Today is Christmas EVE! What have you got planned for this eve of the holiday Christmas? I’m very grateful that I’m feeling MUCH better than yesterday, when I spent the whole day with some sort of intestinal bug … no fun. Today it’s just a sinusy head, so I should be able to get the last of the ‘to do’ list done: wrap presents and bake the “Happy Birthday, Jesus” cake (oh, and stuff stockings much later on).

Just visited a friend’s blog and was introduced to this GREAT video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCFCeJTEzNU

It’s called: “Silent Monks Sing Halleluia”… some pretty talented guys/people/kids? Trust me…it’s a riot!

In the RECIPE area, I have one to share that sounded pretty yummy:

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Peach & Caramel Upside Down Cake

2 (15 1/4 oz., ea.) cans sliced peaches

1 (4 oz.) stick unsalted butter plus 2 T., softened

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/4 C. evaporated milk

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 C. chopped pecans

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

—–

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Drain peaches, reserving syrup for sauce.

Caramel Sauce:

Combine 1 stick unsalted butter, brown sugar, reserved syrup from peaches and evaporated milk; cook over medium heat until syrupy, about 5 minutes; set aside.

—————–

Use 2 T. softened butter to grease 9 X 13 baking pan. Pour caramel sauce in pan, spread around and arrange peach slices over bottom. Sprinkle with cinnamon and pecans. Prepare cake mix according to package directions then pour over peaches in pan. Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely before unmolding. Serves 10+.  Can be served with ice cream and additional peaches, if desired.

(recipe: Del Monte as seen in a newspaper flier)

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Our weather seems to be holding out which makes it just about perfect for getting around (driving/walking/etc) to finish up the last of the ‘running’: it’s clear, no snow, a little grey (no sun) and 28 chilly degrees but that’s OK! As long as there’s no freezing rain/sleet/huge tons of the white stuff, we’re GOOD!

Hoping you are (a) in good health (b) caught up with all your little errands (c) just about ready to enjoy tomorrow and all it’s wonders (d) able to take a few moments to reflect on what this holiday means (e) take a few minutes to relax and enjoy something hot (like cocoa/tea/coffee) and a little something sweet to go with it: cookies/fruit breads/maybe a small piece of fudge or chocolate? Enjoy yourself and smile a little today!

Hugs;

Pammie

]]> http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/its-getting-real-close/feed/ 0 grammiepammie 1194982335vm2hu6 http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/busy-day-but-good/ http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/busy-day-but-good/#comments Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:27:44 +0000 grammiepammie http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/?p=1321 ]]>

"Snowman Soup!"

Today was another ‘running’ day but very productive; had several quick trips to get done and knocked them off in record time. One of my stops was ACO hardware where I pleasantly discovered my local ACO is now selling Bernat worsted yarns in 14 oz. balls! (for $7.99!). Who would have thought to go looking at yarn in a HARDWARE STORE? (Stranger things have happened, I suppose.)

Got home and finished baking 4 dozen sugar cookies, then frosted & added sprinkles…another ‘to do’ thing done on my list! Youngest son had asked me if I would teach him how to make earrings, so we set out to do that and managed to make a very nice looking set for his young lady friend. I had a nice box and got the ‘presentation’ part done…looked very nice, if I do say so myself! (should have taken a photo, but didn’t think of it at the time). I guess her mother was quite surprised when she learned he ‘made’ them himself; her comments were in the area of “You should SELL them!” (that made him proud).

Tonight was my Knit Night and I was anxiously wondering just how many people would show up for our meeting this close to Christmas. I was very pleasantly surprised…we had 17 people; 2 of them were new tonight! Great evening; some great and thoughtful gifts were passed out (one lady made little bath salts in cute little cloth bags, another made “Snowman Soup”: basically a package of cocoa mix, some miniature marshmallows and a candy cane, with directions on how to make the ’soup’!) Another of my friends gave each of us a ball of dishcloth cotton and a pattern for a dishcloth (mine said: “Love to Knit” on the pattern) plus this adorable little rubber duck! Each duck was different; mine is a “Princess Duck” complete with little pink crown & sparkly wand. I’m putting her on my computer and naming her: “The Queen of All I Survey”! (Yep, that’s me!)…soooooooo cute! Great night, great company…lots of fun. We even have people stop by to chat with us; a group of about 4 ladies who eat at Panera and then go clogging always stop by to see what we’re all working on. They’ve invited us to come clog; I said: “I can just see us all now clogging and knitting at the same time!”

