Saturday, September 26, 2009

Syrup for Pumpkin Pancakes

I told you all I love pumpkin.

Here's a recipe I found on allrecipes.com that's delicious on the pumpkin pancakes:

HOT CIDER SYRUP:
3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Warning: Makes the house smell really good!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Holiday Countdown using borders



This week's video showcases a little tip: save money by using borders like mini cut-outs. They cost the same, but you only need two packs of borders instead of 10 packs of mini cut-outs.

Featured in this video:

poster board
library pockets
craft sticks
mini cut-outs - or - assorted mini cut-outs
borders

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Pumpkin recipes on 3x5 cards

Here's an easy way to get all 4 pumpkin recipes, and they're already in 3x5 inch format. Download the PDF file.

Pumpkin Cornbread

This is awesome with chilli or baked beans. Fall heaven.

1 egg
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup honey
2 T melted butter
½ cup pumpkin mash

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt


  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Butter an 8 inch square pan.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg, milk, and honey. Whisk in the melted butter and pumpkin mash.

  3. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.

  4. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir just until combined.

  5. Pour the batter into the pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 6 to 9 servings.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup pumpkin mash
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup melted butter
2 eggs
¾ cup milk

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt


  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, blend the pumpkin mash, brown sugar, butter, and eggs.

  3. Add the milk to the pumpkin mixture.

  4. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.

  5. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and stir just until combined.

  6. Spoon the batter into 10-12 muffin cups, and bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 10-12 muffins.

Pumpkin Pancakes

The "secret" of this recipe is to withhold the egg whites. Beat them until stiff, and then fold them into the batter right before you cook the pancakes. With this trick, they'll turn out very fluffy and not heavy at all.

2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 T sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs*
1¾ cups milk
3 T oil
½ cup pumpkin mash


  1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

  2. In a different bowl, whisk the eggs and milk.*

  3. Whisk in the oil and pumpkin mash.

  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix. Do not beat. It’s okay if the batter is lumpy.

  5. Cook about 1/4 cup of the batter in a skillet over medium heat until the pancake bubbles. Flip and cook the other side. Serve hot. Makes about 20.


* Extra fluffy pancakes: separate egg whites. Beat until stiff, then gently fold into the batter after step four.

Pumpkin & Cranberry Cookies

This is one of my favorite cookies. I love cranberries, I love pumpkin, and this is the perfect combination.

This recipe makes quite a few cookies, so even I have to find someone to share the yumminess.

2 eggs
1½ cup pumpkin mash
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup white sugar
1½ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
1 tsp lemon extract
1½ cup dried cranberries “crasins” (optional)

3½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice

  1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the eggs, butter and sugars. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, and lemon extract.

  2. Add the dry ingredients, and stir until completely combined.

  3. Fold in the dried cranberries.

  4. Drop on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350° F.

Pumpkin Recipe Book

Create a pumpkin recipe book for each student in your class using a pumpkin accent, green ring-its, and library pockets.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The digital age

Effective last week, our birthday coupons ($5.00 off a $5.00 or more purchase) started going out by email.

Our September coupon (we're workin' on it) will be going out digitally as well via email.

What does this mean to you?

a) We're saving paper and the mailman's CO2 emissions!
b) You need to make sure our emails don't go into your "junk" box or you'll miss out.
c) If we don't have your email, you'll need to get it to us. You can do that on our sign up page.

d) moving forward, our electronic coupons will be more tailored to you.

We send emails about once a month, so it's not overwhelming and we don't sell, trade, or distribute any of your information to anyone for any reason.

And don't forget to bring in those Bingo cards - every dot on the card is worth 50¢ off a September purchase!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

New Report Analyzes the Consequences of Disappearing Playtime in Kindergarten

New research shows that many kindergartens spend two to three hours per day instructing and testing children in literacy and math—with only 30 minutes per day or less for play. In some kindergartens there is no playtime at all. These practices may produce higher scores in first and second grade, but according to a new report, “Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School, it is done at a cost.

Read the entire report.