A Maine tradition at Thanksgiving?

As many of you know, my family likes to venture to Maine every summer. For as long as I can remember, my summers have been filled with kayaking, lobster, sailing and of course whoopie pies.

What is a whoopie pie you may ask?

It is the most delicious dessert you will ever have. Hands down.

So for thanksgiving this year, my sister and I decided to spice things up a bit and make pumpkin whoopie pies with cream cheese filling. They were AMAZING. Thank you Martha Stewart.

Here is a pic of ours (above) and the recipe. The recipe says it makes 12 LARGE whoopie pies, we have a whoopie pie pan which makes mini ones. We ended up with several batches!

Bon Appétit!

FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cloves

2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)

Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

‎"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."

Psalm 107:1 ♥

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone is enjoying time with their family and friends! No matter where you are :)

I was going to make a list of all the things I am thankful for; however, I realized that that would take way too long! So the short version is: My Heavenly Father, my family & my friends. Oh yeah, and Starbucks red cups. They make my heart happy :)

This year has been a roller-coaster of emotions. There was no way I could have survived without faith, my family and my friends. Especially my Phi Mu family! Sometimes I take those friendships for granted, but those girls are who got me through the last 4 years. Through happy moments, sad moments, and disappointing moments, they were there no matter what with advice or a shoulder to lean on. For those friendships that turned into family, I am so thankful for and so blessed to have!

What are you thankful for this year?

xoxo

Mal

Living in a Kenny Chesney song...

So today is my last day living in East Tennessee. How did time go by so fast?? I feel like I literally JUST moved in and now I'm moving out! Crazy. I won't lie, I'll miss being up here (words I never thought I'd say...) In honor of leaving East Tennessee, I thought I'd compile a list of things I would miss!

I will miss:

1. Living daily in a Kenny Chesney song... need I say more?

2. My sweet patients at my internship. Time went by way too fast :( I have LOVED every second at my internship. The staff was so much fun to work with! I learned how important building relationships are with patients! I will miss my sweet hem/oncology patients so much :(

3. Market Square. One of my favorite spots for shopping and eating! It reminds me a lot of downtown Homewood and Soho in Birmingham! It is where locals hung out and not where trashy UT students hung out (cough the strip).

4. Moonshine Margaritas. Yes, they are legal and delicious.

5. Living in a college town. Even though I despise UT, living in a college town atmosphere is WONDERFUL. Going to a small private college with a terrible football team, sorry Samford, makes me wish I had gone to a big school! It is definitely an experience that everyone should have! I feel like I missed out on tailgating, corn hole and just the simple normal what college should be like atmosphere. No worries, I still love you Samford, just wish you had a "real" football team.

I know there are many more things that I will miss, but that's all I can think of now! I'm ready for new my adventure!

Fruit, Fruit, Fruit!

So I LOVE fruit & I thought I'd pass along this information that was sent to me about it. Enjoy!

From Dr. Oz......

"We all think eating fruit means just buying fruit, cutting it up and popping it into our mouths. It's not that easy. It's important to know how and when to eat fruit.

What's the correct way to eat fruit?

DO NO NOT EAT FRUIT AFTER A MEAL! FRUIT SHOULD BE EATEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.

Eating fruit like that plays a major role in detoxifying your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.

FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD.
Let's say you eat two slices of bread, then a slice of fruit. The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it's prevented from doing so.

In the meantime, the whole meal rots and ferments, and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach, and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil.

Eat your fruit on an empty stomach, or before your meal! You've heard people complain: Every time I eat watermelon I burp, when I eat durian my stomach bloats, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet, etc. This will not happen if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. Fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas. Hence, you bloat!

There's no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruit becomes alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruit, you have the Secret of Beauty, Longevity, Health, Energy, Happiness and normal weight.

When you need to drink fruit juice drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT the concentrated juice from the cans. Don't drink juice that has been heated. Don't eat cooked fruit; you don't get the nutrients at all. You get only the taste. Cooking destroys all of the vitamins.

Eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice. If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it. You can go on a 3-day fruit-fast to cleanse your body. Eat fruit and drink fruit juice for just 3 days, and you will be surprised when your friends say how radiant you look!

KIWI: Tiny but mighty, and a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E and fibre. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange!

AN APPLE a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants and flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C, thereby helping to lower the risk of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke.

STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits and protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

EATING 2 - 4 ORANGES a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent and dissolve kidney stones, and reduce the risk of colon cancer.

WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. Also a key source of lycopene, the cancer-fighting oxidant. Also found in watermelon: Vitamin C and Potassium.

GUAVA & PAPAYA: Top awards for vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene, good for your eyes.

Drinking Cold water after a meal = Cancer!
Can you believe this? For those who like to drink cold water, this applies to you. It's nice to have a cold drink after a meal, however, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you've just consumed, which slows digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks.
HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE
Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they're asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Be careful, and be aware. The more we know, the better our chance to survive.