“Little Red Bear’s Hand-picked Recipes — Happy Halloween Spooktacularly Good Recipes Special!”

October 15, 2017October 12, 2020 / jrmilson / 10 Comments

Welcome to Little Red Bear’s special Happy Halloween Spooktacularly Good Recipes!

We thought it good to share Halloween recipes now to give you ample time to assemble ingredients and get treats made up and ready for parties and trick or treaters. Because by the time you hear hooves and feet dashing up the street — it’s too late. And then a ghoulish trick may be your fate . . . .

It’s Autumn and October,

Scary things will soon be waking,

Rising from tortured, restless slumber,

To find what treats we have been making!

So gather ‘round for recipes,

Come in to see what we have in store,

It’s time to head into the kitchen,

Before hungry ghosts and ghouls are at the door!

The recipe for Caramel Apple Bread Pudding seemed to garner the most oohs and ahhs last week. Take a look by tapping on the link if you missed it.

If you are new to our Sunday morning recipe sharing and missed the first Little Red Bear Recipes Post explaining what we are doing, simply tap on the link to check it out.

We have a good assortment of Halloween inspired treats and goodies picked out this week for you, so grab your apron and let’s get started. “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble,” as William Shakespeare put it. Let’s get stirring, shall we?

Halloween Cupcakes

This recipe features five easy decorating ideas to make special cupcakes for coming Halloween parties and events.

Halloween Cupcakes Recipe

Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins

Rice Krispie Treats are one of my favorite things, so making them up with the Mini Rollo stem and green M&M leaf is perfect for a Halloween party.

Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins Recipe

Jack Skellington Oreo Pops

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a favorite movie here, so these Jack Skellington Oreo Pops are a sure hit. If you cannot find the special Halloween Oreos, any will do. But the Halloween orange middles would be a fun surprise for little ones when biting into them.

Jack Skellington Oreo Pops Recipe

Halloween Candy Corn Fudge

Sharing two Halloween Candy Corn Fudge Recipes, one including the special Fall M&Ms for an added chocolate flavor, and the other cut into realistic little Candy Corn shapes for fun. Little Red Bear liked one — I liked the other — sharing them both!

Candy Corn M&M White Chocolate Fudge Recipe

Easy Candy Corn Fudge Recipe

Ghost Popcorn Balls

I honestly do not remember how many popcorn balls that I received trick or treating over the years, back in the day. But I know for a fact that none of them looked this cool.

Ghost Popcorn Balls Recipe

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ghosts

These are just too cute (and delicious!) for Halloween guests to leave out. And as a bonus, there are links to Halloween Eyeballs and Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats included at the bottom of the recipe, as well.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ghosts Recipe

Ghost Pretzels

These yummy little pretzel treats are so easy to prepare and cool looking for Halloween parties. Better make a bunch and then watch them disappear!

Ghost Pretzels Recipe

Paranormal Pretzel Cookies

While in the snack aisle of the grocery store picking up a bag of mini pretzels for the Ghost Pretzels, pick up a bag of the little square pretzels to make up these ghostly-themed chocolate chip cookies, too. Mini pretzels dipped in white chocolate riding on a chocolate chip cookie. Guaranteed to warm the hearts of little ghouls and goblins!

Paranormal Pretzel Cookies Recipe

Easy No Bake Peanut Butter Treats

Doing a two-fer here. Both recipes feature Creamy Smooth Peanut Butter as the main ingredient, one to make delightful little Pumpkin Bites and the other to make really scary looking Zombie Eyeballs for teen boys and those that are into that sort of thing. You could do the Pumpkin Bites for Thanksgiving, just as easily. Not so sure about the eyeballs.

No Bake Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bites Recipe

Peanut Butter Zombie Eyeballs Recipe

Halloween Harvest Hash Chex Mix

We always make up a Chex Party Mix for Christmas and New Years, and love the idea of this Halloween mix with not only my favorite Candy Corn, Candy Pumpkins, and Reese’s Pieces treats added, but also incorporating a brown sugar, butter, and vanilla extract mixture to flavor it all with. Oh, we are definitely going to need to find some bigger snack bowls this year!

Halloween Harvest Hash Chex Mix Recipe

Halloween Swirl Cream Cheese Brownies

That title about says it all — a dark chocolate brownie covered by a layer of orange cheesecake. All swirled together to make it look spooky for Halloween. It’s always good to have some special treats for the grown-ups, as well.

