Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Happy Friday! Well, until today, it felt like fall might be on its way - but we're back up into the 90s if the forecast holds correctly today. :::sigh::: :D Still, with canned pumpkin, we can make it taste like fall any time of the year!

Like with today's recipe for Pumpkin Spice Pancakes from Annie's Eats.

These were a definite YES, PLEASE! for me. Kenn swears up and down he doesn't like pumpkin, so this time, I didn't even offer him any pancakes. :D My mom wanted them to taste more like pumpkin pie, but they're PANCAKES, Mom. :D I loved them.

The good news is that they freeze beautifully! So I was able to eat pancakes whenever I didn't want to cook - I just popped them in the microwave to warm up to butter-melting temperature. :D Yum! I didn't change a thing in the recipe, either.

OK, I'm outta here! Tomorrow is our 17th anniversary. :) Have a wonderful day, and a blessed weekend!!!!

Baked Egg Boats

Happy Wednesday! :) I hope you're enjoying your "short work week" - although, if you work at or from home, you KNOW there's no such thing! :D

Today's recipe is for Baked Egg Boats from Spoon Fork Bacon.

This was a surprise for me! It definitely gets a YES, PLEASE! - although I didn't have QUITE what I needed as far as bread goes. I used a PIECE of a baguette, and hollowed it out. I spilled some of the egg, so I should have added another to the mix. I used ham cubes and Monterrey Jack cheese. (I don't really like gruyere.) The texture of the bread changed into this light, crispy, delicious little puff every time I took a bite. :) If you have company for breakfast or brunch, these are easy to whip up and serve; they don't take too much time in the oven at all.

Let me know what you think! Two breakfast recipes down, one more to share with you - THIS week, anyway. :D Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!

PB&J Blondie Bars

It's Wednesday again. :) I hope you're having a great week! If not, go home and make these. :D

I guess you can guess these get a YES, PLEASE! from me. And I bet you'd like to know about them. :D They're PB&J Blondies from the Food Network.

I was a little dubious at first; there is NO peanut butter in them. But they taste like there is! And I used homemade strawberry jam, so  I would give them the best possible ingredients. But if I were to make them for just us, I'd use grape - it's my favorite PB&J. :D Trust me, though, there was NOTHING wrong with the strawberry!!!

These were a big hit with Kenn, too! I put what was left into the freezer, because between the two of us, we could have polished them off in less than 24 hours - and that's BAD. :D

Seriously. Make these. You'll love them. :)

OK, I'm outta here! Have a wonderful day - and LMK if you try these!

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Welcome to yet another Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Did you get a chance to try making something new? What about comfort foods? Link me to something you love!

OK. Here's the THIRD recipe from my jewelry party. They are Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies from Divine Baking.

I have to admit to you: I accidentally used semisweet chocolate chips instead of bittersweet. I mean, I BOUGHT good-quality bittersweet chocolate chips for this recipe. But I forgot to use them, and used my Toll House semisweets instead. ::hanging head::

The GOOD news? I don't think I would have liked them that dark-tasting! These are CHOCOLATE. And from what I can tell, there's pretty much no gluten in them. And the only fat I can find in them is from the chocolate chips. Pretty incredible!

These got a YES, PLEASE! - and they freeze well, too. I thought they'd be pretty fragile, but nope. I froze the rest, and ate the last one about two weeks later. Just as good and just as cookie-shaped as before I froze them. :D

OK, I'm outta here again. :) Have a wonderful, blessed day!!!!

Crab Rangoon Cups

It's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOORAY!!!!!! You made it through another week! :D And I'm going to assume I did, too.... :D It's almost time to leave for the family reunion, and then Westward! Ho!

These are another one of the new recipes I tried for my jewelry party; they're Crab Rangoon Cups from Big Red Kitchen.

(I wish you could see the whole platter; Kenn bought it for us about six years ago, and it's the first time I've gotten to show it off! It's got CRABS on it! :D)

I did this one EXACTLY as it said. I ever treated my women to REAL crab meat - and that was expensive!! But I would have liked it better with the fake stuff, I think. :D That's probably the only thing I'd change - except I'd get real sweet & sour instead of duck sauce for dipping. :) So I guess that's a YES, PLEASE, right? :D

OK, I'm off!! Have a WONDERFUL weekend - spend some time with people you love!

