Do you have FOTO? Fear of the Oven? Here's a cookie recipe for you!

After my Oatmeal Scotchies debacle, I needed a few days to recover and a couple more trips to the grocery store, and now I'm ready for another butterscotch morsel-centric cookie recipe. 

Not much is simpler than a 3-ingredient recipe and only using a microwave.  Note: you can melt the butterscotch chips on the stove if you don't use a microwave. Of course if you don't use a microwave, you probably don't eat processed items chock-full  of  sugar.

Butterscotch Haystacks

You can find many variations of this recipe on Google, Pinterest, etc.  This is what I did:

1/2 a bag of La Choy Chow Mein Noodles.
1 bag of Butterscotch Morsels
2/3 ish a cup of dry roasted peanuts.

Put the noodles and the peanuts in a bowl.  Put the Butterscotch Morsels in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave the morsels for about 90 seconds, until they are melted.  Pour over the noodles and peanuts. Mix until all is covered; then put bunches of the mix onto a tray. My tip is to use some plastic gloves to mix everything and  to put the little bunches of mix --i.e. haystacks onto a tray or cookie sheet. Next chill in the fridge or freezer.  Once the haystacks are solid you can store in Tupperware or in a plastic bag in the freezer etc.

You can put the haystacks on waxed or parchment paper and let it cool on your counter tops as well--whatever works for you.

I think Butterscotch Haystacks date back to the 1970s, so it's a nostalgic treat!

Happy Day 7 of Adventures in Cookie Baking (making)!

xoxo

Wednesday Weekly Pumpkin Ale Review! What's on tap?

Happy Wednesday!  Just 13 days until Halloween.  Alas this year Halloween is on a Tuesday, so not the best day for Tricks and Treats in my opinion. Nevertheless to help you get into the spirit I invite you to enjoy my latest Pumpkin Ale review!

Wait! Before we begin, set a reminder to watch It's the Great Pumpkin  Charlie Brown!  tomorrow night on ABC at 7PM CDT.  Heck enjoy a Pumpkin Ale during the show.

Now on to the review.  This week's pumpkin ale hails from Trader Joe's. It's called KBC Pumpkin Ale, the KBC stands for Kennebunkport Brewing Company. KBC Pumpkin Ale has been featured in the Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer so if you are a fan of their unique take on grocery ads, check it out here.


I quite enjoyed this Pumpkin Ale.  You could definitely taste the flavors of fall in this one, i.e,  cardamon, cinnamon and cloves (The big 3).  It's not a heavy beer so you can enjoy a couple of them and the ABV is under 5 coming in at 4.5. The price point is nice as well, a six pack was under $9.00. KBC Pumpkin Ale is a perfect beer to enjoy with roasted vegetables or a butternut squash soup or even a turkey sandwich.  There isn't a bitter aftertaste, and the pumpkin flavors aren't too flowery so this is a good drink to bring along to share at your upcoming Halloween Gatherings.

If you are in the mood to double down, I have a tip I just learned from a friend and artisan crafter, Kim D. (you can learn more about her and her daughter's pottery and crochet art by clicking -Intertwined Art).  Kim was recently at a restaurant in the Pittsburgh  area where they offer  a shot of Whipped Cream Vodka in your Pumpkin Ale! It's the  booziest of pumpkin pie experiences. You should probably bookmark this post, this may just be the ticket to get you through a trying Thanksgiving dinner.

Want a recipe that is easy, full of flavor *and* pairs well with this week's Pumpkin Ale?  Here you go! Harvest Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner by Mashup Mom  Not only is it delicious,  it's also inexpensive! ( should be about $2 per serving!)

Review and Recipes

All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I found that the voice of Aurora Teagarden was much more the voice of Charlaine Harris a 60-something than that of a 30-something librarian. For example, what 37 year old woman in 2016 uses the word trousers to describe pants. C'mon! This book takes place just a few weeks after the last one, which is disjointing. (esp. since the previous book was set in the early 2000s)  So just a few weeks ago Aurora finds her SIL dead and now it is Christmas, she is pregnant, married and not only is her step brother missing but there are other kids missing AND dead teenagers. It seems like a bit much, and yet there is plenty of time for the author to give paragraphs of space to the discussion of  Aurora preparing the most bland food ever eaten.

Lastly during the book Aurora does three stupid things and hides 2 crucial details from police that prolong the mystery and are so reckless it's hard to fathom. I almost through the book across the room a couple of times due to the lack of critical thinking by Aurora and her husband.


View all my reviews

A common thread in all Charlaine Harris books is uneccessary discussion of what food the protagonist is preparing.  If the food sounded good, that would be forgiving, but her main characters are bad cooks.   Just the most boring food. It's depressing.  If I was her editor, I'd put big red slashes through all food talk!

To combat bad food writing I thought I would share a couple fun Halloween themed recipes:

Pumpkin Soup with Herbed Pumpkin Seeds (Tastefully Simple) 

ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. 1 tsp. Avocado Oil or olive oil, divided

  add to cart
• 2 Tbsp. Onion Onion Seasoning 

  add to cart
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 (15 oz.) cans 100% pure pumpkin
• 13-14 oz. can coconut milk
• ½ cup roasted and salted shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• Sour cream (optional)

directions

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add Onion Onion™ Seasoning; sautè 30 seconds.

Stir in broth; bring to a simmer. Add pumpkin and 1 Tbsp. Rustic Herb Seasoning; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in coconut milk; continue simmering 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine pumpkin seeds and remaining 1 tsp. oil in small bowl. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. Rustic Herb Seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat.

Ladle soup into bowls or shot or cordial glasses. Sprinkle with herbed pumpkin seeds.

Tips:

• To decorate the glasses, add sour cream to a resealable plastic bag. Cut off a bag corner. Pipe slightly wavy ring around the inside of each glass. Using a wooden skewer, push the sour cream down to make elongated lines. Pour soup into glasses.
• Serve soup in Jack Be Little or other small pumpkins. To prepare pumpkins, cut top ½ inch off each pumpkin; scrape out seeds. Place on a baking sheet with rim. Add ½ cup water to baking sheet; cover pumpkins with foil. Bake 20 minutes or until soft enough to scoop out pumpkin flesh. Remove from oven and cool; gently scoop out flesh, leaving a ¼-inch shell.

And here is a recipe from All Recipes that sounds like a fantastic Chili!
Pumpkin Turkey Chili !