Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole

Ack! It's two days until Thanksgiving!

I am so so so so excited for this Thanksgiving! You want to know why? Because I'm bringing some of my own family's traditional recipes to my boyfriend's family gathering. I know that some of you will relate: Another family's Thanksgiving meal just can't compare to the one your family used to make.

So with that being said, I've already made the egg bread for my traditional dressing recipe. I'll be whipping the rest of it up this evening and storing it in the fridge until Thursday morning! I also made a paleo pumpkin pie for the boy, and it came out wonderful, too! Last but not least, I did a new take on sweet potatoes. My mom used to make candied yams. You know the stuff. Oooey, gooey, yummy, marshmallow goodness. Well, I can't handle all that sugar, so I made something healthier but just as good!

This recipe is so simple! Just a handful of ingredients you should have lying around your house and you're good to go! It's as simple as sweet potatoes, cinnamon and spices, coconut milk, coconut oil, honey, pecans, and the juice of an orange! Tada! You're done! Enjoy and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

If you want the recipe, just check it out on Soda Pop Avenue's site by clicking here!

Harvest Recipe Swap Meet

I'm being joined by the ladies from Soda Pop Avenue today for an awesome Food Blog Swap Meet graciously hosted by Kristin at Dizzy Busy and Hungry and Edward at If You Can Read. It's only a few more days until Thanksgiving, and I'm sure this recipe will get you in the giving spirit!

Hello! The Ladies from Soda Pop Avenue here to share one of our favorite fall recipes with you! Our blog has lots of great ideas for holidays, organization, recipes, and family fun that you will enjoy, but today we are sharing a great Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread recipe with you that can be made into muffins too!

This is one of my favorite pumpkin recipes. I have been making it for years and every time I do someone requests the recipe. It is such a simple recipe as well, kind of a lot of ingredients, but it is a recipe I found when I was learning to cook and I wanted recipes I could basically "throw everything in and go", and this recipe fits that requirement well. I also love that it makes both delicious bread or yummy muffins (which are perfect for breakfast on the go!).

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD (OR MUFFINS!) 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed cooked fresh pumpkin
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
3. Beat eggs, pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk and oil in large bowl until well blended.
4. Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
5. Add in chocolate chips.
6. Pour into a greased 9x5-inch bread loaf pan. Or, line cupcake tins with cupcake liners and pour mixture into cupcake tins to make muffins.
7. For bread, bake for 55 minutes. For muffins, bake for 30 minutes.
8. Cool and enjoy!

Below the collage are links to all of the posts that participated in our Blog Swap Meet: Harvest Recipes!

Stop by and visit them all!

If You Can Read, You Can Cook posted on From The Desk Of...

From the Desk Of... posted on If You Can Read, You Can Cook

Cynfully Wonderful posted on Food Storage Moms

Food Storage Moms posted on Cynfully Wonderful

That's My Home posted on Dizzy Busy and Hungry!

Dizzy Busy and Hungry! posted on That's My Home

Kneaded Creations posted on A Dash of Sanity

A Dash of Sanity posted on Kneaded Creations

Creative Southern Home posted on Mammy2Grammy

Mammy2Grammy posted on Creative Southern Home

Confections + Coffee posted on Soda Pop Avenue

Soda Pop Avenue posted on Confections + Coffee

Pop-Up Pinterest Post #1

Welcome to my first Pop-Up Pinterest Post!

There is a reason why my food blog is straying away from strictly recipes. You can read as to why here, or just go with the flow and appreciate my taste in decorating/design/fashion.

Since it's almost Thanksgiving, then I must, of course, have an obligatory T-giving post. Doesn't bother me any, I love Thanksgiving! I get to spend time with family and stuff my face with tasty foods. I also get to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (a tradition of mine for the last 20 years... I'm not kidding). One day I'll be there in NY watching it LIVE! Until then... watching it on TV in my warm jammies and drinking coffee will suffice.

My Pop-Up Pinterest Post will be based off of a theme I choose for that particular post. I'll embed some of my favorite pins on here so you can see them, pin them, share them, etc. There will be pins for other recipes, home decor, women's & men's fashion, quotes, design, photography, and pugs. That's just how I roll.

So here we go!