Halloween Swirl Cream Cheese Brownies Recipe

Halloween Marshmallow Pops

Little Red Bear thinks these Halloween Marshmallow Pops are the coolest things for a Halloween party or get-together! Easy to prepare and fun. Please note that the recipe calls for the large size, Campfire Giant Roasting Marshmallows. You could use regular ones, too. They would just be smaller, of course.

Halloween Marshmallow Pops Recipe

Halloween Spider Cookies

This delightful Halloween treat is a peanut butter cookie with a Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup on top, decorated with candy eyes and melted chocolate for the legs. Little Red Bear reminds — each spider has eight legs. If you just make six legs then it’s technically an insect. And who wants to eat a bug for Halloween? Well, zombies maybe. But who really wants those fellas hanging around? Be safe — eight legs.

Halloween Spider Cookies Recipe

If you enjoy these weekly recipe features, please tap the Like button below and feel free to Comment and let us know, and we will be on the lookout for more interesting and fun recipes to share with you each Sunday morning as we go along.

And remember, all of these recipes are added each week to our “Little Red Bear’s Hand-picked Recipes” board on Pinterest for you to access anytime and find those from previous weeks if you missed them. I invite you to follow and check out my other Pinterest boards while there, including the Halloween Recipes & Ideas Board for many other great treats and decoration ideas.

Family Time is the Best Time!

Trick or Treating is not the same as when we did it as small kids years ago. With a small group of close friends, we would head out together as it was beginning to get dark like a band of tiny pirates with the whole subdivision lying ahead of us to plunder and loot for goodies.

Homemade treats were the norm then, coming home with bags of homemade cupcakes, brownies, cookies, popcorn balls, caramel apples, loose candies tossed into our bags, and more. And slices of cake wrapped in plastic wrap. Those never survived the trip home intact and I wondered then and still do what those people were thinking. But, cake crumbs are cake nonetheless, so nothing ever went to waste!

Pre-packaged candy bars were rare, and treasured! And then there were the helpful grandparent types handing out apples, oranges, bananas, and pennies. And an occasional pencil, believe it or not.

So much has changed. We liked to imagine spooky dangers lurking around every corner, and never thought of them being real or having to go thru and inspect our treats for hidden hazards, or to have them x-rayed. The only reason we dumped our trick or treat bag goodies on the floor upon our return home was to let our parents have a chance to grab some and share in the bounty. On a good night and in fair weather, we sometimes came home, unloaded a heavy bag and headed right back out the door again for more! After 3rd grade or so, we never felt the need to have our parents accompany us for safety.

But as I said, times change. All of the treats above are clearly for home parties and family in today’s world, not intended to be distributed at the door any longer.

Here is an informational link to the National Safety Council’s Halloween Safety Tips and Guidelines for children and motorists, alike. Have a wonderful Halloween, keeping yourselves and the little ones safe this year. Remember — Scare Safe!

“There is little in life that could not benefit from a little Love, a little Time, and a Stick of Butter.”

Thanks as always for spending part of your day with us! We hope you enjoyed the special Spooktacularly Good Halloween Treats this week and would be honored if you recommended our site and pages to friends and family. Little Red Bear and I look forward to your visits here, and hope that in our own way we help to make your day special, too!

We’ll be back next Sunday morning with more of Red’s selected special recipes for Autumn, so be sure to subscribe in the top right column and follow along to be notified of every new post.

Wishing everyone a beautiful coming week. The leaves here should soon be changing colors, maybe they already are in your area. Speaking of changing, dare to change a life. Be the reason someone smiles this week! You may even end up changing your own. – Jim (and Red!)

“No amount of money or success can take the place of time spent with your family.”

“A full bag, tired feet, dry socks, and sticky fingers meant it was a Happy Halloween.”– JRM

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Short Stories on Amazon.

Old-fashioned, Family-friendly, Multi-generational Stories and Fun for All Ages!

~ About an Uncommonly Special Bear and His Friends ~

Tap Here For A Free Preview!

“A grandmother pretends she doesn’t know who you are on Halloween.” — Erma Bombeck

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“Little Red Bear’s Hand-picked Recipes — Pumpkins and Caramels and Apples, Oh My!”

October 8, 2017 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

Some things in life should never be repeated. Like the time I mixed up the salt and sugar in a pumpkin pie recipe. But enough about my 1986 Christmas Salt Pie . . .