Oh! Have another recipe for you; I haven’t tried this one but it comes from a friend who rates it highly. I’ve ‘heard’ of it, but now with her recommendation I’ll have to give it a try.

======================

She also had a Note: I always double the topping that goes on the crackers.  This makes it much more thick and yummy.

Our weather is still ‘cooperating’: it’s chilly (in the mid-20’s) but clear and sunny which makes for great ‘running around buying last minute presents/necessities/groceries’ weather.

Hope all is well with you and that you’re able to take a small break each day to relax a little and enjoy the wonders of this Christmas season!

Hugs;

Pammie

Today was the last (I hope) of my grocery shopping for the holiday. Just finished getting the 17 knit group gifts together; each one contains: 1 knit pin, 4 Hershey Peanut Butter kisses, 2 Hershey nuggets, 1 cranberry/oatmeal/walnut cookie and a red & white candy cane with the candy cane legend attached. (For these cookies, I ‘cheated’ a bit and used the already made -in-the-dairy-case Kroger ready bake cookies; they’re really yummy and much easier on me.) Next up was another ‘easy’ batch of cookies: the ‘cake mix’ cookies in “Spice” cake mix with raisins; those are to add to the growing tins of cookies ‘for the house’. Still yet to come: 4 dozen Gordon Food Service sugar cookies (which also have to be frosted), and maybe (IF I HAVE THE ENERGY) peanut butter cookies & gingersnaps. (those might come tomorrow or Wednesday) I’m still a bit pooped from the ‘running’ this morning to the Post Office, drug store, gas station and Krogers all before I got the baking done for the knit group bags. (I know…I hear you: “Pace YOURSELF!”)

Anyway, with recipes and baking as my theme for the next few days, here are a few more recipes to enjoy:

Applesauce Bread

2 eggs

1 (16 oz.) jar applesauce

2 C. raisin bran cereal

2 1/2 C. flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 C. vegetable oil

1 C. dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 C. chopped nuts

—–

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease one 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan. In a small bowl, combine eggs, applesauce and raisin bran. Let stand 10 minutes, then stir. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and spices. Stir vegetable oil, brown sugar and nuts into cereal mixture. Add, all at once, to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Turn mixture into loaf pan and bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Let loaf cool 15 minutes before removing from pan. Makes 1 loaf.

(recipe courtesy: Kroger Co.)

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Lemon Dessert

Crust:

1 1/2 C. flour

3 T. confectioners sugar

3/4 C. shortening

—

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Blend above ingredients together and press into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake 30 minutes, then cool.

—-

Filling:

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1  1/2 C. confectioners sugar

Beat cream cheese and confectioners sugar together with mixer for 10 minutes, then spread mixture onto cooled crust and smooth.

Topping:

1 can lemon pie filling

1 large container Cool Whip

Spread lemon pie filling over cream cheese mixture then top with Cool Whip and smooth. Chill 1 hour before serving.

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Also, no matter if you’re an adult or child, this next site is fun to peruse; if you think you might be too ‘old/grown up’ for this one, at least check out the many great recipes under Mrs. Klaus’s Kitchen or Mrs. Klaus’s Cookbook!

http://www.northpole.com

Still enjoying the Christmas music while bopping around my kitchen; hope you are taking time to ENJOY this time of year!

