Birthday cake.

Here is the cake I made for my daughter and my birthday. I ended up throwing it away to keep from eating it and since my husband went out and bought a cake there was no need in having two in the house. I think he bought the cake because he does not like carrot cake. My daughter said it was really good, she came in the house to eat some for breakfast and she was upset it was in the trash can. It has four layers to it and a cream cheese frosting.

Jambalaya

This is the dish I was going to make for Sunday but ended up sick. Thinking about that I don't know if I posted the picture of the cake I made. It's so funny I don't know if the rest of you are this way or not, but when I am sick and I cook my food does not turn out the same way. It could just be my taste buds. My family decided to go in the pool 15 minutes before this was ready so I have no idea if it taste the same or not. This is another one of the recipes listed in my cookbook.
Well since everyone is in the pool I guess I will enjoy the house all to myself for as long as I can.

Cupcake suckers

I was making dinner and thinking did I tell everyone where I got this recipe from. Well I want you all to go check it out at Bakerella blog, I make them look like a mess she makes the so cute and has so many great ideas. Here is her blog..http://bakerella.blogspot.com/

OK,

I know I am sick but I can't stop cooking, I am starting to think it might be another type of illness. LOL I find when I am stressed I cook a lot. Good thing I am broke otherwise it could get real ugly. LOL

So anyhow, after making the smiling face suckers that I did not do very good on, they tasted really good even the adults love them. Or so they say. But I wanted to make them so I would not have to draw on them because when it comes to drawing it is not my cup of tea.

I had some cake mix left from the $1.00 box sale they were having and also some frosting when it was on sale. While I was out birthday shopping I picked up some chocolate and pink candy melts and just added raspberry flavoring to the pink to give a flavor. I have some ideas for Halloween and Christmas also.... well here are the pictures.

Monte Cristo

My family loves Monte Cristo's so I figure I would make them. I have been really sick with not too much going on in the taste bud area but I think they were good. The family liked them, Danny even asked for another one. Jacob who hates cheese even ate it with the cheese, Danny just ate around the cheese. We also found out that strawberries dipped in raspberry jam taste pretty good also.
Monte Cristo's are a little bit messy to make but really easy. I bet these would do good if I cooked them a little and froze them then finished frying when needed. Humm....
I have had this cold since Saturday, spent Sunday in bed all day, most of Monday in bed until my husband asked me if I wanted him to get the boys lunch or was I going to. Well let me see I am sick so maybe he should, but no I got dressed and took them to the mall to get something to eat and Danny some new shoes. Well part way into being at the mall I started getting clammy and running a fever, went to Marcy's and my daughter took one look at me and asked me to let her give me a make over. I told her I was sick and I would guess with all the concealer she was putting under my eyes nothing was working. LOL Well I came home and went back to bed. For dinner I called for pizza so my husband would not ask me if I was going to make the boys something for dinner. LOL
Well my daughter and I share the same birthday and every year we do something together. We had planned a shopping trip for Tuesday, I was feeling a little better so I figure we would still go. My youngest daughter flaked out coming with us. I guess I over did it because by time I got home I was running a fever again, about an hour later I started throwing up and a little later I started coughing up blood. A normal person would stay home and get better. Hey one good blessing, I have lost my voice, I think the kids keep talking to me to make it worse. If I let my voice rest I am able to get one whole word out. LOL Might be an answer to prayer for my family. =)
So this is how I started my 44th year of life.

So give these a try they are really easy and not much work at all.

6 slice cooked turkey
6 slice Swiss cheese
6 slice cooked ham
6 slice American cheese
6 slice wheat bread

batter
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/3 cup water
1 large egg beaten
oil for deep frying

powdered sugar
red raspberry jelly

To assemble sandwiches: bread, turkey, Swiss cheese, bread, ham, American cheese, bread; cut in half diagonally. whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together to blend well. add water to the egg and add to the flour mixture mixing well. dip each sandwich half into the batter and deep-fry (oil must cover the sandwich) in oil pre-heated to 360 degrees until golden brown. remove from oil to paper towels. sprinkle with the powdered sugar. serve with warm or room temperature jelly.

