on pumpkin pie pancakes...

Ah pancakes, you can do so much with them! I'm pretty sure that you really need to make some of these. Like right now. They're basically mini pumpkin pies, how could you resist?! There's really nothing to it either and the finished product is a stack of happiness. 

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon allspice 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

vegetable oil for coating the pan 

butter and maple syrup to serve

1// Place flour, sugar, baking powders, cinnamon, salt, pumpkin pie spice and allspice into a medium mixing bowl.
2// Use a whisk to mix all the dry ingredients together.
3// Add pumpkin puree, eggs, heavy cream and milk.
4// Whisk the dry and wet ingredients together until smooth.

Coat a heated skillet with vegetable and scoop 1/4 cup of the pancake mix and pour on the hot skillet.

Cook them to your liking and flip. Serve with butter and some maple syrup!

Enjoy. xoxo.

on a little soccer player...

I grew up with knowing soccer. When you have a European dad who played hardcore soccer in the Army when he was a young fella it's hard not to know soccer. I grew up learning about all there is really to know about it and although I never played on an actually team, mainly because school sports teams weren't very enticing to me, there was no doubt that I could have been pretty good at it. It's one of those things that I think it just in your blood.
I got excited when my in laws decided to gift Sebastian with a season of soccer for this birthday this past July and yesterday was his first day starting on the field.

Before the actual soccer game they practiced running with the ball and kicking goals. There were some pretty great moments and some I even captured on camera...

YES! This is how my kid reacted when he made a goal. He is awesome! This photo is getting blown up, framed and put on a very important wall!
And then there were moments like this...

It's going to take some practice and some explaining that it's okay when the other team takes the ball from you. And that there is no need to get upset, you just have to go get the ball back (gently). He will get the hang of it and since it was the first day of it all I think he did a swell job. I'm a very proud momma over here and excited for the next Saturday to come especially since Daddy will be there!

xoxo.

on homemade pumpkin spice syrup...

Happy First Day of FALL! Hip-hip-hooray!! It's finally here and to celebrate I created this amazing homemade pumpkin spice syrup for you all. There is nothing like having a pumpkin syrup at your finger tips to add into your coffee every morning or use it it to flavor pancakes or even make a batch for gifts. Your friends and family will adore you :) It's a great way to start this Fall season and I am super excited for you to all try it out in your own kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

3 tablespoon pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 

 It's really very simple, combine the water and dark brown sugar in a medium sauce pan on high heat. Let it cook and stir frequently for about 10 minutes.

Once the water and sugar is at a rapid bowl turn it all the way to low and add rest of the ingredients right into the sauce pan. Let it sit on low heat for 15 minutes while occasionally stirring it. Once it is at a syrup consistency than turn the burner off and let it cool down. 

Store pumpkin spice syrup in whatever jar or container that you fancy and there you go! Your own personal syrup to drizzle in your hot or iced coffee in the comfort of your own home. By golly, isn't that the greatest thing ever. I swear you can create the best pumpkin coffee at home and that means you won't be stopping at that coffee company that starts with star and ends with bucks. Evidence below my friends...

Do you love me or do you love me? 

xoxo. 

on a dorney weekend...

Hello friends. Here's a belated post about our fun filled weekend at Dorney Park. We headed up to Allentown area to visit the theme park one last time. I don't feel like we were able to get up there as much as we wished since we have season passes and all but we still got our money's worth. Much to our pleasant surprise the park was already decorated for Halloween which just added to the fun. The water park had closed after Labor Day so we weren't able to enjoy that half of the park but honestly we didn't really give it a thought. 

We stayed at Holiday Express right across from the park, so nice and convenient and treated ourselves to a nice big room with a jacuzzi! I never would of thought we would have as much fun with that jacuzzi as we did last weekend. Saturday was the day we spent the entire day at the park, getting on all the rides and enjoying the other Halloween activities that they had going on. Here are some photos from Saturday. Beware there's a lot! 

Sebastian loved all the rides but most of all he loved the big blow up Snoopy moon bounce they had. He would spend all day jumping on that thing if he could. There were times when we have to urge him to get off so we could go on some different rides. There was a fun mini (kid friendly) corn maze and at the end of the maze were tiny pumpkins that he could pick from to paint. Plus the petting zoo was neat and of course the huge pig was our favorite. The guy was snort talking to Sebastian which turned into a serious conversation between the two. 

Good times and lots of fun with my little family makes me happy. 

xoxo.

on a day of remembrance...

