Autumn Eats & Treats

I love fall. There's something about the blustery days, the colors, the cinnamon adorned smells wafting throughout the house. Everything is just cozy and happy.

I love utilizing all the seasonal goodies Mother Earth has to offer! For my momma's birthday I decided instead of just a plain ole cake, I'd "fall" it up this year, especially since her birthday is in October.

Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Crepe Cake with granola

Crepe Batter:
1 1/2 c flour
1 c almond milk
1/4 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c oil

Filling:
4 Tbsp cream cheese
1 drop clove essential oil
1 stop cinnamon bark essential oil
1 drop cardamom essential oil
1 c pumpkin butter
1/2 c granola

Pull cream cheese out of fridge. Make your batter, start with dry and add in wet. Mix until batter is smooth. Set aside for 30 minutes, helps make batter from becoming rubbery. Take the cream cheese and drop in essential oils. Mix until smooth and easy to spread. Once batter has rested, make crepes. Heat non stick pan on high heat, spray pan and pour in about 1/3 c of batter. Turn pan in a circle, dipping each side to let crepe batter reach the entire bottom. When sides brown (about 2 minutes), gently slide the spatula under the crepe's edge and flip over. Batter should make about 16 crepes.

Let crepes cool for about 10 minutes. Then take a crepe, place it on your serving plate, spread with pumpkin butter, put another crepe on top, spread with spiced cream cheese, sprinkle with granola, and continue layering until all crepes are used. If you have torn crepes, no worries, put them in the middle. On the top add layer of spiced cream cheese, pumpkin butter and the rest of the granola. I added a few fall colored flowers to brighten up the plate. Refrigerate until ready to serve. You can serve with homemade whipped cream, ice cream or just eat it on it's own. Yum!

A few days later I made dinner for a friend who had just had her second baby girl. I was so grateful for all the people who made us meals both times I had my girls.

Italian Pasta Bake with Meatballs

Meatballs
Elbow noodles
1 jar sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 c chicken broth
1 drop oregano essential oil
1 drop basil essential oil
Salt & pepper
1 c cheese

I used frozen meatballs (A few shortcuts today folks!) Heat broth & sauce, pour in noodles. Add tomatoes & essential oils. Let cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pot, spread out in pan. Add meatballs & cheese on top. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Serve with salad or crusty bread.

Cinnamon-Orange Brownie Cake Balls

Brownie mix
1 drop orange essential oil
1 drop cinnamon essential oil
1/2 cup of Nutella
5 squares of bakes chocolate
Candy corn

Make brownies (I took a shortcut on this dessert.) After cooled from baking crumble into a bowl, add Nutella as a binder. Roll into 1 inch balls and set on baking sheet. Put in freezer to chill for 15 minutes. Melt chocolate, dip one brownie cake ball at a time into melted chocolate. Make sure they're all covered, place on baking sheet and top immediately with candy corn before the chocolate dries. Serve!

I love making most things homemade, but with two babies and an in-home daycare, sometimes I just work with what I got. I'm one resourceful mama who loves to cook and bake for the ones I love.

Cheers! Xo Lo