SusieQTpies Cafe

Monday

Hometown Harvest Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Review and Giveaway

Gooseberry Patch has released a tasty cookbook bursting full of over 200 Fall recipes, tips and sweet memories. I'm an early bird reviewer for Gooseberry Patch so this cookbook was given to me to review. My own tasty opinions are shared here. My family has a lot of favorite fall recipes and traditions that we do every year but we also love finding and creating new ones. This Gooseberry Patch cookbook is full of new ideas and we have created a few of recipes for you to try, too.

Here are the tasty chapters in this book and some of the recipes that I want to try. One of the cool things about this cookbook you will find are little video icons next to some of the recipes. If you see that, you go to the Gooseberry Patch youtube page to see the recipe being made!

Hometown Pancake Breakfast-Perfectly Pumpkin Pancakes, Maudeen's Blackberry Gravy, Autumn Morning Smoothie, Breakfast Pumpkin Butter

Church Social Soup Supper-Spicy Meatball Noodle Soup, Skinny Pumpkin Soup, Sesame Skillet Bread, Freezer Onion Soup, Layered Asian Chicken Salad

Thanksgiving Dinner to Remember- Fancy Faux Crab, Lemon Parsley Butter, Honey Mustard Slaw, Make Ahead Turkey Gravy, Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes, Indiana Corn Pudding, Marinated Green Beans

Game Day Get Together- Fresh Harvest Bruschetta, Pesto Pizza Squares, Petite Calzones, Versatile Herb Dip Mix pg 118 (by my friend Kristi and I will share this soon), No Guilt Mexican Dip, Ranch Cayenne Pretzels

Pumpkin Patch Sweets- Apple Bread & Butter Pudding, Mini Apple Turnovers, Butternut Squash Pie, Coffee Can Pumpkin Cake, No Bake Maple Cookies, S'Morelicious Cookies, Game Day S'Mores Bars

Slow Cooker Potluck Pleasers-Layered Potatoes & Onions, Caramel Pecan Rolls, Hula Hoop Hawaiian Chicken, Golden Roasted Veggies

Over the River & Through the Woods-This chapter is full of stories and wonderful family fall memories.

Run out to the store or check your pantry to get the ingredients together and cook this Gooseberry Patch recipe.

BBQ Chicken Chowdown (slow cooker)

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
24 oz bottle bbq sauce
8 1/2 oz pkg. cornbread mix
14 1/2 oz can corn, drained
8 oz pkg shredded Cheddar cheese
8-10 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

Place chicken in a slow cooker; top with bbq sauce. Cover and cook on low setting for 6-7 hours, until chicken shreds easily with 2 forks. Meanwhile, prepare and bake cornbread mix according to package directions; set aside. Shortly before serving time, add corn to slow cooker. Turn to high setting and cook for 15 minutes or until warmed through. To serve, spoon chicken mixture over squares of cornbread; top with cheese and bacon. Serves 4-6.

This is a perfect fall recipe to make and take to your next party!

Molasses Baked Beans (slow cooker) pg. 181

2 16 oz pkgs dried navy beans
1/2-1 lb salt pork, cut into strips
3/4 to 1 1/4 c. molasses, divided
3/4 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1 T. dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
2 onions, chopped
1 whole onion
10 whole cloves

Cover beans with water in a large pot; soak for 2-3 hours. Drain beans, reserving liquid; place beans in a soak cooker. Add salt pork, 3/4 cup molasses, brown sugar, mustard, salt, pepper and chopped onions. Stud whole onion with cloves; add to slow cooker; Pour in enough of reserved liquid to fill half full; stir. Cover and cook on high setting for 4-5 hours, or on low setting for 8-9 hours, until beans are tender. After several hours, if a darker color is desired, stir in remaining molasses; continue cooking as directed. Serves 8.

This cookbook is full of easy recipe including this dip. I doubled the batch and put it all together in a crockpot for a fall party. I went home with an empty crockpot!

Green Chile Chicken Dip pg. 182

12 1/2 oz can chicken, drained
2 8 oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened and cubed
4 oz can diced jalapeño peppers
2 4 oz cans diced green chiles
2 10 3/4 oz cans cream of chicken soup
tortilla chips

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients except chips; do not drain peppers or chilies. Stir until well blended. Cover and cook on low setting for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with tortilla chips. Serves 10-12.

Stop in and get more entries over the two week open period of this Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Giveaway. It ends 10/28/2013 and open worldwide.

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Halloween Week Menu Plan

One of my most popular Monday Menu Plans has been the Zombie aka Halloween Week Menu plan. Stop over and check it out! I decided to make a new Halloween Menu this year and post it before Halloween week in case you want to use it for your family. I love sharing our weekly menu plan and I hope you enjoy it, too! Do you have any special foods you like to serve on Halloween? Leave your links in the comments so that I can visit your blogs and check out your recipes.

