well-oiled 9×5 in loaf pan(s). Allow to rise for 30 mins or until 1 in above pans. I asked my mom if there was a a secret to getting the bread smooth on the top and she suggested using a rolling pin to roll out the dough, getting rid of all the air bubbles. Then, roll up the dough, one end to the other, tucking in the edges as you go. When you get to the end, press the seam into the rest of the dough and set it into the pan, seam-side down. Rub the top of the dough with butter.

5. Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes. I have a stoneware loaf pan and it makes the bread so nice and brown all around. And the bread never sticks to the pan, I would highly recommend using one.

by

7 Months Married- Things I’m Learning

1. Married life is such a blessing. I’m glad I waited for it. I’m glad I went for it too!

2. If you don’t do it, then it won’t get done. My hubby is tremendously helpful, but between the two of us, if we don’t do a chore, it doesn’t happen. Mom will not come to the house overnight and fill the sugar bowl for us. Those knives sitting in the sink will not clean themselves and go back in the holder.

3. If I was prone to laziness before the wedding, it doesn’t change much after the wedding.

4. Having someone else around shows you how many of your activities are exercises in futility.

5. We are each other’s spiritual encourager – we’re still working out the whole “spiritual leader” bit, but right now, encouragement is what is called for.

6.  Division of chores doesn’t have to be assigned by gender, but sometimes it’s for the best.

7.  Status checks are great. It’s always a good idea to know where each other is standing in the relationship and make adjustments accordingly.

8.  It’s ok not to tackle all projects at once. One, it costs too much money. Two, there aren’t enough hours in the day. Three, most projects can wait.

9.  If you do something the other likes more then there’s a good chance they’ll reciprocate when it’s something you like more. Car shows for a pro tennis match is an even trade. 🙂

10. Generosity is something that is not optional. It isn’t just about money; it is the unnamed fruit of the Spirit.

11. Cooking can actually be fun! I’ve always been a baker, but I’m really enjoying the cooking-side of the kitchen. I’m very grateful for a husband who is willing to try anything I make…even if just once.

12. Some TV shows are best shared. But be careful of introducing LOST to your husband’s repertoire…it will cause serial runs of the show for days. How my friends and I managed to wait for a week between episodes is beyond me!

13. Remembering is important. Remembering successes, fun times, bad times, mistakes, etc…that’s a good thing. Dwelling on them and not moving forward is not.

and 14. (because it’s 2014!) Cleanliness may not be next to godliness, but it sure is a good idea!

Time to clean up all this Christmas stuff!!

What all did you learn this last year? I know there is more to this list than just 14, but it’s all I could think of right now.

by

Freebie Printable: January Bible Verse Calendar

Jan 07 ESV

To continue in the Bible Verse calendar, here are downloads for the month of January in three versions, ESV, KJV, and NIV.

I really enjoyed putting these together. The verses are such an encouragement (and a chastisement where necessary) for strong Christian living – in mercy, kindness, and love. I hope it blesses you as well.

Jan 25 ESV

Instructions:

  1. Download the .pdf file below.
  2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
  3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
  4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
  5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
  6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

Download:

January ESV (pdf)
January KJV (pdf)
January NIV (pdf)

Bible in a Year Reading Plan January (doc)

Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

by

Freebie Printable: December Bible Verse Calendar

Dec 11 ESV

If you remember, from last month, I posted some freebie downloads for a Bible verse calendar for November. To continue, here are downloads for the month of December in three versions, ESV, KJV, and NIV.

Some of these verses are truly golden ones for the beautiful time of year we celebrate Jesus’ birth. I hope you enjoy these as much as the November ones.

Dec 25 ESV

Instructions:

  1. Download the .pdf file below.
  2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
  3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
  4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
  5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
  6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

Download:

December ESV (pdf)
December KJV (pdf)
December NIV (pdf)

Bible In a Year Plan December

Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

by

Freebie Printable: November Bible Verse Calendar

Nov 07 ESV

Ok, the clip-art is kind of cheesy, but I did all of that chevron by myself! (Go old school Microsoft Paint!)

