Guest Post: Pumpkin Bread Pudding from Sense & Simplicity

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Hi, I'm Grace from Sense and Simplicity.  I'm a Speech-Language Pathologist by day and a design-loving, crafting, baking, picture-taking blogger by night. Here's one of our family's tried-and-true recipes that I hope you enjoy as much as we do.

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Snowy weekend?  Check!  Freezer full of leftover bread and buns?  Check!  Craving comfort food?  Check!  Yep, that was me recently so I decided to make some Pumpkin Bread Pudding.  

I love this bread pudding recipe.  I have tweaked and perfected it by reducing the sugar, eliminating the butter, and using skim milk instead of cream to make it healthier than the original.  I have made it with raisins or dried cranberries and they both are great.  I use any kind of bread/bun/crust that is in my freezer and needing to be eaten.  You should see how nice and neat my freezer looks now.  Just kidding - it's still a mess.  But I'm not kidding about how great this bread pudding is!

INGREDIENTS
8 cups bread, cubed
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
3 cups milk (I used skim milk)
5 eggs
1/2 can (796 ml or 28 fl oz) pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

METHOD
1.  In a large bowl, cover the bread and cranberries/raisins with the milk and set aside.
2.  In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, and spices.
3.  Add to the bread mixture and stir to blend
4.  Put bread mixture into a greased 9 x 13 or large casserole dish 
5.  Bake uncovered at 350F for 45-60 minutes or until the centre has set (test with a knife)

Quick and beautiful last minute decorating ideas!

FREE IMAGES Is it just me, or did Thanksgiving really sneak up out of nowhere this year?  If you are like me, you're going to need a lot of last minute decorating ideas, which means, fast - but still adorable of course!

1. Find some free printables that look custom designed (skip goofy looking turkeys and pilgrims please!)  These menu templates are gorgeous, free, and she has lots of free matching goodies to go with it.  Get it here

2. Make some cinnamon roasted almonds.  These were life changing for me.  The are relatively easy (depending on the recipe you choose), you can make them in large batches (great for guest favors), and your kitchen will smell great.  Here's a recipe I found.

3. Keep your centerpieces simple and striking. Mason jar + stalks of dried wheat = homestead chic.

via OopsyDaisyCrafts

4. Add a memorable detail.  Who knew walnuts could look so expensive?  To boot - it's easy to do! Find out how at A Pumpkin & A Princess.

Happy weekend everyone!

Cucumber Martini, Guest Post by Happy Hour Projects

FREE IMAGES Hello to all the readers here at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating!  I'm Adrianne, and I blog over at Happy Hour Projects.  With Kate taking a little hiatus, I thought I'd share a vacation-worthy recipe with you: the Cucumber Martini.  (Hope you're relaxing and pampering yourself, Kate - cheers to you!)

It's deck weather here, and this is a great drink for entertaining.  It will be even better when everyone's gardens are cranking out cucumbers... mmm. :)

I will give you the recipe here, and then I'll walk you through a little bit of the prep.  There are a few things you'll have to make before you can mix it up, but they are quick things and can be done well ahead of time, so that all you need to do when your guests arrive is shake up a couple and relax.

Adrianne's Cucumber Martini

• 1.5 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• 1 oz. cucumber juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice

I generally recommend substituting 7-Up for the vodka and simple syrup anytime you want a non-alcoholic version of a specialty martini.  It won't be the quite the same, but it's still a fun treat. :)

If you're new to the world of specialty martinis... welcome!  There is one ingredient that pops up a lot, and that's simple syrup.  Simple syrup is equal parts of sugar and water (I make my batches one cup of each at a time), heated in a saucepan on low heat, until the sugar dissolves.  It takes about 5 minutes to make a small batch of simple syrup - your sugar will dissolve before your water comes to a boil.  I didn't photograph this step because I had some on-hand, but if you'd like photographs of a syrup I made recently to see how it looks once the sugar dissolves, you can visit my post about the lemon-basil gimlet.

