HAPPY HALLOWEEN

from our Little Lady Bug

Foodie Friday: Cajun Chicken Pasta ala Chili's

My mom and I recently went to Chili's for lunch with Little Peachy. She ordered the Cajun Chicken Pasta. I decided that it would be a fairly easy recipe to knock off. I googled a Cajun seasoning recipe to see what spices to add. (I know that you can buy a Cajun seasoning mix, but I have a cupboard full of spices and don't need to add another.) I ended up with a yummy mix and an easy recipe.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Cajun Seasoning Mix

1 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t onion powder

pinch of dried parsley

1/8 t cayenne pepper

1/4 t chili powder

1. Cut two chicken breasts into strips. Cook in olive oil. Add grated garlic and the seasoning mix.

2. Cook 1 box of penne pasta.

3. Mix cooked pasta with jar of Alfredo sauce.

4. Dish pasta onto plates, top with chicken and diced tomatoes.

Serves 4.

A Place for Everything . . .

This home improvement project was actually completed over Labor Day weekend, but I just got it tidied up enough to post a picture of it. Now that Peachy no longer hangs out in our closet, M and I decided to add some extra storage. M figured out that you can take closet shelves and install them upside down and you have shoe storage. Apparently he wasn't the first one to have this idea as we found shelves and hangers at Menards just for this purpose. Either way, it is a great idea and it really does work. No more piles of shoes all over the closet floor. (Now if only I can keep my shoe collection small enough to fit on these shelves.)

Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Spice Granola

Its no secret that I love Pumpkin Spice. I am pretty much game to try anything that has pumpkin spice in its name. It all started with the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. (I actually think Starbucks started a national obsession with pumpkin spice flavoring.) I have read several blog entries lately on this granola. I couldn't let the fall go by without trying it out myself. I actually made the first batch about a week ago. And it somehow disappeared before I could photograph it for a Foodie Friday entry. (Who knows how that happened??!!!) So, in order to satisfy the needs of my readers, I decided to make another batch. (See how much I care about you? It really is all about you.) This time I took the picture as soon as the granola was in the container. (That way there was no chance of it mysteriously disappearing.)

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c rolled oats

2 1/2 c puffed rice cereal

2 t pumpkin pie spice

3/4 t salt

3/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c plain pureed pumpkin

1/4 c plain applesauce

1/4 c maple syrup

1 t vanilla extract

1 c sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl combine oats and puffed rice cereal. In a medium bowl whisk together spices, salt, sugar, applesauce, pumpkin puree, maple syrup and vanilla.

3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until mixture is evenly coated.

4. Spread on prepared baking sheets in an even layer.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn the granola over using a spatula and sprinkle with nuts.

6. Bake an additional 15 minutes until crisp and golden.

7. Cool on pan and store in airtight container.

**You can also add dried fruit. I added Craisins to the first batch but chose to leave them out of the second.**

Falling Up

I recently spotted this cute idea in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine:

I quickly grabbed a frame that I had lying around and my trusty spray paint. (The frame was 90% off at Hobby Lobby a while back. I believe this was due to its unfortunate paint job of gold with red veining.) Once the paint was dry I took a few of the fall leaves I had purchased at the Target Dollar Spot, some ribbon, and my hot glue gun. A few minutes later I had created this:

Not bad for a couple minutes of my time and a few dollars out of my pocket.

I have another project in the works using the fake fall leaves. You'll have to check out future posts for that one.