Category: BLOG 366

SALTED CARAMEL APPLE BUTTER ~ BLOG 365.23

Christmas was coming and my girlfriends and I had decided at this age to only get each other gifts we can eat or drink. This is one of my new favorites for gift giving.

SALTED CARAMEL APPLE BUTTER

APPLE BUTTER
3 pounds HONEY CRISP apples, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 teaspoon QUALITY cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon FRESH ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon all spice


  • Prep the slow cooker with a coat of cooking spray.
  • Add the apples, apple juice, and all of the spices in the slow cooker.
  • Cook on high for an hour.
  • Add a third of the stewed apple mixture to the food processor. Blend in batches until ALL the apples are blended smooth.
  • Add the mixture back into the slow cooker.
  • Continue to cook for 6-8 hours until the apple mixture is about half of what it was. Set aside. 


CARAMEL
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon PURE maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream


  • Add the maple syrup, butter and brown sugar in a skillet over medium high heat.
  • Whisk in the butter, syrup and brown sugar continually until the mixture has thickened and is bubbly.
  • Add salt and milk, whisking constantly 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat.
  • Slowly stir caramel into apple mixture.
  • Set aside to allow to cool.
  • Ladle into jars and seal tightly.

CREAMY LEMON PARMESAN CHICKEN ~ BLOG 365.9

Love lemon? Then this is the dish for you!! This creamy lush sauce is tangy, creamy and super delicious.

CREAMY LEMON PARMESAN CHICKEN

CHICKEN
2 LARGE boneless skinless chicken breasts large, halved horizontally to make 4 steaks
1/4 cup WONDRA flour
3 tablespoons FINELY grated Parmesan cheese
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1-2 tablespoon avocado oil
1-2 tablespoon butter

  • In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and parmesan cheese.
  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in the flour mixture; shake off excess and set aside.
  • Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter has melted and pan is hot.
  • Fry the chicken 3-4 minutes until golden on each side and cooked through and no longer pink.
  • Transfer to a warm plate.

SAUCE
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ¼ cup chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup FINELY grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons FRESH chopped lemon thyme plus extra to garnish
1 teaspoon cornstarch – optional
1 tablespoon of water – optional
Juice of 1 EXTRA LARGE lemon, adjust to your tastes
2 tablespoons FRESH chopped parsley

  • Add the garlic to the oil in the pan, adding another tablespoon of oil or butter if necessary and saute 1 minute until fragrant.
  • Reduce heat to low-medium.
  • Stir in the broth and cream. 
Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer; seasoning with salt and pepper to your taste.
  • Add in the Parmesan cheese and thyme. Continue cooking gently for about 2 minutes until thicker.
  • If the sauce is too runny, add the cornstarch/water mixture quickly into the sauce.

  • Pour in the lemon juice, allow to simmer for a further minute to combine.
  • Add the chicken back into the pan, allowing to simmer gently in the sauce for about a minute to soak up all of the flavors in the sauce.

  • Serve over pasta, noodles or rice.
  • Garnish, lemon slices and parsley.


CHILE CORNBREAD SALAD ~ BLOG 365.7B

Perfect side dish for a potluck, picnic or church social. You’ll take home an empty bowl and many requests for the recipe.

CHILE CORNBREAD SALAD serves 8

1 package (8-1/2 ounces) cornbread/muffin mix
4 ounces can chopped green chiles, undrained
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

  • Prepare cornbread batter according to package directions.
  • Stir in chiles, cumin and oregano.
  • Spread in a greased 8-in. square baking pan.
  • Bake 20-25 minutes at 400° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Cool COMPLETELY.

1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
1 cup Mexican sour cream
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
2 cans (15 ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (15-1/4 ounces each) whole kernel corn, drained
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 cup chopped red onion
10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

  • In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and dressing mix; set aside.
  • Crumble half of the cornbread into a 13×9-in. Baking dish.
  • Layer with half of the beans, mayonnaise mixture, corn, tomatoes, green pepper, onions, bacon and cheese.
  • Repeat layers. Dish will be VERY full.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE ~ BLOG 366.366

We’re staying home this year and watching movies. I usually make a charcuterie board and we have some favorite Proseco chilling in the fridge, but this year I’m making a scalloped potato pork stew and balsamic caramelized onions, and the Proseco is still on the menu.

We went out last year to a BIG party and narrowly escaped coming down with COVID. 32 people that we know of came down with it from that party – most of which we were in direct contact with, sitting at the same table we were… So, this year we decided it just isn’t worth the risk.

