The Bz House That Love Built

Still wondering ... ;-p

2012-01-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

     I finally remembered to take my watch with me, when we were headed some place that I knew could put a new battery in it. I wanted to be able to wear a watch again, for numerous different reasons. They put it in and I have been wearing it and been glad I got it fixed.
    But then the other day, every time I looked down at it, I could not figure out why I couldn't make out what time it was. 'Are my eyes worse than I think they are?' 'Is my recently increased vertigo symptoms (activities? The weather? The throb in my neck? Who knows...) affecting my eyes t-h-a-t much?!?' 'What the heck?!' .
    Then later, when I had my glasses on and was in the process of removing the watch to take a shower, I realized that I had put it on upside down. 8-/
    No wonder no matter how hard I squinted, I couldn't read those numbers, nor figure out why the hands were the way they were. (insert head shaking and eye roll here).
    Yup, I was still wondering about myself.

    And then yesterday morning, as I was just starting to wake up, my feet felt weird. The more awake I became, the weirder they felt. Then finally I was awake enough to figure it out. One foot had a sock on it, the other did not. 'What?!?'
   Yes, in the winter I go to bed with socks on. Always have. It's just been the last couple of years, that due to these oh so warming menopausal symptoms, I often remove them part way through the night. Both of them. I just fold in half, reach down and take them off and always place them in the exact same spot on my night stand.
    But there I lay, with one sock on, and one off. The off one was laying in the designated spot. Crazy.
    The only possibly acceptable explanation I could come up with, was I must have been very close to falling all of the way to sleep, when I got a bit to warm, so started to take my socks off. Doing just that much, must have dropped my body temp just enough, to allow me to drop off into a deep sleep. And I must have dropped really fast. Because normally, I can NOT stand having only one on.
     Crazy! So yes, in case you were wondering, I'm still wondering about myself. o;-p

And for those of you whom I know asked the questions - No, my name is not John. And no, I am not a son. o;-p
[the old Nursery Rhyme - "Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John, Went to bed with his trousers on. One sock off, and one sock on, Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John.]

   So-o-o, what have you done recently that leaves you wondering about yourself?

Brownie Cake

2012-01-26T07:49:00.000-08:00

They say that 'Necessity is the mother of invention'. This here posting, is yet another case in point, proving the truth of that saying.
A long cherished member of our church congregation, had gone home to heaven last week. The family chose to have a memorial service, where cake was served. I volunteered to bake a cake. No biggie for me, right?
    Well, the fact that I had done so, came back to mind Sat. evening. Around nine o'clock Saturday evening. Still no big deal for me, right? That's what I thought too. Until I went in to make one. I was sure I had the ingredients for my chocolate cake. If I do, could you please let me know where they are? 8-/
    'Fine, I'll just make a different cake'. Look at recipe, check cupboards and pantry. Next. Next. Next. 'Great. There's going to be a huge turn out for that service and they will probably need every cake they can get! What am I going to send?!'
    Brian wasn't home and I had no idea what time he would be. I knew how busy his day had been and didn't want to add a store stop to it. Amy was home across the alley. I knew I could borrow ingredients from her... Which ingredients did I want to borrow? Which cake did I want to make, that I knew she'd have the ingredients for? Do I just borrow a boxed cake mix from her?
    Humm.. 'I have that big bag of chocolate chips. If I melted them down, could I use them instead of the Coco Bake, to make my chocolate cake?'
    And then the idea hit me. And I loved it. And right out loud, I said, "Thank-you Lord!".
    I remembered how back when I use to make brownies from a box mix, the instructions on the box always said, to make regular brownies, you add this many eggs. But to make more cake like brownies, you add this many eggs. I would just add more eggs to my regular brownie recipe and make them cake like.
    'But cakes always have some kind of frosting on them'. Humm... again. 'I don't have any cream cheese, so I'd have to just make regular butter frosting. But the brownies are already so sweet. Do I really want that type of frosting on them? Not really'. Think... think.. Look in pantry again. Ah hah! There was a bottle of carmel ice cream topping in there. I could thicken it up with some flour and smear it on top. 'Oh, that's gonna be yummy!'
    And that folks, was necessity being the mother of invention. A delicious invention!!
    I made sure I tried a piece at the memorial service. First bite told me I'd done good. But to make sure, I finished the whole piece. o;-p
    I was thrilled when Elizabeth B. brought my pan out to me, still half full. Now I could go home and have a piece, with a tall glass of cold milk. It was even better that way. o;->
    Benson's friend Dana was over the other evening and I offered her a piece, calling it 'Brownie Cake'. She questioned whether it was more like brownies or cake, due to not caring much for cake. I assured her it was far more brownie like. She giggled after her first bite and said, "This is w-a-y better than I thought it was going to be! It looks kind of like a cake. But it definitely tastes like brownies. This is g-o-o-d!!!"   :-D (<-- My facial response)

       Here is one picture of the 'leftovers' -

   (I had made a double recipe and baked both together in a 12 x 15" (?) pan)

    Instructions so that you can make them yourself -
       Make up my Fudge Brownie Recipe
       add one additional egg to the recipe (so that your putting in four eggs total, for a single recipe)
        Put the dough into a sprayed baking pan (9 x 13 for a single recipe) and bake according to recipe directions. (I did not have to bake them any longer for the double recipe, in the larger pan.)
       While they are baking, scrape the container of one 12 ounce jar of Carmel Ice Cream Topping, out into a bowl. Add four Tablespoons white flour to it. Stir until they are completely blended.
       After removing the pan from the oven, let it cool at least half way before GENTLY spreading the carmel mixture on top. (I used a metal frosting spreader.)
      Cover tightly with plastic wrap, attaching a note asking Brian to take it with him first thing in the morning, then go to bed and relax. Mission accomplished. Or at least that's what I did. ;-p

       Here's another picture. As you can see, somebody else (here at home) wasn't as careful when they reapplied the plastic wrap and it removed some of the carmel sauce with it, when it was reopened. :-[ I tried scraping it off the plastic wrap. Doesn't work. :-[ ! B-u-t, the brownie cake is still delicious! :->

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      This is the third time now that I've "experimented" with ways to make those brownies. And every time has been a success. It just might become my 'go to' recipe. Chuckle, chuckle.

   Here's links to the other two ways -
~ Brownie Cups

~ Adding a secret ingredient that just WOWS! them

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I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).
~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Sweets For A Saturday", hosted by Lisa, at 'Sweet As Sugar Cookies' (http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com)
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
     (taste wonderful served as a pie!)
~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
   ~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "What's Cooking Wednesday('s)" (shall we say # 1 ?), are hosted by Cristi, at 'The King's Court IV' (http://www.thekingscourt4.blogspot.com/), and by Diane, at 'Turning The Clock Back' ("one eco friendly step at a time") (http://turning-the-clock-back.blogspot.com/)).

the bottle brush (aka: A grandma tale ;->)

2012-01-25T11:47:00.001-08:00

     Only for (my) record keeping purposes do I tell you, that this particular tale happened two weeks before Thanksgiving.
     Right off the bat, it had started off as one of 'those' mornings.
     All four of the guys had headed off to work early. That is not always the case, due to the jobs that both Byron and Benson have. Which at times, has come in ever so helpful. Especially when the grandchildren are here! But on this particular day, they were all up and out at an early hour.
    And both of the grand kids were up early too. That isn't always the case either. Oft times, you get to start off with only one or the other of them, which is good for several reasons. The top two being, one on one time with the awake grandchild, and less to keep track of right off the bat, which helps make my brain getting in gear, happen more smoothly. ;-p
    And both of the grand kids just seemed to be 'off' that day. As in, not all that happy. Not easily pacified. Rather demanding. Both filling their diapers at the exact same time, and both seeming to be competing for having the grossest one. Etc.. It hadn't taken long for me to realize, that it was going to be one of 'those' days.
    And a long one at that. The earliest anybody was expected home, was just after six p.m..
At one point, I had laid a hungry Elliot on top of a blanket on the floor, while I went into the kitchen to fix him a bottle. As I headed there, I heard the usual, "I coming Gammy...". "That's okay, you can keep.... (don't remember what she had been doing), you don't have to come". I knew it was probably useless to even try. Any time I headed anywhere, I'd usually hear, "I coming Gammy...", repeatedly, until she appeared at my side. But this time, I was really hoping she'd take heed. As bad as it might sound, I just wanted to have a moment of calm, while fixing that bottle.
But it wasn't to be. Suddenly there she was. Jabbering away and grabbing away. At any and everything her arms could reach. Off of the counters. (Insert eye roll here). Or out of the drawer somebody hadn't closed one hundred percent of the way. And wanting answers to all of her jabbered questions. Answers my fuzzy brain was having challenges answering straight. Sigh.
    And of course this time, Elliot's bottle needed more than just a good quick wash out. It needed a complete scrub down, and bad. So I got the tap water to maxed out hot. And I added a lot of dish soap to the bottle, as well as the bottle brush. And I was trying ever so hard to concentrate on what I was doing. And what she was doing. And console Mr. Elliot, who had gone from fussing, to out and out bellowing, that I WAS fixing his bottle and I WAS hurrying.
    I washed out the nipple and rim part of the bottle first, rinsed and set them aside. Then I attacked the bottle itself. But doing so had taken a whole three and a half minutes, because I had also kept interrupting Analyse's actions and Elliot was totally NOT happy! I took a deep breath and tried to work faster. That was my mistake. Because in focusing on getting the job done, instead of focusing on every step of the process, I ever so innocently laid the bottle brush down next to the sink, instead of sticking it in it's designated holder on the window sill.
    I tell you, I think a sonic boom happened. I had barely laid the thing down, before faster than lighting, her little hand snatched it up. Goodness! "What are you doing?" "I washing". Sure enough, she was. She was using the bottle brush to wash down the front of the drawer and cupboard next to the sink. 'Well, the whole kitchen really could use a good scrub down', my brain thought. And I let her go. She was happy. He had some how increased his bellowing (I hadn't thought it possible). I turned back and started filling his bottle.
    Without really looking at her, I walked out of the kitchen with his full bottle in hand. I knew she was following me, due to the "I coming Gammy...". "Okay". I picked him up and settled into the rocker. She tried to squeeze behind me. I kind of thought that she wanted to see something out the window. I was concentrating on getting him settled down and comforted. But then I could not figure out what I was hearing, so I turned my head to look at her. She was cleaning the windows and the window sills, with the bottle brush!
'Fine', my brain figured. I'll just make sure I clean it good when I take it back to the kitchen, when he's done with his bottle.
     But then I felt her finish going behind me and sort of pushing up against my other arm. The one next to the 'end table' (I use wooden crates). As quickly as I figured all of that out, I heard a different weird sound. I looked down, to see that she had now stuck the bottle brush into my glass of Pepsi(R). My half full glass of Pepsi. 'And I bet the bartender isn't going to bring me a refill either, is he?" I thought to myself. Then wondered why I had, seeings how I've never really been to a bar. I sighed. And then it dawned on me. That half glass of Pepsi, was the last Pepsi IN THE HOUSE! And nobody else was home, nor due home, before 6 p.m. And it was only 10:30 a.m. Huge sigh.
     I looked back at her and asked, "Why did you do that?"
     With a totally puzzled expression, she answered, "I clean it". Almost like, 'why doesn't Grammy get that?'
   I shook my head. In both frustration and defeat. I was also wondering why she would try to clean a glass that was still half full. And then the answer came to my mind. 'So that Maxine could burst out laughing when I post about this.' And I chuckled.
   Analyse tipped her head sideways. Her expression became even more confused. It was as though I could read the thoughts going through her young mind. 'Gammy sounded upset with me, but now she's laughing. Am I in trouble, or is she happy I cleaned her glass?!?"

     The whole day continued on in that same vein. And nobody brought me Pepsi till close to 8:30 that night. But I did good. Nobody was injured during the course of the day. o;-p With a chuckle (or ten), my father-in-law said that he was very proud of me, when I told him the tale that next Sunday.

When should you plant what?

2012-01-24T06:22:00.000-08:00

Way back when (or so it seems), we had a small garden. Brian dreams of having his own large size vegetable garden. 'Someday'. It always seems to fall into the 'maybe next year' category. Sometimes due to schedules being worked. Sometimes due to other things needing to take higher priority. And sometimes it's been, because by the time we're finally able to start one, it's past the date when we should have started the plants we wanted the most.
A few minutes ago, while browsing over what friends of mine had pinned on Pinterest, I came upon a site which helps you know when your suppose to plant what, based on where you live. Laurie Miller had pinned the site onto one of her boards. It caught my interest. So I right clicked (like Byron just taught me to do the other day :-D) and opened the 'pin' in a new tab.

The name of the site is 'SproutRobot(R)'. Here is their web address - http://sproutrobot.com/ You enter your zip code and then click on the 'get started' button. For where we live, it says that we should start bell peppers and tomatoes indoors this week. But then, then, it not only tells you that, it offers you information on how to do so! :-> If you click on the word 'instructions' next to a plant's name (such as next to where it said tomatoes), the screen then changes to an instruction sheet, complete with drawings, showing you step by step instructions on how to get your plants started. Cool!
Seeings how we have the directory on where to buy fresh produce (as well as Christmas trees, and find local corn mazes, etc.) in your particular area, listed down our side bar, I thought I should add this information there too ;-] .

Pumpkin Pie

2012-01-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

    Let's see, I've done the postings about the pie crust, as well as the Blueberry, Toll House and Pecan Pies. I had previously posted about the Butterscotch Pudding /Pie. So all that's left to post about, in this series about the pies I made for Christmas this year, is the one on the Pumpkin Pie. This then is that posting. ;->
     I use canned pumpkin. The 'solid pack' variety. I have some friends who make their own canned pumpkin, out of fresh pumpkins every fall. I just might try doing that myself some day. But I shall be very cautious of the 'how to' when I do! See, this one time, at this one place, Brian nabbed a piece of pumpkin pie for me, knowing that I like that type of pie. And normally I do. That time, I didn't. As in - I did NOT! Oh man. The pumpkin was all stringy. More like some squashes are. And they had barely added any sugar. And I tasted no evidence of them having added any spices. The stuff was just nasty, I tell you! But we were in a situation where we had no idea who had made said pie. Or if that person was watching me eat their pie. So I tried to chew it up. But I out and out couldn't. Thankfully, we were using paper napkins. o;-p So as discretely as possible, out it went. Then I tried to clean the taste out with a drink of water. But my cup was empty. And so was my husbands. And so was my sisters, who was sitting across from me. Her husband was looking the other way and had no clue that his still half full glass, was my rescue. ;-p. We were also sitting with a guy, who we had always claimed would eat just about anything. I said that I was fuller than I had thought and offered it to him. He ate it. We were right. Chuckle, chuckle.