Hugs;

Pammie

What do you do when you’re already ‘right on time’ with all your gifts and baking? Why, you come up with ANOTHER gift idea for your whole Knit group, of course! Two weeks ago the knit group ladies started bringing in gifts for each other, hinting that this would continue. Feeling like I should reciprocate, somewhat, I’ve been racking my brain as to what to give a large group of people and also not spend a ton of money.  One of the ladies gave each of us a handsewn ornament and a beaded pin plus several pieces of candy.  Last night I remembered that I had started a project many months ago and never finished it. After a bit of searching, I located ‘them’ and began today adding to the count. The photo above is not my pin, but pretty close. I had already knit 11 of these and added another 6 today. My ‘knitting pins’ are about 2 inches square and yellow, each having a clasp back and a small red heart button in the bottom right corner. I knit them on a very small (size O) knitting needle, then transfer them to toothpicks which I’ve cut the end off of and glued a small round wooden bead to, so that they look like knitting needles). Along with these I plan on including several pieces of chocolates (got a great sale on Hershey’s Peanut butter kisses and Hershey’s ‘nuggets’…where else? Our local drug store!). On a ‘usual’ Tuesday knit night we average about 14 ladies, so I’m trying to play it safe and made 17 (still have to sew on the little buttons and the backs). Along with this idea, I remembered another ‘idea’ from Christmas’s past and bought red & white candy canes. Attached to each one and included in the ‘gift’ will be this story:

The Candy Cane Legend

The candy cane is in the shape of a “J” to remind us that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. Turn it around and it also is the shape of a Shepherd’s staff to remind us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who takes care of us. The red stripes remind us of the blood Jesus shed on the cross to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The white core reminds us that Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection was fulfillment of prophecy, to purify our hearts and make us holy before God, so that we, too can live in Heaven with Him.”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but  have everlasting life.” John 3:16

========================

Merry Christmas!

Hugs;

Pammie

Today is Day 1 of the ‘official cookie baking’ at my house. So far, there are 2 1/2 dozen lemon meltaways; 4 dozen chocolate/chocolate chip; and 3 1/2 dozen oatmeal/walnut/chocolate chip cookies done!  Right now I’m waiting for the last tray of choc/choc. chips to finish; am thinking that I might delay the 4 dozen sugar cookies until tomorrow. Should mention here that I sort of ‘cheated’ on two of the recipes, using the ‘cake mix cookies’ idea for the chocolate & lemon varieties; they’re easy, go together quickly and taste really good! I still have several other recipes I want to try, but this year I’ve sort of varied a little from my ‘usual’ cookies. At the special needs dinner someone baked these really yummy choc/nut/oatmeal cookies which sent me on a mission to find something like them. Below is a pretty close copy:

“Prize Winning Oatmeal Drop Cookies”

(by Liz Tracy, as featured on allrecipes.com)

2 c. sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt (I would omit this)

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 C. rolled oats

1/2 C. packed brown sugar

1/2 C. white sugar

1 C. shortening

2 eggs

1/3 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 C. chopped walnuts

———

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add oatmeal, brown sugar, white sugar, shortening, eggs, milk and vanilla; mix well. Stir in 1 C. chopped walnuts. Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes.

(MY additions/comments: I would omit the salt, as I felt these were a little too salty. I would also add 1/2 C. chocolate chips. I found that these were very hard to stir together and would suggest that the vanilla be added before all the wet ingredients, as it didn’t seem to be incorporated as well if added with the last ingredients. These cookies are VERY sticky; I used a melon baller to dispense them. They do not spread out, so you can group them closer together on the sheets. With that size balls, it made 3 1/2 dozen.

(suggestion from original recipe writer: you can also use raisins, chocolate chips, M & M’s or coconut instead of the walnuts, if you wish)

===================

I’m also eyeing another really yummy dessert that I haven’t made in quite some time:

Pistachio Dessert

1 small pkg. Pistachio jello pudding mix

1 large container Cool Whip

chopped cherries & walnuts (your choice as to how much)

—-

Mix DRY jello pudding into Cool Whip; when fully incorporated, stir in chopped cherries & nuts. Chill 1 hour before serving. (can be doubled)

—————

(NOTE: you can also add 1 small can drained crushed pineapple and small marshmallows, if you like)

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‘Tis the season to get baking & cooking all the lovely ‘treats’ we so enjoy at this time of year.  It’s a lovely (rather gray) WARM (35 degrees!) day out today; I’m not complaining a bit – whenever I can walk or drive without worrying about slipping, sliding or getting stuck in snow or ice, it’s a great day!