What are you doing for New Year’s eve?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with RECIPES & MENUS week 52 of 2024 ~BLOG 366.365

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

Good morning sweet friends! I hope your Christmas was wonderful and you had a great time with friends and family celebrating. Do you have any BIG New Year’s plans or will you be home safe and snug celebrating it with your loved ones?

With Christmas and New Years falling on Wednesdays this year it has really thrown my scheduling off. While I’m not normally a BIG new years resolutions person, I am going to try and bring a bit more organization and productiveness to my new year, but more on that later.

Oh my, can you believe tomorrow is New Year’s Eve? Where did this year go? Really, where? I can’t believe it’s over already! While I’m sorry to see it go, I am going to try and make 2025 even better for me and my family.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Oh the weather outside is frightful!… I just keep hearing that song in my head! We tried to go and see all the Christmas lights on Christmas eve, but the fog was horrible and prevented any decent picture taking! Christmas day was cold and rained for 24 hours straight! We ended the evening with a violent thunderstorm and loss of TV signal several times with some REALLY heavy wind. And then we had nearly 4 more inches of rain over the weekend. We are a bit drenched here with the back to back to back atmospheric rivers we’ve been having! We took a drive yesterday and saw that the local streams, creeks and rivers have breached their banks for the most part, but fortunately, not to an alarming rate yet. Hubby did get me some wonderful new flannels and hoodies for Christmas, so at least I’ll stay warm.

ON MY MIND

I’m working on New Year’s resolutions (which I don’t normally make), but in the sense of permanent lifestyle changes that will make me and my family happier in the end. This is still a work in progress, so more about that on the 6th of January when I talk about the epiphany. I’ve already planned some organizational updates and ordered some filing folders that will help. I’m planning on really getting into the swing of things paperwork wise during the end of January and February.

Our Eagle’s secretary has announced she’s not going to go forward after this year. (Our year begins June 1st) and many have pointed at me to take over for her. BUT, and I say this with all the conviction possible! that will not happen!!!! Not that I’m not invested at making things better (I do fill in for her now and again and know the job pretty much), it’s just that my plate is FULL with what I already LIKE to do and I just can’t (and don’t want to) take on anything more!

I’m about to wrap up my 2nd full year of blogging daily and want to continue that habit into 2025 for another year. And I have already rehabbed my BLOGMAS list for next year to just 10 days of posting that will free up a good deal of time by combining many categories into single days. As I reread many of the categories I realized there was a lot of overlap.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have some bedding to do, but am pretty caught up otherwise. I am trying to sort through and pull out things for donation in an effort to downsize and start the year off right.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I purposely kept this week free of most of these things. I do have a few exchanges to do for things hubby bought me for Christmas that don’t fit right. I also have the Eagle’s New Year’s Party shopping to do.
  • PAPERWORK & PHONE CALLS I purposely kept this week free of most of these things. I do have to deal with a health insurance thing though!

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We watched a good movie on NETFLIX called Carry-On that left you on the edge of your seat at times. It won’t be DIE HARD replacement, but it does take place in an airport on Christmas 😀
  • CABLE I’m working on clearing the DVR of all things Christmas and or FALL shows. We watched a really sweet Christmas movie called A Dance in the Snow that I really liked.

READING TIME

I finished the book club book, The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak. My friends warned me that the ending would tick me off and they weren’t wrong. Then again, the whole book kind of set me off!! It wasn’t one I would have chosen myself.

I’m now starting BLUE WATERS a CARIBBEAN ADVENTURES book #1 by Eric Chance Stone and THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn. The book club hasn’t chosen their next book yet. I understand we’ll be using a wheel of chance that my friend has input all our suggestions into.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

  • BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
  • Hubby stuffed my stocking with a bunch of soup recipes so I’m going to try and make a new one each week.
12/30 MONDAY
12/31 TUESDAY
1/1 WEDNESDAY
1/2 THURSDAY
1/3 FRIDAY
1/4 SATURDAY
1/5 SUNDAY
DINNER
TOMATO BASIL SOUP & GRILLED CHEESE
 LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN
BREAKFAST BAGEL CASSEROLE
BLACK EYED PEA CHILI
CHAR SIU MEATBALL SLIDERS
 SWISS SCALLOPED POTATOES & HAM
LEMON CHICKEN & RICE SOUP
 CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
DESSERT
 NONE this week!!! We need to clean out ALL the Christmas goodies still hanging around.
 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

You might ask why the car pictures are favorites? Well, because I am so thankful that the top of this 100 foot or so tall tree totaled my friend’s car in the middle of the night instead of her! We had a violent thunderstorm with tons of lightning and wind. The alternative was that it would have landed in her bedroom while she was sleeping. So, this was the best of the worst possibilities.