    Step #1 - Make your pie crust.

    Step #2 - Measure your sugar into a bowl.

Step #3 - Add your eggs. REMINDER TIP - use the edge of the shell to break the egg yolks. Doing so will ease the stirring process greatly!
Blend the sugar and eggs together until they look like this -

Step #4 - Measure and add your solid pack pumpkin.

[I was doubling the recipe. Aka: making two pies]

Step #4 - Blend the two together until they look like this -->

Step #5 - Add the salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves to the bowl. Mix them in thourally. Remember to snap a picture here, if you plan on doing your own posting about this. 8-/

Step #6 - Add the Pet(R) Evaporated Milk. A BONUS TIP here --> Chilling your unopened can of evaporated milk for 15 to 20 minutes first, in your freezer, makes the baked pie turn out a lot lighter / fluffier in texture. :-D

Step #7 - Make sure everything is completely blended together. (aka: scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as you stir). Once it is, pour the mixture into your waiting unbaked pie crusts.

Step #8 - Bake at 425o for 15 minutes, then turn your oven down to 350o and bake for 45 minutes longer - OR - until a metal knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. ( <--- BONUS TIP there) If you end up needing to test it more than once, try making your knife test fall where your cutting lines will be. <--- Another BONUS TIP there)

     Pumpkin pie is good served warm, or cold. Plain, or with cool whip, or with ice cream. Is it good for you? OF COURSE! Pumpkin is either a veggie or a fruit, I get confused. o;-p

         And now for the actual recipe -
                 Pumpkin Pie
                   recipe taken off of a can of Libby's(R) pumpkin ( a 'few' years ago)

         for one single pie:
         Unbaked pie crust (set aside)
         3/4 cup Sugar
         2 large Eggs
         1 can (16 ounce) (aka: 1 pound) Libby's(R) Solid Pack Pumpkin
         1/2 teaspoon Salt
         1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
         1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg (my addition)
         1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
         1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
         1 tall can (13 fl. ounce) [Chilled] Pet(R) Evaporated Milk

          Preheat oven to 425o. (REMINDER - most ovens take 7 minutes to reach the temp. you set)

          Starting with the Sugar, mix the rest of the ingredients together in order given. Pour into prepared pie crust.
          Bake for 15 minutes at the 425o temp. Then reduce the heat to 350o and continue baking for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

       Hopefully, you'll enjoy it from the moment it enters your mouth. o;-p

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You might also enjoy these postings:

~ Pie Crust

~ Blueberry Pie

~ Toll House (R) Pie

~ Pecan Pie

~ Homemade Butterscotch Pudding / Pie

~ Homemade Chocolate Pudding (Pie filling)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
     (taste wonderful served as a pie!)
~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
   ~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "What's Cooking Wednesday('s)" (shall we say # 1 ?), are hosted by Cristi, at 'The King's Court IV' (http://www.thekingscourt4.blogspot.com/), and by Diane, at 'Turning The Clock Back' ("one eco friendly step at a time") (http://turning-the-clock-back.blogspot.com/)).
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).
~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Sweets For A Saturday", hosted by Lisa, at 'Sweet As Sugar Cookies' (http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com)

Pecan Pie

2012-01-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

    The next pie in the current series I'm posting, about the pies I made for Christmas this year, is the 'Pecan Pie'. We've already done the ones on Pie Crust, as well as the Blueberry Pie, and the Toll House(R) Pie.
     In a way, the recipe for Pecan Pie, is similar to the recipe for Goulash. There are ever so many variations of it! And just because you like some types of it, does not mean you like all types of it. In-fact, it's highly probable that you strongly dislike some types of it.
     Another irony is, many people claim 'their' pecan pie to be 'southern style'. Most likely, that just means it's a sweet rendition of the pie. It definitely does not mean that it tastes exactly like all the other pecans pies, which have been dubbed with the same title.
   All of that being said means, that I know some of you will not like this particular recipe for it. Others of you however, will L-O-V-E it!
      None of the guys in my house like pecan pie. Yet it is one of my favorite types of pies! I got the recipe from my mom. And most of my siblings and dad like it. So when I make it, it's usually in conjecture with a gathering of some sort, on my side of the family. But I usually make more than I know will be eaten, or even *taken home, by them. o;-p
      About the * by "taken home". People LOVE being able to not only eat a piece while they are at the gathering, but to also take a piece home with them, to have the next day. Sometimes I take a bag of empty containers (like Cool Whip or such had come in from the store) with me. My sister however, always has her own stash available for everyone to use. ;-> ( <--- BONUS TIP there)
      I got such a heart warming, tear provoking, awesome, compliment from my sister, about the pie this year. She wandered into the room I was sitting in, carrying a piece of the pecan pie on a plate. While fighting tears of her own, and poking at the pie, she said, "Cheryl, I just wanted to tell you that you totally nailed mom's recipe this time!! It's so-o worth the points I saved up to burn on it!" (She belongs to Weight Watchers(R)).

    Step #1 - Make your pie crust.

    Step #2 - Measure your sugar into a bowl.

Step #3 - Add your eggs. REMINDER TIP - use the edge of the shell to break the egg yolks. Doing so will ease the stirring process greatly!

[I was doubling the recipe. Aka: making two pies]

Step #4 - Blend the two together until they look like this -->

Step #5 - Add your melted butter and light Karo(R) Corn Syrup.

        (You do not have to finely groom your hands before making this pie o;-p)
         Blend every thing together thourally.

     Step #6 - Chop your pecans. No, we do not use the pecans as whole half's. And no, that is not an oxymora. ;-p. We like them chopped, but not super finely chopped. Add your chopped pecans to the bowl.

Step #7 - Stir everything together. If you 'should' get some on your finger, enjoy licking it off.

Step #8 - Pour the mixture into your waiting unbaked pie crusts.

Step #9 - Bake at 400o for 10 minutes, then at 350o for 20 minutes.

         And now for the actual recipe -
                   Pecan Pie
                              recipe given to me by my Mom - Pat B.

         for one single pie:
         Unbaked pie crust - set aside

         1 cup Sugar
         3 large Eggs
             Mix together until eggs are well beaten.
          1/4 cup Butter (1/2 stick)
          1/2 cup light (clear) Karo(R) Corn Syrup
              Add these to sugar and eggs and mix well.
          1 cup chopped Pecans
               Mix in with everything else.

           Pour mixture into the unbaked pie crust.
           Bake at 400o for 10 minutes then at 350o for 20 minutes.

      Savor every bite! :->

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You might also enjoy these postings:

~ Pie Crust

~ Blueberry Pie

~ Toll House (R) Pie

~ Homemade Butterscotch Pudding / Pie

~ Homemade Chocolate Pudding

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:
~ "Sweets For A Saturday", hosted by Lisa, at 'Sweet As Sugar Cookies' (http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com)
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
     (taste wonderful served as a pie!)
~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
   ~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).
~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)

Toll House Pie

2012-01-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

   The next pie in the current series I'm posting, about the pies I made for Christmas this year, is the 'Toll House Pie'. We've already done the one on Pie Crust and the one on Blueberry Pie.
    Let's see, what should I say about 'Toll House (R) Pie'? It's true technical name is 'Toll House (R) Walnut Pie'. We just refer to it by the shortened version. I had found the recipe for it in my 'Toll House Heritage Cookbook' which was published in July of 1981. Not sure how long exactly I've had that particular cookbook. I just know it's been a long time. I'm also not sure when the first time I made this pie was. But I do know that it only took us the one time, to get totally hooked on it!
    In-fact, the mass majority of the people whom had tried it, end up falling for it. It's just so-o-o good! A case in point example, is my father-in-law. I remember the conversation oh so clearly. Brian was on the phone with his dad, talking about us going there for Thanksgiving that year. I asked him to relay that I would bring the Thanksgiving pies. I then inquired what types they wanted. My brain was thinking "traditional Thanksgiving pies" would be, pumpkin, apple .... My father-in-law however, answered, "Toll House of course, and..." ;-p!
     And so it has continued to this day. Certain people (cough cough, Amanda and Kate amongst them, cough, cough o;-p) are prone to get very sad when they learn I have made them and they have not been around to get some. If any of you know of good ways to mail pies, they ask that you PLEASE share such information with me. ;-p
   Yes, the pie contains walnuts. But even if you're not a big fan of nuts, there is a good chance that you WILL become a fan of this pie.

    Step #1 - Make your pie crust.
           Confession time here. When I was making up the pie crusts this year at Thanksgiving, I had forgotten that I would need both top and bottom crusts for the blueberry pies. Seeings how I made them before I made the Toll House ones, I just took the dough for the Toll House pies back out of their pie plates and used them as the top crusts, figuring I could just make more crusts for the Toll House pie. But when I went to do so, I didn't have enough lard. (I bought the previously pictured huge tub of lard shortly before Christmas). BOTHER!!! Not making them wouldn't go over real good. Hummm... Then I spotted the butter dish. Oh yeah, some people use butter to make their crusts. So I used up what lard I had left, which equaled about half of the amount I needed, and then substituted butter (the real stuff) for the rest.
       Oh. MY. GOODNESS. It took the Toll House pie from being ever so good, right on over the top! Mercy was it good!!! I had 'planned' on purposely making it that way for Christmas, but then didn't think of it till I was actually filling the already made crust. 8-/ I'm strongly contemplating writing a note to myself, on my pie crust recipe file, to use 1/2 of each for Toll House pies.
      You of course, can make your crust which ever way you want. o;->

   Step #2 - Measure your brown sugar and dump it into a mixing bowl. REMINDER - ALWAYS pack each spoonful of brown sugar down into your measuring cup as your filling it. I forget the "why" on this. Just know that it really does make a difference!

Step #3 - Measure and dump your white sugar in on top of the brown sugar.

                [I was doubling the recipe. Aka: making two pies]
     Mix the two types of sugar together.

   Step #4 - Melt your butter. I do so in a glass bowl in the microwave.

Step #5 - Pour the melted butter in on top of the sugars.

At first it will look like this -

Keep mixing until it looks like this -

Step #6 - Add the eggs. REMINDER TIP - use the edge of the shell to break the egg yolks. Doing so will ease the stirring process greatly!

Blend everything together until it looks like this -

Step #7 - Add the flour.

Blend it in completely.

Step #8 - Chop your walnuts. Then measure and add your finely chopped walnuts tot he bowl. REMINDER - Measure them AFTER chopping.

Mix them in until your batter looks like this -

Step #9 - Add your chocolate chips. I strongly recommend that you use Nestle's(TM) Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (R) !

Blend them in, perhaps sneaking a taste once your done?

Step #10 - Pour, actually, scrape your batter out into the prepared pie crust(s).

Step #11 - Bake in a preheated oven at 325o for one (1) hour.
(Go crazy over the yummy smells emitting from your oven!)

     Toll House pie is good served hot, warm, or cold. Plain, or with cool whip, or with ice cream. Is it good for you? OF COURSE! It contains Chocolate - THE basic food group! o;-p

         And now for the actual recipe -
              Toll House (R) Walnut Pie
         recipe taken from the 'Toll House Heritage Cookbook' (R), 1981 edition.

         for one single pie:
         Unbaked pie crust
         1/2 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
         1/2 cup white Sugar
         1 cup (melted) Butter
         2 large Eggs
         1/2 cup unsifted white Flour
         1 cup finely chopped Walnuts
         1 cup Nestle(TM) Semi-Sweet Real Choc. Pieces (aka: chips)

        Preheat oven to 325o
        Mix ingredients together in the order given, making sure to mix thourally after each new addition.
         Pour into pie shell.
         Bake at 325o for 1 hour.

        Ohhh and Awww as your enjoying it ;-)

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ Pie Crust

~ Blueberry Pie

~ Homemade Butterscotch Pudding / Pie

~ Homemade Chocolate Pudding

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Sweets For A Saturday", hosted by Lisa, at 'Sweet As Sugar Cookies' (http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com)
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
     (taste wonderful served as a pie!)
~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
   ~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).

A "New" Movie Review Site

2012-01-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

    Brian and I use to laugh at the previews certain well known movie critics gave movies. It often seemed like, if they didn't care for it much and thus gave it low ratings, that meant we were going to really enjoy the movie! One prime case in point, was the movie 'Six Pack', which started Kenny Rogers and Diane Lane. I was pregnant with our first born when we went to see it (yeah, a 'few' years ago. ;-p). They gave it the lowest ratings possible. We thourally enjoyed it!
    Over the years, that trend seemed to continue. To the point that when our sons got old enough to start choosing their own movies to watch, oft times they felt the same way.
     It really did not surprise us then, that while our oldest son was attending tech college, some of his classmates, a teacher they had, and him, often talked about starting up their own movie review web site. They talked long and hard, but the site never actually got made.
    Until recently that is. Our eldest, with the encouragement of that same teacher, whom he still has contact with, started such a web site. Together they chose to stick to the original name the group had come up with - "Rude Ushers".
     The funny part about the name is, that is exactly what some movie patrons dub my son, when by sitting in a hallway after the movies start, he ruins their plans of sneaking from the movie they paid for, into a movie that is rated above their age limit. He gets a kick out of their dubbing.
     You are hereby invited to visit their movie review web site and get a "real" persons rating on the movies. I should warn you, a E+ rating, is a REALLY GOOD rating. ;-p
      I ask, that if you have nothing nice to say about their site, or a review they have posted, that you don't even bother leaving a comment. Thank-you!
     You are welcome and even encouraged to submit your own reviews of movies you have seen. No, you won't get paid for doing so. They aren't getting paid to do so either. And no, yours won't immediately show up on the site. It will instead be sent to them for review and approval. That helps them keep it (the site) reader friendly.

http://www.rudeushers.com/

Blueberry Pie

2012-01-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

    Yesterday we started this series on the five (5) types of pies I did this year for Christmas, by doing a tutorial about pie crusts. Today we shall highlight the Blueberry Pie.
    Blueberry pie is good served hot, warm, or cold. Plain, or with cool whip, or with ice cream. Blueberry pie is even good for you. Thus it's okay to have two pieces of it, should you so desire. o;-p

    Step #1 - Make your pie crusts and set them aside. Remember, you'll need both bottom and top crusts for blueberry pie. So if your only making one pie, double the pie crust recipe. If your making more than one, multiply accordingly. (Yes, you use math in cooking. The math teacher was right about multiplying being something you'll use later in life. 8-p)

    Step #2 - the blueberries themselves.
        If your using fresh blueberries, they need rinsed. If your using frozen blueberries, they need thawed. A BONUS TIP here --> Lay the bag of frozen blueberries on top of a large flat platter to thaw. That way, should there be any small holes anywhere in the package, all of the escaping juice stays contained on the platter.
      Measure your 5 cups of blueberries (per recipe) out into a large mixing bowl.

