Pumpkin Gobs

I made gobs over the weekend. Some refer to them as whoopie pies, but if you live in PA they are gobs. Yummy in the tummy gobs! I'm pretty traditional in the fact that I only use "cooked filling" unless I'm using a flavored icing like peanut butter. My favorite gobs are pumpkin. I love to add mini chocolate chips...it changes everything.



I made pumpkin with choc chip and chocolate. I filled some of the chocolate with my favorite peanut butter icing.

Here's the recipe for the pumpkin gobs...

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups oil
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

In a large mixer bowl, beat eggs until mixed. Add sugar and beat until thick and lemon colored. Add oil, beating constantly. Sift dry ingredients together. At low speed, add dry ingredients alternately with pumpkin until mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonsful onto your favorite well seasoned baking stone. Bake @ 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. I always change racks half way through baking time. Cool on wire racks. Sandwich 2 cakes together with filling. Wrap in parchment or waxed paper.

Filling...

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt

Heat above ingredients to boiling, stirring constantly. Set aside to completely cool.

• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup crisco
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Cream until fluffy. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla and cooled mixture. Beat again until fluffy and then on low speed for 5 minutes.

A few notes for you...

• I only bake on stoneware. I love the results. Remember it does take a little while for the stonware to heat thoroughly so the first batch may take a fewf extra minutes.
• I always rotate my pans halfway through cooking.
• Refrigerate your cooked icing to make sure it is completely cool.
• I use a scoop for the batter. Sometimes I use a large one to make substantial gobs and other times I use a smaller scoop to make cute little gobs. The choice is yours, just adjust your baking time accordingly.
• I always double the filling recipe. It is just too good! It's excellent on graham crackers in the rare case that there is any left over.

Miss Meatball

I adore pugs! I have a little collection of them. :) they make my ♥ go pitter-patter! But...there is someone else. Someone that has weasled her way into my life. Into my heart. She's my sons bulldog. Her name is Meatball. Don't get me started on the name. I could think of a hundred more appropriate names for her. A thousand cuter names for her. A million other options...but hey, she's not my dog.

Since Brantley still lives at home, so does Meatball. Since Brantley works with his dad, currently in Massachusetts and travels a good bit, so does Meatball. Not all the time. Sometimes she wants to stay home with her grammie. I don't mind.

She eats my chives! That I mind! Meatball loves her boy. She does a cute little wiggle whenever he comes home. She doesn't wiggle for me. She's quirky. I get that. The little cutie has had multiple surgeries on her eyes. About 4 grand worth. Glad it didn't come out of my bank account. She's okay. She needs another surgery. She has severe dry eye as a result. We deal with it.
She sleep...a lot! She loves to sleep on her back. It's goofy looking...don't you think!?!

Our house is small. Four dogs reside here. Is it crowded? Yes. Do we mind? No! Four dogs equals four times the love in my humble opinion. It wouldn't work for most...it definitely works for us...and that's all that matters.

West Virginia Road Trip

Last Friday I took off to West Virginia with a friend to go to a Fiestaware tent sale. We were planning a trip there already, so when I called ahead to get info and she told me about the bargains, we decided wait. It was worth the wait. So worth it. The prices were a fraction of the cost that you would normally pay. The lines were long but that was okay...we met some really nice people. Nobody acted crazy (not even me). I think it went so well because everybody had a ticket and they only let so many people in at a time. It helped that there were plenty of dishes to go around too. Eww...disregard the way I look in the above picture. I am not photogenic!
I am a lover of dishes. I don't think you can ever have too many. I really like that fiestaware is made in the USA!! I love that you can mix and match colors or do whatever makes you happy. I only had a few pieces before Friday. Now I have a few more. I loved their little fiestaware dish garden. Too cute!!

We waited in line with the sweetest couple. She/they have collected Fiestaware for years. They've made many trips to the tent sale. While we were talking, they shared with us that they were going to go across the river into Ohio and get a hot dog. They said is was an awesome hot dog. Worth the trip. I checked online at the reviews of "The Hot Dog Shoppe" and one even stated that they had the best hot dogs on earth. We had to go. It was a hot dog. Not an earth shattering hot dog. Just a hot dog...with chili and onions...oh, and fries. I paid for it the rest of the night.

