hopeful

t-shirt applique directions here

In lieu of a birthday party, Finn chose a family getaway for his fifth birthday celebration. We decided on Indianapolis and made plans to hit the Indianapolis Children's Museum and Caribbean Cove Water Park, with the added bonus of an amazing parent-selected dinner at Trader's Point Creamery...more on that later.

But what to do about a cake? I couldn't very well not make my kid a birthday cake, but without a party in the works, it kind of fell to the wayside. Throw in the timing (we left for Indy early on Saturday, which was his actual birthday) and it didn't really make sense to knock myself out. The solution? Cupcakes for breakfast.

To be perfectly honest, it was actually a muffin recipe. But once you add cream cheese frosting to a dense, sweet muffin, there isn't really that much of a difference.These were sooooo good, and super easy; we'll definitely be making them again this fall.

Happy birthday, Finn. You truly light up my life.


Pumpkin "Cupcakes" with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from here and here

Makes 12

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1 1/2 cups white flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers or grease the cups.
2. Place the first six ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. 
5. Pour into prepared muffin tin, 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Cool, frost and serve!

Frosting
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat until fluffy, 1-2 minutes.

I'm trying so hard to like mushrooms, really I am; everyone else in my family loves them, and they are in many instances a logical meat alternative. I really liked this casserole, which includes mushrooms, so perhaps I'm getting better. This isn't a super fast dish, but once you have the casserole assembled it is pretty much hands-off, so I count it as a quick weeknight meal.

I served this as a main dish with a salad for dinner. It was even tastier a few nights later as a side dish with scrambled eggs. The original recipe (which comes from Bon Appetit) calls for fresh artichokes, but I used canned to make it quicker and easier. I used the slicing side of my box grater to slice the potatoes super thin; they turned out crispy and oh-so-delicious. And I love a recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of white wine, as you are certain to have some leftover to enjoy with dinner...

Enjoy!



Artichoke, Potato and Portobello Mushroom Casserole
Serves 8

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4 tbsp. olive oil
2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, sliced
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, very thinly sliced
4 large portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced
6 oz. fresh goat cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush 9x13 glass baking dish with 1 tbsp. oil.

Arrange half of potatoes in dish, covering bottom completely. Top with half of artichoke hearts and half of mushrooms. Coarsely crumble half of goat cheese and sprinkle over artichokes and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and half of garlic, then 1 tbsp. Parmesan. Drizzle with 1 tbsp. oil.

Cover with remaining mushrooms, then artichoke hearts, goat cheese, garlic, 1 tbsp. Parmesan and 1 tbsp. oil.  Top with remaining potatoes. Pour wine over; drizzle with remaining oil.

Cover dish with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Sprinkle top with remaining Parmesan. Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender and top is brown, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly and serve.

Yesterday we made the obligatory visit to our local apple orchard to find out just "How Tall This Fall" our kids are, to take a wagon ride behind a big green tractor, and to stock up on apple cider donuts, a treat of which I honestly cannot get enough. Sadly, the U-Pick portion of the orchard was not available, but that didn't stop us from buying a peck of apples in the store that someone else picked.



                
I woke up this morning with applesauce on my mind. I used Stephanie O'Dea's crock pot recipe, in part because I didn't much feel like being tied to the house on this beautiful day. The only thing wrong with this recipe is that it just doesn't make enough - I tripled it, and I still only got about a quart of applesauce. Fortunately, it's easy enough to repeat as needed. I hope you enjoy it.

The rest of the apples went to a German Apple Pie, which we will enjoy on this eve of October. Finn and I made some seasonal decorations for the windows, and there are vegetables roasting in the oven for dinner. Oh fall, how I love thee.



Slow Cooker Applesauce
Adapted from crockpot365.com

4 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Place the quartered apples into the crock pot. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours. When the apples are super tender, mash with a potato masher or fork.

* Note: I tripled the recipe with no ill effect. I let mine cook the full 6 hours and then left it to cool for an hour before stirring it up.