S'more Chocolate!

Last week was our Vacation Bible School -- four days of fun and kids!  Our Nursery and 2's and 3's class is only for the volunteer's kids as the regular classes start at age 4.  This means we have a limited number of the younger ages, but we still need volunteers to staff these areas and for the 2's and 3's, we do a Bible story, crafts and music just like the bigger kids.

For my volunteers in this area I decided to give them s'more kits on the last night as a "thank you" for serving.  We had over 175 volunteers in the entire program, but a limited number in my area, so this was feasible to do.

 

Pardon the bad color, these photos were taken at night with the overhead spots on.

 

 

Simple ingredients - graham squares, marshmallows, chocolate bar were placed in a cellophane bag and a thank you label attached.

 

 

Ready to go!

 

 

Of course I sampled. One marshmallow was plenty, but for presentation, two looked better.

 

YUM!

 

 

Even though I'm chocolate sensitive, which means too much gives me a migraine, sometimes, a girl just needs chocolate!

 

In the summertime, nothing is better than a hot fudge Sundae and this is the fastest, easiest hot fudge recipe you will ever find.

 

 

Simple ingredients - cocoa, corn starch, sugar, water, vanilla and butter, plus a smidgen of salt.

 

 

Cook in the microwave, stirring every couple of minutes - watch carefully and make sure your container does not overflow.  Chocolate cooked onto the microwave surface is not a good thing!

 

 

Couldn't be simpler!  Click on the above photo to enlarge it to read the recipe.

 

Enjoy some chocolate goodness today!

 

xoxoXOXOxoxo

 

Lois

 

 



 

 

 

DIY Vanilla

Dear friends,

I have been missing you!  For all of us, this is a busy time of year and I've been, well, busy doing many things, but not blogging.  While I was busy, I have had some things in the works that did not need my constant attention and finally got one of those finished.

 

Several weeks ago I decided to make some vanilla.  There were several blogs where tutorials were given so I combined the information and bought supplies.

 

I know nothing about brandy, so just bought a bottle.  I forgot to take a photo while it was still full. And, no, I did not drink it!  The beans I ordered from Amazon after checking the price at the local grocery store.  These were much more economical.  (The silver tray was given to me from my son who found it somewhere and thought I'd like it -- I do!)

 

 

The instructions I found agreed on using 1 cup of brandy (or vodka) to 1 bean.  I just used jars from bottled marinara sauce that had been washed and dried.  I slit the beans lengthwise to release the flavor and the seeds. Then, the waiting begins.  Most instructions said to wait at least 6 weeks while the beans flavored the liquor.  I waited more than that as I didn't have time to bottle the results until this week.

 



 

You can see the seeds in the empty jar.  I used a funnel to fill the bottles which were from Hobby Lobby and other places where I found pretty bottles.  I'm only showing three here, but there is MUCH more vanilla!

 

When I tasted the vanilla, it tasted like brandy to me, so I tasted the purchased vanilla I had in my pantry and -- it tasted like liquor as well.  All these years I've been using vanilla I had never tasted it except in the finished baked goods.  Who knew it tasted like liquor?

 





 



 I think the results will make lovely gifts to my baking friends and family, don't you?

 

I put a fresh bean in each of the bottles and will tie a pretty ribbon around the top.

 

 

Do you make any of your Christmas gifts?  I love the way these look -- hope my friends and family do too!

 

Blessings to you during this busy time of year.

 

xoxoXOXOxoxo

 

Lois

 

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Life on Lakeshore Drive



Holiday Traditions 1

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We had 10 adults, 6 teenagers and 5 children aged 2 to 10 around various tables and seated on sofas for dinner.  It was a very good day!

The holidays of November and December are my favorites of the holidays.  I think it is partly due to the fact that we have more traditions built on Thanksgiving and Christmas than any other time of year.  They are also fun to decorate for and I LOVE to do that!

One tradition we have for these holidays is pecan pie.  When I was growing up there seemed to be pecan pie on the menu.  For family reunion , either Aunt Amy or Aunt Opal would bring a pecan pie and while many kids don't like nuts, I always have -- especially pecans!

My mother also made pecan pie for the holidays and they were always good.  Unfortunately, Mom was one of those "little of this and a bit of that" cooks so many recipes were never written down.  I never had her pecan pie recipe so had to find one of my own.  My friend, Betty who is from Kentucky provided the recipe I've used "forever".  She contributed the recipe to a church cookbook when we lived in the Milwaukee area where she still lives.  That was so long ago that the cook book was printed using a mimeograph - remember those?

Here is Betty's recipe for Kentucky Pecan Pie.

 

KENTUCKY PECAN PIE

 

 

                        1 Cup White corn syrup                                   1/4 cup melted butter

                        1 Cup brown sugar                                           3 eggs, slightly beaten

                        1 teaspoon vanilla                                            1 heaping cup shelled pecan halves

                        1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Combine syrup, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla and mix well.  Add eggs.  Pour into 9:" unbaked pie shell.  Sprinkle pecans over all.  (You will notice I carefully place mine in radiating circles.  Some people just mix chopped pecans into the syrup mixture - your preference.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  When cool, top with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

 

Though the original recipe says you can use margarine, I never, ever do.  Butter and the brown sugar make a wonderful almost caramel taste which many people have commented on when I've served this pie. 

 

 

This is what the pre-baked pie looks like.

 

And here it is again, all baked.

 

 

 

We have other traditions and I will be writing about those from time to time, as well.

