Happy New Year

I hope the new one holds joy, health and happiness for you all.

Home Again

I ended up having to go to work at 1 yesterday and stayed at the hospital last night so I could be there today. Our road is always treacherous. We ended up with over 5 inches of a White Christmas. It was so beautiful when Mr. Scrap drove me to work. I don't drive in that stuff.

Picture from yesterday. It looked like a Christmas card in my back yard.

It's a White Christmas southern style

I was supposed to work today but got called off. So went back to bed and when I woke up it was so quiet out and I knew before I even looked outside that it was the quiet that only snow brings.

These are the first pictures of the day. But there is already more out there.



This is an hour after the other pictures, back yard.

Kitchen Love

I love my Kitchen Aid Mixer. I asked for this for Christmas a couple years ago. Mr. Scrap likes to buy electronic stuff and anything that will help me use the kitchen more.

I love to bake, but it's hard to bake for just 2 people. So I like to bake things to share. I cheated and baked Pillsbury ready to bake sugar cookies. I think they are cute and they taste good.




I made goodies for work, for our dinner tomorrow and to give to a few people.

I made 2 of these Key Lime Pie Poke Cakes (1 for tomorrow and 1 for work) They are chilling now. You bake a cake and add this mixture to the warm cake. I put a cream cheese/whipped cream frosting on it. Bits of lime zest on the top. I'll add the recipe.



The cake has a creamy layer of filling under the frosting.



Key Lime Pie Poke Cake (but you can use the other limes I've done both)

Recipe from a Betty Crocker cooking magazine

Cake
Super Moist White cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon veg oil
4 eggs

Key Lime Filling
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (not evap)
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup lime juice
1 tsp grated lime peel
4 drops yellow food color
1 drop green food color (I never use the food coloring)

The recipe calls a can of the whipped vanilla frosting but I use this

1 8oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Bake the cake at 350 in a 13x9 in pan after spraying the bottom only with spray with flour. Bake 26-30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Use the end of a wooden spoon poke holes every 1/2 in in cake

In medium bowl stir filling ingredients together until thickened. Pour over cake letting filling sink into holes in cake. Spread evenly. Some filling will remain on cake. Refrigerate 1 hour

Spread frosting over cake top with lime zest, fresh strawberries and slices of lime if desired (I forgot to get strawberries and this isn't a good time for them anyway)

For the frosting I beat the cream cheese, then put in in a bowl while I beat the whipping cream. Then add the cream cheese to the whipping cream, beat again and add the sugar and vanilla.

Very good cake. I don't think I've ever had leftovers of it.

Goodies

A cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream of course.




I got the idea from a link at Casey's Elegant Musings about making sugar cookie ornaments for the tree using clay. So my grand needed gifts so we had a crafting day. We used brown clay for the gingerbread and cream for the others. She loved making her own gifts to give.

Decorated for Christmas

Scottish Shortbread Cookies

I think I've found the perfect shortbread cookie recipe. They were so easy to make, too.
Recipe from Taste of the South cooking magazine (one of my must have cooking magazines) courtesy of Lynda Borden

1 cup salted butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 300

In a large bowl combine butter and sugar-beat until light and fluffy, approx 4 minutes.

Add flour stir til combined.

Pat dough into 13x9 inch pan or shortbread mold.

Bake until light golden brown 30-40 minutes.

Remove from oven. Pierce with a fork all over in a zigzag pattern to allow steam to escape.

Cut into bars while still warm, cool in pan.

These are so easy and so good. My friend's son told me he wants them for his birthday.

Winter beauty

Lights

I love to turn out all the lights except the ones on the tree.

Decking the Halls

And the tree, and everything else.

I have boxes and boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations.

My granddaughter and I have a tradition now of putting the tree up the day after Thanksgiving.

I told her I wasn't going to put the village out this year and she said but nannie I look forward to that. So I put it out yesterday (there are boxes and boxes of that, too).

My tree is full of my many different collections through the years. I collect Coca Cola, Santas (and Coca Cola Santas), penguins, snowmen, angels, etc etc. This tree has no theme, its just 40 years of collecting.



Do you have things in your Christmas collection that always make you think of a certain person? This music box is one of my favorites and it always reminds me of my parents. They gave it to me for my birthday one year. My dad knew how much I love all my Christmas decorating.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all are having a wonderful day. We did our family dinner yesterday so today was just hubby and me.

Pictures later.

