Pumpkin Caramel Trifle

Photo & recipe courtesy of pillsburybaking.com

My mouth is watering just looking at this picture!  Easy and delicious, this dessert would be great for Thanksgiving or any other time you want a delicious dessert!  Of course this dessert looks super pretty in a trifle bowl, but if you don't have one of those, you can always just use a regular bowl to layer your ingredients.  Also keep in mind that if you really want to save time you can buy a pumpkin bread already made in place of baking the bread yourself.

Ingredients

• Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 (14 oz.) package Pillsbury® Pumpkin Quick Bread & Muffin Mix
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups milk
• 2 (3.4 oz.) packages instant cheesecake pudding and pie filling
• 1 (8 oz.) container frozen extra creamy whipped topping, thawed
• 1/2 cup Smucker's® Caramel Flavored Topping
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons chopped pecans

Preparation Directions

• HEAT oven to 375°F. Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick spray.
• PREPARE quick bread mix according to package directions using water, oil and egg. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
• CUT quick bread into 1-inch cubes. Whisk milk and pudding mix in medium bowl for 2 minutes. Stir caramel topping with cinnamon in small bowl.
• LAYER 1/3 of cubes in a 2 1/2-quart trifle dish or large glass serving bowl. Top with 1/3 of pudding, 1 cup whipped topping, 2 tablespoons caramel topping and 2 tablespoons pecans. Repeat twice to make 3 layers.
• SPREAD remaining whipped topping over top. Drizzle remaining caramel topping over top of trifle and sprinkle with pecans. Chill 30 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Serving Size (1/12 of recipe), Calories 380 (Calories from Fat 120), Total Fat 13g (Saturated Fat 6g, Trans Fat 0g), Cholesterol 20mg, Sodium 500mg, Total Carbohydrate 60g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 44g), Protein 5g; Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 2%, Vitamin C 2%, Calcium 10%, Iron 6%.

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

GREAT Holidays deals through EBATES.COM

Never heard of EBATES.COM?  Wow, then you are seriously missing out.  When you shop through EBATES, you get a % back on every purchase you make.  They will send you a check in the mail just for shopping through their website.  It's completely FREE, no annual fees or anything like that.  You create an account and then when you are going to shop online, make sure you go to EBATES.COM first, then choose the store you want to shop at, and viola!  That's it, you are on your way to making $$$ for shopping!  How great is that?!?!

Click the link below to get started!  Happy Shopping!

EBATES.COM

Handy Turkey Project

This is by far one of my favorite, inexpensive Thanksgiving crafts, and the best thing about it is that you can make a bunch to hand out to your closest loved ones.  I know the grandparents will both be getting one of these, and I cannot wait to hear the oohs and ahhs!

Plus, it will be so nice to look back on how little your children's hands were and to see how they've grown, and if you're like me, a few tears may be shed as well!  LOL

Below is the saying I used to start my project.  

I simply chose a font that I liked, and printed it in the 

center of a plain white piece of computer paper.  

Then I took brown craft paint, and painted my children's palms and thumbs (one hand at a time of course) and then had them push their hands on either side of the saying.

The next step was to have each child pick out some feathers they wanted to use for their turkey (the feathers can be purchased at your local craft store, or you could always make feathers out of construction paper.  Another cute idea would be to paint each finger a different color, and when your children press their hands down, the fingers will look like the feathers).

Then glue on the feathers and let them dry overnight or at least for a couple of hours (I just used Elmer's glue, but you could use a glue gun to help move the process along a bit faster).  After the feathers are secured and the glue is dry, have your children help glue on a googly eye, and draw turkey legs, a turkey beak and the waddle (that little red thingy that hangs from the turkey's neck).  

Once these steps are completed, tape or paste your finished project 

to a nice autumn colored paper of your choosing.  

In a couple of simple steps, you have a wonderful keepsake to decorate your home year after year!

Fun FREE Thanksgiving printables for your children

Since the hurricane, my children have been out of school, so they are definitely starting to get a little antsy (to say the least lol).  Today I decided to keep them busy doing some crafts and learning printouts, instead of letting them watch tv all day.

One of my favorite websites to go to for children's printables and crafts is DTLK.  They have tons  that you can do with your children to keep them busy and learn a little something too!

Below is just an example of some of the FREE printables they have - they have all different skill levels depending on what age your children are.

Crossword Puzzles:

Word Searches:

Very soon I'll be posting a great craft idea to get your children ready for Thanksgiving - the Handy Turkey!!  Stay tuned for my next post!

Toys R Us HUGE Game Sale - consider donating a game to Hurricane Sandy victims

The holidays are right around the corner, so why not get a head start on your holiday shopping?  This week through 11/10, Toys R Us is having a HUGE game sale.  These games make great gifts!  

If you spend $35 or more on Hasbro games, you will also walk away with a $10 Toys R Us gift card, or spend $50 or more on Hasbro games and get a $15 Toys R Us gift card!  You simply can't beat this deal!

Or better yet, why not consider donating a couple of games to the children who were affected by Hurricane Sandy - many of these children lost everything, and I am sure a game would brighten their spirits.  I live in Toms River, one of the areas that was severely affected - many of my friends lost their homes and are basically left with the clothes on their back.  If you are interested in donating games, whether or not you live in the area, please contact me and I would be happy to help point you in the right direction.  

Thank you for your anticipated generosity!

Special thanks to Hip2Save for this great deal!

Jersey Shore Wildtree fundraiser - please consider making a purchase to help a great cause!

The beautiful place that I call home was absolutely devastated by Hurricane Sandy, and I want to help out in any way I can.  I was so blessed and fortunate that my home didn't suffer any severe damage, and also that my family members are all safe.  Others weren't so lucky.

In light of the recent events at the Jersey Shore, I want to do whatever I can to help out the community where I live. Proceeds from this sale will go directly to the Red Cross to help with efforts to get people's lives back to normal at the Jersey Shore. You can do some of your holiday shopping while helping out a great cause! Orders will be shipped out directly to your homes when the party closes on 11/24 (orders take approx. 7 – 10 business days to arrive at your home). Shipping is $6.95 per order.  I will also be posting wonderful holiday deals that will be available to you for this special event. 

Wildtree products are made with the finest natural ingredients available. Instead of “good for you” foods with all the flavor of sawdust, Wildtree products are taste-tested winners.  Food should be natural, nutritious, delicious, and easy to prepare - all at the same time. Wildtree products enable you to create spectacular, great tasting dishes with just three or four ingredients.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and 

caring in this difficult time for so many.

The link to place an order is:

http://www.mywildtree.com/shop/catalog.aspx?eventId=E64414&from=DIRECTLINK

If you cannot make a purchase but would still like to help out, please go the Red Cross link below:

American Red Cross