Very Unhappy Tessie!

 This was Tessie after everyone left and Walter came home and ate the last piece of pie... Apple is her favorite... Fake Apple is even better.

She loves recipes that are magical and this one is the best!

It really does taste like apples! Years ago I made one and one of the people that had a piece of it swore that he found an apple seed in it.  I suspect that I accidentally dropped one of the lemon seeds in the syrup. 

I have had this recipe for about 40 years.  I cut it off of a Ritz Cracker box way back when... I hadn't made it for a long time.

If you have trouble reading the recipe, click on the photo to make it larger.

Today I made one for the witches.  I cheated and "made" the crust from the dairy case at Walmart.  One of their own ready to use pie crusts and everyone raved about the flaky crust.

I promised you the directions for the jewelry.  That will have to wait until tomorrow. 

The witches and Walter ate every bit of the pie and we never did get to the jewelry.  I had a pile of books to get rid of and the gang got to looking at those and we never did get to the jewelry making section of the day. There's always next week.

Now go make yourself a pie. You will love it!

See you tomorrow.

Half a Cake...

The Witches just left.  A great time was had by all that came... We only had five today.

As soon as they left, I went to see what had been done in the workroom...

Not a lot!

The Terrible Two were still hanging out in the middle of the mess and as soon as I went in, they  disappeared... And left me in the middle of the mess!

They were easy to find.  They went looking for leftovers.

They found half of the cake. It turned out well.

Here's the recipe.  What there is of it.

Quick Lemon Bars.

The ingredients are very simple.  One box of Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake mix.  One 22 oz. can of lemon pie filling.  Mix them together well with your hand mixer.  Spray a 9" by 13" pan with non stick spray.  I used butter flavored. 

Then dump in the mixture and spread it around evenly.  Bake it in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

If you want to make it fancy, sift some powdered sugar over the top after it cools.  I didn't wait and the sugar melted into the cake. It was still good...

The Terrible two are splitting what's left between them.  It was good while it lasted.

Back to reality... I don't like the looks of that room! 

See you tomorrow.

Cooking Up a Storm!

Actually, I didn't cook it up.  The storm was last night and this morning... It's gone now, but it was icky earlier.

As for the cooking part, I decided to do cooking for tomorrow, today.

I made 20 Cuban Tamales.  They are different than the ones that the Mexicans, around here, make.  You just mix everything together and wrap them in aluminum foil. Then cook them for an hour and a half.  They have pork, green peppers, onions and cream corn in them.  I got the recipe from a Cuban neighbor when I was living in Texas a LONG time ago...

They aren't pretty, but they taste good.  I also made a three bean salad to go with them... Not Cuban.

I am going to make some fruit salsa and some cinnamon tortilla chips to go with it tomorrow.

And this is the ingredients for an experimental dessert.  I saw this on Pinterest the other day and so did a couple of other witches.  I am going to try it.

Supposedly, if you mix the lemon pie filling and the Angel Food cake mix in at 9 X 13 pan and bake it, it comes out being lemon bars.  If it works, I will post the recipe tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

Mistake of the week...

I left the Terrible two in the workroom, whilst I was doing the cooking... I shouldn't have.

I imagine that Thursday will be cleaning day in the workroom, once again... They are actually in the photo.  Good luck finding them!

Back to the cooking.  See you tomorrow.

Getting Better...

I went to the store this morning and bought some Betty Crocker cookie mix.  Oatmeal and Peanut butter cookies.

I was not satisfied to leave well enough alone.  I put half a sack of Peanut Butter Chips in the peanut butter mix and Chocolate Chips in the Oatmeal.  They taste much better that way. 

Just ask the Terrible Two + One...

When I was cleaning out yesterday, I found this.  It is a wonder that it wasn't lost for good.  The stitched part is about an inch across, both ways.

Now all I have to do is frame it.

Speaking of framing, do you save the little sample prints from your photo printing?  Walter gave me these two.  It only printed the first and last print of the series, but now I have two 8 by 10 photos in 1" scale to put in a room or house somewhere.

