Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Great Idea!
Ok, I just found out the coolest idea for feeding kiddos in a fun way! Muffin Tins...yup, you gotta check out the blog...
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Goodbye Sam...
In April, for her birthday, my little Kassie got a hamster! She named him Sam which is short for Samster, the hamster! He was white with grayish brown spots. She loved this little guy! He was hers after all. He would climb up on her shoulder and around to the back of her neck and it tickled. Our dog, Lucy, a black Lab, wanted to eat him...we had to be careful when he was out of his cage! Sadly, this evening, Kassie tried to get him out of his cage and told me that she couldn't wake him up. Sure enough, his body was cold and stiff. I told her that he had died. She cried so hard! I explained that tomorrow, we'd bury him. She fell asleep snuggling up to me with my arm around her on the couch. It took a while for her to calm down. It takes a lot to make Kassie cry like that! I don't know what killed Sam, he seemed fine a couple of days ago, but he will be missed! :(
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
A Couple of Recipes
Candy Bar Brownies
Makes 2 & 1/2 dozen
Ingredients
4 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 cups sugar 3/4 cups butter or margarine, melted 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cups cocoa 4 (2.07-ounce) Snickers bars, coarsely chopped 3 (1.55-ounce) Hershey's bars, finely chopped
Directions
Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl.Combine flour and the next three ingredients;stir into sugar mixture .Fold in chopped Snickers bars. Spoon batter into a greased and flour 13-x 9-x 2 inch pan; sprinkle with chopped Hershey's bars.Bake at 350 deegrees for 30 to 35 minuets.Cool on a wire rack, then cut into squares.
Caramel Popcorn
(from my friend Chau)
This is definitely a 5* recipe. Very addictive. I have made this recipe 4 times now over the last 4 weeks. Most ppl use 3 bags of popped microwave popcorn with this recipe. I have only halved the recipe and use it with 2 bags of microwave corn. It’s a big less of the candy coating, but I find it to be just the right amount. The original recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, but many ppl said that they cut the butter in half and didn’t notice it, while others said to use the full amount. I have use the full amount and ¾ cup and both work very well. Tip: For a lighter color carmel corn, use clear corn syrup and a light brown sugar. For a darker color carmel corn, use a dark corn syrup and dark brown sugar. Don’t buy generic brown sugar, C&H brand works well as noted by some reviewers of this recipe.
½ - ¾ cup butter (orig 1 c). ½ c is 8Tbs or 1 stick of butter.
2 cups light brown sugar (or 1 cup dark, 1 cup white). Also use the name brand sugar for better results.
1/2 cup light clear corn syrup (can subs with honey or molasses)
1-2 teaspoon salt (orig 1 tsp). If using salted popcorn, then 1 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn or 3 - 4 bags of microwave popcorn depending on how much of a candy coating you like.
1 tsp cinn (optional)
*Can also crush up some pretzels and/or nuts to add in.
*1 c of kernels makes enough popcorn for this recipe.
*For a chewy popcorn bake for just 15-20m instead of 40m.
Microwave directions:
Microwave the butter, sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup, letting it boil for one minute. Then stir the baking soda into the caramel mixture. Pour it over the corn in the bag and shake it up. Microwave the whole bag for about 40 seconds and shake it up again. Some sources say repeat this process 2 more times. Spread it out on a lined baking sheet to cool down. Tastes absolutely incredible, and done in under 10 minutes.
Oven Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a big roasting pan.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda (sugar solution will double in size!). Pour in a thin stream over warm popcorn, stirring to coat. Tip – keep popcorn warm in the oven prior to drizzling. This will slow down the caramel from cooling too quickly and makes it easier to coat the popcorn.
3. Bake in oven for a total of 45 min, mixing every 15 min. I usually after it’s been in the oven 5-10 min, and then at 20m, and then finish baking at 40m.
4. Let it cool and enjoy.
Makes 2 & 1/2 dozen
Ingredients
4 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 cups sugar 3/4 cups butter or margarine, melted 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cups cocoa 4 (2.07-ounce) Snickers bars, coarsely chopped 3 (1.55-ounce) Hershey's bars, finely chopped
Directions
Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl.Combine flour and the next three ingredients;stir into sugar mixture .Fold in chopped Snickers bars. Spoon batter into a greased and flour 13-x 9-x 2 inch pan; sprinkle with chopped Hershey's bars.Bake at 350 deegrees for 30 to 35 minuets.Cool on a wire rack, then cut into squares.
Caramel Popcorn
(from my friend Chau)
This is definitely a 5* recipe. Very addictive. I have made this recipe 4 times now over the last 4 weeks. Most ppl use 3 bags of popped microwave popcorn with this recipe. I have only halved the recipe and use it with 2 bags of microwave corn. It’s a big less of the candy coating, but I find it to be just the right amount. The original recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, but many ppl said that they cut the butter in half and didn’t notice it, while others said to use the full amount. I have use the full amount and ¾ cup and both work very well. Tip: For a lighter color carmel corn, use clear corn syrup and a light brown sugar. For a darker color carmel corn, use a dark corn syrup and dark brown sugar. Don’t buy generic brown sugar, C&H brand works well as noted by some reviewers of this recipe.
½ - ¾ cup butter (orig 1 c). ½ c is 8Tbs or 1 stick of butter.
2 cups light brown sugar (or 1 cup dark, 1 cup white). Also use the name brand sugar for better results.
1/2 cup light clear corn syrup (can subs with honey or molasses)
1-2 teaspoon salt (orig 1 tsp). If using salted popcorn, then 1 tsp. salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn or 3 - 4 bags of microwave popcorn depending on how much of a candy coating you like.
1 tsp cinn (optional)
*Can also crush up some pretzels and/or nuts to add in.
*1 c of kernels makes enough popcorn for this recipe.
*For a chewy popcorn bake for just 15-20m instead of 40m.
Microwave directions:
Microwave the butter, sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup, letting it boil for one minute. Then stir the baking soda into the caramel mixture. Pour it over the corn in the bag and shake it up. Microwave the whole bag for about 40 seconds and shake it up again. Some sources say repeat this process 2 more times. Spread it out on a lined baking sheet to cool down. Tastes absolutely incredible, and done in under 10 minutes.
Oven Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a big roasting pan.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda (sugar solution will double in size!). Pour in a thin stream over warm popcorn, stirring to coat. Tip – keep popcorn warm in the oven prior to drizzling. This will slow down the caramel from cooling too quickly and makes it easier to coat the popcorn.
3. Bake in oven for a total of 45 min, mixing every 15 min. I usually after it’s been in the oven 5-10 min, and then at 20m, and then finish baking at 40m.
4. Let it cool and enjoy.
Here come the holidays!!
WOW! I can't believe it's already that time of year!! Things are getting so busy in our lives right now, that it's almost too overwhelming to think of food prep! Why is it that my brain can't seem to think about more than one task at a time? I used to handle it well and get stuff done quite efficiently....but no more!
The good news is...that I have 3 pretty independent kiddos with me all day! They help clean house and keep me company. I'm hoping to do a lot of cooking/baking holiday treats this year, since we're all home. I'm praying for the endurance and strength I need to complete that task! I'll post some great holiday treat recipes for all to share.
The good news is...that I have 3 pretty independent kiddos with me all day! They help clean house and keep me company. I'm hoping to do a lot of cooking/baking holiday treats this year, since we're all home. I'm praying for the endurance and strength I need to complete that task! I'll post some great holiday treat recipes for all to share.
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