Monday - Ghost Chili, Jello Brain and Fruit Salad Skewers

Tuesday - Dinner in a Pumpkin, Critter Snack Attack and Super Quick Pumpkin Dip

Wednesday - Carve those pumpkins and try one of these 20+ Ways to Cook Pumpkin Seeds or make Pumpkin Soup, crackers and grilled cheese sandwiches

Thursday - Happy Halloween - Mummy Face Pizza, Finger food, Snack Mix, Toxic Waste Punch and Spooky Treats for the Party

Friday - Pizza Crockpot Soup and Kid Zombie Drinks

Weekend - Leftovers ;) We have parties over the weekend so I will pick something from the Fall Beef, Chicken or Dessert Crockpot Recipe list to make and take for each one.

Other Halloween Ideas

Halloween Treats and Spooky Eats
12 Kids in the Kitchen Fall ideas
Top 20 Apple Recipes
20 Ways to make Pumpkin Seeds
19 Fall Chili Recipes
15 Pumpkin Food & Recipes

I hope you enjoyed my Menu Planning Monday ideas. Feel free to go through the recipe box for other options. I don't know about you but I do find Dinner time menu planning easier in the fall because you can use your crockpot more!

I've linked up at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday link up. I'm holding off on my weekly link party until after the Holidays!

Friday

Pumpkin Pie Slime Kid Activities for Halloween

Kids love having hands on fun no matter the time of the year. Each season brings on new opportunities to explore and learn together. Right now is prime time to do kid activities for halloween which brings me to this fun fun fun pumpkin pie slime project posted today on the Science Center of Southern Illinois Facebook page. My daughters are too old to go there to play but they can go there to volunteer! This activity is fun for all ages and even my teens love it.

Photo credit and project belongs to Growing a Jeweled Rose

When I saw this project today posted on the Science center page I was thrilled to share it and give them credit. I wanted to give them a link so that anyone living in the Southern Illinois area could pop over and visit the newly updated center. On the photo I saw a faint watermark for Growing a Jeweled Rose. I know that blog and have been there many times. So I went to the blog and yes, it is their photo and project. For the sake of giving true link and credit for this project that is what I'm doing today on my blog. I also left the direct link on the Science center page for people to go to this blog and get the full project.

I think as bloggers we have the responsibility to take care of each other and if we see that someone is using a photo or something from their blog without a link that we provide it. I do wish that businesses and blog readers would show respect to blogs and provide that link automatically when sharing photos and complete recipes on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.

If you are a reader of mine, please always give full credit for the blogger who put together the project or recipe. If you don't it is most always a copyright violation. What are your thoughts on this?

On to the Pumpkin Pie Slime Kid Activities and recipe. I decided not to share the exact recipe from the Facebook page which belongs to Growing a Jeweled Rose because I want you to visit her blog, get her recipe which goes with the above photo. My kids have made this slime countless times over the years and it is just a combination of these 3 equal ingredients mixed together:

Elmer's Glue
Liquid Starch
Water

To get the scoop on how to make this pumpkin pie slime visit Growing a Jeweled Rose. You won't regret it because her blog is all about kid activities and you will find more Halloween and Fall kid activities to keep you busy until next year!

The kids can make these fun halloween treat jars to put their slime in. Just make sure you keep the paper off the neck so you can put a lid on the jar.

Photo belongs to The Southern Illinoisan and if you click their link you can go find 30 + things to do in Southern Illinois for October!

More Kid Activities for Halloween and Recipes

Halloween Treats and Spooky Eats
12 Kids in the Kitchen Fall ideas
Top 20 Apple Recipes
20 Ways to make Pumpkin Seeds
19 Fall Chili Recipes
15 Pumpkin Food & Recipes

Zombie and Halloween Week Menu Plan

Make Every Day a Big Day for Kids

Mummy Crafts & Recipes

Monday

19 Fall Trail Mix Snack Treat Recipes and Menu Plan Monday

I'm always looking for easy to make and take snack to our Fall parties. How about you? The best fall recipes and snacks always seem to be the ones that are both sweet and salty with some added crunch. Here is a collection of 19 fall trail mix and snack treats from some of my favorite blogs as well as a few of my own. If you have any on your blog, leave the link below so that I can check them out, too! I'm always looking for more fall pumpkin recipes, too!

Candy Corn Crunch - This Mama Loves
Chocolate Popcorn Snack Mix - SusieQTpies Cafe
Blue's Buster Trail Mix - Juggling Act Mama
Fall and Halloween Party Favors with Candy Corn - SusieQTpiesCafe
Fall Trail Mix - Pandora's Deals
Halloween Party Snack Mix - A Spicy Perspective
Halloween Puppy Chow - The Grant Life
Halloween Snack Mix (and easy to make snack bowl) - Call Me PMc
Halloween Snack Mix - Mommy and Thinks
How to Quadruple Chex Mix - Smockity Frocks
Mixed Berry Granola - The Nerd's Wife
Silly Sticks and Stones (Healthier) Snack Mix - Baby Savers
Slow Cooker Snack Mix - Growing up Gabel
Smore Mix - Covered in Mod Podge
Sweet & Salty Popcorn Munch - SusieQTpies Cafe
Sweet & Crunchy Fall Trail Mix - Simply Southern Baking
Sweet & Salty Halloween Treats - Barefoot and Baking
Trick or Treat Tic Tac Do Mix & Game - Wants and Wishes
White Chocolate Pecan Popcorn Crunch - SusieQTpies Cafe

When you need a snack what do you grab? Sweet? Salty? Sweet & salty? Salty and Spicy? I'd love to know! I do give a woot! I couldn't resist using this owl for my post.