Cookbook

Have you tried any recipes from the cookbook? If so what did you think about them?

Saturday.

It is 6:10 PM and the weather is 63 degrees, did I tell you it is August and it should be hot in August. Oh wait, it has been cold all summer. Remind me why we bought a pool for our back yard. Now in Indiana I understand why we have a pool. We also have great storms in Indiana, we don't have real weather here in Santa Cruz, California. But it is a beautiful place, and if it was hot all the time I would complain about the heat. LOL

Well, I was going to take the boys to the beach today but it was too cold. Danny wanted to go swimming in the pool but he is getting over a cold so I did not think it would be a good idea to get in the cold water in this cold weather.

Well then I thought maybe we would go out to dinner tonight since I have the gift certificate to the Shadow Brook. But then I thought I would just grill some steaks on the stove and make bake potatoes, I have a few zucchini from my garden I cooked up to go with it. I just added salt, pepper and Chipotle chili to my steaks before I grilled them. Oh my goodness don't breath in to deep when you are cooking with Chipotle, I never heard so much coughing going on and that was from the ones in the dining room. =) The steaks were great, nice and tender also.

I was having fun taking pictures with all this steam coming off the pan. I think I cook so much more so I can take pictures for my blog. I just wish I would remember to take pictures of more of the items I cook. =) Can you smell those steaks? Yummy!

Picnic Sunday

Well at church tomorrow we are having Picnic Sunday. Then Monday off to the state fair, I won't tell him it is suppose to be 107 degrees because he won't go. We don't get many days over the high 60's love 70's here during the summer.

Anyway back to Picnic Sunday. I always like to make something for the kids when we have a Pot-Luck at church. I was going to make cupcakes, then I remember the cake suckers fro

m Bake or Break, you need to check it out, she makes so many cute things. So last night I was baking my cake and turning it into crumbs, my husband and kids had thought I lost my mind when I mixed the frosting in it. My husband is at work today so he has not seen what I did with that mess. My kids have and I am having a hard time making them leave them alone.

I cannot believe how much those edible markers cost, I could not get mine to write very well on the candy melts. Maybe it is because I added a flavor extract to it. They taste good but I am a perfectionist and want it to look as good as hers also. =) I guess I would rather it taste good and look funny then look good and taste horrible.

These are so easy and I did make mine bigger. I will let you know how the go over tomorrow.

Not Chicken again!!

Well today I went to the freezer and I seen chicken and vanilla beans, I figured my family would not be too excited to eat vanilla beans for dinner so I took out the chicken breast. But what was I going to make again with chicken that was different. If I had pork or beef I could make pulled beef or pork sandwiches. Well the old rusty wheels started turning and I figure I would make pulled chicken sandwiches. They were sooooo good. I put my frozen chicken breast in a large pan and added a little water and some salt and put the lid on it. I went off doing other stuff and came back a while later and took the chicken out to cool so I could debone it. I took the chicken I pulled off the bone and threw it in the pot, after I poured the water out and then added my BBQ sauce. No I did not make homemade sauce this time, I went the simple way this time. I put back on the lid and cooked it on low for awhile, then I toasted the rolls and it was dinner time. The family loved it. I think we like it better then the beef or pork.

Garden Harvest.

The boys are at the club and my husband and I took a walk this morning on West Cliff alone the ocean, came home and hung some laundry and I picked a few thinsg from my garden. I love fresh peas so I figure I would make a salad for dinner tonight and throw them in.

A lot of people will pick zucchini from their garden and do a nice vegetable dish, I pick it and think right off, zucchini bread, so you know what is coming, pictures of zucchini bread.

Here are a few pictures of my small harvest.

Towels I am working on.

So I am going to try to have the whole set done for Christmas for one of my daughters. I also have Raggedy Ann and Andy ones I am going to try and work on.

We are trying to keep Christmas low key and low cost. We always buy so much and the kids only play with a few things or have no idea what we got the. We have talked about drawing names this year also. We will see.

Caramel Corn

Here is my one left over bag of caramel corn. This was the last batch and I did not make enough of the coating for as much popcorn as I made. I made a lot and it is all gone.

