Minutiae

Laws-a-mercy. Where has the time gone? And I left you at such a cliffhanger in my trip. I mean. I am sure that you have just been hanging. And wondering what on earth we are going to do after our trip to the Hoover Dam. Well. You'll just have to hang on to your hats a bit longer. And I'll fill you in on the flotsam and jetsam and minutiae that fill my day.

Right before Thanksgiving, my aunt and a bunch of cousins came to visit. We visited. Chatted. Ate lots of PW's brisket. But. I did not take one picture. Not one. I am not sure where I put my brain. Or my camera.

Ugh. And then there is the car. The car that just this summer turned that 100K mark. The car that is otherwise known as the money pit. It died when we went on our cruise last year. It has had flat tires. Battery issues. Electrical issues. Mental issues. So when the check engine light came on, we once again headed to the dealer. While they rubbed their hands together and praised my American lemon. But this time. I just got the minimum amount of work done to make that light go away. And I promptly drove to the Toyota dealership and traded that sucka in. And now. We have a lovely new Sienna gracing my garage.

Lizzy spent Thanksgiving with us. We had a great day. With turkey. More recipes from PW. Family. Friends. And "V." Yes. "V." The original. Oh my goodness. We laughed so hard. And that scene of Diana eating the guinea pig was played over and over again. What? Isn't that how ya'll spent your day?

What about black Friday. Did you shop? Lizzy and I shopped. And I realized how easy Katie is to buy presents for. And how difficult Madalyn is. Especially when her list includes impossibles. Like her own house. A laptop. And a baby sister. But what is the most difficult is my husband. Who is impossible to buy for. Because he doesn't want anything. I had a stroke of genius last year in getting him reusable shopping bags. But this year I got nothin'. Any ideas? What are ya'll getting your significant others??

Did you know that if you create a wishlist on Amazon, you could win a $25,000 gift card? Wait. Forget I told you that.

Speaking of Amazon. Did I tell you that I finally earned money from my blog? Do you see all those book covers there on the left? Well, if you click on those. You will bring up Amazon. You can read more about the book. You can look at other books. Order books. And if you do make a purchase. I get a percentage. A very small percentage. Teeny-tiny. So. After almost 2 years of blogging. I finally earned a $10 gift card.

Oh. Did you want to know what I bought? I did not buy a Christmas gift. I bought a book. For me. It's rather shocking. I am a library girl. But for this book. I didn't want to wait. I got "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner. And wow. What an amazing book. I don't think I have been this riveted to a story since "The Hunger Games." (August 24, 2010 - due date for book three. Not that I am counting.)Have you read either one?

And speaking of books. I just finished a really good one. "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate." It's the story of a girl on the cusp. It's 1899. She is about to enter into a new century. She is about to enter her teen years. Her family is changing. She has an aversion to the female role she is supposed to play. She is trying to figure out who she is. I don't know how to describe except that it was an absolute delight. I wonder if my bookclub would be willing to read it...

In the Kitchen with Kat: Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

I never knew that I liked pumpkin. I knew that I didn't like pumpkin pie. So, I just made the leap that I did not like pumpkin in any form.

And then a few years ago, when I was doing Weight Watchers. For the millionth time. I got a recipe that included pumpkin. I was skeptical. But my deep desire for chocolate was rearing it's ugly head. You know. That desire for chocolate is strong. Only when I diet. Otherwise, I am all about the salt. The grease. And the crunch.

That Weight Watcher recipe was simple. A box of devil's food chocolate cake mix. And a can of pumpkin. That's it. Maybe a little water if you needed it. Mix, and pour into muffin pans. Bake. Each muffin was 1.5 points. And to me. That simply meant you eat two. Three points was much easier to deal with. And these muffins. Oh. My. Delish.

And thus began my great love affair with pumpkin. Pumpkin soup has to be one of the most devine culinary creations. There is Lula's pumpkin crisp. Debbie wrote about Paula Deen's gooey butter pumpkin cake. Brandy made pumpkin cake. With chocolate chips. And now, I want to add my recipe to the pumpkin hall of infamy fame. Or at least to your menu for Thanksgiving.

Here is our cast of characters.

First thing to do is to bake up those gingerbread cake mixes. Oh my. The scent of those cooking. Might be strong enough to wake children from sleep. Demanding to know why it smells like Christmas.

Next, make the vanilla pudding. Doing cook and serve pudding is much more time consuming than instant. You know what they say about a watch pot. It never boils. And a pot being stirred. Well...it doesn't boil either. I think that next time I am just going to do instant.

When it FINALLY is done. And cooled. Add your pumpkin and your brown sugar. And mix.

Are you ready to assemble our layers? This is where it gets pretty.

First you get out your trifle bowl. It's really hard to take a good picture of something that is clear.Then take one of the gingerbread cakes and crumble it up. Press down on the cake to make it somewhat smooth.Then add half of the pumpkin and pudding mixture. My layers are never pretty. Or even. But they will be really tasty.

Then add a layer of cool whip.

And repeat.I waited to add the final layer of cool whip till serving the trifle. Because it wouldn't have fit under the lid.

But look at that. It's a show stopper. The grand finale. The Pièce de résistance.And the taste? Sinful. Sinfully delicious.

Here is the easy recipe:

2 packages of gingerbread cake mix

1 package (4.6 ounces) of cook and serve vanilla pudding mix

3 cups of milk

1 can of pumpkin

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 8oz containers of cool whip

Prepare and bake gingerbread according to package directions. Use two round baking pans. Cool completely.

In a large saucepan, combine pudding mix and milk. Stir until smooth.

Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Or until thickened.

Remove the pudding from the heat. Cool to room temperature.

Combine the pudding with the pumpkin and brown sugar.

In a glass serving bowl, crumble one of the gingerbread cakes. Gently press down on the cake.

Top with half of the pudding mixture.

And then add the cool whip.

Repeat the layers.

You could add nuts or caramel to the top. Or both.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. Makes 25 servings!

So...what about you? Do you have a favorite dessert? What do you like to have on your birthday? What is your favorite to have at Thanksgiving? Have you developed a love for something that you thought you wouldn't like? Have you entered THE CONTEST yet??

Theme song: Smashing Pumpkins - 1979. Because there wasn't a band named Gingerbread. And pumpkin is rather smashing now, isn't it?