Thursday, April 23, 2015

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Recipe Review

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Today’s Recipe and Location:           Sigrid’s Carrot Cake        

Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

                  Pages:  110 - 112     Copyright:  2013  Harper Collins

I figured out that there are 686 calories per serving, if 12 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         This carrot cake was a hit at school.  This is a new thing for me to love.  The cake was moist and very flavorful.  It was made in a Bundt pan was a pretty cake. This is definitely a cake that I will make for many different occasions!

Here are the ingredients

First, we sifted the dry ingredients

Mix in the eggs

Blend it until it is smooth and creamy.
Lookin' good!

In go the shredded carrots

Out of the oven and ready to cool

Begin mixing the yummy frosting

Doesn't it look good?

What could be better than all of those pecans?
Is it pee can or pe can?
I guess it all depends on where you were raised.

Just look at those yummy carrots.

Here's what your guests will see after that first slice is cut

Fabulous “Family and Friends” Food

Crunchy Apple Salad

No name of the card

Ingredients

2 cups chopped apple

2 cups sliced banana

1 cup chopped pecans

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/3 cup mayo

lettuce leaves

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients except the lettuce. Toss gently to coat. Now, chill for one to two hours.  Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Tuesday April 21, 2015

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

This blog is switching from daily to sporadic, so I will just begin posting the date I wrote it, as opposed to the week. I took a week off, and it was actually rejuvenating. Today, I am reviewing Ree’s Arnold Palmer tea. 

Recipe Review

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Today’s Recipe and Location:           Arnold Palmer’s Iced Tea        

Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

                  Pages: 182 - 183      Copyright:  2013  Harper Collins

I figured out that there are 245 calories per serving, if 10 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         I really liked this tea. I only tasted the real Arnold Palmer’s tea once, but I don’t remember my reaction to it at the time. What I love about this tea is that you can control how much tea and lemonade you mix together. I usually make it with more tea than lemonade. I will make this again because it was quite refreshing.

First, I laid out all of the ingredients

This is what my lemon juice and sugar
mixture looked like as it heated

There is nothing like freshly squeezed lemon juice

Now, to make the tea concentrate.
I used black tea.

This is called an oops picture. 

I love that you make the ice cubes using the
lemon syrup and a portion of the real lemon.

The tea concentrate is ready to go

I love these mugs!

This looks as refreshing as it tastes

                 

Memory Musings

         When I attended Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL, I lived on the 16^th floor of co-ed Higgins Hall. Our brother floor was the 8^th floor. I was sitting here thinking about three of our brothers that became good friends. They were Tom Roth, Tom Roegner, and Dwayne Pottoff. We had so much fun together. I loved attending WIU and had a ball.

Week 65 Sunday 4/12/15)

What the Beck?

     During this weekend I made some tough decisions. I have loved blogging, but it is such a time consuming task that I need a break. I have decided to complete my final 21 recipes, yet not daily. My blog will be posted a couple of times a week, but I need to pull back. 
     I do have a recipe for tomorrow, so be patient as I try to find a new normal.

Week 65 Saturday (4/11/15)

No blog today - my 

charger broken and I 

am almost out of juice

Week 65 Friday (4/10/15)

Unfortunately, this is all I have for you today.  This is a great recipe from a great friend.

Fabulous “Family and Friends” Food

Homemade AppleSauce

Genesis Peterkort Madigan

Ingredients

18 – 20 apples – peeled and sliced into small chunks

1 cup of water

1 cup sugar

1 teasp. cinnamon

Directions:

Cook all of the ingredients in a crock pot on low for 8 hours.

         This applesauce is so easy to make, and wonderful that you just must try it.  I loved waking up in the morning to the smell of warm applesauce. My Grandma used to serve it on pancakes.  There’s a German idea for you.

Week 65 Thursday (4/9/15)

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location:  Easter Leftover Sandwich

Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

                  Pages: 121    Copyright:  2013  Harper Collins

I figured out that there are 765 calories per serving, if 1 serving is made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         This is one heck of a sandwich.  This hearty sammy is a dream come true.  It has so much flavor even though I was out of lettuce, don’t use tomato, and my stupid avocado was as hard a rock.  Even without these three ingredients, this was one outstanding lunch. This is definitely a sandwich that I recreate again and again.

This one takes a bunch of ingredients

First, I spread mustard on one half,
and mayo on the other half

The cheese went atop the mustard

The wonderful Easter ham went on the cheese

Next, came the blurry onions.

A big scoop of egg salad went on now.

Spread it out across the sammy

This sammy would have been enormous if I
had added the avocado, lettuce, and tomato.  

This was hard to get in my mouth,
so I can't imagine what Rees looked like.

Random Reflections

         I was sad to hear that this season would be the last one for Downton Abbey. I was two seasons behind when I came to watch it every week, but thanks to Deborah and Madonna at work, they helped me catch up one Spring Break. I have loved watching this wonderfully written show. It will be missed.

      

Irksome Ideas and Images

         I stink at remembering names, especially last names.  Is this an old age thing?  Jenny- am I getting Alzheimer’s, too?  I really think it is because I usually only call people by their first names therefore I just don’t practice the last names.  Maybe I need to work on using peoples’ full names in order to learn them better.

