Weekend Festivities.....

Well, it was a wonderful weekend full of family, friends, fun AND lots of food! Just the way I like it! I spent the entire day in the kitchen on Saturday cooking and baking. I had the house to myself (well, minus constantly tripping over the dogs, while they waited for any amount of food to drop) the stereo was cranked up, and the coffee pot was keeping me company.

I did have an egg sandwich to start off my day.
4 PPV



We were going to a friends house for dinner and to hang out around the fire pit. Yay, Fall! Football, fire pits, food and friends! Just what I've been waiting for! :)

I found a recipe on Pinterest that was screaming Fall, and screaming my name, but I knew if I made them, I had to take them someplace, or I would eat them all! I love anything Pumpkin, so I felt these were created just for me!





I was right! They were delicious! I used the vegetable oil, like the recipe said, but I will try them again this week with applesauce in place of the oil. That will make them only 2 PPV, instead of 3 PPV.

Pumpkin Poppers
3 PPV

Here is a picture of the final step. You are supposed to roll them in butter, then dip them in cinnamon sugar, but I just dipped the tops in the butter and cinnamon sugar. Next time I will dip just the tips, because it will be plenty!

I can't wait to make these again, and they seemed to be a hit with everyone else too!




The next thing I made was Ina Gartens Herb Roasted Onions. I watched her make these on the Food Network one time, and I have made them several times since.






This is a really easy recipe, and the red onions give this dish a super sweet flavor! The only PPV is the Olive Oil, so you just have to decide how many servings you want out of each recipe. A little of these go a LONG way! At Saturday Nights dinner, the hostess made BBQ Shredded Pork. The pork was super tender after it cooked in the crock pot all day long. Soooo good! Some guest decided to put the onions on their sandwich! Yum!

Roasted Onions

I wanted to make something else a little more substantial to go along with the pork. I decided on Roasted Veggies. I'll roast just about anything. I found a recipe, again on Pinterst, that sounded full of flavor. Typically, you can't go wrong with a little salt and pepper and Olive Oil to roast some veggies, but I wanted more. The first time I tried this recipe, I only did potatoes and carrots, but this time I added the brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts for a party? I know. But it seemed a good time to give them and try, and see if anybody I know eats these on a regular basis! Well, it seems as though a few friends were trying these for the first time. I think most were pleasantly surprised! I was.




This gorgeous platter of Fall includes red and white potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and brussels sprouts.

Roasted Veggies



There were lots of goodies to eat at dinner, and I enjoyed it all!

I decided to allow myself an adult beverage.....or two. I was convinced, by others, that vodka was the way to go. I am a wine/beer girl. I had one with club soda and fresh lime. It was good, but went down quick! Then I had one with a concoction of something sweet and red, but calorie free. It was so good............I had one more.

The rest of the evening, we were entertained with good stories around the fire pit, and potato GUNS! I don't even know how to elaborate on that, but it didn't bruise my shoulder the way the 12 gauge gun did a few years back with the same crowd!

It was a perfect Fall Day! I will assume I used my daily points AND my 49 extra too!

SUNDAY FUNDAY WITH THE FAMILY!

My moms birthday was this week. I did take her to lunch on her actual birthday, but she really wanted us all to get together and enjoy her favorite cake. This is a family recipe (my great Grandma's) that my mom always made for my brother and I when we were growing up. It is still a birthday favorite that we both request! It is a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I have NEVER baked a cake from scratch before, so I was a little nervous I was going to mess it up. But it turned out Just Like Mom's!

It didn't even Fall! (get it? Fall???) ahhhhhhhhh





This icing was a chore. You bring it to a boil, then beat the living daylights out of it while you hold the pan in another pan of cold water! But I did it!




I forgot to add the nuts in, and Mom loves nuts! So I just dropped them on the top! Perfect! They nestled right in.





I cut the cake into 16 pieces.
8 PPV
I shared one piece with Mike.

Before cake, we all shared some Papa Murphy's DeLite Pizza! These are sooooo good. And the DeLite pizzas are 5 PPV!





Along with the pizza, I put together a large fruit platter. We never did eat breakfast, and dinner was Greek yogurt and more fruit. I didn't eat the best the last two days, but I think I am good on points as long as I am on my best behavior the rest of the week.

We also watched a crappy football game and drank lots of coffee! I get the coffee thing from my family......We could ALL drink it ALL day long!

My niece and my mom......





Me and the niece!




Happy Birthday Mom!
(she hated this picture! Hee Hee)






Needless to say, I indulged this weekend.

After the game, Tucker and I got out of the house and walked for an hour. He needed it just as much as I did!






"love the life you live, live the life you love"