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!