I will forever remember this day eleven years ago. 

on sweet & sour chicken...

I put this simple and quick crock pot sweet & sour chicken dish together over the weekend. I was looking to make something that I didn't need a lot time to prepare and that didn't need much of my attention. I created this yummy Asian inspired chicken dish in a matter of minutes and let the crock pot do all the work while I got things done around the house. I forgot how nice it was to make friends with my crock pot and from now on I will be using it much more this season. Try it out on a day that you could use some extra time, you will be so happy!

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast
1/4 cup corn starch
salt & pepper

For sauce:
1 green pepper 
2 green onions
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 white vinegar 
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder 
1 tablespoon black bean sauce

1// cube up chicken.
2// slice green pepper.
3// slice up the green onion.
4// salt and pepper chicken and sprinkle on the corn starch to coat chicken evenly.

5// mix all the ingredients for the sauce right in the crock pot

6// add the chicken right into the sauce

7// stir everything up well, set the crock pot to high and cook for four hours. 

Make a side of rice or soba noodles and you'll have yourself a quick, easy and very tasty meal for the family. I made some brown rice but now I am totally wishing I had soba noodles on hand! The chicken comes out juicy and tender with plenty of sauce you get to drizzle over your rice or noodles. And garnish with some of the green onion on top! Total yum. I even sprinkled some red pepper flakes on my dish to give it a little kick. 

Enjoy! 

xoxo.

on how to use a french press...

Oh how I adore my french press! I really don't think I can live without it. There are many different brands of french presses out there but I went with a Bodum. They have a pretty great reputation and after purchasing it off of Amazon I have fallen madly in love with it. Yes, I am going steady with my french press or press pot when I'm trying to be cute with it. No, I don't need professional help...Anyways I am such an advocate for this beloved method of making coffee that I am here to explain how to use one and show you that it really is worth it.

First of all, what is a french press? A french press is a circular shaped beaker usually made of glass that has a lid, plunger and a fine metal or plastic mesh filter. There are many varieties but what I just described is what most look like. They can come in stainless steal or plastic like mine. I like the style I have because of it's neat retro look and the color matches the rest of my kitchen. Because I am a devotee to my dear french press I will tell you that it makes a much better cup of coffee than the regular 'ol drip. I swear my life on it! The flavor is so rich and so pure it's like you are tasting all it's flavors for what they really are. If you join the french press club like I have take take my advise and use the following steps on how to use your french press...

1// First thing you need to know before you even going about making coffee in your french press is that your coffee needs to be ground course. Very important otherwise the grinds will just go right through the mesh filter. Unfortunately you it's really rare to find already course ground coffee in the grocery store so you will likely need to buy whole bean and grind it yourself right there at the store. Most grocery stores carry whole bean and have grinders right in the coffee isle. If you have a grinder at home than you are just plan 'ol awesome in my books. Grinding beans right before using them is the best thing you can ever do and you will be singing sweet songs when you sip that cup of joe. Course ground coffee is the most fundamental when creating a relationship with your press pot.

2// Boil water. Easy enough. Use a tea pot or just a pot. I use my regular water from my tap but if you don't care for your tap water then use bottled water. If your tap water tastes funny then for sure you coffee will as well.

3// Scoop your coffee into the french press. 1 tablespoon for each 4 ounces of water. For example, my french press hold 24oz of water but typically I brew about 16oz of coffee so that means I do 4 tablespoons of coffee. This formula works very well. Stay true to it. If you prefer weaker coffee then go ahead and use this formula and then just add some extra water after you have already made the coffee. If you end going less on the grinds of coffee then the ratio will be disrupted and over-extraction will take place which means bitter coffee! Noooooo.

4// Now it's time to put the hot water into the french press over the coffee grinds. Give it a stir with a plastic or wooden spoon especially if you have a glass french press! You don't want to crack it.
Note: In the cooler months you might want to run hot water from your sink and fill up your french press to "warm it up". This is just incase the glass doesn't crack when pouring that boiled water into a cold glass. Beware!

5// Place lid on top with the plunger pulled all the way up. And let the coffee steep in the hot water for 4 minutes. I like to twist the lid so that the spout is cover to keep in the steamy heat!

6// Then you can slowly push the plunger down, pushing the course ground coffee to the bottom. Easy as pie!

7// Pour yourself a beautifully rich cup of coffee and fix it to your fancy. ENJOY!

If ya'll have any question I'd be happy to answer them in the comments below.

xoxo.