I’m not a big tv watcher, but lately there is a new feature on the Travel Channel called “Meet the Natives” which has me totally fascinated.

http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Meet_the_Natives

Five native men from the island of Tanna (in the South Pacific) have been sent by their high chief to speak to the highest ruler in the United States with the goal of achieving Peace. These are native men who wear very little in the line of clothing and who speak through one of their young men who has learned English. I am constantly amazed and enlightened at the level of not only their understanding, but their views on our culture and customs. They spend time living with five ‘families’ across the United States eating local foods, experiencing our customs (like Thanksgiving and Christmas), and inter-acting with the people in that location. Their depth of understanding is truly amazing, in my opinion. If you get a chance, check it out! (or, at least go to the site and read about it!).

Hoping you are getting ‘in the spirit’ of the season;

Hugs;

Pammie

After yesterday’s ‘fruit bread baking’ and last night’s Christmas gathering for my special needs group, this Pammie was just a little too pooped to jump into cookie baking. We had a great time last night and a great group; we estimated around 80 people to our little dinner (with just 3 of us getting it together).  We had a great veggie tray (I cut up around 12 seedless English cucumbers) with lots of veggies & dip, spiral meat & cheese sandwiches (our local Costco makes really nice rolled sandwiches using flour and wheat tortillas, sliced meats & cheeses & lettuce all wrapped in a roll then cut into little pinwheel sandwiches, and lots of cookies.  The group sang four songs:  “O, Holy Night”, “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night” and our theme: “Amazing Grace” (always brings tears when our kids sing that one…I’m the biggest bawl-baby there and I’m also the one playing piano and trying to see the keys through the wet-stuff dripping out of my eyes!). Our kids sing that one with their whole hearts and it really shows. After 4 hours on my feet in dress shoes, I was ready to come home and just crash…and I did. Got up today and did a quick run to our local store (Gordon Food Service) and was only going to buy their frozen sugar cookies & tub of their white frosting…oh well, let’s just say I was tempted! Came home with the cookie stuff, a nice assorted box of 40 chocolate eclairs/cream puffs/and dipped filled balls; a pumpkin pie; chips (a necessity); a lb. of butter; some nice little paper dessert plates with red & green wreaths; a large tray of their sweet potato souffle (we had it for Thanksgiving and it was just great!)…think that’s all.  Let’s just say we’re going to be eating large on Christmas!

On to the recipes, you say? Sure! Among the very nice gifts I was given last night was a ceramic bowl and this recipe:

Crab Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 C. mayonnaise

1 T. creamy horseradish sauce (I buy Kraft)

1  1/2 T. minced onion

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 T. parsley, chopped

dash garlic powder

6 oz. canned premium crab meat

1 bottle cocktail sauce

—–

Blend all ingredients (except half of the crab and the cocktail sauce) in a bowl and mix well. Place into a  serving bowl and pour cocktail sauce over top. Add r est of crab meat on top and serve with crackers.

(sure sounds yummy to me!)

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I believe I stated earlier this week that I’ll be trying to feature at least one recipe per day up to Christmas.  I’ve found some pretty yummy sounding ones; can’t guarantee that they’ll all be non-fat or healthy/nutritious, but they certainly would brighten up a dinner or holiday party!

It’s 28 degrees outside right now and feels more like 20 or lower. Have to go pick up youngest son a little later from a band concert he’s attending so I’m not looking forward to jumping back in my really cold car…oh well, that’s the price ya pay for being a parent, right?

Enjoy your evening, relax a little, maybe pop a little popcorn? Sounds good to me!

