Welcome Holiday Season!

This week we have been busy getting into the holiday spirit- we visited Castle Rock for their annual StarLighting Festival.  Grandma treated us to the chili supper at the Fire Station followed by a visit to the local chiro for some apple cider & hot cocoa + guess who was there..... SANTA!

Tis the Season! 

Next on the To Do List is packing for the trip back to Iowa.  We'll be packed in the Camry with Hubble, Ash and Scott :) I know they are REALLY looking forward to it.   To prep - I stopped by the library today for a good selection of audio books (hopefully we can all agree on one) 

The choices are.... 

Seems like a pretty varied selection don't you think?  Still to do is packing up all of the necessities to get us through the next week... including Hubble's overnight bag :) 
We're really looking forward to our trip back for Thanksgiving (minus the 12+ hour drive)... can't wait to catch up with family and friends over the next couple of days! I'm sure our schedules will be packed full- so I'll bring back some pics to share with our whirlwind holiday trip!


If you are looking for something to take along to your next holiday gathering... I would recommend this recipe below.... YUM! 
You already know how much I love Iowa Girl Eats... so I'm going to share another recipe I found on her website.  We have been attending Sunday night dinners with friends here in CO (last night was SUSHI- yum! Thanks Rachel!) 

so I brought this along for dessert...

Apple Crisp!   
(I cut this recipe in 1/2 and baked in square pan)

For the Crust:
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats


For the Filling:
3 1/2 cups sliced apples (about 24 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 cup Caramel 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the brown sugar and the next 4 ingredients (through baking soda) until thoroughly combined. Mix in the flour and oats until crumbly. Scoop out 1 cup and set aside. Place the remaining crumbs into your prepared pan and press down firmly to coat the bottom.

3.  Mix apple filling in large bowl and place over crust.  Cover apple filling with carmel sauce (yum!)

4.  Sprinkle with remaining crust crumbs you had set aside. 

4.  Bake 35 minutes until apple mix is bubbling. 

Once again I forgot to take a pic of the finished product... but this got rave reviews from the dinner party crowd... and the pan was scraped clean when I took it home.

Now.. off to do more laundry and finish packing for our trip back to the midwest!

Goooo Broncos! Let's Eat!

I guess I have a little bit of catching up to do.  

Since we last talked we celebrated our first Halloween in Denver which included a pumpkin carving party with some new girlfriends.... can you tell I'm super proud of my little ghost pumpkin!? awww....  

Monday night I spent Trick or Treat volunteering in Parker, CO where their local Senior Center surprised us with a rendition of the Thriller Dance.  LOVE!

I  pulled out my old witch costume that made its last appearance in 2004 at UNI.  Maybe I'm a hoarder, but sometimes those random keepsakes come in handy!

We have also spent a couple of weekends Tebowing.  It's an emotional roller coaster with those Broncos :) Each game gives us a great opportunity to relax and eat though... so I'm turning into a football fan pretty quickly!

The first game we were joined by some fellow Iowa natives for White Corn Chili- the food was the best part since I think the Broncos lost by a million.

We've made this chili a couple of times... super easy and super yummy! Thank you Campbells Soup!

www.campbellskitchen.com

I was excited about our menu choice.

I guess we forgot to take a finished product pic... but trust me, You want to make this.

For the most recent Broncos game we made a trip down to Castle Rock to watch with my die hard bronco fan grandma.  I made some VERY yummy pumpkin bars.  I think they were impressed that I had made something completely from scratch. 

Frosted Pumpkin Cake

Found in Cooking Light Magazine

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
• 2. To prepare cake, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
• 3. Combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, to sugar mixture; beat well after each addition. Add pumpkin; mix well. Fold in flour mixture. Spread batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
• 
• 4. To prepare the frosting, combine 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and cream cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until well combined. Spread frosting evenly over top of cake.

Enjoy! 

I also got to spend some QT with these fabulous ladies.  We adventured out last weekend for the - Art Walk on Santa Fe and then some great convos at Gov's

And that wraps up my last couple of weeks.  At least the fun stuff.  The job search continues for me, and Jason is  traveling this week at 6th Grade Camp... haha, so glad I'm not there.

PS- I think most of you Iowans enjoyed sleet, snow, and rain today.  It was 40+ degrees and SUNSHINE ALL DAY today in Denver.  Thank you Colorado :)  

You can count on me rubbing it in your face anytime the weather here beats your local forecast! 60's are in the forecast for the weekend! Yipeee!!!!!