Making it Monday...

This was our dessert last evening at our Sunday family supper.  It's called a German-ChocoFlan.  A client brought some into work for us, and I begged for the recipe.  Here's where I have to apologize, because I cannot share her recipe with you.  The one she gave me is her own creation, and I didn't ask permission to share it.

But here is a link to a similar recipe and its video.  Both of the recipes (the one in the preceding link and my client's) are baked in a water bath.  That was a little nerve wracking with Rudy curiously running around my feet

And I would suggest baking it the day before you want to serve it, since you have to completely cool before turning it out of the pan; and you want to chill it and store in the refrigerator.

Now, the texture of mine turned out much differently than our client's.  Her choco layer was more of a cake texture, and both of my layers were more of a cheesecake texture.  I'm pretty sure I know what I misunderstood in the recipe that caused that.  But, hey, I love cheesecake, so I really like how it turned out.  I will try it again the way I think she intended, and then I may just have to try it again the exact way I did it this time.  ;)

Making it Monday...

I made this yesterday while a cake was in the oven.  Neither the wreath nor the cake were the best work I've ever done, but they both were passable.  I took them with me to Kasey & Beau's for Sunday family supper.

I saw this tutorial on Youtube, and I just really wanted to make one.  I don't usually decorate with wreaths, so I figured if Kasey didn't want it, maybe one of the girls might want to hang it in their room.

And it's a good thing I had intended all along to give it away, because it drove Rudy crazy!  He wanted to tear into it SO bad!  LOL  I think he thought it was a toy for him, because the legs do bear a striking resemblance to his Monkey Love (of which he has had many).  🙈  

Everything's peachy...

We have two peach trees.  They were here when we bought the property.  One has never borne any fruit to my knowledge.  The one with this year's crop usually doesn't put on many, and we have rarely been able to pick even one or two before the squirrels or birds get them.  

This year there were enough for a cobbler as well as some for eating.  They were really sweet and juicy.

I made the cobbler today for Sunday family supper.  Peeling is such a messy job.  And since I wanted it fresh from the oven to take to Kasey and Beau's, I was in a bit of a rush at the end, and forgot to take any photos.  It looked pretty, but I can't say it was anyone's favorite.

I hope I get another chance to improve my cobbler making next year.  It would be nice if this year was the start of regular good crops.

Sunday dessert...

My mother was a great baker.  Kasey fondly mentions my mom's cinnamon rolls occasionally, and how they were the best.  I've been meaning to make a batch for a long while.  

They were a big hit at Sunday family supper.  And Kasey looked as happy, and messy, as she always did when mom made them.  :)

Happy Easter...

I hope everybody enjoyed Easter blessings today.  

I put together some teeny baskets (inspired by Rachel Tessman on Youtube) to hold some chocolate treats for the girls.  Then I found out Bobby had made a quick trip home and that we would get to see him, so I made another without the flowers.  :)

When we got there, he was grabbing a nap on the sofa.  I took a quick snap when he woke up.

And it's bluebonnet season again, so I managed (barely) to talk the girls into taking a few pictures out in them.

They were not thrilled, and refused to go to a spot that is a much better setting but too public for their liking.  That's okay.   I made each of these three photos of the kids into postcards using the Touchnote app.  Love that app.  Open the app, choose a photo from your phone, write a message, include an address, and they print and mail it snail mail to the recipient.  

If I remember correctly, the cost is about $2 per postcard.  I have quite a few credits that I purchased when they were having a special.  Carey's mom really likes getting pictures of the kids in the mail.  I also used it while we were on vacation to send postcards to the kids.  They are printed on nice thick, glossy postcards.  Fun mail!

Tomorrow it's back to work, so I need to go pack a lunch.  Have a great week, everybody!

Weekending...

Well, tomorrow starts the first day of my month o' work.  The surgery of the person I am filling in for got moved up a week.  Praying all goes well with her surgery and recovery.

Caitlyn spent the night here on Friday.  She wanted to make some chokers and bracelets.  That was fun...and handy.  When I delivered her home, I came home to a table still set up for jewelry making.  I made this necklace yesterday; pearls and metal beads on twine.  Another one is planned to put together soon; too tired tonight, and I want to go to bed early (for me). 

I caught up on laundry this weekend, and made sure my clothes are ready for the week.  I have a pretty limited work wardrobe, since I usually only work two or three days in a row, so the next few weeks are going to be a challenge.  I thought some new necklaces might help me stretch the wardrobe a bit.  Also, I want to downsize my jewelry-making supplies, so after I make a few pieces, I will know better what I want to let go of.

