Hello October!

I know I say this all the time, so please forgive the redundancy, but I love Fall!

Today, I decorated the house for Fall...

...and started my morning with a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Sbux!

 

My friend Jessie is having a birthday get-together today with her husband and their families, and since it's Fall I wanted to make something yummy and perfect to take.  I have been craving everything pumpkin lately, and what better to take to a Fall party than pumpkin pie, especially when you're the fourth generation with a pumpkin pie family recipe (thank you Grammy!)?!  But pumpkin pie can be messy to eat, and one pie will only feed about 8 people (6 if you're like my family and want your slices big!) so I decided to make hand-pies.

If you don't know what a hand-pie is, it's a small, hand-held foldover pie that is about 2 or 3 bites big.  Perfect to eat at a party, not messy, and you can make a bunch of them out of one pie recipe.  Oh, and they are pretty dang delicious!


Here's what you need:
(this recipe will make about 40-45 handpies or one regular-sized pie)
1 cup pumpkin (either canned or fresh)
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

In my picture, you can see a can of pumpkin and then a cup of fresh pumpkin in the container with the purple lid.  My family has always made it with fresh pumpkin, but canned pumpkin works just as well.  Your choice!

Oh, and PS: I'm using my upcycled cookie sheet to message holder to hold my recipe card.  It's great, hands-free so your recipe card doesn't get all gross, and soooo easy to make!

Okay, so lets make some pies!

 First, mix the pumpkin, sugar, milk, and eggs in a mixing bowl until combined.

 Then add your flour, salt, and spices, and combine again.  If you're using fresh pumpkin, your mixture will be a little lumpy, and no matter what it's going to be soupy and runny--that's a good thing!

If you're making a regular-sized pie, pour it into a 9 inch pie crust.
If you're making mini handpies, pour into a baking dish (mine is 8 inches).

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.  While it's baking, I made my mini handpie crusts.  You have to bake the filling before you put it into the mini handpie crusts because it will be too liquidy if you don't.  That does not make for a very yummy (or clean) handpie.

So now it's crust time!  I used 4 9-inch premade pie crusts, which makes about 40 mini pie crusts, but only if you take the scraps, reroll them out, and continue cutting crusts until the scraps are too small to use.  I rolled out my dough onto a floured countertop and used a standard drinking glass to cut my rounds (a biscuit cutter would work just as well, but I don't have one lol) 

 Here are all my beautiful rounds!

 And here is my very yummy pie filling just out of the oven.  If you take it out and it's still liquidy in the middle, put it back in for about 7 minutes.  It will continue to finish firming up as it stands cooling, but you want it pretty firm when you take it out.  (Please ignore my dirty teapot and stove...)

 I put a little blob of filling onto each round (roughly 1/2 Tbs)...

 ...then folded it over and used a fork to pinch and seal the edges.  You might have a little pumpkin filling or liquid come out, and that's okay--just adjust how much you put in the next one so you don't waste too much squished out filling.  :)

 I used a paring knife to cut 2 small slits in the top of each pie, then brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar before baking.  Then it's back into the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees, until it's flaky and golden brown.

 Just out of the oven!

 And here they are, all finished, warm, and delicious. 

So now that my house is all decorated for Fall, smells like spices, and I have warm little pumpkin pie bites to fill my belly, I feel like Fall is truly here!  Happy October!


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Autumn blessings

I love this time of year for so many reasons, but especially the weather and the colors. It's beautiful outside, it's perfect sweater weather, and there are so many fun fall activities to go do! H and I have been enjoying spending our weekends together, going out and having Fall fun. A few weekends ago we went to the Grand Rapids Applebutter Fest with a few of my friends from work. It was an absolutely gorgeous day (but a little warmer than we expected for October) and it definitely put us in the Fall mood! Last weekend we went to watch JJ and Jaxson play soccer and it was gorgeous--the drive there was out in the country and the leaves were so colorful. It's been great to enjoy the weather, spend time with friends, and to just enjoy being together.

Work has been a little rough. I'm finally adjusted to working such long days, but the kids have been absolutely chaotic lately (it's like there's a permanent full moon!) and my patience is wearing thin. I'm so discouraged by their lack of respect, not only for me but for each other and for their own education, and some days it's so hard to be excited about working. I've been listening to KLOVE radio on the way to work to put me in a positive mood and to spend some time with God to start my day. I can definitely feel Him working in my spirit and making me feel more uplifted when I get to work. Everyone around me seems to be so negative about things all the time, and I can't bear it; I need God's positive spirit and encouragement to withstand it all and to keep me going every day. Thankfully, my work BFF, Alysia, has been so wonderful to talk to and to be a true confidant at work. Some days, I honestly don't know what I'd do without her! I've also started praying in my classroom in the morning, not just for me but also for the kids and for God's spirit to be in my classroom all day. I can feel things changing, and I am so thankful to have God's presence in my life to get me through things.

The family is doing well. Mindy and Carter are both healthy and growing strong. She hasn't put on as much weight with him as I would have expected, but she definitely has a cute belly that I love to talk to. I'm so excited to be an aunt! Mom and Dad are both doing well, too. They are going to make the most amazing grandparents, and I can't wait to see how much Dad's heart melts when he first holds Carter! (Although if he cries, I know I will too lol) Her baby shower is coming up, and I can't wait to see all the wonderful things that she gets---Carter is going to be one lucky little boy to be surrounded by so many people who love him! It makes me feel so good to know that H and I will have that same kind of love and support when we start our own family (well a family that consists of more than a few lizards, a snake, and a fish).

Speaking of our own family, I can honestly say that H and I have grown so much closer since moving in together. We talk more, we pray together, and I have learned to appreciate him for so many little things that he does to take care of me. It is such a blessing to have him in my life, and I'm so happy this is the man God has chosen for me to spend my life with. I am also so incredibly proud to be marrying a man who is going to honor our country by serving in the United States Army. I don't care how crazy it's going to make our lives, I wouldn't dream of changing that plan in a heartbeat. I am absolutely willing to sacrifice my own desires to follow the path that God is leading us down, even if that means PCSing every 3 years to a new base, spending more time away from my husband than with him, and moving hundreds of miles away from my family. I truly believe that this is God's plan for us, and I'm willing to follow it--mainly because He definitely knows what's best for us, but also because that's what you do for love. I can't wait to marry this man and start our family!

So overall, life is good. This Autumn has brought about so many blessings and so many things to be thankful for, and it's been wonderful. And while I've been super exhausted from work, I can honestly say that this is an amazing time in my life. Maybe being an adult isn't so bad, especially when you have God's blessings to look forward to!