HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

I want to wish you a Happy New Year!

Have Fun and be SAFE and

Don't forget to eat your Black-eyed Peas

2009

Weight Loss

Lets see this is Tuesday morning about 6:30 and we are going out New Years Eve probably around 8:30. That gives me what ? 38 hours to lose 20 or so pounds. It's still early I think I can do it, if I could just put my mind to it and I'm going to drink alot of water too.

If for some reason the pounds don't melt off today and/or tonite, well then I do have till March, that's our 25 anniversary, then we will have a college graduation in May, I could strive for one of those. Better yet we are going to have a wedding in June, and if I haven't lost it by then, the mother of the groom might be sitting in the baby nursery watching it on the TV (not really).

Why can't Ice Cream and chocolate syrup be good for you and not be so jiggly on you, why can't it be firming for you and your thighs/hips/stomach/arms.

I guess I could put myself on a strict schedule of doing the Nordic track every stinkin day a least till June and then its on baby I am not dieting or exercising the day of the wedding and that's it (kinda made it sound like I've already been doin it for awhile LOL)

If you have any weight loss tips that you would like to share, that are just shy of a miracle PLEASE let me know Until then I will upstairs dusting the Nordic Track and getting all the clothes that are hanging on it.

Wish me luck and Pray for me and my extra pounds I'll let you know tomorrow if I lost all 20 pounds overnight

Update: its not looking good its been all of 5 hours and I am starving

Party on Old Man

The husband has officially turn "THE BIG FIVE-O"

The lying, I don't even know what all I told, was exhausting. The sneaking around and making calls and buying decorations and lying about where I had been. Lord!
I bought/ordered every thing for the party and took it over to a friends house (except for the balloons and Amy picked them up Saturday) Melanie and Amy went to the bar (yes we had it at a bar) early and did all the decorating for me THANKS GIRLS!!

Saturday was nerve wracking to say the least. First off I'm not real good at keeping a secret, its not that I tell, but my expressions give it away.

So my oldest son and his girlfriend, and the husband and I were going to go to a hunting store (his idea not mine ) and then out to eat, then show up at a specific time for the SURPRISE! Well we got done eating a little early so the lies had to continue, first it was we needed something from Tar-jey, they didn't have it so off to wally world. By then I think he was getting a little aggravated with the both of us (Oh well, sucks to be him) finally it was time to head to the bar.

We walked in and Melanie scared the crap out me screaming SURPRISE. But he was surprised and shocked at all the people that was there. ( and there was alot ) People from work, people he went to school with (long time ago), guys he hunts with and a lot of really close friends.

We partied and danced and visited all night , well till the bar closed down. That seemed like all night to me.

Happy Birthday!! The party was a huge success and now its off to start planning a wedding! Well first we gotta make it thru New Years. WooHoo!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Enjoy your friends and family and for heaven sake BE NICE just try it for this one stinkin day. You know who you are "LADY AT WAL-MART"!

Have a Great Day you Deserve it!

CHOO-CHOO

this is the finished product

large pretzel stick for the logs


crushed up Oreos for coal

The Engine with cotton candy for the smoke

The choo- choo train made it !!! JRs' 3rd birthday has come and gone and I doubt he will always remember his cake from his 3rd birthday, but it was fun, challenging, and to me a success.

No I won't say it was easy but truthfully it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

I was going to start on Friday morning baking all the cakes and have them ready to ice Saturday. Until I realized that I had bought the wrong sugar (what was I thinking) so off to the store and baking that night till 11 pm.

Not knowing exactly what to expect out of the cake or myself I got up really early (5:40 am) to get started and it went a little easier than i thought heck I even had time for a shower before the party (lucky for the party goers HUH?) and makeup.

Saturday started off with about five recipes of icing and then the fun began. I did all but the very bottom so I could transfer them to a board that the Mom had at the party place. When we got to the party I finished the bottom and placed the cargo for the 2nd and 3rd cars, crushed oreos for coal and pretzel sticks for logs.

This is not something I do all the time actually this was MY FIRST
It was something I had always wanted to do and now I can say that I have done it and move on to the next thing on my list.

I wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR

I am off to start planning the next party
A 50th for the husband
(no cake)
just good friends and a good time

Brrrrr

Here we go again! It is not a good sign when the temperature drops 50 degrees in just a few hours. When there is sleet hitting the windows, you kinda wonder, what the crap. The weatherman talk like not a big deal, hardly any precipitation, which I guess this is not alot compared to last year. Heck this ain't nothin, compared to last year.

But it is enough to keep my sorry butt home from work. Husband said he would take me in today (he doesn't want to pay the deductible on my insurance again) but he worked all nite and lets just say I don't trust him when he hasn't had any sleep for 24 hours.

Don't get me wrong I don't mind staying home today, but I feel like I have to be quiet cause he's sleeping. I mean not that I was planning on running the vacuum, or dryer or really anything else productive I WAS planning on going to work.
But I haven't had real good luck on dry pavement let alone a little ice, so I guess I will just stay here.

I did talk to one of the guys at work and yes he made it ( I think guys just like to drive in this crap) but he also told me that one of the other guys flipped his truck at the entrance. Bad Deal! So for Me and my FELLOW DRIVERS SAFETY
I will be at home doing what I do best, reading or playing on the computer. (maybe a power nap squeezed in)

FYI: be watching for birthday stuff next week I'm making a choo choo train cake HOLY MOLY (don't worry amber it'll be soooo cute)
Then the next week is Husbands 50th birthday party WooHoo! (ooh I'm going to be married to an old man) Ha Ha

whats the deal

sorry guys this thing keeps giving me an ERROR message

INJURED PRIDE

Well, where do I start? First we went to a pizza place to eat before the skating party and the pop tasted like dirt (that town has got some BAD water) then Mels was going to sprinkle pepper flakes on her pizza and the lid was unscrewed. Pepper flakes everywhere. I looked at her and said "I sure hope this is not a indication of what the day brings" Famous last words!!

We all got to the party and rushed right over to get our skates (1st mistake)

I should have known when I stood up and the arms immediately went out (2nd mistake)
I made it 1 lap, heart pounding, legs shaking and the fear had set in. They have a small kiddy rink in the back, so some of us went there, you know to get our feet under us. Well that worked for some but not all. Amber had her little boy that had never skated, and she wanted to take her skates off so she could help him. She asked me to hold his hands while she took off her skates ( I am sure she is counting that as one of her mistakes) and the rest is history.
Only a small amount of blood from the left elbow and water on one knee, and one totally crushed Pride. Yes the boy is OK. (At least physically) Nobody else was injured in what seemed like a 3 minute fall. At first i thought it was just my knee, then my elbow was hurting so I looked at it and low and behold there was blood on my jacket (not a lot).

So a lesson learned ROLLER SKATING IS NOT LIKE RIDING A BIKE!!

I will be OK most likely really sore tomorrow but OK

Oh and to top all of that I look up and who do I see but one of the guys from work. LOVELY

Amber I promise I will never skate around your son, and jepordize his life again.

Keep your feet on the ground!

Maybe pictures later I gotta go put ice on my knee
Happy Birthday Lexi!!!

add on: mels did good skating on the rink, but sitting at the table got her, right down between two benches and she didn't even have her skates on.

Roller Skating

How old do you have to be before your to old to roller skate?
That is the question of the day!!!

Well, we might have an answer, just depends on how sore our muscles are Monday morning. Because Mels Neice is having a roller skating birthday party Sunday afternoon. Please pray for me and anyone who is close by and happens to get caught up in my fall(s).

Mels and I, although we didn't know each other in our youth, both skated. When I say youth i mean a long, long time ago. Remember how old I am, and Mels is the same age. I haven't skated since I was about 13 or 14 and I am scared. And I'll say it again I AM SCARED. Not of skating, I'm scared of falling.
I want to skate and I thought it would be "just like riding a bike" until yesterday. That's when it all change for me. When Mels decides she needs to practice before we go to the rink. Cheater. That's so not fair. Anyway, she still has her own personal skates from her youth and puts them on and proceeds to skate around her house. There goes the "riding a bike therory". ( if i'd only had a camera). Not really she was alittle wobbly at first but, now she will have her feet under her while the rest of us (mainly me) won't. She did say It wasn't as easy as she thought. Great!!

So Sunday afternoon I will update the Skating experience, hopefully with a few photos, unless I spend the evening in the ER. Just kidding!

