The Best of Fall

I love fall. I mean, yes, I enjoy summer & the beach & the warm sun. But, I fall in love with fall. I love the fall colours & the lovely clothes. I cannot get enough of the smells of fall..the leaves, the pumpkins, the warm tea, the candles. Everything.

So in honour of this time of year I am posting about some of my favourite fall things. Thank you, Pinterest.

All the best things <3

It looks so inviting & cozy. Sigh.

Fall in France. So lovely! Look at those trees!

Imagine coming home from work to this. How could you be anything but cheery!

Cabin in the woods. Imagine all the wonderful fall smells! Oh the leaves!

Gorgeous. This is why I want a fall wedding.

Books AND Fall...does life get better? Oh, wait. It does. Add this...

Things just got better. Look at that coffee, would you!

Apples & cider, oh my!

AND-you get to wear things like this! Perfect!

And, things like this!

Fall food...yum. You can bet I will be testing out this recipe for Apple Cider Pancakes!

And, of course, some Guinness Stew for those chilly fall evenings!

And, Pie for Thanksgiving! MMMMM!

I, of course, have a "The Best of Fall" Pinterest Board. I am sure I will be happily "pinning" away over there with all sorts of fall goodness! So, head on over there for more fall inspiration :)

Happy Fall!

Emily xo

p.s. today's my first day of school...tuck in a prayer for me, please & thank-you!

Black Bean Brownies

Now I know what you are thinking...but I promise, they are not disgusting. I am trying to not eat sugar, or at least drastically limit my intake. I came across this recipe on Youtube actually, on Meghan Rosette's channel. Click here for the video she made on how to create these brownies.

Anyway, I made these the other day, and of course forgot to take pictures while I was making them. Sorry. But, they are not bad at all. They are not sweet really, but I will vouch for the fact that they do a good job of curbing a craving for a sweet dessert.

They have no flour or sugar, and are fabulous for not having either of those ingredients! So, here is the recipe (I did make some changes from Meghan's original recipe.)

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans (I used black canned turtle beans)
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup of honey
1/2 cup of apple sauce (unsweetened)
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
Pinch of salt
Grated, unsweetened chocolate.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Using a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients (besides grated chocolate) until smooth.
3. Grease a square, 9"x9" baking pan, and pour in the mixture. Grate chocolate on top (as much as desired).
4. Place on oven, and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, and brownies seem to be pulling away from the sides of the pan. Turn after 15.
5. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

I ate mine with some 0% sugar strawberry yogurt and it was so delicious. It would also be good with sugar free ice cream, or frozen yogurt.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy them! I will insert pictures next time I bake them. Sorry I forgot this time.

-Emily xo

Butter Tart Squares

Every Christmas my boyfriend only asks for one thing-baking! So this year, of course, I left it 'til the last possible minute. In my baking frenzy I had every intention of making him butter tarts (one of his favourite sweets), but I ran out of time. In search of a lazy baker's replacement I found a recipe for butter tarts squares. They turned out beautifully and were so, so good!

I wanted to share the recipe with you in case you have a hankering for something sweet on this beautiful Saturday.

What you're gonna need to grab:
Ingredients:
-Flour
-White & Brown Sugar
-Butter
-Eggs
-Raisins
-Baking Powder
-Vanilla
-Salt

Equipment:
-9"x9" or 8"x8" baking pan
-oven that is pre-heated to 350 degrees F
-2 mixing bowls
-Measuring cups and spoons
-Spatula/wooden spoon
-Pastry cutter

What you're gonne do:
The Base:
1 cup of flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter

Combine the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl and, using a pastry cutter, but in the butter until cubbed. Stir everything together using a wooden spoon. Then, press into your baking pan and bake @ 350F for 15 minutes.

The Topping:
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup packed brown sugar
2Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup raisins (if you like less, you can add less)

In a bowl, beat your eggs; add melted butter. Mix in vanilla and brown sugar and stir well. In a second bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt. Stir well. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, slowly, and stir well. Add in raisins.

After 15  minutes remove the base from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then, pour topping mixture over the base and put it back into the oven. Bake for another 20-15 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until top springs back when touched.

Let cool once done. They are best after covered and refrigerated.

recipe adapted from http://www.canadianliving.com/food/baking_and_desserts/butter_tart_squares.php

I hope you enjoy the squares! Let me know how they turn out!