I especially like the one of Amare and his dad.  I have several of this pose.  He has been riding around like this since he was a very small baby.  I think that he likes the view from up there.

Now I have three things to frame.  I had better get busy... But first, I need a cookie!

And Yes.  I am getting better.

See you tomorrow.

Running Away From Home... and the Muffin Maker...

I managed to rip out the yellow last night. I put in about six more rows of the blue...

I was still not having fun.

When I am not having fun, the rest of the gang runs away and starts partying somewhere else...

In this case the Terrible Two plus One retreated to the Tudor Trailer and sat around eating cupcakes and drinking wine... What a combination...

This morning I decided that, if the rest of them could run away, so could I...

Besides, I needed a couple of things from Walmart.  Namely some chopped pecans...  I had a couple of over ripe bananas and I found a new recipe for banana pecan muffins.  No pecans.  Good excuse...

I'm back... I just now stepped out of the room to get the muffins out of the oven...

It's a good thing I did.  Spike has a habit of sitting on anything that he considers his...

There's one muffin that nobody is going to want to eat... Doggy footprints aren't terribly appetizing...

These look pretty good and the batter was delicious... If you want to try them, go here.
 http://www.sagerecipes.com/2015/02/05/banana-muffins/

The only thing I added was a half cup of chocolate chips... Maybe if I eat about four of these I will get back in the mood to work on minis... Maybe...

See you tomorrow.

The Last One Left...

OK... This is the last full tray I have left... I would use it if I could get Kota to go sleep somewhere else.

Actually, that was yesterday.  He is now elsewhere, but I don't have time to work. The witches are coming.

This is my whole supply of what's left of the trays.  As you can see, most of what I have left is curved pieces.  They will work on a flat surface if need be, but I prefer that flat bottom of the tray for that.

This is all I have left to do, so I am not worried about running out.

What's left will suffice. Not much time today though.

I am making Fiesta Chicken Soup and Garlic bread for the witches.

I ran onto a bargain.  I got a pound of strawberries for 88 cents!  However... that was only 14 berries!

A couple of them are bigger than Tessie and will soon take over the world! 

Kind of scary? The one to the right has a nose and eyes!... well, OK maybe it only hints at that, but at this rate, the thing will be taking over soon.

I am going back to the chicken soup and the strawberries are going back in the fridge, where I won't have to worry about them...

See you tomorrow... If the strawberries don't get me first! 

Ohhh! Lunch!!!

That was Tessie, this morning, when I brought this in from the back forty....OK...So it's not forty acres, but I got my first squash of the season... Would you believe that it grew in a pretzel  jar.

Yup. I took possession of a large plastic jar that Walter got at Costco.  It was full of pretzels.  It is now full of dirt and merrily growing squash. 

He is now in the middle of another jar of pretzels and the poor man is eating as fast as he can.  I think that I am onto a new growing system.  These squash are growing even better than the ones in the livestock tank.

While Tessie is dreaming of  squash for lunch, I am getting ready for the witches to invade.  They will be here at one and I still have cooking to do.

I hung this basket on the wall as inspiration for the screens in the North African bedroom...

What if it is Chinese?  I don't care.  It reminds me of the screens. And it's a great place for Tessie to perch and keep out of the way, while I am buzzing around here like a madwoman trying to get ready.

I worked some more on the sketch for the bedroom.  I have decided to make the woodwork layered.  That is, the first section with the window in it will be affixed to the wall.

The scalloped layer will be out as far as I can set it.  I can't enclose the bed, because the outer wall is only a couple of inches deep.  I think that it will work though.  We shall see.

OK.  Now that you have seen this, I have to go make potato salad and cut up stuff for sandwiches... Busy, busy, busy.

See you tomorrow.

"It's Too Gray...."

That was me whinging and whining this morning.  I finished laying the walnut floor in the living room.  It just didn't go with the reddish tile in the kitchen.  It looked dead...

So, I whipped out the Provincial Minwax stain that I used on the baseboard and the crown molding, earlier. 