I wonder how many calories skating will burn up? Idon't think its enough.

back to work

It 's Monday, no its Wednesday,I started this on Monday. Vacation is over and it's back to work for me. Blah! Not really , it's not THAT bad. After having a week off it's just hard to get up at 4:15 AM and be excited about it. But on the bright side I have all my Christmas shopping DONE DONE DONE. Thanksgiving is over and Christmas dinner will not be complicated. I am thinking about Mexican or Italian or chili, anything but Turkey and Dressing. UGH! I wonder if there are any restaurants open on Christmas. I doubt it .

One Christmas we went snow skiing and had to eat Christmas dinner in a truck stop. yummmmy. no truck stop this year but maybe a movie. I seen where Marley and Me opens on the 25th ?

spent the day with the youngest son on Sunday. Had a blast! Went to eat Mexican and went to see Four Christmas's (soooo Funny) ( alot true ) then we did his Christmas shopping well what he wanted me to buy him(we went to pier 1 twice). And I bought all of his gifts and now he will get nothing on Christmas day because he kept them . But it was all fun all day. I love that kid.

DRESSING

Well, here it is two days before Thanksgiving and things are starting to get prepared (kinda). OK I made the cornbread. Yesterday was a BAD DAY first the TV blew up (literally) then the sprayer on my kitchen sink got stuck again and soaked me and the kitchen. May today be somewhat better for mine and everybody elses sake. Back to Thanksgiving, there are a million recipes out there for stuffing/dressing. I only know one. Its kinda like my Moms , but its kinda not. I guess its just Mine all Mine.



Dressing

3 boxes Jiffy Cornbread

White Bread ~ about half the loaf

Wheat Bread ~ about half the loaf

celery (one bunch)

purple onion (large)

eggs (about 6)

chicken broth (2 to 3 cans)

salt ~ to taste

pepper ~ to taste

sage ( I use alot ~ almost the whole can)



Several days before Thanksgiving you need to bake the corn bread and cut into 1 inch pieces. It needs to dry out. Also you need to tear up about a half a loaf each of white bread and wheat bread (i think i add the wheat in there so it sounds healthier) Leave it out or put it in the oven, stir it up couple times a day so all of it can somewhat dry out. (If need be you can put it in the oven on low for several hours for a little help with the drying out process)

The nite before Thanksgiving, chop the celery and onion and mix it with the dried bread in a very large bowl add salt and pepper and lots of sage, refrigerate over night.

Thanksgiving morning get that out of the fridge, let it set for a while and then you will add the beaten eggs and some chicken broth. You don't want it soggy, but you want it to stick together. Put it in a 9x13 pan ( kinda fluff it up a little, you don't want to smooth it out on top ) and bake 350 for about 1 hour till it starts to brown on top. holy cow!



Happy Thanksgiving and ENJOY!

ROTEL CHICKEN

Ooops I did it again!! Dangit! I cooked it and ate it, without taking a picture. Oh Well Next Time. anyways this is really good and really easy

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 can of rotel
provolone cheese
white pepper
salt
olive oil

Trim that fat off those breasts and salt and pepper them. I use a little olive oil in my 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour (turn about half way) take them out of the oven and use a slotted spoon to put as much rotel on top as you can or as much as you want, then put a slice of provolone on top of that. Return to the oven on Broil until the cheese starts to brown. ummy! that's it. soooo simple!

ENJOY

BACON WRAPPED ASPARAGUS

These are absolutely the best appetizer and the easiest to make. I do not like asparagus, I do not like asparagus, that's what i kept telling my Uncle the whole time he was making these. Here from California helping me out in a trying time of need ( i'll explain later) my two uncles were cooking dinner one night (probably out of desperation cuz I wasn't doing any cooking ~they were HUNGRY) They fixed a wonderful meal, but before the meal they had grilled bacon wrapped asparagus. I gave in, trying to be nice and ate one, then two, then before i knew it i was looking around and counting how many everyone else was having, i had to make myself stop so I wouldn't embarrass myself . holy cow!
Now I still don't like asparagus any other way, but I can eat a grill full of these things. Haven't fixed them for anyone that doesn't love'em. Even my Son that really doesn't like that many vegetables will ask for them. Go figure

Super Easy Super Good


Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

1 package Center cut bacon
1 bundle of asparagus
toothpicks

Break the tough end off the asparagus. Just bend each stalk gently and the tough end will break right off. Then cut your bacon in half and wrap each stalk with a piece of bacon, secure with toothpick (if your asparagus is real long you can cut them in half, make them about 3 to 4 inches long) grill till bacon is done. We use a grilling basket and that makes it so much easier to turn. Serve with Ranch dressing or plain (I eat mine plain )

Be careful or you will eat so many of these stinkers you won't be able to eat your meal. Husband and I have actually had just these for dinner.