I have been trying to get back on WW and be good but for some strange reason I cannot seem to. With the holidays coming it will be even worse. But I will not start looking for low fat recipes to make. I do not use all that color lard in my cooking, it has got to be real butter or I will not make it at all. That might be a good idea, stop buying butter. :o)

Soon school will start again and I will do better.Well until I start teaching myself cake decorating. I am so doomed. LOL OK, I will just have to get out there and walk an extra 30 minutes. Better yet, just need to get out there and start walking again. LOL

I have been thinking about the holidays a lot these past few weeks, I guess with having a grandchild now along with my younger kids it gets me thinking more about the holidays.

We are going to try and keep it simple this year, my kids will tell you I say that every year. I think it will be fun just to do homemade gifts. I will end up doing homemade and store bought, I am always that way. I am working on a cross-stich for one of my daughters, also some towels with days of the week and I am sewing on them. I will try to remember to take some pictures and post them.

Well my it is almost midnight so I think I will get ready for bed, my hubby must have had to work a little later tonight.

David's 17th Birthday!

Today August 11, 2008 our oldest son turned 17 he wanted to have a game night for his birthday.
David wanted Gyros for dinner, Geggie from the Taste from Home name exchange, sent me some spices from the Spice house for the sauce for the Gyros, it was really good.
We had a lot of fun and food. My oldest daughter Brandi from IL called to wish David a happy birthday and everyone thought they would pass the phone along to all the guys before it got to David. A new victim for the guys to all pester. We don't fall for it here but Brandi does not know two of them very well. For the party boxes I made caramel corn and since it was a game night I got chocolate dice and chocolate money for the popcorn boxes also.
Well it is almost midnight so I think I am heading to bed, it has been a long day for me.

Sunday Dinner

The weather is so cold here this summer I thought I would get a head start on Fall and decorate with some of my Autumn decor. I love the fall, the smells, the colors..just everything.
My family alone is large, then we throw in Brandon every Sunday (he is like another son of ours) and my daughter Kristine's boy friend Ryan. This week we had John and Molly over and Brother Bob. I cannot believe we fit all those people in my small dinning room.
I made rice pudding for dessert. A pot roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, Kristine brought a salad and Kimberly brought dinner rolls and apple cider to drink.
It was a nice dinner and we really enjoyed having company. if I could afford to have people over all the time I think I would. Sunday is the day the house is open. The college kids will be back soon and we will have them over.
The rice pudding recipe is so easy and it is really creamy. My husband hates white rice but he really enjoyed it until I told him it was rice pudding. Men are so funny. I will list the recipe below for the pudding.









Rice Pudding

1 cup rice
6 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 T flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 tea vanilla
1 tea cinnamon
1/2 tea. nutmeg
Raisins

Pin a heavy bottom pan add rice and four cups milk. Cook for 20 minutes stirring often. In a bowl add the other two cups milk, sugar flour, eggs and vanilla. Cook for another 25 minutes until thicken. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg and raisins if desired. Cool or eat at room temp.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well school starts soon and all my canning and baking will slow down. Maybe not too much since I will be teaching a cooking class on Thursday's.

I figured I would make cookies for the boys and for Jacob to take to his Basketball camp today, he is always so hungry when we pick him up and I pack him huge lunches. He is in basketball camp for eight hours a day. We paid for his first camp but could not afford to send him to the second one so he earned the money himself. I made caramel apples, brownies, lemon bars and cookbooks for him to sell. He earned the money in two days. Well I should say all but $20.00 and we paid that. Tomorrow is the last day of his camp and he will miss it. He will sign up for baseball and soccer this fall with the homeschool group and then for the winter it will be volley ball which he hates and basketball which is his life anymore. David my oldest son is into music (piano) but the college cut the music class this fall. Danny is everything art.

Well all the cookies are gone that I baked. I always make rolls and keep it in the fridge so I can just grab a roll and bake it when needed it.