 

What traditions do you have?  Food related or otherwise?  Which is your favorite tradition?  Ooh, as I wrote that, I realized I couldn't pick a favorite!  Maybe you will have trouble as well.

 

Do your traditions come from your own family traditions or did you create your own?  We have some of both.

 

Hope you try this pecan pie.  If you like pecan pie, I think you will LOVE this one.

 

 

xoxoXOXOxoxo

 

Lois

 



French Bread Croutons

This week has been a week where I've been working on a lot of different things.  I've made a Pottery Barn knockoff curtain which I'll show you as soon as it is hung in my daughter's home.  Monday I got to go for a sew day which I told you about here, I made a French Wreath, painted another small chalk board almost like this one, painted a tool box that I'll show you later, bought some goodies at Goodwill for projects, sewed 4 borders for the pastel log quilt that I showed you here, and I cut all the pieces for another quilt that I will work on this week at a mini-retreat.  Yep, I'm going to the cool mountains to sew!  Diane, Joyce and I will be at Joyce's cottage while our husbands do other things.

A mini-retreat needs food, so one of the things I'm taking is some French Bread Croutons for the salad that will go with the Wild Rice Chicken Supreme casserole that I will be taking.  For breakfast the day I'm doing it will be Stuffed French Toast, but that's another story.

This is how I do my home made French Bread Croutons.  The store kind are okay, but they are usually hard as rocks and I like a little softness in my croutons.

This is what you need to make them.

That's it.  French Breach (I buy what my grocery store calls rustic French bread), Extra Virgin Olive Oil and what ever spices you want to use.  I usually just use garlic powder.

Slice the bread.  I use an electric knife which makes it much quicker to do.  Of course, you could buy pre-sliced French bread, but I like the look of the uneven sizes of cubes you eventually get.

Slice across the slices.  I usually do a stack at a time, not slice at a time, though this photo is of just a couple of slices stacked.

Then you will make the slices into cubes by cutting the across the strips.

You will put the cubes in a bowl and toss with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle in as much of the spice as you would like.  I like just a hint, so I don't use a lot.  If your bread is more than a day old, you may want to use more olive oil as it will absorb it quickly.

Place the prepared cubes on cookie sheets in a single layer.  For a whole loaf you will need at least two cookie sheets.  Bake these in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, checking and stirring them around a couple of times.  You want them toasted lightly, not burned.  You could hurry this process by putting them sheet at a time under a broiler, but if you do watch them VERY closely or they will burn before you know it!

Let the cubes cool on the sheets once they are done.

Store the croutons in an air tight container or a sealed plastic bag.

These would look so cute as a gift with a ribbon tied around the top.

The croutons are great on Caesar salad or floating on top soup.  And they are delicious -- even to snack on and so very easy to make.  Forget the store bought and make your own, they taste and crunch so much better, too.

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday.  We are celebrating our daughter's birthday with her today and giving her the red ticking striped Pottery Barn knock off curtain.  You'll see and hear about that in a later post.

Blessings!

xoxoXOXOxoxo

Lois

Yummy Apple Crisp

I've been promising to share this yummy Apple crisp recipe with you.  Wish I could just have you over to share the real deal with you!

When our oldest granddaughter, Kaitlyne, was young she used to spend a lot of time at our house.  She lived in California (still does) and used to come for weeks at a time.  We loved it!  One of her favorite things to do was help cook things.  We made this apple crisp together and when she got older and couldn't come as much (school gets in the way of so much fun!) she asked me to send her the recipe.  She also liked to make "fake" thin mint cookies that are even better than the Girl Scouts sell, but that is another post.

As soon as it is September, apple crisp is a MUST around our house.  A couple of weeks ago, I made this one.

Isn't this just the cutest apple dish?  It was on sale when we lived in Alabama at the Cracker Barrel near our house and I just had to have it.  I love their country store for unique things.

This is a recipe that you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry already.  All you may need to buy are the applies.  I use Granny Smith.  They are my "go to" apple for pies and crisps.  I love that they are so tart.

This is really all you need.  I do spray the dish with cooking spray before putting things in it to make for easier serving.

Cut the butter into the brown sugar with a pastry blender.  Sometimes I put the oats in at this time, too, but this time I added them after.


Just toss them in with the butter and brown sugar if you forget like I did  decide to add them later. .

The apples need to be peeled and sliced.  Toss the spices and chopped nuts with the apples right in the baking dish.

Then add the crumbles made with the butter, brown sugar and oats on top.

Then bake for 30 to 40 minutes.in a 375 degree oven.  It will smell wonderfully cinnamony and like Fall!  It will look like this -- well, if you have the same apple dish I have.

Of course you can eat it like this OR you can add some vanilla ice cream on top.  It's delicious either way!

Here is all you need. (One of these days I'll figure out how to make a printer friendly version of the recipes.)

APPLE CRISP

 

1 cup sliced apples

1 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I like to use whole nutmeg and a grater for a fresher taste)

Crumble Topping

1/2 cup COLD butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cut oats

Place the applies in a greased 10" square pan (unless you have a cute apple one), add nuts and spices.

Using a pastry blend, cut the utter into the brown sugar and oats.  Sprinkle over the top and bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

Serves 6.

This recipe came from The American Country Inn and Bed and Breakfast Cookbook.  This cookbook is one of my favorites.

Now, I need to go dish up the pot roast that has been cooking in the slow cooker all afternoon.  It really is beginning to smell good!

Until next time,

Lois