Lucy Eileen Keeven

She's here and she's just perfect.

Lucy Eileen Keeven was born on November 26th at 11:24 a.m. She has her momma's eyes and a very full head of hair.

It is surreal to us that this precious little baby is ours. We are so in love with her.

We didn't have to think too hard on what her name would be. As soon as we found out we were having a girl, we knew we wanted to name her Lucy. Lucy is after my Mom's nickname for me and after my Great Grandmother Mary Lucy. Her middle name Eileen is after Paul's grandmother.

We can't wait to watch her grow and see the person that she will become. I know that God has big plans for this little Lucy.

Blog to you soon,
Lucy's Mom

Pumpkin Obsession Part II

I stink, I know it. It has been nearly a month since I last posted. But in my defense, I have a baby due in 2 1/2 weeks, received a promotion at work, and am in the middle of a bathroom remodel. Extreme nesting has set in and I have a mile long to do list for the Househusband.

In the midst of our craziness, I have managed to prepare a few more pumpkin dishes. As the Fall season comes to an end and we head into winter where my obsession with peppermint and egg nogg will take over, I felt I should share a couple more ways to use pumpkin this month.

The first recipe is for Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. Amazing. I made it for the Househusband's birthday. He has told me several times that no one makes gooey butter cake as good as his mom. But he had no complaints eating this and I took it as a high compliment coming from such a Gooey Butter Cake snob. As with all recipes that involve pumpkin, I felt it got better and had a stronger pumpkin taste the day after we made it. To get the recipe, go to the link below.
http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2011/08/pumpkin-gooey-butter-cake.html

The second pumpkin recipe I made was for our Halloween lunch at work. It was the perfect excuse to make this recipe for Whoopie Pumpkin Pies :) I found it in the Food Network Magazine and made a couple of tweaks. Make sure you have a good pumpkin to cake ratio.

For the cookies
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

For the filling
4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt

1. Make the cookies: Line baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 400. Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients mixing until just combined.
2. Drop 8 scoops of batter about 1 tablespoon each onto the prepared baking sheet about 3 in apart. Bake until the edges are set but the cookies are still soft, about 8 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and cool 2 minutes on baking sheets. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
3. Make the filling. Beat the cream cheese and butter in a small bowl with a mixer until smooth. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Add the pumpkin, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and beat until smooth.
4. To assemble the whoopie pies, spread a heaping tablespoonful of filing on the flat side of a cook and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Enjoy and blog to you soon (hopefully!)

Lucy