Pumpkin Roll

Someone asked me for my Pumpkin Roll recipe recently. I use the recipe that is on the Libby's Pumpkin can, as it is the best recipe that I have found so far.

It's funny because growing up I had no idea what a pumpkin roll was. After I got married my sister-in-law invited us over for dinner and teased her brother (my hubby) saying that she was going to make a pumpkin roll for dessert. Unfortunately, for some reason or another we were unable to make it to that dinner so I still had no idea what a pumpkin roll was. Until...some folks at my husband's (then) workplace were trying to raise some money and were selling pumpkin rolls. Of course my husband snatched one up for us. I then realized just what a pumpkin roll was and why it was one of my husband's favorite desserts.

This is a perfect Autumn dessert. It looks fancy but is relatively easy to make, though the first time or two making it you may not end up with a perfect looking roll (but it will still be tasty!). I've made this for get together or just our own family dessert and always get rave reviews.

CAKE
1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel) 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional, I've never tried them in my recipe)

FILLING
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

FOR CAKE:PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar. COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts. BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

COOKING TIP:Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

Winner

The winner of the Happy Housewives book was #12 at random.org, which turned out to be:

Nicole said...
Happy birthday! I love reading about someone who is living like my family and I do. Keep up the good work!

Please contact me at babys_mama1 "at" yahoo.com by Tuesday, the 7th, to claim your prize!

Eco Store

Eco Store was kind enough to send me some products to review. You all know me and how I love any product that is natural and safe for my family, so I jumped at the chance to review their product. Their trade mark says it all: No Nasty Chemicals.

We've all heard the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover". Sometimes you just can't help it. Look at this packaging and tell me you can resist it:

Isn't that the most adorable label ever? Joe points to the baby every single time he is in the bath! It isn't just cute though. The body wash smells divine and natural to boot. No fake fragrance smell at all. To me it smells a bit like Vick's vapor rub, which isn't a bad thing. I feel good washing the kids with this. It doesn't state anywhere on the bottle that it is for hair washing but I've been using it as a dual purpose wash for the kiddos and it is working out great.

I was even more excited to use the hypoallergenic pet shampoo as I haven't found another natural pet product out there. I have a very itchy English Bulldog. Itchy and problem skin just comes with the territory for most bulldogs. She gets itchy, she gets scratchy, and she gets several staph infections of the skin. Just watching her itch makes me uncomfortable. One would think that bathing her would help the issue but the traditional pet soap seems to leave a film on her skin that makes the itching worse.

This hypoallergenic shampoo works great for her. It smells wonderful, which is great for my stinky little doggie. It makes it much more bearable to live with her. It does not completely stop the itching issues but does calm them down, which is much better than aggravating them. This stuff is a keeper!

The only con that I can think of is that the prices are just a bit steep for me. $13 for the dog shampoo and $10 for the baby wash. I can see myself paying about $8 each for these and being fine with it, as each bottle is lasting forever. The good news is that their website always has free shipping on all orders over $25. We all know that most businesses charge and arm and a leg on their shipping prices so this pro outweighs the con. It gets better though! I just noticed that right now on their website they are offering a back to school special where you can get 25% off your order when you enter WQ551 at checkout! I'm not sure when this special ends so I recommend you checking their site out soon!

Quick and Easy French Toast

I love french toast but I don't particularly like having to keep an eye on it and flip it while it is on the stove. Which is why I love the following recipe so much...it's baked in the oven!

Orange - Cinnamon French Toast

2 to 4 T. butter, melted

2 T. honey

1/2 t. cinnamon

3 eggs

1/2 c. orange juice

1/8 t. salt

6 slices bread

In bowl, combine butter, honey, and cinnamon. Pour into greased 13x9 pan; spread to coat bottom. In bowl, beat eggs, orange juice, and salt. Dip each side of bread into egg mixture and place in pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Yummy as is, or serve with a bit of maple syrup.

Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about the children's clothing bartering site here? I told you all that I would take a picture of the first box I received:

I received 7 items in the box, which totals out to a little less than $2 per piece (since you have to pay $13 shipping). I was a bit disappointed as the boxes are supposed to be packed full (and many members report receiving 10+ pieces in their box...the littler sizes can fit 20+ items in each box!). The jeans were a bit more worn than I had expected. They were all nice brand names; Janie and Jack, Gap, Polo, Mini Boden, Talbot Kids. Overall I am okay with the box that I have received.

I have started to hear some horror stories of some boxes that have been received. Smelly clothes, things beyond wearable, even mouse droppings in one box. Fortunately, ThredUp customer service is quick and will deal with a situation like that right away. I've also heard wonderful stories of boxes packed full of clean, name brand clothing...even several that still have new tags on. So it seems to be a bit of a gamble but I think that if you stick with the users that already have good ratings you will be satisfied with your pick.

I haven't ordered another box since my first, only because I haven't found one on their site that excites me. I do have a box on my waiting list and hope to be able to snag it when it becomes available before someone else does! I traded my first box a few weeks ago and was excited to get a good review on what I sent - 4 stars (the maximum you can receive) and 8 stylie points (out of 10). Pretty good in my book!

How many of you have signed up and are using their services now?

Exhausting!

The past three months, with these money challenges, have been exhausting. I had a reader leave a comment the other day saying that it seems that I think about saving money every hour of every day and I will disagree by saying that I "typically" don't but the past three months I have. When setting myself up for such a limited budget it is not only stressful but also quite time consuming. Planning my shopping takes double, or triple, the amount of time. Deciding plans for the day revolves around figuring out if we have enough money for this or that. It is truly exhausting to have to "think" so much about every little thing.

We do live on a small income. We do have to watch our spending and give up several things in order to live within our means. But we have enough leeway in our monthly income that we do not have to watch every little purchase that we make. It lifts a heavy burden off your shoulders to have that little leeway. These months that I did the $1,200 challenge I was stressed to the max. I felt like I spent hours each week figuring out what to spend and where to spend it and how to save. It was like a full-time job just trying to manage my spending to keep it below a certain amount. I truly feel for those families who have to live like that every single day. Who have no leeway to give them a little relief. Experiencing that has given me a new appreciation for those people who truly have to juggle every single penny they spend.

I've been asked if I will be doing another challenge next month. I need to take a break! With homeschooling added to my plate it is close to overflowing and I feel that I just can't handle the stress of another challenge next month. I do see another budget challenge, or another type of challenge, in my future but I do need one month to rest! :) My blog will be back to it's regular scheduled programing of mommyhood, my daily life, and recipes and frugal tips thrown in here or there. Just thinking of my regular schedule is a weight lifted off my shoulders!

There are also many plans for changing the blog around, so please excuse the dust if I do a little remodeling. I'm considering doing away with third party advertising on here and will be marketing some sponsored advertising. If your business or blog would be interested in advertising on the right hand column please e-mail me at babys_mama1 "at" yahoo.com The first month special is a steal!

Lots of changes and exciting things to come as I begin the second year of blogging; be sure to stay tuned!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday to my blog! In order to celebrate I am going to give one of you a present! I am giving a copy of Happy Housewives by Darla Shine away!

The inside of the dust jacket reads: "Darla Shine asks desperate housewives everywhere: What have you got to complain about? Here's a modern day guide to keeping house, raising kids, and loving life."

Just leave a comment below to be entered. Giveaway ends on Friday, Sept. 3rd at noon.