The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Another warm day. Probably the last evening in the sunroom

2. Ran out of stick butter so I had to substitute vegetable oil in a cornbread recipe. A slight change in texture and taste, but not noticeable by the rest of the family 

3. Deep cleaned the living room in anticipation of The Young One's  visit.

4. Another sunny and warm day.

5. Another warm day. November weather has been unbelievable. Perfect day to spend with Teague as ladies who lunch and then afternoon in her sunroom. Ice cream was involved, too.

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week

1. I made a few and ate more than a few of the acorn treats

2. Under a pile in the office, I found something I had been looking for

3. My SIL texted me the date of the annual December family gathering.

4. I planted some bleeding heart seeds

5. Play day at Teague's, and we made plans for another runaway trip.

How was your week?

Hershey Kiss Acorn Treat

 

I was asked for instructions on how to make the Hershey Kiss Acorn Treat.

Ingredients:

1 box Mini Vanilla Wafers

1 bag of Hershey Kisses

1 bag of Butterscotch baking chips

1 tub of chocolate frosting (Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, etc)

Decide on how many you want to make. I did 3 dozen for my meeting.

Count out the number of cookies you want, in my case 36. I put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Unwrap the same number of Hershey Kisses. Discard the wrappings.

Pour some of the butterscotch chips into a small bowl.

Open the tub of frosting and give it a little stir with a knife. 

Grab a Hershey Kiss and put a dot of frosting on the flat bottom. 

Take a vanilla wafer and press the flat side of the cookie to the flat side of the Hershey Kiss.

Take a butterscotch chip and add a dab of frosting the the flat side of the chip. 

Press the butterscotch chip to the middle of the rounded side of the vanilla wafer.

Ta-da! It should look like the acorns that are at Monet's feet in the picture above.

Place on the baking sheet to dry or eat.

Repeat until you have the number of acorns you wanted to make.

I also saw a variation that used a mini peanut butter sandwich cookie for the acorn hat or top and a peanut butter chip. I'm not a fan of peanut butter so not my choice.

Monet and Me

 

made adorably, delicious acorn treats to bring to a potluck lunch/meeting.

The treats are quick and easy to make using mini Vanilla Wafers, Hershey Kisses, butterscotch chips, and a tub of chocolate frosting for the glue.

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I mailed a package of craft stuff to The Young One. The eyes arrived so she could finish a project

2. I did some cleaning and purging and switched the Summer and Winter wardrobe

3. The laundry was caught up for all of five minutes

4. I found a recipe for crockpot lasagna using frozen ravioli

5. A blast from the past, I got an email from a calligraphy classmate.

How was your week?

Whatcha Doin?

Per the Eldest's request, I'm baking cupcakes for her birthday today. Victorian sponge, strawberry jam, whipped cream and strawberry garnish. Happy Birthday, my angel!

Cinnamon Apples Recipe

 

For last week's Friday Five Good Things I mentioned I had made Cinnamon Apples. Iris asked for the recipe.

Follow the link to: Cinnamon Fried Apples. The recipe is easy. I don't chop the apples into bite-size pieces. I just sliced them. Iris, I know you don't like really sweet things, I suppose you could cut the amount of sugar.

Not only does this recipe pair nicely with pork, but it can also be a dessert or dessert topping for ice cream or pound cake.

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. At Teague's when we felt the earthquake around 11:15 AM. We thought it was her house settling, but we felt the house shake.

2. I made cornbread to go with the crockpot Taco Soup

3. Beautiful weather day. Teague and I spent the afternoon in her sunroom.

4. Teague and I went to Pam's Diner in Bellingham for breakfast and I had eggs Benedict.

5. Another commission on the horizon.

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. We delivered Easter gifts to the Grandniece and Grandnephew. Then stopped at Harry's for a belly plate (me), scallop plate,(Himself), and a fish and chips plate (Eldest) for dinner. I couldn't leave Harry's without a Raspberry Lime Rickey and Himself had a coffee frappe.

2. We delivered Easter gift to the newest Grandniece. Her mom sent an adorable picture of her wearing the bunny ears and hugging the stuffed bunny. Apparently the stuffed bunny was a big hit

3. We received Easter greetings from the family. The Littles made a FaceTime call to thank us for the Easter gifts. Little Miss has been learning to read and Little Man is officially a big boy

4. I baked hot cross buns

5. Glad I had an early week play day at Teague's as a Spring Nor'easter with extra snow sidelined our usual play day plans.

