Daily Thoughts

Whistle While You Work

Chocolate Castles4 Comments

This is probably one of the saddest days of my life. After going to the Texas State Fair yesterday, which happened to be “Seniors Get in Free Day”, it just went downhill from there. As we walked in the gates of the Fair, some young whipper snapper handed both Randy and I a “get in free” ticket, without even asking if we were seniors! How dare he! How does he know that maybe I just wasn’t able to get in all my beauty rest, which would account for the bags under my eyes? Maybe, just maybe, I am prematurely gray and maybe, I might still be carrying some of the baby fat that accumulated while pregnant. Just because we walked in with a camera around our necks, wearing our matching Hawaiian shirts, does not mean that we should automatically be considered “seniors”. I could just not leave this alone. After walking around for 3 hours at the fair in 96 degree weather, both of us were totally worn out. But if we left now, our kids and friends would all think, “poor things, they are getting old, they just couldn’t hack the heat and all the walking, so they didn’t even stay long enough to justify the $15 parking” So I made Randy find us a seat in a shady area and told him that we were going to sit there for a couple of hours and not give our kids the satisfaction that they were right when they all told us that we needed to wait for it to cool down and then possibly think about renting one of those little scooters. They would never know that we sat the entire last 2 hours we were there. Besides, we hadn’t had a chance to people watch lately, and my, what our eyes beheld. More body piercings, tattoos and fat ladies wearing patterned leggings that one should have to see in a 5 hour period. But we did acknowledge on the way home that maybe, we have finally grown up a little and find other things a little more fun now, rather than walking around the State Fair, eating food that raises our cholesterol count to a number that is higher than our bank account savings; things like sitting in an air conditioned movie theatre eating popcorn. Or maybe sitting in our lazy boy recliners watching Blacklist. After all, our feet don’t hurt at all after those activities.

After returning home, I remembered that I had a doctor appointment this morning and it was in a building that is located right behind our house. This morning I told Randy that I will see if my feet still work after yesterdays excursion and will walk to the Doctor’s office. After he picked himself off the floor, he handed me the insurance cards and said, “go for it”. I did. Feeling pretty spiffy and good about myself walking instead of driving, I looked over to the building being constructed that I would have to walk by and thought to myself, “oh this is good, I know what happens when ladies walk by construction workers, and this will be so good for my ego.” So I put a spring in my step and get my cell phone out to help me look cool and start walking past when it happened.

Nothing! Not one whistle. So thinking that maybe they were just busy, I slowed down just to be sure they saw me, but nothing. Not one whistle. As I walk through the door of the dermatologist, I think  to myself that he will have a positive word telling me that my skin looks pretty good for 65, causing my head to swell, just a bit. But the only thing the little 15 year old Dr said, was, “you know at your age, you really should be checked every year”

I hand the kindergartner receptionist  my Medicare Care and walk out. OK, I bet the construction workers have had their coffee break by now and are really awake, so I walk by expecting some whistles. All I can say is they are the most dedicated brick layers I have ever seen. Not one head turned, I thought surely allowing my music on my cell phone would draw a little attention, but I guess guys aren’t into Barry Manilow. I would have settled for one of them whistling a song,

Note to self, stay away from State Fairs, Dermatologist and construction sites, they are not good for my self-confidence!

Think I will confine my activities to dark movie theatres, where it’s too dark to see the wrinkles and bags under the eyes and funerals, where if you are alive, you are looking good!

So

Meats · Soups

Green Chile Beef Vegetable Soup

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I cooked lunch for a meeting today. Thinking that maybe, just maybe it might be cooler weather, I planned on making a pot of soup. But as the day dawned, it became apparent that it was going to be in the 90’s. Was too late to change the menu, so soup it was. We were just going to have to turn down the air conditioning and pretend that we lived up north and because it was Oct, it should be cool. The soup ended up really so good and all of the ladies absolutely loved it. It is just a little different than most veggie soups because of the added green chile enchilada sauce that is added.

1 package of thinly sliced round steak, cut into tiny cubes

1 large can (about 20 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 small can of mild green chile enchilada sauce

1 small can mild green chiles

1 can Rotel Tomatoes with chiles, mild

1 onion, chopped

1 cup of chopped celery

2 green bell peppers

1 bag of cubed butternut squash

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup of chopped carrots

1 can cut green beans, drained (not French style)

2 cups cabbage, chopped small

1 small zucchini, cubed

1 small yellow squash, cubed

1 regular size can of navy beans, drained

2 teas chopped garlic

1 regular size can of beef broth

1 to 2 cups water

In 2 table olive oil, brown chopped beef with onion until all meat is browned. Add the celery and bell pepper, salt and pepper to taste along with the garlic. Saute the mixture until the onions, celery and pepper is softened. Add all of the tomatoes, enchilada sauce, green chiles and broth. Add all the rest of the ingredients, except water.  You can add more water if needed if it cooks down more than you would want. I used about 1 cup of water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook in crock pot on low all night or in a heavy pot in oven for about 3 hours at 325, or until all the veggies are tender and sauce is a little thick.