(I was making two (2) pies, thus double the amount)

Step #3 - Measure and dump the required amount of sugar onto the top of the berries.

Step #4 - Measure and dump the flour on top of the sugar in the bowl.

Step #5 - Measure and add 4 Tablespoons of dry instant Tapioca Pudding (per recipe) on top of the flour.
This is a tip I was given years ago by a lady named Sudie Bierens. The Tapioca absorbs the fruits juices and acts as a thickener. You do NOT taste the Tapioca in the finished product. You just get a nice solid piece of pie, instead of one oozing all over the place. :-> ( <--- BONUS TIP there) (Use it for any and all types of fruit pies)

Step #6 - Measure and add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (per recipe) to the top of the pile.

Step #7 - Now do the 1/4 teaspoon (per recipe) of ground nutmeg.

Step #8 - Start mixing everything together. Keep going. Until everything is completely mixed thourally.

Step #9 - Measure and dump 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (per recipe) on to the top of the mixture. Mix it in ever so thourally. The lemon juice is suppose to heighten the taste of the blueberries, not be it's own little zap in some bite. ;-p

Step #10 - fill your already made pie crusts.

Step #11 - Add dabs of BUTTER around the top of the filled crust.

Step #12 - Add the top crust to the pie. Pinch the bottom and top crusts together when making the scalloping around the edge. Cut 1/2 long slits in the top crust here and there around the top of the pie, this helps the crust to stay laying on top of the fruit instead of ballooning up. ( <--- BONUS TIP there) I try to cut the slits where I plan on cutting the pie into pieces, they then later act as guide lines. ;-) ( <--- Another BONUS TIP there)

Step #13 - Bake the pie or pies in an oven which has been preheated (most ovens take 7 minutes to reach the temp. you set) to 400o. Baking time should be 35 to 40 minutes.

     I had a gorgeous picture of a single piece of plated blueberry pie, but when I tried to move it to a different file on my computer, it completely vaporized. 8-/ !!!

         And now for the actual recipe -
             Blueberry Pie
                       adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (TM) (I had received it as a wedding gift in 1980) by Cheryl B.

         for one single pie:
         2 pie crusts
         5 cups Blueberries (If fresh, rinse first. If frozen, thaw first)
         1 cup Sugar
         3 Tablespoons all-purpose Flour
         4 Tablespoons Dry Instant Tapioca Pudding
         1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
         1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
         1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
         1/4 cup Butter

         Preheat oven to 400o

         Make your pie crusts, fitting one into the bottom of your sprayed pie plate, and setting the top one aside for now.
         Measure your blueberries into a large mixing bowl. Dump on the sugar, flour, tapioca, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Mix everything together very thourally.
         Add the lemon juice and again mix very thourally.
         Dump the mixture into the bottom pie crust in the sprayed pie plate. Top with slices of the butter.
         Add the top crust. Pinch the bottom and top crusts together to form your edging. Cut 1/2 inch long slits around the 'middle' of the top of the pie.
         Bake at 400o for 35 to 40 minutes.

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ Pie Crust

~ Homemade Butterscotch Pudding / Pie

~ Homemade Chocolate Pudding

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).
~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Sweets For A Saturday", hosted by Lisa, at 'Sweet As Sugar Cookies' (http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com)
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
     (taste wonderful served as a pie!)
~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
   ~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)

Pie Crust

2012-01-18T10:50:00.000-08:00

Like I had last year, I again asked my sister if it would be okay if I signed up to bring all of the desserts for my side of the families Christmas get-together. Last year, I did the cakes. This year, I did pies. Five different types. Blueberry, Toll house, Pecan, Pumpkin and Butterscotch. Here is a picture of them set out on my sister's dining room table.

    If you count the pieces the pies are cut into, you'll see it's not the 'normal' eight (8) piece cut. Some were cut into nine (9) pieces, others into ten (10) pieces. Why? Because I knew some people wouldn't want a whole piece of one thing, they wanted small pieces of a couple different pies. (<-- BONUS TIP there ;->)

    Above, when I listed the types of pies I'd made, I'd actually listed the types of fillings I'd put in the crusts. We all know, that for a pie to really be labeled "GOOD!", it has to have a light, flaky, good tasting crust. And we've all had our experiences eating ones that don't fit that definition. The 'hard as shoe leather' type. Or the 'this just doesn't taste good' type. How disappointing biting into one of those turns out to be!
    Personally, I love my pie crust recipe. As does my husband and father-in-law. But I will admit that I have a couple of children who don't. Then again, they have yet to eat a flour based pie crust they like. But there are a couple of pie fillings they love. 'A-typical', eh?

    So to start this series on pies, I'm doing the recipe and instructions for making pie crusts first.

   Step #1 - gather together your ingredients - Flour, lard, salt and water (see the metal edging of the sink? ;-p).

Yes, that is a huge bucket of lard. When I spotted it in the store, I had literally laughed right out loud. Why? A couple of years ago, when I had been unsuccessfully looking for the box's of lard (they are usually stocked in the meat department) in the store, I had ended up asking a worker where they had hid them. He had answered that they were no longer carrying it, due to trying to follow the "healthier foods trend". I had replied that I preferred the "all things in moderation" style. We had continued to talk for a bit and he'd ended up confessing that he'd had at least twenty people asking for lard in the last couple of days, and yes, he did plan on letting the higher ups know about it! Then here it was a couple of years later and I spot this huge tub of it. WE WON! ;-p

Step #2 - measure out your flour and then your salt and dump them in a bowl.

   Reminder here - if you are making pies with double crusts (aka: both a bottom and a top crust) such as blueberry or apple pies, then you need to double your pie crust recipe. And if your actually making two blueberry pies, then you need to four (4) times (x) your recipe, or you'll end up having to make additional dough, once you get all of the filling in. Yes, I speak from experience 8-/.
    Use a pastry blender to blend them together. (Do you remember what other things pastry blenders work great for?)

   Step #3 - Measure and add the lard to the bowl.

Step #4 - Use your pastry blender to mix the lard into the flour and salt, until it forms small crumbles (is that the proper terminology?)

Step #5 - Add the water.

Step #6 - Blend the water in, until the dough reaches the right consistency. I know that some of you are now asking, "how do you tell what that is?!" Been there. Had to figure that out. Smoosh some of the dough between two of your fingers. It should feel soft and smooshable, but not wet. If it feels wet, you need to add more flour. If it feels real dry, you need to add more water. ONLY ADD SMALL AMOUNTS OF EITHER at a time! It is far easier to keep adding more, than to try and compensate for having added too much! (<-- BONUS TIP there).

Blend with the pastry blender till it looks like this -

Then switch to using your hands till it's all sticking together better, like this -

   WARNING here! - The end result of blending it too much with either, is usually what causes the 'tough as shoe leather' crusts. Work thourally, yet lightly.

   Step #7 - It's time to roll out your crust.
     Brent and Kayla had gifted this pastry sheet(?) to me the previous Christmas. I keep it rolled up in the drawer with the measuring cups, spoons and rolling pins, with a huge elastic band wrapped around it several times, then spread out over it's length as much as possible.

But as you can see above, that results in it not laying flat when unrolled. The trick is to tightly roll it the opposite direction a couple of times, before laying it out on the counter. ;-) (<-- BONUS TIP there)

   If you do not yet have such a sheet, don't fret. You CAN just use your clean counter top. I did for years.

    Spray your pastry sheet or counter with pan coating spray! It will make the final scrape down clean up oh so much easier!! (Do you remember what other things using pan coating spray on, makes easier / work great for?)

   Scoop some or all of your dough (depending on if and how you multiplied your recipe) out of the bowl.

GENTLY form it into a ball and place it on your sheet or counter. Then knead it lightly a couple of times.

Spray your rolling pin.

Then sprinkle some flour onto your rolling pin.

    Place your rolling pin down on the middle of the ball of dough and rather firmly, roll it out, first one direction, then go back and do it the other direction. Then turn your rolling pin and repeat the process.
   Flip your dough over and roll the whole length, first top to bottom, then side to side.
   REMINDER - you do NOT want to over work your dough!!
   The size of your dough should now be large enough to fill a pie plate.

Gently pick up the edge of the dough furthest away from you, and fold the dough in half towards you.

Gently pick up one side of the folded in half piece of dough, and fold it in half sideways.

Firmly, yet gently, pick the folded up dough at the folded corner.

Lay it over one quarter (1/4) of your sprayed pie plate.

Yes, you read that right. I said to first spray your pie plate. Doing so, guarantees ease when scooping out a piece of pie. ;-> (<-- BONUS TIP there)

Unfold the pie crust over half of the pie plate.

Finish unfolding it.

Gently yet firmly, start at the middle of the crust and fit it down into the pie plate, keeping in mid that you do not want to overwork your crust!

   BONUS TIP here --> Make your crust larger than what you think your going to need it to be, to fill your pie plate. Pie crust shrinkage happens, when you've stretched your crust too tightly to fill the pie plate.

   If the above methodology does not work the first (or second, or third) time you try it, DO NOT GIVE UP! This is a prime example of practice making perfect!!! Man did I have some epic failures when I first set out, ever so determined to conquer pie crusts!!! I remember one classic failure in particular. If you had watched me putting the dough in to the pie pan, you would have thought I was trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle! (Who laughed?!? 8-/). Thankfully, the Lord intervened on my behalf and the final baked product came out perfectly. I'm still thanking Him for that one!
    This year at Christmas time, I baked ten (10) pies in one day. With two (2) of them being double crusted pies. And every single pie crust came out beautifully. Again, Thank-you Lord!
    Keep trying. You too WILL conquer them!

IF you will not be adding a top crust after filling the base, fold the extra crust hanging over the edge of the pie plate under (or use a knife to cut it off if you have way too much) and using your pointer finger and thumb on one hand and your pointer finger of the other hand, form scoops/scallops(?) around the edge of your pie plate.

HOWEVER, if you are adding a top crust, wait to do the edging till you have the top crust in place, then form it by squeezing the two layers of crust together.

IF you need to bake your crust before adding the filling (such as you do for Butterscotch pie), then you need to take a fork and gently poke ventilation holes in the unbaked crust first.

     However, if you are adding the filling to the crust prior to baking it, you do NOT need to add the ventilation holes.

   To per-bake a pie crust before adding the filling, bake at 375o for about 20 minutes.

   Additional BONUS TIP here --> If your making more than one pie, make all of your pie crusts first, being sure to respray both your counter (or baking sheet) and rolling pin in between rolling out the dough for each pie plate.

    And now for the actual recipe -
         Pie Dough
               by Cheryl B.

    for one single crust pie:
    1 1/3 cups Flour
    1/2 teaspoon Salt
    1/2 cup Lard
    3 to 4 Tablespoons Cold Water

     Combine flour and salt. With pastry blender mix in lard till coarse and crumbly. Add cold water and mix in thourally. Mix a bit more with your hands. Scoop out your dough, form it into a ball and place onto sprayed (and sometimes also floured) surface. Knead gently a couple of times. Form into flattened ball and roll out making sure to keep changing which direction your are rolling it. Go both directions, turn the dough over, and repeat.
    To put dough into pie plate - first fold dough in half, then half again. Lift into pie plate and unfold. If your going to need to bake the dough before adding the filling, prick dough with a fork.
    Use your fingers and thumb to make your crust edging.

   To per-bake a pie crust before adding the filling, bake at 375o for about 20 minutes.

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ Homemade Butterscotch Pudding / Pie

~ Homemade Chocolate Pudding
     (taste wonderful served as a pie!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).
~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Sweets For A Saturday", hosted by Lisa, at 'Sweet As Sugar Cookies' (http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com)
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).

Directory of postings about Boo

2012-01-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

    Seeings how I did the postings updating all of the other "directory" labels, I figured I should do this one too. ;->

       "Directory of postings about Boo - 2010 and 2011"

Jan. 21, 2010 - Another Boo story ~
               Some stuff about both Boo and Rascal
               Boo and the dog in the movie

Jan. 23, 2010 - Boo scores again
               Boo wanted to play!

Feb. 3, 2010 - From Wednesday
             The part after the * ~ ~ * ~ ~
             Another Boo and the TV remote tale

Feb. 16, 2010 - The world moves in circles
                I now have vertigo - certain actions of Boo that really affects it

June 14, 2010 - WELCOME home!!! ;-)
                I had been out of state

July 21, 2010 - The back yard project
              Boo oversaw our enclosing our backyard for him (and the grand children)

Nov. 30, 2010 - "I'm thankful For: "
               Our pets
               What my brother Craig says Boo is a huge case in point for

Dec. 10, 2010 - Boo's comical response
                to what he sniffed in the dirty clothes

March 13, 2011 - Introducing ...
              Daisy. Boo meeting his new little sister

April 5, 2011 - Cute doggie tales
             Boo and Daisy bonding
             Tale #1 - Boo alerting me to what Daisy was trying to do
             Tale #2 - What was Daisy barking at ?!?
             Tale #3 - Boo and Daisy and the rain
             Tale #4 - Another Boo and Daisy and the rain

May 4, 2011 - complimentary phone call
             Boo's response to Analyse on the phone

May 31, 2011 - Two - change that to three things to tell you about -
               the 2nd incident - words you can't use around Boo due to him knowing what they mean (;-p) and about him and my vertigo

Aug. 30, 2011 - "Wedding Weekend" - Fri. night
               Mentioned how much Analyse likes Boo.
               Told the story about the bat in our house.

