We survived the Halloween week. Kalli enjoyed dressing up as a Spider Queen, then Little Red Riding Hood, then Spider Queen revisited, and then a spider. Grant enjoyed dressing up as a skunk, then a frog, and then a skunk again.
(Grant is the skunk, and Kalli the Spider Queen. Poor Kodee (the frog). I'm not sure if Kalli thought she was holding onto her brother, but Kodee definitely did not want any help from her. I didn't realize this was going on until after the pictures were taken. Sorry, Kim.) Between a party at the library, Kalli's preschool and playgroup, a mom and me group, a ward activity, a downtown Spooktacular, and trick-or-treating on Halloween night, my kid's got a lot of chances to dress up and received armfuls of candy.
(Kalli as the Spider Queen. Her idea.)
I'm awful though, because I gave away all the received candy to trick-or-treater's that came our door (sans chocolate). I kept all the chocolate and will be gladly eating a piece daily until it is no more. But, I gave away the smarties, suckers, skittles, caramels, etc., to the kids that came a knocking. Poor kids, though, because we ran out of candy early (I did buy some extra chocolates to hand out) and even though we turned off the lights, and locked the doors, we had some hopeful candy searchers ring the doorbell. You should have seen the face of an (I'm guessing) eight year old when I told him I was out of candy. He was dejected. But, really, what is one more piece in that large pillowcase filled with candy. Really?!?
Speaking of caramel, I made some caramel apples tonight that turned out divine. My only complaint? I spent an hour cleaning up my kitchen prior to the caramel making, only to have it destroyed within minutes. And, since I spent so much time cleaning earlier, I had no desire to clean it up again. So, I blog instead.
I love caramel apples. They are one of my favorite treats. Caramel is so yummy. Especially when it is homemade, and I have a great (and easy!) recipe to share. Please, if you are going to make caramel apples, use this recipe instead of melting store bought caramels. You will not be disappointed.
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup karo syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
dash salt
1 ts vanilla
Melt butter in saucepan. Add sugars and salt and bring to boil, constantly stirring. Add milk, blend. Bring to boil, stirring constantly, for 12-15 minutes or until it has reached a firm-ball stage (250 degrees Fahrenheit). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Yum-freakin'-O!
Kalli agrees.
Another great recipe I tried last week was for Cranberry-Pecan Scones (the recipe calls for Walnuts, but I don't get along with walnuts, so I substituted pecans.)
If you'd like the recipe, let me know. They are made with 100% whole wheat, and cane sugar. They tasted good to me, but if you're not used to cooking with wheat in your desserts, you might not be a fan.
Last, but not least, on my fun list of things I have been up to, is that I purchased this oldie, but goodie, from the Deseret Industries. I plan to use to to organize some of my craft tools.
Grant was dusting it off for me. Yuck! I still can't believe it was donated with dust, cobwebs, rust, and a general, overall yuckiness. I spent two hours scrubbing it clean. Double Yuck! But, now it sits in my craft closet, tools tucked nicely in its drawers, waiting for me to label its contents. I can't pass up an old piece. Especially if it organizes. I think the prior owner used it to organize parts for radio making, but I'm not sure. I'll try to remember to post an after when I have it finished. I'm telling you, my list of projects is long.
6 comments:
Those caramel apples look sooo yummy! I think it is so cute that she thought of the spider queen idea! How fun!
That costume was her idea? I wonder where her inspiration came from? It's such a unique choice, and it turned out really cute! Recycling candy sounds like a great idea as long as your kids let you get away with it. You are passing on the sugar rush to other mothers, and keeping your kids calm. It's a win-win!
I say overshare all you want!!!!!!!! :) I am sure Levi was just teasing anyway! I agree with you blogs are for the blogger anyway. I plan on printing out my blog into books each year. Also, I really want to eat one of your caramel apples! How do you get your pictures on your blog to show up so big?
Carolanne- I should have said 'her concept, my execution'. She wanted to be a spider, then a spider queen, and I put it all together.
Jenny - blogger gives you the option now of displaying your image as extra large. Since this option has been available, I always choose it. I changed the size of my main wrapper so it can handle the large photos. I like them bigger.
You look like quit the cook. Your Carmel apples look amazing. Your kids look great in their Halloween costumes hopefully we will see you more at play group
Did you get your organizer done? I would love to see what you did!
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