Easy Peasy

Two easy recipes for you!

This first, a cookie recipe, is one I remember making when I was growing up. I had since forgotten about it until I was reading one of my Christmas gifts and found it there. So quick and easy and good--you won't believe the ingredients!

Whippersnappers

1 box cake mix (any flavor but chocolate or lemon is especially good)
1 egg
2 cups cool whip (measure. A tub usually has a little over)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix the cake mix, egg, and cool whip until well mixed. Drop by teaspoons into powdered sugar. Roll to coat. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard size cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.


This dip recipe was given to me at a recent party I attended. The giver calls it "Heart Attack in a Bowl", but it's delicious!

Cheesy Goo

1 wedge of brie
1 stick unsalted butter
12 ounces cream cheese

Cut everything up and put in a bowl. Microwave until melty and soft. Stir together. Serve with dippers (vegetables or crackers or bagel chips)

Busy, Busy

I've been super busy lately...baking, crafting, and just getting ready for all the upcoming events. I hope to post more tomorrow!

I'm Back!

The wedding was lovely, though I thought it a bit chilly. Especially since today at home it was 70 degrees out!

I thought it high time that I start some Christmas goodies. I tend not to do cookies too much, mostly because they just sit around and no one eats them, no matter how good they are. I generally go for quick and easy candies with a few other non-cookie goody thrown in. Today I made a batch of poor man turtles. If you've never made them, please do. They are quick, easy, and oh so yummy!

Poor Man Turtles

1 bag Rollo candies
60 mini pretzels (approximately)
60 pecan halves (approximately)

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Meanwhile, cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place the pretzels on the cookie sheet in a single layer. Unwrap the Rollo candy and place one on each pretzel. Place in the oven for 2-3 minutes. The candy keeps its shape! Immediately press a pecan half on top of each candy. Place in the refrigerator to firm up. Store at room temperature in a covered container. They don't last long so I have no idea how long they keep!

I'll Be Back!

Going away for a few days to a wedding...I'll be back soon!

Shhh....It's a Secret!

My recipe for Chicken and Dumplings, that is :D I don't give this recipe out to just anyone, but someone mentioned not being able to make a decent one, so I thought I'd share :) Not too many people read my blog anyway! lol! I combined three different recipes to get this.

boneless-skinless chicken breasts *or* chicken tenders (any amount...depends on how much chicken you want)

4 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp butter

1 can cream of celery soup *or* cream of chicken

3 tbsp cornstarch mixed into 1 cup of milk

1 box of Jiffy biscuit mix

1/2 cup warm water

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Put the chicken broth in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and poach (about 5 minutes). Add the soup, butter, and milk mixture. Mix the biscuit mix and water. Drop by spoonfuls onto the boiling liquid. Cover and let steam 10-15 minutes.

*you may need to stir it occasionally to keep the dumplings from sticking and to keep the broth from boiling over.

**you can make your own dumplings if you prefer (Cracker Barrel style), but these are so much easier!

P.S. Darla-you can find the recipe for Butter Beef here. It was alright. Don't know that I'll make it again.

Tin Man

Is anyone else out there in blog land watching this? I am a huge Wizard of Oz fan and a pretty big Sci-Fi fan as well, so I was really excited when I found out about this miniseries. I have yet to be disappointed! I think it's a very interesting, well done retelling of the Wizard of Oz and I'm very sad that tonight is the last installment. I wish it were a regular series!

Menu Plan Monday!

Monday-Butter Beef over mashed potatoes

Tuesday-Taco Salad

Wednesday-Chicken and dumplings (didn't have it last week)

Thursday-Marinated pork chops

Friday/Saturday-out of town!

Sunday-Roast

Secret Crush #2

The three main workers of Charm City Cakes.

Mary Alice-the office manager (in the red shirt). She is just so funny. She will tell it like it is! And she keeps everyone in line, too!

Duff-I first became aware of Duff on several Food Network Challenges. His unorthodox methods and awesomely cool designs won me over fast!

Geoff-(in the black shirt) I did not like Geoff when I first started watching Ace of Cakes. For some reason he annoyed me. Now he's my favorite! He has an extremely dry sense of humor and I am forever laughing at his comments. Plus, he does fabulous works!

Secret Crush #1

Taking a page from Mrs.G, I thought I'd share my secret crushes with you. I'm also borrowing her disclaimer (modified, of course) because she says it so well:

Disclaimer: I have been married for almost ten years to the same man, Mr W. He is handsome, kind, loyal, and doesn't do household chores of any kind is a wonderful father.