How was your week?

Hats Off to Andy

 A repost from the Wayback Machine March 14, 2011 about one of my favorite treats. At this time of year it's easy to find black jelly beans and milk chocolate Kisses

On Friday's Five lists of favorite tastes, I mentioned I love chocolate and licorice.

 Andy from Fish Wrap said: In Japan I had a mixture of dark chocolate and black licorice which was out of this world. Here in the states I've been getting a box of Good N Plenty and Snowcaps and mixing them together for a similar effect.

This sounded intriguing though I wasn't too sure about the dark chocolate. I'll eat dark chocolate. After all, it's chocolate, but I prefer milk chocolate. 

After a stressful week and while running errands at Wallyworld, I decided to treat myself and made a bee-line to the candy aisle. Imagine my surprise and disappointment. No Good N Plenty and no Snowcaps. Ok, so the Wallyworld in Northbridge though a large store doesn't carry a large assortment of products.

On to Target. I raced to the candy aisle. After my stressful week, I deserved this. I found the Good N Plenty and cruised the rest of the aisles. Up one, down the other. FTW? No Snowcaps. Did they stop making them? No, Andy said he mixed Good N Plenty with Snowcaps. More searching the candy aisles. Nothing that even resembled nonpareils.  The only other place I could think of getting Snowcaps was at the movie theater, but I didn't feel like spending a gazillion dollars on a box of candy.  I'm cheap that way. What to do?

 Usually, when I get a new recipe, I like to follow it exactly. Just to be sure of the outcome. This wasn't going to be so I needed to improvise. After all, I deserved a treat. I grabbed a bag of Special Dark Hershey Kisses. And since the bag of Good N Plenty was half the weight of the Hershey Kisses, I grabbed another bag of Good N Plenty for good measure. 

While waiting in the car to pick The Eldest up from work, I tore open a bag of Good N Plenty and the bag of Hershey Kisses. What was the ratio? One Kiss to one Plenty pellet? The pink and white pellets looked small compared to the Kiss. So one Kiss to two Plenty pellets. Staring at the candies in my hand I thought of Green Eggs and Ham and how the one Sam I Am pestered, reluctantly tried his first taste of green eggs and ham. I had the same reaction too. Say! This is good! I do like dark chocolate and licorice together! 

At home, I asked The Young One if she wanted to try this new taste. Just like me, she likes licorice and chocolate, and she's not a fan of dark chocolate though she will eat it. She decided the addition of the licorice made the dark chocolate taste better. I concurred.

So hats off to you, Andy. The chocorice is really good.

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I had a fun chat with the Young One.

2. For 5 minutes, I was caught up in my journal

3. Grandmaster E introduced me to The Resident on Netflix. It's reminds me of the show ER and is very addictive.

4. I made pork spare ribs in the crock pot. Messy eating, but so delicious.

5. Another chat with the Young One about various materials to make a coptic stitch journal.

How was your week?

Crockpot Lasagna

 

I got requests for the Crockpot Lasagna recipe I mentioned the other day. So here, goes:

The recipe for Crockpot Lasagna can be found at   https://stockpilingmoms.com/slow-cooker-freezer-meal-lasagna/

This recipe calls for vegetables like carrots, celery, and green pepper. I leave the veggies out. As my dad would say, "Not our food"

The recipe calls for cottage cheese. Dad, again. So I use Ricotta cheese. And I leave out the sugar. 

 For the freezer meal, I bagged everything except the can of tomatoes and jar of pasta sauce. I wrote instructions on the Ziplock bag to add these when the meal is going to be used.

You'll have 8 lasagna noodles and Ricotta cheese if you use that, for another meal. So I made one to use and one to freeze.

The recipe is very customizable to your taste. I think 8 hrs. is too long a cooking time so I set it for 6 hrs. Some of the noodles got a little scorched. So I think anywhere from 4 - 6 on low would work. The noodles aren't al dente and are on the soft side but not bad. It doesn't serve as pretty as the clipart image, but it does taste good. I never hear complaints from my crew.

