Jack-O-Lantern Pizzas + CPK Family Cookbook Giveaway

Happy first day of October! And now that October has begun, bring on the Halloween stuff!

Aren't these Jack-O-Lantern pizzas absolutely adorable? This is just one of the fun recipes in the CPK Family Cookbook. (Yes, CPK has cookbooks!)

Just to let you in on a little secret, the Jack-O-Lantern pizza is really pumpkin pie on pizza crust! Yummy!

To kick off October, one lucky HC&B reader has the opportunity to win a CPK Family Cookbook. (I don't know about you, but my Ze Fronk recipe book from PlayhouseDisney.com is getting pretty old, and the idea of a cookbook with fun recipes for the kids and I to make together sounds very refreshing.)

So here's how to enter:

• Post a comment here including your name and location (city/state)
• Please post your comment by Friday, October 8th at 11:59 PST
• Become a Follower of Houses, Couches and Babies to receive an additional entry (those that are already followers automatically receive an additional entry)
• For a third entry, "like" Houses, Couches and Babies on Facebook (again, if you already like HC&B on Facebook, you will automatically receive the third entry)

The winner will be randomly selected shortly after October 8. Please check back to see if you have won, as the winner will not be contacted.

If you would like to just buy the CPK Family Cookbook, just visit your nearest CPK location. 100% of the proceeds from your purchase of the cookbook will go to children's charities nationwide.

Oh, and here's the wonderful Jack-Lantern Recipe:

Ingredients: Pizza dough, confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin pie filling, mini chocolate chips, chocolate kisses, whipped cream, candy corn.

Preparation:

1) Place the sugar in a fine-mesh strainer and sift a then, even layer of sugar over the dough. This will caramelize as the pizza bakes

2) Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake for 5 min to set the dough. Once the crust has been partially cooked, spread with a thin layer of pumpkin pie filling and return to the oven for another 5 -10 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove and allow the pizza to cool

3) Decorate the pizzas using mini chocolate chips to represent the vertical lines, whipped cream for the eyes and mouth, chocolate kisses for the eyeballs, and the candy corn for the teeth.

Party Leftovers

For some of you, this may be a no-brainer, but I figured out a great way to use the rest of the veggie platter from my daughter's birthday party. Of course, I bought the massive veggie tray from Costco and we hardly made a dent in it since the party was so small.

So what did I make for dinner tonight? Stir-fry, anyone?!?

The vegetables in the Costco tray are perfect...broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and snap peas make for a great stir fry. I hadn't whipped out the wok in ages. It was fun to try something different for a change. And it was super easy. The veggies were already cut and washed. I simply cut and added the chicken, and voila, yummy stir-fry.

Again, I know this might seem silly to you amazing wives and moms out there. But I was proud of myself for being resourceful with party leftovers.

Now if only I could figure out what to do with pink "1st Birthday Princess" party hats, plates and napkins!

Fun Birthday Cake Idea

Our baby girl turned 1 on Monday, so we are throwing a small family party for her this Saturday. For some reason, I am a total freak and love making cupcakes for my kids' birthday parties, and this Saturday is no exception.

As I was whipping up the cake a la Betty Crocker, I noticed the cutest idea on the box. Here it is...

I am going to be sticking to more of a pink theme, but you can really choose whatever color scheme you want. And what I love the most about this idea is that it is messy. I always try so hard to keep the cupcakes pristine, and by making this design, the stacking will lead to some mess.

For other cute cake ideas from Betty Crocker, click here.

How do You Pick Out Fruit at the Supermarket?

Everyone has an opinion on how to pick out the perfect fruit. To be honest, all I really care about are the fruits you can't see. You know, like cantaloupe or watermelon. Some people say you have to feel it, others say you can pick the best fruit by it's smell. I have been resorting to asking the man who works in the produce department, and lately, he has been picking out some lousy watermelon!

What do I do?

Well, first I found some tips for picking out ripe fruit...of course watermelon is not on the list, but there are some helpful hints for other fruits.

After digging a little deeper, I found a great resource that tells you what to pick, what to avoid, and how best to use your fruit. Click here for the full chart of fruits from A to Z courtesy of Cook'n Newsletter.

And, here is also a great segment on fruits and veggies from 10news.com in San Diego. Did you know that you are not supposed to put your tomatoes in the fridge?

What do you think? Do you have any sure fire ways of picking the perfect watermelon...or any other fruit for that matter? Please, please, please share if you do!

Beat the Bun Companies

Whenever I think about hot dogs and buns, I always think about the scene in Father of the Bride when Steve Martin goes crazy in the grocery store because buns and dogs don't come with the same number of items in their package.

Luckily, instead of taking buns out of a package and leaving them on the shelf at the store, you can follow Seven Ways to Use Leftover Buns from Real Simple. The egg, cheese and sausage bake and salami panini sound great to me!

Thanks Real Simple!

Double Boiler to the Rescue

Double boiler pans are great for melting chocolate and cooking delicate sauces. Unfortunately, with work and an almost 2 year old, I don't have much time to melt chocolate or cook delicate sauces. But I learned another great way you can use a double boiler...to keep mashed potatoes warm! Okay, so this would have been better to know back at Thanksgiving, but at least you will know for future reference.

One of the most difficult things to do is keep mashed potatoes warm after you have prepared them. Usually, by the time everything else you are cooking is ready, the mashed potatoes are cold. Well, not any more! Once you have mashed, mixed, and put the finishing touches on your mashed potatoes, put them in the top pan of a double boiler, put water in the bottom pan, and turn the heat on your stove to low. This will keep mashed potatoes warm without drying them out.

Shown above are two great options for double boiling. The first is from Macys (now on sale for $29.99) and the second double boiler is from Crate and Barrel ($34.95).

Have other uses for a double boiler? Have another way to keep mashed potatoes warm? Please share in the comments section!

Make Dinner Easier...On You!

Making dinner is the last thing any of us wants to do when we come home. Thankfully, some women have decided to make it easier on us. You may have noticed that meal assembly stores are popping up in your area.
They provide the recipes, the fresh ingredients and you make it to your own preferences. It takes a couple of hours, but when you are done, you have meals for weeks. You simply put the pre-made meals in the freezer and pull them out the day before you are ready to pop it in the oven and serve.

Plus, you make a mess at their store, so there is no clean up at your own home! It is a fun activity you can do on your own or with friends. Maybe it is something you and your spouse can do together (that was my husband's idea!).

Dream Dinners is one of the chains that is popping up in this growing market. They have locations throughout the country, so hopefully you can find one close to your home. If not, go to a search engine and enter meal assembly stores. Dinners Divine is just down the street in my area and I can't wait to check it out! Happy cooking!