I like it better and what's more, Tessie approves.

It still needs sanding, after it dries and then varnishing.  It is so much richer looking than the plain walnut was.

 While I was working my fingers to the bone, I discovered that the Terrible Two were trying out the kitchen.

 The two of them ransacked Cordelia's kitchen, cooked breakfast, stole her table and chairs and made off to Daisy's cottage.

When I asked them what they thought they were doing, they explained that they were trying out the chairs, because they are like the ones that Daisy wants for the kitchen...

However, they had no plausible explanation as to why they took over her kitchen to cook breakfast and then moved everything to Daisy's house. 

They finally admitted that they had asked permission and Cordelia said that they could, as long as they cleaned up the mess.... I went and looked.  I hope that they are going back later to clean up...Not a pretty sight.

They finally agree with me that the triangular table is the answer to the space problem   They couldn't manage to get Cordie's table and the two chairs in the space, all at the same time.

Much to Spike's delight, that gave him a place to sit and look out the window with them, whilst pilfering sausage off of the plates.  He is going to be in so much trouble when they go back to their breakfasts. 

Thankfully, he runs faster than either of them.  I wish him luck.

I have to go  check on the drying floor.

See you tomorrow.

Minis...What Minis?

OK. I have Wednesday Witches today and witches get unruly when you don't feed them properly.  I don't want a bunch of unruly witches running around town.  Sooo.....

Pita Bread.  If I feed them enough, they will sleep all of the rest of the day and I will have to wake them up to send them home...

Sorry about the mini part, but I will give you a great recipe instead...

First photo.  Tessie is a typical witch.   Feed her good and she behaves herself. She's had this before and will eat the whole batch if I don't stop her.

The first photo is of the dough after kneading.

The second is of the dough after rising for an hour and a half.  There is not a huge amount of work involved.  It just takes time. 

Tessie used to walk across the top of the dough to see if it was "bouncy"....Until the time that her feet got stuck and the dough worked like quicksand...  No more walking on the dough.  Lesson learned.

The dough looks a lot nicer without footprints.  I forgot to take photos of the next step.  Sorry about that.  It is punching down the dough. Shaping it into a log and cutting it in 16 pieces.

Then you roll it out, one piece at a time and lay them gently, two at a time, on aluminum foil.

OK.  All caught up now.  You put them in the oven for five minutes, four at a time.

These are ready.  they were flat as a pancake when I put them in.  Magic.

Tessie just announced, "I am going to start at the top of the pile and see if I can eat my way through to the plate...Did I mention that the plate is about 14" across?

Sixteen of those will make thirty two sandwiches.  And one sick witch.

If you want to try your hand at this, go for it.  It is really easy.  I just mix everything up and turn on the timer for ten minutes and go to work, kneading.  If you are lucky enough to have a machine with a dough hook, all the better.

It always amazes me when they actually puff up and make the house smell delicious.

I think that I hear groaning coming from the kitchen... I should go stop Tessie.  If she eats all of that bread, I won't have anything to feed the other witches and you don't want to see them when they don't get the promised food.  Very unruly!!!  Gotta fly.

See you tomorrow.

Making a Better Cracker....

 Tomorrow, we are going to Phoenix for Thanksgiving with the in laws.  There is always a crowd and we all pitch in with food.

This year, I am taking crackers.  Yes.  That's what I said.

One of the other people coming is bringing home made salsa that she learned to make from her sister in law, down in Mexico. 

I volunteered to make crackers to go with it.  Actually, snack crackers are very easy to make and taste a lot better than the boxes from the grocery store.

In the first photo you see the cheese crackers.  This is the cheater's method of baking them.

I just rolled the dough out on the back of a cookie sheet and cut it up with a pizza cutter.  The crackers are much easier to get out of the pan that way.  No sides.

Of course, Tessie volunteered to help.  Did someone say food?

I have made a couple of new kinds that I haven't made before.  I got the recipe from Foodgawker.com.  You can find just about any kind of recipe that you are looking for on that site and most of them are original.