Cleanup is easy if you use Slow Cooker Liners.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I made a crockpot lasagna meal. Lots of leftovers and no cooking for a day or two

2.  I went to mail a package in the afternoon.  My friend, S, was working the counter. She usually works a morning shift so is gone by the afternoon.I had a nice little chat as the post office wasn't too busy. 

3. I was able to get an appointment for Saturday morning for the groomer to come to the house to do the kitties' nails.

4. For Valentine's Day, Himself had ordered me a garden stake of a kitty and a bell. The company sent temple bells instead. Himself called the company. They are sending the kitty and we can keep the temple bells.

5. I had a nice, long chat with my SIL about her new granddaughter

How was your week?

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'm cutting and chopping ingredients for crockpot freezer meals. Whatcha doin?

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I ordered new slippers.

2. I baked a batch of Italian anise cookies for Himself's workout buddy

3. I needed a ride to an appointment and Teague came to my rescue. After the appointment, we went out to lunch

4. Grandmaster E called and told me how she gets her pizza to have a fluffy crust.

5. Play day with Teague, Breakfast at Schultzy's place, a hole in the wall in my town. We thought maybe we would eat our way for breakfast across the state. Everyone needs a hobby

How was your week?

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'm going to make pizza and give it a second rise. I'm experimenting to see if the pizza turns out as fluffy as the one Grandmaster E makes.

Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Hot Chocolate Mix

Christmas gifts for the Grandniece and Grandnephew had me pondering what to give a 5 year old and a 3 year old. I remember the Girlies at that age and our house looked like a toy store threw up all over it. I'm sure these kiddos don't need more stuffed animals, dolls, blocks, trucks, etc. 

While browsing, I came across cups with a secret surprise inside. My Young One was thrilled when she got her own mug with the Happy, Little, Gingerbread Man on it. In fact, that was one of the items she recently requested I send to her in Ohio

Along with the mugs, I thought I would make up some Hot Cocoa Mix, and I included the recipe for the Niece-in-Law.

Also to the goodie bag, were a bag each of peppermint candy canes, marshmallows, and a box of animal crackers.

What was the surprise at the bottom of the cup?

Hers was a unicorn. For him, a sweet dinosaur. The Maneki Neko is mine.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

T Stands For 'Tis The Season

 

For sore throats. Some home remedies to soothe a sore throat or just for some cozy comfort.

1. Hot water, honey, and lemon juice

2. Hot milk, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and honey.

3. Hot water, orange zest, and cinnamon stick. (I'd add some honey, too)

4. Hot milk, ground turmeric, cinnamon stick, whole black peppercorn, and honey

I'm not a fan of hot milk so I'd most likely brew these ideas with tea. 

My standard recipe for getting rid of a sore throat is tea, 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar, and 2 tsp. honey

Do you have home remedy teas for taking care of  a cold and/or  sore throat?

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

The Friday Five Good Things A Day Late

 

Prissy at her 85th birthday 
12. August 2011

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I had a dream about Prissy. Probably because I was thinking of using her zucchini bread recipe. In the dream, we were going to have tea outside, but it was raining. The dream was so real. I felt as if I had been with her. I used her recipe with a couple of minor tweaks to bake 2 loaves of zucchini bread

2. Calli lets me know she wants a "cookie" (treat) by sitting in front of me and looking at me and the cabinet where the treats are kept. I gave her one of the hairball treats.  But she spit it out. Ptooey! I guess she doesn't like those treats anymore.

3. Errands and Harry’s for late lunch/dinner. I had the Coconut Shrimp and a Raspberry Lime Rickey

4. Some hefty thunderstorms rolled through. Knock wood, no damage even though there wre a couple of close lightning strikes

5. And another year around the sun

How was your week?

T Stands for Bird Rolls

Easter Sunday, I was feeling better and decided I would make rolls to go along with dinner. I had seen a recipe for rolls shaped like birds and thought that would be fun. Bird Bread Rolls 

I thought they looked cute. Himelf thought they looked like manatees. Either way, they tasted delicious.

A bird roll with Easter dinner: roast leg of lamb with mint jelly, sweet potato, green beans, and ice tea for my beverage.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.