Thanks Uncle Ron we love them and you!

Trying to buy a darn TV

Black Tuesday that's what it was BLACK TUESDAY from h#$%. My sons do not require Christmas gifts under the tree anymore and they would rather just have money to maybe help purchase a big ticket item for their house, which is fine with me (means no shopping for me) So anyway the oldest son wants a TV for his house, Great. So I told him if he found one that he wanted before Christmas I would go ahead and give him his X-mas moolaa. He called Monday and said he found the one he wants could I meet him at that store after work. I said "sure" well anyway Tuesday was veterans day and the banks were closed so he couldn't get his part of the purchase price. Mom to the rescue! Don't worry I'll just write a check for the whole thing then you can give me the balance. Great Idea! So I write the check and the man at the register runs it. declined WHAT? yep you heard me DECLINED BABY He says there is a number on the bottom of the decline slip that you can call to find out why so I immediately call. The man on the phone says that there were three RED FLAGS 1 low check number ( It was a new account and only my 17th check) 2 high amount (over a thousand dollars) and 3 I had never written a check on that account at this store. By now my chest is getting red I'm sure with hives and the sweat is pouring out of me and I can barely hold the phone because of the shaking. Anger and embarrassment!! So I try my checking account debit card. (i didn't know there is a limit set on those darn things) DECLINED !! OMGosh!!! now what? oh yea my husbands CREDIT CARD! yea baby. I say no problem now its under control. yea whatever get ready~ it was a big FAT DECLINED Oh no this is not happening to me right there in the store with what seemed like thousands of people standing around. So then the Manager comes over and gives me THE LOOK he says clear everything out and start over so we do . during all of this my phone starts ringing, which i can't answer because to much is going on for my brain to multi task anymore, so I let it ring and ring. The manager runs the credit card again and like magic it works, So I sign the little line and scoot right on out of there. As we are leaving that area and headed for the door I check to see who was calling in my moment of despair and guess who THE HUSBAND and he wants to know if I am trying to use the credit card and he knows the exact amount. HOW DO YOU KNOW all of this i ask. As he is laughing his butt off he tells me that earlier he was in another town and had made a couple of large purchases (I'm sure those have to do with Hunting) and when he got home the credit card company called to tell him there was "unusual activity" on the card, while they were talking she tells him "omgosh they are trying to use it again". He ask where are they at, she tells him and the lights come on, OH MY my wife is there buying a TV! let it go thru! So as a warning to all when you are in line at the store and the people in front of you are having a slight difficulty with checks or a credit card don't always assume that they are trying to rip someone off .Maybe they have a husband that was at another store spending the money at the same time. A lesson to be learned.

~UPDATE~
YEP You guessed it! We had to take the TV back, the sound board was out! To add drama to the situation the receipt got washed and the box was thrown away. But all in all it was a pretty smooth exchange, now lets just hope this one works!!! Pray, Pray and Pray some more

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving Day is coming up real fast, so I am starting to plan the meal. I cook the same thing every year but I still plan for it every year. It's pretty basic and the easier the better

1 Turkey

2 Dressing

3 Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

4 chicken and dumplings

5 Green Beans

6 corn

7 salad

8 Rolls

9 pumpkin pie and/or pumpkin cake

10 pecan pie

Sometimes My Husband smokes the turkey and that just takes one thing off my list YEA! But a lot of the time I like my turkey cooked in the oven the old fashioned way. It's just as easy, it just takes up some of that precious oven room and time. The dressing is the same ol dressing that I have made for years and years (Kinda chunky and thick almost cake like) and then there is the dumplins I CONFESS I CHEAT! I have tried to make homemade dumplins and yucky, they never turn out so I stick with the can biscuit recipe that my mom used and we love them. Now don't get me wrong , if we go somewhere and they have homemade dumplings don't think I'm gonna pass them up because they're not biscuit ones. NO SIRREE.

