Finding Old Favorites

Cleaning out my recipes, I found many old favorites that I hadn't made in a long time. I decided that one of these just couldn't wait any longer. My granny used to make different "goodies" each Christmas, and her Almond Bark Candy is one of my favorites!!

You will need:
1 1/2 lb of Almond Bark
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 c. dry roasted peanuts
1 1/2 c. mini marshmallows
3 c. rice krispys

Melt the almond bark and peanut butter in a large sauce pan on the stove. Mix and let cook slightly.

Mix the other ingredients together and once almond bark and peanut butter has cooled slightly, stir in until well combined. Make sure that it is cool enough not to melt the marshmallows, but not so cool you can't mix it together.


Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on wax paper and let cool completely. ENJOY!!

I am so thankful that I had this experience to get myself organized! I have had the desire to do it for quite a while, but I just needed the motivation! What is next?? Can you believe I started my Christmas presents today?

Recipe Clean Up!

How fun!!! I spent this month working on my recipes and getting them organized, and WOW! I was able to get rid of ones I never use, share recipes with friends and even use my creative side! First I tackled Brian and I's favorite recipes, quiche. We like them so much, that I decided to make a cookbook dedicated just to quiche.














This is a Close to My Heart 9x9 scrapbook that I made in a class. I had never done anything with it, but this is the perfect opportunity!!















I divided the cookbook into different categories based on the main ingredient and scrapbooked the recipe and a picture of the finished product. Since it is a scrapbook, I have lots of room to expand!















After I made our quiche book, I decided to tackle the recipe box. I dumped all my recipes out and started sifting through what I wanted.

I then took all my recipes and rewrote them on matching cards. I have lots of extra so, once again, any future recipes will match. I then put them into the correct categories and alphabetized the categories. The cards I bought had extra tabs, so I made categories of my own such as drinks, spices and even a tab for all my recipes that can be made in a mug!

I filed them in my Longaberger recipe box that has a lip on the top to make it easy to read whatever I am making at the time! Yes, my recipes are also Longaberger, BUT I just loved the daisies!! My basket is clean and concise, fits on the counter easily and even has a lid, that fits, to keep the dust and food particles clean.

I didn't think it necessary to take another picture of the cabinet. I removed all my cookbooks and put them back in depending on main ingredients and topic. I removed the extra stuff sitting on the shelves, and distinguished the categories by tabs. I will admit that I love organization a little too much, but now that it is done, it will be easy to keep up! Best of luck to everyone else in their organizational challenges! I can't wait to find out what next month's challenge is!

Starting to get organized

I realized the other day that I hadn't taken pictures of what I was doing to get my recipes organized, so I did that tonight..

Here is my cabinet of Pillsbury cookbooks - one of my favoritesHere is my pathetic attempt of keeping a recipe boxAs you can see I have printed recipes stuck everywhere

Recipes are a true passion of mine, so I joined an organizational group to get mine organized. I have them stuck everywhere, as you can see. I am working on this with a group on the Organizing Junkies blog. Feel free to jump in, and if you want some great tips and techniques, this is the blog to go to! Have fun and I will keep you posted on my progress!

Dinner and a Movie

I figured my hubby and I had reason to celebrate tonight... He is getting to go back to work on Monday. Scary I know, but something I am dealing with. Anyway, I had a Chicken helper in the cabinet that I had decided to fix, and I also knew that I had an abundance of potatoes in the house. I decided to make potatoes graten and a fun 5 minute mug cake recipe that I had received from my sister. She sells Longaberger, which their pottery is oven, microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe, so I thought, why not! We don't keep sweets in the house since I would eat them if they were here, and this makes one mug at a time - win-win situation..

As I was finishing dinner I thought we might put a movie in and get out some of the "good stuff". In our house, the good stuff is juice from the Post Families Winery in Arkansas. Very Yummy - our favorite is the Altus and the Muscadine. I even got out the stemware! We watched Diffidently, Maybe and cuddled on the couch.

It was a great, cheap night and we did it all at home. I thought it might be fun to share some of these mug recipes that I have... another thing I need to get organized!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake (more like a brownie)
4 T. Sugar
4T. all-purpose flour
2 T. cocoa
1 Egg
3 T. Milk
3 T. oil
3 T. Chocolate Chips, optional
Small splash of Vanilla

Add dry ingredients to a mug and mix well.
Add egg and mix thoroughly
Pour in milk and oil and mix well again
Add the chocolate chips, if using, and vanilla and mix for the last time.

Put in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but it is okay. Allow to cool a little - we like ours with vanilla ice cream!

Hope you enjoy this fun little recipe.. I will post the other mug recipes that I have in the coming weeks!

Taking advantage of the time...

I am taking advantage of the time at home to catch up on some fun new blogs... If you know me very well, you know my love language is organization. I have found this fun blog/website called I'm an Organizing Junkie. I have found lots of great tips and she does a monthly organization project, which I have decided to participate in for February. The February challenge is recipes. This is perfect since I am having so much fun sharing my favorite recipes on my blog. You can follow this link

http://orgjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/roundup.jpg

to find out more about her schedule for organizing this year. If I have posted this link wrong, I will correct it as soon as I figure out how. I am also working on getting a picture of my recipe mess to post online so I can track my progress.. Would you like to join me? Leave me a message if you are up for the challenge and then check out the link above!

