Pumpkin Butter

One of my co-workers retired today. 

She is a sweet, sweet woman, always lending an ear & flashing a smile.

So, I wanted to make her a little "send-off something" to let her know that she'll be missed. Not really knowing her interests, I decided a food-ish gift was a pretty safe bet. So, I whipped up a batch of pumpkin butter. I mean, who doesn't love pumpkin in the fall?! I even doubled the batch so that I could have a few more gifts to give to friends.

Pumpkin Butter

1 3/4 cups solid pack pumpkin puree

1 cup applesauce

3/4 cup apple juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer approximately 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to containers & chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Add a ribbon & cute card & you're good to go!

I didn't "can" these, I just used the cute lil jars & kept them refrigerated. Just be sure to make that distinction to the recipient
if you're giving them as a gift. Enjoy!

Zesty Lemon Potatoes

Whenever I have the "If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?" conversation with someone, my answer is consistent and swift. "Potatoes."

Hands down, potatoes are my favorite thing to eat, followed closely by ice cream & chocolate. Super healthy, right? Anyway, as a potato-lover, I'm always on the look-out for new potato recipes. And this one was definitely a winner.

Zesty Lemon Potatoes

I just used this recipe as a base and eyeballed all the ingredients. I used a pound-ish of red potatoes, quartered, and boiled them for about 20 minutes. Drain & toss with a bit of olive oil, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt & pepper. Yuuuum!

Giveaway Winner!

A huuuge thank you to Jaclyn 1423 for playing giveaway with all of us. :)

And now for the winner...

Drum roll please....

(Blogger is giving me trouble with uploading the image from random.org, so you're going to have to take my word for it...)

#4!

CelyFrenchie, who loved the silver filigree & red dangle earrings the best, was the lucky winner!

Congrats!

Please e-mail me at jenniferlstout@gmail.com so that I can put you in touch with Jaclyn & you can claim your prize.

Applique Addict

I got on an applique kick a few weekends ago and things got out of hand in a hurry. I had planned to whip up a little something for my niece & nephew, but things kind of escalated from there...so much so that I made a few for a friend's wee one, too!
(Sorry in advance for the photo quality.)

I love this print...

so much that I made a matching t-shirt!

Seriously, how stinkin' cute?!

A little pear onesie for Ms. Sophie. :)

Some sharks for Mr. Matthew.

Something about this one says "CHOMP!"

And some trains, too.

The last lemonade of the summer...

And a fruit bowl.

About my niece & nephew (& my sis-in-law/bro-in-law)...

Have I mentioned that they came to town?

Like, for good?

(Or, at least a good while.)

We are SO excited!!!

I hope you're ready for some photos!

Is he not the cutest?

That hair gets me every time.

What a doll...

Giveaway Time!

Happy news, friends!

The very talented Jaclyn of Jaclyn1423 has so very generously offered up a $10 giveaway to her shop for a lucky Homemade by Jen reader! The winner can spend it however they want, so long as it's in a single transaction. It's good towards any jewelry in the shop (s&h included!), besides Joey's Hot Dog necklaces. 

Here are some of my faves:

My sisters & I have this BFF rock/paper/scissor necklace set.

So fun!

I really love this Drink Me pendant. :)

And this Sparkling Sapphire Pearl & Bead

double-stranded necklace is just adorable.

To enter, head on over to Jaclyn's shop, come back here & leave a comment on this post telling me what you'd use the winnings on. The giveaway will run through Sunday, September 19th & end at midnight. A winner will be chosen at random & announced on
Monday, September 20th. 

Happy shopping!

Hummus Pizza

We tried this hummus pizza the other night and it was deeelish! We did half with and half without cheese. The half without looked a little naked when it came out of the oven, but the hub & I both actually liked it better. Enjoy!

Hummus Pizza

1 10-oz. can refrigerated pizza crust dough

1 cup hummus

Sliced red & green peppers (to taste)

Chopped onion (to taste)

Shredded cheese (optional)

Directions:  Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Roll out pizza crust and place on a baking sheet. Spread a thin layer of hummus over the crust. Arrange sliced peppers and onions over the hummus and top with cheese (optional). Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted in the center. Slice and serve!

Acorn Squash

I made this acorn squash the other night and wanted to share it with you all. I had actually never had acorn squash before, so this was a first in tasting and preparing. 

Acorn Squash

I didn't exactly follow the recipe. Instead, I took the advice of one of the reviewers and cut the acorn squash in half & seeded it.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Put about a tablespoon of butter in each half and spread it around the top edges and inside.  Lightly sprinkle with nutmeg & then about twice as much cinnamon. Add 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar in each half and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

It was pretty darn good. With the nutmeg (which I eye-balled and may have over-done), I felt kind of like it was a bit much after a while & I couldn't quite finish it. But, overall, it was good and seriously easy!
Annnd it screams, "Fall is here!"

Tea Wreath

The hub & I have been on a bit of a tea kick lately and we haven't really been able to find a good way to store the bulky tea boxes in our cabinets. Either they don't all fit, or some get pushed to the very back of the cabinet and we forget which kinds we have. I saw this idea for a tea wreath a while back and put my own spin on it today. Here's what I came up with. (You'll have to forgive me for the lighting in the photos. Sometimes, I can't help but craft in the evening.) :)

I found this circular frame at the store the other day & decided to pick it up, along with some clothespins. 

I painted the frame & the tops of the clothespins...

and hot glued the clothespins in place.

Add some tea bags annnd...

you've got a great, functional display piece!

What do ya think?