Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cast Iron Skillet Cookie

First order of business.  I strongly urge to purchase a cast iron skillet.  You will thank me.

Second order of business.  You must make this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cast Iron Skillet Cookie.  You will thank me.

Nate and I love cast iron skillet cookies.  A chocolate chip cookie with a hint of bacon-y grease flavor.  Can you get any better than that?

You can.  Add pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice to it.  We don’t mess around here at Décor and the Dog.

I suppose you could make this in any regular ol’ pan.  But don’t.  Get yourself a cast iron skillet.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cast Iron Skillet Cookie

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.  Set aside. Cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and pumpkin; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture.  Beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (lightly greased) and spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 25-30 minutes. Don't over bake.  It will continue to cook out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool in pan.  Cut into wedges.

Enjoy!

And be sure to Instagram it.  I mean, it didn’t happen if you didn’t Instagram it.

I’ve had some questions about our cast iron skillet.  We have the Lodge Logic  12" Pre-Seasoned Skillet. We’ve had ours for a couple of years now and it keeps getting better with age!

Are you a cast iron skillet cookie fan?  How about pumpkin?  I can’t quit the pumpkin.  Wait, I’m eating vegetables.  Awesome.

Meal Plan- Week of 9/30/12

It’s Sunday.  You know what that means?

If you’re Nate, it means laying on the couch and watching the Ryder cup ALL DAY LONG.  If you’re me, it means you’re the Governor of Getting It Done.  Seriously.  I deserve an award for my productiveness today.

If you’re Ike, it means Boxelder bug watching.  It’s his newest favorite pastime.

It also means it’s time for a meal plan.  Get excited.

Sunday: 

Mexican Chicken.  We’ve made this before.  It’s pretty much amazing.  And I don’t generally like Mexican food.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant last night with friends. I ordered chicken strips.  True story.  But this, this is good.

Monday:

Paprika Chicken and Hashbrowns

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2/3 c. Bisquick
• 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• Chicken breasts (We make two and there is extra seasoning.  This recipe would probably coat 4 chicken breasts.)
• Heat over to 425.  Melt butter in a baking dish in the oven.  Stir together Bisquick, paprika, salt, and pepper.  Coat chicken.  Place chicken in pan with melted butter.  Bake 20-25 minutes.  Turn about half way through.

Tuesday:

Chicken ravioli (We didn’t end up eating this last week.  Life happened.  It’s okay. We still ate in.)

Wednesday:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes  (Thanks, Michelle!)

Thursday:

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

As always, feel free to e-mail me with your favorite recipes. (decorandthedog (at) gmail)  I’ll be sure to share some link love! 

Life with Two Dogs

Diggin’ It will return next week.  I can only have follow through for so long….until life gets in the way.  I’m preferring a mindless post today and I am the master of this blog.  Mwah ha ha.

Those of you that follow me on Instagram know that we had a houseguest this week.

This is Ike’s cousin, Sam.  He’s a Wheaten Terrier.  He’s such a good dog.  He’s goofy and fun loving. He’s about as good as you can get in the guest dog department.

Although Sam is a great dog, we learned this week that we are definitely a one dog household.  Especially a one terrier household.  Ike and Sam get along well.  They just play and annoy each other non-stop. That’s what terriers do. My poor dirty, dirty floors.

We also realized that Ike is very cat like.  He has a litter box.  We leave food out for him to eat at his leisure.  He’s pretty much as self sufficient as a dog can get.  Sam is a dog.  Dogs have to go outside.  Dogs have regularly scheduled feedings.  Dogs are definitely more work than dog-cats.

Although it was an interesting week, there was one big benefit to having two dogs.  Double the snuggling!

Are you a one or two member pet family?  Maybe more?  Is your dog a cat?  Sounds funny but think about it.

Quirky Owl Wreath

Me:  “Nate, what do you think about this wreath?”

Nate: “Eh.  It’s okay.”  As he runs upstairs.

Me: “You didn’t even look at it.”

Nate:  “I did too.  Sticks.  Owls.”

Me:  “Well, I just need to know if it’s too quirky.”

Nate:  “Not too quirky.  Just Michelle quirky.”

Me: “Okay, good.”

