Sweet Little Turkeys

Sweet T.O.M. Turkeys

via Family Fun 

almost too cute to eat

Just couldn't resist these adorable Thanksgiving Cupcakes from Family Fun Magazine!

Their candy corn plumage and shortbread wings guarantee that these irresistible Treat of the Month Turkeys (T.O.M.s for short) will be gobbled up as soon as they land on the dessert table.

                Ingredients:

• Cupcake
• Chocolate frosting
• 3 oval shortbread cookies (we used Keebler Sandies Right Bites Shortbread)
• 6 to 10 candy corn pieces

• White icing
• Black decorators' gel
• Red fruit leather (we used strawberry Fruit by the Foot)
  
  
  
  

  

                  Instructions:

  1. Frost the cupcake, then press in a cookie head and 2 cookie wings.
     
  2. Press in a row or two of candy corn tail feathers.
     
  3. To make an eye, add a small dot of white icing to the head, then add a dot of black decorators' gel for a pupil.
     
  4. For a beak, cut the white tip from a piece of candy corn and press it in place.
     
  5. To make the wattle, cut a 1-inch square of fruit leather. Roll it into a tube and stick it in place over the beak.
     

Tuesday Tip

 Be ready for Thanksgiving 

How to:  Quick-Clean Your Oven

via Good Housekeeping

Remove the racks and drip pans, and clean them with a damp paper towel. Wipe down all surfaces inside your oven. If you see a small bit of burned-on gunk, remove with a nonabrasive scrubber. Use a scrub brush to clean the racks, dry, and put back in.

Heloise Hint: If something spills over while baking, pour table salt on it, and when the oven is cool, you will have a much quicker cleanup. Give the oven window a good rubdown with vinegar and water.

I still love you pumpkin...

 

photos via Martha Stewart,Coutnry Living and Better Homes & Gardens

Veteran's One Day Sale

Please take time today to say 

Thank You!

 Free Veterans Day Greeting Card - HERE

To learn more about honoring our Veterans

Visit These Links:

Mack - Mark Miner Military Blog

American Legion National Headquarters

AMVETS National Headquarters

Department of Veterans Affairs

Disabled American Veterans

The Official Moving Wall Website

Military.com

www.silverandgoldandthee.com:80/Holiday2/Rem.html

www.sherylfranklin.com/holidays/veterans_day.html

www.fathershands.com/finalinspection/

Pineapple Hill is offering 20% off today in honor of our Veterans.

Use Coupon Code: THANK YOU

(offer valid today only)

Tuesday Tip

Spaghetti as a Candle-Lighter!

photo via Beatriz da Costa

Lighting multiple candles?
If you don't have

extra-long matches on hand,

try a piece of spaghetti.

Flickr image taken from Got Brimmed's Photostream

Ta Dah

No toasted fingers. 

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

via Real Simple

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• kosher salt
• 8 large peanut butter cups, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a pan over low heat.
3. Using a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. Lower speed and pour in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix in the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fold in the peanut butter cups.
4. Scrape into a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake until the tip of a knife comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

Tuesday Tip

How to Untangle Delicate Necklaces

Use a straight pin to gently pull out all of the knots. If that doesn't work, place the necklace on a hard, nonporous surface such as glass. Apply several drops of baby oil or mineral oil to the chain, then use the pin to untangle the links. Proper storage should help prevent tangling.

Depending on the size of the necklace, you can drop it through a straw, wrap it around an empty spool of thread, or hang it on a nail attached to a bulletin board or other surface.

 
Thanks Heloise!

Pineapple Hill featured at the Wahm Registry

Mom of the Month for November 2009

I joined the Wahm Registry a few years ago.  It's great to meet other "work at home home" moms via the interent.  I'm so excited to be nominated the November " Mom of the Month "!

You can read my intereview

HERE.

Enjoy 20% off for the month of November

Use code: WAHM 11-09

Happy Halloween Cupcakes

So Cute!

Candy, cookies and icing can make a wide variety of Halloween cupcake toppers. From back left, clockwise:
-- Owl Oval chocolate cookie, cashew nut, fruit-flavor candy circles, shaved coconut, pretzel rods
-- Witch Mini candy-coated chocolates, dyed coconut, chocolate cookie, sugar cone, green icing
-- Goblin Sour gummy candy rings and straws, white and green jelly beans, mini chocolate chips
-- Mummy Candy-coated chocolate pieces, green icing
-- Skeleton Large candy mint, licorice pastels, small mints, white sprinkles
-- Bat Halved chocolate wafer cookie, candy-coated chocolate piece, sprinkles, green icing

More fun cupcakes

HERE

and

HERE!

Cupcakelicious!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

from Country Living Magazine

Have your cake and cupcakes too!