This all stems from wanting to have a daily verse calendar like the one my grandparents have had for years. Theirs flips over and has verses on the front and back. I couldn’t really come up with a way to do that without a stand, so I grabbed a bunch of index cards and got writing. I found a great daily verse list here. It’s very cool how they arranged them to align with certain holidays and themes. I was impressed.

You should be too. I put my hand into very, very painful writer’s cramp putting this out. I found a recipe card box with a ridge on the top, that would fit all of the cards. 365 cards. Quite a feat.

IMG_20131016_073913

Then, I got to thinking that this would be a fun thing to share with others. I love coming into my kitchen in the morning, while I’m letting my Keurig heat up (who has time for a real tea pot anymore!?) and pulling out the day’s Bible verse. My handwriting isn’t the best, so you can get yourself a prettyfied pdf color version.

The plan is to do the whole year…and probably include two other versions: King James Version (KJV) and New International Version (NIV). So, here is November’s list. They look like the above and below, but four to a page (all but February will have 8 pages)

Nov 28 ESV

Instructions:

  1. Download the .pdf file below.
  2. Print onto white 8.5 x 11 card-stock (other colors might be ok, but you’ll have to test that out yourself).
  3. Cut along the dotted lines then sort into numeric order.
  4. Prop up on a little stand, or keep in a drawer and swap out on the fridge. Or buy a recipe box with a ridge in the top for easy reading.
  5. Keep in a prominent place where the members of the household will easily see it. The kitchen table is good, if you have breakfast there.
  6. Discuss verse(s) with family and encourage reading the surrounding verses for context and meditation throughout the day.

Download:

November ESV (pdf)
November KJV (pdf)
November NIV (pdf)

Bible In a Year Plan November

Enjoy! Oh, and subscribe to this blog to the right if you’d like notifications of new posts and the next of these printables. I promise not to overwhelm your inbox. 🙂

by

Christian Halloween Thoughts

I came across a bunch of my newsletters from when I was in Japan. Considering Halloween is fast approaching, I thought it timely to repost this – my thoughts on Halloween as a Christian. This was originally dated 10/29/08. Take it as you will.

—————————————-

Some of you might not agree with what I am going to say in the following paragraphs, but I hope that you will at least read it with an open mind.  This Friday is Halloween.  People everywhere will be celebrating it, and Japan is as well (although they embrace it because it’s something American, and they don’t really do the trick-or-treating but they do have a lot of parties).  On Sunday, I helped out with a Halloween workshop for some kids near Yamaguchi City.  It was a lot of fun!  I really enjoyed helping them carve the pumpkins and playing the games.  We always celebrated Halloween when I was a kid, and I would even dress up when I was up to high school.  There’s just a fun atmosphere around the holiday.

NipponHalloween01

Now, I know a lot of people do not like to celebrate it because of its origins.  I completely understand, and if that was what Halloween was in these days as well, then I would not want anything to do with it.  But the truth is that it has changed.  For the majority of people who enjoy it, it is not about worshipping spirits and divination or kidnapping little children and boiling them in stew (although that makes a really good scary story).  It’s the one night of the year that people all over are willing to put down their guard a bit and actually meet their neighbors with their children.

NipponHalloween04

Some might say, “Well, it’s just not an important holiday for a Christian.  We have Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving…Those days are so much more important for us to celebrate, we can forget about Halloween and no one will hold to our discredit.”  But I want to ask you…do you know your neighbors?  You might know their last names from their mailbox, you know how many cars and kids they have, how late they keep their dog out at night, but do you know how their parents’ health is doing?  Are they struggling to keep their marriage together?  Did they just move here and have no connections with anyone except at their workplace?