As you can see, my quirky owl obsession continues.  I’ve decided to use them to cure my bird phobia.  Yes, I’m afraid of birds.  My heart races when one is near me or if I can see them plotting to peck my eyes out.  I think it all stems from a childhood encounter with an angry momma goose.  Mothers, keep your kids away from the fowl.  This cute little cartoony owls make me smile though.  They’re helping me rethink birds.  Except for the real owl that lives in the trees behind my house and makes his owly noises while I watch New Girl….as he plots how he is going to take me down.  He has me rethinking nothing.

This wreath was quite simple to make.  I cut out some fabric and used some super glue to attach it to the front of the body.  I sewed around the edges, stuffed it with filler, and sewed it on up.  I can make a template for those of you that are interested.  I was just not interested in making at template last night.  (It’s season premiere week.  I have priorities.)  It’s quirky and old ladyish. My favorite kind of décor wreath.

Do you have a fall wreath up?  What’s on it?  Anyone else using quirky owls to cure their bird phobia?  What’s are your favorite shows this season?

Random Acts of Craftiness- September

***First up, the winner of the Goose Creek Scented Candle Giveaway is Ashley M.  An e-mail was sent your way!  Remember you can still use the coupon code for 1050 for 25% off your entire purchase!***

Oh boy.  Today is a big day.  It’s the first link up of the Random Acts of Craftiness challenge.

If you are new around here/have a bad memory…the Random Acts of Craftiness challenge is being hosted by Erin over at His and Hers.  Each month a random item is selected.  Bloggers are encouraged to use their noggins and come up with a unique/never been completed craft project using the selected item.

September’s challenge item was game pieces.

I love board games.  I especially love board games when I win.  I get competitive.  I resort to any and all measures to win.  I’m a notorious cheater.  I should probably be paying for therapy for my younger brother.  The kid never won a single board game growing up.  Seriously.  I can teach you to cheat at any and all board games.  It’s a skill.

I chose Clue for my challenge.  Clue is one of my favorites.  How do you cheat at Clue?  You look at what cards are left in the box to eliminate Mrs. Peacock and that pesky Professor Plumb.

You know what goes good with board game cheating? Wine.  And that ladies and gentlemen is how I came up with the answer to September’s challenge.

I combined the Clue weapons and board markers with some earwires to make wine glass charms.

These are super easy to make.  Attach your earwires to the pieces either by slipping the wire into holes (like the revolvers trigger opening) or wrap them around the pieces. Regular ol’ wire would actually probably work as well.  Place the new “wine charms” at the base of your wine glasses.  It’ll be hard to mix up wine glasses now.  You definitely won’t confuse Mr. Green for a revolver.

Be sure to head on over to His and Hers and check out all of the entries.  Nate is the husband judge this month so we’ll be stopping by all of them!

Did you participate in the challenge?  What’s your favorite board game?  Do you cheat at board games or do you insist on fair play?

Linking up to: His and Hers

Fall Dessert Pizza

Who’s working on adding on that extra layer for winter?  Yeah, me too. 

Mmm, soup.  Mmm, mashed potatoes.  Mmm, desserts.  The delicious food just doesn’t stop lately.

Today I’m going to share with you one of my favorite desserts… Fall Dessert Pizza.

A peanut butter cookie “crust” with a chocolate chip/peanut butter chip “sauce” topped with candy corn, marshmallows, M&Ms, and Reese’s Pieces.  Can you go wrong?

Start with your ingredients…

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. peanut butter chip
• Various topping:  M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, marshmallows, peanuts, etc.

Beat butter and peanut butter for ~30 seconds until light brown.  Beat in brown sugar, sugar, egg, and vanilla until mixed well.  Add flour slowly.

Spread onto greased 12-13” pizza pan.  My mom always used circle pans which makes for fun “pizza” slices.  I only have rectangle pans so that’s what I went with.

Bake at 350 for 13-18 minutes, or until golden.

Remove and instantly sprinkle with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Let sit 1-2 minutes and then spread chips.  (You may need to stick the pan back in the oven to assist with the melting.)

Top with desired fall toppings.  (You can also make this any time of year with various toppings.)

Pop the pan back in the oven and bake for ~5 minutes or until marshmallows are golden.

Try to limit yourself to half the pan.  Or don’t.  It’s only a matter of time before the snow flies and you need that extra layer!