Amish Bread Recipe for the Bread Machine

Welcome to Wednesday! :) Are you enjoying your week? Can you believe tomorrow's the last day of the month?? Weren't we just at the end of January? (I'm pre-posting this one, and I'm hyperventilating! Knowing this comes out two weeks before I have to be ready to leave for our family reunion AND Oregon - EEP!!! I'm not ready! :D)

Sorry. :D

Anyway! Today's recipe is Amish Bread Recipe for the Bread Machine from Mommysavers.com. :D

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, YES, PLEASE! It's the BEST ABM recipe I've ever tried. Super easy, this turned out beautifully. I mean, OH, MY.

Really. I'm tucking this one away for any time I want a fast something to throw in the machine. And I may decrease the sugar next time; it's just a touch on the sweet side. But it made the yeast rise beautifully!!!! It's not dry, it's got a good bite to it. I did coat the crust with butter as it came out, so it wouldn't get hard - the crust is almost always my least favorite, and I eat it first. Not this bread. Yummmmmm. I could eat the whole loaf by myself! :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day, and I'll see you in MARCH! ;) Be blessed!

Homemade "Nutella"

Happy Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Did you try anything new???

Today's share is a happy share. :D One of my dear friends in college, who grew up in Germany, introduced me to Nutella about 25 years ago. (Holey mackerel, did I just admit that?!?) :D Lately, I've been trying to eat less processed food; the chemicals can't be good for me, and if I can put better things into my body, then maybe it will start behaving better. :)

So - since my mom and I love Nutella so much! - I decided to try this recipe for Homemade Nutella Spread from Leite's Culinaria.

This is a YES, PLEASE! rating. I didn't run it through a sieve at the end of the process, because I didn't want to make all that mess and lose too much of the chocolate. :D It's not very grainy, so I'm good with that.

If I can figure out a good chocolate to use, that will help; we used Hershey's bars, because I don't want the wax that goes into chips for helping to hold their shape. But that's kind of expensive! The hazelnuts were some our dear friends sent Mom for Christmas a year ago that have been in the freezer, waiting for a reason to be used. :D (We're going back to hazelnutland - Oregon grows something like 90% of the US's hazelnuts!)

Try it! Oh, I also used grapeseed oil for the oil requirement; if you want to make it even better for you, try coconut oil. You could also use xylitol for the sugar - watch for that post later on. :)

Update: After a day of being nice and spreadable, this solidified. My mom is loving it still; I'd prefer it to not tear up whatever I'm trying to spread it on. There are lots of recipes out there right now for homemade Nutella; I may see if they have anything in them that might be added to this to keep it softer. It's still good - I think it would make great truffles. Just sayin'. :D
 
OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!

Oreo Truffles

 Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a great week, and have something a little fun planned for tomorrow.

IF you don't, I wanted to share this easy recipe with you! This one's from Just a Pinch, but it's floating around in a LOT of places. :)

Now, you'll notice that the recipe calls for coating these in melted chocolate chips. Personally, that's just too much deep chocolate for me to handle. So I coated some of them in leftover white coating from Christmas, and some I rolled completely in Valentine's sprinkles I picked up last year. My favorites, though, were the ones I simply rolled in confectioner's sugar!

I also used some Oreos that I'd never had before, called Ice Cream Berry Burst. They have pink centers, and I was hoping some of that pink might show up in the centers. Obviously, it didn't. :D But it gave them an interesting flavor. My mom said they had a "nice, mild" flavor; Kenn said they were "very sweet". :D I found them yummy! LOL! And since they were so easy, they're

 Stay tuned for a special post (hopefully tomorrow!) for a GIVEAWAY!

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

Tex-Mex Chicken and Tortilla Stack

Good Monday midday! :D I've been busy this weekend, and not in the mood to really blog today, but here I am anyway! :D

Dad was gone last week, but Kenn also had a really bad infection in his tooth. So I wasn't sure I was going to get to make this - but I did. On Tuesday night, I tried this Tex-Mex Chicken and Tortilla Stack from Recipe.com.

First of all, I will admit: I took the METHOD of this recipe more than the recipe itself. Every place I looked for jicama, it was sold out. So we didn't have jicama in ours.

And I don't like precooked chicken, unless it's in a can (and I still don't LOVE it, then!); it almost always gives me heartburn, and I don't care for the chemicals they use. So, I used two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and poached them in water with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried minced onion. When they were done, I shredded the chicken and let it cool.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this recipe; it's served cold, and I tend to like COOKED Mexican food. :D You know, HOT and a little spicy. :D But we really did like it! It got a YES, PLEASE! from both of us! And of course, I personalized it. :D

For instance, I made our guacamole. Doing it myself saved at least a dollar - and it's not a CHEAP recipe, although it's not too bad. Part of the cost for US, though, is that I need to use low-carb tortillas. To cut down on the whopping cost of my favorite white flour LC tortillas, I alternated them with whole wheat ones. (I tend to not like those at all because of texture and flavor. It's a personal thing! :D) I would say this, by itself, serves 4 - it makes 8 pieces, if you cut it like a cake. :D but we didn't have anything WITH it.