I say secret boyfriend because while my love and esteem for these men is as rich and delicious as the mocha filling of an exquisite truffle, they have no idea that I exist. Ahh...I think unrequited love is healthy in a long term marriage I wants to last. :)

Alton Brown

*sigh*

He's witty. Intelligent. Cute. And he can cook, too. I wonder if he cleans up after himself...

I can't remember the first time I ran across Good Eats. I do remember that I found the show to be highly entertaining and became an instant fan.

And the only reason I watch ICA is to get another dose of Alton.

Take a Holiday!

Quiz, that is! I found this on Darla's blog. I'm Thanksgiving, which is a plus since it's my favorite holiday!

You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love. It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is. You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one. You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff. What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

Ruthless Mom

While I was cleaning, that is. The chairs weren't too exciting. About what you would expect to find: toys, wrappers, some general dirt, money. I did find some hair elastics and barrettes too. The couch though...oh boy! What a treasure trove! Several pairs of socks, three shirts (yes, shirts!), toys, an almost full box of (now smooshed) Swiss Cake Rolls, plastic bags...

What's in your couch?

Finding this could not have come at a better time. There are lots of nooks and crannies that I want to tackle! Today is under the couch and chairs and in the cushions too! All sorts of exciting things there, let me tell you! So far I've found a slew of Thomas trains! I wonder what else I'll find! See what others are tackling here.

Oldest DD and I made Hidden Mint Cookies yesterday. The basic idea is that you sandwich a mint wafer (Andee's mint) between two sugar cookies and bake them. They turned out okay. They were good warm, but as they cooled they got a bit too firm and we didn't care for them like that.


Monday-Steak, salad, baked potato, pudding
Tuesday-Creamy Turkey Soup, mini Chocolate Marshmallow Pies
Wednesday-Cheeseburger Pie, green beans, salad, cookies
Thursday-Chicken and Dumplings, jell-o
Friday-not sure. May go out
Saturday-Marinated pork chops, creamed spinach, salad, Chocolate Eclaire Cake

Find a ton of menu ideas here!

The Recipe Box Collection

I love to collect cookbooks and recipes and thought it would be nice to share them with you. I've set up a blog just for it that you can find here. Drop by for a visit!

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you had a marvelous day yesterday! We spent the day at DH's parents house. My mother in law had two of her nieces visiting from Pennsylvania. It was really nice to see them!

Anyone braving the crowds today? Not me! I'm content to just sit at home :) Oh, who am I kidding? I won't be doing too much sitting! After all, there are chores to be done!

I will be going out briefly tomorrow though. I'll be getting my youngest daughter this for Christmas.

Although I will still drag out and enjoy this last week of Autumn, my mind is racing ahead with Christmas decor ideas and Christmas ideas in general. I'm hoping to finish up my cleaning today so that I can work on a project that sort of jumped into my head a few weeks ago. I'm hoping it will turn out as planned. And I put new batteries in my camera so I should be able to provide pictures too!

Catching Up

I've been really busy the past few days. There's a lot to do to get ready for Thursday

Santa arrived at the mall Friday night and we all went. it was fun, but I like to celebrate my holidays one at a time, thankyouverymuch. Honestly, even though I have some Christmas shopping done and have been working on some gifts, I don't really want to think about it until Friday!

Thanksgiving Work In Progress

Ugh! My digital camera needs batteries!

Although Thanksgiving is being hosted by my Mother In Law this year, I decided to make favors for everyone. I was inspired by the Jen over at The Felt Mouse. I loved the idea of acorn boxes, but the number of people I need to make them for (eight, plus four small children) was greater than my pocketbook.

Instead I decided on paper cones. I found beautiful brown and gold paper at Michaels along with some lightweight wood oak leaf cutouts. Those I'm going to paint to paint (either brown with a gold edge or all gold...not sure...any ideas?) and put a name on. The cones will be filled with Thanksgiving Blessing Mix.

So Excited!

I have the bulk of my Christmas shopping done!!!! And if I'm very careful, I may even have a big surprise for my sweet, wonderful husband, come Christmas Day!

I'm going to try very hard to wrap some gifts tonight and make a list of what I have and what I need and an estimated cost.

Also bought today and sitting in my freezer is Tom Turkey. This week I'll be making and freezing my stuffing as well as my cake. It will make next week so much easier!

A Fresh Start

I've tried blogging here and there over the years, but for some reason I can never stick with it. But then I think of neat ideas or do something really cool and think, I should blog that. But my other blogs are so out of the loop. What to do? Start a new blog of course, and this time...stick with it!