(it only took him a few minutes to decide to try out our new couch when we got it ;-p)
"I still love you Boo boy!"

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy this posting:

~ "Directory of postings about Boo - his arrival --> 2009"
includes a picture

"Directory" of the postings about "The Grandchildren" from the year 2011

2012-01-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

Jan. 3, 2011 - Christmas 2010 with Analyse
             includes pictures

Jan. 27, 2011 - Phone conversations ... ;-p
               Analyse tried to get Gaa..ma's help in getting her way.

Feb. 17, 2011 - :-) !!!!!
                we were headed to visit the kids. includes a picture

Feb. 23, 2011 - A neat place to EAT!
                in Illinois, includes pictures of Analyse

March 3, 2011 - our recent weekend at the kids -
                lots of tales about things Analyse said and did

March 6, 2011 - Time spent with a friend :-]
                includes pictures of the clothes Kate and I picked up for Analyse

March 17, 2011 - Baby News :->
                  Ultrasound report

March 21, 2011 - Brandon and Analyse
                  they came to town for Brandon's birthday. "Ms. Analyse continues to keep all of us on our toes." Examples given.
                  includes pictures of Brandon and Analyse

March 24, 2011 - Two Analyse Stories ;->
                  # 1 - "Cyn-di....you won't believe what your daughter just did!!!" And then "Little girl, you are too smart for your age!".
                  # 2 - Cyndi had said "no, you can't have popsicles with out a bib". ...
                  includes a picture

April 12, 2011 - So, about that name...
               they changed their minds about the coming baby's name

April 21, 2011 - "Baby Shower / Come Visit Time"
               includes pictures

April 22, 2011 - just us, hanging together
               (after the shower / get together time) includes pictures

May 4, 2011 - Complimentary phone call ;-)
             the compliment was the reason behind the call...

May 16, 2011 - For Analyse's upcoming 2nd Birthday
               includes pictures

June 10, 2011 - Analyse's 2nd birthday - Part 1 - the banner
                includes WONDERFUL pictures of the birthday girl

June 11, 2011 - Analyse's 2nd birthday - Part 2 - The Cookie Monster(R) cupcakes
                includes pictures of the birthday girl

June 13, 2011 - Analyse's 2nd birthday - Part 3 - the food we took
                includes pictures of the birthday girl

June 16, 2011 - Analyse's 2nd birthday - Part 4 - fun pictures from the party

July 7, 2011 - Yet again, He provided ;->
            a double stroller

July 12, 2011 - "Theyhadababyit'saboy"
           includes a picture

July 14, 2011 - They named him...
               includes pictures

July 22, 2011 - We met Elliot! :->
               includes some blurry pictures

July 29, 2011 - A "Grandma Tale" :->
              I had every single stuffed animal dug out of both bins lined up down that couch...

Aug. 12, 2011 - About my birthday
               Over the phone, Analyse sang to me and a picture of her

Aug. 24, 2011 - Progress Made:
               Who was coming

Aug. 30, 2011 - Wedding Weekend - Fri. Night
               a bat visited us while it was just Boo, the grand kids and I to home

Sept. 13, 2011 - Part 4 of Brent and Kayla's wedding
   Analyse helping get the church ready

Oct. 12, 2011 - My week this week
               Examples of how I was having a very busy week this week being grandma. :->
               Example #1 - those gorgeous blue eyes popped open and his expression asked, "What ya doin grandma?"
               Example #2 - A couple of minutes later, I could not discipher what she was saying, so I turned my head to look at her. She had removed all of the burner knobs off of the stove, but could not ...
               Suddenly I realized that Elliott was moving, towards the edge of the counter. By standing on tip toe, she had been able to ...
              she discovered that she could fit her little hand in through the handle of a box, which was sitting on a bench in the kitchen ...
              Amy's van was home, a visiting we went!
              when we returned home, the kids and I then spent another two hours outside.
              Two things about that. First, Ms. Analyse likes to talk!!! Secondly, Mr. Elliot seldom stops moving.

Oct. 17, 2011 - Grandma Tales :->
              Watching Elmo(R) - "Friend". 'silence is usually NOT a good sign coming from young children'. Aw yes, grandma remembers now... all to well.... ;-p

Oct. 27, 2011 - "Updates"
              Pictures of the new born Elliot (we found our camera), how we learned Analyse resembles Grandma "Honey", Elliot at 3 months old

Nov. 1, 2011 - We had taken Elliot along on our date...

Nov. 15, 2011 - Currently (now) living in our house

Nov. 27, 2011 - Ga_ _ ma's bunny and it's "bed"
Nov. 28, 2011 - 'Aunt' Billie's Banana Bread Recipe
               alternative title for this posting could be: "Cooking with Gaa_ _ ma" :-D !!!
               contains a tip about a special type of sandwich

Dec. 2, 2011 - A Different kind of Stuffed Manicotti
              several cute pictures inserted there in

Dec. 7, 2011 - "Nonunions?" = a grandma's tale ;-p!
             trying to decipher what song it really was she was requesting I sing

Dec. 16, 2011 - 3 Heat Warming Grandma Moments :-D
          #1 - "I cuddle you!" #2 - his cry turned into laughter #3 - Analyse's response to me finding the missing 'baby'.

     Do you have any idea how much I've smiled while doing this listing? I am SO-O-O-o BLESSED!!! Thank-you Lord!

     And now for some pictures :->

Nov. 11 #007
"Papa 'Honey' " feeding Elliot the Sunday before Thanksgiving

         Nov. 11 # 008
         Analyse keeping "Papa" awake ;-p
          [her outfit is a combination of clothes she already had, and clothes brought to us by a friend and her daughters (something I have on my list to post about...) ]

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ "Directory" of the postings about "The Grandchildren" from the year 2010
          includes a couple pictures

~ "Directory of the postings about "The Grandchildren" from the year 2009
          includes a picture

2011 Hopefully Useful Tips Directory -

2012-01-08T02:37:00.000-08:00

     This is a directory listing of sorts, of all of the "Hopefully Useful Tips" we posted in 2011.

Jan. 4, 2011 - How to leave a comment on our blog, if you don't have a blog of your own

March 1, 2011 - Tips About Coffee

March 12, 2011 - A catchy way to remember which way to turn your clock for Daylight Savings Time

June 3, 2011 - A couple of quick tips (tongue in cheek?)

June 10, 2011 - How To Make a Board Banner

June 14, 2011 - Their Up and Running Again
                 (about fun places to visit in Michigan, which are only open during the warm weather months)

June 19, 2011 - Wonderful 'Pick it Here' directory (for almost world wide)

June 20, 2011 - Good for you AND good tasting?
               (Product review I did for PROMAX LS bars)

June 23, 2011 - Info. about Yo Gabba Gabba!(R)'s LIVE tour

June 25, 2011 - FRESH STRAWBERRY Muffins
            (something to tempt you to visit our Cooking and Baking Directories too o;-p)

June 27, 2011 - More smiles and a Baiting Tip
            (baiting tip is for mouse traps)

June 30, 2011 - Our 'sign' worked!

July 30, 2011 - Miscarriages = Emotional Roller-coasters

Aug. 8, 2011 - "Be Still and Know..."

Sept. 27, 2011 - Seven tongue in cheek helpful tips ;-p

Dec. 5, 2011 - How to keep things from boiling over (when cooking)
           (a tip I learned from Tammy ;->)

    Doing these directories, helps me find when and where it was I had posted something. I'm sure you other bloggers never have that problem o;-p.

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ 2010 Hopefully Useful Tips Directory

~ 2009 Hopefully Useful Tips Directory

~ 2008 Hopefully Useful Tips Directory

~ 2007 Hopefully Useful Tips Directory

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2011 Cooking and Baking Directory -

2012-01-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

This is a directory listing of sorts, of all of the "Cooking and Baking" postings we did in 2011.

Jan 4, 2011 - Carrot Cake
            [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about baby food carrots]

Jan. 9, 2011 - Strawberry Cake
            [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about assembling and moving layered cakes]

Jan. 11, 2011 - Drool-Overable-Chocolate-Cake

Jan 15, 2011 - Chocolate Covered Strawberies
              [it contained "Bonus Tip's" about sitting while doing them, eating them as you go, and their 'life span'.]

Jan 23, 2011 - Peanut Butter Fudge

Jan. 30, 2011 - Homemade Chocolate Pudding
            (aka: "home made pudding recipe #1")
             [it contained a "Bonus Tip" for when your doubling pudding recipes]

Jan. 31, 2011 - "Party Foods" #6 - Improvised Chili Based Dip Recipe

Feb. 1, 2011 - "I found them" (the pictures of the Christmas Cakes)

Feb. 7, 2011 - (Made from scratch) Fudge Brownies

Feb. 11, 2011 - Stew from leftover Pork Loin
              [it contained "Bonus Tip's" about cooking Pork Loins. One about using your crockpot after it's been in the fridge. And steps of how to thicken a soup into a stew.]

Feb. 13, 2011 - Wonderful Plain Muffins
                (they go GREAT with soups, stews, goulash...)

March 1, 2011 - Tips about Coffee
                [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about storing your baking yeast]

March 9, 2011 - "Hot Dog Bar"
                (aka: Menu's for Party Buffet Bars #1)
                [it contained "Bonus Tip's" about the actual setting up of a food bar/buffet

March 11, 2011 - "Show-N-Tell"
                  (Brian had bought me Ree's Cookbook)

March 16, 2011 - "Mexican Style" Bar
                 (aka: Menu's for Party Buffet Bars #2)
                  [it contained information about how much food to plan on per person. And a "Bonus Tip" about cutting up your tomatoes a day ahead of time.]

March 23, 2011 - Pasta and Salad Type Bar
                 (aka: Menu's for Party Buffet Bars #3)
                [it contained "Bonus Tip's" about the type and size of disposable plates to buy. And one about having people mark their cups.]

March 24, 2011 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

March 26, 2011 - Chocolate Chip or M+M(R) Cookies
               [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about cracking your eggs into the bowl, and one about if part of the shell breaks off into your batter]

April 4, 2011 - Soothing Shepherd's Pie
             [it contained "Bonus Tip's" about using garlic powder]

April 6, 2011 - When 'Plan A' doesn't work but you still need to turn it into dinner
             [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about how to get your meat easier to work with]

April 25, 2011 - "Not just for Easter" #1 - Pink Bunny Cookies
           (aka: Sugar Cookie Recipe #1 as well as "Cream Filled Confetti Cookies")
          [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about why you need to refrigerate certain types of dough, one about how to re-roll your unused dough, one about how to keep plastic wrap from settling on covered items, and one about our "Help Yourself Shelf"

April 27, 2011 - "Not just for Easter" #2 - Yellow Ducky Cookies
           (aka: Sugar Cookie Recipe #2)
          [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about how to get the maximum amount of cookies cut from each rolled batch, one about the trick to use if you plan on making them into sandwich cookies, and one about what to use for a really delicious frosting]

April 29, 2011 - "Not just for Easter" #3 - Rice Krispie(TM) Eggs
           (aka: "Shape-able Rice Krispie(TM) Treats")
           [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about getting your pan coating spray to really work

May 2, 2011 - "Not just for Easter" #4 - Chocolate Covered Ducky Cookies

June 11, 2011 - Cookie Monster(R) Cupcakes

June 13, 2011 - "Party Foods" #7 - Bacon Cheeseball
            [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about cutting green onions]

June 25, 2011 - Strawberry Muffins
            [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about not using papers for muffins]

July 5, 2011 - Oatmeal Carmelitas
           [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about mixing large batches]

Sept. 7, 2011 - Brent + Kayla's wedding cakes

Oct. 4, 2011 - "Party Foods" #8 - My version of Fruit Pizza

Oct. 6, 2011 - "Party Foods" #9 - Brownie Cups
         [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about spraying the inside of cupcake papers]

Oct. 31, 2011 - YUM-A-Setta
          [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about getting your water to boil faster]

Nov. 28, 2011 - "Aunt" Billie's Banana Bread Recipe
           [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about what 'age' of bananas make the best baked goods, and one about banana bread sandwiches]

Dec. 2, 2011 - A different kind of Stuffed Manicotti
            [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about freezing Banana Bread, one about keeping cooking noodles from sticking together, and one about 'mending' ripped noodles]

Dec. 5, 2011 - How to keep things from boiling over
           (a tip I learned from Tammy ;->)

Dec. 10, 2011 - (Pie #1) Homemade Butterscotch Pudding (Pie)
            (aka: "home made pudding recipe #2")
          [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about what to do with the not needed egg whites, adding eggs to already hot ingredients]

Dec. 27, 2011 - "Party Foods" #10 - My version of Veggie Pizza
           [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about making a thicker flakier crust, one about a good methodology to use when adding the veggies, and one about helping the veggies stay on better]

Dec. 28, 2011 - "Party Foods" #11 - My rendition of Spinach Dip with Pumpernickel
          [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about removing the liquid from frozen spinach]

Dec. 29, 2011 - "Party Foods" #12 - Shrimp Dip
            [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about softening your cream cheese]

Dec. 30, 2011 - "Party Foods" #13 - 'Italian' Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce
          [it contained a "Bonus Tip" about why to add eggs to meatballs, one about the benefit of layering meatballs, rather than dumping them in, and one about if the top of your prepared sauce gets too thick]

Dec. 31, 2011 - "Party Foods" #14 - Sausage Dip
          [ it contained a "Bonus Tip" about thinning hot dips]

    Doing these directories, helps me find when and where it was I had posted something. I'm sure you other bloggers never have that problem o;-p.

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:
~ 2010 Cooking and Baking Directory

~ 2009 Cooking and Baking Directory

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).
~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Sweets For A Saturday", hosted by Lisa, at 'Sweet As Sugar Cookies' (http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com)

What my 'plan' had been....

2012-01-06T13:27:00.001-08:00

      I had progressed through all of the design scheming and the application tweaking, to the point that I was happy with the blog header I'd designed for 2012. All of the pieces of it just needed 'glued' together, a web address given to it, and the final product applied to the blog.