Yes the Green Beans on the list will more than likely be the almighty green bean Casserole the I'm sure every other table in America will have too. (My boys like it What can I say?)

As far as the salad goes sometimes its a toss salad, and sometimes its a broccoli salad. This year I'm thinking Broccoli Yum

well that's a good start on my preplanning Now I've just got to get the house cleaned (even though its just me, my husband, my boys, and a couple of friends I still like the house to be fixed up for the holiday) and shop for all that food.

Thanksgiving will be here and gone before you know it and left an extra 5 pounds on your but. Then guess what! Its CHRISTMAS TIME with even more eating and more pounds on my A$$ Oh well new Years Resolutions are right after that. Maybe this year I'll stick with mine ( that means weight loss)

Have a Great Day!

NO POSTING WEEKEND

Man have I been off, hopefully I will get it together and start back with the recipes. This past weekend was kinda busy so maybe I'll use that as my excuse this time.

Friday was Halloween, so I made a Large bowl of salsa (that Mel, Kels, and O.K. me ate before anyone got there) that was really good. Then there was the Pumpkin Cake always a hit so rich but soooo good. There was lots of chaos and kids everywhere (not really there was only like 5 kids) Hanna Montana,incredible, a Geisha Girl and the cutest Pebbles I have ever seen.


Saturday was a fun filled day, went into town to the park and did family and 3 year old pictures for a good friend of mine Everything went really well until the little one fell on one of the rocks and the BIGGEST Goose Egg popped up on

his little forehead Mom just said "Well, It was just a matter of time" all in all I think everything went really well Hope Mom likes the photos! ( I will get them to her real soon I promise)



Sunday is usually a lazy day for me but my youngest son had invited me to go out to dinner with him at a really nice restaurant and whats a girl gonna do? SHES GONNA GO! Bang Bang Shrimp, Stuffed Tilapia, Spaghetti Squash Yummmmy The food was great but the time spent visiting with my son was the best part. I Love that kid!

SALSA

My salsa recipe is pretty basic stuff . I bought a SALSA MAKER at the fair several years (2 or 3) ago and thats what I use. It's manual, nothing electric on this baby. You can use a food processor if thats what you have and make this as chunky or as smooth as you desire. I love gadgets!

Salsa

12 Roma Tomatoes ( i like romas ten times better than plain tomatoes for this stuff)
1 green Pepper
1 onion (I like the purple ones)
2-3 jalepenos ( with or without seeds depending on how HOT you like it)
cilantro
garlic salt

Chop by hand by salsa maker or by food processor mix and eat
its that simple
use the scoop chips you just get more salsa~~ oohlala!~~

RESOLUTIONS

Been thinking about new years and all the resolutions that we make at that time. thought I would make a list (or at least start a list)

1. lose weight ( this is at the top of my list every year)
2.


Why is that the only thing I can come up with to put on my list every stinkin year . It's the same thing. I need to lose weight I need to lose weight I need / want to lose alot of weight!!!Why do I do this crap every year if I would just lose the weight now i'd be thin for the holidays, which brings me to food and holiday menus First there is halloween, then thanksgiving, then Christmas, and don't forget New Years Eve and New Years day. Menu planning is the first step and by far the most important, if you forget something while planning your just screwed. We don't live close to a store that carries alot of holiday cooking essentials, so it's a big deal just to run to Wal~Mart or Reasors, well not a real big deal but a hassle.
Anyway.....

I'll start with halloween: I am not having it at my house so I don't have to plan!! (clever huh?)
Mels having it at her house and I am showing up! (o.k. by me) with a cake and some salsa and what ever else I am told to bring.
First off~~ I am taking a Pumpkin Cake yummy!
Then ~~some of my salsa ( I hear that Kels has been wanting some lately)

Hopefully I can remember to take some pictures of the Pumkin Cake to add to the recipe. We'll see how that works out. Later

BLOGGIN

When I started this I really thought "oh I might put something on this about once or twice a week" This is addictive. But I am also going thru all my Mothers papers and such and came across those dadgum recipes again and man is that making me think. She didn't have like a ton of them but she had some good ones, ones that we had at our meals for years. The further I dig. the more I find and the more I remember. I guess I just wanted to share them with everyone, the ones who ask and the ones who don't. HA ha! She/We was/are into easy but good recipes. Hopefully you will enjoy them as much as my family has and will to come! The holidays are coming up and that calls for lots of cooking.