I also didn't put red peppers in it - again, they don't like me. I also added cilantro to the cheese layers - did you know it's one of the top 5 nutrient-dense foods on the planet?!? - because Kenn LOVES it, and I like it. My mom says its flavor is too "loud" - it overpowers everything else. :D

I used fat free regular refried beans. Kenn doesn't tend to like things too spicy, so no jalapeno, either. And his system is sometimes intolerant of the colors they use in cheeses, so I used Velveeta queso blanco shredded cheese. I also added tomato to the top!

I guess what I'm trying to express is this: don't be afraid to play! :D I wouldn't have tried a "stack" if I hadn't found this recipe. I'd have loved to have had the jicama for the recipe, but oh, well. :D I know what we like, and if I can get things that are good for us into a recipe, I'm gonna! :D

OK, I'm outta here. LOTS to do! :D Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!!

Cheryl's Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies

Good Friday Morning! I hope you've had a great week, and are looking forward to your weekend. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Michael and Haley, our groom and bride tomorrow. :)

Anyway. Today's another share that I learned to only make around Christmas, because I absolutely LOVE these. They're fantastic, soft and chewy. They're from BettyCrocker.com, and are called Cheryl's Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies.

Well, I'll admit it: part of my reasoning for posting these is so I have the link to the recipe while we're in Oregon. :D They're SO simple to make, but would be wonderful to have on-hand for weekend guests.... :D

I don't tweak these at all. I accidentally added too much brown sugar one time, and don't recommend doing that if you can help it. :D These kind of taste like chocolate chip cookies, but a little different, and a lot easier. :D

I can't think of anything else to tell you about them, except you won't regret making them! :D

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!! Be BLESSED - and try something new!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a wonderful week!

This recipe is one of the three dishes I served Saturday for my Stampin' Up! party Saturday; it's Blueberry Breakfast Cake from Alexandra's Kitchen.

This is a recipe I pinned because my parents are from Maine, and blueberries are superfruits there AND in the health world. :D So it's got to be good for you, right?!??! :D

I did this one exactly like it's written, except I doubled it. :D I wanted to make sure I had enough of it; the original recipe's for a 9" square.

This was simple but good. (So it receives a YES, PLEASE!)  My mom said she liked that it wasn't totally blueberry taste, that the cake stood up for itself. :) Which says a lot, because there were 4 cups of blueberries in that 13x9. :D I highly recommend always using fresh lemon zest in anything that calls for it. Just so you know. :D

People went back for seconds. It was moist, and I'm glad I got up that morning to make it - it was best fresh and warm from the oven. but it's still good later, too. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

"Raspberry" Blintz Casserole

Good Friday Morning! How are you today? Have you had a great week? Got fantastic plans for this weekend? Going to try something new?!? :D

Here's one of the things we tried this week: Raspberry Blintz Casserole from Recipe.com.

First, those of you who are observant will notice that this is definitely NOT raspberry! :D Although the recipe calls for using them, Kenn couldn't find ANY in the frozen section. And so I used what I had - blueberries we'd purchased and frozen earlier this year.

Now, then. The casserole itself is the recipe I used - and I halved it. I think I've mentioned how we try not to have too much hanging around at one time? Yeah. :) This fell in that category - and if Kenn didn't like it, I didn't want to have to figure out what to do with all that casserole. So I baked it in a two-quart casserole dish - which I *think* is a 7"x11", but I'm too lazy to go measure it. :D

Anyway. The casserole gets a YES, PLEASE! My dad got a taste, and decided he needed to have it sometime soon. :D It uses orange, instead of lemon, which gives it a stronger but sweeter taste.

I cannot recommend that you make the raspberry sauce, however; there are NO measurements whatsoever on it. So please come up with another sauce recipe before you try this casserole! I can tell you what I did - and I should have doubled the sauce!

I used a glass measuring cup and thawed 1 cup of berries, then gave them a whirl in the food processor (since it's already out for the casserole recipe!). I heated them in a saucepan, and added 1 heaping teaspoon of corn starch before they got warm - it mixes in MUCH better if your ingredients are cold! I added about 2 tablespoons of additional orange juice I had left from squeezing my orange for the casserole. I should have added about that much water, too, so it wouldn't thicken up quite so much when it sat. :)

That's it! Pretty easy, and it was yummy. I liked the edges of this one better than the middle, just because there was some texture variation there. :) It's very soft, light, and yummy!

