Autumn Felt Leaves Garland Tutorial

Today I'm here sharing how to make this fun autumn leaf garland!
happy fall!

Super Delicious Soup Round Up!

Y'all, I just love soup. I'm about to share some new recipes but until then, here are some of my absolute favorites! Celebrate fall with a big bowl of one of these delicious recipes. 

Homemade Creamy Tomato Soup

Spicy Southwestern Chicken Soup

Potato Broccoli Soup with Bacon and Parmesan 

Creamy Chipotle Carrot Soup with Goat Cheese

Creamy Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup 

Broccoli Cheese Soup 

Zuppa Tuscana

Italian Beef Stew

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

My mom and I wanted to do something a little different for dessert this Thanksgiving. I saw this tasty idea over at Feeding My Temple and we decided to go for it! This treat went with us to day two of our family festivities and provided a delicious and decadent alternative to the pecan pie. It is full of yummy fall flavors (which normally get overshadowed by pumpkin in my house). 

This dessert is a fantastic combination of a shortbread crust, classic cheesecake, cinnamon-sugary apples, crunchy topping and gooey caramel. 

Do I have you convinced? 

By the way, the best way to prep all of the ingredients is to move everything into the living room so that you can cheer/yell/cry at the Texas football game at the same time. Oh, that's just me? 

I've adjusted the recipe slightly from the original, so you might check out her version as well :)

What You'll Need:
for the crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
for the filling:
2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese (the real stuff, people)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs 
2 large apples- peeled, cored and diced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar
for the topping
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup caramel cubes
2 tbsp heavy cream 

What To Do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and butter. Using 2 forks or a pastry cutter, mix until a crumbly mixture forms. Press the dough evenly into prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly brown.

Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Adding the eggs one at a time, incorporating well before adding the next. Mix in vanilla extract.In a small bowl, combine chopped apples with cinnamon and sugar. Toss to coat. Pour cheesecake mixture over prepared crust. Sprinkle apples over mixture evenly.

In a smaller bowl, mix together flour, oats, and brown sugar for the crumb topping. Cover cheesecake mixture and apples with the crumb topping. (This will be a thick layer.)Bake 30 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Let cool completely before cutting.

In a medium glass bowl, add caramel cubes and heavy cream. Microwave bowl 20 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval. Pour caramel sauce over the top.

Recipe Adapted from Feeding My Temple 

Autumn Soups to Keep You Warm

I'm sad to admit that there hasn't been a lot of cooking going on over here recently. Living alone, working at a food truck park (which is awesome), and having a very limited budget have basically reduced most of my meals to protein bars, sandwiches, salads, and breakfast-y items like scrambled eggs or pancakes. 

But I wanted to share with you some previously published and very delicious soups as you delve into the chilly fall weather! 

Baked Potato Soup 

Broccoli Cheese Soup in a Bread Bowl

Crock Pot Chicken Stew

No photo, but still one of my favorites. It's probably the most low maintenance recipe on here! 

Italian Beef Stew

Taco Soup

Zuppa Tuscana 

I would love for you to send me links to recipes for your favorite soups!

pumpkinmania

(source)

One of fall's most celebrated flavors is pumpkin! Well, it's still a good 105 degrees where I am so I won't be partaking in fall flavors and dishes for a while. I'm squeezing every last drop out of fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob and bright berries. But since everyone not located in the furnace of the US is getting ready for autumn's debut, I thought I'd share some of my : 

(previously published)

tried and true

absolutely delicious

make-your-kitchen-smell-like-heaven

pumpkin treats 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin Spice Syrup for Coffee 

Pumpkin Cake Balls

Don't let the ridiculously low quality photos fool you. I just haven't had one of these treats sitting around long enough to take a good picture ever since I figured out how good ALL of these are. I eat them while they're hot. (where applicable haha)

Cheers to cool weather, yall! 

Great Things and a giveaway!

Cold fronts are wonderful.

I'm wearing boots and a cardigan.

I believe that this is how every day should be. 

(I may feel differently when I want to wear my polka dot swimsuit)

The lovely weather is a beautiful reminder of so many great things lately.

On MLK Day, I was able to visit with my friend Danae. 

I hadn't seen her since her wedding and it was so good to catch up!

We did a little bargain shopping while we were out

Thank you JCPenney. Yes, saving 114.72 is good.

Also, this week OMBC's Ministry Team had a time of prayer and preparation for 2012. We stayed in a couple of very nice cabins in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception or internet, and that was very refreshing. Sometimes we miss what's going on in other ministries because we're so focused on our own so it was great to hear about everything happening through our Spanish ministries and our life groups and our worship ministries!

I am very excited for everything that God is preparing for 2012. It's going to be a year of growth and change and goodness!

And then, I checked out the new Goodwill on Slaughter Lane to look for costumes. No luck on costumes but I did find a great pair of jeans with the tags still on them! 

I was pretty excited. I had been wondering how I could get a couple new pairs of jeans without breaking the bank. Apparently, I'll be shopping at Goodwill from now on. 

So in celebration of all these great things-

I'm giving away your choice of:

an autumn wreath

This can be customized to include whatever colors you'd like!

 or a an autumn leaf garland

Each leaf is hand cut from felt, has hand stitched veins and is stitched on a ribbon- 

perfect for hanging on a staircase, above the fireplace or on a mantle!

To enter, you must officially follow this blog.

Extra entries:

repost this contest to Facebook or Twitter

Favorite Live Laugh Lynae on Etsy

Post a comment for each entry! 


For example, post:


I follow the blog!
then
I added your shop on Etsy! 
or 
I promoted this giveaway on Facebook!

The winner will be selected randomly.

The contest will be closed Monday October 25th at 12pm.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Me and Starbucks have a love-hate relationship.

I love their coffee.

I hate how much I spend on it.

I love their fair trade/socially responsible attitude.

I hate how much of my money is feeding their corporation.

I love that their coffee drinks actually taste like coffee (cough... McDonald's) 

I hate that I can't ever replicate an acceptable alternative at home....

til NOW! 

These next couple of weeks, I'll be sharing some of my favorite coffee concoctions that you can make right at home. And today's drink of choice is the infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte. 

Basically, you'll combine espresso, steamed milk, and pumpkin spice syrup. 

I don't have an espresso machine or especially understand what espresso is compared to regular coffee. So here's what I do.

Brew about 1/2 cup of very strong coffee- I use four tablespoons of grounds per half cup

Warm up a cup of milk over the stove or in the microwave until it's hot.

Combine those two and add two tablespoons of pumpkin spice syrup 
(or more or less to taste)

Top with whipped cream and caramel sauce. 


Voila!

Here's how you make the pumpkin spice syrup

Heat 1 1/2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups sugar in a pot until all of the sugar is dissolved.

Add in :
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon (or 4 cinnamon sticks)
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3 Tbsp pumpkin puree

And simmer this, not quite to boiling for about 5 more minutes, and then cool for 10-15 minutes.


Strain through a cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer and bottle for use!

I actually attempted this with coffee filters and it didn't really work so I didn't strain mine. As long as I shake it up before use, it's totally fine that way!

(this bottle was $3 at Ikea and is perfect for storing syrups and dressings!)

And that's it! Store in the fridge and you've got homemade pumpkin spice syrup and all the tools you need to save a ton of money by abstaining from daily trips to Starbucks.