My Husband's Night to Cook-THURSDAYS

We have decided that Thursday is my husband's night to cook supper.

Works for me.

A Visitor

This little gal came trotting down our road a couple days ago. She was soft and smooth and clean. She recently had a collar on.

When she looked at you, you could tell she had Sharpei in her as well as Shepherd.
We gave her a bite to eat before she left on her journey to find her home. As she headed down the road, she was intently looking for it.

I hope she found it.

Snippets

If you don't tell your kids the TRUTH, then you should expect them to believe the LIE. People sneak lies into the truth, therefore, making us think that the whole thing is the truth....99% truth and 1% lie, still makes it a lie.


IF we evolved from little goo critters that washed up out of the ocean........
What are the odds that a female goo and a male goo washed up at the same time, to reproduce more goo?
Just for the record....we didn't evolve from goo.


If you know your dog bites passersby.....don't you think you would somehow change the dog's habits and allow him NOT to bite folks? I suppose we could allow all dogs ONE accidental bite but then after that don't they become a BITER?


Do you think that 31° with a breeze feels warmer than 20° with no wind? You would think, right? Well, it doesn't. lol

Year of the Pie - Pie #33 Peanut Butter Pie

I emailed my aunt Martha, she is an uber-cook. She couldn't find my granny's peanut butter pie recipe. Checked with my mom and she didn't have one. She had me check with my Uncle Delmar up in Michigan. Nothing. I didn't like the looks of the Betty Crocker recipe. So I checked my handy dandy Mennonite Cookbook. It has a lot of recipes that I like. It has four peanut butter pie recipes in it. I carefully reviewed them and chose Mrs. Noah Yoder's version. This is definitely a SHARE IT and SPARE IT pie. [ Share it to be nice, Spare the bellyache] Folks at church liked it a lot. Cut it into 12 pieces if you can. I DID take a bite and it was rich and very peanut buttery!

Make a 9 inch pie crust, {1 C. flour, 1/4 t. salt, 1/3 C. + 1 T. shortening, mix in 1 T. of ice water at a time}Prick it with a fork, chill it for about 30 minutes. Bake on 475 for 8-10 minutes. Don't let it burn.

Blend 1/2 C. peanut butter and 2/3 C. powdered sugar and make a crumb mixture. Sprinkle about 2/3 of it over the bottom of the baked pie shell.

Combine 3 egg YOLKS, 1/2 t. salt, 3 T. cornstarch, & 2/3 C. sugar and stir into 3 C. scalded milk.The picture below is of the milk almost scalded. Basically, the way I understand it is, you heat the milk over low heat until you see some steam coming up off the milk and you see little bubbles around the edge. If you give it a little stir you should find a film over it. I think it is done then.

So,after you add the mixture, cook it until thick, stirring constantly. Add 1 and 1/2 t. vanilla and 1 T. butter, cut up. See picture below. Cool slightly. Pour into the pie shell over the peanut butter crumb mixture.

Make a meringue from the 3 egg whites (that are at room temperature), 1/4 t. cream of tartar and 1/2 C. sugar. Mrs. Yoder says to use 6 T. of sugar, but I made a meringue the other day that called for 1/2 C. of sugar and it turned out pretty good. So, you choose.
She also puts the remaining 1/3 of the crumb mixture over the top of the meringue. I didn't do that. So whether you choose to do that or not you need to bake the meringue for 8 - 10 minutes at 375. Keep and eye on it.

I neglected to take a picture of the final pie.
Thanks for stopping by....until next time.

Mouse Pie - Honest!

The cracker crumb topping must be what makes this dish a PIE. Go here to read all about it.
HERE.
It is the third recipe down.

Really Good Deal on Lovely Paper Dolls

Noble Rose Press
is having a great paper doll sale.
The dolls prices are marked down and you get FREE shipping.
I am not sure there is anything I love more than FREE shipping.
Go HERE for more details.

Year of the Pie - Pie #32 Tar Heel Pie

This pie is, um, GOOD. It is like a big gooey cookie. You wouldn't really need a CRUST, just throw the ingredients in the plate and bake it!! But, then it would be less like a PIE right? So.....we really need a crust. lol
Make one in a 9 inch pie plate and chill it while you get the filling ready.

Measure 1 C. of chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but milk chocolate might work well too)
Pour 1 stick of melted butter over the chips and stir.

Mix:

• ½ C. flour
• ½ C. white sugar
• ½ C. brown sugar
• 1 C. chopped pecans
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  

Stir the chocolate chip/butter mixture and the other mixed ingredients together.
Transfer to a pie plate

Bake at 350° for @ 40 minutes. A cake tester will come out almost clean, but it is still gooey in the center, which is delightful.

Chewy and for the third time in this post.....GOOEY, goodness.
I hope you like it.
Share it and Spare it.
(this means, share it to be nice and to spare....the bellyache)
Until Next Time.