Prayers,

Em xo 

Good Ol' Homemade Pizza

Growing up, we had pizza pretty well once a week. It was most definitely a crowd pleaser at out home and my Mom was a master at making it. I wanted to share with you the most delicious pizza crust recipe, that is so incredibly easy you will be amazed.

Pizza Crust

1Tbsp. yeast (I use quick rise yeast)
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
2 1/2 cup flour

1. Mix together the yeast, water, sugar, salt and vegetable oil in a large bowl.
2. Slowly add the flour to the mixture.
3. Combine it all into a large doughy ball (don't be afraid to use your hands!) and let sit for a minimum of 5 minutes, covered with a clean dish towel.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toppings:

Once the dough has sat for 5 minutes you can now remove it from the bowl and stretch it to the appropriate size for your pan. This recipe makes a 9"x13" rectangle sized pizza (I use a cookie sheet as the pan).
Grease your pan, and place the stretched dough on it and continue to pull the dough to all the outside edges and fold over the edges like you would a pie crust. You can also cut long, slender pieces of your favourite cheese and place that in the folds as you go around the outside for a stuffed crust.
Now you are ready to add sauce! I usually just use pasta sauce as opposed to pizza sauce because I find it adds more flavour, but you can use whatever you like. Make sure to get the sauce to the very edges of the crust.
You are now ready to get creative and you can add whatever toppings you like to your pizza.

Pop your creation into the oven and let it bake for appropriately 15 minutes, or until the edges and bottom are golden brown.

Enjoy this quick and easy pizza and let me know what you think.

Prayers,

Emily x

Pumpkin Muffins- The Most Delightful!

Okay, so this may be a wee bit late since it is November 21st, and here in Canada Thanksgiving is long over and we are awaiting snow, which surprisingly, has yet to arrive! However, I am a firm believer that pumpkin things are always delicious and need not only be eaten in fall.

This past weekend I went on a five hour drive with my younger brother to visit my younger sister who is away at University. Her request- bring me delicious things. So I got into baking mode and created some things to take with me. I had some left over pumpkin that I had wanted to use, so I thought muffins would be a wonderful way to use that up, and I went on a hunt for a pumpkin recipe. I combined a few that I found and created one delicious batch of pumpkin raisin muffins.

Without further ado, here is my recipe:

Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup canned pumpkin 

1 1/4 cup flour

1/3 tsp baking powder

2/3 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ginger

2/3 tsp. salt

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup raisins

1. Mix together sugar and oil until well combined.

2. Add egg and pumpkin. Mix well.

3. Sift all dry ingredients into separate bowl and mix well.

4. Add alternatively with water to the pumpkin mixture.

4. Stir in raisins (feel free to add more then the 2/3 cup if you like raisins!)

5. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

-This recipe makes 12 muffins, and takes a total time of about 40 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these tasty treats, we sure did! Let me know what you think.

Many prayers,

Em xo

Friday Oh Friday

Happy Friday Internet!

It is freezing here today-typical Canada. And as I was sitting at work I heard this strange noise and looked out the window. The sun was shining and looking lovely and there was snow falling! Snow...It's October 12th. I am so not ready for snow!

But, it stopped about 2 seconds later. Whew!

Today I wanted to share with you a recipe for a warm lovely beverage for a Friday night. Who doesn't like to kick back and relax on a Friday evening with a big glass of wine, or a beer? But, if you're like me and want to cuddle up with something warm, then a beer or some wine is just not going to cut it when it is freezing outside. So, what we truly need it something warm and alcoholic. Right?

So, let me know what you think of this little puppy!

Toasty Warm:

1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
1 oz. Butterscotch Ripple Schnapps
Hot Chocolate (as much as your little heart desires in your mug)
Whipped Cream

Ok so what you're going to do in make some hot chocolate in a mug. You can use Coffee also, but if you're like me, you won't want Coffee at night. I really like the Tim Hortons' Hot Chocolate that you can purchase at any Tim's. But, any Hot Chocolate will do. Once you have it mixed with the water or milk in your mug you had the Irish Cream and the Schnapps. Mix all those together and top with Whipped Cream.

You can also add Grand Marnier or Kahlua if you prefer. Or, add them in addition to the Irish Cream and Schnapps.

I hope you enjoy it as you kick back and relax this Friday night!

Cheers,

Em xo