5 great fall fingerfood ideas!

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and with all the craziness of the holidays comes so much prep time. What if I told you that you could cut down on some of the time in the grocery store? You can order all these things on Amazon Pantry and have them delivered to your home in time for the big day! Plus click here to find out how you can get $10 off your first order!

So to help you out, here are 5 Fall Fingerfoods Ideas the can save your sanity and keep the munchers busy until the turkey is done!

1. Mini Bruscetta - These are great little appetizers! You simply take a can of Cento Caponata and a package of New York Style Bagel Crisps. Place about a teaspoon of the caponata on each of the bagel crisps to make a beautiful display! You can also top them with a little cheese and pop them in the oven for a minute or 2, just long enough to melt the cheese.

2. A bowl of olives is always a welcome site! These pitted black olives are my favorites! Or put them on a charcuterie board with cheese, veggies and crackers! Also, supply some service toothpicks to keep fingers out of the bowl 😀

3. Bread with Oil and Vinegar Dip - Pick up a loaf of french bread and slice it into 1/2 or 1 inch slices. Mix together equal parts Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar in a ramekin or small bowl. Add salt, pepper and italian seasonings. This looks really nice on a platter with the dip in the middle and the bread in a sort of wreath around it.  Guests can give it a stir and then dip their bread. The was inspired by a fancy restaurant we visited where they did this. It's been a favorite since.

4. Multi-layer dip - Just layer in a pie plate or any small serving dish and serve with chips or crackers. You'll want to do a layer each of refried beans, queso, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce and top with sour cream, salsa and some olives for garnish.

5. Chicken salad bites - This is a family favorite! This one is really simple and my family loves it! All you need is some canned chicken, mayo, mustard, a little pickle juice or pickles and seasonings of your choice. You will want to drain the chicken and I like to add just enough of the mayo and mustard to make a paste like consistency but you may like your chicken salad a little smoother. I add a little pickle juice from whatever pickles we have or chop up a few pickles and add them. Then add salt, pepper and I like a dash of garlic and onion powder. You can then chill this or serve it right away. It's awesome on crackers or on french bread!

So there you have it. 5 super easy ideas to have out on the table to munch on while the turkey is still in the oven! If you try any of these please let me know. I'd love to see your results!

THM Sugar free Pink Floof (S)

I've been doing the THM lifestyle for about 2 years now. THM is Trim Healthy Mama. This, however, is my first THM-ified recipe.  I can't give all the details of the recipe because it's based on a recipe from the THM cookbook. However, I can tell you that I created the rest myself. I LOVE jello salad! It's basically jello and cool whip which equals a ton of sugar. And since I've been off sugar for 2 years and have really bad detox symptoms when I eat it I shy away from a lot of southern favorites.

So when I tried out the recipe for Lemon Pucker Gummies from the new cookbook (pg. 397) and discovered the consistency was like jello I had a total clarity moment.

In recent post on Facebook groups someone suggested replacing the 2 cups of liquid in the recipe with an equal amount of Bai5. So I did that and let the "gummies" gel up. After that, I got out my immersion blender and blended about a cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 packs of truvia into whipped cream. Then using a fork and knife chopped the jello up. Added the whipped cream to the jello and mixed it until it looked like pink floof. Actually it came out more purple.

The gummies on their own are a fuel pull but adding the whipped cream makes this yummy dessert an S.

Recipe: Pumpkin Apple Butter

I got this recipe years ago from a friend and I honestly can't find the recipe. And I've googled it too. But I tried it again today from memory and it was totally yummy just the same :) I don't think it's very easy to mess up so spice it up however you like.

So here's my "off the cuff" recipe for Pumpkin Apple Butter

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 can unsweetened apple sauce (I used the pumpkin puree can to measure)
1/4 cup brown sugar
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste (I did about 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon)

Mix all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Heat at medium to medium high (4-6 on my range) for about 5 minutes. Stir almost constantly. When it's thoroughly heated let it cool down a bit and serve. That's it!

How easy is that? It is so yummy on biscuits. And I'm tempted to try making fried pies with this as the filling. You might want to add more like 1/2 cup of brown sugar if you like it sweeter. I used unsweetened apple sauce so it didn't come out as sweet as the time I made it before. One time I tried apple sauce with cinnamon already in it. It's a very flexible recipe. The basic thing is equal parts pumpkin puree and apple sauce.

Makes a great little gift!

I linked this on:

Granny's Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

(source) - this is not a photo of my cookies. I only make them at Christmas, as they are too deadly to have around.

This is an all time family favorite. I make these cookies every year for Christmas and cookie exchanges. I've heard them called everything from "Cow patties" to "PooPoo Cookies" but we always called them Chocolate Oatmeal cookies.

This is the recipe that my Granny always used. I have never had these not turn out right. So here ya go.

Granny's Chocolate Oatmeal "No-Bake" Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of cocoa
1/4 stick of butter (2Tbsp)
1/2 cup of milk
2 cups of oatmeal
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring (I have on occasion used hazelnut flavoring)

Mix sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a pot. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, then the vanilla and oatmeal. Make sure to to mix it well. Then drop spoonfuls of the mixture on to wax paper/parchment and let them harden. Done!

A couple notes:

1. If when you finish mixing it seems really, really runny (like syrup) add some more oatmeal. 
2. These take very little time to make. However, if you need the setting time to go faster, like maybe you are suppose to be at a cookie exchange in a few hours :) , pop them in the freezer for a few minutes.
3. These things are seriously deadly. Don't keep them around the house because you will seriously eat too many. 

So there ya go. Enjoy!

Easy Cookies and Cream Bar

My hubby is a sucker for those brand name Cookies and Cream candy bars. So for Valentine's Day I made him a whole batch of homemade Cookies and Cream Bar candy. It's super simple but it's really yummy. I think I actually like it better than the brand name. The whole batch cost me around $3. The almond bark is on clearance at our Target right now. It's not in high demand after the holidays. So I got it for like $1.75. And then the cookies were like $2 for the pack but we are using only half.

So here's what you need:
1/2 package of oreos or store brand sandwich cookies
1 pack of white almond bark

Get out your jelly roll pan/cookie sheet or whatever flat pan you want to use. Spray it with non-stick cooking spray. This may not be necessary but I did it just to be safe. Now put your 1/2 package of cookies in to a ziploc bag, seal it and let out your aggression. Break the cookies into small pieces. How small is up to you. Set that aside.

You'll need to melt the almost bark according to the package. I did it in the microwave but you can do it in a double boiler or over really low heat. You microwave it for 1 minute and then continue until it's melted. Check it every 15 seconds to stir it. Once it's melted you can pour it on to your cookie sheet. Spread it out with a rubber spatula if you need to. Get your bag of crushed up cookies and sprinkle them over the melted almond bark. At this point, I put the cookie sheet in to the freezer and left it there for about 10 minutes. After you pull it out of the freezer, break it into pieces and voila! Cookies and cream candy. This makes a lot of candy. It easily filled 1/2 a gallon size zipper bag. So it would be really good for a class treat or even for teachers gifts.