I made an Apple Upside-Down Cake for supper at Kasey's tonight.  A couple of the crew don't like pineapple, so didn't want to make that, and I had a bag of apples in the fridge that needed to be used.  I just sauteed the apple slices in butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, then spread them in a greased 9" x 13" cake pan and poured yellow cake mix batter over it and baked.  I let it cool a little and then turned out on a serving dish.  It was pretty popular with the troops, Chloe in particular, who asked me to please leave the leftover cake at their house.  :)  Supper was delicious: Carne Guisada in the slow cooker with homemade flour tortillas courtesy of Diego, who was taught by his 'uela recently.  I'm stuffed.

I need to empty the dishwasher, make a lunch to take to work tomorrow, and call it a night.

Hope everybody has a good week!

Playing in the dirt...

Caitlyn was overjoyed that the two months of pumpkin desserts are over for this year, and had put in her request for 'Dirt Cups' many times over the past month or so...the kind made from chocolate pudding, whipped topping, and crushed Oreos, that is.

I didn't have any gummy worms to decorate them.  I did have popsicle sticks and time on my hands, so I made some garden stakes for them instead. 

Sunday supper...

We were able to go to Kasey and Beau's for supper tonight.  I made Bananas Foster for this week's dessert.  Five minutes to prepare and got good reviews.  While I was there, the girls wanted me to trim their hair in preparation for school starting on Tuesday, so of course I did.

Then when I got home, these leaves were lying on the driveway.  (Not all together; I gathered them up for the photo.)  This is more fall color than I've ever seen in my yard; we have all oak trees that don't change color.  I can only assume that Harvey left these.  We definitely haven't had any cool nights to make any local trees change...unless they were just stressed by the storm.

But it is interesting, as we are in the planning and preparation stage for our vacation time specifically to enjoy some autumnal splendor this year.  Looking at these makes me very excited.

Sunday family supper dessert...

Tonight's dessert is from Very Best Baking by Nestlé ...Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie.   

It turned out fabulously yummy.  And the scoop of vanilla ice cream sends it over the top!

It was very popular with our troops.  The recipe is at the link up top as well as at What's Cookin' 4 Miles North of Nowhere.

Earthquake cupcakes...

I wanted to make Earthquake Cake for Sunday family dinner today.   I left it till very late in the day, and wasn't sure a full size cake would have time to cool.  I was pretty sure I could figure out how to make my recipe into cupcakes, but again, I had no time to spare.  I Googled 'earthquake cupcakes' and sure enough found this recipe.

I whisked the powdered sugar right into the pan with the melted cream cheese and butter (why dirty another dish?), and I stirred the coconut into the cream cheese mixture instead of putting it in the bottom of the cupcake liners.  I left out the pecans altogether, since we have one who doesn't like nuts.   I didn't bother swirling the cream cheese mixture in any way, just spooned a scoop onto the top of the cake batter; I was all about the quickest, easiest way today.  I wish I had thought to sprinkle chocolate chips on top before baking, but nobody else missed them.  

The cupcakes were very well received, and I will be making them again.  Making them into cupcakes makes them a little more portable, say for a lunchbox, than a cut piece of cake.

Happy Easter...

I hope that everyone had a lovely Easter.  We had a quiet day.  I made Faithy's Favorite Layered Dessert to take to Sunday family dinner at Kasey's, decorated with some candy Easter eggs, of course.

I've been working on a project for an article that is due at the end of the week.  I'm getting close to being done, but need to take photographs, and it has been a bit cloudy and so somewhat dark in the house.  The longer it takes, the more time I have to think that things need tweaking.

I work all week this week.  I am not used to working that many days in a row anymore!  

Apple Brown Betty...

"She could peel an apple in one long curly strip."  That's the quote I always think of when I'm peeling apples.

Unfortunately, I only ever get about this far before it breaks.

Usually I quarter the apple, then cut the core from each quarter, then peel the quarter.  I find it easier, and it doesn't give me an inferiority complex because I can't do it all in one strip.

Today I made Apple Brown Betty for Sunday dinner dessert.  I remember my mother making Apple Brown Betty when I was a kid.  It was one of the very few things that she made from a store-bought mix instead of from scratch.  

I used Pioneer Woman's recipe for the most part, but I played fast and loose with ingredients and amounts as I wanted to double it to feed a crowd and to use up a bag of apples that has been taking up space in my fridge without being eaten and a loaf of homemade cinnamon bread that had been hiding in my freezer for about a year.

I peeled and sliced about ten smallish Gala apples very thinly.  I cut the cinnamon bread into thin slices, and then cut those slices into small cubes.  Got out my bag of dark brown sugar and two sticks of salted butter.  I used about a tablespoon of the butter and rubbed it into the baking pan with the wrapper to cover generously.

I sprinkled about 3/4 c of loose brown sugar (not packed) over the bottom of the pan.  Then I spread about 1/3 of the apple slices over that.  Then I spread about 1/3 of the cubed cinnamon bread over the apples.  Then I repeated those layers twice more (3 layers of each total) ending with the cubed bread on top.