I put crackers in the search and came up with pages and pages of recipes.

The first one I picked was a  recipe for Rosemary Parmesan Wheat Thins. the actual recipe is at http://www.shemakesandbakes.com/1/post/2013/03/rosemary-parmesan-wheat-thins.html

I used rosemary from the back yard....No, I didn't make the parmesan. 

They turned out well.  I have to stop sampling.  If both Tessie and I get into them, there won't be any for tomorrow.

The second ones are from foodgawker too, but a different blog.  www.notgotmuchin.com/cheddar-crackers/ These are a very different cracker.  They are mostly sharp cheddar cheese and butter.  About half the flour of the other recipe.  When they come out of the oven they are kind of chewy.  They get crisper as they cool.

Both recipes are pretty good.  I plan to make one more recipe this afternoon.  I haven't decided which ones yet. 

Tessie is voting for cookies....That reminds me.  I wonder if Zar is still locked in his room.  Maybe I had better go slip a cracker under the door.

Sorry.  No time for minis today....Need more crackers.  Tessie is eating them as fast as I am making them.

See you tomorrow.

Need I Say More?

I have two hours before I have to leave for Wednesday Witches mini meeting...

I have a room that I am close to not getting into...

The Terrible Two plus Spike are hiding somewhere....

Accomplishments for the morning?  I did manage to make real Molasses Cookies.  Grandma's recipe.

Maybe the recipe will make up for the absence of minis.  These are the best!

Molasses Cookies

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
2 eggs(I don't bother to beat them)
1 c. Molasses
4 c.flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
Cream together sugar and butter.  Add eggs and molasses and stir.  Add flour and spices and mix all together well.

Roll into balls the size of walnuts. I use one of those little scoops that look like an ice cream scoop, only smaller.  Keep a cup of water handy to dip it in, so that the dough won't stick.  Coat balls with sugar by rolling them in a bowlful.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 375. Cookies will flatten as they bake. Trust me.  Don't flatten them!

I hope this keeps you from running me out of town on a rail!

See you tomorrow.

Spaghetti and Meatballs, Afghan and Rug

The diamonds are appearing, just like I thought that they would. 

I am thinking that I need at least another row of black and one of white to make them apparent.

Tessie refuses to do anymore until I give her some of her favorite kind of Spaghetti and Meatballs...She will, however, pose for a photo opp at any time...

I got a little more done on the rug this morning too...While I was waiting for the spaghetti to bake...

The turquoise and pink at the bottom is the area I am working on....I may have to tear out the pink.  It is too light to show up as a separate color.

Tessie is now doubling up her fists and demanding meatballs...

OK...Go to the next photo and look.

My friend,Joan had a birthday yesterday.  We witches have been teasing her about watching "Honey Boo Boo".  She laughs right along with us and tells us about the latest happenings.  She was telling us about the "family recipe" for spaghetti.  The sauce is made with catchup...  I just had to make her dessert for the WW meeting.

Here you go.  Spaghetti and even MEATBALLS!  So there, Honey Boo Boo!

They are yellow cupcakes with a light coat of spread on frosting.  Over that, I piped on extra frosting with a small round  cake decorating tube.

I then warmed some strawberry preserves in the microwave just enough to make it a bit runny.  I didn't want it to be hot.

Into that, I dipped Ferrero Rocher chocolates.  Just enough to coat them.  I plopped one into the middle of each pile of spaghetti and then dabbed extra preserves around the bottom edge to make sauce. 

The last touch is grated white chocolate for the cheese. 

I think that I have a new favorite Italian dish....I know Tessie does!

I can't take all of the credit for this.  I did think of doing it all by myself.  I was thinking of using cake pops for the meatballs and making them myself....I don't particularly like cake pops, so I was trying to think of something else to use...I put "spaghetti cake" in the msn search engine and hit "images" and to my amazement there are a LOT of people as crazy as I am.  Several said that the candy could be used.

