Friday, December 6, 2013

Our Eccentric Projects - Hobbes






My son is a Calvin and Hobbes fan so when dear hubby found a pattern on Instructables to make a stuffed animal Hobbes I was smitten and decided to make one.

The Hobbes took me a while to make since I hand stitched most of it, but I like the way it turned out, and I think my son did too. 

The pattern and instructions created by Seamster are very easy to follow, here is the link:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Stuffed-Hobbes-with-pattern/

If you check out the site, there are also accessories you can make...I'm thinking my son's Hobbes would like a new cape.

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson




Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Headed out the door with a pumpkin pie donation to the Ashville, Ohio, Village Chapel Election Day Dinner

My friend Kim organizes the Ashville, Ohio, Village Chapel Election Day Dinner every year.  This year she needed extra pies and cakes, so I whipped up a batch of pumpkin pies.  The church smelled so good when I dropped the pies off, no wonder the event gets bigger each year.  My friend Kim does such a wonderful job organizing this huge event while juggling her job, school and family needs.  What a blessing she is to our community.

My pumpkin pie recipe is based on the Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe (recipe at bottom of page), except I swap out one can of evaporated milk with a can of sweetened condensed milk and use 1/2 cup less sugar.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
4 large eggs
1 can (29 oz.) Libby's Pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

2 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shells

Add all of the ingredients to a a large bowl and mix until combined.  Pour into pie shells.
Bake for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and cover crust with crust sheilds.  (I use foil but it is a real pain, and really wish I would invest in the sheilds). Continue to bake pies for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool pie for 2 hours then refrigerate.  Note:  The pies will be puffed up when hot and will relax as they cool down.



Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie
(recipe from the label)

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
4 large eggs
1 can (29 oz.) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 cans (12 fl. oz. each) Carnation Evaporated Milk
2 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shells

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl.  Beat eggs in large bowl.  Stir in pumpkin and sugar spice mixture.  Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shells.

Bake in preheated 425 degree F. oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.  Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Note: Do not freeze pie, as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.
*3 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice may be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger and cloves, however, the taste will be slightly different.