I know it is mid November and I am still posting Halloween items. But I am at that age where resting in bed holds more charms that doing everything off my to do list. In fact that list has grown to 2 whole pages. But I need to finish my Autumn/Halloween bucket list.

An easy item on my list was to drink some yummy witchy cocoa. Since it was kinda hot in October I wanted to wait for cooler weather.

I found this cocoa on Amazon. I was attracted to it because it was orange, but also only required hot water. I never seem to have fresh milk on hand.

So pulling out my new favorite tea drinking cup, I grabbed a moon and ghost cookie and started to boil water.

Once the water was the perfect temperature, I mixed that orange brew up.

I bought some cute pumpkin hot cocoa bombs from Target and thought I would add them in. Once the chocolate melted marshmallows popped out of the cocoa.

The cocoa was very rich and creamy and very very orange. It was a nice way to end a busy day for me.

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Onto the third of this series of Mocktails for the Halloween season.

This time I made the La Mummy. Made with the orange La Croix sparkling water, it was zesty and fun to drink. I might make this again but instead of lemon juice I think I will use orange juice. I really like my glasses. I bought these at Joann Fabrics. It felt very Halloween like to drink this mocktail.

I have one more drink to make. Sadly I cannot locate the drink in the store so I might get creative, Halloween if anything is about bringing out the creativity in all of us.

For some fun I found this picture on the internet. I loved the show Bewitched growing up. Aunt Clara always reminded me of my Granny whose name was also Clara. Same style, same features. And now I too feel like Aunt Clara. Oh how time marches on. LOL

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Time for the 2nd mocktail using La Croix sparkling water.

I made the La’ Pumpkin Punch. For a dash of fun I added the gummy eyeball to the drink. Yes, I agree, it is kinda gross.

It was very tasty, I am not sure if the eyeball gave it that extra snap, but I enjoyed this one.

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I wanted to make some fun Halloween themed food this year. When I saw this ghost topped chicken pot pie I definitely wanted to try. It was a very easy recipe. I did make a mistake and used garlic powder instead of onion powder but it worked out ok.

I found the little ghost cookie cutters on Temu for a few bucks. There are two ghosts, each swaying in opposite direction. Sway to the left, sway to the right.

For ease of making, I bought rotisserie chicken but I think you can make your own chicken pretty easy. I did determine that this many ghosts are a “gaggle”.

I also decided to do a quick charcuterie board on Halloween night.

I bought this board from Michaels and thought it was real cute. I had to crop Eli the dogs paw out of the picture. He had to get all involved in making the charcuterie board. LOL

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Last year I enjoyed making Halloween nachos using Target’s orange and black corn chips. I decided to try them again as they were a nice change from my regular dinner.

I used both nacho cheese in a jar and shredded cheese. I like a good cheesy nacho with a little kick.

When shopping at Walmart and other stores, I picked up Halloween party paper plates and napkins. Easy to use and very festive. Minimal clean up and fun! Kinda hard to tell but it says Happy Halloween and has some pumpkins.

Chances are I will make them again next year. I learned from last year to pile the goodies like avocado and sour cream on my plate and not on the sheet of baked nachos. This way I can reheat the nachos the next day without it being soggy.

This is easy to do and helps bring in the Halloween sprit.

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Just on the heels of the summer bucket list (summer be gone) I am rolling out the Autumn/Halloween bucket list. Autumn time is my favorite season. Chilly night, leaves falling, a nice windy breeze, pumpkins on porches, scary shows on Netflix, hot soup and warm tea at night. Ohhhhh my favorite time of the year.

I keep seeing all these cute pictures on Pinterest.

Amen.

But onto the bucket list.

There are a few new items on the list and a few favorites. More crafts this year and less cooking. But that is fine. Gotta mix it up. I will joyfully celebrate the season. I may do things not on the list. Let’s see where this takes us.

Let the leaves fall and the winds kick up and start the bucket list.

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I noticed on Amazon that The Republic of Tea has some Ice Tea with some yummy flavors. I decided to buy a few and taste test them.

The five flavors that I tested are as follows:

• Blueberry Lavender
• Strawberry Basil
• Blueberry Hibiscus
• Pineapple Orange Guava
• Hibiscus Sangria

In order of least to most favorite

#5 Strawberry Basil

I found the flavor was weak. Perhaps it did not brew as long as it should. The instructions on the canister said 2 minutes, whereas the others said 7 minutes. Perhaps I should try again. It lacked any flavor and basically tasted like water.

#4 Blueberry Hibiscus

I was expected a real punch on this one and it just wasn’t there. I enjoyed the tea but it was not great. I could taste the flavor but no wow favor. Good ice tea should have a refreshing quality, this was sorely lacking that component.

#3 Hibiscus Sangria

This had a lot more flavor and was refreshing. Definitely would buy again. Had a burst of flavor that was nice. Not sure what to expect from this flavor but would make a great tea on a hot day by the pool.

#2 Pineapple Orange Guava

#1 Blueberry Lavender

This was my favorite out of the five. It is very flavorful and refreshing. I remember the first time I tasted it, I thought “dang this is good”. The beautiful blue/purple color made it enchanting. I should try some lavender syrup with it next time. I have made this a few times and it still remains my favorite. Highly recommend.

I tend to romanticize tea as there are so many flavors that hot water brings to life. Of course there are more tea makers out there than I can taste. I ordered a few new brands to try out. I had seen several advertisements on Instagram and decided to take the plunge.

Snarky Tea – so many ads with unusual tempting flavors. I got the three month subscription and the first package came. It appears that the blackberry raspberry is very popular on their website but I am planning on making the clementine flavor first. This was the ice tea collection. There are many samplers packages and some with “snarky” themes. I hope it is enjoyable.

