The Size of a . . .

 We went from this:

To This:

Welcome baby Isaac Geoffrey Allen to the world!  Born November 10th, 2011 at 8:12 pm.  7 lb 3 oz.  18 1/2 inches long.

I love how size newborn clothing hangs off him!

 

 

 

 

The neglected first child.  She's still not sure what to think of all this.

Bath time was a little traumatizing - but the robe is just too cute

Tiny Toes!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I love fall if only for the excuse to eat pumpkin in everything (and because it's finally becoming liveable in Houston).  The original recipe from here instructs you to freeze the cream cheese/sugar mixture in a thin log and then cut off frozen log pieces to put in the middle of the muffin mixture.  My thoughts:  I'm never going to plan far enough ahead to actually freeze the cream cheese.  I just used two spoons and plopped a spoonful of cream cheese in between two layers of muffin batter and it worked just fine.

Muffins:

3 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs

1 ¼ C oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin puree

Filling - whip together until well combined:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese)

1 cup powdered sugar

Streusel Topping - Mix together with a pastry blender until crumbly:

½ cup sugar

¼ cup and 1 tsp. flour

4 tbsp. butter, cubed

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

To make the muffins, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking soda. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, combine the eggs, oil, sugar and pumpkin puree.  Mix until well combined.  Add in the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined (a little lumpy is fine).

Fill each muffin well with enough muffin batter to cover the bottom.  Drop a spoonful of cream cheese into each muffin well, on top of muffin batter.  Top cream cheese with more muffin batter until tins are a little over 3/4 of the way full.  Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.

 Makes 24+ muffins.

Again, thanks to Baked Perfection for this delicious recipe.

Caesar Salad Pizza

I love pizza.  I don't know if that's the pregnancy talking or if pizza really is just that amazing but we have been making strangely topped pizzas about twice a month all summer long.  This was one of my favorites by far - up there with the veggie pizza from a few months ago.

1 pizza dough (I'm constantly going back and forth between pizza dough recipes.  Maybe I'll decide on a favorite and post it one day)
1/2 C grated cheddar cheese
1/2 C grated mozzarella cheese
1/3 C fresh Parmesan cheese
2 C torn romaine lettuce (we threw in some spinach, too)
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 C Caesar salad dressing
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I cooked it with a little salt, pepper, and garlic)

Bake pizza dough at 425 for 7-9 minutes.  Remove from oven and coat with just a little dressing.  Top with cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  Return to the oven and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly (I didn't time how long this took, just keep an eye on it).  Remove from oven and top with lettuce, chicken, and tomatoes.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with remaining dressing.  Serve while still warm.