Served this with green chile cornbread and fresh apple cake. Was a great lunch!

for the cornbread, I used a package of Martha White yellow corn bread mix and just added a small can of mild green chiles,1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese and made them into muffins. The fresh apple cake is on the blog!

Daily Thoughts

Decorating With Shams

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Attended a ladies luncheon today which was just like being in a tea room! The hosts’ home was decorated to the hilt with candles which she had painted in Mod Podge and then rolled in cinnamon or ground coffee beans. She had found quilted pillow shams which she used as table runners. When the ladies were going around admiring all the Fall décor, we began to ask her about the table runners which held such beautiful Fall decorations. Her response was such a great idea to keep in mind. When she goes to Home Goods, Dillards or other stores which carry linens, she goes to the clearance aisle. When they have shams which don’t have a pair, they are always marked down really low and she buys them to use as table decorations. What a great idea. Below are pictures of how she used them and what a awesome way to display seasonal decorations.

The food was amazing and the sweet time of fellowship with the 9 ladies gave us all a wonderful memory to take with us before a most busy time of year begins. Thank you Ms Perfect Host and thanks for so many great decorating ideas!2015-10-13 12.58.182015-10-13 12.59.36

Desserts · Holiday Fare

Pie From Paula… Salted Caramel Pecan Pie

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

Is it any wonder why one item on my bucket lists is to meet Paula Deen? She continues to give out these great recipes that just make you drool when you read the ingredients. I don’t know if I will ever get to meet her, but will continue to make her recipes, just in case I do, I want to be able to tell her how many of her recipes became some of my favorites. This one is at the top of the list. Taken from my new Cooking with Paula magazine*

*2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup butter

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teas sea salt

1 pie crust (I have to deviate just a bit on this item) She calls for refrigerated pie crusts. If you don’t make your own, buy the box of Betty Crocker pie crust mix. It is $2.09 and makes two crusts. All you do is add water to the mix and roll out. It is really so simple and they are so much better than refrigerated. Trust me on this!

3 large eggs

2 cups pecan halves

In a large skillet, stir together sugar, 1/2 cup water and corn syrup. Cook, without stirring, over medium-high heat for 8 minutes.or until mixture turns a deep honey color. Immediately remove from heat, and stir in butter until melted. Gradually stir in cream and salt until mixture is smooth. Pour mixture into a medium bowl and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.

On a lightly floured surface, roll crust to a 14: circle. Transfer crust to a 9″ pie place, pressing into bottom and up sides. Fold edges under and crimp as desired. Whisk eggs into cooled sugar mixture until well combined and stir in pecans. Pour pecan mixture into crust.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until center is set. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Daily Thoughts

A Southern Sunday Afternoon in Wylie, TX

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This morning after church we decided to go on an adventure. A friend of ours has just bought a house in Wylie and had told us that we needed to go explore the historic downtown area and eat at one of their restaurants. So that is exactly what we did. We came home, changed clothes, put on flip flops and headed to Wylie, Texas. What a charming little town it is. We decided to stop in at the Ballard Street Café. Oh my goodness, what a place.  I have to tell you that, the chicken fried gravy with mashed potatoes, green beans, vegetable beef soup was well, hum…how do I say this, “it put Babe’s Restaurant to shame.” Seriously, it was just awesome. Their biscuits are Angel biscuits, made with yeast and as light as a biscuit could be. They even had peach jam and sweet tea to die for.

The minute we walked in the door, everyone began to stare at us, as we were about the only ones in there that didn’t know everyone, but the waitress called us honey and we immediately felt at home. She brought us sweet tea and checked on us as if we had been at a 5 star restaurant. Peter Pumpkin ordered eggs, gravy and chicken fried steak with biscuits. He was in heaven. We have found out place. As we sat outside on the bench waiting to hear our name called to be seated, the wind was gently blowing and the shade made us feel that we were in Mayberry! There are two other restaurants there that we are now excited about going back and trying, an Italian one and one with a huge porch with a swing to wait until you can get a table. That one is called, A Taste of Home! What a great little community. It was so great to see people sitting around tables, just coming in from church. We could tell, because they had their ironed blue jeans and fancy boots on. No one was texting or on their phones. Since I wanted to fit in, I only pulled my phone out once to check us in on Facebook! Didn’t have the nerve to take a picture of my chicken fried steak, would have made me look like an outsider. So we decided to just take the memory with us and plan on our next visit out when we won’t eat so much that we can’t order a piece of their homemade (made fresh daily) pies! Was a lovely afternoon and have a great new place to take friends or family coming in for a Texas visit. We have both decided that when we go back, we will go in boots, not flip flops, allowing us to look a little more like “town folk”!

