Good morning!  Ok, Autumn has arrived! It’s a very crisp morning. LOOOVE it:)  Just got the kids off to school.  Since it’s so chilly out, I woke the kids up with hot oatmeal. They LOVE the Quakers Apples and Cinnamon. Between them, they ate 7 packages! I had to smile at Jamie though. Jamie’s favorite thing to wear is his flannel lined pants/jeans. So I stuck them in the dryer to warm them up before I gave them to him.  So he got up to his warm pants and his favorite oatmeal. When he sat down at the table he looked at me with the biggest smile (and so sincerely) said, “Could this day get any better??”.  Just did my heart good:) 2 small things and his day was made:)

Yesterday after school, Jamie’s middle school had their Halloween Dance. I don’t know what happened with my baking. I made Nigella’s Hokey Pokey and TRIED to make  Powder Puffs.  I’ve made both plenty of times. Never a problem. However, yesterday, my Hokey Pokey never got hard (it’s like Honey Comb). Not only did it not harden, but by last night, it looked like it had melted.  Then, my Powder Puff cakes were flat as a flitter.  I’m baffled.  I know that humidity effects baking and such but for the last few days, it’s been really windy and the barometer has been very low. I was just glad I also made the Buckeye Peanut Butter Balls. Thankfully, they turned out fine. The kids seemed to have a great time (and they bought the peanut butter balls up!).  I met a couple of Jamie’s teachers and they just made me feel so good:) They both told me that Jamie is the most mannerly child they have ever met and he’s a delight to have in their class:)  His Science teacher actually said she’d never had a student with such wonderful manners:) *happy dance*  Now, as a parent, I was just glowing inside:) So, so proud:)  Still smiling today about that:)

Ok, enough being proud and onto recipes!:)  My neighbor, Amy, sends down her ham bones when she makes one.  So I pulled one out of the freezer the other night and made a big old pot of baby limas:) I think baby limas are probably, my favorite veggie, EVER:)  If you have a spare ham bone, give it a try:) Enjoy!!

OK, HERE’S What You Need:

Lima beans

ham bone

seasoning (if needed- I didn’t need anything extra)

small yellow onion (chopped)

butter

water

big pot:)

HERE ‘S What You Do:

Chop your onion and saute in some butter.

Add that de-lushious ham:) Amy does her's like I do, with a sweet glaze. I'm getting plum excited just typing about this recipe! Add your water to just cover the ham bone and let it boil and boil. I probably boiled this one a couple of hours. Add water when needed.

After a little boil time throw in your Limas;) I used a bag and a half (one I had already used part of).

I'm totally going to have to make some more super soon! Doesn't that look amazing?? *wipes drool from her key board* Cook these babies down for about an hour and a bit. Make sure of the water though. You don't want them to stick and burn. I didn't have to add any seasoning at all:)

I pulled some of the ham off the bone to serve. I was so excited by the time these were done that I didn't even get to make any cornbread to go with it! It's a good southern meal on it's own:) Enjoy yall!

The kids went back to school today but it’s been such a great day:) Paul and I spent part of the day Downtown.  The temps were in the 70′s. To pretty to stay inside.  We started out at the Uggs store. I need a new pair but, I just can NOT bring myself to buying any yet. I’m not ready for that kind of weather though and so… well, no Uggs today.  We had lunch at the Grand Lux. I love that place. There and the Cheesecake Factory. YUMMMMMM! Afterwards, we ran into Gap Kids and snagged some great deals:)  Then it was home-time. I had to get back here to help with traffic at school. It wasn’t long but it was nice being out with my sweet husband;)

We had a great time this weekend:) Saturday, MyMatthew wanted to have a bonfire and do hot dogs and smores. So we had some friends over and did just that:)  It was a nice way to end the Fall Break.  Along with the smores and hot dogs, I made about 6 pounds of chili, Rice Krispie Treats and these lovely little Buckeyes;)  Everyone enjoyed them tremendously.  They went in no time flat:)  So this is the recipe I want to share with yall today:)  Yall give them a try;) Enjoy!!