Hopefully I will be putting more pictures on here soon, that was the original plan. Now I just need to stick with it!!

What is wrong with me?

PUMPKIN PIE CAKE

I'm not a big fan of Pumpkin Pie, but this Pumpkin Pie Cake is a holiday goodie.

PUMPKIN CAKE

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

Take out one cup of cake mix , set aside. To the remaining mix add the butter and egg. Mix and press onto bottom of greased and lightly floured ( i use Bakers Joy spray) 9x13 inch pan. Put the following ingredients into a bowl:

1 large can of pumpkin pie mix

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup of white sugar

2/3 cup of evaporated milk

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Beat well and spread over cake mixture. To the one cup of reserved cake mix add:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup of chopped pecans

1/2 stick of butter ( softened not melted)

Crumble together and sprinkle over the pumpkin mixture. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 45- 50 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate. To serve cut into squares and top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

ENJOY!

I am making this for Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas and .....

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Another Day, Another Recipe

This one is a favorite of everyone, especially the cook. If you have ever tried making enchiladas, just looking at the recipe will make you take two steps back and say "oh this is not for me". But this one is easy, and oh so good. And not 112 ingredients, I hate recipes with 112 ingredients!

Chicken Enchiladas

1 3 lb. bag of boneless skinless chicken breast ( i like alot of meat in mine)
2 small cans of green chilis
1 large onion chopped
2-3 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk
1 can of rotel (drained and save juice)
1 large bag of cheese ( monterey jack, colby etc)
tortillas (medium size)

Boil the chicken breast and let cool, then shred with fork (I don't like cubed chicken) In sauce pan combine soup, green chilis, onion, 1/3 cheese, rotel, mix and then add chicken. if too thick add some or all of the rotel juice. Spray a 10x13 pan and start rolling up tortillas with the mixture inside, line them up in the pan close together, might even have to put a couple sideways. Thin the rest of the mixture with milk and pour over the top and totally cover with cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or till cheese is starting to get a little brown.

These are the best and so easy.

ENJOY!

White Chili

Here is the last one for today, I have cleaning to do. This one is White Chili, I don't have a clue where Mom got this one, but dang its good.

White Chili

4 to 6 chicken breast-- boiled and shredded (2 large cans)
1 large white onion chopped
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 can chopped green chillies
1 tsp white pepper
2 cans white northern beans, not drained
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup chicken broth ( or maybe more)

Mix all together and cook serve with tortilla chips and shredded Colby cheese

ENJOY!

Maybe next it will be chicken enchiladas. yummy! they are sooo easy.

Beer Bread

Hey, heres a good one. My Mom never drank a beer in her life ( that I know of )but yet she made some darn good Beer Bread. This stuff smells soooo good while its cooking. You're gonna love it!

Beer Bread

3 1/2 cups self rising flour
2 tbs sugar
1 egg beaten
1 12 ounce can of beer

Mix and put in muffin tin and bake at 350 till golden brown.

ENJOY

Italian Cream Cake

Well heres another good one from Moms recipe box. Where did she get all of these recipes? I have ate these most of my life and i still don't know where she gets them from.

Italian Cream Cake

The easy Way

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Butter cake mix
1 1/3 cups of water
1/4 oil
4 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut
1 large pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix

Blend all of above i large bowl for 3 minutes
Bake at 350 degrees anout 45 minutes in a 9x12 pan.

Icing:
1 stsick butter
1-8 oz. cream cheese
1 pound box (3 3/4cups)of powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup cocnut

Blend until smooth. May garnish with chopped pecans.

ENJOY!

Elks Cole Slaw

WOW 2 in one day! Maybe I am avoiding cleaning my house. You think? This is one that my Mom got from the cook Mary at the Elks Lodge. Mom loved it and made it for alot of dinners, now since she is gone I have people calling me asking for the recipe. Since I am not a very organized person, I just now found it. Imagine that!

Anyways on Moms recipe card it says that this will keep for a week, personally I don't know how she would have known that since it never lasted more than a day around all of us.

Elks Cole Slaw

Cabbage

Green Peppers

Red Onions

Carrots

Add: 1 part vinegar

1 part sugar

1 part vegetable oil or olive oil (she says the olive oil is the best)

Celery seeds

Toss together and

ENJOY!

