Homemade Pumpkin Puree

In THIS post, I told you how I made Pumpkin Puree.

And I also mentioned how easy it is to make!

So today, I'm showing you how to make your own.

It's simple, I promise!!!

The Goods:

Pumpkins - THAT'S IT!

 I used a regular one and a sugar one.

Cut your pumpkin open, remove seeds/pulp and cut into large pieces.

Roast at 325 for an hour and a half or more - until super tender.

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets.

Once cool, remove skin and cut into chunks.

Add to food processor and thin with water.

Measure out and package up your puree.

You can use it right away in something yummy 

or freeze and use in the next few months!

And that folks, is it!!
Super easy like I promised.

Friday Favorites Link Up

Hi guys! 

Hope you had a great Turkey Day!

I'm doing something a little different.

I'm posting on a Friday AND I'm participating in a Link Up!

Robyn's Favorite Fall Things of 2014!

I know, I know Fall is pretty much over for 2014

but below are 5 of my favorite Fall things from this year!

1. Fall Decorations!

I love holiday decorations in general.

But Fall ones are right at the top!

Just a small bit of what my apartment looks like.

Check out this post for a more detailed look!

2. Thanksgiving Food!

We literally had a FEAST 

and I can't wait to eat leftovers!

Yum! My Thanksgiving plate!!!

And that's not even everything we had.

3. Time with Family!

I have a GREAT family and I'm so thankful for them

every day, but especially during the holidays!!

I did a lot of the cooking and mostly failed at picture taking.

I took pictures of of the food (post on that coming soon),

and the awesome sunset picture with my cousin above,

but sadly no group picture of everyone! 

Big Fat Whoops!!!

4. Homemade Pumpkin Puree!

That canned stuff will do in a pinch,

but homemade is always best!

I posted this pic on Instagram the night I made the puree!

Try making it yourself! It's SO SO SO easy.

Roast the pumpkin, remove skin after cooking, 

puree with a tiny bit of water to thin and DONE!

5. Pumpkin Seeds!

How could I make the puree and NOT roast the seeds?

I mean, it'd be silly to let those babies go to waste!

I didn't carve a pumpkin for Halloween this year,

so I almost missed out on home roasted seeds.

But lucky me - I have a few more pumpkins that I had on display.

Which I'll soon turn into more puree and roasted seeds!

Now, head on over to Andrea and Erika's blogs to check out more of today's Link Up!

Decorating for Fall

Seeing that Thanksgiving is on Thursday - yes as in FOUR days from now,

I thought it was about time I showed you my Fall Decorations for this year!

I've said it before, and I'll say it many more times I'm sure,

but I really LOVE to decorate for holidays and have for years!

If you're interested, here and here are two post from years past. 

Now, I'll let the pictures do most of the talking!

All the decorations - waiting to be put in just the right place.

It feels like Fall as soon as you see my front door!

And continues right as you walk in.

The TV stand is festive too.

And of course the fireplace gets some Fall love too!!

I have small little touches of Fall...

In many different places...

Scattered around my apartment!

And the hallway is filled with falling leaves.

With a leaf garland over the den french doors.

The bathroom is festive too.

Some wheat, pumpkins and inspiration!

And you can't forget the cornucopia!

Sending you Thanksgiving wishes from me to you!

Check back soon for even more fun,

when Christmas takes over my apartment!!!

Sausage Zucchini Rice

I bought ingredients intending to make Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats,
but I was making it on a work night and I wanted something a little quicker.
So I decided to do a little research and my friend Google
gave me a recipe for Sausage Zucchini Rice that sounded amazing!

I went home that night and made it and it was quite good.
Then I made it again, and I'm pretty sure I made it once more.
THEN I realized I hadn't, but needed to blog about it,
so here I am to tell you all about it today!

The Goods:

Italian Sausage

Zucchini

Basmati Rice

Onion

Unsalted Butter

Chicken Broth

Parmesan Cheese

Parsley

Basil

Salt

Pepper

Note - I omitted the Pine Nuts from my version

because I had a bad experience with them once

and have been afraid to eat them ever since.

Feel free to use them if ya like - I'm sure it'd be tasty!

Chop your zucchini and onion.

And shred your cheese.

Brown the sausage.

Meanwhile, cook the rice...

Add butter to pot and sauté onions - about 5 minutes.

Add rice and broth to pan and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until water is absorbed.

While rice is cooking, start your zucchini...

In the same skillet you cooked the sausage,
cook your zucchini until tender - about 4 minutes.
Return sausage to the skillet and add broth and water,
cooking until heated through completely.

Add sausage and zucchini mixture to cooked rice.
Stir to combine and taste, then adjust seasoning if needed.

Now - serve and ENJOY!!!

Oh and before you go...

On a totally unrelated, but important note -
if you haven't signed up for Ebates yet, you need to.
It's so easy and right now lots of store have DOUBLE cash back!
Like I said before, I wish I had done it sooner!
Oh and with all the Christmas time you're probably doing.
Why not earn a little cash back while buying gift for others?

DIY Assorted Flower Bouquets

A few months ago, I posted a photo on Instagram and said "on the blog soon".

And now I must apologize profusely because 

"soon" ended up being MANY WEEKS from when I first posted the picture!

I'm a bad blogger and I'm sorry!!!

So what photo am I talking about?

If you don't follow me on Instagram (shame on you!)

or you can't tell from the title of this post,

It's this one...

Now that we're all on the same page,

let me tell you how simple it was to make

those pretty little bouquets above!

You'll need to gather the following:

A few bunches of fresh flowers

Some greenery trimmed from plants

Your favorite vases

I tend to purchase my flowers from Trader Joe's

because they seem to have the best variety

and are almost always pretty inexpensive!

I cut the greenery from a few plants growing outside

and I gathered three different size mason jars.

Start with one type of flower and cut to size depending on vase.

Then move onto the next type of flower until you've added them all.

Now finish up with the fresh greenery you've clipped.

And finally arrange the vases however you'd like.

I placed the above from smallest to largest...

But also liked them gathered together as well!

You can do this with any type of flower, 

but I've found the more variety the better.

I like to go for a full one, a tall skinny one 

and one that sorta branches out.

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I haven't posted a food blog recently,
so I figured it was time I did so!
Hope you enjoy!!!

While browsing recipes online awhile back,
I ran across one that I knew I wanted to make soon!
It wasn't like anything I'd ever made and I was intrigued.

So after having the recipe for months,
I finally decided that it was time to make
SAUSAGE STUFFED ZUCCHINI BOATS!!!
I followed the recipe linked above,
Check out how I made this tasty meal below.

The Goods:

Zucchini

Italian Sausage

Onion

Garlic

Marinara Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Cook your sausage,

grate your cheeses,

scoop out your zucchini and

dice up the scooped out part!

Make sure your zucchini boats are clean and dry.

And drain your sausage to remove the grease.

Saute your onions and garlic.

Add diced up zucchini and cook a few minutes.

Add the cooked sausage and combine well.

Put a little sauce on the bottom of your dish.

Then lay out zucchini boats and then fill with mixture.

Top with more sauce and both cheeses.

Now you can either pop this in the oven 

and bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 400 degrees.

All done!

Can you say YUMMY!??!

If you don't want to bake it right away,

or if you want to bake half now and save half for later,

you can seal it up very well and freeze to bake soon!

I tend to use plastic wrap AND zipper baggies.