Technology BITES!

I have had a more than frustrating few days with the technology in my home...

Yesterday morning I went to turn on my phone and couldn't. After much thumping and pushing of the reset button, I found that only the touch screen of my phone worked, that I had lost all use of the keys. I borrowed Brian's phone to call AT&T and spent an hour troubleshooting the problem with them. I was finally transferred to warranty, just to do it all again. They decided something was wrong with my phone (Duh!) and they needed to send me a new one. However, since they had replaced this model 3 times, did I want to try another model.. I decided it was for the best.

I had sent my laptop off to be repaired, but since CC decided to close their doors, it was sent back un-repaired. After 3 days of trying the 1-800 number they gave us, Brian got smart and found an online operator for us to talk to. So after getting off the phone with AT&T, I sat at the desktop computer with the dysfunctional laptop at my left for over an hour while someone on the other end performed the tests that CC had already done to find the problem I told them about in the beginning. :) Really, I loved it.

After a morning of dealing with this, Brian thought it best if I didn't touch anything electronical for a while... I thought it was best too. I was able to spend the rest of the day reading, something I hadn't done in a LONG time and was much overdue for. I also made cookie dough that I have yet to bake, but it is sooo yummy. For Christmas this year, since Brian had spent so much time in the hospital, we decided to "finish" our shopping with peoples favorite kinds of cookies. For John, I made Ginger Snaps... it was fun and soooooo worth the time, they were YUM!!

Ginger Snaps
1 C. Sugar (have another 1/4 c. set aside)
3/4 c. butter- softened
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 c. flour
2t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. nutmeg

Combine 1 c. sugar, butter, molasses and egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves and nutmeg - mixing well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrig. 1 hour. Heat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1" balls. Roll in the 1/4 c. sugar and place 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I love my stoneware for this!) Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes or until set. (Cookies will puff up, then flatten and the tops will crackle. Let cool 1 minute before removing from the cookie sheet.

You can't go wrong with these little bites of joy! I am trying the next time with Splenda for the diabetics in the family, I will let you know how it goes!

Crab Rangoon

Sorry, but I think the cashew chicken needs it famous side kick.. These are SOOO simple and don't come with the additives that some like (such as chives). Feel free to add if you must, but don't over do-it. The simplicity of these is great!

Crab Rangoon
8oz cream cheese
3oz drained flaked crab meat - from a 6oz can
beaten egg

Mix the cream cheese and crab. Fill the wonton wrappers (about 1 tsp). Apply the beaten egg to the sides of the wrapper and gather at the top to seal. Deep fry in oil in your wok and ENJOY!!!


I am enjoying these postings.. I may have to post more yummy recipes soon.. Leave me a comment as to what you would like to see!

A busy week AND a recipe

Sorry it has been so long since I posted, but much has happened. Brian hasn't had his shots in over a week and only one blood draw! The Lord is sooo good, I think he is really on the mend.

I was able to finish all of my classes last week except for my Children's Lit paper, which I finished over the weekend and submitted on Monday. What a blessing to be done, but I find myself wondering, not knowing what to do with my time. I have "officially" finished with one A and one C, but the other two grades have yet to be entered. I am okay with not having a 4.0 this semester, it is simply a testament that I was focused on what I needed to be.

With all of my free time I have started scrapbooking again, hoping to make some LARGE strides in the mound of pictures I have...

I have also been searching the Internet more for websites and blogs about my true love language, organization. One of the things that I am finding in menu planning. I am fascinated by this and I think I might even try my hand at it. Brian and I are really trying to live by the "Financial Peace" rules, but with the accident our emergency account has been emptied and we are looking for where to cut back. The Lord knows our needs though, because we received a very unexpected reimbursement that came at just the right time! I can almost make this months bills! almost....

Anyway, recipes are something that I have been finding, so I thought I would start sharing a few of my favorites. My mom taught cooking classes when I was growing up and our next door neighbor was from Taiwan and had her own restaurant: This is one of my FAVORTIES of my moms: Springfield Cashew Chicken

Thaw chicken breasts (# depends on how many you are serving) and cut into bite size pieces. Put into a bowl with flour and lightly coat and set aside for 15 minutes. Mix 1/4 C. milk per egg and 1 egg per pound of chicken breast plus salt and pepper to taste. Have a bowl of flour set aside. Put all the chicken in the egg mixture and let stand for another 10 minutes. heat oil in a wok - once hot, dip chicken piece by piece in flour and into the oil. The chicken is done when it is light brown. Keep warm in a low oven while you prepare the sauce.

Sauce: 1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup water.
1 T cornstarch
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t oyster sauce - you can find MSG free, but you have to look at the bottles carefully.

Top with cashew nuts and ENJOY!! Warning: this is a messy time, but a good time!