Category: MISC

Back to baking!


Jessica of My Baking Heart chose the Parisian Apple Tartlet on page 319.
I ♥LOVED♥ this choice!

Hubby isn’t one for large apple pieces, so I chopped the apples. Then I got daring and soaked a combination 1/2 cup of golden raisins and dried apricots in golden rum. I then tossed the apples in a bit of lime juice so they wouldn’t brown and then added them to the rum mixture for a few hours before baking. Before baking I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar and crushed walnuts on the bottom of each tart and then topped them with the apple mixture and baked. YUMMY!

With just the two of us, I had enough to make a second larger tart for another day! YUMMY!


Now in playing catch up, here is the Cappuccino squares I made for when Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures chose Cinnamon Squares on pages 210 and 211.


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Snail Mail Delight

A couple of weeks ago I received an awesome swap package from Diana over at Forgetfulone. And then today I received a package with this great book and Mary Engelbrett stickers. Diana is an awesome bloggy friend that I look forward to meeting some day in real life. The book in the background is the scrap book that Diana sent me in my box. I’ve turned it into my blog log. A place to keep schedules, future ideas and recipes to post. It is really helping me stay organized.

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Menu Planning


Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie

 DATE
 BREAKFAST
 LUNCH
 DINNER
MONDAY

6/8

 CEREAL
 SANDWICHES Recipe Experiment Night
TUESDAY 6/9

 TOAST
 LEFTOVERS
 Potatoe Pancakes
and Pork Tenderloin
WEDNESDAY 6/10
 YOGURT
 SOUP
 Twisted Pepper Steak
THURSDAY 6/11
 FRUIT
 CHEESE & FRUIT
 Hungarian Goulash
FRIDAY 6/12
 OATMEAL
 C.O.R.N.

12 Hour Salad
SATURDAY 6/13
 Depression Eggs leftovers
 Seafood Salad
SUNDAY 6/14
 Hash Brown Casserole Monte’ Cristos Chicken Fried Chicken &
Parmesan Potatoes with
Peppered Gravy

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C.O.R.N. Queso soup [23]

Simply Delicious Sunday

If you like to play along, please add this button, link to this post with your recipe.

**Since Mr. Linky has been so flaky of late, please include your link and recipe name in your comment and I will generate a list on each week’s post for everyone to link to instead of using Mr. Linky.**

Don’t forget to leave a comment and visit everyone.

What is this all about? Go here for all the details.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with C.O.R.N., it means ‘clean out refrigerator night’.
C.O.R.N. QUESO SOUP
leftover homemade refried beans or 1 can
leftover meat, this week was sweet & sour pork
1 small onion, chopped
6-8 cups water for desired consistency
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

  • Whisk beans into water until smooth and consistent.
  • Add onions and meat.
  • Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
  • Add cheese until smooth.
  • Serve and Enjoy.

House Update – Chronicles of a Bungled Real Estate Deal – Part 12 – This and That

So much for the trip to the dump yesterday. It turns out it wasn’t our last trip after all. Today began with starting this pile.

Hubby continued on with the trim that the previous guy didn’t bother with. We really lucked out when we went to try and match it. The local lumber company had ordered it for the previous guy and he’d never picked it up. When I went in searching to match it they were just getting ready to burn it so they sold it to me for $1 per board instead of the original $2 a foot. SCORE!!
On a more fun note, I’ve been trying to get to the ICE ROOM for what seems like forever. This is a REAL ice room. You know where a guy used to deliver a block of ice every day to keep the food cold – long before refrigerators. I’m turning it into a cleaning closet. It is a concrete room that stands just outside the kitchen door at the top of the basement stairs. The previous owner had shoved styrofoam along the edges of the walls and put up a couple of primitive crude shelves. I pulled all that out today and cleaned it real well. Next comes a ceiling, some walls and a floor to which we will continue the oak flooring from the kitchen after painting. Then I’ll install a couple of shelves and some hooks for brooms and such. It’s a 5x5x6 foot tall room.

I hope to finish the ICE room later this week. Hubby also finished the molding in the downstairs bathroom. This little room at the end of the bathroom used to be the cold storage room off the butler’s pantry which is what the bathroom was many many moons ago. This room is officially done! YAY!!!

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Finally at rest!


Is hosted by Misty at Camera Critters.

I don’t know where this picture came from, but I thought it was adorable and perfect to share this fine spring day. As for the 2 critters below, they are still my best source of amusement and contentedness. Even at rest, Gunner MUST have a toy in his mouth at all times.

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House Update – Chronicles of a Bungled Real Estate Deal – Part 11 – Kitchen Update

We’re winding down finally!! Hopefully this was the last load to the dump.

I packed that truck as tight as I could! 800 pounds of construction debris.

Hubby and I are working hard on all of the finish trim molding in this old house, you know the little stuff that is more frustrating than the original demolition OR the subsequent rebuild!

This corner behind the refrigerator was one of the most frustrating due to an old wall and a new wall joining.

While we know this wall is plumb, it is also half 117 years old and half brand new, which always creates a little frustration. We wanted to keep it as original to the character from 1892 as we could. So, we chose to build the arch and then paint instead of stain for the ease of the kitchen.

Hubby finished the ceiling tiles and started the molding around the upper edges while I started painting the archway.


Next week we’ll sand and stain the floors and finish the thresholds.

We carried the same theme to around the kitchen window. Even though it is two separate windows, we only put up one shade and set of curtains.

This was an old wall with super thick studs. So, the electrician put the outlet for this area under the kitchen sink. We will also be finishing the kitchen counters next week, but for now it is really nice to be able to hook up the coffee pot without cords all over the counter.

Now we get to start on the 4 doors in this room for the decorative corners and casings. The TO DO LIST is truly getting smaller, but everything still seems to take sooooooooooo much time. Our goal is still the 15th. Wish us luck!
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AD

If you like to try new recipes (and who doesn’t?!), we have the gig for you! Our Krazy Kitchen is looking for a host for the 1st Wednesday of each month. Leave a comment and one of us will get write back to you!

Play Time

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would participate and take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

Are you going on vacation this summer

or are you planning a “staycation”?

If so, where to?

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Making something out of nothing ~ A SOAP tutorial



We’re all trying to cut a few corners these days and conserving all the scraps just makes sense.

  • Save up your old bars of soap, making sure they are dry slivers.
  • Use your grater or chopper to make small pieces. Or like me I eventually give up and use an old ziploc and a meat tenderizer.
  • Put them in a sauce pan with 8 ounces of water for every 1 1/2 cups grated slivers and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. They should blend together like a smooth pudding.
  • I added a hint of lemon extract and green food color also.
  • Pour into molds. I like to use an old ice cube tray for a smaller decorative soap for the guest bathroom or this should make about 3-4 medium-sized bars.
  • After they are set up, pop the bars out of the molds. If they don’t come out easily, stick them in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight, or until they feel dry when you touch them. Then they will pop out easily.
  • Air dry them without their touching each other for 2-3 days.

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