A Proverbs 31 Kind of Day

I made the sugar cookies. I made the icing plan -- sketching out on paper what I thought would be cute. I have to do this.  When I sketch it out, it helps me to know which frosting to put on first; what areas I'll have to let dry before I put another color on; when to put on the sprinkles, etc, etc, etc! I made two mistakes this time. I'll show them to you.  Mistakes aren't bad; they help me do better next time.  Thankfully, mistakes taste the same as successes. First mistake:  I over baked my cookies.  I did a little change to my cookie dough.  Why?  I have no idea!  I have a great recipe.  Lesson learned:  don't mess with the dough! Second mistake:  I tried to decorate when there was too much going on at home.  "Mom!"  "Mom!"  "Mom!"  Even though I had a plan, I didn't pay enough attention to the fact that it really wasn't working! Here are the goods!  USA, he...

Braum's. My favorite ice cream store. Has been since I was big enough to stand up in the front seat, between my parents. Yep, you read that right. That used to be legal! I could spot this sign from a mile away: My mom and dad even got to the point where they wouldn't say the word anymore . . .they'd spell it!   . . .As if!! "Do you want to stop at 'B.R.A.U.M'S?" they'd say. "I do!"  I'd say! Then, I got where I'd say, "Let's go to B.R.A.U.M'S!"  I was a smart kid! Now that I'm older . . .and wearing a seatbelt, I like Braum's for: ice cream milk sausage egg nog sour cream bananas chocolate milk buttermilk bread jalapeno dip There's probably more reasons why I like Braum's -- but I think 10's a good number.  I'm stopping there for now! So, why do I write this? Tonight I made a homemade strawberry sauce, and a mixed berry sauce, and homemade ice...

We love Mexican food. We could eat it every day . . .really! It's delicious! One thing I like are the beans.  But I'm not too hip on the refried beans. They'll do -- as in "if I'm starving and it's been three days since I've eaten" kind of do. But truthfully, that's never happened! But Charro beans -- that's a different story. A few weeks ago, we had a house-full for dinner.  Mexican food, of course!  One, because it's easier, and two, it's our favorite.  When looking at what all we had, I thought we might need one more item to help it all stretch.  I whipped up this easy version of charro beans. The crock was empty at the end of dinner! Easy Charro Beans 1 pound dried pinto beans 1 can Rotel, drained 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 can beef broth salt and pepper to taste Sort and rinse beans.  Place in a large bowl and soak for about an hour.  Drain off all water and place beans, chopped gar...

Picture used from the Internet -- we ate all of ours before I got the camera out!  Oops! I've always wanted to try to make meatballs. That sounds so " Italian !" Words like: "Ciao!" "Italiano!" "Buon appetito!" "Grazie" and "Meatballs!" When we had friends for dinner, I decided that would be the time to try something new!  (Actually, if you're brave enough to do it -- when you're having friends for dinner really is a good time to try a new recipe!) The meatballs did take a bit more time, but it was well worth the effort! So -- here's the "ricetta!"  (That's Italian for recipe!) Spaghetti and Meatballs Sauce * 2 cans Italian style stewed tomatoes 1 - 8oz can tomato sauce 1/2 tomato sauce can of water 1 can tomato paste 1/4 cup of sugar 2 TBSP Italian seasoning 1 small onion, chopped Place the above ingredients in a crock po...

My cherubs had it all planned: grilled hamburgers with caramelized onions, bacon and blue cheese potato salad blackberry cobbler That's what they wanted to cook for their daddy for Father's Day. I thought it was great!  Except when they were with their Mimi and I was grocery shopping, I changed the dessert. To this: This is a delicious cake, made in a Mary Ann cake pan, with a fabulous cream filling, topped with berries! It was a hit, both with the cherubs AND the Mr.! You may ask, "What's a Mary Ann pan?"  It's a cake pan that has a shallow well, so when your cake is baked, there's a perfect place for all sorts of yummy fillings!  If you don't have a Mary Ann pan, just use regular round or square pans, making a 2 or 3 layer cake, and spread the filling between the layers. Basic Cake Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pans Flour, for dusting the pans 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix 4 ...

Enjoy this guest post. Well, it's not really a guest post.  If you want to read it -- you'll have to visit her website. Not only that, she doesn't know who I am.  She has no idea that I'm sending people to read her blog. I think if she knew, I think she'd want to gussy up for your visit! Not my image . . . I drink mine too fast to get a picture! When I read her entry on "The Perfect Iced Coffee" I knew it was going to be a hit! I've already made my batch of yummy coffee concentrate -- and in 2 days I've made 7 delicious drinks!  I'm not telling a lie when I say they weren't all for me! For a great read and the recipe for the perfect iced coffee, go to http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ Under the cooking tab, it's called "The Perfect Iced Coffee" from June 13.  Also, the last time I checked, on her home page, on the right hand side was a quick link.  Use that . . . so you can get to the facts faster and get y...

