Hot Cakes!

Today I'm sharing my hotcake recipe.  To me hotcakes (I prefer hotcakes instead of pancakes) are the ultimate comfort food.  I have searched high and low to find a recipe that I like.  This recipe was actually one of the more simple ones but it's become my favorite.

You will need:

1 1/4 cups of flour

1 Tab. of baking powder

1 Tab. of sugar

1/2 tsp. of salt

1 egg

1 1/3 cup of buttermilk

2 Tab. of veg. oil.

Stir together dry ingredients.  Stir together wet ingredients.  Mix together until moistened.  Don't over mix...it should still have some lumps.  It should look something like this:

Butter (use REAL butter) to grease your skillet.  Immediately start dropping batter onto the skillet (whatever size you like).  They are ready to flip when they look something like this:

Cook until the bottom is golden brown.  Quickly put these babies on a plate and put some butter on top.  Drizzle with syrup and enjoy.  Make sure you share!







Countdown to Fall!



To say that I am excited about the arrival of Fall would be the understatement of the century!  I wait all Summer for Fall to burst on the scene in all of its wondrous glory.  Thought I would give some reasons why I love fall so much!

1)  I love the colors...they are so warm and inviting.  It's no coincidence that my whole house is pretty much Fall colors.

2)  I love the Cinnamon Butter that Country Crock comes out with in the Fall/Winter Season.  Have you tried it?  You need to!

3)  I Love the aroma of flavored coffees brewing in my coffee pot...hazelnut, pumpkin spice, Golden French Toast...O Baby...Be still my heart.

4)  I love the smell of homemade baked goods filling my house...especially anything with pumpkin.

5)  I love my Northface Fleece...we hardly ever are away from eachother.

6)  I love scarves

7)  Honey Crisp Apples...Need I say more?

8)  Saturdays spent at Fall festivals with the hubs and kids.

9) Pumpkins, Gourds and haybales...O my!

10)  Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte...it's a beautiful thing.

Gooseberry Patch-Rise and Shine Quiche

Don't you just love the cover of this book...so cozy:)

I don't think I've found a bad Gooseberry Patch Book yet.  They are all so quaint and filled with such great ideas.  I happened to try a recipe from this book simply because I had all the ingredients on hand...and needed to use up some hash browns in the freezer.  Turns out that everyone loved it.  They cleaned the pan and asked for more.  I definitely will be making this again.

You will need:

24 oz. pkg. frozen diced potatoes, thawed

1/3 cup butter melted

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup of shredded Swiss cheese (I used Monterrey Jack because it's what I had)

1 cup of cooked ham diced

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1/4 t. of seasoned salt

Press potatoes into the bottom of a greased 9X9 pan; brush with butter.  Bake at 425 for 25 minutes: top with cheeses and ham.  Set aside.  Beat milk, eggs and salt; pour over cheese mixture.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 25-35 minutes (depends on your oven). 

Here is is right out of the oven!

Here's the quiche ready to eat...that lovely slice of bread is homemade Maple Wheat Bread that I made today.

Homemade Tomato Sauce...Yummo!

I had a few cooked tomatoes left over from canning so I decided to turn them into spaghetti sauce.  I really, really, really love spaghetti...in just about any form.  It's even better with some homeade sauce.  I really didn't follow a recipe, but I will kind of give a rough estimate below.

I started with I'm guessing about 6 cups of tomatoes. 

I then added the following:

1 Tab. of dried parsley

1 tsp. of oregano

1 tsp. of basil

1 tsp. of italian seasoning

2 tsp. of garlic salt

1/2 tsp. of thyme

1 tsp. of salt

1 Tab. of olive oil

I basically cooked down the tomatoes a little and then added all the ingrdients.  I just kept adjusing the taste.  I added more garlic....because I LOVE garlic.  It came out really fresh tasting.  I'm really looking forward to eating it on a cold winter night.  



Canning Memories!

Is is just me, or does anyone else think canning jars are so pretty?  I love the simplicity of canning and the memories it brings back of yesteryear.  I love knowing I picked these tomatoes out of my garden this week and now they are ready to be put away for later use.  There is nothing like a fresh garden tomato, free of pesticides.  They really make my heart go pitter-patter.  Canned tomatoes bring back memories of my Grandma.  I remember watching her can tomatoes in her kitchen and boy...were they ever good.  I remember she would tell my Grandpa to go down to the basement and get a jar of tomatoes...at that moment I knew she was going to make macaroni soup.  It was my favorite. She would brown some hamburger with a little onion, add the tomatoes, let it simmer a bit and then add some elbow macaroni.  She probably added a few other things but that's all I remember.  She would serve it in a bowl with some fresh Italian bread and REAL butter and it was soooo good!  To this day it is why I still absolutely love canned tomatoes.

My Mom came over last night to help me can...mostly because I wanted to make sure I was doing everything exactly right.  My Mom, my daughter and I all peeling tomatoes, seeds and juice flying everywhere...it was a special memory.  I'm sure there are tomato seeds and juice still lurking in my kitchen somewhere, only to be discovered at a later date.  Being in the kitchen with my Mom and daughter reminded me of a simpler time when people were happy with just having enough to eat and the strength to do the jobs that needed to be done.  And as I was cleaning up, I thanked the Lord for the fresh clean water we had to use after a day of hard work...a simple thing we take for granted but I am SO thankful that we have it...and a nice comfortable bed to crash in after a long day.  I am already anticipating making some macaroni soup with some fresh homemade bread and REAL butter...Come and Get it!

" A thing of beauty is  joy forever."





Vintage Christmas Cards

My son designed this one...with just a little help from me:)



I totally LOVE vintage things...especially things from the 40's-50's.  As I was in my craft room (area) working away I had a brain storm.  I had all these really pretty Christmas cards that I had saved in a box because I just couldn't bear to throw away such lovely pictures.  I kept thinking to myself...maybe I can use these later.  Well there they sat for way to long...until today.  We re-furbished old cards into lovely vintage Christmas cards.  No two are alike...which makes them extra-special.  The kids even joined in and had a ball.  Check them out and give them a try yourself.  I just love looking at them:)  Maybe I'll send one to myself!



Doing my Christmas dreaming...a little early this year!

Hey everyone...I was just looking at my last post and realized I was going on a month. I really don't like to go that long without posting something...somehow the time got away from me. I have been super busy trying to get our home school material ready for this year. On top of that I have also been trying to get some painting done around the house. So anyway...as the title of this post suggest I am doing my Christmas Dreaming...although I don't think for me it's that early. Everyone knows I love Christmas. I love the colors, the smells, the cold, the lights, flannel sheets and Christmas Decorations. My heart rate is increasing just thinking about it all. So anyway...about this time every year I pull out my paper and pen and plan all the recipes I want to make, plan out gift giving and holiday meals. I even think about my decorations and what I want to try that's new. You may even catch me listening to a Christmas tune while I happily make cards or sew gifts. Crazy for some, but that's just me. I guess I should emphasize that for me the Holiday season starts in September and goes through December. It only comes once a year and I like to enjoy it. As soon as September rolls around you can bet I'm thinking of my fall decorations and the Thanksgiving turkey...did someone say Turkey? Mashed Potatoes with gravy? So here are a few pictures of the cards I've been making. Some I like better than others...but as I get going I feel more creative. Also the containers I made for our cookie swap out of oatmeal containers are at the bottom.