Ode to Pumpkin Butter

I have a new love of my life and it is called pumpkin butter. (Not actually butter, but a spread) I have been putting it in everything recently and thought I should chronicle my experience.

Now usually I try to only add my own photos to this blog when I cook food (unless I forget to take some).  But recently both my point and shoot camera and my phone camera have not been giving me the best pictures and this is a very important post :)  So I will intersperse my pictures with the pictures from Skinny Taste where I got all these recipes from.  (don't worry, I'm pretty sure you will be able to tell whose pictures belong to who...whom?  eh you get the point.)

Pumpkin Butter.
The crowned jewel in this whole experiment.  The perfect staple for your fall-inspired recipes.  I'm drooling just typing about it.  You can mix it with greek yogurt and granola for a parfait...mix it with oatmeal for a pumpkin treat in the morning...put it on toast...or "pumpkin butter fingers" (inspired by Joey on FRIENDS...obviously)

Pumpkin Spiced Crepes with Pumpkin Butter

This was the first time Steven and I had ever had crepes.  I don't have a cast iron skillet, which I think would have helped them cook a little more evenly, but they were still delish!

 Steven posing with the crepe he made all. by. himself.

Skinny Pumpkin Spiced Latte
This recipe was crucial to Steven and my health.  We gave up coffee (that isn't made at our house) for the entire month...during fall...aka pumpkin spiced latte month...what was I thinking???  So when this recipe came up on Skinny Taste where I could use pumpkin butter to make my favorite fall coffee I almost cried.

I have yet to have a full cup myself (we just found the recipe last week) But Steven has already made it for himself twice.  I decided to show you his mad pumpkin spiced latte skills below.  

 I could lie and tell you he loved me taking those pictures and putting them on the blog, but alas the husband does not enjoy taking pictures.  Luckily I have a great pouty face and he obliged (after telling me I was being childish).  Marriage is all about give and take and picking your battles. 

What's been cooking

Time for another installment of what's been cooking in the Murray household.  (ps...I am on the lookout for a point and shoot camera for Christmas so hopefully one day the pictures will look good)

Broiled Tilapia Oreganata.  

This is a super quick recipe that uses stuff we almost always have in our pantry.  Sorry for all the parmesan cheese.  When I took the fish out it smelled strange so I was hesitant that it wasn't going to be good and sprinkled cheese all over it. It tasted great (sans cheese) and we later found out the weird smell was from our oven...oh well :)

Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime. 

 A Paula Deen inspired recipe which the amazing woman at Skinny Taste lightened up.  

 Chicken Milanese with Arugula and Tomatoes.  

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum (that's all)

 Asian Glazed Drumsticks  

Steven loved these and they were great as leftovers a few days later.  

Oven Fried Drumsticks.  

Amazing recipe if you like fried chicken but don't want it to actually be fried. The batter is actually crushed up bran flakes with seasoning! We had my brother over and he loved them as well.  (Picture from Skinny Taste)

Design

Ok I am no expert at design, but as I mentioned a few posts ago, I have been keeping tabs on a few blogs in order to get ideas.  I came across a fantastic picture of a living room re-do and wanted to share!

It has many of my "check-off list" items for how I feel a room should function.  The color scheme is good in any season, it is timeless, at least one piece of striped furniture (I really want a striped couch...no idea why), bookcases for my love of books, warm and inviting.  Now this room looks a bit formal in these pictures but it still looks like people live here.  Nothing drives me more crazy than a room that, despite being beautiful with all its gorgeous furniture, paintings, and priceless treasures, is too "pretty" to actually use.  This room looks very functional and seems to say "welcome, come sit down and relax/talk for hours in my comfy furniture"...wow, I've obviously been looking at too many photos of rooms now that they are talking to me :)

 Love the splash of green next to the fireplace in the pillow and pots

vintage pepsi box is fun!  probably a flea market find for minimal $.  love when cheap finds can bring personality to a room. 

(all images found here)

What's been cooking

Ok I've decided on a new post (that I will hopefully repeat as necessary) where I will share my most recent cooking endeavors and provide recipes when I can.

So...

