Not Quite Like I Remember...

My mother has made a sweet treat called Chess Cake for as long as I can remember.  She included the recipe in a notebook of collected recipes that she has shared with all us women in the family.  So, when we planned a recent party for my niece, Megan, these sweet treats became a part of the menu.

Bryan volunteered to grill up some pulled pork bar-b-que.  Jessica volunteered to stir up some slaw.  I picked up some chips, corn-light-bread, and baked some beans.  Bridgette suggested a simple dessert of brownie bites, and she and Jessica volunteered to bake them.  I decided to add a bit of variety to the dessert table for those crazy people nutty folks family members who might not want chocolate and dug into the recipe archive for Mama's Chess Cake recipe.  I checked the pantry and gathered my ingredients.  Then, I read the recipe through to make certain this was what I remembered from days gone by.

That's when I noticed the last instruction on the recipe Mama had provided.  It said:

Cut and roll in powdered sugar while still hot.

I NEVER recalled these sweet treats including that step.

I hesitated.

I pondered.

Then, I called Mama to make certain I had the correct recipe in front of me.  After all, I was serving this to guests and I didn't want to make a mistake about a delicious dessert.

She assured me that the recipe was indeed the correct one and the treats would turn out just as I recalled from days gone by.

Then, I mentioned that I NEVER remember having these with the powdered sugar step.

Her response - and I quote:

Well, I might have done that the first time I made them but I didn't think all that was necessary after that.

I informed Mama that I felt really deprived.

I informed her that I felt cheated.

I informed her that I felt misled.

She just giggled and suggested that I sprinkle them with some powdered sugar and it would be fine.

If you want to give them a try, you can find the recipe HERE.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It was tough, but somebody had to do it.

Earlier this week I took a little time in the afternoon of a snow day and drove up the hill for a visit with our newest  grandson, Easton.

It was a tough job, but SOMEBODY had to do it.

You know, take him and his family a little welcome gift.  Sit down and hold the little fuzzy headed mite.

Do a little rocking.  Snuggle up to that sweet baby smell.

Listen to those little grunts and squeeks a new baby makes.  It was a tough job but I just bit the bullet and sacrificed myself and did it.

It was nice to have time to visit with his sweet Mama and see how she is recouperating day-by-day.

See that she is enjoying those sweet moments when he is still and quiet and she can just stare in wonder.

It was beautiful to watch Easton's big brother, Levi.

It was sweet to see Levi's attention to his baby brother...

...and how he is being taught to be gentle with his little brother.

It was nice to visit with Easton's maternal grandma and chat about how wonderful our grandchildren are and share that special bond of love.

I checked him out from head to toe and he passed inspection to be the sweetest, most wonderful little fellow.

Then, I headed back down the hill to our house knowing that all was well.

I sent a sweet little photo of him to our daughter and daughter-in-law just to let them know that I had forced myself to do the chore of going up the hill and visiting and giving the new baby a little squeeze and got back messages saying things like, "Aw! No Fair!"

But, you know, SOMEBODY just had to do it.  When I saw Bridgette and Jessica the other day, they gave me a gift for Easton Levi and Valentine's for them...

...so, I may have to force myself to go back up the hill for a visit.

Well, SOMEBODY's got to do it!

What you call it matters...

A few months ago, I saw the recipe for 7-Can Soup posted by The Pioneer Woman on her blog. It was a little chilly and I thought it looked like a good comfort-food sort of meal.  Then, I made the mistake of telling Mike what it is called.

Not a good idea.

When he hears that something comes out of a can, he automatically shuts down and thinks it is something that is not "home-cooking."  So, I ate a cup or two of the soup and then froze the rest.  When I thawed it and heated it for dinner in about three weeks, I didn't let on that it was dreaded left-overs.  Instead, I told my sweet hubby that it is called Pioneer-Woman-Soup.  You know what?  He thought it was delicious comfort food that warmed his belly and his heart!

So, today, after I was pooped from working all week and helping to put together a party for my niece.  After I was pooped from having 'the blood pressure' issues for the past month or so.  After I was pooped from being old, fat, and out of shape from sitting at a computer for most of my days and all of a sudden having to do some manual labor.  Anyway, I decided I wasn't going to do much today beyond a load or two of laundry and prepare dinner.  I adapted Ree's recipe, using what I had on hand and it is still delicious!  You can find my instructions here.

Since it is cold...since it is blustery...since it is frigid, today is another day when the hubs and I will enjoy some comfort food.  Today is a day when we will wrap our hands around a cup of warmth.  Today is a day when we will ladle up some delicious home-cooked soup!

Hope you are staying warm and eating something tasty, something home-cooked, something that warms your heart and your belly like The Pioneer Woman Soup!

Gifts for the new baby

Even when a family is adding a second child and even when that child is the same gender as the first child, I like to give a gift recognizing and celebrating the birth.  My bonus son and his wife recently welcomed another little boy to their family.  So, my daughter Bridgette, of Goody Stuff, and I compiled a gift for the sweet little fellow.

Knowing that Dad and Grandpa (and several other family members) have orange blood in their veins, we went with a University of Tennessee football theme.

I picked up a set of three UT onesies featuring the colors and the big T.  Then, when we were out fabric shopping, I stumbled across an orange print that reminds me of a bandana with paisley and diamond swirls and a white T.  That became my starting point.  I added a couple of packages of rick-rack and began my search for a companion fabric.  My search was futile but Bridgette thought she had a football print at home, so I stopped my hunt.

She appliqued a T of orange and white gingham fabric and embroidered his first name below it to make a sweet, personalized, swaddling blanket.  Using a fabric scrap, she also appliqued a T onto a cloth diaper and backed it with another scrap to make a coordinating burp cloth.