Perhaps you're wondering about how in the world you're going to juice a cucumber.  You'll need a blender or a food processor for this step - to my knowledge, you can't just buy this as an ingredient.

Wash your cucumber well, and cut off a few slices to set aside for your garnish.  Then, peel what's left and cut it into chunks (this will make it easier for your food processor to handle).

Puree it.  You want it as close to liquefied as possible.  You may find that adding a tablespoon or so of water makes this process go more smoothly.  Then, you'll strain your puree to remove anything solid.  Place your strainer over a bowl (I used a measuring cup and my small strainer) and spoon your puree into the strainer.  You can press down on the puree to squeeze as much juice as possible out - if a bit of pulp comes through, that's okay.  Any pulp small enough to fit through your strainer will be fine.

I managed to get a little over 4 oz. of juice from one large cucumber, after I reserved 4 slices for garnishing, which is enough for 4 drinks.

Simple sugar lasts in the frig for months in a sealed container.  I just use a Mason jar for mine.  I'm not sure about the cucumber juice; I try to use fresh ingredients like this within three days.  But you can certainly prepare these ahead of time to save yourself the work later.

Now, the presentation for martinis is half the fun, really.  This drink is excellent with a sugared rim.  If you haven't rimmed a glass before, the easiest way to do it is to rub it with fruit and dip it.  In our case - we are using cucumbers, so I rubbed it with a cucumber slice:

And then dipped the rim in a small mound of sugar.

Now, to shake it up.  For this, I really do advocate owning a shaker tin, though professional bartenders have been known to shake up drinks using two glasses stacked together.  I'm no pro, so I use my tin.

Fill your tin with ice.  This is how you're going to chill your drink.  Now, measure your ingredients in.  I always recommend a top-shelf vodka when you're making martinis.  Effen even makes a Cucumber Vodka that would be perfect here, but I used what we had in the house already.

Now just shake it up.  I always go by the rule that it's shaken enough as soon as my fingers get cold. ;)  Now pour it...

Then add your cucumber garnish, and enjoy poolside, deckside, or anywhere you plan to relax!

Now, I need to take a moment here to dispel the notion that it's all drinks and parties at my blog, given the recipe I've shared today, and the name "Happy Hour Projects".  In fact, my drink recipes are only a very small part of what I blog about.  You see, "Happy Hour" came to be shortly after my daughter was born - when I needed some craft-therapy, but didn't have a lot of time for projects anymore.  What I focus on there is crafts and recipes - tutorial-style - that you can do in an hour or less, and many times with supplies you probably have on-hand already.  That's my real Happy Hour!

I love blogging because I love the support and friendship that's in this creative community.  Thanks so much for having me today, Kate, and we're all looking forward to seeing you back soon!

~ Adrianne

A Deelish Dessert! (it's even Low-fat!)

FREE IMAGES Hello fabulous friends! 

It's about that time for a late night snack.  You know, something sweet.  The one you're not supposed to have because it's after 7 pm so it will surely go to your hips (thighs, butt, belly, wherever you don't want it to go).

But , this snack is low-fat and easy.  And, it's something different.  How many of those little 100 calorie packs can you really eat, anyway. 

This is a spin on the Rice Krispie Treat.... but so much better.

Whenever we make Rice Krispies in this house, the whole pan is almost devoured within the first few minutes when the Krispies are warm and gooey.  I prefer them this way, once they cool off and harden they aren't nearly as good.

My mom found this easy "recipe" on the back of a marshmallow bag.  It is so simple and delicious I have no idea why I never thought of it before... it seems like common sense now. :)  

Here are the ingredients you need:

You do not have to use "Gluten Free" Rice Krispies, I got them because they are made with brown rice which is supposedly better for you than white rice, wasn't that so healthy of me?

You also don't have to use butter, you can use a little cooking oil or margarine.  I found that these Campfire brand marshmallow melt the best and are actually tastier then the other brands.  They didn't pay me to say that, it's your lucky night Campfire Marshmallows.