I bought my Mother in Law plates and a few accessories for Christmas. I hope she likes them. If she doesn't, I'll be happy to keep them.

I think that the tent sale is held bi-annually. I plan to go again. You can come along if you like. I love a road trip!!

A few tips for the next sale would be:

• a dolly is a must (thankfully we knew about this) bungies too (didn't know that)


• take several old socks to put over your hands to clean the dust and dirt off the dishes (we didn't know about that little piece of info) I used the sleeves of my sweatshirt...ya gotta do what ya gotta do.


• pack a healthy snack and a bottle of water for waiting in line.


• get there early, get your ticket and then go have breakfast


• make a wish list and check off after you find what you're looking for


• look for a different restaurant for lunch
  

Our Annual Harvest Party

Saturday we had our entire church family over for our annual Harvest Party. We make a big kettle of soup and everyone brings a side dish or dessert and we spend the day hanging out, playing games and having fun.
I spent Friday afternoon (and early evening) chopping veggies and roasting meat. It was so nice to have all the prep work done ahead of time.

This is the corner of our yard where we have our fire ring and picnic table. It's a cozy little nook. The weather was perfect. The fall colors were perfect. The company was perfect. I think it was the best one yet.

We had a record number of people attend. I was afraid we'd run out of soup. We didn't.

My mom made homemade rolls. They were scrumptious!

My boys set up games. Some of the guys threw the football. The little kids ran around and played. It was very laid back and relaxing...my kind of picnic.

Later in the day we had our scavenger hunt. Adults and teens jumped into cars and raced around town trying to find or do everything on their list within the hour time limit. I didn't participate, but I do know that their list involved lipstick, socks, singing, and playing paper football to name a few.

The little ones stayed behind and had a nature scavenger hunt. They were so cute! I would have taken a picture but someone took my camera on the adult hunt.

It was a great day of faith, fun, and fellowship. I love my church family!

Chopped

I love that show on The Food Network. But, this post doesn't have anything to do with the show. Sorry.

Today, after bible study, I'll be busy in my kitchen most all afternoon (and maybe into the evening). I'll be chopping veggies and roasting beef for our churches annual Harvest Party tomorrow. George and I make an outdoor kettle full of tummy warming goodness. There's nothing like vegetable beef soup that has been simmered all day. Mmm, Mmm, good!

Howard The Duck

Last month I took the train to come home from Massachusetts. During my trip, I received a text message from George. It was a picture of the cutest wooden duck I've ever seen. I'm not usually a fan of wooden ducks, but I do love anything chippy and old. Isn't he adoraable!?! I love the way he's tucked in his seatbelt...safety first.

His colors are perfect. I use these colors.

I got really excited. Knowing my sweet and loving husband, I just knew that Howard had found his way into my life. Why else would George text me his picture...right!?! Wrong!! And so began a little controversy...a little he said, she said bit.

I immediately texted him back asking who he belonged to...feeling pretty confident that he already belonged to me, I might add. To my text I also added, "I'd give him a good home". He then replied "Ed" (an inspector on their jobsite). Let me just say that before I had a chance to react to my disappointment, he texted me in a seperate message "Just got him for 35 dollars". I thought what any other sensible person would think, that he got him from Ed for 35 dollars. Right!?! Otherwise, he would have said that Ed got him for 35 dollars all in one text message. Exactly! So I was sure Howard was mine. So sure that I texted back "Ahh...I love him already...the duck that is".

I could hardly wait till the weekend when Howard would make the journey (in his seatbelt, I hoped) from Massachusetts to Home Sweet Home. Friday night came. The guys got in late. I didn't immediately think of Howard. Actually, I didn't think of him till the next morning. I don't remember exactly what time it was, but I finally asked where Howard was. The reply back from my sweet and loving husband shocked me. He simply stated (with a weird "what are you talking about" look in his eye) that he was with Ed in Massachusetts. What!?! Turns out that George was just showing me a picture of a duck named Howard that Ed had bought. Huh!?! That is not the way the conversation went down! I was is despair. I was already attached to Howard. He was perfect in every way.

Long story short(ish), George made a phone call to Ed. Ed made a demand. We met the demand and Howard came to his forever home the following weekend.

I am happy...and I LOVE my husband...and Howard!!!