Year of the Pie - Pie #31, RITZ Pie a.k.a Mock Apple Pie

On our ride to Kokomo Saturday I mentioned this Ritz Pie to Mom. She said it is a mock apple pie. I got to checking around and she is absolutely right. NOT THAT I DOUBTED YOU MOM-EVER!!!!! lol.
I had originally planned on making a recipe from my husband's grandmother. It is called simply Ritz Pie. I checked some recipes on line and found one similar to hers, but I liked it just a bit better.
How can Ritz crackers be used to create a mock apple pie? Would it taste like apples? Would it set up right? How could this be? Well, it must fall under 'chemistry class' or something because this amazing little pie was an absolute MARVEL to make. You boil Ritz crackers and when the boiling is done....it looks like applesauce....I kid you not!! My little helper was just as amazed. Pour this 'applesauce' mixture into the pie shell and add a Ritz cracker crumble topping and you have the beginnings of a mock apple pie. I promise that if you have never made a pie like this you will be thrilled when you do. It definitely will make you smile. It is as tasty as any apple pie you will eat. It is one of my all- time favorite pie experiences.

Make the pie crust and chill it in the fridge whilst you make the filling.
Then pre-heat the oven at 475°.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine:

• 2 C. water
• 1 C. white sugar
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar

Bring this to a boil.
Drop in 30 Ritz crackers and boil for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes it looks like this.

Pour it into the pie shell and sprinkle ½ tsp. of cinnamon and 1 T. of lemon juice on top.

Mix together,

• 1 C. crushed Ritz crackers
• ½ C. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/3 C. melted butter

Sprinkle over the pie filling.

Bake for 15 minutes and reduce heat to 375° and continue to bake for 20 minutes longer.
Let it sit for a spell and then serve warm.

The Joy of Wool

I really enjoy knitting with wool, so when the opportunity to learn to 'spin' wool came, I signed right up.
That is me TRYING to spin some wool on a small treadle spinning wheel. I really really want one of these.

The above drop spindle is holding the wool that I spun on it from @10:00 to 2:00 by hand. You get the wool in place and give the spindle a spin and then bring your hand back up to help pull the wool apart....ugh. It seems that there should be more on there for 4 hours effort. lol

A basket of wool the instructor brought. Included in our fee was two of these balls. We could pick which ones we wanted.

This is a view of the BIG spinning wheel that the instructor demonstrated. That is her hand. See the white wool. It is on a drop spindle...it is turned sideways. Basically, with a wheel you have both hands free to work the wool. With the drop spindle you are using your 'free' hand to spin it and then bringing the 'free' hand back up to help the other hand...draw the wool. When the spindle begins to slow down on spinning you reach down and spin it again and continue with the drawing of the wool.

But, Praise the Lord, someone invented the wheel and a way to use your feet to keep it moving while you work with both hands on the wool.

A Special Pie

My niece Emily has a cute little post about pies.........go here.

Narnia

February 12, 2010
Outside temperature at 7:00 a.m. was 6.8 degrees.

Add a heavy layer of fog.

Fast forward a couple hours.

Where Do I Start?

It has been a very busy few days. Friday I took three young ladies to basket making class. They are all very talented at making them. Saturday, my husband dropped me off at our library so I could attend a "Learn to Spin Wool on A Drop Spindle" class. It is a skill that needs to be honed over time. It was a fun class and I brought some wool and a drop spindle home with me to practice more. Pictures will be forthcoming in the days to come. After that class my Mom picked me up and we drove to Kokomo, Indiana to the Best Buy......for the 4th time in a couple months. If you know me, you know that I don't care to 'ride' in a car. I get too nervous. I knitted like mad for all of those four trips. When she dropped me off at home, I arrived to find my husbands three grandkids who, much to my surprise, would be staying through til today. So here it is....'today'. I need to work on getting the computer working back up to pre-virus speed, laundry, and general cleaning. I DID walk this morning for the first time in about three weeks. It felt good. My hip did really well. I still feel like I have a bit of a head cold, but hopefully, it will go away soon.
Oh, yes, I had a little guest helper yesterday on the pie....so I will get a pie post up soon. You will be so surprised about this pie. To date, it is probably my favorite OVERALL pie to make. From making it, to the taste, to the MAGIC of this pie.
Stay tuned to this channel for further developements.

Year of the Pie - Pie # 30 Snow Pie

Well, this week's pie has to do with SNOW....
It's real name is White Christmas Pie. But what makes a Christmas white? Snow does. So I just changed the name. In all seriousness though, credit goes to Allrecipes.com. You can find the original recipe there. Rhea submitted it. But I will retype it here for you as well.
I thought that making this pie would rid me of the rest of the coconut.
Oh, my despair when I realized that coconut multiplies when left alone. SO....we still have coconut. This pie calls for a baked pie crust. So go ahead and do that. I wanted to show a picture of what the mixture looks like just before you sprinkle one tablespoon of water at a time and toss with a fork. Here it is.

The ingredients seemed to be never-ending. Here is a picture. Notice the whiteness of it all?

Here is what it looks like after it is poured into the shell. Chill it for 2 hours.

Took this pie to church on Superbowl Sunday. I wore my fleece Colts jacket that I made. I am really not a big fan...but I wanted to make one.