Hugs;

Pammie

]]> http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/takin-it-easy-for-today/feed/ 1 grammiepammie 1213310559v2g8YH http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/let-the-baking-begin/ http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/let-the-baking-begin/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:17:47 +0000 grammiepammie http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/?p=1295 ]]>

Today is a lovely day: full of sunshine and baking hope (as in “I HOPE I get this all done soon!). (22 chilly degrees) Just pulled the last of the five loaves of breads out of the oven: 2 Banana-Nut (recipe is in this blog somewhere) and 3 Cranberry-Orange (thanks to Betty Crocker). Each Christmas I like to bake a loaf of holiday bread for our neighbors and have one of our boys deliver it. It’s my little way of thanking them for the past year and their friendship. Trying to ‘look ahead’ this year, I baked an extra of each kind to have ‘on hand’ for guests.  Next comes the cookies; speaking of which I plan to try the recipe below to see if it’s better than my old ‘tried & true’ of years past.

Ginger Cookies

2 C. flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 C. butter, softened

1 C. granulated sugar

1 egg

1/4 C. dark corn syrup

1/3 – 1/2 C. sugar (for rolling)

——–

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Cream butter and 1 C. sugar in a large bowl with mixer at medium speed until well mixed. Beat in egg and corn syrup until smooth. Slowly stir in flour mixture until all is incorporated and smooth.

chill dough 1-2 hours, or until easy to handle

———-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in 1/3-1/2 C. granulated sugar; place on greased cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden around edges. Cool on wire racks.

Tip: To speed chilling, place dough in freezer for 15-30 minutes.

Recipe can be doubled.

(Recipe featured in Sunday paper flyer, from King Arthur flour/Land O’ Lakes butter/ and Karo syrup companies)

——————————————

Next on my list of ‘things to try’ will be a few batches of Cake Mix cookies! Have you ever tried this? Very interesting concept: most of what you need to bake up a batch of cookies is contained within a box of cake mix!  I just discovered I have a box of lemon cake mix and am going to try this idea:

Cake Mix Cookies

1 pkg. any flavor cake mix

1/2 C. butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

———–

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine ingredients at low speed until fully moistened. Drop by rounded tablespoonfulls  2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9-12 minutes, cool on wire racks.

——————–

Variations: You can make all sorts of combinations with the white, yellow or chocolate mixes, like adding ground nuts, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, butterscotch or peanut butter chips, M & M’s, raisins, etc.

(My comment: the only ‘down side’ is, if I remember correctly, the batch only makes something like 2 to 2 1/2 dozen cookies, but if you’re in a hurry, it certainly helps!

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Hope you’re enjoying a wonderful day; I’ve been supplementing my time in the kitchen with generous dollops of Christmas music! Our local radio station (100.3 FM  WNIC   Detroit,MI) starts playing Christmas music on Thanksgiving and by now is in full swing with the tunes. Songs like: “Felice Navidad” by Jose Feliciano;” Joy to the World”;   “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives;  “Santa Baby” by Bernadette Peters, and none other than Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas”. Yes, those are the songs that speed up my baking while making me either sing or hum (or whistle…like Bing) while getting my baking done.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Hugs;

Pammie

Just thought I’d add a few interesting ‘bits’ to your reading enjoyment. First up is an interesting site which features wraps: as in wrapping presents, wrapping scarves around your head or waist, all kinds of wrapping going on here – check it out:

http://furoshiki.com/techniques

Next on the agenda, another recipe! This time it’s a refreshing change from most; I found this one in the produce aisle by the apples and thought it sounded really yummy.

Apple Salsa

2 medium red apples

2 T. lime juice

1/2 C. chopped orange segments

1/2 C. finely chopped onions

1/2 C. finely chopped green pepper

1 finely chopped jalapeno

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. vegetable oil

—

Core and dice apples into 1/4 inch pieces. Toss immediately with lime juice. Stir in remaining ingredients; chill 2 hours. Use as dip for tortilla chips or can be served over fish, chicken or turkey. Makes 3 cups.