   Some how (that I still totally don't get), my email draft which I kept the links to all of the different 'Seasonal Smile' Pictures I liked, emptied itself. Frustrating!!! I had again looked up and found pictures I liked and wanted to use for the month of January. Had saved thier addresses. Just needed to clear the December ones from the blog and apply the January ones.

     Do you remember how back on Sat., December 17th, I had told you, "While I have chosen to not join Pinterest myself, due to how **addictive it *could ( *aka: would most likely) become, it seems that our blog has unofficially 'joined' of it's own accord." ... "About the ** before the word 'addictive'. If you go to pinterest's HOME page, I'll be able to show you what I mean." ... "Do you 'get' why I think me joining pinterest, would be like signing up for a new addiction? o;-b. Mercy!"
    Well... ummm... you see.... Okay, I'll just come out and admit it. Big breath intake. I joined pinterest. This was a response I got to the news - "Who saw this coming? KATE saw this coming lol... :) So glad you're giving in to the Pinterest bug!"

    So-o-o, my 'plan' had been, that New Years morning, before we headed out, I was going to get on line, finish up our new blog header and apply it to our blog. I was also going to change the color scheme from a "Christmasy one", to blues. As well as change the 'Seasonal Smile' pictures. A-n-d, I was going to add a button to our blog, so you could join me on pinterest yourself(R) if you so desired. I had a lead on how to do the later thing.
    I did get up. I did get on line. I did attempt to do the final details to make the new blog header applicable. I tried. My hardest. But I just could not seem to get it to work. BOTHER! I spent so much time trying to figure it out, that I used up all of my time. Twerent happy, let me tell you! 8-/! "Fine then", I said to myself, "we should be home by 8:30 at the latest. Once we get Analyse down, I'll have Byron or Benson help me figure it all out, and still get everything applied". And I'd be able to do the "Happy New Years" posting I had in mind, complete with a picture saved for it.
    But as I told you about yesterday, we didn't come home that night. And once we finally did get home, we had sick grandchildren. And then a couple of us got sick ourselves. And "life" again laughed at my 'plans'.

    So... I am only running close to a week behind 'schedule', but I am ever so happy to announce, that Byron was able to help me finish getting our blog header applicable today (I was only missing two small, but ever so important, 'details'. Isn't that the way it always goes?!). It is now applied. And I did get all of the seasonal pictures and color theme changed. And while I was not able to figure out the pinterest(R) connect button, like I had thought I could, I did figure out a way for you to connect anyways. ;-D Scroll down our side bar, and you'll see what I mean. But be careful, I'm warning you how "addictive" it can be... o;-p
    For those of you whom gets our posting via email - go HERE to see the blog itself.

   Both grand kids are up again... and Benson's home from work... and Byron's computer crashed on him.... Aww "life".   Good thing I stuck a Pepsi(R) in the fridge, eh? o;-b!

It was ...

2012-01-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

   "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, ...". Many of you recognize that infamous line, as the opening line in Charles Dickens novel, 'A Tale of Two Cities'.
   That line is also an all too appropriate title for what's been going on around here the last few days!!!
    The original 'plan' had been, that Byron was going to meet Cyndi last Sunday, to pick the kids up again. But then he had the chance to work a twelve (12) hour shift that day. The paycheck wouldn't be very big without it. So.. we switched 'plans'.
    Brian and I were going to drive down to 'the boarder' (the Michigan / Indiana border, not the Mexico / American boarder) and bring the kids back. Brian had called his dad and asked if we could borrow his car, for a large part of the trip. Riding in our van had gone from affecting my vertigo, to aFfEcTiNg my vertigo. Oh my word had it! The true extent of the cause had been found last week, when Brian had gotten under the back of the van for a different reason. Turns out the shocks were not only worn out, they had broken off in the back. So, riding forty five (45) minutes in it down to his dad's, affects me, but not nearly as bad as riding the whole way would have!!!
   We got to dad's, talked a few minutes, climbed in the other vehicle and set off. We got to the meeting spot a good twenty (20) minutes early. So we took a booth and tried to relax.
   Shortly after we took our booth, a mom and son took the booth behind Brian. She was a very sharp / refined looking lady, of I'm not quite sure which nationality. After looking her over and our smile exchange, I had a feeling that the establishment we were in, was not on her usual dining out list. This was comically confirmed much later, when the son questioned if she had liked her ___'s hamburger.
    As is often the case when you sit in back to back booths, we could heard most parts of their conversation. No, they were not at all loud. It's just that only four booths had people in them, and we weren't doing much talking between ourselves, we were enjoying 'listening in'.
   The mother had brought her son there, to have a good heart to heart talk. She was very firmly, yet also very lovingly, trying to point out different things to him. I guess the son to be around eleven (11) or twelve (12). Things such as, people whom will steal from you, openly mock you in front of others, lie to you and about you, etc. are not really friends. They are the kind of people who are 'using you' and will end up causing you great grief in the long run. You need to cut all ties with that type and keep your distance. She took the time to explain the difference between a "friend" 'mocking' you, and a friend who laughs with you, over something you've done or said. She spoke about how at his age she knows that the number of friends he has, is more important to him than his grades, but that it's his grades that will help him get into the right college to pursue the career he has said he wants. They talked about several other subjects as well.
    My heart went out to the mother. She was trying ever so hard, to teach him, reach out to him, nurture him, and her very carefully chosen words and responses, were obviously coming forth from her oh so heavy heart.
    The son on the other hand, while never being out and out disrespectful, knew his mother well. He knew what to say, to push her buttons.
    Brian got a text, saying that Cyndi was getting off at the exit. I followed the tugging of my heart and stepped over to the neighboring booth. Looking at the mother I said, "I only have a minute before my grand children get here, but before they do, I wanted to share something with you." At first she looked very skeptical and physically backed away. 'Too late now', I thought. And plunged ahead. "As a mom of four sons, I just wanted to let you know, your on the right track. Keep it up. Your doing a great job!" I then turned to the son (who was looking at me all so skeptically) and said, "As a mom of four boys, I totally 'get' where your at. You see your mom as pushing her way into your business. Your pretty sure she doesn't 'get' your world." The change in his expression, told me that I had nailed it on the head. (:->) So I continued. "Your mom LOVES you. That's why she brought you here and why she's saying what she is. Believe it or not, it's not easy for us mom's to do. But doing so, earns us those 'mean mom awards'." He smiled and I heard his mom chuckle, but I did not turn away from him. "It's the mom's who don't earn the 'mean mom awards', who's children the rest of us hate having to deal with!" The mom slapped the table and said, "That's it exactly!". I turned to her and smiled. As I started to say that the kids had just pulled in, she leaned way forward and pulled me into a hug. As the hug broke she said, "I don't know who you are, but I want to thank-you. Your words were exactly what I needed to hear. You are the best New Year's gift I could have ever received!" (It was after all, New Year's Day)
    Brian had gone out to help Cyndi bring the kids in. I was so eager to see them, that I wandered over to the door. Cyndi approached the door, carrying Analyse, then turned back towards the car, talking, as though she was answering Brian. But as she turned, Analyse spotted me. Flailing her arms, bouncing in her mother's arms, wearing a gigantic smile, she started shouting "gammy!!!" Cyndi turned back around, saw me and with a laugh, sat Analyse down and headed towards Brian. I almost didn't get the door open in time, for the rushing towards me Analyse. ;-p Awesomeness!!!
    Brain had sat Elliot down on the bench seat and was starting to remove the seat belts, when Elliot turned tot he sound of my voice. The beamingness that started flowing forth from his adorable little face, was ever so thrilling to this grandma's heart!!!
    Cyndi spent a little while talking to us and looking through the goody's that we had gotten her for Christmas. She also changed Analyse's yuckie diaper. She warned us that Analyse had thrown up a couple of times that morning, as well as having diarrhea. From the sounds of the coughing coming from Elliot, we knew his congestion was in high form. All-rightly then...
    The weather men had been predicting snow storms. Thus far, our sailing had been clear and continued to be for quite some distance home. Although the super strong winds, combined with the oh so heavy clouds, told us that everything could change at a moments notice. And it did.
    We made it back the east/west highway and changed onto the north/south highway with out any problems. But by then, the night sky was starting to darken, and the winds started picking up even more, and the white stuff started swirling. The sky went from darkening to black so quickly it was like God had hit the light switch. Everybody went from driving a tish slower than normal, to quickly dropping speeds. The thin layer of freshly fallen snow, was hiding black ice. Wicked stuff!
    'Normally', it takes us about twenty (20) minutes to get from the highway exchange to dad's exit. We're not sure... we 'think' it took us forty (40) minutes this time, or was it an hour? All we know for sure is, that we never went faster than forty (40) miles per hour. Most of the time though, we were going twenty five (25) to thirty (30) miles per hour. And during that trip, we saw some frightening scenes.!
     At one point in time, the car which was barely ahead of us in the other lane, was instantaneously trying to squeeze in front of us. "What the heck!!!" As Brian let him over, we saw his reasoning. The car which had been in front of him, was rocking to a complete stop - with it's headlights facing on coming traffic!!! Yikes!!! The inter lights of the car were also on and we could see the two people who had been in the front seat, scrambling to exit as fast as they could, out the passenger side door. This was at the very beginning of the bad stretch, approaching traffic was still doing seventy (70)!
    A bit further on, I suddenly saw what looked to be a newer year Suburban, which had been maybe three cars in front of us, swerve towards the outside of the road. It then went airborne, flying our across the ditch and beyond. During it's flight, it turned like it might land on it's side. It then seemed to pick up momentum and for a split second, tuned upside down, before righting itself again. It landed. With a THUD! Then bounced far enough up, that the tires cleared the ground, before again thudding back down. It landed facing the highway, but at least twelve (12) feet back from the highway. "It's suspension is now shot" I commented. "And it's probably sunk a couple feet in, seeings how the ground hasn't fully frozen over yet this year." Brian added. The interior lights of the vehicle came on and we could see the driver putting his cell phone to his ear. We felt it okay to keep driving.
Yet another bit further, we spotted red flashing lights on the other side of the highway. As we got closer, we spotted a semi sitting on the inside of the highway, just past a highway overpass. Quite a ways behind it, was where the police car was sitting. Curious. As we got closer, we saw a small sized car sitting behind the semi. The front of it's car facing us. The passenger side of the car had huge smash-in's in it. We could not determine who had hit who.
    It was so darn dark, with such heavily falling, swirling snow, that a couple of different times we thought we saw more cars going off the side of the road, only to learn as we got closer, they were taking an off ramp.
    We debated whether we too should get off and take the back roads, but decided that if anything should happen, we'd be far more likely to be found and get help if we stayed on the highway. So we prayed our way forward. Praying for our own safety. Thanking God that the accidents we'd seen happen, didn't appear to have severely injured or killed anybody.
    We got off at dad's exit, stopped to refill his gas tank, and ventured on to his house. He was ever so thrilled we'd made it there safe.
    Dad just loves hearing Analyse say "Hi Papa 'Honey'! :-D" And it's a good thing, because she said it at least thirty (30) times. ;-p
    Dad had already shown all of the guys what he had picked up for her for Christmas, and to a one they hoped she wouldn't like it so they could have it. ;-p. There's a big hard plastic ball on top of a long round handle. You push the buttons on the stick, and the lights on the inside of the ball light up. And flow in patterns around the inside. Two alternating patterns, at the same time. And Ms. Analyse, being herself, just had to keep showing "Gammy!" her new toy, by running to me and shoving it up towards my face. Me. Still being 'Ms. Vertigo'. Who had just survived what kind of a ride?! Dad at least claims, he does too love me. o;-p. I now know that I need to pack many more 'vertigo pills' than I 'think' I'll be needing.
     Brian and dad turned the TV on and checked the weather reports. In the car I had told Brian, that I was in favor of just spending the night at dad's, but it would be his call and I would support it. It looked like we had passed through the worst of it. B-u-t, there were two more 'bad patches' we'd need to pass through to get home. "So ya gonna spend the night then?" dad asked Brian. Brian was silent a couple of minutes, looking at me, then the kids, then me.... then with a sigh answered, "Yeah, I guess so. If it was just the two of us, I'd press on. If something happened, we could always start the car for a bit to warm up, then turn it back off. But with the little ones with us, it's best we stay here.".
    Dad got me out a pair of his draw string pajama pants and a T-shirt to wear for the night, and laid a long robe out for me. I went in and changed. When I came back out, with the intention of feeding Elliot a bottle and hopefully rocking him to sleep, Analyse came over to investigate the robe. She pulled the front of the bottom apart, stepped inside, closed it, then peeked out and said "peek-a-boo" to the two pappies. They roared with laughter!!! It was so good to hear dad laughing like that!
     I was able to Elliot asleep and then sat holding Analyse on my lap, watching TV. Before I had a clue she had done so, she fell asleep. Sound asleep. We had promised to have her call Cyndi before we put her to bed, but did not want to wake her back up to do so. So Brian called Cyndi and 'splained, while I put Analyse down on her blanket bed. Amazingly she stayed asleep. For awhile that is.
    Both young ones were asleep, so we decided it best we head to bed too. We just drifted off, and Elliot woke up. I had to climb over Brian to get to him, didn't want to chance waking Analyse, who's blanket bed was next to my side of the bed. Took a bit, got him back to sleep, and she woke up again, due to having horrible diarrhea. Gotr here changed, and rocked back to sleep. This time, as I was laying her down, she did what she has usually done (her whole life) when you lay her down. She opened her eyes for just a minute. At first her eyes focused in on my smiling face, she too smiled and started to relax. But then, with her eyes still open, she turned her head sideways. Her mind did not register what it was she was seeing. She sprung her head to look the other way. That did not register either. Sleeping was no longer happening! I tried again rocking her to sleep, she'd just start to drift off, and force herself back awake. She kept requesting to watch different ones of her shows. Papa 'Honey' doesn't have those type recorded like we do. Our emergency diaper bag shall soon contain a DVD of them!
    Soon Elliot was again awake. His congested coughing being the culprit. Once I got him to sleep again, Brian said he would stay up with Analyse. The vertigo had me tilting and spinning something fierce on the inside! Worked out that while I did get more sleep than Brian, neither of us got much sleep that night.
    The next morning Brian was asleep more than he was awake, sitting on a couch. finally he took my encouragement and went to bed for awhile. He even got some sleep. That is, until while I was feeding Elliot a bottle and papa 'honey' had left, and she slipped into the room and tried to join him in bed. Once I rescued him, he slept some more. That is, until the sleeping Elliot I had left in there, decided that a twenty (20) minute nap was all he needed. And on it went. Around eleven (11) he decided the roads should be cleared enough, the snowing had stopped, and we'd head out. Dad had gotten between four (4) to six (6) inches - just depended how deep the wind had left any particular spot.
    As we traveled home, we were amazed at the lessening amounts of accumulations along the way.
    The night before, we could tell that Analyse did not understand why we weren't going on home and seeing her daddy! While she was thrilled to play with papa 'honey', she also wanted her daddy! So Brian and I decided that we would surprise Byron and stop by the movie theater he works at and let his kids and him see one another. No sooner had we decided that, then he called requesting it. Spoil sport! ;-p
    Speaking of "playing with papa 'honey'. Analyse had drawn on a couple pieces of paper. Later, while papa 'honey' was sitting next tot he table holding Elliot, Elliot kept trying to grab one of them. Brian sat down just around the corner from them, and started moving the paper so that Elliot could just get a hold of it, then Brian would tug it away. They did not want it going in his mouth! Brian had told his dad that he wished he could see all of the expressions on Elliot's face, they were priceless. After a bit Elliot's combined strength and wigglelyness was wearing dad out, so Brian took him and dad started moving the paper. Brian said he enjoyed watching his dad's enjoyment of playing with Elliot, as much as he had enjoyed watching Elliot's face!! Then one time after Elliot had gotten a hold of the paper and it they were in the process of tugging it away, the paper tore. In two. Brian's dad's eyes got bigger than his glasses! Elliot started giggling with glee. But his expression said that he too was surprised. "Damn strong little bugger, ain't he?!?!!!!" Dad questioned. Brian then had to reassure him that he WAS remembering right. Elliot really is only five (5) months old.
   The kids had fallen asleep en-route home, but we knew seeing her daddy would be worth waking Analyse up for. We were right! Not sure who was more excited - Byron or his kids. ;-D He showed them off to everybody working. Everything went great till it was time to leave again. Miss Analyse would not accept that her and pappy would pick daddy up from work together soon! She was most indignant!
   Thankfully when we got home, Uncle Brent!, Auntie Kayla! and 'Boo and Daisy'! were at our house. They had come back to our house after plowing all night, and instead of just picking the dogs up, seeings how neither of them had to work that day, they had gone to bed. Thank-you Lord! You KNEW we would benefit from them being there!
   Brian and I slept so sound that night, that when Byron came in to question us something about Elliot puking, he had quite the time getting either of us to respond. And it was only 10:30 when he did so! We had gone to bed early... we were so-o tired!!!
   The next morning, Analyse got sick at both ends again. And that night, Elliot did the same. Thankfully Byron had had the day off, so we had each taken and cared for one child all day.
   That night, I too surcame to the flu bug. Not willingly mind you. Last night, it hit Byron. We're really hoping that Brian doesn't get hit as well. His work doesn't grant sick days. And besides, he did take a half day off yesterday.
    Why? The house was quite cold when I got up yesterday morning. I figured it must be that I was running a fever with everything else. A couple of hours later, it dawned on me that I had yet to hear the furnace come on that morning. Humm... I went and checked the thermostat. The in house temp read fifty two (52). "That's not right!" Us Michigander's are funny. Out of doors, temps in their fifty's aren't all that bad, just depends on the wind factors. But in-doors, temp's in the fifties are cold! I got brave and turned the temp control knob up. Clear up to seventy two (72). NO, that is not the normal temp we keep our house at. I was just sure that by turning it that far up, the furnace would be clicking on in no time flat. But it didn't. At all. Bother!
    Even though I was quite sure that Brain already knew I had touched the thermostat ("Dad's have a sixth sense about those type of things. Similar to mom's sense about the baked goods jar. ;-p), I called his cell and left him a message about the situation. He found the message at the beginning of his lunch break and headed home, hoping he could fix it himself. While he did figure out what part had failed, it wasn't something he felt sure enough about to replace himself. So we waited till the repair man came. We knew they had both listened to Brian's explanation of what he'd figured out, and looked up our file from when they installed the furnace, because he came with exactly the right part in hand! He wasn't here a whole ten (10) minutes. But we again have heat! :-D
    So far today, no body has thrown up (that I know of). The diarrhea has continued on for several of us. But wellness is lurking ahead!
    The house is showing huge signs of "it's been the worst of times". Yikes. I got started on that.. but then the dizziness hit...
    I had made dinner.. which night was that?! Geesh! Anyways, a "tonight's special". I dubbed it "Stuffed Ham Logs". It turned out a success. I took pictures, and wrote down ingredients. Some day I shall post about it... Hopefully I'm back to posting regular like.... I have all of those pies to post about for you, and the....   But no promises. You know how often my life goes according to 'plan'. ;-p