Why can't I have a phone?

My granddaughter is 8 going on 18.

This is a picture taken at Olan Mills almost 2 years ago.

Our conversation

Her-Nannie I need your phone.
Me-Okay
Her-Why don't I have my own phone?
Me-Cause you are 8 and don't need a phone. Who would you call.
Her-My friends. They all have phones.
Me-Well that is a question you need to ask your mom and dad.
Her-So you are saying I can't have a phone?
Me-I'm saying that is not a Nannie kind of question to answer, that is a mom and dad kind of question.
Her-So you are saying No, I can't have a phone.
Me-Don't put words in my mouth. I'm saying you have to ask your mom and dad.
Her-All the kids on the bus have a phone.
Me-Let's go eat.

She had me laughing out loud. We have the funniest conversations sometimes.

Have I told you I love being a grandmother.

Butternut squash soup

I've been trying different recipes and made one recently from a link on Casey's Musings blog. It was very good, too.

I wanted to try something a bit different so came up with my own recipe today. I loved the one with roast apples and butternut squash but wanted to use less pans.

So here is what I came up with.

Butternut squash-peeled, seeded and cut in chunks
1 large carrot cut in slices
1 stalk celery chopped
1/4 cup onion chopped
2 cans chicken broth (you could use veggie broth)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp oil
1 tablespoon butter

Heat the oil in a large pan with a lid. Add the veggies and saute til lightly brown and becoming tender. Add the butter, seasonings and broth. Cook til all vegs are tender.

Cool and use an immersion blender to puree the soup (or put in in a blender be careful if it is hot it will spew out of the lid)

What we did on my birthday

I couldn't figure out why my uncle kept wanting to take my mom to the Incline other than she's never been there. Its a historic place now.

We rode a car to the top of the mtn.



View as you ride up the mtn backwards.





The views from the top of Lookout Mtn are beautiful. You are supposed to be able to see 6 states.




Liv checking out where we had been




Yes we do have to go back down




This is why they wanted to go on that day, it's near my daughter's home and she cooked a Birthday dinner for me.

Thank you family

After the Storm

There were trees down in our yard and near us.




Parts of the roof flew off and a bit of siding. Our well house lost its roof.




Some of the neighbors lost roofs to barns and storage buildings.

It was freaky and scary with the high windows trying to blow everything down.

But we are safe and no one was hurt around here.

When the storms were over the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon.

My roses are still blooming.




And so is the sweet pea vine.




I'm trying a new to me recipe today. Found it on another bloggers blog. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Skillet Apple Brownies

Warning-if you are afraid of butter don't try this recipe.

Preheat oven to 350. Put an 8 or 9 in. cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat.

Whisk together:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves


Beat together
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup melted butter

Toss 2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples and 1/2 cup chopped pecans together.
Add to flour mixture, then add egg mixture.

Put 1 tablespoon butter in the hot pan and swirl to coat the pan.

Add apple mixture.

Bake about 40 minutes.

Cool 20 minutes (if you can) before slicing.

Halloween party

We've been waiting for you




There are ghost lights in the window to help you find your way

Wouldn't want you wandering around in a strange neighborhood late at night.

The ghost band will play all night




Prudence, Matilda, and Estelle are ready to cast their spells



Careful what you wish for cause you just might get it all.

What is Halloween without a black cat, spiders and things that go bump in the night?









We have pumpkins










Glad you could drop in




happily taking part in Vanessa's Blogger Halloween Party. I still haven't figured out how to post a button that works but this is a link to her site.

http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/a_fanciful_twist/

WHERE WERE MY MANNERS last night?

I meant to offer you a seat in my favorite chair.




Would you like a book to read? I have horror if that is your thing. King, McCammon, Simmons, Koontz, or my newest book THE STRAIN.





Not enough time for a book maybe a short story or two from SKELETON CREW or NIGHT SHIFT. (There are more books upstairs).




Or perhaps we could have our own horror movie marathon. Nothing we like on TV I have DVDs. One of my favorites the original The Fog or Rosemary's Baby. Maybe a little Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs or Red Dragon. Perhaps The Myst is more to your liking.





What's that wonderful smell you say. I baked some apple brownies-they are full of apples, pecans, cinnamon, a bit of clove and nutmeg. Or maybe you'd like a chocolate chip cookie? I had to make those for my granddaughter.




Thank you all for dropping in. I will make it to everyone's party. It may take me a couple days:)