So here's what you do,  put a sliver of butter and one jumbo marshmallow in a microwave safe bowl.

I love how I picked the one bowl we have with a chip in it, so fancy.

 Microwave for about 20 seconds depending on your microwave.  Make sure you call for your kids to come watch the amazing expanding marshmallow.

Campfire brand gets the biggest without coming apart and dripping over the edge of the bowl.

  Pull it out of the microwave and dump some Rice Krispies on top and start stirring!

STIR, STIR, STIR, STIR!!!  Add some more Krispies in if necessary.  Make sure you get enough Krispies in the marshmallow or it will be too disgustingly sweet.  I'd say about a 1/3 to 1/2 cups of Krispies.

Now it's time to enjoy your delicious melty Rice Krispie Treat.  Eat immediately or it will turn hard which defeats the purpose of making this one serving melty treat. 

I got so excited to eat this one that I accidentally ate half of it before I realized I hadn't taken a picture of finished product ... you get the idea though...

It make s a pretty big serving and it's less than 200 calories with 90 in the marshmallow and about 50 in the cereal and just a little from that sliver of butter. 

It's something different and delicious with very little effort to make and just few minutes and ingredients.

Have you ever made this before?  What's your go to sweet treat??

Flaunt your Fall Link Party!!

FREE IMAGES Who doesn't love fall??

Anyone?  Anyone??  Buehler... buehler.

Who doesn't love a party?? 

Why not combine the two for tons of fun!!

What a great party combo if I do say so myself.  How do I come up with these ingenious ideas??! ;) 

It's time for the first annual Flaunt your Fall link party!

I can not wait to see all of your creative fall-ishness right here in one place!

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A lazy cook's dream recipe...

FREE IMAGES What's for dinner?  Oh how I dread this simple question.  Growing up, never did I realize what a hassle it was to plan what's for dinner.   My mom is an excellent cook and we had good home-cooked meals every night (except Friday, pizza night :).  I remember asking my mom this dreaded question every day after school and actually complaining about certain meals (ewww, can we something else?? in my most annoying junior high voice).  The nerve of my junior high self!!

Early on into my marriage I called my mom and apologized for complaining about meals while growing up.  I seriously did.  She laughed knowing that I got it.  Until then I had NO idea what a huge pain in the rump it was to plan a meal every. single. night.

Thankfully my hubs really likes to cook.  After being at work all day he actually likes to come home and make dinner (God bless him!).  We split dinner duty about 50/50 and he does even more in the summer when he can use his other baby, the new fancy grill. 

Cooking and me, not so much.  (Note, this is my FIRST recipe post in over a year of blogging for that reason) I used to hate to cook, now I'm to the point where I like to make some things but it isn't my favorite thing to do and by dinner time I usually don't feel like making dinner.  When I hear that dreaded question "What's for dinner?" it still bothers me... it makes me sweat.

To avoid these panic-stricken episodes and to save money at the grocery store I have started to meal plan.  This has helped immensly but there are always those days when the planned meal just isn't doin' it for me. 

Those are the days when the dreaded question gives me hives. 

I have found a recipe that is SO easy and delicious that I thought it was too good to be true.

It is a lazy cook's dream recipe.  Here it is, and I'm serious.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1/2 cup water

Place water in the slow cooker, add frozen chicken breasts, pour BBQ sauce over the top.  Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. 

*If you're feeling extra ambitious you can chop up an onion and throw it in too but it's not necessary, I've done it both ways and it's great either way. 
**we like Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
***I've made this with only 2 chickens breasts (that's all I had), just don't use as much sauce and don't cook it as long.  :)



Seriously, that's it! 

And, it's oh so delicious!! 

Besides being extremely easy I always have the ingredients on hand.  This is my fall back recipe almost every time.  I just have to be careful not to make it too much so we don't get sick of it. 

What's your favorite stand by recipe?  My boys are getting burned out on BBQ chicken. :)

Linking: Today's Creative Blog