OK, HERE’S What You Need:

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used Bluebonnet margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

HERE’S What You Do:

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners’ sugar with hands to form a smooth stiff dough. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball. Stick a toothpick into each Buckeye. Place on prepared pan, and refrigerate.
Melt shortening and chocolate together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.
Remove balls from refrigerator.  Dip into melted chocolate. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.

Hello!  What a nice week it’s been. I love having the kids home. I know some parents look forward to the kids getting back in school, but I’m not one of those. I love having the whole family here. If I thought I was disciplined enough, I’d probably home-school.

So, this week I’ve been going through my Great Grandma Fry, Great Aunt Kathryn and Grandma’s recipes. They are all from my daddy’s side of the family. I have to be very careful because some of these recipes seem to have come from even further than GG Fry.  I have a few dated in the late 1800′s.  Of course, you really can’t make them but it’s so cool to have them;)  I love heirloom recipes. They make me so happy:)  I wish  I had some from my momma’s side but I honestly don’t think anyone cooked with any recipe. It was all in their heads.  That’s a lot like me though. I know what it’s supposed to look like, feel like, sound like when it cooks. You just know.  Maybe that’s just the good old southern way:)  I call my Aunt Ruth to ask her how she makes something, and she’s like, “Well, just take a bunch of these and some of that… Just put it in your skillet and cook it down… ” Now, you talk about a good cook? I’ve never eaten anything of her’s that I didn’t just love.  I’ll tell you more about her another time though. I’ve got several of her goodies to share with yall;)  So anyway, I was going through this box ( these were all in an ooooold brown book that was held together by a dry rotted rubber band. So needless to say, it broke. I now have them in a plastic box with a tight fitting lid.)  I came across this recipe and I am guessing it was one of my Grandma’s (Daddy and Aunt Kathy’s mom’s) because it was typed. She typed most things. Maybe it was because she was an aurthress or the fact she was a librarian (card catalogs and all:)  The recipe is  for Icebox Rolls. Now, last night, when I was making these, I did not hold out much hope at all. The recipe is odd (to me at least).  I told Paul this morning that I was glad that I took pictures of it as I went a long because I was sure it was going to be a flop.  So, I baked some off last night. I even told my friend Terri, that the recipe was looking pretty grim.  The rolls I baked last night (as soon as I made the dough) were a little on the flattish side, nice flavor but flattish. Anyway, so I put the rest of the dough in the fridge and tried again this morning.  I did clover rolls this time. OH MY!! What a difference over night in the fridge makes:)  They are absolutely lovely:) They are dense but not to dense. I am guessing this is why they are called “Icebox Rolls” Mrs Ethel says, they make “Splendid” rolls and Splendid they are:) They didn’t really rise until I began baking them – even though they’d been out of the icebox for about 2 hours.  Give this one a try but make sure you leave them overnight in the fridge:)  Enjoy!!

OK, HERE’S What You Need:

1 1/2 C. boiling water

1/2  C. sugar

3 T. shortening

2 tsp. salt

****In a separate bowl****

1/2 C. lukewarm water

2 cakes yeast

HERE’S What You Do:

Combine your lukewarm water and yeast in one bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine boiling water, Crisco, salt and sugar.

Let the boiling water cool a bit and then combine the two bowls. Cool a bit more. This is where I just KNEW it wasn't going to work out. I almost just chucked it and said forget it.

Take two eggs and beat well.

Add 4 cups sifted flour.

Mix well. Add 3 more cups of flour to form a stiff dough. It's not real pretty here either. I put it in a lightly greased bowl and turned it over to let it set for a while -- really, I didn't read the part where it said to go on and put it into the fridge. Oops:)

So, once I realized that I didn't have to let it rise before I put it into the fridge, I took it out of the greased bowl and put it into a Ziploc and put it into the fridge.