(featured by the Michigan Honeycrisp Apple  group)

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Right now our weather has done another ‘Michigan change’ – it’s in the low 30’s and finely snowing. It has been doing this on and off all day, but (fortunately) it’s not sticking too much. I’ve been watching the traffic in front of our house (we live on a major thoroughfare) and it seems to be going a bit slow. Tonight is my Knit Night, but it’s the ‘informal’ group, so I don’t feel really bad not going. (to explain: I have 2 groups, same people. The ‘regular’ Knit Night is scheduled on MeetUp.com and is every-other Tuesday at Panera Bread. My ladies liked getting together so much that the ‘hard core knitters & crocheters’ voted to meet on the ‘off’ Tuesdays at another location, Tim Hortons.  The regular crowd numbers between 14-16, where the Tim Horton’s crowd is around 9. Not a lot of difference in count, you say? Yes, but the bigger (Panera) group is the one that keeps growning bi-weekly, whereby the Tim Horton’s group is the same group. Since I started the Panera group, I kind of feel obligated to attend both meetings, but it’s really not necessary (although it’s just as much fun!). My husband is attending a retirement dinner for a very good friend he’s worked with for many years so I’m glad I opted to just ’stay home’. Dinner was simple: baked fish, macaroni & cheese & peas (or green beans, whichever you wanted). A lovely lady contacted me today with more squares; she’s the one I believe I mentioned around 4 months ago. The factor that gets notice: the first time she stopped by she dropped off 268 squares! Today she brought me somewhere in the 100 range (haven’t counted them yet, but she said she had 3 separate bags of 30 squares each which she felt would ‘go together color-wise’, then another bag of ‘odds & ends’ squares).  She said she really enjoys knitting for me and was thrilled to keep doing it. Me too! Just finished off afghan #219 today; that’s the first of the next ‘batch’. Since both ministries have had afghans delivered last week, I don’t feel so pressed to get more made right this minute. Sat down and just ‘knit for fun’ this afternoon, doing two “Granny’s Favorite” squares*see below* (those are the ‘knit on the diagonal’ ones, where you start with 3 stitches and keep adding on til you get to the middle, then begin decreasing until you’re back to the original 3 stitches, then bind off. Fun pattern – one of those ‘no brainers’ that look good when done.)

Well, friends that’s what’s going on around here at the moment. Still haven’t decorated the main tree (youngest son wanted to help and wasn’t ‘in the mood’ today…sigh). I feel like this year’s Christmas preparations are going at ‘ultra-slow’ speed…do you feel that way? Our Christmas contata was a week earlier this year than in years past, my special needs groups big Friends & Family  Christmas Gathering is a week earlier, too. I’m guessing by next week I’ll start feeling the ‘press’ to get it all done on time, but for right now I’m just ’sittin’ & relaxin’ a bit!

Enjoy your evening, stay warm and remember to smile a little.

Hugs;

Pammie

PS: In case you might be interested in learning how to knit a “Granny’s Favorite” square (for hot pads or dishclothes?) here’s a link:

http://tankhouse.knitability.com/freepatterns/DishClothDuo.pdf

http://dishandwashclothmania.com/grandmas-favorite-dishcloth-knit/

Last year at this time I remember featuring several recipes and thought I’d do that again this year.  For the most part, these will be recipes which caught my eye but I haven’t tried yet (note the disclaimer…hehehehe). First on the list is one I just saw in the Sunday coupons; I like hot & spicy things and this sounded ‘just right’…

Buffalo Chicken Dip

(like Buffalo Chicken Wings in a dip!)

—————————

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 (9.75 ea.) cans Swanson chunk chicken breast, drained (or)

2 C. cooked chicken, cut up in chunks

1/2 C. redhot sauce*

(*Franks is the company who is featuring this recipe)

1/2 C. blue cheese salad dressing

1/2 C. crumbled blue cheese

assorted fresh vegetables and/or crackers for dipping

————

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix ingredients in deep baking dish until smooth. Bake 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

(http://www.franksredhot.com)

————————

Tonight I’m in an ‘eating’ mood…but not a ‘cooking’ mood! I should be starting dinner soon and already know that we’re having an old favorite:  “Potatoes O’Brien” (at least that’s what I call it.) It’s a very simple recipe; let’s see if I can write it up in recipe format:

