Reading and having my cake, too........

Last fall, I spotted this book at Barnes and Noble.............

I had to have it but I never quite found time to start reading it. Things got busy with the holidays, my mom's health and the crazy weather. But now, with everything Christmas all packed away, I decided it was time to really read this book. The author is Tara Frey and you will find her blog here . It's a very interesting book. Lots of familiar blogs are highlighted in the book. There are great tips and a lot one can learn. I have learned a lot since I first set up my blog but I realized from this book that I have a lot more I could learn!! I think this is going to be like taking a class as I read this book. If I say I have to quit blogging to "go study", you'll know why!

Would I recommend the book to other bloggers? Yes, I would. You might check your local library so you can see for yourself or stop at a bookstore and thumb through it. If it's a book you know you will want to add to your library, then make the purchase. I do that with most books. I love them and have a huge library of quilting and crafty titles but I don't buy a book without being able to see what's between the covers. I almost ordered a quilting book on-line because I was so sure I would love the book. Then I happened to find it at a quilt shop and when I flipped through it, I realized it was not what I thought it was and decided not to purchase. That doesn't happen very often. I simply like books and just like fabric, can't turn a copy down! With George Washington's birthday coming up, I cannot tell a lie. There was one book that I ordered "sight unseen". Mark Lipinski recommended it on his Yahoo group and I ordered it right away. It was "Crazy Quilts" by Cindy Brick and it is awesome, one of my favorite books!

Okay, so let's change the subject to food..........like something really good from the oven! Last Saturday, our son and his girlfriend came out for the day and stayed for dinner. I fixed a roast and real mashed potatoes and carmelized carrots and then.........there was dessert. That morning, I mixed up a yellow cake mix and poured the batter into two round cakepans. I sliced up some cooked apple slices and placed them in one pan. Then I sprinkled Heath bits over the apples. Finally, I crumbled brown sugar (about a 1/2 cup) over the top of the entire cake. For the second cake, I used chocolate chips, then the Heath bits and the brown sugar. They looked like this before I popped them in the oven...............

And then they looked like this when I took them out of the oven!

I cut slices and added ice cream and then..........there was Hot Fudge to drizzle on the chocolate chip cake and Caramel topping for the apple cake. It was really good and was my Valentine treat for our dinner. :-) So, are you hungry yet?!!! This is an easy way to make a coffee cake and it is really quick. Change the fruit to peaches or add peanut butter chips to the chocolate chip cake and it just keeps getting better!

That's all for tonight..............

Sandi

Pecan Praline Pumpkin Muffins!

See these muffins.................they were really good!!
You all may remember that a few weeks ago, I won a giveaway over at Barb's blog. I won that towel you see in the photo below and a potholder that she made. It came all the way from Pago Pago and you can read about it here. A little edit here.......her niece sent me the muffin mix so I can't give you the recipe but you can go ThePreparedPantry for more info. Sorry I forgot to mention this in my initial post! I planned to make the muffins on Christmas morning but we got so preoccupied with the big snowstorm that I forgot to make the muffins. :-(
Then I realized that there was a better time to bake them anyway, because my husband doesn't like pumpkin pie so how could he like pumpkin muffins? I served them up for Bible Study this past Tuesday afternoon! Then I asked the gals to let me take their picture so Barb could see how happy they were to be dining on Pecan Praline Pumpkin Muffins. They were all anxious to eat them but patiently allowed me to take their photo!! :-) Thank you so much, Barb, for the lovely gifts! The muffins were delicious!! That's Dorothy, Arline, Carolyn (who will celebrate her 96th birthday on January 10th!), and Doris in the photo on the left and Dianne and Joanie in the photo on the right. I must admit, though, that my muffins didn't look quite as loverly as the ones on the package but looks aren't everything and the taste, especially that crumbled brown sugar pecan topping, was excellent!

We had a lovely visit and a good study from a book on Angels. I told them about the introduction of my Angel blocks and how much fun I have had sharing my designs with so many women all around the world!! We enjoyed the afternoon so much that it was almost 4:30 p.m. before everyone left. As I waved good-bye to everyone, I saw this in the distance.................
I grabbed my camera so you could see it, too. The sunset was just awesome and my photo doesn't do it justice. It was one of the reasons I wanted to move to the country. I wanted cornfields and cows on nearby farms (I wasn't looking to farm, though!) and beautiful sunsets. This is just one of many. :-)
Yesterday, I had some other friends come for lunch and I fixed a really tasty hotdish. It's worth sharing. I would show you a picture but I was too hungry and enjoying our conversation so much that I forgot to get photos! Anyway, here's the scoop......it's a Bisquick recipe so if you can't get Bisquick, you might not be able to make this one. It's a variation of their Cheeseburger pie recipe. :-)

Hotdish for a Cold Day

Spray 9 x 13" pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Set oven to 400 degrees.

You will need:

Two cans of Veg-All or any other brand mixed vegetables

One can Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (or Cream of Chicken Soup)

One large can chunky chicken (or 1 cup cooked chopped chicken)

Bisquick

Four Eggs

2-1/2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheese

In large bowl, mix the 2 cans of vegetables, the can of Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup,

1/2 cup milk, the chunky/chopped chicken, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.

Mix well and pour in 9 x 13" pan.

Next, mix 1-1/2 cups bisquick with the four beaten eggs and 2 cups milk.

Blend well and pour over vegetable mix. Bake for 30 minutes,

then add the remaining one cup of shredded cheese and bake an additional ten minutes.

Remove from oven and let set for a few minutes before slicing.

Makes twelve generous servings.

Tastes great with coleslaw, carrot sticks and crisp, bread and butter pickle slices. :-)

This really did taste good on such a cold, cold day! And especially since our house just can't seem to warm up when it's this cold outside! Guess, we've had too many days of near zero weather and Mother Nature is bringing us a couple more before we finally climb out of the "deep freeze". When we hit 20 degrees next week, it is going to feel like a heat wave!!

I better close it out for tonight. Sleep tight and stay warm!

Sandi

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake!

I just had to share this with you...........

yummy chocolate cake ...... but not just any chocolate cake ........ it's Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. My mother used to make this when we were kids and it was good when it was baked and frosted but even better was licking the bowl!! Would you like the recipe? Got it right here .......... written on a recipe card about 1970 so it's got dots of chocolate on it and at some point, the ink got wet so I can barely read the amount of cocoa but it's there ............. and so here you go .........

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Sift 3 times

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Then add.......

1 cup sugar

1 cup cold water

3/4 cup salad dressing (mayonnaise or Miracle Whip,

either one will do)

1 teaspoon vanilla

That's it! Mix it all together and pour into a 9 x 13 pan and bake about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Bake time may depend on your oven.

You can make fudge frosting or use Pillsbury's Fudge frosting and spread it all over the top,

then melt some vanilla frosting to drizzle on top.

Tastes great with ice cream and double-great if you add peanuts, too.

I served this up at Bible Study yesterday with the ice cream and nuts. It's been several weeks since I joined the group and it was time I hosted at my house. We had an interesting lesson on Martha and Mary that I think I will post about at a later time. I enjoy the Bible study group and always come away feeling refreshed, reflective, rejuvenated. There ya go, a new set of "the three R's"!

More later.

Sandi