Boo hoo, it’s over for another whole year. The second most favored day of the year. We celebrated our anniversary yesterday and had a great day. Randy loved the book of memories I had made him and I am now the proud owner of my very own Nook…….I don’t know if he is really being nice or trying to slow me down to where he is able to take more naps. As many of you know, I am pretty hyper and love to go, go, go. So now, with my new Nook, I am wanting to spend more down time, reading my favorite new books, such as the new one out by Francine Rivers. So am still trying to figure out the motive of my new electronic gadget. You see, Randy is one of those people who never buys anything the first time to go research a new gadget. But……on Saturday, his idea was, “let’s go see if you would like to have a Nook, so I am taking you to Barnes and Noble to let you look at them”. Before you know it, I am walking out of B&N, holding my Nook, trying to figure out what I will call it (yes, you are suppose to name them, and my Nook is now called, “Nonnie’sNook”). So this was totally out of character for Mr. Go To The Store Three Times Before Making A Decision. I think I am going with the thought of, “he loves me so much, he wanted me to be totally surprised at his purchase” instead of “if I buy her this, maybe, just maybe we can stay home more because she will want to be reading”. Whatever his reasoning, I love my new present and am so thankful that we truly are so content to be at home with each other and sitting side by side, reading, watching television, cooking together, just going over our days. It is such a gift that my husband is not one of the men who have to sit and watch sports, thus, taking him to another room to watch what he wants, and me in the other watching what I want. We watch together. We go to bed at the same time each night. We go over the day and talk of things that are important to each other. We have been blessed in that, there is nothing I cannot talk to him about. When I think back of the years which we have been together, we truly are grateful to God for growing us to Him, thus growing us closer together. Our prayer is that fhe next 14 years will find us, still healthy, still excited to see each other at the end of the day, and still enjoying shopping, reading and celebrating each day together……Happy Anniversary Randy and thank you for my Nook! It is awesome, just like you.
Author: Chocolate Castles
Welcome to Chocolate Castles, a blog about food, family and stories that hopefully will bring a smile to your heart.
Thanks for reading chocolate castles and may the recipes and stories help bring your family and friends a little closer around the table!
Remember that Princess On The Porch is still available on Amazon! Makes a great gift for anyone who enjoys being in the kitchen and needs a little laughter in their lives.
Torn between two loves
Ok, I admit it, I am torn between going toinght to the airport to see our son, who we have not seen since Christmas, and going to see Paula Dean. She is in town and signing books and it is driving me crazy not to go out and see the famous lady, who I hold right up there alongside “curling irons” and “Dr Pepper” But, think I will take the high road and go see our son. BUT……….do not think for one minute that he won’t hear about how much he is loved and what a sacrifice I have made to come see him, when he is passing through the airport for a couple of hours. I’m thinking that this surely will be good for a really great present come birthday, Mother’s Day or Christmas. Not only will I tell him what I could be doing at the time I am with him (oh, yes, and taking him homemade chocolate chip cookies), but this is good enough to carry on throughout the year, don’t you think? So it is important to let him know that not only did I choose to come see him, BUT…I am also giving up getting my PD cookbooks signed by her tonight. Boy, I would have made such a great Jewish mother, don’t you think? This guilt stuff I will be putting on him should be enought to maybe have his first child named after me, should it be a girl, if not, a boy would be kinda cute named, “T K” after Trudy Karren. Will have to drop that bombshell on him tonight, just to get the idea planted. So, Mr. Cameron, if you see a tear in my eye tonight when you get off the plane, know that it is because I am so glad to see you, and it will not be because of any thoughts of missing Paula, really!
Date Nut Bread
This recipe was given to me by my sister-in-law in the early 1970’s. I cannot tell you how many times I have made this. It has been baked for luncheons I give for friends, for breakfast on holiday mornings or for gifts to take to people when they are moving in the neighborhood. It is just simply delicious and so moist. I buy the chopped dates that are coated with sugar (8 0z box). This is the best recipe I have found for date bread.
