A Very Cranberry Monday

Cranberries are one of the fall's seasonal favorites and most commonly thought to be used in juice or sauce form, but today we're bringing 4 delicious recipes featuring these disease-fighting, antioxidant carrying, did-we-mention-delicious, fruit.  In fact, according to WebMD, this fruit ranks higher than almost every fruit and vegetable on the list when it comes to its advantages due to antioxidants.

Our first cranberry delight, comes in bar form, perfect for breakfast on the go, or a quick snack.  And get this...they're no bake!  Collecting Memories' Chewy No Bake Oatmeal Bars have 6 healthy, natural ingredients, to create these perfect little bars.

The next recipe we're featuring is another easy recipe, perfect for on the go.  Cranberry Craze Salad from My Slice of Sunday, would be excellent for lunch, or just after a trip to the gym.  They feature a hard boiled egg on the side for extra protein.  With crunchy almonds and cashews, the dried cranberries gives another delightful texture to this simple salad.

Speaking of great texture, the next dish from Inspired Taste, is sure to knock your socks off!  With the smooth roasted squash, paired with chewy cranberries and crunchy walnuts that have been sweetened by delicious brown sugar, you might want to include this dish in your family's Thanksgiving feast too!

And we couldn't let you off without a dessert!  Healthy Seasonal Recipes features this fresh fall favorite in their Cranberry Maple Apple Crumb Pie.  It's sweet, it's tart, it's wonderful!

Hope you enjoy these cranberry creations!

Repurpose Without Work

I have a small collection of items in my garage, sitting, waiting to be used again.  These items can no longer be used for their initial purpose, but I just can't bring myself to throw them out.  The problem is, as crafty as I can be...I just don't have the time to repurpose these items.  The DIYer in my begs for me to wait until next weekend, then the next weekend, then the next.  As I'm constantly pushing back my repurpose list for a much more priority driven weekend to-do list, I'm hit with the hard question-will I ever find the time?

In my life, right now, the answer is simple...NO.  So I'm at a cross road-do I get rid of these things that I've been hanging on to, or by chance, can I repurpose them in another way, that requires less work?  I choose the latter.

The first item I have, is an old pallet.  I found it a year ago and thought up a million different cool things I could do with it.  I don't have the time to take it apart, so I'll leave it intact.  And now that old pallet, will become a pallet with a new life.  It will become my new herb garden.  All I have to get is landscape fabric, which I can find when I go to get my new herb plants at my local nursery...a few staples-DONE!

Inspired by this vertical garden from RecycleART

And while I'm at my local nursery, I've decided to pick up some bird seed so I can reuse my plastic bottles like this...

Inspired by this bird feeder from RunnerDuck

A few less bottles in my recycling bin, a few happier birds for the winter.

And then there is this little table my neighbor was throwing out.  Fine condition, and I just knew it could be used for something.  So now my son is going to have a new drawing table after this weekend.

Inspired by this table from Jill Of Most Trades

A few less pieces in my garage, a few new additions to the house and yard, and a feeling of accomplishment.  I'd say that makes for a happy weekend!

A Passion for Pumpkin

Pumpkin-a pretty color, a fun decoration for fall, and a heavenly flavor.  Usually the craze comes when a certain coffee chain unleashes their popular drink on the masses and any and everything pumpkin related starts to trend.  Well, we're here to jump on the bandwagon with these amazing recipes featuring pumpkin, plus a super sweet treat we found on Pinterest, that we just had to share!

We're bringing a Brady Bunch variety of different pumpkin recipes, and we're fairly sure you'd never even think of trying pumpkin these ways, but you'll be happy you did.

1. Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars from Roxana's Home Baking

2. Pumpkin Hummus from the ever-amazing Kevin at Closet Cooking

3. Skinny Pumpkin Pasta Bake from The Kitchen Paper

4. Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites from Paleo Grubs

5. Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce and Pecans from Julia's Album

6. Roasted Pumpkin Soup from the one and only, Martha Stewart

7. Cheesy Pumpkin Orzo from Table for Two

8. Peanut Butter Pumpkin Fudge from Crazy for Crust

9.Pumpkin Wontons found on Tablespoon from Girl Versus Dough

And if somehow you just haven't quite had your fill of pumpkin inspired recipes, check out Running on Real Food's 35 Vegan Pumpkin Recipes to Make This Fall featuring 35 sweet treats for breakfast, snacks, and dessert!