And thankful for such a wonderful Christmas meal even if it was just hubby and I this year. The leftovers will be our New Year’s Day chili.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

  • COUNTRY FRENCH CHICKEN GARLIC SOUP
  • CHICKEN TOSTADA CUPS
  • MAPLE WHISKEY BOURBON PUMPKIN BUTTER

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

MOONSHINE FRUITCAKE ~ BLOG 366.361B

I KNOW, I know not everyone likes fruitcake and fruitcake has gotten a bad name over the years. Some even say that fruitcake is the culinary equivalent of receiving socks for Christmas. BUT, if you are willing to try it, this fruitcake will put all that to rest.  This is my new go to recipe.  I took all the parts from all my other fruitcake recipes and concocted this one. I have since tossed ALL the other recipes.

This fruitcake CANNOT be used as a doorstop because it is so moist, light and fluffy too. Nor will this fruitcake will last long enough to be passed around and down through the years because it is so flavorful.  This picture doesn’t do it any justice, but trust me it is SOOOOOO GOOD!

1/2 cup finely chopped candied red cherries
1/2 cup finely chopped candied green cherries
1/2 cup finely chopped candied lemon
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1 cup golden raisins
2+ tablespoons coconut rum*
2+ tablespoons brandy*
2+ tablespoons spiced apple moonshine*

  • Toss fruit pieces together with the alcohol and soak for 24 hours. The fruit will soak up the alcohol and make an ooey gooey yummy mess. You can soak for up to a week, adding more of your favorite alcohol each day 😀

1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup AP flour

  • Toss nut pieces with the flour.
  • Toss nut mixture with the ooey gooey fruit mess mixture.
  • Set aside.

1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons QUALITY cinnamon
1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice

  • Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.
  • Set aside.

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups finely granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 cups applesauce ***
2 teaspoons PURE vanilla

  • Preheat oven to 325°.
  • Grease and flour a 10 tube pan.**
  • Cream the butter.
  • Add the sugar and blend until uniform in color.
  • Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
  • Add the applesauce and vanilla until well blended.
  • Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until well blended.
  • Fold in fruit and nut mixture until uniform in consistency.
  • Spoon into prepared pan(s) of your choice.
  • Bake 60-65 minutes or until tester comes out clean. If using many smaller pans or papers be sure and spray them well and begin checking at the 30 minute mark for doneness.
  • Cool for 15 minutes on wire rack BEFORE inverting or removing from pan!

NOTES

  • *Change up the flavor choice of your liking.
  • ** I like to use many little loaf pans or paper rounds when I make this recipe for neighbor gifts.
  • ***This year I substituted a walnut fig rum for all the other alcohols and was out of applesauce and substituted a jar of pumpkin apple butter and think it was even better!

Original posting December 24, 2016 – updated December 26, 2024

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ROAST CHICKEN with APRICOT HABANERO GLAZE ~ BLOG 366.361

ROAST CHICKEN with APRICOT HABANERO GLAZE Adapted from Adventures in Cooking

APRICOT HABANERO GLAZE
2 tablespoons apricot habanero jam
2 tablespoons avocado oil
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

  • Mix together all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
  • et aside.

CHICKEN
1/4 cup apricot habanero jam
3 tablespoons avocado oil
1 tablespoon FRESH thyme leaves
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 pound apricots halved and pitted
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced
3-5 pound roasting chicken
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 cups water

  • Preheat the oven to 425°.
  • Adjust rack to lowest position.
  • Mix together the apricot habanero jam, avocado oil, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
  • Place the apricot halves and sliced onion in a roasting pan and toss with the jam mixture until coated.
  • Spread the onion slices out so that they make a layer on the bottom of the pan and arrange the apricot halves around the edge of the pan.
  • 
Generously rub the outside and inside of the chicken with the apricot habanero glaze, gently edging your hands underneath the skin of the chicken breast to get the mixture underneath the skin as well.
  • Place in the center of the pan.