    Now, to address those whom I know have questioned whether I thought I had to write a novel seeings how I opened with a quote from a novel. My answer is no. I just wanted to put all of this into one posting, instead of making it too a series. :-D

Party Foods #14 - Sausage Dip

2011-12-31T08:04:00.000-08:00

     Back when my friend Amie Moran was getting married, the two of us sat down and went through all kinds of recipes for hors d' oeuvres and appetizers. That was the type of food they had decided they wanted at their wedding reception, but they most definitely did not want it to look like a high school graduation open house! Other considerations that came into play were, she wanted us to attend the ceremony, so a lot of last minute assembling was out of the question. How to get the most bang for our buck. While they were appetizer type foods, they actually also needed to be filling. We wanted a couple of things that were relatively 'new' at the time.
    We went through my personal recipe file, which was rather limited in that section at the time. We talked about things she had had elsewhere and had liked. And we went through my hanging "gonna try this someday" file.
    That last file gave us some good ideas. Turned out that I had several similar recipes for certain dishes. We went over the variations, and came up with our own version. Yes, we were going to be brave and experiment with them on her close family and friends.
    The cool part was, that both of the things we came up with our own recipes for, were total hits!!! :-D One of them was the bruschetta, which I've previously posted about.
    The other, was a sausage dip. Originally, we had planned to serve it in phyllo dough cups. I had never worked with the stuff before. And my attempts at making the cups did not produce something I wanted to serve at her reception! Bother! So instead, Brian headed to GFS and picked up box's of several types of crackers, and we gave her back the phyllo dough. The irony was, the crackers cost more than the dough had. We charged her nothing. Wasn't her fault I couldn't get a grip on what I had promised to make for her.
    For her wedding, we served two varieties of the dip - 'normal' and 'zesty hot'. I only made the 'normal' variety for Christmas.

    This week I have been doing the postings about the snackie foods we made for Christmas, due to how how it is New Years and lots of people either attend parties which they are suppose to take "snackie foods" to, or, they make that type of foods to eat while watching the football game on New Years Day. The foods we made were: Fresh Vegetable Pizza, Bacon Cheese Ball, Spinach dip with Pumpernickel, Shrimp Dip, "Italian" Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce and Sausage Dip. This is the last posting about those items. At the bottom of this posting, you will find links to the other "party type foods" I have previously posted about.

    First step - I browned up the sausage in my greased electric skillet, breaking the meat into very small pieces.
   You can use a skillet on the stove if you prefer to.

(this time I had done up two packages of the sausage)

When thourally browned, dump onto a cookie sheet lined with three (3) layers of paper towel.

Re grease the skillet and melt the butter. Add the green onions.

    Cook till the onions are quite tender.

   Add the mushrooms and salt and pepper.

Add the cream cheese,

(confession time here - I hadn't correctly calculated how much cream cheese I was going to need for everything, so I only had 8 oz. for this. Which is the amount for a single recipe. But I was making a double recipe. And had thus used double the amount of the other ingredients. It turned out "okay". Maybe "good" even. But not "awesome", like it does when you use the right amounts of everything.. . Live and learn!)

breaking it up and smooshing it down. When everything is quite blended

add the already cooked sausage.

Sprinkle that with the flour.

then blend everything together thourally.

I put it into a crock-pot, set on low.

     If it thickens up too much, you can add a little bit of milk, blend it in, and add a bit more if needed. ( <--- BONUS TIP there) Then enjoy!

    This is great served with crackers! I'm betting it would also be good served in a pastry shell. o;-p

    And now for the actual recipe -
       Sausage Dip
          recipe by Amie Moran and Cheryl B.

(Single batch)
   1 lb. Bob Evans(R) roll Sausage
        either 'regular' or the 'spicy hot' variety - your choice
   2 Tablespoons Butter
   6 Green Onion stems, cut fine
   1 small can Mushrooms, drained and chopped fine
   1/2 teaspoon Salt
   1/2 teaspoon Pepper
    8 oz. Cream Cheese
    4 Tablespoons Flour

   Brown sausage in greased electric skillet, breaking meat into very small pieces. When thourally browned, dump onto a cookie sheet lined with three (3) layers of paper towel.
   Re-grease skillet and melt butter. Add green onion stems and cook till quite tender. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Add cream cheese, breakingit up and smooshing it down. When everything is quite blended, add already cooked sausage. Sprinkle with flour and then blend everything together thourally.

   Good served with crackers!
   Could be served in phyllo dough cups.

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ "Party Foods" -
   - #1 - Bean Salsa (also known as "Rugby dip")
   - #2 - 'Polish roses' and Pickle Wraps
   - #3 - Garden Fresh Bruschette
   - #4 - Deviled Eggs
   - #5 - Chocolate Covered Strawberries
   - #6 - Improvised Chili Based Dip Recipe
   - #7 - Bacon Cheese Ball
   - #8 - My version of Fruit Pizzas
   - #9 - Brownie Cups
   - #10 - My version of Veggie Pizza
   - #11 - My rendition of Spinach Dip   - #12 - Shrimp Dip
   - #13 - 'Italian' Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/). ~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)

LATE add on - 1/25/12 -
Terri, at 'The Freshman Cook', "Super Bowl Eats and Treats Party!!"
(http://www.thefreshmancook.blogspot.com/2012/01/super-bowl-eats-treats-blog-party.html)

Date night last night ;->

2011-12-31T07:48:00.000-08:00

   Brian and I went out on a date last night. Just the two of us! We haven't done that nearly enough lately! After dinner at Logan's(R), we went shopping at Kohl's(R).
   While my side of the family no longer does gift exchanging, and we draw names with our own kids (although everybody gets a gift for the grand children, and will till they reach the age of 18), we do still get our kids "something", as well as fill their stockings. And we do gifts for/with Brian's side of the family. Over the years, I have had great success at finding lots of "perfect gifts", on great sale, at Kohl's(R), close to Christmas. So unless I have something else explicitly in mind, I always just start there.
    Kohl's has this Christmas program, where you earn 'in store credit', based on the amount you spend. The only catch is, that you have to use it between the day after Christmas and New Year's Eve.
    Therefore, we headed back there last evening, to spend those 'free' dollars. We had earned enough, that combined with them being on sale, we were able to get me new shoes (not sure how old the ones I had been wearing were - 3, 4 years?).

   We also picked up a couple of birthday cards (Brian had started looking at them, while I went to the bathroom...). And one item each for our daughter-in-loves. For next Christmas. No Kayla, you can't just see it now. o;-p    We then hit three other places for other things. All in all, a nice low key evening. Like I said, "Nice!"

   Today we're doing this and that. Tomorrow evening we get to pick our grand kids back up from their mom. :-D Aw the bliss of their noisiness again! ;-p

   [ For The Record - This was in no way a paid advertisement for any of the listed places or products!!! None of them have any clue I wrote any of this, and probably never will.]

Party foods #13 'Italian' Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce

2011-12-30T08:03:00.000-08:00

    Right off the bat, I think that I should make it clear that this is not a "true" 'Italian' recipe for meatballs. I have a feeling that if my Uncle Ernie, who is a 'true' Italian (he married into the family), were to read this recipe, he might shake his head and chuckle over it being called such. But he'd still love me. ;->.
   Why then did I dub it such? I took a recipe for "Cocktail Meatballs" that I got off of the wife of one of Brian's co-workers, many jobs ago. Combined it with a recipe I'd clipped out of some magazine, at some point in time. Added in my imagination. And wrote down what I did as I went along. All the while "hoping" they would turn out!
    See, I have had very few successes when attempting to make meatballs over the years. But I have been ever so determined to conquer doing so!! Why? Because I can barely stand the 'store bought' variety, and most everybody likes meatballs.
    Why don't I like the 'store bought' ones? The fact of how many we both served and ate over our years of working for caterers, probably does have something to do with it. But the biggest reason really, is that I just don't like the taste of the meatballs themselves. Yes, you can put different types of sauces on them. (Trust me, I've had them with LOTS of different ones on them!) But the sauce never penetrates the whole meatball. So you still end up, in the middle of them, tasting only the meatball itself.
    But back to why I dubbed them 'Italian' Meatballs. I had to name them something. And as I read down the list of what I had added, the majority of the items were ingredients that we use in America's renditions of 'Italian' cooking. Make sense? It did to me.

   This week I have been doing the postings about the snackie foods we made for Christmas, due to how how this weekend is New Years and lots of people either attend parties which they are suppose to take "snackie foods" to, or, they make that type of foods to eat while watching the football game on New Years Day. The foods we made were: Fresh Vegetable Pizza, Bacon Cheese Ball, Spinach dip with Pumpernickel, Shrimp Dip, "Italian" Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce and Sausage Dip.
    Today I am posting the recipe for the Meatballs. At the bottom of this posting, you will find links to the other "party type foods" I have previously posted about. You'll have to come back and visit us again, to find the recipe for the other item. ;->

    I used three of our tubes of Bison meat, as well as one tube of Meijer (R) brand sausage.

Blended them together, using a pastry blender.

Add 2 cups fine bread crumbs.

2/3rds cup of (not fresh) parsley (only because I didn't have fresh ;-p)

1/3 cup garlic powder, 1/4 cup Italian Seasoning and 1 teaspoon black pepper

top with 1 cup of fresh grated Parmesan Cheese (store bought - NOT in a green jar)

Add four (4) large sized eggs. (remember to take a picture of them if you plan on doing your own posting. 8-/) Why eggs? They help bind / hold everything together. Why did I use four? One for each tube of meat. ;-p ( <--- BONUS TIPS there)

Blend everything together, at first using the pastry blender, then switching and using your sprayed hands.

