Comfort Food

I've been sewing and working around the house this weekend, so what's for supper after all that work??? Some homemade potato soup and cornbread!




Of course the cornbread was made in a cast iron skillet.



And for dessert? A glass of cold milk with cornbread in it. Reminds me of my mom, she always liked putting cornbread in her milk.



Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I did mine~

Sewing for the Grandkids

I got to spend some time sewing this weekend,which was great! I finished Kaylee and Nolan's trick or treat bags. I decided not to put their names on them, just made them simple.



I made a tooth fairy pillow for Kaylee. I think I need to put a little bow on one side of the ribbon.




And I made a few burp cloths and baby wipes case for the newest grandbaby, Aubrey, who should be arriving by mid December. What a great Christmas present for Kellie and Brandon!

It's Apple Time

It's apple season once again, which makes for busy weekends! Making and canning apple butter, making fresh apple pies and getting ready for pears to be ready for pear preserves. My personal favorite are the pears, but apples come in a close second. I love the way my house smells when cooking with apples.

Here is a good recipe for Apple Pie. It's bake in parchment paper and turns out really good!

Before:





After:




Here it is in the parchment paper before going in the oven:




After baking:






Dutch Apple Pie

About 5 cups apples; peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 9 inch unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 425°. Put apples in pie crust. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon together. Pour over apples. Sprinkle lemon juice on top. Cut 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup butter together and top pie with mixture. Take two pieces of parchment paper and enclose pie. Fold up edges and staple. Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven, and split parchment paper. Cool pie on wire rack.

Enjoy! Now I've got to go make the apple butter.

Baby, It's Hot Outside!

We are having some record setting heat around here this summer! It sure makes it hard to get things done when you get off work. All you want to do is stay in the air conditioned house. It sure makes you appreciate air conditioning! So, what do you do when it's hot outside????

You make ice cream! We made some homemade ice cream for the 4th of July. We don't think you can enjoy the Fourth without homemade ice cream! It sure was good! But when you don't have time to make ice cream, the next best thing is this:




Any of Blue Bell's ice cream is good, but in the summertime for a limited time, they have Southern Blackberry cobbler. It's my favorite!!!! Just look at the blackberry swirls running through it.



It has bits of cobbler crust and lots of blackberries and swirls. It really tastes like blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Oh, it's great!!! I think I'll go fix me another bowl.



* I had planned on posting this last week when we really did have some hot weather, but then got busy. Lucky for us, we are enjoying cooler weather with rain. Yea for the rain!!!!

I THINK I CAN

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! I've got to get back into the swing of things and get back to blogging!!!!!!

After all, so much is going on. Blogging is a great way to journal and posts recipes and tell everyone what's happening with our family. I just get so busy and caught up in other stuff that I don't take the time to blog. I miss it! And I really miss visiting other bloggers.

The Little Engine That Could was one of my favorite books when I was little. I love the way it teaches children that with a little hard work and optimism you can succeed. Speaking of children's books .... take a look at this.

That's the night stand in my guest room with children's books. I usually try to keep this shelf in better order, but by the time the grandkids leave, this is what it looks like. We got to keep Kaylee for a week (well, nearly a week) and after reading her nighttime stories, the shelf was back to being a disaster.


Here's one she picked for me to read to her.



This book belonged to her mother. There is no telling how many times I've read this book. And look what's on the inside cover:



Jennifer passed it on down to Brandon. And speaking of Brandon, this was one of his favorite books:




And Kaylee has it memorized, too. I just love children's books. And since I'm going to have another grandchild in December, it looks like I'll be adding more books to the book shelf. Luckily, my daughter and daughter-in-law enjoy children's books as much, if not more, than I do!

Ready for Spring

I am so ready for spring! The first of the year always gets me so far behind in everything! I've got so many projects planned and not enough time. I'm barely able to keep caught up on reading all my favorite blogs.

The trees are starting to bloom and in another few weeks, the wildflowers should start appearing. The landscaper came and scalped the yard this weekend and should bring the sand tomorrow to level it up. He's really a little late this year because the grass is already starting to turn green and grow. I'm ready to plant some flowers, but around here it's best to wait until after Mother's day.