I use and she did to a whole head of cabbage and how ever much peppers, onions and carrots you desire .

Maybe I should be taking photos of these dishes that I am posting. And maybe I will whenever I get back in the kitchen, I mopped the floor and its wet, "can't walk on a wet floor now can you!"

Blonde Brownies

I thought I would start sharing some of my Moms recipes. The first one is Blonde Brownies, I have no idea where she got this recipe, but she has been making them for me most of my life. Her grandsons (my 2 boys) absolutely love them and I hope you will too.

here it is straight out of her recipe box

Blonde Brownies

2/3 cup of melted oleo

2 cups of packed brown sugar

stir sugar into oleo and cool slightly

add 2 eggs well beaten

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups of flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup chopped nut ( your choice--i like pecans)

Mix and press into greased 10 x 13 pan

put a 6 0z bag of chocolate chips on top and press lightly

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes

Enjoy!

Apple Dumplings

I have come across the most amazingly awesome and easy Apple Dumpling recipe on this earth. I wish I could say I came up with it. But I didn't, so there. But I did find it on Thepioneerwoman.com, she has alot of great recipes. Her whole website is pretty awesome, but the recipes, holy cow. There is the apple dumplings, that everyone I have fix them for, loves them, The Best Chocolate Sheet cake Ever, Marlboro Mans Favorite Sandwich(my husband loves it) and the list just goes on and on.





On the Apple Dumpling Recipe I have to cut it down by half because there is just the two of us and well it makes 16 small dumplings and we /I will just sit and eat them till you know, they are all gone. So I make half and that is still alot, but somehow we/I manage.





I do want to try it with peaches instead of apples yummy


This is the cut down version but you really need to go to http://the%20pioneerwoman.com/ to take a look at all of the recipes.

Apple Dumplings

1 Granny Smith Apple

1 can of crescent rolls ( the 8 in a roll)

1 stick of butter

3/4 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

cinnamon

about 1/2 cup of mountain Dew

Peel and core your apple and cut into eight slices- wrap each slice in one of the crescent rolls- put them in a small buttered dish( don't want them all scattered out)combine the butter (melted) and sugar and vanilla and pour over the dumplins -then - pour the mountain dew around the edges of the pan and sprinkle all over with cinnamon

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes

have some vanilla Ice Cream on hand and you are goin to be in heaven

P.S. I did try it with peaches and they are just as good

P.S.S. one peach equals 4 dumplings vs one apple equals 8 dumplings

Salmon Patties

Have you ever had salmon patties? OMGsh are they the bomb? Salmon Patties, fried taters and onions, and green beans. You can't go wrong with that. this is the way my Mom used to make them and the only way I know how, except she fried hers and I now bake mine. Love them just the same.

Salmon Patties
1 large can of salmon
1 medium onion ( white or purple i use purple)chopped small
1/2 sleeve of saltine crackers
2 eggs
salt and pepper

Debone and clean up the salmon, add the chopped onion, eggs and crushed saltines, a little salt and pepper to taste Mix with spoon (i use my hands)
form into patties and either fry in skillet with oil or put a small amount of olive oil on a cookie sheet and bake. It only takes about 30 minutes and i flip them at about 20 minutes

fry up some potatoes with onions and serve with green beans
when the boys was home i had to use 2 cans of salmon and double everything
they never went to waste.

Enjoy!

Birthdays

Sometimes birthdays come and go, no big deal, and some of them you will remember for the rest of your life. When someone close to you passes away you know in your heart you will remember them forever, you'll remember how they look and how they smell, how they walk and talk, and all the things they have done for you all your life. You want to set something out as a remembrance token, so that when you walk by it you can look at it and all those feelings are just there. There for you, in your heart, something to hold on to. But in reality you can't keep everything that special person leaves behind. But sometimes someone helps to make something special for you to help you along the way. When my mother passed away , everything went to crap, in my mind. What do you do with everything all the clothes, the house , and all of the belongings , not to mention the grief, so you start to get rid of what you can, when you can. And you deal with it the best way you know how. Back to the birthday. When I was ready to deal with the material things some of my closest friends came to my rescue and offered to help (Thank God!) One of the friends that came to help with all the stuff , took some of my Moms clothes and scarfs, didn't know what she would do with them but she wanted them so they in turn were hers to do with what ever she desired. Then several months later it was my birthday and she presented me with a Quilt made out all of Moms things, it is the most awesome beautiful quilt that I have ever seen or will ever own. As I look at it, all kinds of memories of her wearing that shirt or she got that scarf at the race for the cure, they are all there for me to enjoy. I will cherish this quilt forever. Thanks Amy

Winter Wonderland?

