It’s not our recipe, but you can’t get more Thanksgiving than this:
Pumpkin Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Pecan Pie Filling and Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
For my family, I’d leave out the filling and just do the cupcakes with frosting. But you can make them however you want.
Enjoy your special day!
For Thanksgiving, we make homemade spiced cider, prepared by steeping cinnamon sticks and other spices in apple juice. In the fall and winter, look for in the big, glass bottle with mulling spices in a free packet around the neck of the bottle.
MessyMom uses the tea-bag-like packet (which contains cinnamon, orange peel, cloves and spices) plus 2 whole cinnamon sticks with most of the jar of apple juice. (We set some plain juice aside for the MessyBaker who does not like cider.) MessyDad adds Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum to his cider.
We keep it on the stove all Thanksgiving day, letting the smell permeate the house and sipping whenever we want. For our family, that is the aroma of the holidays!
The best oatmeal for you is also a great source of whole grains, protein and fiber - organic rolled oats. Not the kind that comes in a little flavor packet with lots of sugar added, but the kind that under ingredients reads only ”organic whole grain oats.”
We like Bob’s Red Mill organic quick cooking rolled oats. MessyMom can make them at home nice and slow, or in the microwave at work when time is tight.
To add a punch of flavor and energy try this recipe:
1/2 cup organic quick oats
1 cup water plus TB cold water, separated
1/3 chopped apple
2 shakes of cinnamon
12-20 raisins
1. Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup that is at least twice the size as the mixed ingredients - they will expand. (We use a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup.)
2. Microwave for 2 minutes.
3. Remove from microwave.
4. Immediately add 2 TB cold water.
5. Stir briskly. Serve and enjoy!
Makes enough for 2 toasty breakfasts or eat what you want and place the rest in a covered container in the fridge for tomorrow. Add another 2 TB water before reheating for 2 minutes.
Cinnamon gives you a natural energy boost and is an herbal remedy as well. Cinnamon is said to help improve circulation and relieve stomach cramps. In Chinese medicine, cinnamon is thought to move qi (pronounced “chee”), or vital energy. When energy is “stuck” in the abdomen and creates pains or cramps, cinnamon circulates the energy to the rest of the body and is thought to have a warming, soothing effect.