I think God has given us a great opportunity.  Most people who are not Christians think that Christians are stodgy and cannot have any fun.  They see a Christian’s closed and darkened house on Halloween and think that they have no interest in the community.  I am sad that I can’t be home this year to hand out candy, to show my neighbors my face so that they can know that I am not some religious freak incapable of real human interaction.  Yes, we know that we are very social creatures, within the safety and protection of our church community, but are you willing to step outside of that and invite some less than savory (or so you think) people into your life…people who are not already following Christ?  There is a special blessing for someone who leads another to Christ.

NipponHalloween02

Oh, and by the way…I looooove how some churches do the “Trunk or Treat”.  It provides a nice, safe, environment for kids to get candy and play games.  Last year, Mom’s church did that, but we still sat at our home and handed out candy.  As the kids came by, we let them know that they should go over to the church to get a lot of candy.  It was a great way to get people over to the church and see Christians actually enjoying life and in a non-threatening setting.  Just throwing some ideas out there for you…and again, if you don’t agree with this, please don’t hate me.  We have different ideas of evangelism and different people are gifted for different things.  Some of you, I know, do not celebrate Halloween, but you also make it a point to know your neighbors and be involved in your community.  If that’s the case, then good for you!  But if you are a regular “church hermit” and don’t know anything about the people down the street from you, I would just suggest that you should find a way of doing so.  It is a command that Christ gave us – to love your neighbor as yourself.  Can you say you do that?  I know I sure don’t…but it’s something I am working on.

——————————————-

The Huz and I will be passing out candy this year at The House. I’m super pumped for it! He said that we don’t get many kids down this street, but I am looking forward to it. We never had many kids at my mom’s, but it was worth seeing the kids and neighbors for a little bit. We are all so isolated in America! Ugh, it drives me nuts and yet I perpetuate it all the time.

Halloween costumes last year...Goldilocks and a bear.

Halloween costumes last year…Goldilocks and a bear.

What are you doing for the holiday? Handing out candy? Taking kids around? Doing something with your church for the community? I’d love to hear how you use the holiday to reach out to others.

Related articles
by

Semi-DIY Decor and Pumpkin Spinach Soup

This has been a week! The Huz has been on the awful second shift at work, so I’ve had my evenings free. Evenings to get into some mischief. Mischief which includes decorating The House and making soup from scratch.

Yep. My kind of mischief.

I drove over to Pier 1 the other day because we had a $25 gift card for there AND they had a 10% off coupon on their website. I went to look for a thin shelf or a small table for the end of the hallway, but ended up leaving with some amazing curtains and a pillow to match.

131017 curtain pillow

Did you know that sometimes businesses will sell curtains one panel per pack???? I sure didn’t. Doesn’t seem logical.

The curtains I found ended up being one such pack. I figured that I could probably just order the other one online, but it turned out that I was accidentally more frugal than I thought and got a pattern that was on clearance. The closest one was about 2 hours away in Columbus, OH. I opted for the easy route.

We have pretty great blinds on our windows, so I was looking for the curtains for color and accent rather than usefulness. The single panel was wide enough that I could make two panels myself. Got out the scissors, sewing machine, and went to town.

131017 curtains

Oh, and that shelf I was talking about? Well, I grabbed a white one from Target (and that curtain rod) with some leftover gift cards from the wedding and spray painted it green. Nothing like a pop of color in an unexpected spot.

IMG_20131014_222131P.S. High Fives for awesome hubbies who will hang shelves and curtain rods on their mornings before they go to work. I love our teamwork.

————————————————-

And now for the soup!

A man at church was giving out bags of spinach from his garden. It looked soooo good. I couldn’t say no. We had picked up some sugar pumpkins at a nearby dairy farm and I have been aching for an excuse to hack into them. I found this recipe online and I’m only posting it as a reference to my starting point. I did things differently, but included most of the same ingredients. The original recipe is more for a creamy soup, since it calls for turning all the veggies into a puree. Also, I added chicken to mine, because I can’t get away with giving something without meat to the Huz.

