These cookies are delicious and perfect for this time of year.  I didn't have caramel baking bits, so I substituted chopped caramels.  When hot, the cookies tend to stick to the cooling rack so I put parchment paper on my cooling rack as well as my baking sheet.  This recipe was adapted from Adventures in the Kitchen.

Oatmeal Caramel Apple Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups old fashioned oats
6 oz Kraft caramel baking bits (I substituted 3/4 cup chopped caramels)
1 1/2 cups honey crisp apples peeled and chopped

1.  In a bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

2.  Place the butter and sugars in a stand mixer and beat 2-3 minutes.

3.  Add vanilla, then eggs and mix for 2-3 minutes more. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

4.  Pour in the flour mixture, then the oats and combine just until blended.  Mix in the apples and caramel baking bits with a wooden spoon.

5.  Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

6.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Scoop dough onto the baking sheet leaving 1 1/2 inches between dough as the cookies will spread.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Let the cookies cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack.  

Cuban Black Beans

This is one of my favorite recipes that I have been making for a long time.  I have served this for company many times and it always gets rave reviews.  It is exceptional with fresh squeezed lime juice.



Serves: 6 to 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes (includes 2 ½ hours baking time)  This recipe is adapted slightly from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Serve these beans with plain white rice, sour cream, hot sauce, lime wedges and chopped tomatoes.  

Ingredients:

2 ounces bacon (2 slices), chopped fine
2 onions, chopped medium
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped medium
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt
6 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or ¾ teaspoon dried
6 cups water
1 pound dried black beans (2 cups), picked over and rinsed
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
½ pound chorizo sausage, quartered lengthwise and sliced ½ inch thick (you can also remove the casing and crumble it or use smoked sausage)
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro, optional (I omit the cilantro b/c we don't like it)
Pepper

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Stir in the onions, bell pepper, cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt. Continue to cook until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the water, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in the beans, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and baking soda. Bring to a boil. Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake stirring every 30 minutes, until the beans are tender, 2 to 2 ½ hours.
3. Remove the lid and stir in the sausage. Continue to bake, uncovered, until the liquid has thickened, about 30 minutes.
4. Discard the bay leaves. Let the beans sit for 10 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To Make Ahead

After cooking, the beans can be cooled to room temperature and refrigerated, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 4 days. Reheat over medium-low heat before serving.

From the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook Copyright © 2006.  Published by America’s Test Kitchen.  All Rights Reserved. 

I recently had the opportunity to try Boogie Wipes.  I had seen them in the stores and wondered if they were any better than tissues and wash cloths.  I have three little ones and when they get colds and have runny noses they end up with dried snot on their noses and upper lips.  It hurts when I wipe them with wash cloths and they do everything they can to avoid having their faces washed.  My two oldest boys have already gotten colds this fall so we tried Boogie Wipes on their sore noses.  They work really well (better than tissues and wash cloths) and they smell good too.  They come in fresh, grape, menthol, and unscented.  I was surprised at how quickly and effortlessly Boogie Wipes removed the stuck on dried stuff from my little guys' noses.  They are so soft and actually help the tender skin around the nose.  

Here's what's happening now at Boogie:
GO AHEAD AND BRAG!  They are looking for 3 Extraordinary Kids to be featured on their Fresh, Grape and Unscented canisters, during the 2012 cough and cold season.  For more information, please visit: http://www.boogiewipes.com , or SaveTheSleeve.com.   

Perfect for Back To School: The NEW 90 Count canisters are available now at Costco.com.  They will be available, very soon, in most major retailers like Target and Babies R Us.

Their on-going promotion is called Save The Sleeve!  It’s a fun, interactive way for kids to learn to put their boogies in a Boogie Wipe and not on their sleeves!  You can learn more at SaveTheSleeve.com

You can win (2) packs of 30-count wipes (fresh, grape, menthol, or unscented– combination varies).  Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

We have been in desperate need of a date night, as anyone with kids usually is.  So we last minute decided we would try to have a "date" Saturday night.  

Since we did not have a babysitter, we had to be creative.  We fed and bathed the kids and dressed them in their jammies.  Then ordered take out from a local Japanese restaurant.  (It was excellent and I had a half price gift certificate that I purchased from our local daily deal site.)

We took our tired kids with us on the car ride to the restaurant in hopes that the drive would induce sweet dreams.  We picked up dinner and our little cherubs were still awake so we took a long way home.  We managed to get two out of three to fall asleep (luckily the two youngest who are the most difficult to get to sleep).  We came home put the babies in bed and my husband read stories to our 4 year old and tucked him in.  

