Happy Halloween!!!!

Wishing you all a very Happy Halloween from my

little Peacock Fairy! I can't wait to sneak all the Peanut

Butter Cups out of my kiddies bags.

Pumpkin Pie Pasta With Apple Chicken Sausages

How do I convince you that this pasta is beyond delicious?

I combined my love for pumpkin pie and my love for pasta

in one spectacular dish. YUM.

Pumpkin Pie Pasta

1 pound rigatoni

2 tablespoons butter

1 package chicken apple sausage, diced

1 onion chopped

One 15 oz can of pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

a dash of sage

salt and pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons of brown sugar

parsley for garnish

1) Cook pasta and drain, Save 1 cup of the pasta water

and set aside.

2) In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat and

cook the sausages and onion until cooked and has a nice

color. Stir in the pumpkin and heavy cream and bring to

a boil. Return the pasta to the pot along with the reserved

pasta cooking water and toss. Stir in the parmesan, sage

and brown sugar. Season with salt and pepper.

3) Top the pasta with parsley, parmesan and more brown

sugar. Enjoy!

The Best Chili

That's a pretty huge statement, huh? All I can say is

that it is by far the best I have ever had. It's not the

normal chili and the flavor is so good. I always say

the secret to this recipe is the cranberry sauce! I hope

you try this. It will warm you up on these cooler months.

The Best Chili

3 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 ( 28 ounce ) Large cans of diced tomatoes

1  ( 28 ounce ) large can of tomato sauce

1 jar of prepared tomato sauce (garlic and peppers)

2  ( 16 ounce ) large cans of kidney beans

2 ( 28 ounce ) large can of baked beans

1 teaspoon of salt and pepper

2 packets of chili seasoning

1 can of cranberry sauce

Brown the first 4 ingredients. Drain and return to the

stove. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Simmer for

one hour. Serve with sour cream, green onions, cheese

and corn bread.

Note - this makes a lot of chili.

Spiced Pumpkin Trifle

Incredible and Delicious are the words to describe this

dessert! I love creamy sweet things. The ginger snaps

give it some depth. This would be great if you need to

bring a dessert to a holiday party.

Spiced Pumpkin Trifle

3 cups heavy cream

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

pinch of ground cloves

pinch of salt

3 tablespoon of powdered sugar

one 7.5 ounce jar of marshmallow cream

3 cups broken ginger snaps, plus more for top

3 tablespoons dark rum, (optional)

1) Using an electric mixer, beat the cream and sugar

until cream is stiff. Reserve 2 cups for serving.

2) In a large bowl, stir together the pumpkin, vanilla

cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Fold in half of the

marshmallow cream, then half of the whipped cream.

Repeat with the remaining marshmallow cream and

whipped cream until combined.

3) In a medium bowl sprinkle gingersnaps with rum.

I made 2 versions of this dessert. One with and one

with out the rum. So this step is optional.

4) Spoon one third of the pumpkin mixture into a

clear glass serving bowl, spreading evenly, and sprinkle

half the cookies on top. Repeat with remaining pumpkin

and the cookies. Then top with with final layer of

pumpkin and top with the reserved whipped cream.

Chill before serving.

Mozzarella Bites

Don't you just love recipes that only have 3 ingredients?

My kiddies love mozzarella sticks and so do their mom.

These were so fun and simple to make. I made many

batches of these.

Mozzarella Bites

String Cheese

Won Ton Wrappers

Marinara Sauce

1) Cut string cheese into 3 pieces. Place a piece of cheese

near the bottom corner of each won ton wrapper. Keep

remaining wrappers covered with a damp paper towel

until ready to use. Fold bottom corner over cheese, Roll

up halfway. Fold up sides toward center over cheese.

Moisten remaining corner with water, roll up tightly to

seal. Repeat .

2) In a skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil. Fry bites, a few at a

time, for 60 seconds on each side. Serve with marinara.

Backyard

Sweet Candy Popcorn

Salty, Sticky, Sweet...Need I say more? I made this for
movie night with my kiddies and wow was it awesome.
You could make these into Popcorn balls and individually
wrap them. Perfect for Halloween goodies!

Candy Popcorn
1 package butter flavored microwave popcorn
1 lb. white candy coating, chopped
1 cup peanut M&M's
1 cup reeses pieces
1 1/2 cups cashews, "or whatever nut you like"

Microwave popcorn according to package directions.
Place in a large bowl. In the microwave melt candy
coating, stir until smooth. Pour over popcorn and stir
until coated. Combine the M&M's, Reeses pieces and
cashews. Stir into popcorn mixture.

Immediately spread on waxed paper, let it set. Break
into pieces and serve. Store in airtight container.

Chicken and Guacamole Tostadas

Our family is obsessed with Mexican food. We have it at least
a couple times a week at home and out to eat! This meal is so
easy to to put together. Enjoy!

Chicken and Guacamole Tostadas
1 ripe avocado
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped tomato, divided
4 tablespoons minced fresh onion, divided
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 to 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
8 (6 inch) corn tostada shells

1) Place avocado in a small bowl, mash with a fork, Stir in
2 tablespoons of tomato and 2 tablespoon onion, 1 tablespoon
lime juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper and garlic.
2) Combine remaining 1 cup tomato, 2 tablespoons of onion,
1 tablespoon lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cilantro, and jalapeno
toss well.
3) Combine chicken, remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice and
paprika, toss well to combine. Spread about 1 to 2 tablespoons
of guacamole over each tostada shell. Top each with 1/4 cup of
chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons salsa.

Apple Nachos

Have I told you how much I love Fall? Yup, it's true.
My favorite time of the year! October being my favorite
month. These apple nachos are like a simplified caramel
apple. Messy and fabulous. I could not stop eating it.
No one, had will power over these. You won't be able to
stop yourself either.

Apple Nachos
36 caramels
1 tbsp. water
30 large marshmallows
1/3 cup butter, cubed
4 tart apples, sliced
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/3 cup of miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp Halloween sprinkles

In a microwave safe bowl, melt caramels with water.
Stir until smooth.
Meanwhile, In a large saucepan, melt marshmallows
and butter. Arrange apple slices on a large platter.
Drizzle with caramel. Top with marshmallow mixture.
Sprinkle with peanuts, chocolate chips and sprinkles.
Serve immediately. Taste of home.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to our local Pumpkin Patch and had a lot

of fun even in the 90 degree weather. Something about

this time of year that makes me so happy!