Preheat oven to 350.
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup pecans, chopped (or walnuts)
1 tables softened butter
1 egg
1 1/3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teas vanilla
Mix by hand the dates, nuts flour and sugar. Then add softened butter, egg and vanilla.
Bring to boil, 1 cup of water. When boiling, add 2 teas of baking soda. Stir. Add this to the other mixture and mix well by hand. Bake at 350 for about an hr, depending upon your oven and the size of the loaf pan, which has been sprayed with Pam. Check with toothpick in middle to see if it is done.
This will be dark in color. This is delicious as a breakfast of tea bread. You can served whipped pineapple cream cheese or just butter and apricot preserves along side a cup of coffee or tea…….
Luncheon Layered Sandwiches
Buy one loaf of uncut bread and have them slice it in the bakery horizontally into 4 layers.
1 (5 oz) jar of Kraft Pineapple Cheese spread
1 cup of chicken salad (either homemade or bought)
1 cup of egg salad
1 cup of tuna salad
1 (8 oz) container whipped cream cheese with chives
Between each slice of the bread, spread the above salad mixtures. Place the top on the bread. Use the whipped cream cheese spread to cover the entire outside of the sandwich loaf. Decorate with green olives and pimentos and parsley. Slice into 1 inch slices. This makes a beautiful sandwich loaf and can be served with a spinach salad and fruit salad for a wonderful luncheon. For dessert an assortment of cupcakes, lemon bars/brownies.
Pork Tacos
2 teas oil
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 teas ground cumin
2 cloves of garlic, minced or 1 teas garlic powder
1 cup salsa verde (green salsa)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
8 corn tortillas (heated according to package directions)
1 cup shredded lettuce
Garnish: diced tomatoes and avocado
Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add pork and cumin; cook until golden brown on all sides, about 5 mins. add garlic and cook for another minute.
*Stir salsa into skillet; cook 1 minute or until heated through. Stir in cilantro. Using two forks, pierce and shred cubes of pork.* (ok, I admit it, I took the easy, lazy way out! I put the pork tenderloin in a crock pot with some picante sauce and the garlic and cumin and 1/2 cup water and left it on low all day) Then when I got home, I took it out and after cooling for a few mintues, I shredded it. Proceed at this point with the next step.
Fill warmed tortillas with pork mixture, then ad lettuce. Serve with diced tomato and avocado.
14 Years of Adventure
This week, we will celebrate 14 years of marriage. I began to wonder what I could do to let Randy know just what an adventure life had been these past 14 years and so I asked the Lord to show me what to do. The photo albums were full of pictures that conjured up memories each time I would glance through them, so……..I choose 14 of the most memorable places which we had visited and am posting each one on a single page with the thoughts of what come to mind with each photo. Am going to make this into a booklet and present it to him Sunday night when we head out to one of our favorite restaurants. Am so excited to see his face light up as we look at each one and pause to remember the “adventure” of each town or place we have visited. There is Chicago, Santa Fe, Rome, Albequrque, San Francisco, Disney World (yes, I love that place) Colorado, Hot Springs, Greece, New Orleans, Key West, our first convention as man and wife in OK City, Washington DC and Boston, which are just a few, but some of my favorites. So say a prayer for me that maybe, in some small way, I can convey to this precious husband, some of my heart, as we walk down memory lane and think of how wonderful and blessed we have been to have had each other to share these most awesome memories together. Thanks be to God, for His abundant blessings!
Chicken Salad
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup seedless grapes, cut in half
1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1 11 oz can drained mandarin oranges
1/2 cup mayo
1 teas grated onion
1/4 teas salt
Lettuce leaves
Combine chicken, celery, and next 3 ingredients in a bowl.