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Let me know what YOU try new! Be BLESSED!!!!

Pumpkin Fudge

Good Monday! :D How are you today? Did you have a good weekend? Did you try anything new?

It was busy around here, but I took a few pictures of a couple of new things. :) Today's not a share-one-of-those days. :D It's share-some-more-recipes-from-the-open-house day!

This one is for pumpkin fudge, from Better Homes & Gardens.

I didn't tweak anything on this recipe. I educated my family on the different chips that are available during the holidays - but we don't live in a very adventurous area, so we don't see them too often. We did, however, manage to locate a bag of cinnamon chips.

They were yummy, and integral to making this recipe work. It was really good; people who like pumpkin really enjoyed it! Many people told me they'd never heard of pumpkin fudge; I used to purchase it at the Fourth Street Fair in Richmond, IN, where I grew up. :) It's nice to have a recipe for it, so I don't have to search for it so hard! LOL

I'd love to hear if you try this some time. Heck, I'd love to hear when you try ANYTHING I post! :D Have a WONDERFUL day; try and stay warm and dry, wherever you are, and BE BLESSED!

Soft Pretzel Bites

Good Wednesday afternoon! :) Are you having a good week? Enjoying this first full week of January? It's amazing to me how quickly time flies. We'll be leaving for our family reunion and Oregon before I can blink! :D

Today's recipe review is of Soft Pretzel Bites from Two Peas& Their Pod.

Now, a little history about me and soft pretzels: when I was a little girl, my mom and I would walk to the mall together. One of the things that always happened was that we would get a treat - either ice cream or a soft pretzel. And yellow mustard is a must with a soft pretzel.

So, I didn't make the cheese sauce that is also posted on their blog with these as a dip. I knew I'd want mustard.

These are a YES, PLEASE. They're time-consuming, but very yummy. I put more salt on them than I liked, but that's because I couldn't see the salt on the egg wash too easily. Next time, I'll know better.

And there will be a next time, because I only cooked off HALF of this dough! I put the bites onto two pizza pans to bake; they need to not touch. And that made a LOT of pretzel bites!

I also adjusted the baking time on my second sheet.The first came out a bit crunchy on the bottoms. It's unusual, because our oven usually bakes a little cooler than most recipes call for. So know you might want to keep an eye on them a bit earlier than the recipe says. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly! I bet the sweet version would be good, too - and I THINK I might substitute a teaspoon of the water with a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract if I was going to do them. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day, my friend. BE BLESSED!

Cinnamon Apple Walnut Pancakes

Good Friday Morning! How are you today? Have you had a good week?

Kenn and I are doing a show in Lebanon; if you want info, PLEASE ask me! Anyway. I decided we should treat ourselves to a good breakfast today. (And yes, that means my cooking and Kenn whisking his away to work. <sigh> :D ) So, I chose these pancakes from CinnamonSpice & Everything Nice .

Now, first thing you'll notice on my photo is that I forgot to put on the walnuts. Oops! It would have been nice for the crunch, but I'm having a tooth issue, so it's probably best I forgot. :D

I'm definitely giving these a YES, PLEASE! They're really light pancakes, which surprised me. I would recommend letting the batter sit for 5 - 10 minutes before cooking them, because the cinnamon took a bit to bloom. Kenn thought they were a bit bland; by the time I cooked and ate mine, they were nice and flavored.

In case you didn't know, you don't have to worry about having real buttermilk. This recipe calls for 1 cup; all you have to do is pour in enough milk for a SCANT cup, then top it off with lemon juice. Let it sit while you work on the dry ingredients, then proceed. Viola! Buttermilk! :D

I follow this blog; she's got great ideas and wonderful recipes. Just so you know. :)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Treat yourself to something new! :) BE BLESSED!

You asked for it! Lemon Fudge

Good afternoon! Did you have a good New Year's celebration? We went and spend a couple of hours with friends, then came home. Kenn was in bed and I was on the computer when the new year came. Big, fat, hairy deal, as my homey, Garfield the Cat, would say. :D

ANYWAY. I have had SO many requests for this fudge that I decided I'd better post it. There is no link; I found it in one of TASTE OF HOME®'s many holiday books, CHRISTMAS COOKIES & CANDIES. (There are LOADS of these books, in all shapes and sizes!) As with any cookbook, some are wonderful recipes, and some not-so-much. :D This one, however, is a definite winner. I've been making it for several years now. The first year, I wasn't sure how "thick" it had to get, so it was a bit runny. Now that I know it means THICK, it comes out perfectly. :D

Here's the recipe, ALL credit to TASTE OF HOME.