Potatoes O’Brien

1  1/2 lb. ground beef

1-2 (28 oz. ea) pkgs. frozen “Potatoes O’Brien” (or…

check the frozen potatoes section for pkgs.  of diced potatoes with chopped onions & green peppers included-sometimes it comes as shredded potatoes, like hash browns. I have also used hash browns and added my own chopped onions & green peppers)

about 1 stick margarine

2-4 T. garlic powder (we really love garlic)

1-2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp. salt

dash or 2 Worcestershire sauce

(could also add a dash or 2 Tabasco sauce)

(small can sliced mushrooms, if desired)

1 1/2 – 2 C. shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese

———————

In LARGE fry pan, brown hamburger & drain grease; leave in pan. Add frozen potatoes along with margarine, cut into cubes. (this is the hard part…I usually keep checking the pan to see if the potatoes are browning and have enough margarine to keep them from burning; you could add more or less, as you determine.)  Cover pan and check about every 5-10 minutes to lift & stir potatoes & hamburger to ensure they don’t burn. (they do tend to stick some).  When the potatoes are almost fully cooked, add the seasonings and canned mushrooms.  Continue stirring/lifting to make sure all potatoes are fully cooked.  When the potatoes are fully cooked, add shredded cheese to top and cover until cheese melts.  You could also put the pan under the broiler until cheese is browned a bit & bubbly.

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For this recipe, remember that I’m feeding 4 adults with large appetites, so you might want to halve the recipe…feel free! We usually eat this in big bowls with lots of catsup (I know…most of you are saying YUCK! but remember I have all GUYS here!) It’s definitely NOT a cholesterol-free recipe, but it’s filling and sticks to the ribs!

Did my Christmas shopping with youngest son today which entailed the two of us going to American Eagle Outfitters and letting him pick out 2 pr. jeans and 2 t-shirts. That might not sound like much, but he got what he liked (and they had a good SALE!); he’s happy and now I don’t have to agonize over what to get him! I do have one more t-shirt squirreled away for him to open on Christmas (not Amer. Eagle, but a nice long sleeved tee with a sort of barbed wire design). I must say: after about 45 minutes in that store my OVERLOAD of all things PREPPY got the best of me. Lots of young people (teens & 20’s) all dressed in the latest fashions, all ‘perfect’ bodies/perfect hair, etc…a little too much for my 61 yr old mind to handle (plus the modern music on the speakers). The ONE thing that really surprised me? They were selling winter hats & scarves for girls…one nice white scarf in a basic crocheted shell pattern: $34.50!!! I could MAKE one for around $8!!! Oh, and the other item: a little hat with (AMAZING TO ME) the very same design that I just learned to knit! Remember me featuring that square with the Hexagon design? Yep, that’s the one! It was done in all-solid colored yarn: $19.00. Gee, if I really wanted a ‘cottage industry’, that would be my forte…knitting scarves & hats for American Eagle!

Anyway, that was my experiences for today; got the Christmas tree all together (finally)…now I just have to decorate it and we’ll be done with that project!  A few more little trips to go, buying a few ’stocking stuffers’ (side note: did you know that one of the best places to grab nice, reasonable stocking stuffer ‘food-stuffs’ is your local drug store? WalGreens/RiteAid/CVS all are having some great sales on candy-type stuff. I was all excited because CVS has Maxwell House instant coffee for $4.99 until I read WalGreen’s add and it’s $3.99 there! Since where I live all the drug stores seem to be competing for putting their stores closest to all the other drug stores, it’s not a big drive for me to visit all three within 2 blocks of my house! Walgreens also has canned salmon for $1.49 a can/limit 4…I love making salmon patties using that (we use 2 cans here…big eaters, remember?).

Guess that’s all I wanted to tell you for now; have more good sounding recipes coming up. Ten more days until Christmas! Still have all my baking to do…but that’s next week (I hope!).

Enjoy yourselves!