Pumpkin Spinach Soup

Ingredients

2.5 lbs chicken breast, cubed (smaller pieces are better)
1 sweet onion
3 cups of cubed pumpkin (can be varied sizes, this is intensive) It took half a sugar pumpkin for me, probably great for leftover pieces from carving. remove skin.
4 cups raw spinach
1 32 oz box of broth (chicken or vegetable is fine. I used chicken)
2 cups water
1 tbsp butter
2 medium-sized tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 can of pumpkin puree
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Prep the pumpkin by removing the seeds and stringy innards and cutting apart the sides. As stated before, this is intensive and can take quite some time. There are easy ways to remove the skin by using wet paper towel and sticking them in the microwave. I was short on time, so, I just cut away, dicing as I went and then cutting the skin off at the last. (Fun side project: as you pull out the seeds, toss them into a colander and rinse. Be sure to get all the gunk off of them, then set aside between paper towels to dry – recommended dry time is one day. Toast later!)

131017 pumpkin

Dice the onion and garlic. Saute them in butter in a large pot on the stove over medium heat until the onion turns translucent.

IMG_20131016_210545_070

In a pan, cook the diced chicken until white on all sides. Set aside while the soup is prepped.

Once the onion is cooked, add the pumpkin, diced tomatoes, broth, water, pumpkin puree, chicken, and spices. I cut back one some of the spices because I wasn’t using as much liquid, but feel free to go at it. My end result was a very mellow flavoring, but pleasant. The Huz can’t handle stuff that’s too spicy.  (If you’re still cooking the chicken or cutting tomatoes, just add as you have it ready. This part is pretty flexible.) Add more water as needed to cover all the ingredients. Stir then cover the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Cut up the spinach and toss into a pan to cook until it wilts. Check that the vegetables in the soup are tender. The pumpkin should have a potato-like consistency. In fact, the Huz thought they were potato until I told him it was pumpkin. Score! If the veggies are tender, stir the soup and add spinach.

131017 soup

I apologize for the lack of times in this recipe. I was given none, and since I spent a lot of time cutting my pumpkin while the soup was already going, I can’t remember how long it actually took me. All I know is that this soup has all the feel of gourmet.  If I could do it all over, I would have chopped up more chicken and chopped it up smaller (I did not use the above listed 2.5 lbs.) You can also do this without any meat, but you would probably need to add more pumpkin chunks to compensate.

Anyway, I discovered that potentially the best thing about cooking (soup in particular) is that you can take a recipe and make it your own. You can’t really do that with baking. I love my rules and parameters a lot, but I liked being free to improvise a bit with this recipe.

This batch made enough for me to freeze half of it in a gallon freezer bag and still have servings for myself and my husband for probably three nights. I know what I’m packing for lunch!

——————————————

Side Notes:

131017 sunflowers

So this is happening right now, in our front garden. Those suckers were all supposed to be less than 3 feet tall. 4 absolute max. I’ll be harvesting those seeds once they keel over completely. But right now, they’re just so pretty and as it’s getting so much colder, they make me very happy.

IMG_20131016_073913

This verse humbles me. I feel like I can keep a close watch over my mouth for the most part. I can get complainy like the rest of us, but the mouth seems to be fairly easy to keep tabs on. The heart, however, that’s a horse of a different color. Lord, help me to monitor what my heart dwells on. Out of the heart flows life and I want mine to be a life of praise and joy…not bitterness and discontent.

IMG_20131017_094223

Pardon the poor handwriting, but I found this fabulous piece in my box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It’s like they know me.

Have a great weekend!!

 

by

Recipe: Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

What is happening to me?! I’m becoming a cooking/baking monster! I always loved baking though. And there’s nothing like baking something from scratch. It’s probably my favorite, when I have time for it. And I try to make time for it. With just me and the Huz, it’s not too hard to spend a couple hours in the kitchen, and the end result is normally satisfying.