We sat down to a quiet dinner alone and enjoyed sushi and lettuce wraps.  I made frozen pineapple smoothies with coconut rum.  Our 4 year old briefly joined us and decided that he liked our "date" and eating sushi and lettuce wraps.  We let him sample and then tucked him back into bed.  

After a delicious meal we watched an old movie together and enjoyed an evening to ourselves.  We are going to have to do this more often.  

I made this Cars pull-apart cupcake cake for my oldest son's birthday this summer.  It was actually pretty simple to make.  I put a small amount of frosting on the bottom of each cupcake (so they would stick to the cake board) and pushed them close together to make this S shaped road.  My son's name starts with an S.  I colored some frosting black and frosted the cupcakes together as if they were a cake.  I then cut large flat shaped marshmallows into smaller pieces and painted them yellow with food coloring spray to make the markings on the road.  I used small white sprinkles to look like gravel along the side of the road.  To make this an authentic Cars cake, I raided the toy box for Lightening McQueen and Tow Mater, gave them a bath in the dishwasher and then placed them on the cake.  

The hardest part was keeping the kids out of the cake at the party.  They wanted to drive the cars on the cake.  

I have this link on my "favorite things" page on my site.  This is a really easy chore chart that you can make and print at home.  I made the boys each their own charts last weekend and they really enjoyed marking their progress each day with stickers.  You could also use this program to make a potty chart.  

DLTK's Custom Chore Chart

Our custom chore charts will allow you to create and print a themed chart that you can hang on the fridge or wall to help remind your children of the chores they need to take care of.  You add your own title to the chart and then customize the row and column headings.  Choose a picture for the top of your chore chart from a variety of themes.  You can create your chart in color or black and white so that your child has something to color before hanging it on the fridge.  Enjoy!

I have been reading Fruit Lovers' Devotions to Go for a few weeks now and it is a pleasurable read.  I find it helps me to remember what is important in life.  I don't spend enough time with God in my extremely busy days with three small children 4 and under.  A simple daily devotional is all I can do most days.  This one is nice because I can pick it up when I have time.  Each day is not dated so there is no pressure to read it every day.  It is small enough to throw in your purse or the diaper bag and take it anywhere.  I have even read it in the car while waiting for my son after preschool.  

If you have been following me for a while, you know I love to cook and I love to try new recipes.  For each daily devotional in this book, there is a fruit recipe.  These recipes look wonderful.  I tried the Orange Cream Popsicles.  My boys loved them and they are healthier than most store bought popsicles.  

Orange Cream Popsicles

Ingredients:
2 cups cantaloupe, cubed
1 cup orange sherbet
1 (6 oz.) container custard-style vanilla yogurt

Directions:  
Place cantaloupe in blender or food processor and blend until pur'ee consistency.  Add sherbet and yogurt and blend well.  Pour into popsicle molds, insert sticks and freeze.  Makes 6-8 popsicles.

About the author:  Beth holds a Bachelor's in biology & secondary education and a Master's in nutrition. Using her expertise as a registered dietitian, she writes articles about food, health and nutrition for magazines and websites such asParentLife, Smart and CBN.com. She has written more than 120 articles and numerous devotionals for publication. Her latest assignment is writing for Adventure, a devotional magazine for 3rd & 4th graders from LifeWay.  


You can check out her other works and order a copy here.
Author's website
Author's online bookstore
Publisher's online bookstore

Enter to win a copy of Fruit Lovers' Devotions to Go.  Winner will be selected using random.org.  

Here’s How To Enter:
NOTE: Beneath this posting is the word “Comments.” This is where you’ll put your entries. Only entries on this posting will be counted.

1) Leave me a comment letting me know that you would like to win.

After you have commented, here are some other ways to enter: (Please, make sure that you submit extra comments if you do these.)

2)  Visit the author's website and name another one of her books that you would love to read.    

3)  For three extra entries, subscribe to my email newsletter or RSS Feed and leave separate comments letting me know that you have done this. Leave a separate comment for each entry (3 comments).  If you are already subscribed, thank you and make sure you leave comments letting me know.  You will need to activate your subscription by clicking on the link in the email that feedburner sends you.

4) Blog, Tweet or Share on Facebook about this giveaway . Make sure you come back and leave a separate comment letting me know that you’ve done this.

Entry is open to US residents only through 11:59PM on Sunday, 
October 30, 2011. Winner will be chosen using random.org and contacted by email. If you’re the winner, you’ll have only 48 hours to respond or an alternate will be chosen.
 Good luck to all of you who enter!

Disclosure:  I was provided the product for review, but was not compensated for writing this post.  All opinions are honest and are my own.