Clearly, the recipe which garnered the most attention and comments from last Sunday’s post was the “Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese Sandwiches” recipe. Just tap on the link if you missed it. A wonderfully warming lunch or dinner sandwich after raking fall leaves on a chilly day.

If you are new to our Sunday morning recipe sharing and missed the first Little Red Bear Recipes Post explaining what we are doing, simply tap on the link to check it out.

Unsurprisingly, the themes of Pumpkin and Caramel and Apples topped the list of recipes filling the inbox this week. So, of course, Little Red Bear and I are including some for you. Starting off with pancakes!

Easy Pumpkin Pancakes

Made with canned pumpkin puree, these look so good you might not even need the maple syrup. Leave off the syrup? Who am I kidding?

Easy Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe

Norwegian Apple Pie

Described as very sweet and cake-like in texture, with no crust. The recipe calls for no oils or butter aside from buttering the dish. Note that the recipe makes enough for two pies, as it rises and gains volume with the baking powder. Optional ingredients include nuts and raisins. The nuts would be a definite add in one pie here, and possibly both nuts and raisins in the second. A distinctive and nice holiday treat for guests. Or, for a Sunday brunch. This is one of those unique dishes where folks will be asking you for the recipe afterward.

Norwegian Apple Pie Recipe

Easy Pumpkin Crunch Cobbler

Little Red Bear likes when the first word in a recipe is ‘Easy’. He says that it makes him feel more confident and like he has a good chance with that one. We shared an Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie With Streusel Topping recipe a few weeks ago that we received a lot of praise and enthusiastic comments about. So we thought you might like to see this Pumpkin Crunch Cobbler recipe, too. Love that crunch!

And, it says ‘Easy’ right there in the title. The first word.

Easy Pumpkin Crunch Cobbler

Caramel Apple Fudge

A few years ago, my twin boys and I fell in love with those Green Caramel Apple Pops put out by the makers of Tootsie Roll candies. The blend of sour apple flavor with caramel is just amazing. They are generally most available at this time of year for fall and Halloween. This Caramel Apple Fudge recipe seeks to reproduce that sour/sweet combination. And wouldn’t this be beautiful on a holiday table or buffet?

As an aside, before joining Pinterest, I never knew that there were so many amazing and creative varieties of fudge. I might have been able to name six or seven — tops! At the time of this writing and likely to go higher in the afternoon, I have 344 recipes on my Pinterest Fudge Board. So, if you are looking for a creative fudge recipe, that might be a good place to visit and start. We undoubtedly will be sharing some special Christmas Fudge recipes in the coming weeks. (Little Red Bear already has a few amazing ones saved on the side!)

Caramel Apple Fudge Recipe

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

While we’re on the subject of Caramel Apple flavors, let’s make some Caramel Apple Bread Pudding. Bread puddings are always a great way to use up old bread for it not to go to waste. This recipe calls for the King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls which would add a wonderful depth of sweet flavor and goodness if you chose to use them. This would be a nice addition to a Thanksgiving dinner, too.

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding Recipe

Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies With Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

A long title for a cookie perhaps, but taking ‘with’ out of it, what word in that title doesn’t sound good? Soft sugar cookies with a pumpkin flavor, covered with a caramel-flavored cream cheese icing. This is another of those “this person should have received an award” recipes!

Soft Pumpkin Sugar Cookies With Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Mom’s Homemade Apple Pie

To be clear, this is not my Mother’s apple pie recipe, still looking for that, along with some other old favorites of hers to share with you in the future. She had a plum pie or something recipe that she baked in a brown paper bag that I recall. I’ve seen the recipe card. Just have to find it again and make one up for you to snap a picture some time. Hopefully with no firefighters included in the photo. It always worked for her.

Getting back to this recipe, it brings to mind the old expression “As American as Mom, Baseball, and Apple Pie.” Do you put a lattice crust or a solid crust on your pies? I love the appearance and presentation of a lattice crust pie, especially during the holiday season.

If you haven’t ever tried a lattice crust on a pie yet, it’s really not that hard. Merely a matter of cutting the pie dough into strips and then interweaving them across the top. Instructions are included in the recipe, which received high marks in the post comments. Give it a try if you have never made a lattice crust topping yet. Little Red Bear always likes to remind that however it looks when it comes out, it will still taste delicious!

