Funny Findings

I walked into my room this morning to find this

Right before I walked in, I heard Benjamin saying "Sweet Dreams" to his teddy bears. And, as we all know, you cannot have sweet dreams without a sippy cup of water by your side.

Thanksgiving is on its Way!

I always know that fall is officially underway when I start craving foods made with pumpkin. And in particular, sweet baked goods. Usually I reserve pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I've spent the last couple of months coming up with dessert recipes that are either sugar free or very low in sugar, so pumpkin pie made it on the list of experiments. This week we are enjoying take two of my pumpkin pie experimentation and I must say, it is delicious. Who says you can't have your cake (er pie) and eat it too? This pie has 1/3 - 3/4 less sugar than traditional pie recipes and is made with a pecan crust, which lowers the carb count even more. Here's to guilt-free dessert consumption for Thanksgiving! OK, maybe I got a little carried away, but I'm just excited!

Pumpkin Pie with a Pecan Crust

Crust
1 c pecans
1 1/2 T butter, melted

Filling
2 c pumpkin puree
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t maple flavoring
1 t vanilla
1/4 c sweetener of choice - I used palm sugar, but you could use Sucanat or regular sugar
10-15 drops liquid Stevia

For the crust, chop pecans in a food chopper until finely ground, almost to a cornmeal type consistency. Add melted butter and press into bottom of pie dish. Crust will come a little way, but not all the way up the sides of the dish. Bake at 425 until set and just beginning to brown. Remove and set aside.

For the filling, combine pumpkin, eggs, and milk and beat well. Add remaining ingredients. Pour filling into prepared crust and bake 15 minutes at 425. Lower the temperature to 35o and bake an additional 45 minutes or until pie is set. If desired, top with unsweetened whipped cream, or sweeten your cream with a drop or two of Stevia.

Fall Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

I love fall and everything pumpkin, so visiting a couple of pumpkin patches was definitely on my list of fun things to do. Matt had the afternoon off after taking his CPA test, so we enjoyed some fun time at a local church's pumpkin patch. Then the following week my MOPS group went to another church pumpkin patch and despite some very wet ground, Benjamin got to enjoy running around, picking out a pumpkin, listening to a story, and getting his hand painted.

He got an airplane painted on his hand
This is such a picture of Benjamin - up close and in the middle of things during story time.

One of the few times he was still enough to get a picture

One of my favorite family pics

Chillin' with the pumpkins

Having trouble just picking one pumpkin

One of my friends was there with her two boys and her youngest was sitting posing for her to take a picture when Benjamin plopped right down in front of him to pose for his picture to be taken too. Silly kid!

A Weekend at a Ranch

All I have to say about this post is, better late than never. This fall is flying by and I can't believe it's been a month and a half since we took a weekend away with our friends Brian and Katie and their son Cale. We went to the Flying L Ranch and enjoyed some good time hanging out with our friends and watching the boys play. There was a small water park with a lazy river and a couple of slides and Benjamin loved it. This momma is a wimp when it comes to cold and the water was COLD, so I was the official photographer. We enjoyed some good food, a tractor ride around the ranch, mini golf, and s'mores by a campfire. All in all, a very fun weekend!

wagon ride behind the tractor
Benjamin and Cale hanging out on the mini golf course

Daddy and Benjamin playing in the water

Fun on the water slide

Don't forget the chocolate!