The two handmade pieces are cheerful, sweet, and say all-boy to me!

After she completed the applique on the fabric, I stitched them together.  So, it is truly a collaborative gift!

We also thought we should add another set for him just in case of spits or other baby accidents.  So, for the second, we went with a cowboy theme.

This set began with a soft print featuring buffalos, a covered wagon, and a Pony Express rider.  I found a companion print with galloping mustangs.  Bridgette appliqued a horse-shoe with his name on a burp cloth and backed it with the mustang fabric.  She added a covered wagon with his initials for the corner of the blanket.

Even though it looks rugged, the blanket is soft and cuddly just like our little cowboy is right now.

We didn't want Levi to feel left out.  So, Lillie picked a rough and tumble design and Bridgette created him a Big Brother shirt complete with his initials on the sleeve.

Levi may be the savage as a big brother wearing this cute little shirt but he is a sweety, too.

As a family, we love and appreciate personalized and hand-crafted and I think our little fellow does too!

In the Kitchen

I love working in my kitchen most of the time.  I mean, I enjoy cooking and baking.  Sometimes I use these tasks as therapy.  There is just something about creating something delicious and tasty from a conglomeration of other things that might not be delicious and tasty all on their own.  One of the features in my kitchen that makes such tasks go well is the big, deep, black sink.  Oh, I know that those apron-front, farmhouse-style sinks are all the rage, and I might really like to have one.  But, I'm really pleased and satisfied with the deep black sink I have.  I mean, dirt and stains don't show - not that any sink of mine would have dirt or stains in it anyway.  Because it is deep, it will hold a lot of pots and pans and cooking utensils and I can pile them up in there while I'm cooking and leave the counter space free for other uses - not that I would pile things up.  I mean I do clean as I go because that is considered the most efficient way.  That deep sink will allow lots of clean pots and pans to set and drain during the dish cleaning process.  I mean, God and I work together on kitchen cleaning.  I wash and He dries and I put away.  I love the squirty thing at the right of the faucet because all of the splatters from spatulas or spoons that have bits of gunk on them can simply be rinsed away with a simple little squirt.  Not that I would flop a spatula and cause a splatter or drop a spoon with gunk and cause a splatter.  No.  Not me.

A couple of months ago, though, something went awry.  After years of functioning and squirting and cleaning, the squirty thing just stopped squirting.  I've lived with it for a while trying to convince myself that I don't really use that squirty thing all that often because I rarely splatter or pile things in the sink.  And as for soap suds after washing up pots and pans, a quick swish with a palm cupped full of water is enough to rinse the sink.  Then, it occurred to me...I'll bet they sell just the squirty thing at the home improvement store and it can be replaced without the expense or trouble of changing out the entire faucet.  So, I suggested that the hubby ask the local handyman to come by and repair/replace the squirty thing at the kitchen sink.  And, while he was at it, would he also repair the one at the kitchen sink in the basement to make rinsing out the coolers and the canners easier.  I think that while-he-was-at-it part is what sold the suggestion, by the way.

So, yesterday the local handyman came by and began working on the kitchen sink squirty thing.  He discovered that there was really nothing wrong with the squirty thing.  The problem was lime deposits in the kitchen faucet itself.  So, instead of replacing the inexpensive little squirty thing, the entire faucet wound up getting replaced.

I was sent to the home-improvement store to get a faucet.  I went, "so I could pick out the kind I want."  Do you have any idea how many different styles of faucets and squirty things there are at the home-improvement store?  Do you have any idea of the price range of all those faucets and squirty things at the home-improvement store?  I mean, isn't it just a decorative sort of pipe that delivers water?  Why does it have to be so complicated?

Finally, I emerged from the store with a couple of faucets and squirty things in tow.  The hubby called the handyman to let him know I had returned with the needed supplies.  In no time, the handyman had installed the beautiful specimen of a faucet and squirty thing and went along his way to improve someone else's life.

I do love my new faucet.  I think she is a beaut!  I love her matte brushed stainless finish that resists spots.  I love the way she stands tall and proud reigning over the sink.

I love the stylish handle that responds to a light touch.  I love her curved neck and pouty little spout.  I love the matching squirty thing and how it is molded to fit right in my paw.

Doesn't she look regal and fancy?

I don't want you to think I pamper her or anything.  I don't want to lead you into believing that she and her squirty thing partner have changed anything around here.  After all, this is a working kitchen and we do use it to prep real country meals.  This is the way she will look most of the time...

She will be reigning over the drying dish cloth throughout the day and the skillet I washed and God is drying and the vegetable scrub brush with the broken handle and the plastic cup for filling dog bowls or watering flowers.

She will stand there tall and proud surrounded by empty canning jars and smudgy glasses and cups and the hubby's popcorn bowl.  And her companion squirty thing will be standing there soldier-ready to rinse away soap suds and splatters and grit.

Just keeping it real, ya'll!

New Baby!

Last night at 10:21 we welcomed grandbaby number eight into the world!  Easton Cunningham weighed in at eight pounds and measured twenty-one-and-a-quarter inches long.

We all fell in love immediately and could hardly stop eye-balling him to pack it in and get some sleep for the next day.

He was stretched and measured and poked for a bit.

His temperature was monitored and statistics documented.

Mom and baby are doing well.

And SOMEBODY's head hardly fits through a doorway!

My bonus son seems to be one proud papa! (Grandpa is so puffed up that he wouldn't even fit into a camera shot - no really!) These guys!

And now there is one more of them.  Happiness abounds!