National Pancake Day

In honor of "National Pancake Day" I made pancakes, sausage and fruit salad for dinner tonight. I used Tyler Florence's Ricotta Pancake recipe, browned some maple sausage and made a fresh fruit cup to go with our meal.

Even Bella loved it!

Girls Just Wanna Have ...Fun??

Hi Susan~~~thanks for inviting me. Can I go out and visit the "girls"?

They are my true reason for visiting.

Sure, I love my friend. She has so many fantastic ideas for budget friendly meals, freezer meals, quilting, saving...But I love to visit "the girls"

They provide me with the best eggs we have ever had. I love to interact with them. I secretly pretend I can converse with them. Maybe it's not such a secret because Susan said "I've never heard them make that noise before." They were telling me something I'll just have to look up in the Hen Dictionary. It probably translates into something like:

"Oh that darn rooster is soo getting on my nerves"

Just look at these girls just getting along and scratching out the day's news.

"Hey, Henrietta did you see how Sunglow is just strutting her stuff?"

Hens and human Chicks....somethings never change!

Over the River...

Over many rivers and through many woods, they finally arrived at Grandmother's house!
Caleb can read now! Nana just loved this story.

Lily and Jared spending some time with Papa.

Where's Gracie?

Reading is very serious business.

Here are all the cuddle friends posing for a picture. Look to the far right.

That's "Butchie" Jenny's doll from childhood.

Jam Thumbprint Tutorial

How to (or not to) make Jam Thumbprint cookies:

#1 make sure you have all the ingredients needed or else you will have to search foodnetwork.com for an acceptable alternative.

#2 don't mix up your cookie batter while eating your Kraft macaroni and cheese. While you might think the extra gluten will help~~trust me, it won't.

#3 don't pop into the living room to check on Jeopardy while mixing ingredients. Oh my, where was I?

# 4 How can you go wrong with copious amounts of butter, vanilla extract, eggs and flour?

Happy Holidays!!

Giving Thanks

I'm giggling with excitement! Everything is ready for tomorrow. My table is set. My side dishes are waiting in the fridge. When we wake up the coffee will be ready. Oh give Thanks to the Lord for He is Good!

Now, for the real life... My cheesecake is cracked, my side dishes are not a la Food Network. My doggie barks at every fruit fly that passes her way.

Sometimes you just have to be put in the mood to give thanks!

I'm excited, and Thankful anyway :-)

Sourdough Starter

I have a very good friend who is also my mentor in all things regarding home keeping, budgeting, gardening etc. Recently we have started down the road of sourdough bread making. We have already been making 5 minute Artisan Bread and have made many "converts" along the way. Not to be content in a good thing, my mentor and I are trying out a sourdough method that would produce a great bread with the same "5 minute" method of mixing. I cannot even consider myself in her league at this stage of the game. She (Susan) has the ingredients down to a science. All I know is ~~ I am producing a loaf of bread with minimal effort and maximum return in flavor for the cost of a couple cups of flour. "We" continue to tweak the recipe to come up with the exact amounts, temperature and moisture needed to produce a great loaf. Meanwhile ~~ our families are enjoying great loaves of bread!

The Frost is on the Pumpkin

The first year we moved to Lake County someone mentioned as she breezed through the Kitchen that "The frost was on the pumpkin"

That was the first time I had ever heard the saying but ever since, it has marked the wonderful season of Fall.

Oh, She was immune to the daily toil, schedule and jobs that needed to be done to make sure that the pumpkin would bring blessings. After all these years, the simple proclamation of the frost on the pumpkin brings peace. Dear loved ones have passed away and as is the promise of God..."All things have become new."