Pumpkin Pie Bites: "


These are perfect!!!!


They are really, really easy. Let me show ya.



Of course, it didn’t hurt that I used ready to roll refrigerated pie crust. It comes two to a box and if you roll each round pie crust a little bit thinner with a rolling pin, you can get 24 mini pumpkin-shaped pie crusts out of them. Make sure you use all the dough scraps and re-roll to maximize quantities.



Then, stuff each one in a mini muffin baking pan. This one holds 24.



Press the dough down, in and around the edge of each muffin cup. Make sure the stem for the pumpkin stays sticking out. You’ll notice I alternated cups above. I did this mainly to make sure the pie crusts didn’t touch each other. So I ended up baking these in two batches.



Fill each pie crust with pumpkin filling all the way to the top.



When they come out of the oven, they’ll be puffed up like this. Too bad they didn’t stay that way. That would be pretty darn cute.



But no, after they cool for a few, they’ll fall and be flush with the pie crust.

See… easy mini pumpkin pie bites. These would be really cute at Thanksgiving.



You can even drizzle them with melted chocolate to jazz them up a bit. Just melt some chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. You can also add a little bit of vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Then, transfer the chocolate to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off and drizzle away.

But wait… you say you don’t want to wait until Thanksgiving.

I don’t blame you.

So… pipe some chocolate faces on and make them in October.



Cute!

And I’ll say it again… easy!

Pumpkin Pie Bites

2 refrigerated ready-to roll pie crusts

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter

Optional

1/2 cup chocolate morsels

vegetable oil

re-sealable plastic bags

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box.

Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray. (Make 12 at a time, alternating cups to make sure pie crusts don’t overlap each other.)

Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie.

Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined.

Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Remove pies to cool and repeat with second pie crust. Place the muffin tray in the freezer to cool it quickly for re-use.

Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.

To decorate, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Add a little vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off. Drizzle or draw faces on pies.

Note: The cutter I used was 3 3/4 inches wide, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just use a round cutter around that size or slightly smaller to cut circle shapes out of the dough. Then make stems with the scraps. Press each stem over the edge and down the side of the dough before filling.

Pumpkin pie spice is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.

Enjoy!



"

9-14-09

Betty Crocker Cereal Spooktacular!:

Upload a fun photo that includes a Halloween-themed recipe using General Mills cereal.

One photo will be selected by the kitchen experts to be the star of BettyCrocker.com on Halloween!

Eating Pumpkins!

These look so good and I bet they smell wonderful! Bake something for the fall in your next cooking class.

Annie B's Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
2/3 cup water
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 t baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix ingredients in order with a wooden spoon. Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean, approximately 70 minutes.

Autumn Pumpkin Tureen

1 4-pound pumpkin, washed & dried
2 T vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 slices white bread, toasted and crumbled
6 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded
2 ounces mozzarella, shredded
1 pint half-and-half
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t freshly ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut 2' slice from top of pumpkin and reserve. Remove seeds and fibers. Blend oil and garlic, then rub mixture inside pumpkin and place in a large roasting pan. Alternate layers of toasted crumbs and cheese inside pumpkin. Combine half-and-half, salt, pepper and nutmeg, then pour over layers. Replace pumpkin top and bake for two hours, gently stirring after 1 1/2 hours. Be careful- the pumpkin will be very hot. Serve with french bread or corn chips.

The Best Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup plus 2 T sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground cloves
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 9' unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in a bowl and mix well. Set aside. Combine the pumpkin and eggs in a bowl and mix well. Add to the sugar mixture and mix well. Add the evaporated milk gradually, stir constantly. Pour into the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for another 35-40 minutes or until the pie tests done.

Recipes courtesy of TN Home & Farm Magazine/Fall 2009

Free Fisher Price Print and Color Cards:
I think grand kids would love to receive these from their grandparents.

FREE PRINTABLE GREETING CARDS

Free Fisher Price printable greeting cards for several occasions. There are some really cute Halloween ones!

Thanks Melissa

"

9-14-09

Bat Mobile: "
a



This is not a vehicle for the caped crusader, but rather a hanging mobile! I’ll be periodically featuring recycled projects for Halloween over the next month. In addition to my disdain for plastic crap made in China, I am just frugal.

So here’s an easy project made with thin cardboard. You can use cereal or cracker boxes, or save chipboard from packing materials, like I did here. I think these would also be pretty cut from patterned paper, if you are so inclined. I just cut these from cardboard, poked holes where the eyes should be and hung them to a branch using clear thread. This clear thread looks completely invisible and is light enough for the bats to fly around a bit.



