A Third Thursday Recipe!

Happy Thursday! It has cooled down here in Illinois, and I am thrilled... makes me want to stay inside and bake breads and cook soups and snuggle by the roaring fireplace.

Today is the Third Thursday of the month (eek, can't believe it!), and I'm again jumping in line with the Hearts at Home Bloggers. This month we are linking up our favorite fall recipes or traditions. We Pfeiffers are admittedly bad about tradition~ we are a sporadic bunch that rarely do the same thing twice. Some days I feel remiss about that, wishing we had more things on our list of traditions, but on the other hand, life is always new and entertaining.

We do, however, have lots of recipes that come back around. When it gets to be fall, I am in heaven. You start talking pumpkin, ginger, or apple, and this girl is drooling!! Unfortunately for me, Tracey isn't quite so in love with all the warm flavors that fall brings. How on earth did I marry a guy who doesn't like soup or pumpkin?! (Add that to the list of things where we fall on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. It's a LONG list...) I am discovering that my Remy loves all of these flavors, so there is some progress. And just because I'm the only one enjoying it by no means means that I won't be making them. I just eat them all. (Therein lies the trouble, I guess.)

The recipe I thought I would share is one that I could quite possible live on. Are you familiar with the wonder that is the  Gingersnap cookie?!  This recipe comes from my sweet friend Karen, who happens to be best friends with my momma. These are really simple to whip up and make the house smell as good as they taste... perfect with a cup of strong coffee and good conversation, which always happens at Karen's house.

Gingersnaps~

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg, slightly beaten

Combine sugar, flour, salt, soda & spices; stir lightly to mix. Cut in shortening to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in molasses and egg. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in sugar. Place on ungreased baking sheet; bake at 350* for about 10 minutes. Remove from sheet immediately. See, so easy!!

I hope you will try this recipe and also 'hop' over to Jill's blog to see who else from the Hearts team links up today~ I can't wait to see what other goodies they come up with!



Happy Monday! I just dropped Halle off for preschool and am home relishing just a few hours of alone time. What do you do when it's so quiet? First thing I brewed a strong cup of coffee (my third for the morning, if we're counting, but it's just part of the routine!), and now I'm sitting down to spend a few minutes with y'all. I really do love the fall, getting back into a routine and to reconnect with some of you more regularly. Summer was a blur!

Over the summer I started working at a bakery a couple of days every week. It is crazy fun, and I don't think it really counts as work because I love it so much. But in order to continue working two afternoons during the school year, it means that Trace has the littles and much of the dinner prep two days a week.

To make it easier on him, one habit I'm getting more into is meal planning. I love having everything planned out for the week, but especially on Thursdays and Fridays when I'm at the bakery until 5 and Tracey needs to get dinner rolling. Plus I kind of feel like the Proverbs 31 woman, 'rising while it is still night and providing food for her household'... seems like great stewardship of time and resources to have a plan in place!



My plan of attack involves making a detailed plan in my planner (Have I told y'all before how much I love my Erin Condren Life Planner?!) and then making a grocery list. I usually do this on Sundays, so that the week is mapped out. It is such a good feeling to see it on the page!

While I am definitely inclined to be in the kitchen, what I'm finding as I talk with friends is that menu planning is an intimidating task for some. Please know that it doesn't have to be! I cook and bake almost every day, just because I like to, but I am all about simple and meals that a)use regular ingredients that everyone will actually eat, b)don't cost a lot, and c)are quick and painless to throw together. I have started using my crock pot and freezer meals a lot, and it is so nice to have everything ready to go in the evenings!

So I thought that I would share with you a simple meal that I made last week. I really try to make things that use up stuff I already have, and the ingredients for this Pizza Soup were all here just waiting to be used!

Pizza Soup~

Ingredients:
1 large jar Pasta Sauce
2 jars water (just refill the pasta jar)
Italian Seasoning, to taste
Pepperoni
Sausage, cooked
2 cups pasta (I used penne, but whatever you have on hand)
1 cup green pepper
1 cup chopped mushrooms
any other pizza veggies you like!
shredded mozzarella

Directions: Put the pasta sauce, water, seasoning, and meats into the crock pot. Set on low for 4-6 hours.  One hour before serving, add the pasta and any veggies that you want. Put into bowls and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Easy Breezy!



I also made these breadsticks that I found on pinterest from Grateful Belly. They come together pretty quickly, but because I was working in the afternoon, Halle and I made them in the morning. I just had Trace warm them up in the oven right before dinner.  They were really simple, and Halle had a great time with the twisting and dipping them in butter.

So how do you stay on top of the weekly menu? Do you have a system in place? There are lots of great printables that I've seen on pinterest and other places to keep things organized... I'd love to know what works for you! I'm also planning on posting some more simple recipes in the days to come.

I hope you have a blessed start to your week~ see you soon, sweet friends!

Monday

Happy Monday, lovelies! I hope y'all had a great weekend. I was actually down most of it with a sinus headache... no fun, but I'll survive. Thankfully I have an amazing husband who allowed me to be extremely lazy and rest while he managed (and by managed, I mean wrestled!) the little ones.

Before the headache hit, Friday night we had a Girl's Craft night at our church. This is the second time we've done it, and we just get together to make a few different crafty projects, hang out, and of course eat. And I have to tell you about the snack that just might change your life... (drumroll...) Cake Batter Puppy Chow. This stuff is amazing, and I seriously ate so much that I was nearly sick. So good and easy! I ran into the recipe on pinterest, and threw it together in just a few minutes.

Photo courtesy sixsistersstuff.com

My brain is already thinking of different cake mixes, cereals, and whatever else I could throw into a mix like this... a whole new world.

We also made some homemade laundry detergent, which is something I've been wanting to try for a while now. I have been using it (in my HE, front-loading washer!) for the last several days, and it's working great! I am excited about saving money in this area of the budget, as we know the laundry won't slow down any time soon.

Looks like we're in for a rainy week here... But at least it's looking a little less hectic than the last few, for which I'm extremely grateful. I'm looking forward to spending this rainy day inside playing Strawberry Shortcake with my curly girl. We have some macaroons in the oven and tea brewing~ sounds like a great little tea party is on the horizon for me! Have a great day!