It was great fun to make and probably will be even more fun to eat...I have to just look at it until the meeting at Joan's house this afternoon.  Oh well, Tessie and I got to lick the bowls...Now she is in the tub in the townhouse. Cleaning up. She fell in the frosting bowl. 

I guess I should go wash the frosting out of my hair before I go to Joan's house.

See you tomorrow.

Merry Christmas Eve....

I am sooooo late.

I cooked and cleaned all day, in preparation for tomorrow.

Then I went in and laid down...Just for a little bit.

An hour later, I realized that I hadn't written the blog entry yet.  Oops!!!

Tessie told me to just give you this recipe and let it go at that....I suspect that she just wanted to pose with the cookies.  Whilst eating most of them.

This is another very easy recipe...Very tasty.

So here you go!

Graham Cracker Nut Bars.

1 cup butter
3/4 c sugar
Graham Crackers
1 c. chopped pecans

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and butter it well.  Break crackers apart and line them up side by side on the sheet.

Combine butter and sugar in a sauce pan.  Boil over low hear for three minutes, until butter melts and sugar dissolves.  Stir constantly.

Spoon over graham crackers and spread evenly.  Sprinkle pecan pieces over the top.  Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

Cool some and then put the pan in the refrigerator to cool completely. Peel the foil from the back and break into pieces. 

EAT!

The last notation was Tessie's.

I did them this year with chocolate flavored graham crackers and walnuts instead of pecans.  We are on the second batch...The seem to disappear quickly.  Of course Tessie makes sure that none go to waste.

Anyway, tomorrow's the big day.

See you then. Merry Christmas Eve!

I'm All For Easy....

Sometimes easy is good....Other times it's hard.

Keep reading....This will all make sense in a bit.

I made Saltine Cookie Bars this morning. They are very easy, unless Tessie gets involved.

I will put the recipe at the end of this, if anybody wants to try them.  They are usually very easy.

This time, not so much.  Tessie was in one of her "helpful" moods.  This just means that she wants the cookies NOW.  She sat on the handle of the saucepan and stirred the sugar and butter whilst they boiled merrily away....Only trouble is, you really shouldn't be wearing a big red hat that falls off a lot when you are leaning over and stirring.  The hat is now washed and is drying by the sink as we speak...Thank goodness, Tessie didn't loose her balance...

After I spread the chocolate chips on top and spread them around, I went away to let them cool. 

I got shoulders and new arms and hands sculpted on Engelbert.  I wrapped the other nameless elf's arms with floral tape.  I couldn't find white so I had to use green.  It really doesn't make a difference, but I like white better.  Just a personal quirk.  I still have to do some more refining on the first little guy. Then I will start working on the other one....

I decided to take a break and see how the cooling was going.

One step into the kitchen and this is what I came up against!

Mind you, this stuff is supposed to get cold and be broken into chunks.  Why wait when you have a good paring knife?

I took that away from Tessie and shooed them all out. 

To stop them from doing it again, I put the tray in the refrigerator....

About an hour ago, I opened the fridge to get a Pepsi and The Terrible Two + One froze in place.  Maybe they thought I wouldn't notice if they didn't move.  It didn't work.

The three of them are now locked in the workroom and I told them that they can't come out for cookies until I come and collect them. 

I have to figure out a way to stop Tessie's bad zapping habits.  She seems to be able to get into any place when she puts her mind to it.  And now she is taking others right along with her.

I think it was the footprint fudge that started it.  A little bit of sugar makes the medicine go down....It also makes Tessie's powers stronger.  In theory, all I have to do is keep Tessie away from the sugar....Wish me luck.

See you tomorrow....Recipe for Tessie's favorite cookies below.

Saltine Cookie Bars.

Line a large cookie sheet with foil and butter it well.
Lay out a single layer of saltine crackers to cover the bottom.
In a saucepan, boil 1 c. sugar and 1 c. butter(two sticks) for two minutes, after it reaches the boiling point..
Pour over the crackers and spread evenly.  Bake  4 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with a 12 oz. package of chocolate chips.
When chocolate is soft, spread around evenly. 
You can sprinkle with nuts if you wish...I don't bother...It gets eaten as fast as I can break it in pieces.
Chill and then break in pieces.
Hide it from Tessie!!!