Lemon Fudge
1-1/2 teaspoon + 1/2 cup butter, divided
1 package cook & serve lemon pudding mix (4-serving package)
1/2 cup milk
3-3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Line a 9" pan with foil. Grease the foil with the 1-1/2 teaspoons of butter; set aside.

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the pudding mix, milk, and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat; beat in confectioner's sugar and extract. Pour/spread into prepared pan; refrigerate until set.

Makes 1-1/2 pounds

That's how I wrote down the recipe, and how I do it. I don't THINK I changed anything when I wrote it into my book.... :D

Seriously. Make this fudge. It's a beautiful taste on a candy tray, not to mention a great color. Make it for Easter, even! You're going to be asked for the recipe, I can almost guarantee. :D I find that men, especially, love this fudge - but this year, everyone is raving about it. It's funny how it changes from year to year, what people eat the most of! :D

Have a WONDERFUL day! Be blessed, my friend!

Italian Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes & Onions

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!!!! Have you enjoyed your holiday season? Are you really stressed during the Christmas season? Wish you had it more together? Well, I recommend my friend Krisann, the Christmas coach, and our site at ChristmasOrganizing.com if you need help. Seriously - I've been working with her for 10 years, and she has so much to offer you!

ANYWAY. :D Today's recipe is one my sister found at Pillsbury, for Italian Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes & Onions.

I fixed this for dinner one night when she had to work a little later than normal; she'd already gotten the ingredients, and had the recipe on her computer. So I followed the recipe - although I didn't MEASURE anything, I stuck to the recipe. I wasn't sure how I'd like the sweet potatoes with the Italian herbs, but decided I did like them.

The pork was really good, too - I played with the time a bit, because I started it too high, but it turned out perfectly. ;D I'm blessed that way sometimes! LOL! I'm going to give this a YES, PLEASE! for its ease and pleasing flavor in a short time. Not a lot of prep work, either, which I am beginning to really appreciate. :D Thanks, Kelli! :)

OK, I'm outta here. The year is ending just as crazily as it began! :) Happy New Year, dear friends. Thank you for being on this adventure with me!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Happy Monday Morning! I'm on my way to Texas this morning; stay tuned for updates on how the open house went. (I'm setting this up to show up, so you can have some entertainment while I'm traveling. :D )

Today's TNT recipe is for Peanut Butter Blossoms, from my Hershey's Cookbook. But again, Hershey's has put their recipes online, too! :D

I don't think I ever tweak this one! It's wonderful. And putting chocolate with peanut butter made Kenn start eating PB cookies. ;D

OK, I'm gone. Literally. HA! (I crack myself up!) Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!

Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars

It's FRIDAY! :) Welcome to the weekend.

Today's share is a recipe I found in a Christmas Cookies booklet; lucky for both you and me that Better Homes & Gardens puts their recipes online, too! :D

It's called Toffee-Pumpkin Pie Bars, and this is what I made instead of pumpkin pie for our family celebration last Thursday.

I'm going to give this a YES, PLEASE! It was a really nice change of pace; it tastes a lot like pumpkin pie without ALL the pumpkin or fuss. :D I really liked the gingersnap crumb crust.

I didn't tweak it at all. We didn't use the optional caramel topping - TOO much sweetness! We DID use French Vanilla Cool Whip - and did it taste decadent. :D

OK, I'm off! This weekend, open house craziness. Phew. :D Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!! Try something new, and let me know about it!!! :)

Butter Rum Fudge

Good Wednesday Morning!

Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite tried-n-true (TNT) recipes with you.I think I got the original from Food.com; this recipe is almost exactly it (there's a typo; there should be 12 ounces of chocolate chips!).

DO NOT TRY TO FIT THIS IN A 9x9 PAN! Gravy. The first time I did this recipe, I followed to the letter - well, as far as that goes. ;D It was so thick, I had to cut the piece in half width-wise! It's perfect - like my photo above - in a 13x9.

Now, then. My tweaks: I don't add walnuts and pecans. I add walnuts and a cup of raisins that I've soaked in hot water with a teaspoon of rum flavoring added. It plumps the raisins and gives them a boost of flavor. I also add just a bit more rum flavoring.

This fudge is one of Kenn's favorites. I only make it once a year, for the open house. This year, I added a few mini marshmallows, too, by accident - but it's still yummy. :D

I'm gone. Hopefully not crazy.... :D Have a wonderful, BLESSED day!