Double Duty: Crock Pot Cocktail Carrier

Planning a New Year's Eve soiree (or a New's Year Day recovery party)?  Planning to serve a hot drink?  If so, consider using your crock pot.  You can mix the drink up, warm it up, and even serve it directly from the crock.  One dish clean-up, plus you don't have to worry about keeping an eye on the stove or warming up individual servings.

Mmm...tasty!

Smart Swap: Flour

Rather than using only all-purpose flour in your baked goods, why not try adding some whole-wheat or nut flour?

• You can substitute whole wheat flour for up to 1/3 of the all-purpose flour in pretty much any cake, cookie, brownie, or muffin recipe.  Keep in mind that you might have to add an extra tablespoon or two of liquid; whole wheat flour tends to absorb more liquid than all-purpose.
• Trying substituting up to half of the all-purpose flour in a brownie recipe for a nut flour.  Try ground almond or pecan meal - it'll give the brownies a nutty flavor.

Mmm...tasty!

Leaf Pile

One of my favorite things about Autumn is crunching through the fallen leaves.

Around my neck of the woods, though, we don't usually have many leaves that stick around to be piled up; the wind usually sweeps them away to parts unknown.