Then I cut the butter into very thin pats and place them side by side over the bread cubes to cover completely.

This is easier when using very cold butter and a very thin bladed paring knife.  Today my favorite paring knife for this job was in the dishwasher, so I used a not-so-favorite one and pouted to myself the entire time.

I used two 1/2 cup sticks of butter for this job.  I used about a tablespoon to grease the pan, and ended up with another tablespoon left over at the end.

Sprinkle a little more brown sugar over the top of the buttered top, and then sprinkle about six tablespoons of water over the top of the whole thing.  I covered the pan with foil and baked it at 375͒ F for 45 minutes.  Then I uncovered it and let it bake about 5 or 10 more minutes.

I forgot to take a photo till after it had been tucked into.  We served it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it was a hit with the troops.  I thought it was just a tad too sweet, in the way of desserts that don't have a smidge of salt added to the recipe, if you know what I mean.  It was a nice warm dessert for an autumn day, and it made the house smell lovely.

Now, if you are the first to tell me what movie the opening quote of this post came from, I will send you a Christmas ornament.  :)

Sunday family dinner...

I roasted two chickens on Friday.  We had roast chicken for supper, and then once the birds had cooled, I took all the meat off the bones and stored it for future use.  I put the bones and pan drippings in the slow cooker, added some vegetables and bay leaves, covered with water, and cooked on low overnight.  It made beautiful stock, which I had intended to store for soup, but just seeing it made me want to make chicken and dumplings.

I have gone on record as being a firm believer in the superiority of the drop dumpling, but my son-in-law favors the dreaded rolled variety.  So today while I was making my yummy, fluffy drop dumpling recipe for the rest of us, I made an alternative recipe as well which involved rolling and cutting some of the other kind out just for Beau.

First bite...carefully considering flavor, texture, chicken-to-dumpling ratio...

...and the verdict is in.  All I can say is he had better not get used to the special treatment.  That was a lot of work!  :)

Silly boy!  Did he eat too much?  Or did he learn too late that when the mother-in-law makes one meal for the family and a 'special' meal for just you, there could be a nefarious plot in the works?  ;)  

Sunday family dinner...

As we were playing 5 Second Rule after dinner tonight at Kasey's, we had a heavy rain shower.  From the windows we noticed this rainbow, and I stepped out the front door to snap a picture and heard Kasey say, "Oh man!  Why couldn't it be at the end of my driveway?"  LOL  The driveway on the left belongs to their next-door neighbors.  

Except for cropping, this is straight out of the camera.  I have never been able to actually see the end of a rainbow this close and unobscured by trees or hills.  I'm thinkin' there should definitely have been a pot of gold there!

Sunday dessert, Orange Cake...

I browsed Pinterest last night looking for a dessert recipe for which I had the ingredients on hand.  I followed this recipe for the cake...super easy.  I was going to bake round layers, but at the last minute I opted for an oblong...so much easier to transport when still in the pan.

I didn't have all the frosting ingredients on hand, so I improvised.

My frosting included:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate (do not reconstitute)
4 cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tablespoons milk or cream (optional)
zest from one orange (reserve 1 tsp)

• Blend the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth.  
• Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
• Add orange juice concentrate 1 Tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition and tasting...stop adding oj when the flavor is to your liking.
• You may add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of milk or cream to make a less stiff consistency if you wish.
• Beat at medium high speed until smooth. 
• Remove from mixer, and add the orange zest to the frosting (reserving a teaspoon or so to garnish the top later), and gently stir by hand to incorporate the zest throughout the frosting.

Once the cake is cooled completely, spread the frosting over it evenly.  Press the reserved orange zest between two layers of paper towels to remove any excess moisture.  With your fingertips, sprinkle the reserved zest over the frosted cake.

My frosting turned out very tart...hence the advice about tasting between adding more orange juice concentrate.  Carey and I really liked it, but it had mixed reviews with the rest of the family.  More yeas than nays, though, which is a success with that bunch.  :)

Crazy spending...

baby picture

Meet the object of my affection and crazy spending.  Today we picked up this little guy, and I anticipate not having a lot of uninterrupted time to write blog posts for awhile.

As yet we are still trying to settle on a name.  I like two or three, and I'm trying them out to see which one fits the best.

He is ten weeks old, and was a good traveler on the way home.  Once home, he was quick to pick out a favorite toy.  He has spent the afternoon alternating between exploring his new digs and going back to his favorite toy.

We took him to Sunday dinner at Kasey's, and he was a big hit.  

When we were seated during dinner, he walked around checking things out, then walked around the table until he found my chair and laid down under it till dinner was over.

Now that we are back home, he ate well, took a nap on hubby’s lap, went potty outside, and at the moment is back to his favorite toy.  It was a big day.