* We’re sharing our favorite links from last week’s party at the beginning of today’s party.  Check them out and then keep scrolling down for the link party.  Happy Weekend!

Thanks for participating in the Best Recipes and DIY Projects Party last week!  We’re thrilled to share some of our favorite links from last week’s link party with you.

We know that it isn’t officially autumn, yet, but we were so excited to see the first pumpkin recipes pop up during the link party!  Pumpkin is one fall flavor we are always more than ready to welcome back!  If you are as anxious to begin enjoying the delicious recipes reserved just for fall, then we’re sure you’ll be delighted to try one of these.

Homemade Pumpkin Bread from Penny Pincher Jenny

Pumpkin French Macarons from Sweet & Savory

Baked Pumpkin Pecan Donuts with Maple Glaze from About a Mom

Pumpkin Pie Puppy Chow from Growing Up Gabel

Now, let’s get this party started!

 Happy Weekend, everyone! We’re delighted that you came to our party. The link-up is live and ready for you to share your recipes, DIY projects and crafts, just make sure you follow these guidelines:

1. When you link up, you are giving us permission to feature your project and pictures on our blogs and social media with a link back to you.
2. We’ll feature our favorite projects from this weekend’s party at the beginning of next week’s link party.
3. Weekly favorites will also be pinned to our Link Party Favorites Board on Pinterest!
4. Add a text link back to the host blog.
5. You can link up any post you’ve created during this past week.
6. We’re excited about your handmade items, but this link party is limited to blog posts only. Please don’t linkup your Etsy shop.
7. Share the love and comment on two or more of the other projects that are linked up. We all love comments!

This party starts every Friday at 5 P.M. MST, and keeps going until the following Tuesday evening. Feel free to invite others to join in the fun!

Thanks for participating! Your Hosts,

Ruthie from Cooking With Ruthie, Jeni from Bakerette, Mandy from Mandy’s Recipe Box, Dan and Chris from Live Dan 330, and Deb, Tracy, and Sherri from Made From Pinterest

The post Best Recipes & DIY Projects Link Party #111 appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

In America, we celebrate our day of Thanksgiving in November.  Whether you celebrate an American Thanksgiving or not, there’s something about the bounty of a Fall harvest that makes you stop and think of your blessings.  That’s why this month, we wanted to share a printable that would reflect how grateful we are for all we’ve been given.  It’s a beautiful reminder from a verse of scripture:

“In all things give thanks.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

We’re offering this as a free printable to you.  It’s sized to fit a 8×10 frame.

You might consider printing out several of these to frame and give as gifts to friends as a holiday gift.  Do it now and you can cross that off your list long before December!

This printable would make a great hostess gift, too.  Wrap up a warm loaf of pumpkin bread for your hosts to enjoy, too.  (By the way, did you see this recipe for pumpkin pull-apart bread?  We highly recommend it!)

Or, frame it for yourself and use it as part of a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving buffet table.

Just to give you options….we have this verse available for printing in two different colors, white and sepia.  The white background looks great in rooms with brighter colors.  The sepia has a warmer, more vintage feel.  Both are lovely!

Click the button below to download your free Thanksgiving printables.

The post Give Thanks – Free Printable appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

You are going to LOVE what she has to share with us.  Take a look!

Dear San Diego, I don’t know why you have to be all snobby about being perfect beach weather all the time. It’s time to chill out a little. Like literally, time to cool down and get with the fall program! We are all ready to bust out our sweaters like the rest of the country, but here you are like, “I’ll get there when I’m good and ready.” This attitude of yours is getting old. And it’s October, so it’s not like we have lots of time here!

So, I saw this recipe on pinterest  from Kitchen Vistas and it made me feel all gooey and homesick and I had to try it out to see if it was just in my mind.

It is a yeast bread, which shouldn’t be something to shy away from, but it does take some rising time so it looks more complicated than it is. Let me tell you,

it’s worth the wait!

This Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread is like a huge, gooey, pumpkin cinnamon roll. I changed up the glaze a little and used coconut extract instead of rum {cause I don’t keep rum around… and I’m obsessed with coconut.} It gave it the perfect edge I think it needed. It just falls apart and feels like fall. I put the glaze on later so it was more like frosting, but if you put it on bread that is still very warm, it will melt all over and be more like a glaze. It also doesn’t shout PUMPKIN at you, it’s the perfect amount to make it moist and light without being overkill. Of course this would translate easily to cinnamon rolls if you needed individual servings, but the pull-apart bread is great for sharing.

Grab a cup of milk and cozy up with this one, or give it away to make someone’s week.

Print

Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread

Author Color Me Meg

Ingredients

Bread

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/4 teaspoons 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Buttered Coconut Glaze

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp milk
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp coconut extract

Instructions

• In a saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter. Once it turns brown, remove the from the heat and slowly add the milk, return to stove and heat through.
• Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of standing mixer and allow to cool so it is no longer hot but still warm {cooled enough to touch, but not hot}. Add yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar, allowing to proof (this can take up to 8 minutes, the top will look foamy and the liquid cloudy).
• Then add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour.
• Stir until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. It will pull away from the bowl.
• Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size {about 60-90 minutes}
• While dough is rising, brown another 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well, making sure the sugar evenly absorbs the butter. It will look like a dark, wet sand. Set aside.
• Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll dough into a 20×12 inch rectangle. Evenly spread the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough and press into dough with palms of the hand. Cut the rectangle into 6 strips. Lay strips on top of each other and cut each strip into 6 even squares (cut in half then each half into thirds). Stack strips vertically into the loaf pan. Cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.
• In the meantime preheat an oven to 350 degrees. After rising in the pan bake for 30-40 minutes (mine took 37 exactly) or until top is a very deep golden brown.
• Just as it's done baking, make the glaze: heat the butter, milk, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil then immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the coconut and powdered sugar. Pour/spread over the top of the bread.
• Try {and ultimately fail} at not eating the bread while it's warm.

If you haven’t been to Meg’s blog, you need to go right now because you’ll be in for a treat!    You can also follow her on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+.  Go check her out right now!  You’ll be so happy you did!

Here’s a preview of some of her other posts!

My Granny’s Infamous White Bread

Easy Pretzel Bites and Jalapeno Cheese Dip

Southwest Egg Rolls and Avocado Dip

 This post has been shared with Living Well Spending Less and Tatertots and Jello

The post Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.