Lasagna Style Baked-Ziti from Real Simple except I used meat instead of spinach.  

Baked Chicken Chilies Rellenos from Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book (BHG).  Steven and I both agreed this was the best thing I have ever made! (and it's low fat!)

Fish Tacos complete with mango salsa (BHG).  See this post to read about my previous attempt at fish tacos.

Caesar Salmon Pizza (BHG)...if I made this again I would make it as an appetizer instead of as the main course.  I forgot how "fishy" smoked Salmon tastes.  It was good though!

Three Bean Turkey Chili from Skinny Taste.  Delicious, healthy and easy recipe! 

Chicken Quesadillas with Mango Salsa from Skinny Taste.  Once again healthy and the mango salsa makes it sweet.  It was a nice change.  

Picture from Skinny Taste (did the quality give it away?)

Blogs Change Lives

I know what you are probably thinking..."wow Katie, what a self-serving title for a post," but I'm not actually talking about my own blog, although I'm sure it does bring a smile to some of your faces because there are a few of you who get mad if I don't post often...

Thanks to Google Reader I am now an advanced blog reader.  I simply "subscribe" to different blogs and all I have to do is sign in to google reader and it shows me which blogs have been updated as well as the post, talk about convenient!

I've started looking at a lot of different design blogs, DIY blogs, and funny blogs (aka Catalog Living where they take ridiculous pictures from Catalogs and give them dialogue...trust me it's hilarious!).  Anywho I'm doing this mostly because I think I am starting to discover my design style but I want to be sure before Steven and I decide to buy furniture in a few years (yes, I realize this might be a bit over the top, but I am anything but spontaneous so I must plan).  Also I'm learning all kinds of tricks for refurbishing old furniture which hopefully means when it comes time to replace the IKEA college furniture I'll be able to do so in a somewhat green/recycled way :)

Decorating.  There are tons of moms who have blogs (that they get paid to do...how jealous am I?)  and they are beyond crafty (which I am not) but they have step by step tutorials on how to create cost effective decorations for your home!  They also all have a love for pottery barn but not the prices so they will simply look at a catalog picture and figure out how to create it themselves, pure genius!  I'm planning to make this $5 wreath at some point this fall (A Martha Stewart Knock Off).

Next, Food!  Ok I have no idea how weight watchers works but there is a blog (Skinny Taste) where this woman puts tons of recipes online that come complete with weight watchers points.  So what do I do?  Simply look for meals that have lower points than others which hopefully means they are healthier.  Seems reasonable right?  I have some Turkey Chili in the crock-pot right now (3.125 points...again have no idea what that actually means) so I'll have to let you know how it goes.

Lastly, inspiring families.  Steven and I are pretty much in sync with many of our decisions, something that comes from a healthy habit of good communication; but we are starting to think of what type of family we want to be (not that we want kids any time soon...sorry moms!).  We are starting to sort out our "grown-up" priorities and I've found that there are some great blogs out there to get ideas from.  One that I came across last week is Young House Love.  They are a young couple, live in a fixer-upper, recycle, buy organic, grow their own produce when they can, and have a 4 month old with cloth diapers. I'm not saying I want to be exactly like them have found several similarities with values Steven and I have: not being the American-consumer family, budgeting, helping the environment, working on house projects ourselves instead of paying for labor (within our skills), focusing on what's important and not what is "trendy" etc.  I would really suggest perusing through that blog for great ideas on how to save money, DIY projects, and how to live simply!

The only downside to all of this?  It keeps me from my ever growing pile of homework...

oops

Sorry for the delay my faithful followers.  Life has been crazy now that school is in full blast...so while I try to find my bearings I will leave you with a few of my favorite FRIENDS clips :)

Rainy mornings

Started off this morning getting my butt kicked in bear cycle with Aurelia.
Quick meeting at  Truett Seminary
Impromptu Common Grounds outing with Morgan where we sat and talked about life whilst drinking soyboy caballeros with moca java blend

All in all one of the best mornings I've had all week.

Also since Aurelia and Morgan are my top blog commenters I felt I should honor them by mentioning them in my post :)  Thanks for a great start to my day friends!