My Garden

It has been so cold here for the summer that my garden is having a very slow start. But I have been able to harvest some stuff. My second to the oldest daughter Kristine has a boyfriend Ryan who brought me some tomatoes so I added them to the stuff I got from my garden. Peas, green beans, basil and parsley. It was pretty good. My boys hate tomatoes so they would not eat it.
The zucchini and melons as well as the corn should be ready by next month. We have pretty much been in the 60's the whole summer. It is nice in some ways but it is too cold to go swimming.
October is always our warmest time of the year so I guess I will swim after school.

April's Home cooking: Taste Like Home

April's Home cooking: Taste Like Home

Taste Like Home

The candy is missing because my husband and oldest son got ahold of them. :o)

One of the blogs I belong to had a name exchange.
We signed up and were given a name from someone
in another state. I got
Geggie and her blog is http://www.geggieblog.blogspot.com/
It was so much fun. I was trying to think of things that my town is known for plus some homemade goodies. I got my box in the other day and it was full of so many goodies. I had toffee that my oldest son thought he would eat to save me from gaining an weight. My husband ate the chocolate cubs bar from Fannie Mays, we do not have a Fannie Mays out here. I cannot believe I did not think about sending Geggie candy from See's Candies here. I got face creams, lip balm and lip gloss from Burt Bee's, I also some GiardinierA, I have never tried this before I can't wait. I also got a jar of salsa...mike Ditka's hall of Fame Salsa. I will be using that for my son's game night Monday. Now I have to tell you the Spice House is one of my all time favorite places to go when I am in WI. Geggie lives in Chicago and this year they got a Spice House and I knew she would love
it so I told her about it and I was right. She got me some wonderful spices from there that I cannot wait to try. She got me some Billy Goat seasoning that I have never tried before, it is for making Gyro sauce and we like Gyros so I will have to make some, also some salmon Seasoning...another can't wait to try..Chicago deep Dish spice which I will use for Monday's Game night and some Chicago Steak Seasoning, I love this stuff and is the one thing I go right for when I go to the shop. It is also great on Chicken. You need to check out the Spice House on line,
I started ordering from them on line about 18 years ago and I still
remember the smell when I opened the box. I had forgotten about them for many years and then my oldest daughter moved to WI and she took us to Old Town and I seen a Spice House so I have to check it out. Once I walked into the spice House it brought back all those memories.. Geggie you need to check out Garret's Popcorn, it is right next to the Starbucks. (that's funny because there are so many Starbucks) It is easy to find.I can't wait until Geggie gets my box, it is due to arrive today. I should had shipped it UPS it would had been faster. This was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again some day.
Thanks Megan this was a blast.

Jam

Last month our new peach and Apricot got some fruit on it and I did not want to freeze them so I decided to make some jam and syrup. Then I decided to make some salsa.
Well one of our church members brought me over a ton of canning jars and then the next day he brought me over a huge bag of plums, so you now what I did, I made plum jam. Yesterday I was in my back yard and the apple trees we planted about six years ago that at the time our new dog chewed to the ground. We ended up pulling one up and just left the other one there. Well our three foot apple tree was full of some small to medium apples, so I decided to make some apple-butter with half of them also.
I would love to live on a farm some place out in the middle of nowhere and just grow all my own food and do a lot of canning, we are talking about getting some chicken to raise for eggs, I am a little worried about our neighbors and the smell. All the time I have been around chickens there was always a horrible smell. I should read up on how to keep chickens without the smell. LOL
. I enjoy canning it is very relaxing. Sometimes I think I was born at the wrong time.

Pears

We had a great sell on pears $0.57 a pound so I bought tons, OK not tons but a lot. There were about ten left and they were getting too soft for my family, they like to eat them when they are as hard as an apple. So I decided to make pies with them. I don't like really like pie crust but crumb topping is OK. Well one of the pies fell a little short with the filling so I seen one Granny Smith apple the boys had not eaten and I decided to add that to the one pie.
The pie was a hit with my family. We had it with vanilla ice-cream.
All I did was slice up the pears, add brown sugar, cinnamon and I love nutmeg so it goes in all my baked goods. For the crumb crust it was just four, brown sugar and butter.