I’m feeling for bats these days after hearing about the decline in the bat population along the east coast. We need these little critters. I’ll try to post some more batty projects over the weekend.

Just click on the image below and print out the template.


"

9-14-09

Spooky Mallows: "These marshmallows from The Decorated Cookie are cute:but this mummy is cuter:I think I need an apothecary jar full of decorated Halloween marshmallows! If you are going to serve them as a treat you need to use a Gourmet Food Writer or the likes, but if you are just going to use them for decorations, like stringing them together to make Halloween tinsel, you could use a sharpie. Just make sure

"

9-14-09

Eye-Normous: "

Halloween is right around the corner!

Time to bring out the spooky, creepy, and scary Nummies!!

Monstrous Eyeballs on the menu!!!

EYE-NORMOUS



~ Boiled Eggs ~ Beet Juice ~ Black Beans ~

Mmmmmm. Yummy.

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE INFO

Items Needed:

Boil your eggs, peel and cool. Cut a tiny hole into one side and press a black bean into it for the pupil. {You can also use olives or whatever you have on hand.} Take a sharp knife and cut a zig-zag pattern or any pattern you would like for the red lines. I used a child’s medicine syringe for the beet juice. {Looks like blood though!! Girl’s were apprehensive when they saw the juice filled syringe!!} You could also use red food coloring. Next carefully apply the beet juice into the tiny cracks. I blotted the excess juice on the egg with a napkin after every completed zig-zag.

I propped the eyes up in glass tea light holders. I have never used those glass tea light holders for their actual purpose!! I got a pack of 12 at Ikea for like $2. Cheap and so handy!!

I am loving coming up with creepy spooky Halloween Nummies!!

Want to see our other Halloween Nummies?