Spray your cookie scooper, so that you really do make all of your meatballs the same size. Then roll it into better balls (you don't want them flat on one side).

This recipe made six (6) dozen (= 72) meatballs.

Bake in sprayed pans at 350o for 40 minutes.

     Place pans up on wire cooling racks and let cool for 20 minutes.

    Meanwhile, start making your sauce.
    Place 1 cup butter in a large sprayed sauce pan (or small dutch oven).

When enough of the butter is melted to fully cover the bottom of your pan, dump in 2 cups chopped onion.

     ( as you can see from the picture, we used a mixture of Spanish Onion and the white ends of Green Onions.)

      Simmer on low until the onions turn clear, stirring occasionally.
     Add 2 cups of the fresh grated real Parmesan cheese, and blend everything together.

Dump in 3 cups regular flour.

Blend it all of the way into the butter mixture, until it's a lumpy, blurry (sorry!) mess.

Add 1/3 of a gallon (in other words, I forgot to measure) of whole milk.

Stir constantly over medium high heat, until it bubbles and thickens.

Turn burner off! (No, I didn't forget. Just don't want you to either.)

Put one layer of the cooled meatballs into the sprayed liner of your crock-pot.

Keep adding layers till you've got all of your meatballs in. (You get far more meatballs in by layering them in, then you do by just dumping them in. < --- BONUS TIP there)

If this took you too long and your sauce got a top layer on top of it, use a whisk to get everything smooth again. ( <-- 'Nother BONUS TIP ;->)

Pour the sauce in on the meatballs. Use a long handle spoon, run it down the sides all around the crockpot, helping the sauce sink in further. This in turn will help you add more of the sauce to the pot. You might be able to add all of your sauce. You might not.

    Cook on high for about a half hour to help get the meatballs heated through again, then cook on low for a couple of hours.

     Yes, this could easily be made up a couple of days ahead of time and stored in your fridge. Just let the crock itself loose a lot of it's chill, before putting it in it's base and plugging it in.

And now for the actual recipe -
   'Italian' Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce
   recipe by Cheryl B.

   Meatballs:
     3 pkgs. Bison Meat
     1 (16 oz) pkg Ground Sausage
     2 cups fine Bread Crumbs
     2/3 cup Parsley Flakes
     1/3 cup Garlic Powder
     1/4 cup Italian Seasoning
     1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
     1 cup shredded fresh Parmesan Cheese
   4 large Eggs

   Blend the meats together. Dump on the rest of the ingredients in order given, and blend everything together thourally. Use a sprayed cookie scoop and then your hands to from the meatballs. Place them in greased baking pans.
   Bake at 350o for 40 minutes.
   Cool in the pans on wire racks.

Sauce:
    1 cup Butter
    2 cups finely chopped Onion
    2 cups shredded fresh Parmesan Cheese
    3 cups Flour
    1/3 gallon whole White Milk

    Put the butter in a large, sprayed, sauce pan. When melted butter covers the bottom of your pan, dump in the chopped onion. Simmer over med. high heat until onions turn clear, stirring occasionally. Then add the Parmesan Cheese and stir it into the butter mixture. Dump in the flour and stir till it's all blended in. Pour in the milk, stirring constantly until mixture bubbles and thickens.

    Layer by layer place meatballs into sprayed liner of crockpot. Pour the sauce over the top, helping it in, by running a long handled spoon around the sides. Place cover on top. Heat on high for a half hour, then on low for a few hours.

   This could easily be made up a couple of days ahead of time and stored in your fridge. Just let the crock itself loose a lot of it's chill, before putting it in it's base and plugging it in.

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ "Party Foods" -
   - #1 - Bean Salsa (also known as "Rugby dip")
   - #2 - 'Polish roses' and Pickle Wraps
   - #3 - Garden Fresh Bruschette
   - #4 - Deviled Eggs
   - #5 - Chocolate Covered Strawberries
   - #6 - Improvised Chili Based Dip Recipe
   - #7 - Bacon Cheese Ball
   - #8 - My version of Fruit Pizzas
   - #9 - Brownie Cups
   - #10 - My version of Veggie Pizza
   - #11 - My rendition of Spinach Dip
   - #12 - Shrimp Dip

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Creative Monday's", are hosted by Clair Justine, at 'Clairejustineoxox' (http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/), and Judy, at 'Judy-H-JS Thoughts' (http://judyh-jsthoughts.blogspot.com/)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
    ~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
   ~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).

Oops, wrong word... chuckle, chuckle...

2011-12-30T05:52:00.001-08:00

    The task I tackled and accomplished yesterday afternoon, effected my vertigo far greater than I had predicted it would. That's life. But that's also why I headed up to bed quite early last evening. Sometimes just laying still on my right side helps.
    Brian leaned over to kiss the still awake me, after he came up a couple of hours later.
    "Are you wearing lip gloss?" I asked.
    In a comical, but highly offended tone, he replied, "I do not wear lip gloss!"
    "Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle"
    He snorted and moved further away from me.
    "(Chuckle) Did you put on your Vaseline lip gel before coming to bed?"
    "THAT, I did do"
    I kept chuckling.... he harrumphed me. More chuckling....

[I prefer regular 'flavor' Chap Stick (R). He, on the other hand, prefers Vaseline's lip therapy (R). ]

Party foods #12 - Shrimp Dip

2011-12-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

    The year before Brian and I were married, my family went up to Sutton's Bay, Michigan on vacation. (A beautiful area!!). My parents had rented a cabin and is often the case, we became 'friends' with the people staying in a nearby cabin. At one point, we were getting together and of course we were going to eat. Seeings how I had my own 'wheels' (a red 1976 Buick Skyhawk), I was sent into town to pick up a few ingredients (a task I enjoyed doing!! o;-p) The list given to me by the lady from the neighboring cottage, included canned shrimp. I was happy to pick it up, just had plans on not eating even a bite of the stuff!
   See, I do NOT like any type of "sea food". Not fresh. Not canned. Not frozen. I do not like it 'Sam I am!!' ;-p My husband does. Most of my close girl friends do. But I do not!
   At least usually. There have been two exceptions. One of them being the Shrimp dip. Figures, eh?
   The irony is, I also as a rule do not care for Triscuit (R) crackers. Which is what the lady served the shrimp dip with. But somehow, some way, which I have yet to figure out, the combination of the two was great!!! To the point that I always wished I had gotten the recipe from her!
    Then one time (s-e-v-r-a-l years ago now), as I was browsing through my sisters copy of a little cookbook made up by Better Homes and Gardens Realtors, There was the recipe! I knew it was the same, because I clearly remembered what all (or at lest the main ingredients) the lady had put in hers.
    The first time I made it for Brian, he was quite amazed I liked it, due to how often he had tried to get me to like "sea food" products. Maybe I like it because the shrimp is diced up very fine and thus blend ever so much better with the other ingredients. I still do not know 'the why' for sure.

     Like I've mentioned the last two days, this week I am doing the postings about the snackie foods we made for Christmas, due to how how next weekend is New Years and lots of people either attend parties which they are suppose to take "snackie foods" to, or, they make that type of foods to eat while watching the football game on New Years Day. The foods we made were: Fresh Vegetable Pizza, Bacon Cheese Ball, Spinach dip with Pumpernickel, Shrimp Dip, "Italian" Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce and Sausage Dip.
    Today I am posting the recipe for the Shrimp Dip. At the bottom of this posting, you will find links to the other "party type foods" I have previously posted about. You'll have to come back and visit us again, to find the recipes for the other items. ;->

     First step is to soften even further, your room temp cream cheese. Short stints in the microwave work great for this! ( <-- BONUS TIP there)

Get it nice and smooth.

Blend in the mayo.

Add the finely chopped celery.

The finely chopped onions.

(we were making a double recipe)

The miniature shrimp, diced small
[we used frozen shrimp, thawed and drained]

(I always dice it much smaller than this! But Brian did the dicing, and when he asked me if it was chopped down enough, I said sure, seeings how I knew that would make me leave more of it for him o;->)

Add the lemon juice

Blend everything together thourally and chill.

    And now for the actual recipe -
          Shrimp Dip
              from the lady at the rented cabins, as well as the BH&G Realtors Cookbook

    8 oz. of Cream Cheese
    1/2 cup Mayo
    1/2 cup finely diced Celery
    2 Tablespoons dried onion
          - OR - 1/4 cup fresh onion, chopped very fine
    1 can miniature shrimp, drained, and chopped small
         - OR - frozen shrimp, thawed, drained, and finely chopped
    1 1/2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

    Get your cream cheese good and soft, and 'blend' it till smooth. Blend in the mayo, then the diced celery, the onion, the chopped shrimp and the lemon juice.
     Chill!
    Serve with crackers, especially the Triscuit ones. ;->

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ "Party Foods" -
   - #1 - Bean Salsa (also known as "Rugby dip")
   - #2 - 'Polish roses' and Pickle Wraps
   - #3 - Garden Fresh Bruschette
   - #4 - Deviled Eggs
   - #5 - Chocolate Covered Strawberries
   - #6 - Improvised Chili Based Dip Recipe
   - #7 - Bacon Cheese Ball
   - #8 - My version of Fruit Pizzas
   - #9 - Brownie Cups
   - #10 - My version of Veggie Pizza
   - #11 - My rendition of Spinach Dip

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Party Foods #11 - my rendition of Spinach Dip with Pumpernickel

2011-12-28T07:48:00.000-08:00

     As I said yesterday, "Seeings how next weekend is New Years and lots of people either attend parties which they are suppose to take "snackie foods" to, or, they make that type of foods to eat while watching the football game on New Years Day, I decided to do the posting about those type of foods first. (how was that for a nice long sentence? o;-p)"
   "Besides the five types of pies we took (which will probably be the series I blog about after these snackie food recipes), we also took - Fresh Vegetable Pizza, Bacon Cheese Ball, Spinach dip with Pumpernickel, Shrimp Dip, "Italian" Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce and Sausage Dip.
     Today I am going to post about my rendition of Spinach Dip. At the bottom of this posting, you will find links to the other "party type foods" I have previously posted about. You'll have to come back and visit us again, to find the recipes for the other items. ;->"

    First step is to thaw your package of frozen chopped spinach. I use a 2 pound bag of it.

Once completely thawed, drain it (otherwise your end result will be a gross color green soggy mess. Blah!!!). After letting it sit in the strainer for awhile, I press the spinach up the sides, sort of like "lining" the strainer with it, pressing hard as I go. If it still feels too moist, I take a couple of bunched up paper towels and press them hard all around. While you don't want it bone dry (although technically no bones are involved o;-p), you don't want it "squishy" either! ( <--- BONUS TIPS there)

Dump the drained spinach into a medium sized mixing bowl and add the sour cream.

And the mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip, though we love that stuff!)

Thourally mix the three things together.

Add the dried package of vegetable soup mix.

Take some of the chopped carrots which you didn't use on your veggie pizza and chop them up into very fine small pieces.
(most of these still needed chopped)

Stir the soup mix and chopped carrots into everything else.

Dump in the cut green onion stems.

See how even all of the pieces are? That's due to the fact that the other person helping me do prep work on Saturday, was "our" Amanda. :-D

     [for the record, there is NO mess beside her... just more figmentations of your imagination!!! Well... there won't be after New Years Weekend... ]

    Often they breeze in and out of town, for this or that family function and I never even get a glimpse of her, especially since being 'Ms. Vertigo' has kept me from attending church services. But this time, this time, I not only got to see and hug (:-D) her, we also had the wonderful privilege of spending a few hours with her. What fun!!! THANK-YOU Lord (as well as Amanda's husband and mom ;-]) for such a blessing as that!
   She steadily worked away at cutting up the green onions for all of the various recipes, while adding her wonderful sense of sarcasm and humor to everything going on. Delightful!

Some people save the chopped pimento and use it as garnish on top of the finished product. I just add it right in with everything else.

Brian likes water chestnuts in the spinach dip. I buy the ones that come in a can (not sure if they come in any other form, now that I think about it....) Finely chop up the drained water chestnuts.

Then mix every thing together till it's thourally blended.

   Chill.

   Now, some people buy a round loaf of pumpernickel bread, tear small pieces out of the middle of the top, until they have a hole the size of the spinach dip they made, and when it's time to serve, use the bread bowl they created to serve the dip in, putting the ripped out pieces of bread as well as some veggies around the bowl on the serving platter. It does look nice that way.
   But this time, I just put the dip in a cute retro bowl, we cut pieces of a regularly sliced loaf of pumpernickel into fourths and put them into a small wooden bowl next to it.
   Feel free to use which ever method works best for your occasion!

   And now for the actual recipe -
       My rendition of Spinach Dip with Pumpernickel
              adapted from the recipe we had gotten from our friend Patty Doren

    1 - 2 pound pkg. of frozen chopped spinach, drained!
    1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip)
1 pkg. dried Vegetable Soup Mix
1 cup finely chopped Carrots
    1 to 1 1/2 cups Green Onion Tops
    1 small jar Pimento, chopped
    1 medium sized jar Water Chestnuts, chopped

    1 loaf Pumpernickel Bread

    In a medium sized bowl, stir together the well drained chopped spinach, sour cream and mayo. Add the dry soup mix and chopped carrots and blend everything together. Dump in the cut green onion stems, chopped pimento and chopped water chestnuts. Blend everything together THOURALLY.

    Chill.

   Serve either in a 'bowl' made out of a round loaf of pumpernickel bread - or - serve in a regular bowl, with pieces of pumpernickel bread on the side, as well as cut vegetables.

    Enjoy, because this too is good for you! ;->

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ "Party Foods" -
   - #1 - Bean Salsa (also known as "Rugby dip")
   - #2 - 'Polish roses' and Pickle Wraps
   - #3 - Garden Fresh Bruschette
   - #4 - Deviled Eggs
   - #5 - Chocolate Covered Strawberries
   - #6 - Improvised Chili Based Dip Recipe
   - #7 - Bacon Cheese Ball
   - #8 - My version of Fruit Pizzas
   - #9 - Brownie Cups
   - #10 - My version of Veggie Pizza

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

   ~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
   ~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).
~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).