What kind of apples to use? I prefer Gala and Fuji apples for fresh eating, but not for baking. So along with the Jonagolds which I always try to keep around for both fresh eating and baking, I love Granny Smith and Braeburn for their tartness and for their ability to hold their shape when baking. Here is a handy Guide To Apples And Their Uses for you, for reference now and in the future.

Mom’s Homemade Apple Pie Recipe

Family Time is the Best Time!

Sunday family dinners are special times when families step away from busy weekday schedules, get together, and share not only a meal but also important ‘together time’, as well. Staying connected and involved. It is so easy for us to both feel and become disconnected in today’s hectic, fast-paced world, with all family members being pulled in so many different directions between work obligations, school, after school and social activities. It happens to us before we know it. And I don’t know of anyone yet who has had a successful, meaningful, or long-term relationship with a cell phone.

We all benefit from, but children especially need a home base and safe place to feel secure, confident, and loved. That connection and anchor has always been and will always be family. There is no substitute. Little Red Bear and I hope that you and your loved ones can enjoy family together time today.

“There is little in life that could not benefit from a little Love, a little Time, and a Stick of Butter.”

We’ll be back every Sunday morning with more of Red’s selected special recipes, so be sure to subscribe in the top right column and follow along to be notified of every new post. And watch for our special Halloween Treats & Ideas post coming next Sunday!

Wishing everyone a beautiful coming week. Watch for leaves beginning to turn colors and for flocks of gathering and migrating birds heading south for the winter. Like a smile, kindness is a language everyone understands. – Jim (and Red!)

ps — a friendly reminder to friends in the South and along the Gulf Coast states to please keep your hummingbird feeders fresh and filled for a while longer. With it being generally warmer this fall still, some may be passing thru later than they normally would. The little hummers really need that last boost to restore energy for their long journeys across the Gulf of Mexico.

“No amount of money or success can take the place of time spent with your family.”

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” – Walter Winchell

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Short Stories on Amazon.

Old-fashioned, Family-friendly, Multi-generational Stories and Fun for All Ages!

~ About an Uncommonly Special Bear and His Friends ~

Tap Here For A Free Preview!

“A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.” – Thomas Keller

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Little Red Bear’s New “Autumn Splendors” Video!

October 6, 2017October 6, 2017 / jrmilson / 8 Comments

Happy Autumn!

The time of Autumn is our favorite season and time of year around these parts, beginning with the last marshmallow roasted on Labor Day and lasting thru to the first of December when we start celebrating the Christmas holiday and all things snow and winter.

Right now we are loving every minute of October and Autumn. Some early-changing leaves are just beginning to turn color and hint at the beautiful display soon to follow.

It has been a while since we have made a video, so Little Red Bear thought it a perfect time to fix that and create a new one to celebrate the beautiful season of Autumn to share with everyone.

We tried a few new things with this video, updating the playbook a little as we try to keep learning and evolving our technical skills, keeping in mind that this old writer went thru college using a slide rule at a time before the dawn of personal computers.

For the first time, we included a few “mini-videos” within the video, in addition to using a vocal backing soundtrack for the first time, with all previous videos having used instrumental tracks.

A big Thank You to members of our Patron community, whose support allowed us to renew our video creation service subscription which had lapsed a couple years ago, so looking forward to creating more presentations going forward now, with Halloween and Vintage Christmas themed videos already in mind as possibilities.

And, big Bear Hugs and Thank You’s to Matt and Delia of M&D Hills Photography, who allow me to share their beautiful photographs of the Smoky Mountains Region with you. Matt and Delia are truly “good folk” as we say, and I encourage you to visit their site and learn more about their talented work and offerings.

Little Red Bear and I hope you enjoy our new video and your Autumn visit to Little Red Bear Land. We would appreciate a tap on the “Like” button and a “Thumbs Up” on Youtube to let us and others know. View on full screen with speakers and earbuds if you have them, for the best enjoyment, and please feel free to share with friends and family.

Do you like to chase after autumn leaves when they fall, floating in the air and blowing in the breeze, running to catch them before they land on the ground? I invite you to join us for a comforting and relaxing Autumn visit to Little Red Bear Land.

The background music track to the video is “Like a Star” by Laura Ault, and it is available on Amazon for download if you would like. If you would like to see videos about the characters and settings in Red’s stories, visit our Little Red Bear’s Videos page.