Spring is such a wonderful time of year!

"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies."
Nadine Stair

WE NEED RAIN!!!

It has been so windy and dry here, which makes for ideal conditions for wild fires.






This fire came within a few hundred yards of my brother-in-laws house.




Lots of friends, neighbors, employees and family showed up to help. The Texas Forest Service was there along with Air Attack Helitankers and seven area fire departments. They were able to contain the fire and only one house burned down.

And now today, there are more fires underway. Please pray for rain, the safety of homeowners in the path of the fires and the men and women that are putting their lives in danger to battle the fires.

Some Projects

I've been working on a few things lately and thought I would share them with you. My granddaughter's school has an auction and a carnival each year as one of their fundraisers. I made a few baby things for the auction. Here's the girl's burp cloths and blanket.

And some things for a baby boy.




If you're anywhere near Lewisville, Texas on Saturday, March 7th, be sure and stop by the auction. There are some really great things to bid on. Go here to check out some other items donated by area businesses.

Now that I have those done, I can start on my next project. My son, Brandon, made this for me for Christmas.

Just look at the detail.

He started out making this for Kellie and then when they moved into their new house, they decided it wouldn't work where they were going to put it, so I got it. Isn't it pretty? I think I'm going to stain the top and the drawers and then paint the rest of it. It's going to go in the game room and I'll hang the TV on the wall above the cabinet. Now if I can only decide what color I want.

Sad Cake

Super Bowl Sunday!!!!!

I hope your team made it to the Super Bowl. My team, The Cowboys, sure didn't!!!! The Boys really disappointed me this year!

Yes, Tony, hang your head in shame.

As we keep saying year after year after year, "Oh well, there's always next year!"

It's been a tradition that whenever the Cowboys don't make it to the Super Bowl, then I make this cake, Sad Cake, on Super Bowl Sunday. Unfortunately, I make it way too often!

It's really simple with only four ingredients. You can't get any easier than that!



2 cups of biscuit mix, 1 box brown sugar (2 2/3 cups), 1 can coconut (1 1/2 cups) and 4 eggs.




Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix.



It will be rather thick, like a cookie dough. Then put into a 13 X 9 pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.



The cake actually gets it's name because it rises then falls. It really turns out more like a bar cookie instead of a cake.

I think I'll cut me a piece and go watch the Super Bowl.




Sad Cake

2 cups biscuit mix
1 box brown sugar (2 2/3 cups)
1 small can coconut (1 1/3 cups)
4 eggs.

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased and floured 13 X 9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I'm a Pepper, You're a Pepper

My favorite drink is Dr Pepper. And when it's cold outside, it's great warmed up and served with a slice of lemon. Ummm, Ummm good! And there's nothing better than good ole Dublin Dr Pepper because it is still made the old fashioned way with Imperial Pure Cane Sugar. Dublin Texas became the site of the world's oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant in 1891, just six years after the drink was invented in nearby Waco, Texas. It wasn't until 1904 that Dr Pepper gained national exposure when it was introduced to the rest of the U.S. and the world at the 1904 World Fair in St. Louis. I'm lucky enough to live close enough to Dublin, that many of the grocery stores will stock Dublin Dr Pepper along with ones bottles in other places. But, Dublin Dr Pepper is absolutely the best!!!!

Take a look at this 1934 ad, Makes a Guy Snappy, Happy and Keen!




In 1936 it tells us how it aids with digestion and combats acidity.





Doesn't little Miss Judy Mae look sweet? This was in 1939.





Here's one from 1943.





And of course Dr Pepper reminded everyone to help America remain free in 1944.





In 1947 we were reminded of the sweet life.




The 50's and the good life!




In 1962 you've got it served cold.




And in 1965 served my favorite way, hot.




And in 1969, supporting Miss Teen America.




And in the 70's, they told the story.



Ahhh, all this talk of Dr Pepper is making me thirsty.



and hungry. I think I'll fix a Dr Pepper cake



made with




Dublin Dr Pepper!