Party Foods #10 - My version of Veggie Pizza

2011-12-27T11:02:00.000-08:00

     I did a huge amount of cooking and baking this past Saturday and Sunday. All of which I took pictures of, so that I can post about each item. I had also done a lot of baking back at Thanksgiving, which I had also taken pictures of, but have not yet posted about. So... I hereby forewarn you, that you are going to start getting lots of postings about food! Hope your okay with that.
     Seeings how next weekend is New Years and lots of people either attend parties which they are suppose to take "snackie foods" to, or, they make that type of foods to eat while watching the football game on New Years Day, I decided to do the posting about those type of foods first. (how was that for a nice long sentence? o;-p)

    We always get together with Brian's side of the family on Christmas Day. At my in-laws house. My mom always made the table groan under all of the food she made, and she didn't want any help in doing so. Over time, she had allowed me to start providing most of the desserts. Yup, she always made a couple herself as well.
     Dad had declared we were not doing Thanksgiving this year. But he did say we would still do Christmas. At his house. He just wasn't buying gifts for it, nor decorating. He had gotten out a few decorations. Mom had always decorated to the maxed out extreme! And he did give gifts. Each of the guys received a copy of the life span pictures of mom, which the funeral home had made up for her funeral. And us girls received jewelry that mom herself had picked out for us earlier in the year. Beautiful stuff!
    Brian and his brother decided that we'd do snackie type foods this year. We wanted to just think about the huge meals mom use to make, not look like we were competing with her memory. Thus I chose foods that I know my family likes, but were very different than what mom use to make.

    Besides the five types of pies we took (which will probably be the series I blog about after these snackie food recipes), we also took - Fresh Vegetable Pizza, Bacon Cheese Ball, Spinach dip with Pumpernickel, Shrimp Dip, "Italian" Meatballs in Parmesan Sauce and Sausage Dip.
     Today I am going to post about my version of Veggie Pizza. I have previously posted the recipe for the Bacon Cheese Ball. You'll have to come back and visit us again, to find the recipes for the other items. ;->

    First step is to spread your packages of store bought crescent rolls out on a greased baking sheet.

BONUS TIP here --> I used three tubes, and squished them together, rather than spreading them out as far as possible. Doing so makes for a light, thick "crust" base, which doesn't 'flop' when you pick a square of it up. :-D

It's done when it's a golden brown color.

Let it cool COMPLETELY!!! (In other words - go ahead and make something else then come back to working on this. ;->)

Put your room temp. Cream Cheese in a mixing bowl and stick it in your microwave for about 10 seconds. Try smooshing it down.

If it's not rather easy to do. Nuke it a bit longer. Get it quite smooth. Then add in 1/2 cup of regular Mayo and regular (Liquid) Ranch Dressing.

Add 1/2 of a regular size (NOT institutional size!) package of Hidden Valley Ranch(R) dry dressing pack to the cream cheese.

Spread the mixture out on top of the baked and cooled crescent rolls.

Sprinkle on a good layer of shredded yellow cheese. (I use regular cheddar cheese)

Chop your fresh mushrooms into small bits

and add them.

I didn't have to chop every thing myself, due to having "prep help" on Saturday. :-D Here's one of my helpers - my husband - helping. THANKS Brian!!!

(the mess on the floor behind him, is just a figmentation of your imagination! o;-p yes, he was ever so thrilled to look up and find the camera facing his direction.)

Add the finely chopped carrots.

The finely chopped head of Cauliflower.

The Broccoli comes next. A BONUS Tip here about adding ingredients onto something such as veggie pizza. Instead of just sprinkling back and forth over the top, trying to eye ball it and make sure it's spread evenly, start in one corner of the pan and work your way over the pan. Ever so much easier on the eyes!

All the broccoli added on.

Add the finely chopped red peppers. (and don't forget to snap a picture of them, like I did, if you plan on posting this yourself ;-p)

      Use one of your hands (which obviously does not have to be well manicured or smooth in order to do a good job at this 8-b) to press the toppings down into the cream cheese spread.

     BONUS TIP here --> Doing so will help your veggies actually stay on better, rather than falling all over your shirt when you take a bite.

    Let the final product set up for awhile in your cold refrigerator before cutting it into smallish squares and putting them on a serving tray.

   And now for the actual recipe -
      My version of Veggie Pizza
          adapted from Pillsbury(R)'s version

   2 or 3 cans Pillsbury(R) Crescent Rolls
   1 - 8 oz. pkg. Cream Cheese - room temp.
   1/2 cup Mayo. (not Miracle Whip this time)
    !/2 cup regular (liquid) Ranch Dressing
    Shredded Cheddar Cheese
    2 cups fresh Mushrooms, chopped
    1 cup finely chopped Carrots
    1 cup small Cauliflower Florets
    1 cup small Broccoli Florets
    1 cup chopped Red Pepper

   Preheat oven to 375o. F.

   Separate dough and place in lightly greased 15 x 10 x 1" baking pan (I use a half sheet pan). Press over bottom and up sides of pan to form a crust. Seal perforations.
    Bake for 14 to 19 minutes or until golden brown.
    Cool COMPLETELY!

   In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, dressings and mayo. Blend till smooth. Spread evenly over cooled crust. Top with cheese, then remaining ingredients. Use your hand to pat toppings down onto cream cheese mixture.
   Chill for awhile. Cut into appetizer sized pieces and tray.
   ENJOY! Because they are actually good for you o;-p!!

   Store leftovers in fridge.

~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;-> ~ ~ ;->
You might also enjoy these postings:

~ "Party Foods" -
   - #1 - Bean Salsa (also known as "Rugby dip")
   - #2 - 'Polish roses' and Pickle Wraps
   - #3 - Garden Fresh Bruschette
   - #4 - Deviled Eggs
   - #5 - Chocolate Covered Strawberries
   - #6 - Improvised Chili Based Dip Recipe
   - #7 - Bacon Cheese Ball
   - #8 - My version of Fruit Pizzas
   - #9 - Brownie Cups

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:

~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Kitchen Tip Tuesday('s)", hosted by Tammy, at 'Tammy's Recipes' (http://www.tammysrecipes.com/).
~ "Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits", hosted by Susan, at 'Permanent Posies / Creative Chaos' (http://permanentposies.com/)
~ "Totally Tasty Tuesdays", are hosted by Mandy, at 'Mandy's Recipe Box' (http://www.mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com/).
~ "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Lisa, at 'Blessed with Grace' (http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/).
   ~ "Foodie Wednesday('s)", are hosted by Bibi, at 'Daily Organized Chaos' (http://www.dailyorganizedchaos.com/).
   ~ "These Chicks Cooked Link Party", hosted by Katie L, at 'This Chick Cooks' (http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com)
~ "Full Plate Thursday('s)", are hosted by Miz Helen, at 'Miz Helen's Country Cottage' (http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/).
~ "Foodie Friday('s)", are hosted by "Gollum" (aka: Michael), at 'Designs by Gollum' (http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/)
~ "Simply Delish Sunday('s)", are hosted by KB and Whitesnakes, at 'KB and Whitesnakes Home' (http://kbandwhitesnakeshome.blogspot.com)

Whit and Wisdom from Brian

2011-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Copied and pasted here from his facebook page -

"Cheryl and I had been out shopping at the mall for most of the afternoon, suddenly, she realized that I had disappeared.

A little irate she called my cell phone and demanded: "Where did you go???"

My reply was, "Darling, you remember that jewelry shop where you saw the diamond necklace and totally fell in love with it and I didn't have money that time and I said, 'But, Baby, it'll be yours one day'?"

With a smile and blushing, she said, "Yes, I remember that, my love."

"Well, I'm at the Home Depot next to that shop."

Just then the call dropped, never did find out what she wanted."

Whit and Wisdom from Brian

2011-12-18T06:26:00.000-08:00

Copied and pasted here from his facebook page -

"No trees were harmed in the sending of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced"

we're unintentionally on Pinterest ;->

2011-12-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

   While I have chosen to not join Pinterest myself, due to how **addictive it *could ( *aka: would most likely) become, it seems that our blog has unofficially 'joined' of it's own accord.
   What do I mean? Well, this morning I followed a lead on our blog's "traffic flow" page, which lead me to how somebody had 'pinned' one of our postings to their pinterest 'board'. There, I also found a lead to see all things people had 'pinned' to their boards, from our blog. I followed it. There were quite a few. You can see which ones HERE.
    It always thrills me to learn that others like things I have posted!! :-D
    About the ** before the word 'addictive'. If you go to pinterest's HOME page, I'll be able to show you what I mean.
    Scroll down just a bit. Do you see the plaque which starts out, "Good mom's have sticky floors"? I LIKE that!!! It goes along with two others I really like. One hangs in the home of my friend Debbie (G.) Swin., and reads, "Picking up while the kids are up, is like shoveling while it's still snowing". (Valid point!) The other hangs in my Aunt Susie's home, and reads, "If you came to see me, WELCOME! If you came to see my house, make an appointment!" (My thoughts exactly!)
    Scroll down just a teeny bit further. See the staircase with the titles of books painted on it? You know I love books. And I've always dreamed of owning this huge in-home library. So-o, make it a second floor library, with steps painted like this leading up to it? ;->
   Scroll another teeny scroll. Those girls bed's built into the wall, are simply ADORABLE!!! We were going to do a grand children's room designed like the inside of a train car. Hummm ... maybe we'll need more than one room?
Another short scroll, do you see the log room, with all of the windows? And the huge stone fireplace. So-o inviting looking!
    Scroll some more. See the plaque which reads, "We'll be friends till we're old and senile.. Then we'll be new friends"? Robin P. has said that's about us. ;-D
    Scroll some more... See the pictures about the cast of the TV show "Boy Meets World"? Aww the wonderful memories of TGIF's on TV, while my boys were growing up.
     Keep scrolling. Do you see the picture of the wood beam framed wall of windows over a kitchen sink? Oh YES P-L-E-A-S-E !!! I could so easily work that into the kitchen design I want!!! And it would fit into the same house, as the room with the huge stone fireplace, which I already mentioned, would.
Scroll some more. See the quote about a Bible? Valid point!!!
    Keep scrolling.... The quote about the pictures in our head is a bit too true, I'm afraid.
   Scroll a bunch more. The "braid fishtail hair-do" is so darn cute!! And classy looking. And... man would my arms get twisted up trying to do that to myself! Let's see... the next time I'm suppose to get really dressed up... who could I get to do that for me?
    I think I'd better stop scrolling.
Do you 'get' why I think me joining pinterest, would be like signing up for a new addiction? o;-b. Mercy!
    But I'm kind of proud that our blog has "joined" of it's own accord. :-)

Wonderful / Keepsake Gift Idea ! (+ late addition)

2011-12-16T13:07:00.001-08:00

One of my "blogging friend's named Jen" (from the blog "Lipstick and Laundry Ca.") posted about the hand print reindeer she made, for the parents of the kids she does day care for. ADORABLE idea!! - go see it for yourself!
http://lipstickandlaundryca.blogspot.com/2011/12/reindeer-hand-print-gift.html

For the record, No, I did not 'plan' on doing three postings today. Honest. I had planned on doing the one about "Heart Warming Moments".

And no, just because I posted about the other Jen, I didn't feel I HAD to post about this friend named Jen as well. I just really like this Jen's idea!!

But I will admit that I find humor in God's timing of all of it! ;->

So... I posted HERE about not joining Pinterest so that I wouldn't become addicted to it.... should never have found it's home page... o;-p This morning (Sun. Dec. 18th), I found this idea which I also found wonderful... http://pinterest.com/pin/263812490641579671/

3 Heart warming Grandma moments :-D

2011-12-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

    # 1 - Last evening I had been clearing up from dinner, etc., when Analyse first started watching her nightly 'Elmo(R) before bed' episode. Papa, her daddy, and baby Elliot were watching it with her. Then Papa left to go work at church. Then baby Elliot fell asleep in the bouncy seat. And shortly after I sat down in the living room, her daddy went to tend to things in a different room.
    I had sat down in the chair, Analyse was on one of the couches. Suddenly she jumped down and came charging at me, poking at me with a finger.
    "Great", my mind thought. "Another episode of huge second wind, let's fight bed time".
    Suddenly, my brain had me scooping her up, while saying "don't poke me when I want to cuddle you!" And I sat her on my lap.
    As she scooted even tighter up against me, she said "I cuddle you!!" and then leaned her head against my shoulder blade and sighed.
    UTTER BLISS!!! :-D

    Thank-you Lord! For both the idea and the precious moment!

   # 2 - This morning I heard Elliot cry, Byron tell him just a minute, their bedroom door open and shut and then the sound of Byron hurrying down the steps. Elliot's crying sounds of course intensified. I was awake anyways, so I got up and went into their room.
     As I started to lean over his bed, He made two crying sounds - "Auwrr.., Auwrr..", and started a third one, but then mid sound changed it to laughter, "Auwrhehehe". And his face was BEAMING up at me.
     UTTER BLISS!!! :-D

     I scooped him up and we headed down stairs, to change his drenched self and send daddy back to bed.

    # 3 - Quite awhile later, we heard Miss Analyse talking, so we went up to greet her. Their daddy has to work a late shift tonight, might as well let him sleep in now.
     She was still laying down, so I laid him down next to her. After a minute of talking to him, she started taking inventory of her "babies". Baby "Nana" (insert here - Maxine, that's the baby you gave her at the shower ;->), Baby "Kiki" (named after one of the characters on "Fresh Beat Band"), "Elmo(R)" , "Minnie(R)" "Gaamy" (her newest title for me), "Where's Minnie?!?!!"
    So I started looking. She was wrapped up in and buried under the blankets. As I put her into Analyse's outstretched arms, Analyse said, "Thank-you!" And then, while pulling Minnie in for a tight hug, she sighed and said "Oh thank you very much!!"
    This grandma did her own sigh, over UTTER BLISS!!! :-D

This picture is when she decided that since he was in the bouncy seat, she could sit in the swing. Silly girl!! ;->
(Why is there a ladder in the living room? Pappy and daddy had been putting up the storm windows, and still needed to . . . )