Thanks as always for visiting and spending part of your day with us! We hope that in our own way we help to make your day a little more special, too. — Jim (and Red!)

ps — Remember to join us here every Sunday morning for our regular “Little Red Bear’s Hand-picked Recipes” feature when we share the top special recipes which caught our eye during each week! Tap Here To See The Most Recent Recipes For Autumn

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” – Albert Camus

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers!” — L. M. Montgomery

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Short Stories on Amazon.

Old-fashioned, Family-friendly, Multi-generational Stories and Fun for All Ages!

~ About an Uncommonly Special Bear and His Friends ~

Tap Here For A Free Preview!

“Autumn — the year’s last, loveliest smile.” — William Cullen Bryant

“Little Red Bear’s Hand-picked Recipes — Happy October!”

October 1, 2017 / jrmilson / 4 Comments

Happy October! Autumn has arrived!

When not lying awake nights trying to come up with words that rhyme with ‘orange’, Little Red Bear and I like to make things that often feature the color orange, one of the official colors of the autumn season.

In recent weeks I have shared a few recipes appearing on various company websites and mentioned a few product brand names which I use and recommend from personal experience. That led to a question as to whether I am receiving any income in return from product mentions or from recipe and blog referrals. To clear that up right away, the answer is No, No, and No. This is and will remain a non-monetized blog. None of the companies, products, or food blogs which we mention or refer to even know that I or my writing blog exist.

If we find a recipe which we deem worth sharing and it just happens to be on a particular product or company’s site, so be it. Same goes for the various food blogs whose recipes we feature each week. If they all receive a benefit from it via their own advertising and sponsorships — great. It is all about the recipes and sharing for the benefit of everyone. Same for product mentions. If I have personal experience with a product brand which I rely on, that information is passed along for the benefit of everyone from a perspective of sharing, not because I receive anything for it.

It’s simply about sharing and helping others with no strings attached. That’s the Little Red Bear Way, after all.

If you are new to our Sunday morning recipe sharing and missed the first Little Red Bear Recipes Post explaining what we are doing, simply tap on the link to check it out.

So then, let’s get to the recipes we found this week!

Favorite Frosted Brownies

While we both will eat any brownie placed in front of us, Little Red Bar and I disagree over our favorite type. Red prefers the thinner fudgy type brownies, while I like to add an extra egg to my batches to get the taller, more cakey brownies. But we do agree that regardless of the texture, we both love Frosted Brownies! Which type of brownies do you prefer?

Favorite Frosted Brownies Recipe

Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Okay, this is the first of a couple of recipes this week that when Little Red Bear and I looked at the title turned to each other and asked — “What were they thinking?” But, then we dug a little deeper into the recipe, thought about it for a minute, and then turned back once again to say — “Oh my goodness, that looks good!” So, ultimately, a bewildered “What?!?” was replaced with a hungry “Wow!”

Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Recipe

Easy Apple Cobbler With Cinnamon Roll Topping

This is an easy recipe for an Apple Cobbler that uses prepared, canned Cinnamon Rolls (in the dairy section of the food market) for the topping. It is mentioned in the text but not in the recipe card itself — be sure to cut the individual cinnamon rolls into quarter pieces before spreading over the top so it all comes together better in the end. It also says you may discard the frosting packet. I don’t think so! That frosting gets spread over the top of the cobbler in these parts! The taste and smell of the apples plus the cinnamon rolls baking together has to be amazing.

Easy Apple Cobbler With Cinnamon Roll Topping Recipe

(Fool Proof) Homemade Pretzel Bread

As mentioned before, I make breads of all kinds and love Pretzel Bread. Little Red Bear called me over the other day. “Look here, Jim,” he exclaimed with a sly grin on his face, pointing at the recipe title. “They must have written this recipe just for you — it says right here — Fool Proof.”

(Be sure to make those cross slashes in the top to provide a way for the steam to escape while baking. Otherwise, built up steam inside will escape by bursting out uncontrolled somewhere else, disfiguring the nice loaf shape.)

(Fool Proof) Homemade Pretzel Bread Recipe

Blonde Chocolate Macadamia Bark

This recipe is certainly a keeper for the holidays coming soon. The “Blonde” term comes from caramelizing white chocolate, gently toasting white chocolate in the oven to a rich caramel color and flavor. And, it has Macadamia nuts. What else can we say other than “Please pass the tray!”

