Friday favorites-games with friends and family

We love playing games together.  See this older post for our favorites:

favorite group games

Friday Favorites-Thanksgiving food

I'm not sure why Thanksgiving has the best holiday food ever.  I love a July 4th picnic, a New Year's Party and Christmas is all around just wonderful.  But just talking now about the food at Thanksgiving is making my mouth water.  Homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, hot rolls, juicy turkey, and tasty stuffing.  YUMMY!

Happy Halloween-favorite Halloweenish movie

Well, I don't know if it counts as a Halloween movie, but it has a witch in it and it's definitely a favorite movie of mine.  Like some other special movies when I was a kid, we'd wait for it to show on television once a year.  In some ways, that made movies more anticipated and loved.  I marvel that this one actually still shows on television sometimes.  

Friday Favorites-Pumpkin dessert

found on kitchme.com

Pumpkin Butter Cake 

Ingredients 

1 package (18 1/4-ounce) yellow cake mix

1 egg

8 tbsp butter, melted

1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened

1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin

3 egg

1 tsp vanilla

8 tbsp butter, melted

1 box (16 ounce) powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9 inch baking pan.
3. To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
4. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Friday Favorites-ice cream

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is my favorite flavor and Mint Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen are my new favorite flavor of Dilly Bar.  I was feeling nostalgic and when I went to buy a Dilly Bar, I couldn't resist trying the mint.  it was so good.

Friday Favorites-A favorite fall picture

Friday favorites-Puppy Chow (Muddy Buddies)

Macey Foronda

Puppy Chow

Makes 10 cups, enough to fill 5 16-oz clip jars (pictured here)

INGREDIENTS
10 cups corn Chex cereal
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup butter
1 ½ cups powdered sugar, divided in half

Special Equipment 
2 gallon-sized Ziploc bags
Very large (at least 4 quart) mixing bowl

PREPARATION
Pour cereal into very large mixing bowl, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine chocolate, peanut butter, and butter. Heat the mixture, stirring constantly with a heatproof spoon or spatula, until entirely melted and combined. (Alternatively, place chocolate, peanut butter, and butter in a large microwavable bowl, microwave for 1 minute on high, then stir the mixture with a heatproof spoon or spatula to combine).

Pour melted chocolate mixture over cereal in the large mixing bowl, and mix with a heatproof spoon or rubber spatula until all the cereal is coated with the chocolate mixture. Divide the cereal into two gallon-sized ziploc bags, and add half the powdered sugar to each. Seal the bags, and shake the mixtures until the powdered sugar evenly coats the cereal.

Open the bags and let the puppy chow cool completely, then transfer to gift jars. It will keep for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature.

Found on BuzzFeed.com

Friday Favorites-Softlips Pearl

This is my favorite finishing touch to my makeup.  The tint is very subtle and softens whatever lipstick I might put on.  Plus, it adds a nice shine and has sunscreen too. 

Friday Favorites-My new favorite Cookie recipe-you can eat the raw dough!

I love this recipe because it is safe to eat raw and I love raw cookie dough.  But it also makes really good cookies.  My daughter found this and we've been making and sharing it.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies III

Rated: Submitted By: Janie Mai Photo By: Jenn Servings: 18

"These cookies are great. There good for parties, sleepovers, ect.. You'll love them! Enjoy!!!"

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup boiling water 2 cups quick cooking oats 1/2 cup raisins (optional) 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Beat butter or margarine, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour and salt, mix well.
2.	Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to mixture. Stir in rolled oats, raisins and chocolate chips.
3.	Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10-12 minutes. Don't over cook. (There are no eggs in this recipe, I didn't forget to type it down).

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2014 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 9/10/2014

Friday Favorites-Baseball games

My daughter won 2 free Rockies tickets for tonight.  So we are going to the game even though it might rain.  It's just so fun to be there, eating popcorn and rooting for our team.  Baseball is my favorite sporting event to attend.  It's pretty easy to follow and the fans are usually more subdued than some other sports.  And tonight it will be nice to not be up in the nosebleed section, which is where we usually sit.

Friday Favorites-my favorite yogurt

Well I love mint and chocolate and this is the best I've ever had.  It's also the perfect size for me.

Friday Favorites-Parade of Homes

One of my favorite things to do with my daughters is look at model homes.   The Parade of Homes gives us a map and tells us what the newest models are in the metro area.  We love the decorating ideas and it's free.  I especially like the ones that have cookies.  I'm not saying the cookies could really sell me on the house, but I do tend to like the floor plan better while munching on an Otis Spunkmeyer cookie.  Just saying...

Friday Favorites-yellow things

Some of my favorite things are yellow.  Yellow just makes me think happy thoughts.

Friday Favorites-Boca Grande Beach

Boca Grande is my favorite Florida Beach.  I haven't been to very many, but this one is very peaceful and not too many people.  The waves aren't very big, but walking along the beach is my favorite thing to do at the ocean anyway.

Friday Favorites-Chocolate Chip Cookies

I really love chocolate chip cookies.  Of all the cookies in the world, a fresh, warm chocolate chip cookie is my favorite.  

I don't even mind the ones from the tub at Costco.  The important thing is not to overcook them and to eat them while they are still warm.  MMMM... I think I will go make some right now.

Friday Favorites-my favorite gum

I always wanted the gum in Willy Wonka that tastes like real food, specifically dessert.   Extra has several great flavors that are amazingly almost like the real thing:
  My 2 favorites are Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
and Lemon Squares.  Raspberry Vanilla Cupcake is the newest one.

Friday Favorites-garage sale season

There's something exciting about finding a treasure for a great deal.  I love a great find and garage sales are the perfect way for me to do it.  I don't buy a lot of junk because my husband hates clutter, so I do a lot of looking and browsing and driving.  But it's thrilling to find some great picture-which I did last Friday for only $12 or cool toy for y granddaughter-who doesn't care that it's not new.  My very favorite kind are the community sales where there are tons up and down the streets of the neighborhood.

Friday Favorites- my favorite weed

Even weeds can be beautiful.  Plus, who made dandelions a weed anyway?  Probably the same one who said Pluto is no longer a planet.

Friday Favorites-my favorite lotion

Skinnami is an organic lotion made by Suzie Mc Queen.  She grows the herbs and plants and mixes everything herself.  The Minty Fresh is my favorite, but all her products are great for dry skin and even eczema.  Check out her website for the full line at Skinnami.com.

Friday Favorites-The Giver

One of my favorite books is this dystopia book by Lois Lowry.  In fact there are 4 books in this series and I love all of them.  I would add this to my list of books to read and then watch the movie.  It's a great discussion book for kids 6-8th grade.  The movie comes out mid-August, but read the book first.  They can never do justice in a movie to the images created by your imagination.  I especially like the idea of seeing what other people don't see, or hearing what others can't hear.  There are several parts that bring a new perspective to things we take for granted.