2 hours before you need the rolls, pinch off what you need and form your rolls. I did clover leaf. Bake in a very hot oven (450 F) til golden. Melt butter over the top as soon as they come out of the oven. These are just delicious:)

Hello:) What a  gorgeous day it has turned out to be!  The kids are on fall break so they are outside playing, soaking up the sunshine while it’s still around.  Paul and I are sitting here listening to the Glee soundtrack:) We are only on Season 1 but we have gotten so hooked on it.  I had Accounting this morning.  45 minutes into it, all I wanted to do was get out of there and come home and cook or make something. So I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and picked up some beef bones to make beef stock. It’s simmering away on the stove atm, smelling ohhh sooo good:)  I also bought more round steak and chuck roast so we could grind up some more hamburger meat.  My food sanitation class is really making me think twice about what we are really eating.

I made this coffee cake about a month ago and have made it a few more times in different variations. One was the Traditional English Sponge Cake.  I just didn’t use the streusel topping. I ended up with an 8 x 8 and then I made a loaf pan that I added walnuts too.  This is a very adaptable recipe. A good basic I guess you could say:)  Give it a try and enjoy!

OK, HERE’S What You Need:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Streusel:

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cups pecans ( I actually didn’t use this much because I only made a small loaf pan with these)

HERE’S What You Do:

Cream your room temp butter really well.

Add your eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Blend well.

Mix together your dry ingredients in another bowl.

Add dry mix to your wet mixture. Don't mix in all at once. Add it a bit at a time on low speed so you don't sling it all over the place:)

Mix for about 2 minutes on medium.

Pour into prepared baking dishes. I use empty butter wrappers to butter my dishes. Really works great and it keeps you from getting your hands all greasy:)

Now, in another bowl, you are going to make your topping:) Mix together your streusel ingredients.

Sprinkle generously over your cake(s). I added the crumbled up walnuts to my topping in the loaf pan because the kids won't touch them -- so that pan was ALLLL MIIINNNEEEE;)

Bake about 45 minutes (til a toothpick comes out clean) at 350 F. Super delicious in the afternoon with a cup of coffee and a good friend to visit with:)

Well, Momma came and went. I hated to see her go. We had such a good time.  The kids really enjoyed having their GoGo here;)  Trying to talk her into coming back up here for Christmas… we’ll see. It’s a beautiful day out. The kids are out and about playing.  They are off this whole next week for Fall Break:)  I wish my school was off this week as well. I sure could use a Florida trip about now.

Aunt Kathy and Martha came over for supper again the other night and I made ham with pineapple. I love this ham so much. It makes terrific sandwiches for several days after and the ham bone is perfect for soup and beans:)  My neighbor, Amy, sends over her ham bones when she makes a ham and I stick them into the freezer until I am ready to use it.  I make my ham the way Momma always made it. I never use the glaze packet that comes with the spiral cut.  I always stick plenty of pineapple rings in with the ham because the kids LOVE pineapple and they are super yummy on a sandwich the next day;)   LSU is playing McNeese at 6 tonight so I need to get this out to yall and get my chicken going:) Yall have a great weekend:) Enjoy!:)

OK, HERE’S What You Need:

1 Spiral Cut Ham

1 Can Coke (not diet)

1 cup (more if you like) brown sugar

2 cans Pineapple rings + juice

Crushed pineapple

Maraschino Cherries

HERE’S What You Do:

I use my Le Creuset Braiser for ham.  I line it with foil. Place your ham in your baking dish. Pack the crushed pineapple on your ham then  pineapple rings on the ham. Pack on your brown sugar. Gently pour your coke over and any of the juice if you want. Cover tightly with foil. Bake on 275 (15 minutes per pound – your center temp should come to 140 F when heated through – this is for the already Precooked spiral cut ham only. NOT a fresh ham).  To serve, slice it up, place your pineapples on top and cherries in the center;)