So here goes with the pie.
INGREDIENTS

1 (.25 ounce) pkg. of unflavored gelatin
1/4 C. cold water
1 C. white sugar-divided
4 T. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 ½ C. milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1 C. flaked coconut
½ C. heavy whipping cream
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 T. flaked coconut
1 (9-inch) baked pie crust
DIRECTIONS
Soften the gelatin in the cold water.

Combine ½C. sugar, flour & salt in a saucepan. Gradually stir in the milk. Cook over low heat, stirring until it boils. Boil for 1 minute and remove from the heat. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the softened gelatin. When partially set, beat with a mixer until smooth. Blend in the vanilla and coconut.
Exhale. (added by me)

Whip the cream until stiff. Gently fold into the coconut mixture-above.

In another clean bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Beat in the cream of tartar & ½ C. sugar. Add the sugar very gradually until stiff peaks form. ( this makes a very nice meringue)
Fold into the coconut mixture. Mix gently but thoroughly. Pile it into the pie crust. Sprinkle 2 T. of coconut flakes on it.

Chill for at least 2 hours.

It is a really white pie.

A Hearty-Heart-Warming Bit of Stew

Two Viruses,Pie,Snow & Stew

I have been sick with a cold. Doc prescribed a Z-pack. Should be feeling GREAT soon. Someone LOVINGLY created a virus and INADVERTENTLY sent it to our computer. Bless their hearts. I am SURE they didn't mean to do it. I learned to clean the computer completely off and hit F10 for a advanced full system recovery. Learned to set the computer up from scratch again. Learned that I missed my virtual friends. :)
I made a pie. We had snow. The Colts lost. I got a headache from too much 'computer time'. Someone please put me in 'time out'! I still have a lot of loading and downloading to do with programs that need to be on the computer. We were watching a Christy episode last evening and Ruby May's dad hit her. I said that the punishment for hitting a woman and starting a virus should be the same.......[insert your worst punishment idea here] .
I will get my pie post up soon I hope. Glad to be back and see what you all have been up to.
Until Next Time.

24 Hour Snow

10 A.M. ish Friday

1 P.M. ish Friday

5 P.M. ish Friday

10 P.M. Friday

10 A.M. Saturday

These were taken out our back door towards the neighbor's house. It wasn't a big snow, but it did lend to a nice cozy evening at home. Chris stopped at the store and picked up some pork chops. I made some homemade scalloped potatoes and microwaved a bag of Wal-Mart frozen corn. Chris threw the chops on the grill (in the garage) [do you grill in the wintertime?] and we had what we officially declared "Blizzard Supper". Although, it wasn't a blizzard. We watched movies...The Parent Trap with Haley Mills was cute. A Touch of Evil with Charlton Heston wasn't. (it must have been in his contract to make a stupid movie). Men in Black, as silly as it was....was 'watchable'. I like just about every Tommy Lee Jones movie I have seen and who doesn't like Will Smith? Really.
Anywho, that is it for now. Take Care.

A Hint of Things to Come

I am sick (ill) and have just been hanging around not doing too much. I have been watching the snow and will post pictures of that tomorrow hopefully. I don't plan on watching the Super Bowl. Ironic how my daughter has people from the Colts region and Saints region...... I have a feeling her aunts and uncles in N.O. will be pulling for the Saints and her dad (Chris) will be pulling for the Colts. Anyway, by then I would have made this weeks pie. I have chosen it to use up some ingredients that I have that need to 'get gone'. They are certainly still fresh, mind you...but just need to be used. I have decided to call this pie SNOW PIE, due to the fact that it is snowing...as we speak. In all truthfulness it is called White Christmas Pie. We will talk more about it in a day or so.....Until then...stay warm/safe/happy.

Knitting A Pair of Socks - Update #7 FINAL

Well, I did it. I finished the socks. They are a little pointy looking on the end (especially the first sock I did), but all in all I am quite pleased. I looked at a couple You Tube videos to really understand how the concept worked. The one I enjoyed the most while finishing the socks was this one. But then after the socks were finished I ran across this gal who explains it VERY well.
Maybe these two videos will help one of you with the kitchener stitch.

The above photo is my version of the kitchener stitch. Nine stitches over the top. The stitches running up at an angle are just decrease stitches. I think on the next sock project I will try to stop the decrease a bit earlier and then I would have a wider grafting area. It just seemed a little pointy.

They look real cute on Margaret.
The rug she is modeling on is as old as the hills. It belonged to my grandma.

This is how cute they look in her shoes. You can't even tell they are pointy.
I can say that if you are a stickler for your socks MATCHING exactly, you may not want to use Patons Camo colors.....I like them just fine.

Knitting A Pair of Socks - Update #6

O.K.
So I have knitted to the end of the toe decrease.
My next step is to do the grafting.
Intimidating.
I am just gonna ponder that for awhile.
Thanks for stopping by.

Knitting A Pair of Socks - Update #5

Well, I have gotten to the decrease for the toe.
Here is the view so far.

Back in the Day

This picture was taken around 1998. It is of me and my daughter.
It was before my hair started turning gray. I really liked my Tigger t-shirt.