Winter is just around the corner, never sure if we will have a true Fall or if we will go straight from summer to winter. I love fall with the changing of the leaves even though it doesn't last nearly as long as I would like. And then winter comes along and WOW you never know, will it be mild, or will it be a humdinger. last year seemed like everything was going along just fine and dandy and then guess what ICE STORM!!!! you hope for at least one or two good freezes to kill off the bugs but then that's enough for me , oh maybe one pretty snow doesn't even have to be on Christmas just pretty. Although i don't like to drive in it (I do have 4-wheel drive)i do like to ride around and see how everything changes looks with a few inches of snow on it. Everything is prettier with a little snow on it. Ice is another story, it can be pretty with the icicles and all but alot scarier. No electric, running generators, falling limbs everywhere sounded like a war zone last year with all the limbs falling, couldn't even walk around in the yard out of fear of a limb or two falling on top of you. But Fall is here and so winter is soon to come Lets just wait and see what it brings

Cooking 101

Stay out of the kitchen as much as possible!!!! not really! although some take out is good and believe me i use it to its full potential. when the kids was home i tried to cook every day, you noticed i said tried. With two growing boys at home it was hard not to cook. until baseball season came around, then there was no time to cook or even shop for the food. Two boys on two separate teams going to two separtate towns at two separate times. OMG! (THE FUN WE HAD! Fast Food was my friend and the only thing we would have for supper for months. then they became teenagers and well they just wasn't home alot of the time but I cooked a few nites. now they are grown and out of the house, and i am having to relearn how to cook and to cook for only two. Not having two growing boys eating all the time has really cut down on the grocerys in our house and what goes on the table

Sundays seems to be my cooking day, you know make alot like when the boys was home then you have lots of leftoovers for the rest of the week. yea !!! you know cook stuff like stew , chicken and dumplins, chicken enchiladas(ummm),beans and corn bread,and in the summer the husband gets to cook the meat and sometimes the other stuff outside but its not summer here and so on sunday i cooked roast potatoes and carrots and yes i still cook two roast just as if the boys were still home but now we have lots of leftovers for the week.

Sunday Roast Dinner

2 3lb roast browned
8 potatoes
2 lbs baby carrots
2 packages williams brown gravy mix
1 or 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (you pick)
2 onions sliced real thick
sat and pepper to your taste (cuz i like alot)

Brown your roast in a skillet i use about a half a stick of butter. layer the onion slices in the bottom of your roaster then your roast(s) i let that cook at 350 for about a 30 minutes then add gravy mix, soup and water let that mix up let everything cook till about three hours before being done and add the baby carrots then about a hour and a half later add the potatoes

When all done (meats at the right temp and potatoes break when poked with a fork) place roast and fixins on a platter and use a little bit of corn starch to make gravy
Serve with cole slaw and brown and serve rolls (you cant beat those brown and serves to sop up that gravy with) i guess you just had to grow up with em

thats how i do it
deb

OMGsh

this is a lot more complicated than i thought
you know me i was thinking "oh you just type it in and everything will just appear where you
want it to be all by itself"
maybe it will some day but Today is not that Day
I will say, so far it is fun just learning how and what to do and write
OK the "what to write is kinda of easier because it's just what ever is happening in My Life
Some days thats alot and somedays its not so much.

So i guess what i am trying to say is "bare with me till I get this all together "
It'll be fun !

oh yea don't mind the typos I'm sure there will be lots of those and misspelled words
just over look them okay?

today is the day......

Well today is the day that i will start My Blog not sure what it will consist of but we will learn together....
maybe a little photography and some cooking and maybe just a little bit of life, My Life the way it is right or wrong
I know everyone has a blog well everyone but me till now.
this might not but interesting for anyone but me or it might be an adventure for everyone, we will see won't we
i hope this is fun and i can't promise me or anyone else that I will blog everyday but I will give it my best shot