Uncategorized

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

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In case you forgot about these from last year, they are just awesome cookies, easy and everywhere I take them, people ask for the recipe. Took them yesterday to a Bible Study and were “gobbled” up! Perfect little cookie that is easy to pack. this time I made them smaller and baking time was reduced to 7 min and 30 seconds (down from the 10)

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2014-11-04 09.14.37

Taken from our Frisco Style Magazine I tore this recipe out and can’t wait to make these cookies. Our daughter from Phoenix is coming in for a few days on Thurs. I told her that in celebration of her sticking to a new exercise program and following a healthy diet plan, I will have cookies and pies ready to celebrate her weight loss. She didn’t sound very excited when I shared that with her on the phone just now…but maybe she just wasn’t fully awake yet.

Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed solid

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 cup pumpkin

2 cups flour

1 teas baking soda

1/2 teas nutmeg

1/4 teas round cloves

1/2 teas ground ginger

1/2 teas salt

1 tables ground cinnamon

Frosting:

3 table butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teas…

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Daily Thoughts

A New Thought

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“Give me a new idea, I said,

While thinking on a sleepless bed;

A new idea that’ll bring to earth

A balm for souls of priceless worth;

That will give men thoughts of things above,

And teach them how to serve and love.

That will banish every selfish thought,

And rid men of the sins they’ve fought.

I saw Him in the morning light,

He made the day shine clear and bright;

I saw Him in the noontide hour

And gained from him refreshing showers.

At evening when worn and sad,

He gave me help, and made me glad.

At midnight, when on tossing bed

My weary soul to sleep He led.

Twas new to me, yet old to some,

This thought that to me has become.

A revelation of the way

We all should live throughout the day;

For as each day unfolds it’s light,

We will walk by faith and not by sight.

Life will, indeed, a blessing bring,

If we see God In Everything.’

*Taken from a poem from A.E. Finn from Streams in the Desert

Casseroles

Mushroom Stroganoff *Taken from Southern Living

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This is one of my favorite dishes! Meatless, yet full of flavor this amazing dish will become one of those dishes that you will be so proud to serve to anyone.

1 (8 oz) package egg noodles

1 tables olive oil

2 tables butter, divded

3 (8 oz) packages sliced cremini mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 fresh thyme sprigs

1 1/2 teas smoked paprika

1 teas kosher salt

1/2 teas freshly ground black pepper

2 tables flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 tables chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cook egg noodles according to directions on bag. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Heat olive oil and 1 tables butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and next 4 ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until mushrooms are slightly browned.

Add flour and remaining butter to skillet and stir, over low heat, about 2 minutes. Whisk in broth, slowly, constantly stirring. Bring to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and parsley. Serve on noodles.

Uncategorized

Fresh Apple Cake

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For those of you who are ready to get that apple peeler out and get that first apple cake in the oven, this cake has received rave reviews. For several years, some friends and I hosted Mistletoe Market every November in our home. This cake was a favorite that sold each year. Have probably sold over 100 of these cakes….So easy and such a great Fall Dessert!

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I baked this last night to take to the famly reunion and it was just delicious. I heard people all over the room asking, “who made this cake, it is so good!” I was so proud to have been the one who brought it. When you bake it, you will know why it was the favorite dessert at the reunion. It is in the latest Southern Living Magazine. October Issue, 2010

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 lb Gala, or Granny Smith Apples (about 4 large) peeled and cut into 1/4 in thick pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Bake in pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 min or until lightly roasted and fragrant, stirring halfway…

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Uncategorized

Labor Day in Big Bear

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Just finished talking to our dear friend who made this post possible and thought I would repost it since this past weekend was so different from our Big Bear Labor Day… Thanks Bonnie & Arnie for the memories, we love you in spite of the torture we endured!

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This past weekend, we were invited to a friend’s house up in the mountains at Big Bear Lake. We were told, “well, you poor things, you have had so much company and must be tired, why don’t you and Randy come up for the long weekend so you can rest, sit out on the patio and read and we will just relax and have lots of quiet down time.”

Well, my goodness, did that sound like a great weekend or what? So Randy and I headed to the mountains Friday afternoon, with nothing packed except lots of books to read, an extra pillow for those long afternoon naps and pen and paper for writing some long overdue letters. After all, we would have plenty of time to write, being that we would be sitting outside with our feet up, laying our heads back to soak up the gorgeous sunlight, all…

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Chicken · Meats · Soups

White Lightning Chicken Chile

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Since the temps have fallen below 100, surely the cooler weather will be here shortly. When it does, we need to be prepared to have a big pot of chile ready for that first cool evening. This is taken from Southern Living

Comfort Food magazine.