A great little Sunday afternoon adventure!

appetizers

Stuffed Artichoke Bites

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If you are already on the lookout for great little appetizers for the holidays, you will want to add this one to your list. Simple and quick, you will fall in love with them.

2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, drained

2/3 cup Progresso Italian Seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup olive oil, divided use

1 clove fresh garlic, finely chopped

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

2 eggs, well beaten

In a skillet, heat about 2 tables of the olive oil and saute the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the cheese, bread crumbs and rest of oil. Stir until well combined. Stir in the eggs. Shape around the artichoke hearts and placed on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Uncategorized

S’More Cookies*

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Chocolate Castles's avatarChocolate Castles

2014-09-08 15.43.20

Mr. Smarty Pants made his point that he was tired of running back and forth to get baking items for me when he brought this home this weekend. I put it beside the 25 lb sack of sugar that he made me buy and told him that I had had enough of his smart alec suggestions, that unless I got the desire to make 100 dz hot tamales, he can just march right back to the store and buy my butter flavored Crisco, which I’m sure is much more healthy than the bucket of lard.  So while I wait for him to get back with my Crisco to make these cookies, I don’t want him to know that I am actually using the lard to make pie crusts. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.  It truly makes great pie crusts but when people comment and tell you that that…

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Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

German Chocolate Cheesecake

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This is a one-pan dessert that takes one of the best known desserts…cheesecakes, and makes in a simple, quick & great tasting dessert that you can add to any dessert table for the holidays!

Great made the night before for best flavor!

1 box (18 1/2 oz) Duncan Hines German Chocolate cake mix

2/3 cup shredded coconut

2/3 cup butter, softened

3 eggs, divided use

2 packages ( 8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

2 teas vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

Sour Cream Frosting

2 cups sour cream

1 tables vanilla

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Mix all 3 ingredients together before spreading over the cheesecake

Cheesecake:

Blend the cake mix, coconut, butter and 1 egg. Spread into bottom of an ungreased 9×13 baking pan. (I did lightly spray mine with Pam, just in case).

Beat softened cream cheese with remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamy and smooth. Spread over the cake mixture in pan and bake at 350 for about 30-35 min, or until middle is almost done, with a slight jiggle. Let cool for about 30 minutes and spread Sour Cream frosting over top of cake. Allow cake to cool further and place in refrigerator at least 8 hours before serving.

Daily Thoughts

Redwoods & Community

Chocolate Castles5 Comments

October 1st…such a glorious morning. What a perfect day to go out and walk, with the temperature at 65, there was truly no reason that I should not be out walking and enjoying this beautiful Fall morning. The tennis shoes were laced and the earphones were plugged in and out I went.  Having downloaded some sermons, I began to listen to Rick Warren. He was talking about how our life can be more meaningful if we live with a sense of serving where God has placed us. He told about the giant redwood trees in Northern California. They are truly a sight to behold, as they stretch into the heavens, sometimes 400 to 500 feet tall.  He explained that they have hardly any root system and to survive they are always grown in clusters, so their roots intertwine, thus giving each support from the others. They could never survive alone, because of their root system, but together, they grow strong and can stand the storms and wind that would otherwise break them.

Just like in our lives, we are not meant to live alone or feel that we don’t need anyone. We are made to be a part of others,  to look out for each other, “thinking as other’s more important than ourselves.”

He explained that his church had just finished 40 days of challenge of reaching out and serving the community. It convicted my heart that just because we have more time on our hands than ever before, we didn’t just need to be living for ourselves. Our kids are grown, I’m retired and we have no excuse for not seeking out ways to share the gifts and abilities that God has blessed us. So I feel convicted to challenge myself for the next 40 days to truly ask the Lord each morning, “please put someone in my path today that needs either a meal, a phone call, maybe a handwritten note, a visit to a sick friend.”

October 1st…such a glorious morning. A day to begin to reach out to others!

P.S. Before I finished this posting, my phone beeped with a text from a friend who is needing meals brought to their home, due to an accident. Day 1 Challenge…taking a meal!

Anyone care to accept this 40 day challenge to see how the Lord might be wanting to use you?

Desserts · Fruit

Country Apple Dessert

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Fall just says to me, “bake something with apples”. Going through a basket with recipes that had been torn out when we moved, I came across this quick easy recipe!

1 box (18 1/2 oz) yellow cake mix, with pudding

1/3 cup butter, softened

2 eggs, slightly beaten, divided use

1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling (be sure it is the apple pie filling and not just sliced apples!

1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, copped

1 teas cinnamon (I think I will use about 2 teas)

1 cup sour cream

1 teas vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bow, combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg by hand or by using the low speed on a hand help mixer.

Place in a ungreased 9×13″ baking dish and using hand, press the mixture to form a bottom crust. Spread apple pie filling evenly over mixture.

Combine brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon and sprinkle over the apples. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream, egg and vanilla.

Spread over the sugar mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until topping is golden. Serve warm or room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.

Serves: 12