One recipe yields chocolatey pumpkin

spice cupcakes or a triple-layer cake.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup(s) good-quality cocoa
• 2 tablespoon(s) good-quality cocoa
• 1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 2 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon(s) fresh-grated nutmeg
• 3/4 cup(s) buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cup(s) pumpkin purée
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 stick(s) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup(s) (firmly packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare cake pans: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter three 8-inch cake pans and fit each bottom with an 8-inch circle of parchment paper. Lightly butter the parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Make the batter: Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, with an electric mixer set on medium speed, until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and light. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, blending well after each addition.
3. Bake the cake: Divide the batter among the pans and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean -- about 35 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove cakes and cool. (For cupcakes: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in standard cupcake tins and fill each with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 22 minutes.)
4. Assemble the cake: Trim each of the layers. Place one layer on a cake plate and top with one third of the frosting. Repeat with the second and third layers. (To ensure that the cake layers do not shift, cut three skewers to 1/4 inch shorter than the full height of the cake and insert them before icing the top layer.) Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yields: One 8-inch 3-layer cake or 36 cupcakes

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package(s) (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup(s) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon(s) fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon(s) grated orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
• 4 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) orange food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

1. Blend the cream cheese, butter, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at medium speed, until smooth.
2. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy -- about 3 more minutes.
3. Add the food coloring and gently stir until the color is uniform.
4. Chill the frosting until ready to ice the cupcakes or cake.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Tuesday Tip

Make no-mess pancakes with the help of a ketchup bottle.

Pour in batter, then squeeze out precise portions.

 

photo via Mark Lund Real Simple

Pumpkin Possibilities Part 1

Sharing some of my favorite pumpkin pictures.

I found this fun collection from the following magazines:

(Country Living, Better Homes and Gardens, All You, Southern Living, Good Housekeeping and Country Home)

More to Come!

Tuesday Tip -Dear List Maker

You will love these

Go HERE to download

Ever so Cute

HalLowEen ParTy PIcks

via The Martha Stewart Show

Tools and Materials

• 1-inch Styrofoam ball
• Craft glue
• Colored construction paper
• Scissors
• Toothpicks
• Liquitex matte medium (we found some at Michaels) 
• Extra fine point paint pen, such as those made by Sharpie
• White pipe cleaners (for skull)
• Green pipe cleaners (for pumpkin)

Halloween Party Picks How-To

1. Use a 1-inch Styrofoam ball. If you're making a witch or skull, mold ball into an upside-down pear shape; otherwise, leave as is.



2. Brush craft glue onto one side of a 3-by-1 1/2-inch strip of colored construction paper.



3. Wrap the paper around the ball, and crimp the edges so that the fold lays flat along the top and bottom. Trim away the excess paper.



4. Dip the tip of a double-pointed toothpick into glue and insert it into the bottom of the ball.



5. Brush a light coat of the matte medium around the ball to seal the paper layer.



6. Let dry for about 20 minutes before you begin to draw different faces on the ball.



Cat

Draw on cat face and whiskers with a white extra fine point paint pen. Cut out 2 small triangles of black construction paper, and glue them to the top of the ball for ears.



Skull

Draw on a skull face with a black extra fine point paint pen. Twist two 2-inch pieces of white pipe cleaner around the toothpick to make crossbones.



Jack-o'-Lantern

Draw on jack-o'-lantern face with a black extra fine point paint pen. Twist a tiny curlicue of green pipe cleaner, and glue it on top to make a stem.



Bat

Draw on bat fangs and eyes using red and white extra fine point paint pens. Cut out 2 small bat wings from black tissue paper, and glue them to the back of the ball.



Witch

Draw on witch face with a black extra fine point permanent marker. Insert the tip of a toothpick into the center of the face to make the nose; paint the nose black with a paint pen. To make the bottom of the witch's hat, cut out a small doughnut shape from construction paper. For the conical body of the hat, cut out a half circle, and overlap the two pointed ends; affix them with craft glue. Attach the two hat pieces with glue.

October means Halloween!

photo from Country Living Magazine

These brownies are easy your little goblins will love them.
Brownie Goblins

Prepare brownie mix as label directs but bake in 15 1/2" by 10 1/2" jelly-roll pan only 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool brownie in pan. When cool, cut out brownie using ghost-shaped cookie cutter.

To decorate, melt white candy coating as above; use to pipe outline on top of ghost cutout. When outline is set, fill in interior with additional melted candy. When set, pipe on brown eyes and mouth. Let set.

Download some fun Family Night goodies.

Family Fright Night Halloween Recipes

via  Halloween Tricks & Treats 2006

Pineapple Hill has  new Halloween goodies at Hearts and Hands