Combine mayo, onio and if desired, salt; add to chicken mixture, stirring gently. Spoon onto lettuce leaves. Yields 4 cups
A pretty way to serve this is to take oranges and cut them in half. Scoop out the insides, leaving the shells. Save the oranges for a jello salad or orange chicken and use the shell to serve the chicken salad. You will need to cup off the bottom of the shell, allowing it to sit up correctly.. place shell on lettuce giving the plate plenty of color.
Two New Chicken Recipes that are easy and delish!!!!thank you Karen for sharing!
Cheesy Chicken Cresents
1 3/4 cup cubed cooked chicken (or canned chicken)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cresent rolls
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
in a bowl, combine chicken and 3 TBSP cheese. seperate crescent rolls into 8 triangles. Place about 3 TBSP of chicken mix on roll at wide end, roll up. In a bowl, mix soup, milk, and remaining cheese. Heat in microwave until it is smooth. Pour into a 9X13 pan, place chicken rolls on top of soup mixture. Bake at 375 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Poppy Seed Chicken
2 sleeves ritz crackers, smooshed
1 stick butter, melted
3 TBSP poppy seeds
6 chicken breasts cooked and chopped (can use 8 chicken breasts if you want more meat)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
mix melted butter and crackers together, set aside. mix chopped chicken, soup, sour cream, broth and poppy seeds together. pour into a greased (Pam) 9X13 pan. Top with cracker mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Dutch Baby
If you are like Randy and I, we simply love to treat ourselves every once in a while and go to Original Pancake House and order the Dutch Baby. It does take a little while for them to make it, but the wait is oh so worth it. We order it with the sliced strawberries and bananas and we are stuffed all day……the first time we had it was in Chicago when we were there over New Years Eve and had waited in line for a table on that first day of Jan, 2004 with some friends. Every so often a waitress would pass by us with this gorgeous bubble looking pancake with fruit piled in the middle. So we decided then and there to ask what it was and our adventurous side took over our common sense and we ordered the infamous “dutch baby”. Now, you have to realize that when you do this, you cannot eat for about 12 hours prior to ordering, because you have to have a completely empty stomach to hold this giant “breakfast food”. Do not, I repeat, “do not” attempt to eat this a week or so before having your cholestrol checked. If you do, they will immediately send you straight to the emergency room where you will be put on a lettuce and water diet for a month. So, when we came back from Chicago, I couldn’t wait to head back to OPH for another. In the meantime, I thought that I would hit the internet to see if I could find a recipe for the DB. Sure enough, there it was, in black and white…..was I in heaven or what? I could now make this anytime we felt like it. So here it is…..you do not have to wait until you are in the mood to stand in line for an hour to get a table at OPH and then another 30 minutes for them to cook your DB..you can make it in your own little space and eat, allowing the syrup to cover your chin and the butter to run down the sides of the Dutch baby…..(no this is not another name for Randy)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If you have an iron skillet, it works best. But if not, spray a 9″ heavy skillet with Pam. Mix together the following:
1/2 cup flour
2 tables sugar
1/2 teas salt
2 eggs
1 teas oil
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teas cinnamon
1/8 teas nutmeg
1 teas vanilla
2 teas butter
Mix dry ingredients. Set aside. Wisk remaining ingredients. Gradually beat dry ingredients into egg mixture until smooth. Melt butter in skillet. Pour batter into skillet and bake 20 minutes. Reduce to 350 degres and bake for an additional 3-5 min or untilo puffed and brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and add sliced strawberries and bananas if desired.. Serve hot with fruit and syrup…….
Pepperidge Farm Pastry Shells
Do not let the recipe I just posted scare you if you saw the word “crepe”. You do not have to make them. This recipe is just as good using the Pepperidge Farm Pastry shells you buy in the frozen food section of your grocery store. Just follow the directions on the back of the package and fill as needed with the chicken mushroom recipe I wrote under “meats”…….it is just such a great and easy way to entertain..
Chocolate Castles 