Knitting My Little Fingers Off....

Yes. I am still knitting. 2/3 of a sock to go. I am not going to try to get Seth's or April's other socks done. They live here in town and I can run the second socks over to them anytime.

I'm sure glad that Tessie and Zar agreed to move the party elsewhere. The cat tree is coming in handy as a place to store the presents until we go to the kid's house tomorrow.

The only trouble is, Tessie and Zar seem to thing that they have proprietary rights to anything left on the tree now. Look closely at the center shelf....

I took time out to make more cookies this morning. I won't give you recipes. They are standard Chocolate chip cookie bars and Spritz cookies. The recipes come on the Chocolate chip sack and in a recipe book that comes with the cookie press.

The Terrible Two had a great time making mini furniture this morning. I fear that it will not last very long though...

Walter walked into the kitchen and grabbed an arm from Tessie's chair and started munching on it. At this rate, the furniture will be gone before tomorrow night.

Oh well...Merry Christmas Eve!

See you tomorrow.

Getting Down to the Wire....

This morning I made cookies. This morning I ate cookies. This morning Tessie and Company insisted that I share the cookies.

They had to hold a gun to my head to get their share.

I don't make these very often, because I start eating them as soon as they are cool enough to break apart.

For a change of pace, I am going to give you the recipe and stand back. Never get in the way of people that like chocolate or crunchy cookies.

These are the easiest, fastest and the most yummy for the time spent making them. They take less than ten minutes to put together.

They are called.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saltine Cookie Bars

Line a large cookie sheet with foil and butter it well.

Lay a single layer of saltine crackers on the foil, covering the bottom.

In a sauce pan, bring to a boil, 1 c. butter and 1c. sugar and boil for 2 minutes.Pour over the crackers and spread evenly. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 4 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle a 12 oz. package of chocolate chips over the top. When chocolate is softened enough, spread it around evenly.

Refrigerate until hardened and break into cookie sized pieces.....My idea of a cookie sized piece is about 1/4 of the slab!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feel free to experiment with toppings. just be sure to use at least one package of chocolate chips.

This morning I made it in a little larger pan than I usually do. The same amount of sugar and butter was fine. I added a few white chips to one end of the chocolate chips and some peanut butter chips to the other. Sometimes I add some nuts on top, after spreading the chocolate, if the mood strikes.

Anyway, I am now going back to the kitchen to see if the Terrible Two and their friends left me anything on the plate...

See you tomorrow.

Up Close and Personal....

I thought that you might like to see some close ups of some of the items from yesterday. These cakes are so real that they almost make me hungry....Almost...

Tessie has already managed to put a spell on them to replenish themselves every time they are eaten. That made clean up after her nap with the chocolate one yesterday easy....Zap and it was back and no crumbs! I want to learn that spell...It could be very useful.

Here's the bottom of the basket. I am in awe of whomever made this. It is real wood splints and It is exactly like it's large version would be woven. Notice the lines beneath it....That is the one inch mark is not quite to the edge of either side. The whole basket is 1 1/4" wide.

The doily on the left is the new one. It is even more intricate than the ones from last year. Laurie just gets better and better. Poke the photo for a better view.

The chopper is another item that I really like. I am told that it is by Sir Thomas Thumb. Thanks for the info, Roxanna!

Tessie took one look at it and announced, "Hey! A cake cutter. One whack with this and it will be cut all the way through. None of that gently slicing with a cake knife!"

Zar is nothing, if not crafty....He invited her over for dessert and mentioned that he liked cake...

Zar. Beware. She brought the replenishing cakes, but she also brought the chopper....One wrong move and you will be without a finger or two!

I am off to make sure that they play nice. The rest of you, have some cake. There will be plenty to go around. Tessie fixed it.

See you tomorrow.