Hugs;

Pammie

]]> http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/cookin-crochet-chicken/feed/ 1 grammiepammie 1194921151PMK440 http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/been-shopping/ http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/been-shopping/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:58:30 +0000 grammiepammie http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/?p=1281 ]]>

The past two days have been spent going to several stores trying to find a nice, yet affordable gift for my 3 1/2 yr. old grandson. I had seen (what I thought) was a really neat toy advertised on TV: “Bounce Back Racer”, which is a toddler version of a remote control car which flips over ( if it runs into any object) and keeps going. It’s a great toy but my Scots heritage came screaming out and I just couldn’t justify paying $30+ for one toy. After searching several stores for his other favorite thing, cardboard puzzles, I came away frustrated. Yes, KMart and Meijers had puzzles: $8 + wooden ones with about 9 pieces which would bore him in no time. I finally ended up at our local Family Dollar store today and found 3 good, cardboard ones which will make him happy. He’s so cute; the other day when he was here the first thing he said when he came in the door was: “Gramma Pam has lots of puzzles for me, Dad! She bought me lots of puzzles; we need puzzles at OUR house!” (guess I know what he likes). Also found him a car carrier that has about 15 small metal cars in it; he loves playing with the little cars.

Amid the searching for the ‘right toy’ I also ended up snagging several pairs of winter gloves for the boys (not gifts) because KMart is digging deep in the discounting department and all gloves were 40% off! Middle son requested a few video games which I was able to find, and some floor mats for his car. Now floor mats are in most stores, but I was searching for something PLAIN which I could afford! Yes, there are the Tinkerbelle ones, or big dolphins or flowers (not GUY-type stuff). He has a Pontiac Grand Am which has small floor spaces; I was finally able to find a good set (all black) for around $24. (the fancy ones above listed run $30 and up!).  His 21 st birthday is coming up the beginning of January, so I have to remember to budget the gifts a bit so as not to go overboard with the Christmas presents then have to turn around and do it again in 2 weeks for his birthday. I know that probably sounds a bit cheap…but this year money is tight (as I’m sure it is in your households, also) and I have to take that into account.

Today is also scheduled as the ‘put up the big tree’ day; we’ll see if that gets done. The rest of the house is decorated and the little fiber optic tree is in the dining room (have to have at least ONE tree up!). If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you know that decorating is NOT my favorite thing. Don’t get me wrong-I like the ‘end result’, it’s just taking the time to get all the stuff down from upstairs, dragging out all the various parts to the tree, assembling the branches on the middle part, putting the lights on, etc. Not my ‘fun thing’.

Coming up this week is the BAKING! I’ve purchased the ingredients for getting that done, but it’s going to be another ‘waiting for inspiration’ moments for me. In lieu of that thought, I offer you a great-sounding recipe from my friend Peg in Florida (below is featured where she got the recipe, also):

Orange Cream Cheese Bread

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2/3 cup orange juice
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Preheat oven to 350º F.
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Combine cream cheese and shortening, creaming well. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition.
Stir in nuts, orange peel and extract. Pour batter into two 8- or 9-inch loaf pans which have been coated with vegetable cooking spray.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes; orange pour juice over loaves. Remove to wire rack to cool.
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Recipe source: Corner Sweet Shoppe yahoo group, submitted by berude2u

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Tonight is the last choir practice before tomorrow’s adult choir Christmas Contata. Just glad my health is holding out and my throat seems to be doing just fine (there have been years where that wasn’t the case!). Hope that this post finds you (a) in good health (b) enjoying the season (c) getting your shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, etc. done in time to please you and (d) remember to RELAX a little and enjoy yourself!  ‘Tis the season to be jolly’, remember!

Hugs;

Pammie

PS: Quick weather report for our area:  Thursday found us going through some snow flurries, Friday found us in the ‘deep freeze’, with temperatures no exceeding 16 (bitter cold) and today the sun’s out, it’s clear with temps around 25 degrees. I’m glad it’s warmed up a bit; my husband works outside quite a bit and the past few days have really been hard on him; I’ve been trying to make comfort food dinners to help in that area. Tonight is Turkey Noodle Soup (from the turkey leftovers of Thanksgiving.)