I've been teaching in Vacation Bible School this week. It's been a wild week. It's been a good week. I've done Vacation Bible School for a lot of years and I do believe that this team of ladies that I worked with has been the best yet. To show my appreciation to them, I made them "Wild Thank You" sugar cookies last night. I hope there's an extra one . . .I think I want a treat too! *This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe with the cookie icing that's not royal icing.  It did take all night for them to dry -- but they were ready to be bagged this morning!  Yeah!

I made this! I can't believe that something I painted turned out "hanging worthy!" The other day, my girl cherub and I went with some friends to a pottery place. The girls painted. Then, we two moms decided it might be fun to paint something too. I went cheap . . .who knew if it would turn out looking right! It did! I think these would make cute Christmas tree ornaments, or gift tags (which would be part of the gift) or some other kind of fun treat! Here's what I did with mine. You know when people come over to your house and they always want to know where to put the trash? If you say, "pull the door to the left of the sink" . . . all of those cabinet doors look the same. So, now I'll say, "the cabinet door with the "M." Because "M" could stand for my last initial . . . or it could stand for "ME!" 

Cinderella was the ballet performance this year.  She practices her part. My cherub also dances tap. This was NOT Cinderella . . ! My cherub danced with 2 friends for an outstanding ballet to the song "Dreams."  Did I say outstanding?  

There's a lot to the game of baseball. There's pitching . . . and hitting . . . and running . . . and stealing . . . and catching . . . and throwing . . . and timing.  There's team signals . . . and sideline coaches . . . and extra innings . . . and umpires. . . and spitting sunflower seeds. . . and player positions. . . and opposing teams.  There is the coach who teaches the boy how to be a true athlete. On and off the field. How to be humble when he's winning and gracious when he's loosing. A coach who believes in a boy. Who encourage and builds up; who treats the player and umpires with respect. Who teaches the boy to play with integrity. A coach who helps the boy go beyond what he thinks he can do . . .and provides a safe place to try something new. A coach who believes; not only in his team but also in the Lord.

Did you ever have one of these when you were a little kid? I did -- I remember it well. I remember the delicious cakes! Some things have changed for the Easy-Bake Oven . . . like they're plastic now! But the Easy-Bake mixes are just about the same!  Wink, Wink! My sweet little cherub (all decked out in her Summer look!) has had an Easy-Bake Oven for a long time. We did the pre-package "convenience" mixes 1 time. And 1 time only! If she was going to bake and I was going to have to eat it . . . I wasn't eating that stuff! Plus, those mixes aren't necessarily cheap! So, this momma figured out how to use my recipe mixes in my cherub's Easy-Bake Oven! That's right -- real cake and cookie mixes that actually taste good after they've been cooked with a light bulb! Here's what we do! First, she begs me to get her Easy-Bake Oven down off of the shelf and asks me if I have any number of mixes ready. Usua...

A long time ago I got a delicious recipe from a great friend.  That recipe is called "Stuffed Flank Steak." Whenever we have this fabulous meal, we always think about our friends, Eric and Peggy . . .  . . . and we usually laugh over some long-lost memory!  Both the steak and the friends are great. The other day, I was going to make her recipe.  But when I opened the flank steak, I realized it was to thin to stuff. What a bummer! So, I decided to use some of the ingredients to make a sauce . . .kind of like smothered steak rather than stuffed. It was equally delicious!  My girl cherub, who could really be a vegetarian, ate 2 pieces of the meat!  She's even asked for this dinner for her birthday . . .in JANUARY!!!  So if the self-proclaimed vegetarian ate the meat -- it must be good! Onion and Parmesan Cheese Sauce 1 onion, sliced 1/4 cup butter 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 Parmesan cheese* Slice the onions -- not to thin and not t...

That's right!  There is an improvement on peanut butter! You may ask yourself, "How can that be?"  By doing "add ins!" "What?" All I can say is trust me on this one! I'll keep it short and sweet; here's the recipe!  For those of you who want exact measurements -- you might panic a little!  Trust yourself and your taste buds!  Just make it the way you like it! Butterscotch Peanut Butter Butterscotch chips** (found by the chocolate chips) Peanut Butter Take a desired amount of butterscotch chips and melt in the microwave.  I start with about a 1/4 of the bag. Take a big spoon full of peanut butter and mix it all together. Taste.  Ask yourself these questions: "Do I like it?"  "Does it need more peanut butter?" "Does it need more butterscotch chips?" Based on your answer depends on what you do next!  You can either: Keep it the way it is. Add more peanut butter. Add more melted butter...