Jumbo Jack-o-Lantern Cookies

**Disclaimer** This is not a light recipe...although I did use "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" margarine sticks instead of real butter...and it turned out just fine.

Also - the pictures are taken with my phone, and aren't the best - but I promise I didn't burn the cookies!

At the church I work for there is a children's choir.  Every Tuesday the choir gets together for snack (it's right after school), singing, and games.  This quarter, my own classes have unfortunately fallen on Tuesdays and so I can't be there to practice with them....However, I still take turns providing the snacks, and it's my turn for this week.

So, I made these Jumbo Jack-O-Lantern cookies...it was my first try and I think they turned out very well.  They taste something like a combination of chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin bread - both great  flavors and combine well.

Here's the recipe: This was originally taken (I believe) a couple years ago from a Taste of Home magazine. I have had it in my recipe file but haven't gotten around to trying these until now....

Ingredients:
1 c. butter softened (I used margarine, worked well)
1 c. sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 c. quick-cooking oats (I only had about 3/4 cup, so I added an extra 1/4 cup of flour, and it worked just fine)
1 tsp. B.S. (Baking Soda, I think I'll abbreviate this way from now on)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. canned pumpkin (Now I have extra canned pumpkin, any ideas what I can do with it - besides pie?)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Frosting (I used a basic buttercream for the green and store-bought black (because how do you make black frosting!?), but you can do whatever you want)
-The original recipe used orange frosting, but I found it hard to see on the cookies, and used black for a more traditional jack-o-lantern look.

Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugars.  Add egg and vanilla.
2. Combine flour, oats, B.S., Cinnamon & salt, add to the creamed mixture - alternating with pumpkin.
3. Stir in chocolate chips
4). Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto foil-lined cookie sheets.
-Spread the cookies out into oval (pumpkin) shapes, and add an extra teaspoon of dough at the top for a stem.
5). Bake at 350 for 16-19 minutes.  Let sit until removable and cool on a rack (if you don't have one, paper towels work great - that's what I do)
6). Frost the "stems" with green frosting and create faces with the black!

These are fun and festive cookies - even coming from someone who's not big into Halloween, I bet the kids will love them!

By the way - these cookies are very large!

Light Pasta Carbonara

Well friends, as is typical of me when I'm in the midst of a quarter, I don't have much time to blog...however, in those *rare* moments of procrastination I still visit this site and contemplate whether I have enough news-worthy to share.  I do have a couple belated happenings recently that I should write about, but I'm feeling uninspired.  As I currently struggle with an assignment for my Teaching Science Methods class, I decided to start sharing some of the cooking I've been doing recently....I don't have pictures of these first few, but perhaps I'll start taking them in the future....

As many of you know, in the past couple years I've tried to really tweak (tweek?) my lifestyle to make it more healthy.  A large part of that for me has been changing what I eat...I've discovered a love of cooking and playing with recipes to try and make them "lighter".  However, I also love to bake...my downfall.  These days I mostly bake for different events, or for friends, so as to be a blessing to others - and prevent myself from eating them all!

Most of these recipes will be ones I've taken from magazines and simply changed a bit...I don't expect a movie deal out of it (...Julie/Julia reference, in case you're confused) but there might be some of you out there looking for lighter recipes, and for that reason, I'll share...

The first is Pasta Carbonara - a traditionally highly fattening dish - made of pasta, cheese, bacon/prosciutto, and egg.  Now, I must admit, I've never had the real thing, so my version probably pales in comparison, but for a lightened up version of comfort food pasta, I thought it was pretty good! I got a recipe from a website that I can't seem to find at the moment....and changed it a bit, so here's my version...

Ingredients:
Water (for boiling pasta)
about 4 ounces of whole wheat linguine (or you could use spaghetti I s'pose)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (The original recipe had 2, but 1 is plenty, even though it doesn't look it initially)
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
5-6 slices turkey bacon (turkey bacon has 65% less fat than pork bacon, and although traditional pasta carbonara calls for prosciutto, turkey bacon allows for that same salty taste without all the fat)
3/4 c. frozen peas (thawed)
1/4 c. white wine (I used cooking wine, but I'm sure real wine would be better)
2 large eggs
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese (more if desired)
Black Pepper (to taste)

1). Boil water, add pasta.  Most whole-wheat pastas cook for 6-8 minutes, read the box.
2). Pour EVOO in medium skillet over medium heat.
3). Add bacon and garlic, cook, stirring frequently, until bacon begins to crisp (adjust heat so garlic doesn't get dark, but lightly browns)
4). Add the peas and reduce heat, or remove pan from heat momentarily.
5). In separate large bowl (yes, large, you'll be adding the rest of the ingredients later) whisk the eggs with the parmesan and pepper.
6). Add the white wine to the skillet, and then the pasta (after draining it, obviously). Increase heat to medium-high.
7). After pasta is heated, remove and discard garlic.
8). Add skillet contents to large bowl with egg/parm/pepper mixture.
9). Fold together well to cook the eggs.

Enjoy!

P.S. Leftovers are decent, although the consistency is hard to recreate.  They ended up begin rather clumped noodles when reheated.

Roar!

This Sunday, I taught my K-1st grade Sunday school class the story of...Daniel in the Lion's Den. A SS classic, it's true. In an effort to jazz it up a bit, we made Lion Cookies! Although they didn't quite turn out as well (looking as much like lions) as the perfectionist in me wanted, they were still pretty darn cute. I even managed to snag a couple pictures with my phone....

The kids got to frost and decorate the cookies...then they were very torn as to whether or not they should eat them!

Awkward Side Effect to Breast Cancer Awareness Month...

Conversation I had with one of the first grade boys yesterday:

B: "Miss H. what's a breast?"
Me: *stares at this boy for a full minute that felt like forever* "Uhmmmm, where did you hear that buddy?
B: "On the radio they said it was breast wariness month."
Me: "Ohhh....Well.....*long pause, scan brain for politically correct answer* It's a part of the body. You should probably talk to Mommy more about that, ok?"

Fortunately he was satisfied with this answer. That being said, I was not expecting that question and upon further reflection I think I should have gone with a "chicken breast" explanation. However, in the moment, I did my best.

Yikes!