Week 65 Wednesday (4/8/15)

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location:           Perfect Egg Salad

Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

                  Pages:  119 - 120     Copyright:  2013  Harper Collins

I figured out that there are 168 calories per serving, if 8 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         This egg salad is creamy and filled with flavor. I personally would have added dill.  Ever since I discovered it in tuna this definitely swayed me to add dill in egg salad, too.  I really loved this on the sandwich that I am featuring tomorrow.  I have never put egg salad on top of a ham sammy, but this was so darn filling that I was full for six hours.  I liked using this salad in a new way.

Here are the ingredients I 

used to make the egg salad 

Ignore the sandwich - that is on tomorrow's blog, 
because I failed to take a photo of the egg salad alone.

 Gabbin’ About Gratitude

         Who would think that anyone would be thankful for tears, but I really am? I don’t cry a lot, but when something touches my heart, or I have a memory of something or someone, tears are a relief.  The Hallmark Channel is one catalyst for tears. Their movies frequently touch a soft place in my heart, and I find myself crying.  So let those tears flow. They may make you feel better.

Memory Musings

From 1978 – 1980,  I had two wonderful cats named Sunshine and Ebony. They were named after the song “Ebony and Ivory,” but I was not thrilled with Ivory, so I named her something that seemed right. They were two beautiful cats that I got from a farm off of LaFox Rd. in Wasco, IL. They were from the same litter. They were wonderful pets. They moved to Florida with me, and came back when we returned to Illinois. I couldn’t keep them because I was off to college. For the short time that I had them, they were the light of my life.

Week 65 Tuesday (4/7/15)

Recipe Review      

Today’s Recipe and Location:   Whipped Deviled Eggs with Dill        

Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

                  Pages:  118    Copyright:  2013  Harper Collins

I figured out that there are 100 calories per one whole egg serving, if 12 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         Dill is a wonderful spice. I first learned to love it mixed in my favorite tuna at Al’s Ice Creamier in St. Charles. They made one heck of a sammy.  These eggs are wonderful and the dill just makes them great!  This is definitely a recipe that I will make again.

The dill eggs ingredients

You can see the dill in the
mix as well as on top

You can never have enough dill

These were wonderful, too.

My Gorgeous Girls

April is the month to celebrate First Aid Awareness.  Here is a great website where you can check out first aid tips and first aid apps. I learned some new information by checking out this site.  Do you know what to do in a specific emergency? Check out the tips.

http://www.redcross.org/news/article/April-Is-Pet-First-Aid-Awareness-Month

Week 65 Monday (4/6/15)

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location:           Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon

Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

                  Pages:  117    Copyright:  2013  Harper Collins

I figured out that there are 100 calories per one whole egg serving, if 12 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         I have never had deviled eggs with smoked salmon. Considering that I don’t care for smoked salmon, I was surprised that I enjoyed them. The recipe also called for capers.  I had heard of capers, but never tasted them.  They didn’t have a lot of flavor, but they were salty and I really liked that a lot. I will definitely cook with them again.

First, I set out my ingredients.

I love those little capers

The salmon was not overwhelming and good.

Random Reflections - Bucket List #53

         I don’t ever want to become so complacent that I stop learning new skills. Based on past practices, I can’t imagine that happening, but I need to continue to stretch myself and continue to be a lifelong learner.  It doesn’t matter in what area. I just want to push myself to grow as an individual.

Learn a new skill

Invite my neighbor women to a tea luncheon

Submit an article to a magazine

Host a family brunch

Talk a walk or dance in the rain

I want to create units for teachers to purchase

Write a book on organizing a home

Using my dogs and possibly my great-nephews, and design a series of greeting cards

Plan my funeral

Spend a fun day with each of my nieces/nephews (Alaina has volunteered to be first!)
Take a formal cooking class
Organize and host a Christmas Caroling Party
Watch the IMBd list of the best 250 movies
Vacation in Colorado
Create a list of home repairs
Prepare to teach a new course at Aurora University
Visit Brookfield Zoo and photograph the animals
Have absolutely no debt
Set up a schedule for next summer to visit area cities
Organize and purge the basement
I am going to learn as much as I can about large animals
Make repairs in each and every room of my home to prepare to sell
Research Hadrian’s Wall for visit to Scotland
Enter a quilt in a local fair
Write a book about school for parents
Host a game party
Purchase a truck
I would like to learn more about fostering animals
Visit the narrowed list of Kentucky towns each for a weekend
Have a B.M.I. of 24.9 or lower
Return to Florida/Alabama and see old friends
Play tennis again
Learn to play bridge
Have an in-ground pool
Finish writing a book on the Scent Family
Save up enough money for a down payment on my Kentucky house
Research every town in Kentucky in hopes of relocating
Work on learning calligraphy and bettering daily penmanship
Begin making my own clothing using a mannequin
Volunteer at an animal rescue
Visit all 50 states
Photography courses
Complete all of Mom’s and my scrapbooks
Go skiing again in Colorado
Meet the Duggar family
Watch every nominee and winner for the Academy Awards to date
Remodel my kitchen
Take piano lessons
Write 2 books for my great-nephews
Travel to Wales
Travel to Scotland
Alaskan cruise

Wants and Wishes

         One of the kitchen items that I really want is a Le Creuset dutch oven. I priced them and they are very expensive, so this is something I will save up my money and purchase in the future. I love having a new goal!