What’s your favorite fall dessert?  Do you have trouble keeping your hands out the candy corn bag?  Are you stocking up for winter?

Fall Mantel 2012 Edition

It’s that time again.  Time to decorate the mantel in its fall best.

This year I went with a sexy librarian/quirky owl theme.  Or old lady clutter.  Either way.  I like it.

I stole books (in fall colors) from our office.  Hooray for in home shopping.  The owl on the left is from TJMaxx (last season).  (I used it last year's fall mantel.)  The owl on the right is from Menard’s.  The clock was also stolen from the office.  It was originally purchased from an antique store. 

Is your house ready for fall?  Have you turned the heat on yet?  We were tempted this week-end but toughed it out.  Are you digging the sexy librarian/quirky owl theme?  I need to trademark that one.  A Décor and the Dog original.

Linking up to: Centsational Girl, The Inspired Room

Meal Plan- Week of 9/23/12

I’ve been doing awesome with meal planning.  Oh wait, that’s a lie. 

I have lots of excuses but I’ll save them for another day.  Today, this meal planning train is back on track.  Here we go…

Sunday: 

Chili and corn bread

Monday: 

Parmesan Bow-Tie Skillet

• 3 cups farfalle, cooked, drained
• 1 jar (14oz.) spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Combine pasta, spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella and 2 Tbsp. of Parmesan cheese in a large skillet or saucepan.

Cook on medium heat 10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and remaining 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese; cover.  Let stand 5 minutes or until mozzarella cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings ( 1 1/4 cups each).

Tuesday:

Kick Ball playoffs potluck.  Go team!

Wednesday:

Center cut slice of ham and mashed potatoes (made from scratch with potatoes from the parents’ garden).

Thursday:

Chicken and cheese ravioli (from Sam’s) with It's Ready Already Alfredo sauce.

What are your favorite recipes?  Feel free to e-mail me at decorandthedog (at) gmail. I’ll be sure to mention/feature your blog if your recipe makes the meal plan list!

Diggin’ It

Holy Cow. I’m keeping up with a series.  Amazing.  The world may be ending.  You heard it here first. 

Hopefully you can squeeze in a look at our favorites from the week.

Dudette:

• I should retitle this “Michelle’s Favorite Kitchen Make-over of the Week.”  Maury (Life on Mars) wowed me with her addition of butcher block counters.  Seriously doesn’t even look like the same room.
• Chelsea (Two Twenty One) is offering up her photo editing skills.  Have a photo that isn’t quite stellar but you don’t want to invest the money and time into learning photo editing?  Chelsea is here to help!  She edited up one of our cow pictures.  Be sure to check it out!
• I’m madly in love with these Target cardigans.  I’m one of those elderly ladies that always has a cardigan no matter what time of year.  I really like the length of these..especially paired with skinny jeans.  My other new love.

Dude:

• Nate is lame.  I asked him what he was digging this week and he said “Your Mom.”  He doesn’t know I’m putting this on the blog.  This will teach him to play along with my blog games.  The only thing he could come up with is two albums that he has been listening to a lot while editing our vacation photos… Barenaked Ladies and Fun.  Let’s encourage Nate to try harder next week.  Mkay?

Dog:

• Ike and I think this Good Dog Gift Bucket from Harry Barker would be fun gift for new dog owners.  Or for storing treats and bones. Ike thinks lots of bones would be good. 

Should I kick the dude out of the weekly round up or give him another chance?  What are your favorites from the week?  Big week-end plans?  We are sleeping.  Just sleeping.  Okay, maybe hanging out with family too.  But lots and lots of beautiful sleep is in our very near future.

My Colortopia Show Your Colors

Today you can find me over at my ad free blog talking about a new section over at  My Colortopia called Show Your Colors.

Show Your Colors features before & after photos submitted by MyColortopia readers.  Who doesn’t like sharing?  This over sharer is all about another spot on the interweb to show off our fun makeovers!

I’ve recently submitted my powder room and guest bedroom makeovers.  Be sure to head on over and learn more about my paint updates and My Colortopia's Show Your Colors…click here! 

Have you completed any room makeovers lately?  Did you find any inspiration over at Show Your Colors?