Here is our Menu Planning Monday. I hope that you find it helpful. Feel free to go through the recipe box for other options. IF you have recipes on your blog, menu plans or anything food related, pleas share below! I'm thrilled that fall is just about here and we have already started having cooler weather. I don't care much for super cold weather but I love when the evenings cool for cookouts and bon fires. Dinner time menu planning becomes a tad easier in the fall, too!

Menu Plan Monday - share your menu with me in the comments

Monday - Pumpkin Chipotle Pasta (found some all natural sauce I'm trying out) and Salad
Tuesday- Super Easy White Chili with chicken and cornbread
Wednesday- Breakfast for dinner! Crustless Spinach Quiche, Fruit Kabobs and Bacon
Thursday- Leftovers and Warm Vanilla Nightcap and Spiced Cider
Friday- Bonfire party! I'm bringing 1 or 2 snack mixes up above
Weekend - Our Church Germanfest but you can check out the Yummy Fall Crockpot recipes!
Dessert - For a fall party I'm picking something from the 15 Fall Pumpkin recipes. Most likely the pumpkin cheesecake.

Check out the $500 Grocery Giveaway

I've linked up at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday link up. I'm holding off on my weekly link party until after the Holidays!

Saturday

Thursday

Get Crafty with Halloween Candy and Tori Spelling #StarburstCandyCorn #sponsored

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Starburst. I received product samples to facilitate my review and promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Fall and Halloween are such festive seasons! I have learned over the years that this time of the year isn't just for the kids. Adults love having fun, creating crafts, decorating and making fun and tasty snacks. Even Hollywood Stars are crafty these day including the fun mom, Tori Spelling! I've been following Tori for a few years now and I really love her crafty style. How about you? Are you an adult who likes to get crafty this time of the year?

We get invited to a lot of fun parties this time of the year. For me, I never really know what to bring to the hostess. This year I'm following one of Tori's Tasty Tips for Halloween Entertaining and created an adorable hostess gift using Starburst Candy Corn. Oh my if you haven't had any of these yet you need to get a few bags and hid them from the kids. I'm not a crazy fan of regular candy corn but these Starburst treats are delish! Tori took the treats and created such fun party decor, tasty treats and gift giving ideas.

Tori's Festive Party Favors

This is Tori's tasty treat idea. I didn't have any twine (aka I couldn't find where the kids put it last) so I used ribbon and other items that I found around the house. This project only cost me a bag of Starburst Candy Corn for each gift. All the other items I had around the house. If you are a frugal crafter like me, then this is one of Tori's project you can make, too.

Festive Party Favors

Supplies

Jar - Mason jars or any other recyclable jar
Twine or ribbon
Tags
Hole punch
Scissors
Glue or hot glue
Cupcake Liners, decorative straws
Embellishments
Starburst Candy Corn

Directions

1-Fill your jar full of Starburst Candy Corn. You could pick out the colors and only put one color in a jar.
2-Add cupcake liner to top of Mason jar and add ring.
3-Add ribbon, twine, etc around the top.
4-Add tag and embellishments.
5-Take to your next party!

Tori's Starburst Candy Corn Cupcakes

Do you want to make your own festive mom snacks & crafts, too? Besides the inspiring projects that I shared with you today of mine and Tori's stop over at the Starburst Candy Corn Facebook page where you can check out all of Tori's projects and step-by-step instructions!

Use Tori's Tasty Tips to help you with your party entertainment. Here are 6 easy Halloween party tips from me, too!

1-Serve easy to eat Finger Food on a buffet table.
2-Have a punch station so guest can serve themselves. Don't forget to offer Mama Zombie Drink.
3-Brain Food and Pumpkin Guts are fun and tasty foods for adult parties, too.
4-Themed Halloween parties are fun for all ages.
5-Have several trash cans around the room for guest to throw away their trash.
6-Have a candy buffet for the guest, too. Don't forget to set out Starburst Candy Corn.

Other Halloween Ideas

Halloween Treats and Spooky Eats
12 Kids in the Kitchen Fall ideas
Top 20 Apple Recipes
20 Ways to make Pumpkin Seeds
19 Fall Chili Recipes
15 Pumpkin Food & Recipes

29 Halloween Spooky Treats and Party Eats

Halloween is a family fun time. Sometimes we create cute pumpkin treats and tasty food and other times we have created spooky zombie like food. We love all the Fall and Halloween parties, too. Over the years we have been to a lot of fun ones. Back when the kids were little we would go to family friendly neighborhood, hang out, play games, eat and then trick or treat together. These days, the teens have their parties and I usually pass out candy at the door. What are some of your halloween traditions?