The next tea I bought is from a company called Magic Hour. These are expensive teas that are prepared to order. The packages are gorgeous and the themes are wonderful. Watching the short videos from the owner, I get the feeling she is a self proclaimed witch (in a good way) She does a lot of healing tea. I bought the ice tea sampler and the tea names and flavors combinations sound amazing.

INGREDIENTS

Dragonfruit Lychee: Organic Sencha Green Tea, Lychee Flavor Extract, Freeze Dried Dragonfruit, Organic Monk Fruit

Blueberry Cheesecake Oolong: Organic Sencha Green Tea, Organic Ti Quan Yin Oolong, Organic Blueberries, Butterfly Pea Flower, Organic Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Natural Blueberry Extract, Natural Flavors

Butterfly Blue Coconut Cream: Organic White Tea, Organic Desiccated Coconut, Organic Butterfly Pea Flower, Freeze Dried Bananas, Organic Vanilla Powder, Natural Flavor Extracts

Vanilla Lavender: Organic Assam Black Tea, Organic French Lavender, Organic Vanilla Extract, Lavender Essential Oil, Organic Calendula

Lemon Meringue Puerh: Organic Puerh Black Tea, Organic Lemon Peel, Organic Lemon Myrtle, Organic Calendula Flowers, Natural Essential Oil of Lemon, Natural Flavor Extracts

Watermelon Mint: Organic Peppermint, Organic Hibiscus, Watermelon Juice Powder, Watermelon Fruit Extract

Passionfruit Green with Roses: Organic Green Tea, Organic Rose Petals, Blueberries, Organic Goji Berries, Natural Flavors

Guava Pomegranate: Organic Black Tea, Freeze Dried Pomegranate Juice Powder, Organic Roses, Guava and Pomegranate Flavor Extracts

I also got the September birth month tea since it is my birthday month. This tea sounds amazing. It is starting to get a bit chilly at night so I think I will have a cup tonight. Let’s hope it has true magic.

FLAVOR NOTES

• Sweet Apple
• Uplifting Orange
• Warming Cinnamon
• Spiced Plum

WELLNESS BENEFITS

• Antioxidant rich
• Reduces stress (cortisol)
• Anti-inflammatory
• Boosts collagen production

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I saw a short on YouTube on a beautiful violet color lemonade tea drink called Lavender Butterfly Pea Lemonade. It looks so beautiful to drink and admire.

I have never heard of Butterfly Pea tea. When I made it, it was such a vivid blue color. It almost felt fake because it was so intense like a beautiful lake high in the mountains.

But what makes this tea so interesting is once you add lemon, it changes from blue to violet. If you add the lemonade slowly you can have a two color look to your drink.

To make it more special I added the lavender syrup and edible glitter. A sprig of lavender and you have a refreshing and colorful drink for the summer. I did add the lemonade too quickly and it mixed it too much, but it was still a pretty drink.

The recipe was easy

1. Steep a cup of Butterfly Pea tea, let cool
2. Add ice into a pretty glass
3. Add the tea into the glass and slowly add in lemonade making sure you do it slowly so there are two colors
4. Add a teaspoon of Lavender Syrup (you can add the syrup to the tea before adding in lemonade if you really want to separate the colors)
5. Sprinkle the glitter into the glass and garnish with a lavender sprig

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I fondly recall going on a wine trip with my sister and her husband where one of the wineries had a grove of peach trees. They recently harvested the trees and we bought some white peaches. I have never tasted anything so wonderful, juicy and perfect as those peaches. Since then, I have craved those peaches.

I recently bought a box of white peaches from Sam’s Club and have enjoyed eating a bowl of peaches for breakfast during the week. I am not sure why white peaches taste better than yellow. Maybe it is tied to my memory of that wine trip.

I wanted to make a peach dessert using peaches. I ended up eating a lot of those peaches from Sam’s club so I had to use can peaches for the dessert.

I made a Peach Crisp that I found on Instagram.

It was a pretty easy recipe. We decided to have ice cream with yummy warm peach crisp.

Ingredients

• 45 oz canned peaches, drained (about 4 cups sliced peaches)
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup unbleached all purpose flour
• ¼ cup salted butter, softened

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Drain the peaches and place them in a 8×8 baking dish.
• In small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it evenly over the peaches.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, brown sugar and flour. Mix it together well.
• Add the soft butter and cut into the oat mix with a pastry blenderor your fingers until it resembles course crumbs.
• Evenly sprinkle the streusel topping over the peaches.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
• Let cool for 15 minutes and serve warm with ice cream.

Recipe from Heathers Homemade Kitchen blog. Thanks Heather!

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This year I went with the less traditional autumn meals.

During October I made the Pumpkin and Feta flatbread. It was good considering I am not a fan of flatbread. I prefer a more “doughy” base. But the toppings were good with the caramelized onions and feta/pumpkin flavor.

The other meal I made in October was on Halloween night. I made nachos with orange and black chips. There was enough toppings on the chips to consider this a meal. Meat, refried beans, jalapeños, cheese sauce and shredded cheese, sour cream, olives and avocados. This year I only had 5 kids show up at the house. Way too much candy. Some years I have had 100 kids so it was hard to guess the number of potential trick or treaters.

My other autumn themed meal was a medley of butternut squash, cranberries and onions with slices of feta and apple sausages. A warm meals with a burst of autumn flavor.

My other meal was a breakfast. I saw a recipe for cinnamon rolls from the tube but with brown sugar, butter, cranberries and pecans. Very tasty for a breakfast. Fast and easy.

I also made a taco soup that was more like a chili. Warm and comforting.

And finally as a bonus I had my traditional Aldi Jack O’Lantern pizza. I did add some additional toppings to make it tastier.

Not very traditional this year but nevertheless the feel of autumn foods prevailed.

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