Blonde Chocolate Macadamia Bark Recipe

Mac and Cheese Soup

This was the other head-scratcher that Little Red Bear and I came across this week, at first trying to comprehend the thought of a macaroni and cheese soup —“Say what?”

Then, we thought about it. And thought about it. It was a chilly day that day, and by the time we got to mid-afternoon this Mac and Cheese Soup started to sound really good for dinner. Made from a base of chicken or vegetable stock with milk and a combination of Velveeta and shredded cheddar cheese, this soup would be wonderful with a slice of rustic bread on the side. Another lesson to never judge a book by its cover, or a recipe by its title. And who doesn’t love the little pasta shells?

Mac and Cheese Soup Recipe

Autumn Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Spice Cakes are a fall and winter favorite here with the delightful aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice wafting thru the home. This is a scratch cake recipe as opposed to the supermarket box mix and is beautifully finished with seasonally colored candy sprinkles and nuts decorating the top and sides. The nuts are optional of course, but always added here with a bear and other critters waiting for cakes to emerge from the oven.

Autumn Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Family Time is the Best Time!

We’ll be back every Sunday morning with more of Red’s selected special recipes, so be sure to subscribe in the top right column and follow along to be notified of every new post.

Wishing everyone a wonderful coming week. Kindness costs nothing and can turn someone’s life around. Be the reason someone smiles today! – Jim (and Red!)

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Stories — Sponsored in Part by —

Old Orchard Feed, seed & Farm Supply — proudly supporting Ozarks mountain country ranchers and farmers since 1886. we take special orders –” none too large or small, we fill them all.”

(Read about Old Orchard Feed, Seed & Farm Supply in coming Little Red Bear Stories!)

“Family is the most important thing in the world.” – Princess Diana

“I think togetherness is a very important ingredient to family life.” – Barbara Bush

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Short Stories on Amazon.

Old-fashioned, Family-friendly, Multi-generational Stories and Fun for All Ages!

~ About an Uncommonly Special Bear and His Friends ~

Tap Here For A Free Preview!

“Kindness is the sunshine in which Virtue grows.” — Robert Green Ingersoll

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“Little Red Bear’s Hand-picked Recipes — Officially Autumn!”

September 24, 2017September 30, 2017 / jrmilson / Leave a comment

When not hard at work sweating over a laptop working on his adventure stories, Little Red Bear and I like to sweat over the kitchen stove whipping up treats and goodies for the other story characters.

With the Fall Equinox, it became officially Autumn at 3:02pm on Friday afternoon here in the midwest. Never mind that our temperatures have hovered in the mid to upper 90s all week. It will change soon, and before we know it there will be the welcoming fall chill in the air as we reach for sweaters and jackets. And leaf rakes.

We had so many amazing looking recipes coming our way this week that it was difficult to narrow it down to just a few to share with you today, with some undoubtedly to be carried over to next week.

Each week we try to select a mix of sweet and savory recipes to keep it balanced, but in coming weeks and as the fall and holiday season progresses, are thinking about doing a week here and there devoted solely to one theme — all Fudge, all Halloween Treat items, all Pumpkin stuff, all Homemade Candies, all Christmas Cookies, like that for example. If you would be interested in our doing that, please let us know in the comments and we will get to work on it.

If you are new to our Sunday morning recipe sharing and missed the first Little Red Bear Recipes Post explaining what we are doing, simply tap on the link to check it out.

Grab your apron and here we go!

Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

This beautiful bundt cake caught our eye because it is made with a sweet potato puree. That alone means it qualifies as a ‘health food’, right? Rich and moist, the cake is swirled throughout with sweet, maple-flavored cream cheese and topped with a maple praline frosting. How many “m’s” in Yummmm?!?

Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Bundt Cake Recipe

Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Nuggets

Perfectly suited for dinners, snacks, sports viewing lunches, or party treats, Chicken Nuggets are so versatile with nearly universal appeal. This recipe seeks to copy a favorite. Easy to prepare and so much better than hauling them out of a grocery freezer bag. There is an included recipe to prepare a homemade Honey Mustard Dressing, Little Red Bear’s favorite (the honey!), for dipping the nuggets.

Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Disney’s Apple Caramel Pie

Apple Pie and Autumn go together like Little Red Bear and honey — a perfect pairing! This is the Apple Caramel Pie served in the Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney World’s Wilderness Lodge Resort. If the caramel did not make it special enough, the crust is made with a sugar cookie bottom! This delightful apple pie will be perfect not only all thru the fall season but also for coming holiday dinners. Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream? Now you’re talkin’.

Disney’s Apple Caramel Pie Recipe

French Dip Sliders

One of my favorite sandwiches is a French Dip Roast Beef Sandwich! What Little Red Bear and I both liked about this recipe for French Dip Sliders is that it used sliced roast beef from the deli, not having to go to the time and trouble to cook a whole roast at home first. So that makes it a wonderful and easy dish to prepare for afternoon football viewing lunches, after leaf raking lunches on a chilly afternoon, book club meetings to discuss “The Adventures of Little Red Bear” stories, and other friendly gatherings.

French Dip Sliders Recipe

Flavored Pie Doughs

We don’t try to hide it and keep no secrets here — Little Red Bear cannot make a decent pie crust to save his soul. A champion at biscuits, not so much with pie crusts. So we were both amazed this week when our favorite bread flour maker, King Arthur Flour, included a link to Flavored Pie Doughs in their message. Who knew pie dough could be flavored? So, here is the information from their site, on how to prepare Cream Cheese, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Flavored Pie Doughs. I think Little Red Bear is headed back to the kitchen for another try or two! The thought of an apple pie in a peanut butter flavored crust is intriguing.

Flavored Pie Doughs from King Arthur Flour Recipes

As an added bonus, while discussing flavored pie doughs, we came across a recipe for a pie dough made from Pecans and Cinnamon. That got our attention, too! But a word first — the recipe calls for “dehydrated sugar cane juice.” Unfamiliar with that and never having used (or seen it!), I got busy and did some research. From the best I can tell, it’s basically the same thing as sugar. While cane juice is extracted from the sugar cane plant and then evaporated to form the crystals, white sugar has its juice filtered first to remove some of the brown solids. The evaporated cane juice has trace amounts of the solids remaining, supposedly making it more natural, hence healthy. The two sugars are nearly identical, basically 50% glucose/fructose in the end, no matter which way it is processed first. Long story short, it is fine to substitute either plain white or brown sugar in equal measure for the dehydrated sugar cane juice. So if the idea of a Pecan and Cinnamon Pie Crust excites you like it did us, then go for it! Simply use the sugar you normally would in a recipe.

Pecans and Cinnamon Pie Crust Recipe

Cream Cheese Pecan Cookies

Described as a tangy and buttery shortbread cookie, studded with bits of toasted pecans, LIttle Red Bear insisted on including this recipe. We both liked its flexibility too, allowing for the substitution of your favorite nut in place of the pecans if you wished — pistachios, walnuts, cashews, or something else. These would be a real treat in a holiday cookie exchange or on a buffet table! ‘Elegant’ could certainly be used to describe these beautiful cookies. And a perfect accompaniment to a cup of hot tea.

Cream Cheese Pecan Cookies Recipe

Creamy Crock Pot Corn Chowder

Chilly days are surely on their way, and this Creamy Crock Pot Corn Chowder has a little bit of everything to warm both the tummy and the heart — corn kernels, chunks of carrots and potatoes, along with meaty chunks of ham in a rich and creamy broth. And, best of all, it cooks by itself all day, unattended in the crock pot. Winner, winner, creamy nourishing soup for dinner!

Creamy Crock Pot Corn Chowder Recipe

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Imagine, if you can, a layer of delicious chocolate chip cookie covered over with ooey-gooey caramel sauce, topped with another layer of chocolate chip cookie. Yeah, we know. Hard to imagine but here it is! Cut into bars, these treats are perfect for Halloween, afternoon treats, and holiday buffets. Wrapped individually, these also freeze well, allowing them to be made in advance of the hectic holiday season, or to simply have at hand anytime. Like, right now, for example.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Recipe

If you enjoy these recipe features, please tap the Like button below and feel free to Comment and let us know, and we will be on the lookout for more interesting and fun recipes to share with you each Sunday morning as we go along. And remember, all of these recipes are added each week to our “Little Red Bear’s Hand-picked Recipes” board on Pinterest for you to access anytime and find those from previous weeks if you missed them. I invite you to follow and check out my other Pinterest boards while there.