  • Stuff the cavity with the sprig of rosemary and tie the legs together using a piece of cooking twine.
  • Pour the 2 cups of water into the pan around the chicken.
  • Tent the pan with tin foil, ensuring that it is secured and closed on all four sides, but poke a small 1 inch hole in it to allow excess steam to escape.
  • Make sure the tent does not touch the actual skin of the bird! This step is VERY important, because if you do not tent the bird with tin foil, it will brown too quickly because of the high sugar content of the glaze, and while the inside of the bird will still be moist and tasty, the outside will look *quite* crispy.

  • Roast for 1 hour, basting halfway through.
  • At the 40-minute mark, remove the tin foil, reduce the oven temperature to 375 and cook another 15 minutes or so until the thigh joint measures 165°.
  • Remove from the oven and allow the juices to cool for 15 minutes before serving so that the chicken retains more moisture. If you carve it right away the juices will drain out of the meat too rapidly.
  • Enjoy!


BLOGMAS ~ day 26 ~ CHRISTMAS EVE, NORAD, 12 DAYS of CHRISTMAS & ST. NICK’S HISTORY ~ BLOG 366.359B

Usually the holiday season is an endless list of tasks and errands. Christmas Eve is usually at our house and then Christmas Day many times too. I just finished all my “deliveries” of neighbor and friend plate goodies, prepped the marinade for the prime rib and prepped tomorrow morning’s breakfast bake. An elderly friend stopped by yesterday to drop off her Tupperware®™ dishes from the Thanksgiving leftovers she took home from here and was on her way to Costco to buy a ham for Christmas dinner with her son. I couldn’t let this elderly lady who relies heavily on her cane and moves slowly go to Costco so I sent her home with out Christmas Eve ham (I let her think it was an extra otherwise she wouldn’t have taken it). Shortly after that a friend invited us for Christmas Eve dinner! I LOVE how when a door closes, another opens!

The last several years the holiday season has been quiet, many times, too quiet! This year will also be quiet, but has been busy leading up tonight and tomorrow and Santa will still be making his rounds for the little ones later tonight.

It’s Christmas Eve and Santa Claus is coming to town tonight. If you have kids, or are just a big kid at heart, you can track Santa’s progress as he travels around the world on NORAD.

Merry Christmas everyone!

We’re on winter storm watch here (like always 😀 at this time of year) and just like so much of the country this Christmas, but there is no need to worry ~ NORAD will be watching to track Santa’s progress for all the kiddos out there.

Every day of the year, Cheyenne’s Mountain AKA Stargate Command to many SYFY fans 😀 NORAD defends North America using an all-domain and globally integrated approach to track everything that flies in and around Canada and the United States. But, on Dec. 24, NORAD adds a VERY special mission ~ tracking Santa Claus. 

Like so many origin stories, NORAD’s mission to track Santa truly began with an accident when in 1955 a young child, trying to reach Santa, dialed a misprinted phone number from a department store ad in the local newspaper and instead of calling Santa, the child reached the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  

Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, the commander on duty that night who answered the child’s phone call, was quick to realize a mistake had been made and assured the child he was Santa. After more incoming calls, Shoup assigned a duty officer to continue answering calls and a tradition was born, that continued when NORAD was formed in 1958.  

Each year since, NORAD has dutifully reported Santa’s location on Dec. 24 to millions of children and families across the world. Because of the support, services and resources generously provided by volunteers and our government and corporate contributors, NORAD Tracks Santa has persevered for more than 65 years.  

In fact, what started because of a typo has flourished and is recognized as one of the Department of Defense’s largest community outreach programs. 

Each year, the NORAD Tracks Santa Web Site receives several million unique visitors from more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Volunteers typically answer more than 130,000 calls to the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline from children across the globe. 

In addition to the phone line and website, children and the young-at-heart can track Santa through our mobile apps and social media platforms:  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noradsanta 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoradSanta 

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/NORADTracksSanta  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noradtrackssanta_official 

NORAD Tracks Santa Website: https://www.noradsanta.org 

NORAD Tracks Santa Newsroom: https://noradsantanews.com/newsroom

Several contributors such as OnStar and Amazon Alexa also provide convenient ways to keep tabs of Santa’s location. 

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly.  Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.

It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

  • The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
  • Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
  • Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
  • The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
  • The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
  • The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
  • Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit–Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
  • The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
  • Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit–Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
  • The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
  • The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
  • The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed.

So that is your history lesson for today. Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone – and, remember, the Twelve Days of Christmas are the 12 days starting December 25th and the Christmas Season runs until Epiphany, January 6.