and the winners are....

someone's getting a package soon!

Drumroll please....

First place is.. Ms. Lollipop aka Catharine! She gets the Jamie Oliver's Italy Cookbook, custom designed recipe cards and a download of the Trufflehead cooking app!

Second place is... Emm! She gets a download of the Trufflehead app!

Please email me at blairculwell@gmail.com within three days so I can send ship or email you your prize! If I don't hear from you by Sunday, I'll have to select another winner(s).

Thanks for all that participated and enjoy the fall and all your favorite recipes!

sláinte!

Sláinte: (pronounced slán-jah) is literally translated as "health" and is commonly used as a drinking toast in Ireland (thanks Wikipedia). A word we become very familiar with over three weeks of eating and drinking our way across Europe.

leaving the Dallas heat!

We left on August 15 and arrived in Europe approximately 11 hours later. Our excursion started in beautiful Dublin, Ireland. For being a major city, it's still relatively small, well at least according to my Dallas comparison. We landed at 7am Dublin time. Of course I couldn't sleep a wink on the plane so I was exhausted when we arrived at our hostel only to be told we couldn't check into 2pm. I was expecting that, but wished it wasn't the case because I was about to collapse on the floor.

We walked around town all morning and finally stopped for a long lunch in a cozy pub. After a much-needed Guinness and a hearty bowl of Irish stew it was finally 2 — nap time!

funny baby in the park

After our 4 hour nap we were well rested and ready to hit the town, which conveniently, was right around the corner. That was both a pro and con of our hostel being right around the corner from the legendary Temple Bar. It was in the perfect location, but could get real loud late at night.

We ate dinner at a pizza joint called Pizza Milano. It's actually a chain that's in a bunch of European cities, but doesn't taste like it! After dinner we walked to a pub across the street to sample some Irish beers and listen to some good music. When we left that bar we were greeted by another, fabulous band that was playing on the street. They were really talented and had a very Irish sound.. must have been that flute.

Last, but not least, was Temple Bar. It's much bigger on the inside and is divided into different rooms — a courtyard, a bar, another room with a band. I think there was another room, but we didn't make it that far. This was definitely my favorite bar that we went to in Dublin, so don't miss it!

As I'm sure you all know, Guinness is brewed in Ireland, and so is another famous alcoholic beverage — Jameson. The old Jameson Distillery is located in Dublin so we took the tour. The tour was actually very educational, but I won't lie, the tasting almost made me choke. I'm NOT a fan of whiskey. I was also a little hungover from the previous night... oops.

Dublin was a perfect first stop. Not too busy, and relatively small for a 'big' city. They had beautiful architecture and plenty of sidewalk cafes and pubs for us to enjoy.

The Specifics
Where to Stay: Barnacles Hostel
Thoughts: Good price, small rooms, but nice to have your own bathroom, free wifi, but nothing fancy!
How to Get Around: On Foot, Bus to airport
Language: English with thick Irish accents!
Famous Eats/Drinks: Irish Stew, Guinness, Jameson

pumpkin muffins & a fall giveaway!

It's crazy to think that fall is right around the corner, maybe even already here, depending on where you live. In Dallas it's still in the 90s, so I have to pretend a little bit. Either way, I'm excited and ready for the new season! Fall is my favorite time of year, not only because I finally get to pull out my sweaters and boots, but the temperature is cool enough to start eating soups, stews, and hearty fall treats. Pumpkin especially.

Last year I made some tasty pumpkin treats — pumpkin cupcakes & the super-popular pumpkin spice cheesecake! This year I wanted to try some pumpkin muffins, and I love a good streusel topping so I added that to give it just a little something extra!

In all my excitement about the season and the new foodie project I'm working on, I decided to share the love with a exciting & BIG giveaway of things I love!

While I was in Italy this summer I fell in love with an Italian book by Jamie Oliver that has great recipes and fabulous photography. Along with that wonderful cookbook, my talented friend Lesa, of Paper Nest by Lesa, donated some beautifully designed custom recipe cards! (Be sure to check out her site & beautiful designs at Indigo Prints) I'm obsessed with pretty paper, so you're lucky I decided not to keep these for myself...

As if those weren't enough, Deborah Chud of A Doctor's Kitchen and newly launched app, Trufflehead, donated TWO free iPhone/iPad app downloads! I think everyone can learn to cook and this app is perfect for beginner cooks!

First place will win the Jamie Oliver cookbook, Lesa's recipe cards and the Trufflehead app. Second place gets a Trufflehead app too!

How do you enter?!

1. Simply comment on THIS post and tell me your favorite fall recipe or...
2. 'Like' our Facebook page and post your favorite fall recipe to our wall.
3. For BONUS Entries, 'Like' Cookin' Skinny on Facebook, our newest healthy foodie project coming this November, and post your favorite meal or follow us on Twitter @cookinskinny and mention this post link @cookinskinny on your Twitter.

Right now, residents of the United States are only eligible to win and you must have a shipping address within the U.S. to receive the prizes!

Giveaway runs through Wednesday, October 5 at midnight. Winners will be randomly selected using a random number generator and announced on our site on Thursday, October 6 after noon. Winners must email me (blairculwell@gmail.com) within three days to collect their prize otherwise a new winner will be selected. 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins, makes 12

• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup lowfat milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup packed pumpkin puree

Crumble Topping

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup AP flour
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven. Mix all dry ingredients through salt in a large bowl. In another bowl mix the remaining wet ingredients — whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until incorporated and no lumps remain. Don't overmix. Meanwhile combine the ingredients for the crumble topping to form a consistency like wet sand. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan with Pam Original and pour even amounts of batter into each one. Top with equal amounts of the crumble topping. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, when cool, store in an air-tight container.