Monday Menu fun learning in the kitchen

 

 What is your mood today?? Happy pumpkin? Sad, grouchy, lazy, hungry,I can tell you that this mom is a tired pumpkin today, so I was happy to find print all sorts of October and Halloween themed lessons today from abcteach.com, including this delicious recipe below.

What else can your kids learn in the kitchen? 

Math: let them count, measure and multiply your ingredients, 

Spelling: Make a list of fun spelling words from your recipe or theme of the week, such as "Pumpkin, Butter, Flour, Sugar, Cinnamon, Eggs, Baking, Spatula, Halloween, Sprinkles, Shapes, Oven, Kitchen, Puree, Ounces, Pounds, Cups.........it could go on and on. 

Chemistry: what elements are in your recipe? 

Science: Heat, liquids, solids, oil and water experiments

English: Find the nouns and verbs in this recipe, make some cool sentences or stories about the ingredients coming to life.

Handwriting: Of course they can write out the recipe and make a booklet or lapbook of fall recipes.

See how homeschool is anytime school, we think learning 24/7

Pumpkin Spice Bars

What you'll need:

2 c graham cracker or gingersnap crumbs
7 Tbs butter, melted
1 2/3 c plus 1/4 c sugar, divided
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1 c vegetable oil
1 can (16 oz) cream cheese frosting
Halloween shaped sprinkles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Line a 15x11 inch pan with foil and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix crumbs, butter, and 1/4 c sugar until well combined. Spread
mixture into prepared pan. Smooth mixture in pan to form an even crust.
Bake crust until fragrant, about 6 min.; let cool completely.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs, remaining sugar, pumpkin puree, and oil; stir in flour
mixture.
Using a rubber spatula, spread pumpkin mixture evenly over the cooled crust in pan.
Bake until filling pulls away from the pan, 25-30min.; let cool completely in pan.
Frost top with cream cheese icing. Gently drag the tines of a fork from side to side
through the frosting to create wave pattern. Sprinkle with Halloween shaped
sprinkles. Cut into 24 bars and serve.

http://abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/halloween/ 

Recipe credit to our friends at abcteach.com and the wonderful seasonal unit for 

October!

Enjoy from Me~

Pumpkin drooling and designs~~

Fall is my favorite season because of the colors, the leaves, the crisp air and oh yes......PUMPKINS!! Eat your heart out Jenn Haggerty (my sweet pumpkin nut friend) this post is likely to drive you insane. Lets first find some delicious pumpkin foodies to enjoy and drool over. At the end is a yummy treat to warm your tummy up!

Pumpkin Roll Cake by Paula Deen  ( I love her cooking)

Ingredients 

Cake:
3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
6 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup golden brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup canned pumpkin, packed
1/8 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar
Filling:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
6 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup English toffee pieces for garnish
Additional powdered sugar, for garnish
1 1/2 cups purchased caramel sauce, warmed, for garnish

Directions

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a 15 by 10 by 1-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.
Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice into a small bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until very thick. Add the pumpkin to the egg mixture and combine at a low speed until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and beat at a low speed until mixed. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. Fold into the cake batter, stirring with a spatula, until most of the white streaks are gone.
Spread the batter onto a baking sheet and smooth out. Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes. While the cake is hot, dust generously with powdered sugar. Loosen the edges and turn the cake out onto a kitchen towel. Fold the towel over the edge of the cake and roll up. Cool completely, edge down, for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
For the filling: Soften the gelatin in the rum. Stir over low heat until the gelatin dissolves. Cool. Beat the chilled whipping cream and powdered sugar in a large bowl until peaks form. Fold in the gelatin and 6 tablespoons English toffee pieces.
To assemble, unroll the cake and sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of English toffee pieces. Spread the filling over the toffee. Start at 1 long side of the cake roll and, using the towel as an aid, roll up the cake to encase the filling. Place the cake, seam-side down, on a platter.
Trim the ends of the cake at a slight diagonal. Dust the cake with powdered sugar. Spoon some warm caramel sauce and the remaining toffee chips over the top of the cake. To serve, use a serrated knife to cut the cake crosswise into 1-inch thick slices. Drizzle more sauce on each slice and serve.
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Aunt Trina’s Holiday Pumpkin Crunch - given to Paula Deen by her aunt Trina

1 (15 oz.) can fresh pumpkin
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
2 sticks butter, cut into pieces
FROSTING:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin, evaporated milk, cinnamon and sugar until well combined.  Add eggs and mix well.
Pour mixture into a 9X13 baking dish prepared with a non stick spray. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over entire top. Sprinkle nuts evenly over cake mix and top with butter pieces.  Bake at 350º F for 50-60 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
Prepare frosting while cake is cooling.  In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, whip cream cheese until light.  Add in whipping cream and continue to whip until fully combined and thickening.  Add powdered sugar and cinnamon and whip until smooth.
To Serve:  Scoop out a slice of the pumpkin crunch and top with a dollop of the cream cheese frosting, or frost the entire pumpkin crunch with the frosting.
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 How about some fun printable activities for your kiddos, homeschooling or not they will enjoy these. From the website http://www.2teachingmommies.com/

Go to webpage to click on picture to download

All the printables are in one easy download. Just click the image above to download a single zip file of all the printables.  You will need to be able to view pop-ups to download the unit, as it will appear in a pop up window from the site! Last year’s printables are also included in this download.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What about decorating those cute pumpkins?? what can we do to a big orange round ball? 

Beautiful pumpkins carved so intricately with a flower/ herbal design

1 love it,!!

 Many many Pumpkins in all sorts of designs and fun creations to try!

Glitter {Pumpkin} Topiary

Pumpkins! #pumpkincarving #fall

 

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 And for our final "pumpkin treat of the day"

Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate--- yummmmmmm!! 

Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces white chocolate (roughly chopped)
pinch salt

Directions:
1. Heat the milk, pumpkin puree, and spices in a sauce pan until it just starts to simmer and remove form heat.
2. Add the chocolate and stir until it has melted.
3. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream and garnish with cinnamon.

Similar Recipes: from the Closet Cooking Website- a wonderful spot to enjoy
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Pumpkin Pie Pancakes
Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pie French Toast
Pumpkin White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies

Enjoy all!!

Leslie aka BlockmomNC --- lover of pumpkin and cuteness

Happy Fall Ya'll

I have been dressing up my blog with some fun fall decor, pumpkins and scarecrows with fall colors. I love this time of the year and just had to change up the scene a bit. Thank you to my favorite background site "cutest blog on the block" for some awesome free fall backgrounds. I redid my header with Photoshop and my favorite field picture of the 3 amigo kiddos, a Sheri Allison Photography original shown below.

This has to be my favorite picture of all 3 kids, even though they have grown alot since then, it tells the tale of our household, big brother leading his girls thru their journey into adulthood and protecting them as a big brother would.  Good night blogger world.