I really recommend baking from scratch for two reasons – 1) You know exactly what is going into your food. You know because you put it there. No silly obscure scientific names, just the basics: flour, sugar, milk, egg, vanilla, pumpkin. Yum. And 2) the end result is no longer whatever the recipe says it is. It’s now part of you. Your heart (not literally) went into making that and THAT is fulfilling. I have yet to truly get there with cooking, but I’ve had some successes recently with new recipes, so that is encouraging me a lot.

I was about to finish up work yesterday with a growing need to making something pumpkinny. Did you know that you can’t always find pumpkin puree throughout the year? Reminds me of Japan with all the seasonal veggies/fruits. And that’s comforting to me. I enjoy using fresh pumpkin myself, but the process can be very messy and time-consuming. It has to be combined with roasting pumpkin seeds too. That’s just a given.

So, I wanted something sweet and something pumpkinny. I have a Pinterest board exclusively for pumpkin things. It’s delectable. I found the quickest pumpkin dessert recipe on there. The original recipe calls for all things gluten-free. I am not encumbered by the dietary restriction, so I did not use anything specifically GF. If you are, feel free to run over to that website for the alterations. This post, however, will include all the gluten-full and probably not-too-healthy-for-you ingredients necessary. Here you go!

Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies

IMG_20131004_230908

makes 24 individual cookies (12 sandwiches)

Prep:   30 mins      Total Time: 1:05

Ingredients:

Cookie

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice**
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter softened (unsalted)
1/2 cup pumpkin (you can refrigerate the remaining pumpkin in the can for about a week)
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Filling

8-oz package of cream cheese softened
2 tbs butter softened (unsalted)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

extra powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F

2. Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt) in medium bowl and set aside.

3. Combine brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl and beat at medium-speed until creamy. Add pumpkin, milk, egg, and vanilla. Beat until well-mixed. It will not look very nice, but don’t worry. Add flour mixture and beat at low-speed until well-mixed. Now it looks like batter.

4. Drop batter onto ungreased cookie sheets with a spoon. I cover my cookies sheets with aluminum foil because I don’t like having to wash my cookie sheets. I’m lazy. I was liberal with the amounts (about a large half-dollar size) and they turned out pretty consistent. Not smooth like the ones on the original website, but they do the job. I had enough batter for 12 cookies each on 2 pans. Bake 9-10 minutes or until until set and lightly brown on the edges. I had to go a little longer to bake all the way through (since mine were thicker). Cool on cookie sheets for about 2 minutes then set on cooling rack. Cool completely.

IMG_20131004_230642

5. Combine all filling ingredients except for powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium-speed until smooth. You’ll probably have to scrape the bowl a few times to get all the ingredients mixed in. Add powdered sugar to the mix, one cup at a time, mixing completely after each addition. This was my favorite part. Yum!

IMG_20131004_230814

6. Spread a layer of filling between the flat sides of two cookies and press together. You can be very liberal with this. We had a LOT of filling left over after I put a pretty good amount of filling between our cookies. We had so much, in fact, that we cut up a Honey Crisp apple and used half of it for dip and put the rest on the fridge for later use. So good. Sprinkle tops of sandwiches with extra powdered sugar (I forgot this part, but it does make them look cuter).

IMG_20131004_231017

7. This is up to you. Depending on when you are serving the cookies, it is best to pop them into the fridge for about 30 minutes so the filling will thicken a bit. If not, the cookies could slide off each other. We’ve made cookies that we called Gobs for years (chocolate cake cookies with super-rich cream cheese filling AND coated on outside) and this is how we set them up. You can just put them on a cookie sheet to cool, or, if you lack the space, wrap each sandwich in some Saran wrap and squeeze in wherever you can find a space. Makes it easy to pack into lunches for a treat, too, throughout the week. I sent one to work with the Huz so he could enjoy it later.

Go, my baking friends! Go and bake up some October!

————–
**You can also use 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/8 tsp ground cloves.