1 large sweet onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tables olive oil

4 cups shredded cooked chickn

2 (14 1/2 oz) cans chicken broth

2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles

1 (1.25 oz) package white chicken chile seasoning mix

3 (16 oz) cans navy beans, undrained

Saut onion and garlic in hot oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in chicken, next 3 ingredients and 2 cans navy beans. Coarsely mash remaining can of  navy beans and stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring often; cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Serve with desired toppings such as avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

Makes 11 1/2 cups

Daily Thoughts

Silver Sneakers & Seniors

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For the past few months, I have begun to feel guilty that some extra pounds have found their way onto my person. (love that term, makes it sound not so personal, like it is happening to someone else)

Some of our kids are real exercise junkies and are always making fun of me for keeping almost as much butter, cream cheese and whipping cream in stock as Costco. As I tried to zip up my blue jeans a few days ago, I decided that maybe I should check into an exercise class that would help me get some of the new ounces that had landed on my rear. As I researched my possibilities, some friends back in California told me that I should check into this Silver Sneakers class that is available in most gyms, and it is “FREE”. Well, hot dog, my kind of exercise. It is suppose to be low impact and if it’s free, I will be able to use my money on rewarding myself for going to exercise with a Baskin-Robbins chocolate shake. So I talked Randy into going with me to Kohls to buy a cute little exercise outfit. It is my theory that if I can’t do something well, if I look cute, maybe people won’t notice that I don’t have dance talent nor am I able to keep up with instructors that lead the class in fancy footwork. That is one reason I don’t go to gyms in the first place, well, that and I don’t like to sweat. So we find the perfect outfit in pink and black and it covers my behind. Perfect. Yesterday, I am so nervous that I feel like I’m goin on a first date. I have visions of walking into a room with 30 men and women all lined up, staring at the new person (me) walking in and making me get on the front row as punishment for being the new kid on the block. I even go on FB the night before, asking fiends about what I should do: do I wear makeup and if so, how much? Do I leave my earrings on? Do I forget the eyeliner that I never leave the house without? Do I carry a water bottle so I look like I’m at least trying to be healthy? Even though I cannot remember the year that I last had a glass of water. Oh, yes, I do remember, it was in 2006 when we went to Greece and they didn’t have Dr Pepper. Anyway, I arrive 15 minutes early. I walk into the room where SS is suppose to meet and the teacher is there. So far so good. I ask her if this is a large class and she tells me that sometimes there are 3 or 4, depending on who is in the hospital or not, or has dr appointments scheduled or sometimes just OOT. I quickly realize that “ok, I’m really shouldn’t be here just to socialize.  I might be the only one here and maybe baking cookies for my new friends that I was excited to meet in class wasn’t such a great idea. But that just leaves  more cookies to snack on when I sit at home after class as I talk about all the details of why I’m sore from all the new moves that I learned. So back to the class. The teacher and I begin by placing a chair on a mat so it doesn’t slip. I keep turning around to see if someone else might show up. After 15 min, another lady shows up and waddles over to the mat and chair that the teacher has placed out for her. So now there are two.

We continue sitting in the chair doing some stretching using some 1 lb weights and some straps which have handles on them. The hour passes pretty quickly and I leave, strutting out to my car, proudly calling Randy telling him that I was the best in the class, on my first day. I just didn’t tell him that there were 2 of us and that the other lady had just had 2 hip replacements and just that morning had fallen on her kitchen floor. None of the exercise required us to leave the chair. Why I can do this at home watching Dr Phil. e On the way home, i began to think about my morning and have come to a few conclusions regarding being healthy and the importance of exercise. I get more exercise going back and forth to the fridge than I did in class. The heavy 5 lb sacks of flour and sugar that I lift and empty in my canisters are more of a workout than I got with the 1 lb weights we used.

Stirring my fudge for 15 minutes on the stove uses more arm muscles that I used yesterday. My legs get more use and stretching when I am trying to get the huge canister of chocolate chips off the top shelf in the pantry.

I don’t get sweaty since I have a fan blowing directly on me when I’m using my mixer and I can wear my earrings makeup, eye liner and jewelry, while baking.

So I ask myself, why do I need Silver Sneakers when I have a kitchen that is loaded with exercise equipment that is there any time of the day that I care to use it. I have my phone right there beside me to FaceTime any fiend I might want to talk to without hearing all about hip replacements or rearranging dr’s appointments so they could come to class.

I did however decide to wear my new exercise outfit, while baking. Because it is so tight, it makes m feel like after going to one class, I am almost back at my goal weight. So there you have it. My exercise experience and why baking is the way to go.

PS……So glad I didn’t go buy silver sneakers thinking that that was part of the acceptable outfit. But will be sure to get a silver wig if I ever go back, just to fit in!

Cakes · Desserts · Fruit

Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake

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Last night I wanted to do some baking before beginning an exercise class today, so when I saw this in a magazine, I knew that it was calling my name. So I made it. It is so light and refreshing that Randy and I both just kept going back for “just one more bite.”

