Pumpkin Spice Halloween Puppy Chow

Hi there!!

I'm sorry (not that sorry) to share sweet snacks two weeks in a row, but I had to fit this one in before Halloween, because I think it's the perfect thing to have around the house as festive snack for a party or just watching a movie or reading a scary story :) If you've been following my blog for any time, you've probably read one of my puppy chow recipes/explanations before, so I won't go into too much detail, I'll just say that this is delish, super easy, and a number of people call it 'muddy buddies', in case that rings a bell where 'puppy chow' doesn't! Let's go!

Arsenal: cereal, white chocolate, confectioner's sugar, and extras!

Mallowcreme & Candy Corn M&Ms in the corner, then the white chocolate mixture,
cinnamon chips, and a large bowl with the cereal.

Toss cereal with your melted white chocolate, and toss in cinnamon chips if using- it'll look messy- that's good!

Then get all of your cereal into your gallon bag with confectioner's sugar and pumpkin pie spice

Last, pour out onto wax paper to let it harden, then store airtight!

Pumpkin Spice Halloween Puppy Chow
-8 cups Chex cereal (I used half regular rice Chex-type cereal and half cinnamon Chex)
-12 oz. white chocolate chips (usually 1 bag) or candy melts (use orange for even more festivity!)
-1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
-1/2 cup cinnamon chips (optional)
-1 cup confectioner’s/10x sugar
-1-2 cups mallowcreme pumpkins or autumn mix
Pour cereal into a very large bowl, and get out two spoons for tossing.
Prepare your gallon ziploc bag by pouring in the 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar and 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, shake around.
Melt your white chocolate slowly in the microwave or on a double boiler. Once melted, take off heat and add 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice.
Pour white chocolate mixture over cereal and toss well. If using, add cinnamon chips as well.
Transfer cereal mix to the gallon bag, toss well.
Pour out onto wax paper to harden and throw away bag and excess confectioner’s sugar.
Sprinkle with mallowcreme pumpkins or autumn mix.
[When I made this recipe this time, I put half of the mallowcreme candy in before shaking with the confectioner’s sugar, and half after, hence the pictures being a little off from the recipe. It’s delicious both ways but for visual appeal, I’d add it all at the end]

And here's your finished product- festive, and super yummy and addictive!
Good thing I have great people to share my goodies with, or else I'd eat it all!

Savor it!
love, rue

Cinnamon Sugar Chex Mix

Hello there!

This recipe is super simple and easy, and I actually made it by combining two recipes from the back of cereal boxes- so this is soo not high cuisine, but is delish and a great snack, especially now that the leaves are changing colors and Halloween is almost upon us! I'll have a great Halloween snack/treat for you all next week. But first, let me show you this one...

Arsenal: popcorn, cereal, butter, cinnamon, and white sugar.

Your cereal popcorn mix, cinnamon-sugar, and melted butter. Time to assemble!

Pour the butter over and toss well, and gently.

Microwave for 1 minute then toss, then repeat.

Then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar and toss well again.

Microwave another minute, toss, then another 30 seconds. Toss, then...

let cool on waxed paper! You're done!

Cinnamon Sugar Chex Mix
-2 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal (or similar)
-2 cups Chocolate Chex cereal (or similar)
-4 cups plain, air popped, popcorn (2-4 tablespoons popcorn kernels, unpopped, depending on your brand- you will probably have a little leftover, just save it for the next batch! airtight!)
-1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted
-1/4 cup white sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon, mixed
Mix cereals and popcorn together in a large microwaveable bowl.
Pour melted butter over cereal and popcorn and toss well (and gently!).
Microwave for 1 minute, toss. Microwave for another minute, toss.
Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over cereal and popcorn and toss well, evenly coating all of it.
Microwave 1 minute, toss. Microwave 30 seconds, toss.
Cool on waxed paper. Store airtight. Enjoy!

All finished and in a cute little tin- great to give away as a little present, but make sure you don't eat it all first! It's a good thing it's easy to make more!

Savor it!
love, rue

Fluffy Peanut Butter Honey Dip

Hey there everyone!

This recipe/idea is super easy and simple- it really feels like cheating to me, but we have to give ourselves breaks every once in a while and whip up what's quick, easy, and completely delicious. This Fluffy Peanut Butter Honey Dip is awesome on apples, tastes like PB&J with berries, and is also great on cookies, graham crackers- whatever you can think of, I'll admit I've even had just a spoonful alone! Let's go!

I told you- super simple- 3 ingredient arsenal of cool whip, peanut butter, and honey.

Put cool whip and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl.

And whip until uniform and fluffy!

Add in your honey- 2 to 3 tablespoons depending on your tastes.

And then beat for 2 more minutes in your mixer. You can also definitely use a hand mixer, no problem.

Fluffy Peanut Butter Honey Dip
-1 cup peanut butter (regular or natural, regular or reduced fat)
-1 (8 oz.) container cool whip (lite, extra creamy, store brand- whatever your preference)- put in fridge for 1 hour prior to making
-2-3 tablespoons honey
*Both stand and hand mixers will work just fine with this recipe
Whip peanut butter and cool whip together until fluffy.
Add honey and beat 2 minutes, until incorporated and uniform.
Store airtight in the refrigerator.
Delicious with apple slices, graham crackers, other fruit, whatever you can think of- even a spoonful by itself is delish!

Your finished dip- just minutes and you've got 2 1/2 - 3 cups of delicious dip for fruit, graham crackers, whatever you like.

You should definitely whip this up, soon. It stores great in the fridge and is awesome to pull out for a snack with an apple or whatever your preference is. Enjoy!

Savor it!
love, rue

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Hey there!

I saw a few recipes for a syrup like this and thought I had to give it a go because the BF is such a big fan of pumpkin and pumpkin spice drinks, but neither of us can have much caffeine- this way we can make our own decaf (and super cheap!) Pumpkin Spice Lattes, or mix with soda for a cold drink. Experiment! Let's go!

Your arsenal- sugar, spices, and water (not pictured, ha)

Use a not-non-stick pot! Very important!! Dissolve your sugar in the water over medium heat.

Here are all of your spices- cinnamon sticks, ground ginger and cloves, and fresh ground nutmeg.

Add all of your spices into your sugar water mixture, and cook/steep 5 minutes, but do not let boil.

And here it is after 5 minutes- you can see how things have clarified a little and absorbed into the syrup.

I have a super-fine strainer, so I used that to strain my syrup, but you can use whatever is easiest for you- cheesecloth, etc.- you're just trying to get most of the sediment out.

And you're left with a little over 2 cups of syrup!

Pumpkin Spice Syrup
-1 1/2 cups water
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-4-5 cinnamon sticks
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
-1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
Dissolve sugar in water over medium heat in a not non-stick pot.
Add remaining ingredients. Heat/steep 5 minutes, keeping hot but do not let boil.
Cool for about 10 minutes.
Strain through whatever method is easiest for you- really fine strainer, cheesecloth, etc.
Store airtight in the refrigerator.
Use to make pumpkin spice lattes, sodas, or whatever strikes your fancy!

And this isn't a very glamorous presentation, but for 10 minutes work and a few ingredients I have a bottle of my very own pumpkin spice syrup- the BF gives it two thumbs up!

Savor it!
love, rue