If you have a family favorite or vintage recipe that you would like to share, please snap a photo and send it along to us. We’ll be happy to add it in for the benefit of others.

Family Time is the Best Time!

Thanks as always for spending part of your day with us! We would be honored if you recommended our site and pages to friends and family. Little Red Bear and I look forward to your visits here, and hope that in our own way we help to make your day special, too! We’ll be back every Sunday morning with more of Red’s selected special recipes, so be sure to subscribe in the top right column and follow along to be notified of every new post.

Wishing everyone a wonderful coming week. Kindness costs nothing and can turn someone’s life around. Be the reason someone smiles today! – Jim (and Red!)

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Stories — Sponsored in Part by —

myra cookson’s pie pantry & goodies shoppe — Featuring homemade delights sourced from only the finest local, fresh ingredients. check our coupon in “squirrelly world” for a free ‘singing lily’ with your first purchase. centrally located in the heart of downtown butterfield.

(Read about Myra Cookson’s Pie Pantry & Goodies Shoppe in the Little Red Bear Stories!)

“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” – Michael J. Fox

“A cupcake for dessert is always good. But four are always better.” – Little Red Bear

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Short Stories on Amazon.

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~ About an Uncommonly Special Bear and His Friends ~

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Tri-County Storekeepers Line Up to Back Little Red Bear Adventure Stories!

September 22, 2017September 23, 2017 / jrmilson / 2 Comments

When not standing in the ‘Strange and Silly Fiction Aisle’ at Barnes & Noble waiting for people to ask for our autographs, Little Red Bear and I are hard at work reenacting and writing about Red’s adventures.

The second collection of Little Red Bear stories well underway now will be somewhat different in approach than the first collection, which consisted of six short stories, each more of a novelette in length, truth be told. The second collection book will be noticeably longer with two additional full-length stories, along with much shorter stories which we have not agreed on a name for yet — Mini Stories or Interludes — positioned in between the longer length features.

What with the format changes, longer overall book length, and increased number of stories, it has become quite the project and undertaking. Add to that several new story characters coming from all over the U.S. and overseas, and it is readily apparent why we are running substantially over the production budget. More characters to house and feed, additional writing sets to be constructed, landowner permits obtained for writing access, new character travel expenses, etc. Not to mention insurance, medical, and paramedic service costs while working with wildlife, some rather ill-disposed.

As luck would have it, the majority of our story characters are domestic animals and wildlife, so wardrobe costs are kept to a ‘bare’ minimum, so to speak. And while it is true that some of the characters quite literally do work for peanuts, it still does all add up in a hurry.

Scanty wardrobe and peanuts notwithstanding, the long and the little of it is that we found ourselves already way over the anticipated production budget for this story collection by the midway point, with critters eating us out of house and home. And did I mention about the peanuts?

To their credit, a good number of businesses in the surrounding region of Little Red Bear Land in the Ozarks Mountain Country, which we refer to as the “Tri-County Area” in the stories, have stepped forward to sponsor our writing and story work. In exchange for an occasional mention of their enterprises in the stories, of course. Perhaps you may already be familiar with one — ‘McNickles Famous Pickles & Pork Rinds’ on the outskirts of Round Corners, where Little Red Bear has done book signings on occasion.

So, rest comfortably assured that writing and production work on the next collection of Little Red Bear stories is continuing unabated thanks to local shopkeepers and community support. Just letting you know so that you are aware what is going on when an occasional message from one of our sponsors appears here on the writing blog and elsewhere as we go forward. It goes without saying that this still is and will remain a non-monetized blog in the traditional advertising sense, of course.

We will be updating story progress from time to time as we go along and get closer to the publication date, scheduled for early next year, barring unforeseen production delays.

If you are not already following my Facebook Writer Page, now would be a good time and I encourage you to do so. As in the weekly recipes Little Red Bear shares here on the writing blog every Sunday morning, we find a number of wonderful, inspiring, entertaining, and educational videos and other items each week doing writing research. We are going to begin sharing the best ones on my Writer Page as we come across them. Most are short, focusing on our major themes here of Children, Family, Kindness, Positivity, Mother Nature, and Pets. Pets and animals always make for a smile to brighten a gloomy day.

Thank you always for spending part of your day with us. We would be honored if you recommended our site and pages to friends and family. Little Red Bear and I look forward to your visits here, and hope that in our own way we help to make your day special, too! — Jim (and Red!)