Spiced Pumpkin Waffles & A Giveaway for Military Spouses!

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I bet you can't guess what holiday is coming up this week??  No..it's not Thanksgiving, although that one will be creeping up on us soon ;)  It's Veteran's Day.  And it's coming up on the 11th ;)  In honor of Veteran's Day, we have a special giveaway going on.  More on this later in the post....but first.......

Pumpkin waffles!!!  Yum!!  Better yet, spiced pumpkin waffles!  Triple yum!  We've been so busy around here lately that I haven't had a chance to partake in making some homemade meals with pumpkin in them.  I've had these on the menu for a while now and decided to make them this weekend.  I wanted something different to make (other then your normal baked goods) with the pumpkin that I have been saving up, so when I came across this recipe, I immediately incorporated it into our bi-weekly menu.

First off, I must give credit to where I found this recipe.  It came from Tina over at Mommy's Kitchen .   She was right when she wrote about how great these smell while they are cooking!  Your whole house is literally filled with the aroma of the combination of the pumpkin with the spices.  Believe me when I say that the spices are what makes this recipe.  There's everything from nutmeg and cinnamon to cloves and ginger. 

My 4 year old daughter (the picky eater in our family) loved them so much!  We all did, as a matter of fact ;) Which surprised me because my lovely Husband Man isn't much of a pumpkin eater.  Tina, I <3 your blog so much!!! Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

(adapted from Mommy's Kitchen)

2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon(s) baking powder

2 teaspoon(s) cinnamon

1 teaspoon(s) ginger

1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda

1/2 teaspoon(s) salt

1/2 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon(s) cloves

4 large eggs

2 cup(s) buttermilk

1 cup(s) pumpkin puree

1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar (we used light)

1/4 cup(s) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted (we used regular butter)

1 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract

Preheat a waffle iron. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, sugar, butter, and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. While whisking, add the flour mixture and blend until smooth. Generously coat the waffle iron with vegetable oil and cook the batter in the waffle iron as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Repeat with remaining batter.

Now, for the Giveaway.......

*******THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*******

Veteran's Day is coming up :)  And to celebrate Veteran's Day over here at Cooking With Libby, we are having a book giveaway.

See this nifty little book below........

...it's up for grabs.  This whole week ;)

Jocelyn Green was gracious enough to send me two copies of the book.  One for me to read and review, and the other to giveaway.

 Now I know this is a recipe/food blog and you may be wondering why on earth am I giving away a regular book and not a cookbook?  Well, in case any of you have missed what my header says at the top of the blog, I am a Military Wife.  A very proud Military Wife at that ;)  And I honestly, truly, believe with all my heart and soul that the brave men and women of our country would not be able to do their jobs without the support of their wonderful family and friends behind them.  So when we celebrate Veteran's Day this week, we are not only celebrating the Veteran's themselves, but also the courageous and brave sacrifices that their spouses and families have had to make. 

I was interested in reading this book and doing a review on it, so I volunteered to do just that.  And let me tell you, I was not disappointed in the least bit! 

Ms. Green (and others) have done a wonderful job with writing about the experiences that they have had to face while being a Military Wife/Spouse and how that relates to certain versus of the Bible.  After each section, there are certain questions that the reader can ask themselves to evaluate situations in their own lives.  There are also fitting Bible versus that follow the questions. 

My favorite part in the book is the section about the commissary ;) 

To quote the book....

My first visit to the commissary was a landmark occasion.  I wondered through the aisles with wide eyes, clutching my brand-new Military ID, just in case someone questioned my right to be there.  I was finally one of the few, the proud, the chosen--a military ID-holder with commissary and exchange privileges.  It seems silly to me now, but I spent years as a child longing to be allowed into the commissary and exchange.  My missionary family lived overseas, and our only shopping options were little stores full of pricey, imported items.  By contrast, our military friends shopped at their commissary and exchange, buying up-to-date items at fabulously low prices.  My family would have loved to shop in the commissary or exchange, but the "Military ID-holders only" signs marked the stores as off limits to us.  Today I came home from my usual commissary run and complained to my husband about the long wait at the checkout.  The commissary is no longer a thrilling privilege; it's just another ordinary event in my week.  I rarely stop to think about my military shopping privileges, unless I shop at a nonmilitary grocery store. The higher prices cause me to be thankful for the discounts I now take for granted.....

Wow huh?!  If you are Military Wife/Spouse and need some guidance/help with things in your life (because let's face it, being a Military Dependent isn't the easiest job in the world) then this book is for you.  Or maybe some of you know a fellow Military Wife/Spouse who could use this book.  It would make a wonderful gift for Christmas as well ;) 

Even if your loved one has never deployed, but goes TDY a lot (like mine seems to do), this is still a great book to have on hand.  Military Wives/Spouses of all active duty personnel, deployed or not, will find this book helpful. 

More facts about the book.......

Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives won:

- Bronze Medal, spiritual/religious category, Military Writers Society of America

-Bronze Medal, inspirational category, Branson Stars and Flags Book Awards

-The book’s Web site, www.faithdeployed.com, won third place in the blog category this year from the Evangelical Press Association

 If you are interested in entering this giveaway, all you have to do is the following.....

• Become a Follower (if you aren't one already) of Cooking With Libby (either on Facebook, through Blogger, or subscribe through e-mail )
• Leave a comment telling us why you would love to win the book...for my Facebook followers, you can post a comment on the wall....
• Post about this giveaway on your blog and you will be entered twice ;)

The winner will be announced Thursday, the 11th at 6:00 PM either through Random.org or my family ;)

Good luck to everyone!!!

For more information on this book, head over to http://www.faithdeployed.com/.