HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A SWEET GIRL

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY

CELEBRATION 

TODAY 

FOR MY

OLDEST

GRANDDAUGHTER

TIPS FOR PLANTING FALL MUMS

Mums

Jimmy Turner, senior director of gardens at the Dallas Arboretum in Texas, knows mums. He and his staff plant close to 20,000 each fall both in the ground and in pots. Here are his tips.

Tip 1

When night temps drop (mid-September), buy plants as they start to break bud. You’ll maximize bloom time. To find the color and type of flower you’re after, check plant tags and cross-reference with already opened blooms. Garden centers usually group like selections together.

Tip 2

For impact, sport no more colors than are on your team’s jersey. You will stretch your dollars by choosing darker shades such as bronze and burgundy. They look better longer; spent flowers are less noticeable. The same is true for mums with double, as opposed to single, daisy-like blooms.

Tip 3

What you see is what you get: Buy the bigger plant. Once buds start to open, you’re pretty much guaranteed flowers―no matter where you display them. They’ll be happiest in sun, but if you’re planning to compost them once the show is over, it’s fine to bend this rule.

Tip 4

Keep flowers coming by watering and pinching. Soil should be moist, but never wet. Check daily while weather is warm, every other day when it’s cooler. Fertilizing is not necessary.  Remove faded blooms to encourage even more buds to open and you’ll have color through October.

PEANUTTY HALLOWEEN COOKIE PIZZA

Peanutty Halloween Cookie Pizza

INGREDIENTS:

1

roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated chocolate chip cookies

1/2

cup creamy peanut butter

1

cup Halloween-colored candy-coated chocolate candies

1/2

cup dry-roasted peanuts

1/4

cup vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting (from 1-lb container)

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12-inch pizza pan with foil; grease foil with shortening. Break cookie dough into 2-inch pieces; arrange evenly in pan. With floured fingers, press to form crust.
• Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Use foil to lift crust from pan. Carefully remove foil from crust; place crust on serving platter or tray. Spread peanut butter over crust. Sprinkle with chocolate candies and peanuts.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave frosting uncovered on High 10 to 15 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle. Transfer to small resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut small hole in 1 corner of bag; drizzle over cookie pizza. Cut into wedges or squares.

SCARY SPIDERS

Scary Spiders

Ingredients

• Chocolate-covered cream-filled snack cakes (such as Ring Dings)
• Mini chocolate cream-filled snack cakes (such as 100-calorie packs of Hostess chocolate cupcakes)
• Black licorice laces
• M&M's 
• Chocolate and vanilla icing

Preparation

• Assemble spiders:
• 1. Use a toothpick to poke eight holes in cake, insert licorice laces into holes and trim ends to desired length.
• 2. Attach M&M's as eyes using dots of icing. Pipe dots of chocolate icing for pupils and create fangs by piping small bits of vanilla icing.

All You
OCTOBER 2009

TEXAS RANGERS

Way To Go Texas Rangers!

APPLES FOR BAKING

Several times during the year, I bake a favorite apple cake recipe I received from a family friend, Tori.  Here is a tip to help choose apples for baking.

The best apples for baking include Rome, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious.  Avoid using Red Delicious and Empire apples since they break down when baked.

CRESCENT MUMMY DOGS

Crescent Mummy Hot Dogs

INGREDIENTS:

1

can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet

2 1/2

slices American cheese, quartered (2.5 oz)

10

large hot dogs

Cooking spray

Mustard or ketchup, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate at perforations, creating 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles.
• With knife or kitchen scissors, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 10 pieces, making a total of 40 pieces of dough. Slice cheese slices into quarters (1/2 slice cheese, cut in half).
• Wrap 4 pieces of dough around each hot dog and 1/4 slice of cheese to look like "bandages," stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. About 1/2 inch from one end of each hot dog, separate "bandages" so hot dog shows through for "face." On ungreased large cookie sheet, place wrapped hot dogs (cheese side down); spray dough lightly with cooking spray.
• Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With mustard, draw features on "face."

HALLOWEEN HORS D' OEUVRES

Cold Cuts - Cheese - Crackers

These Halloween appetizers are much more delightful than frightful. To make, use mini Halloween-theme cookie cutters to cut out pieces of cheese and meat. Place cutouts on top of various crackers, along with lettuce leaves; use olive pieces to decorate the faces.

WELCOME FRIENDS PUMPKIN CART

Welcome Friends

Fill a wooden wheelbarrow with gourds, pumpkins, dried leaves, and berry sprigs. Work with a variety of shapes and colors to achieve a vibrant look that captures the essence of fall. Paint a "welcome friends" message on two large pumpkin and place on top of the wheelbarrow. Weave artificial berry vines around the wheelbarrow for a splash of stunning red.

SPIDER NAPKIN RINGS

Spider Napkin Rings

Spook up your Halloween get-together with these easy-to-make felt and pom-pom napkin rings — a perfect project for kids to help create.

BAT WINDOW DECORATIONS

Bat Silhouettes

Haunt your house -- or at least your windows -- with paper bats flying every which way. Cut several sizes of bats from black poster board or cardstock. Tape fishing line at different spots on the backs and heads; hang the lines from a curtain rod or cup hooks.  Here's the bat pattern download.

HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES

Green Bow Monster CupCake

Ghost CupCake

Ghost CupCakes

Spider Pretzel CupCake

Spider Licorice CupCake

Check out how easy it is to make these spooky but cute Halloween cupcakes!