Cake

2 sticks butter, at room temp

3 cups flour (plus 2 tables to sprinkle over the blueberries before adding them to the batter)

2 1/2 teas baking powder

1 1/4 teas salt

1 3/4 cup sugar

*2 tables lemon zest (optional)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs, at room temp

1 teas vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups fresh blueberries (about 2 pint)

*I added 2 tables fresh lemon zest to the batter before baking

For the Glaze

Whisk 1 table softened butter with 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tables corn syrup and 2 teas fresh squeezed lemon juice. Add milk, 1 table at a time until it is of spreading consistency. I added 1 table fresh lemon zest. When cake is cooled, drizzle glaze over cake allowing to run down the sides of cake.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt cake pan.

Whisk the 3 cups of flour with the salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat 2 sticks butter with the sugar and oil with mixer on medium until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Turn mixer speed to low and beat in the eggs, one at a time, then mix in vanilla.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk. Beat, scraping sides down as necessary. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remaining buttermilk. Mix just until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture by stirring it in. You do not want to overmix.

Toss the blueberries with the 2 tables of flour in  a bowl. By hand, stir in the blueberries into mixture, just until incorporated. I used a spatula. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake about 1 hour, or until cake tests done. When cake is done, allow to sit in pan about 10 minutes and then turn out onto serving platter. Allow to sit about 30 minutes then drizzle glaze over the top.

Garnish with fresh berries if desired.2015-09-08 08.20.24

Daily Thoughts

Bringing Respect to America

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Just finished watching Donald Trump answer questions from reporters on TV. As I sat here listening, so many thoughts came over me. Hearing him talk of how American can be great again, brings hope to me. But it cannot happen overnight or without change in each and every home.  I have never really been very politically involved, which as a Christian, I should be ashamed. We sit here complaining about how American has become a country without God in our values, schools and communities. This summer I heard our daughter say, “oh, we don’t pay attention to much to who is even running, because it just doesn’t effect us”. I said the same thing for years, as our kids were growing up and feeling that it just didn’t matter too much who was leading our country. It makes me sad that I didn’t teach our children that voting was a privilege and honor. We drove by our church school this morning after the service. As I looked at it, it came to my mind that I had never heard about any church school which had had a shooting incident. Why is that? Do our leaders think about the fact that yes, churches are not perfect, nor or their schools. But as parents, shouldn’t we realize that the Godly values that are taught in Biblical based schools teach not only respect for others, but for the student themselves. Maybe the faith based schools have more accountability, more discipline and require more from the students? That everyone must answer for their decisions?

Can we not see the results of a society which has taken God out of everything?

Why is it that our National leaders have not figured out that as they have tried to make America a country of “a country which has given us so many freedoms and rights” we have actually built a country which has taught a whole generation that there are no consequences for bad decisions. That as they have ‘lead a nation to accept all religions” we have neglected the religion which this country was founded, which taught that we were to respect God and try to live according to His laws? That hard work to better yourself was a blessing, not a curse. That Godly principles gave people a sense of purpose and security of knowing that we were under God’s authority. We didn’t have the chaos or a whole generation which is looking for an “easy life”. Life had meaning…because it looked to God for values and morals. America has lost the respect of the world, is it any wonder? Families have been torn apart by divorce. Children run our homes, not the parents, as we want to be their “friends”. Children have no boundaries and we wonder why they grow up to be adults which feel entitlement.

We have allowed all these “freedom’s”, which have taken our God given rights to pursue Him. It’s sad  that I didn’t speak out and work for what my heart truly believed. That our Nation can be great again. But it will only come, when we, as a nation, get on our knees, acknowledging that we need God. We need Him not only in our everyday lives, but in our schools and in our homes.  Then, and only then will we bring back respect within our Nation and from other countries that use to look at us and know that we were truly “one nation under God”!

On this Labor Day 2020, may we do our part to put God back into our Nation…one family at a time!

Cakes · Desserts

Southern Pecan Praline Cake

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Taken from Southern Living Magazine:

Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar,firmly packed

4 large eggs, room temp

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teas baking powder

1/4 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

1 cup milk

2 teas vanilla

Praline Frosting

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

4 large egg yolks

1 large can (12 oz) evaporated milk

2 teas vanilla

2 cups chopped pecans

Cake

Grease and flour 3 (9″) cake pans and preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter with both the granulated sugar and brown sugar until very light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the sugar batter alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Stir in the vanilla.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake in the center of your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool layers in their pans for 10 min, then loosen and turn out layers directly onto racks for cooling. Cool layers thoroughly before frosting.

For the frosting:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in both sugars. Sugars will NOT dissolve. (they will dissolve in the final cooking stage)

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the evaporated milk until smooth, then whisk this mixture into the saucepan with the sugar mixture. Return saucepan to a medium heat setting and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick, shiny and caramel-like, about 15-20 minutes. This is when the sugars will dissolve.  Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and pecans. Cool frosting to a good spreading consistency which will be about 30 minutes. Spread evenly between cooled cake layers and over top and sides of cake.