Click HERE

~~~~

~ Bon Ap[petite] ~

"

9-14-09

Take Out Anyone?

I always tried to incorporate one new idea into the activity calendar. I would start with once a month to see if it would be a hit or a miss, if it was a hit I could always incorporate it into the calendar or remove it without much trouble. I can't remember the name of the Activity Director who gave me this great idea, but I owed him a big thank you. I tried this at two different facilities and it was a huge hit at both.

Once a month I brought in a menu from one of the local restarants and with a list of residents with trust accounts, I went to each and asked if they would like me to use some of the money they had to order them lunch to be brought to the facility. I took orders called them in and explained who I was and what I was doing. I had them ring up the the exact totals and seperate tickets. Once done with them the I could add all the orders and take one check or exact amount. Bring back the tickets for each residents account. I gave a list to dietary and the nurses station and residents were escorted to designated area. This was always a huge hit.

Tricia-Rennea, illustrator: Roadmap to Your Dreams

What a wonderful Idea for Everyone!!!!!! Always remember to follow your dreams.

Tricia-Rennea, illustrator: Roadmap to Your Dreams

Not everyone is lucky enough to live somewhere that has a gorgeous fall landscape. So why not bring the fall colors to wherever you are. I think I would try bells instead of beads. Super cute, easy and budget friendly.

Whimsical Autumn Leaves Windcatcher

He looks so loveable!!!!

click below

Free Skeleton Printable

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Skip to My Lou has some pretty cute stuff on her site.

Click Below


Paper Ghost Garland

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These are my favorites!

click below

Candy Corn Garland

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100 Days to Christmas Official Launch!

This site should help everyone get organized and ready for the biggest Holiday of the Year.

click below

100 Days to Christmas Official Launch!

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AD Community

Great place to network.

Click to join AD_Community

Some are Virgin Some are Not

Last week the subject of alcohol came up on AD Community. That got me thinking that you can always make mixed drinks with or without alcohol. It would give residents a chance to try something new and different. Start your Happy Hour with virgin cocktails and near bear and if someone request to have alcohol, ask the nurse if she can get you a doctors order.
I recommend having both cocktails and beer so they have a choice. Serve peanuts or popcorn as well.

Click below for recipe.

Admiral Vernon's Lime Grog

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Continental breakfast

If I were in a Nursing home the worst thing for me would be having to get out of bed early to eat breakfast. So why not serve a continental breakfast like they do at hotels. Bring this idea up at your morning meeting, and maybe dietary can even purchase what you need. You can get fresh fruit at you local supermarket at a good cost if you stick to buying what is on sale.

I'll take a cheese danish and a banana with hot cocoa please

Old Time Radio

It's funny how you never know what may catch someones attention or bring back old memories.
I once had a male resident that would not talk to anyone, did not want to participate in anything. You know the kind. Well one day I put on a record of an Old Time Radio. And it happened! I saw him lean in to listen to it better. That may not mean much to some people but I wanted to yell "I finally found something he liked!"

These should be pretty easy to make then set in a bowl for everyone to enjoy.

These are the cutest Halloween Cupcakes EVER. My favorite is the first one I think I'll name him Albert. I think it would be fun for the residents to make these and then come up with a name for the one they made.

17 Frightfully Good Halloween Cupcakes

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38 free PDF downloadable Pumpkin Stencils from BHG. I don't know about you but FREE is one of my favorite words.

Free Printable Pumpkin Stencils

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hoop dee hoop Bulletin Board

Quilting hoops come in so many sizes and can easily be found at thrift stores, requested on free cycle, or bought new. They can be used in resident rooms or activity room. You can use any fabric on hand or use fabric to go with the seasons or holidays. I think they are adorable and functional.

I have been trying to post as much Halloween ideas as I can. I think it would be fun to do something "Halloweenish" everyday in October.

Click below

Ghost Garland

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Are these great crafts green or budget friendly? I would say both which is usually a great thing for already tight budgets. I'm sure the kitchen uses some cans they can save for you or ask staff and families. If you make these I would love to see pictures.

I love these designs!!!! I could think of several things to do with them.

Creepy Halloween Apothecary

I love these Halloween Labels!!!

The Idea Room: Creepy Halloween Apothecary

These piggy cupcakes are so cute! And they really don't seem to be to hard to make. I think the nose is butterscotch chips. I'm not sure what kind of party I would have with pigs, but I know I would serve pigs in a blanket. I'd love to hear your ideas.
click on link below.

Cake Byte: More CakeSpy Celebrates a Year of Collaboration with Taylored Expressions

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Brain teasers, puzzles, riddles, games and optical illusions.

These can be fun and challenging for Residents and Staff. I like that they are emailed daily as a reminder.
For more information

Every Day Fiction

When I first started in LTC, I worked in an Alzheimer's Unit as an Activity Assistant. Those were some of the best times, not much paper work just me and them spending time together. One of the things I did after lunch was invite them back to the lounge area and read a short story from the Readers Digest. Amazingly it kept their interest and by the time I was done the dining room would be clean and we could move on to our next activity. Here is a site that will email you a short story every day. Try it you might be surprised at the response and it doesn't have to be for Alzheimer's Patients only. Click on title to check it out.

Personalized Party Utencils & Halloween Crafts

I thought these were great and an easy personal touch to any party. And the price is good too. Maybe for Halloween they could be used for eyeballs, brains and other goulish treats. While you are there check out the previous post for Halloween Crafts. I especially like the Ghost Candy Bags and the Pop-Out Card.

Here is a interesting article on Octoberfest or“die Wiesn" as the locals call it. I hope you enjoy it.

Here’s to Oktoberfest! | Stars and Stripes

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These look soooo good and enticing. If it takes food to get them to come to your activity, try these little goodies from living locurto.

FREE Flowers on September 9th

In celebration of Good Neighbor Day on September 9th, participating FTD florists are giving away FREE bouquets to customers. They are encouraging customers to keep one flower from the bouquet and then pass on the rest to brighten someones day. To see if your local florist is participating go here Find a Participating FTD Florist in your neighborhood.

Thanks Frugal in Rhode Island Mama

I'm Not Irish Or A Saint

Hi, my name is Dymphna and I was named after an Irish Saint, she is the patron saint for the nervous, mentally ill and epileptics. I worked as an Activity Assistant/Director in Nursing Homes for about 7 1/2 years. As an Activity Director I was to provide an ongoing program of activities designed to meet the interests, the physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of
each resident. I tried my best to meet those needs, but felt limited by my own knowledge, skills and abilities. By this I mean, I am not an expert at anything in particular, my skills are limited when it comes to spirituality, party planning, crafts, fitness etc. etc. etc.
I recently found a world that I never knew existed, THE LAND OF BLOGS!!! WOW there are experts for EVERYTHING sharing their knowledge and ideas with others! I am starting my own blog to collect ideas for future use and to share with others that can use them as well.