HALLOWEEN PARTY IDEAS

Pumpkin Noise Maker Party Favor

Good old-fashioned jack-o'-lanterns rule at this Halloween bash for kids of all ages. Inexpensive store-bought materials and basic how-to projects make it quick and easy to put together this fun-filled party.

KID'S HALLOWEEN SANDWICHES

Open Face Halloween Sandwiches

This is a great idea for a kid's party or sandwich meals. These are open-face bologna-and-cheese sandwiches.  Use small cookie cutters to create the cheese faces.  A basil leaf and bread-crust stem complete the pumpkin package.  This is sure to put a smile on your child's face, especially if they can help make the cheese faces sandwiches. 

FALL CENTERPIECE

Fall Table Centerpiece

Lilies, Chrysanthemums, and Pokeweed Berries

Festive and fresh, this arrangement is the perfect fall display. Hollow out a pumpkin and place an appropriately sized vase inside. Fill with lilies, chrysanthemums, and pokeweed berries. Surround with leaves from your yard and fall fruits to add a seasonal touch.

BAT AND CAT PUMPKINS

Bat and Cat Pumpkin Patterns

Black Cat and Bat Painted Pumpkins

No carving = no mess. Add cardstock features to your painted-black pumpkins for a purr-fect way to celebrate the season. Follow the link for the patterns you need to make a 3-D cat and bat this Halloween.

CARVING PUMPKINS

Leafy Pumpkins

Glowing Vines

Step 1: Cut out top of pumpkin and scrape the inside clean.

Step 2: Using a real vine or a vine pattern, transfer design to pumpkin. (To create your own pattern, use varying sizes of your favorite leaf shape, and then draw a vine between the leaves.)

Step 3: Carve leaf shapes by cutting completely through the pumpkin or by scraping a shallow relief. You can combine the two methods, as shown here on the smallest pumpkin.

Step 4: With a scraping tool, carve vine stem about 1/4 inch deep, being careful not to break through the pumpkin flesh.

HALLOWEEN GHOST HOW-TO

GHOST TUTORIAL

FAITH IN YOURSELF

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't  pay to get discouraged.  Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

~Lucille Ball

APPLE ANNIE'S SIDEWALL SALE

My best friend, Judy, and I went to Apple Annie's Sidewalk Sale today.  Naturally, we both came away with lots of goodies!  Their store is decorated for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas - lots of creative and beautiful wares.

STREP THROAT

Two of my three youngest grandkids have strep throat.  What a way to start the weekend!

YOUR GUIDE FOR FORMAL DINING

Your Guide for Formal Dining

By Jonathan Able

If you are invited to a fancy dinner party, wedding, or some other formal occasion and you are unsure of which silverware or goblet to use, here is a map of a traditional place setting for formal dinners.

A.) Napkin
B.) Dinner plate
C.) Salad plate
D.) Bread plate
E.) Water glass
F.) Red wineglass
G.) White wineglass
H.) Fish fork
I.) Dinner fork
J.) Salad fork
K.) Dinner knife
L.) Fish knife
M.) Soup spoon
N.) Dessert spoon and fork

TIP FOR BAKING WITH NUTS

Baking with Nuts Tip

If your cake recipe calls for nuts, heat them first in the oven, then dust with flour before adding to the cake batter to keep them from settling to the bottom of the pan.

MOTHER NATURE'S FREE MULCH

Mulch from Leaves and Pine Needles

To a gardener, December's fallen leaves and pine needles are just like manna. Each leaf and needle contains a larder of organic matter--absolutely the best material for loosening clay or improving the water- and nutrient-holding capacity of sand. Organic matter feeds legions of plants, earthworms, and micro-organisms. 

Rake your leaves and pine needles into long, shallow rows about 6 inches deep. Then set your lawnmower on its highest setting and run over the pile, making enough passes to completely chop it up.  The first time you run over the leaves, you'll invariably miss some which won't be chopped. So rake them all into a pile again, and run over them once more. You'll be amazed at how small that big pile of leaves becomes.

Carefully gather that finely shredded material--it's garden gold. Take it to your flowerbed, shrub border, or vegetable garden, and spread a 2-inch-thick layer over the soil surface and around any existing plants. The shredded leaves make excellent, attractive mulch--they stay in place and don't wash or blow away. Even more important, as the leaves slowly decompose, they add vital organic matter to the soil, improving its ability to support abundant life. Do this every fall, and before long, you'll have the richest soil on the block. And you won't have paid a dime.

At our new house we don't have to rake leaves yet, but hopefully in years to come this will be the way I mulch my flowers and shrubs.

KARMA

Sometimes it just

takes us a 

while to understand.

SAUSAGE AND BACON GRAVY

My husband makes a great sausage gravy.  I found this recipe from Paula Deen.  I can't wait to see which one the family thinks is better!

Sausage and Bacon Gravy

Ingredients

1 lb ground sausage
4   slices thick-cut bacon
1/2   onion, diced
2   garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoon butter
12   freshly baked biscuits (use your favorite recipe or you can use store-bought

Directions

In a large skillet, combine sausage, bacon, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium heat, until sausage is browned and crumbles. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened. Stir in butter.

Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

PINTEREST

Oh my, my daughter introduced me to Pinterest!  What an addictive site!  If you haven't discovered it yet, you need to check it out.