Pin #1

Since I just stated that it's my dream to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, it will be my first pin! If you click on this link, you can go to the parade's website and learn more about it. So fun!

Pin #2

Pumpkin Pie is my favorite dessert ever! I like to keep it simple. But these adorable cookies will do! I just love the layout of this photo, along with a fabulous decorated batch of cookies. Perfect!

Pin #3

I'm not a fan of pins that lead to Tumblr posts, but I just like these blankets too much to not share. Perfect for Thanksgiving and the short-term fall we have here in Oklahoma

Pin #4

You can make these pumpkin tarts for your upcoming Thanksgiving feast! Perfect bite-sized pumpkin-y goodness developed by yours truly. Best topped with whipped cream.

Pin #5

Happy Pugs-giving!

That's all for this Pop-Up Pinterest Post! Thanks for swinging by and have a great holiday!

How-To Tuesday: Cinnamon Sugar

Welcome to my first How-To Tuesday post!

So let's just get down to business. I'm pretty sure every single person has made cinnamon sugar or eaten cinnamon sugar, or used cinnamon sugar, and I bet some of you have even bought the McCormick cinnamon sugar mixture.

For the last several months, I have actually kept an entire tupperware container full of cinnamon sugar mixture in my cabinet so I can grab it quickly and use it on whatever recipe calls for it. No joke, that's how often I use cinnamon sugar.

And if you Google cinnamon sugar ratio, there are like 50 ratios out there. Well, I've done my testing and I believe I have come up with an excellent cinnamon-to-sugar ratio for every recipe ever. This includes cinnamon toast, coating donuts, topping bread or cake, sprinkling on top of frosting. You name it, this mixture is perfect for it.

It's so easy, I almost feel silly posting this. But I'm going to post it anyway. In 3 easy steps, you will have your perfect cinnamon-sugar mixture. Enjoy!

Step 1: Get sugar and cinnamon in the same room.

Step 2: Entice them to get in the same bowl.

Step 3: Let the romance begin. ;)

Coffee Break #3

Welcome to Coffee Break #3! Let's sit down and enjoy a cup, shall we?

Lots of things happening as the holidays are fast approaching!

First off, since things are getting a little busy for me at my full-time job, I will not be posting as much on here. I design a magazine as my full time job and am trying to get the Christmas issue ready and planned out. It takes about a month to prepare, and a week to put together.

I'm also in the Food Blogger Cookie Swap! So I'll be making 3 dozen cookies to send to 3 different people (1 dozen each) and I'll be getting 3 dozen in return! That's a lot of cookies! I can't wait to develop a recipe and get them sent! I have to do all this before December 2! Only a couple of weeks left!

Last Saturday, the 16th, Jose participated in a Jiu Jitsu Competition, so I was out of pocket all day, rooting him on and being that girlfriend that squeals when he's on the mat. Can't help it! It makes me nervous! He didn't win, but for his second competition ever, I'm proud of his accomplishments.

I have bought and finished all my Christmas shopping! My last present for the boy was ordered today! I'll be organizing and wrapping this week just to get it out of the way. Then I need to start planning for holiday parties and Dirty Santa parties!

Things that have been going on in my little coffee-filled world:

Being all artsy and D.I.Y. and making hanging hat art.

I've bought 4 books, 3 being Stephen King, in the last week. I also bought 2 video games. Because I have so much spare time. :P

Yum yum! New recipe!

A BEAUTIFUL piece of art I won in a giveaway! I cannot believe the detail in this little painting. I am so impressed! So I'm going to frame it and hang it right above my desk. You can visit her Etsy Shop here: BingArt

I made a super adorable ruffle apron! P.S. Ruffles are hard.

Someone likes to lick the chalk off the cabinets...

I finally invested in Le Creuset! Got it on super sale for $35, originally $72.

Ermahgerd. I cannot believe this delicious stuff exists.

Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole. Such a hit that I'll be posting it on my blog this week!

Pre-Thanksgiving dinner for Jose and me. A chicken, my family's traditional dressing, and the sweet potato casserole. It was excellent!

Chauncey loves to eat leaves!

Perfect size for me! 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming holidays and adventures in store! Until next time: keep the coffee warm. :)