B-Movie Star

Do the waiting for spring blues got you down? Well, here's a great idea that will cheer you up, it doesn't cost much, it's fun for the whole family and animals love to participate. What is it? BLOWING BUBBLES!

I guess blowing bubbles is like one of the first things humans did to entertain themselves, well right after they invented soap and bathing. Good for humans - they know how to have a good time!

Sorry - that's just too cute not to add to this post.

If you don't have any store bought bubbles at home ( I always keep a few bottles on hand - I have my priorites straight) you can easily make some of your own with stuff you've probably got already.

Easy Bubble Recipe:  6 parts water, 2 parts Joy dishwashing liquid (they say this brand works the best), and 3/4 part corn syrup. After you make it, store in a covered container. Use pipe cleaners or bent wire hangers for bubble wands.  Experiment with what you find at home to see what kind of bubbles you can blow.

The secret ingredient for sturdy, colorful bubbles is Glycerine (available at most pharmacies). Soft water is good for bubbles. Any water containing high levels of iron is bad for bubbles. To get the best mixture, try using distilled water. But first try it with the tap water at your house (and you may be one of those lucky people who have a built in bubble water faucet…)

Cats and dogs and little kids love to chase bubbles - it's such a blast to just run around and have a good time! You must try this. On a nice day, maybe pack some sanwiches and lemonade and make a quick picnic to the park and take your bubble solution with you - a fun family outing that costs so little! Don't forget to take your camera and capture some of those great moments!  Even if you don't have kids, take some friends or your honey - get out of the house, you've been cooped up too long. Blow some bubbles and feel young and free! Please don't wear this hairstyle though. Only this guy can pull it off, and he's struggling with it.

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My Grandma Peterson, who was actually my Great-Grandma, was seriously one of the best grandmas in the world.  Nothing against your grandma, I'm sure she's a wonderful person too, but seriously, everyone should have a grandma like my Grandma Peterson.  I know I'm biased, somewhat, but she was just such a loving, grandma. She told good stories. She never got mad at you. She could correct you without raising her voice - in fact I think you just never wanted to do anything to displease her. You just loved her so much you WANTED to mind.  She would sing for you, play games to entertain you, send you out to play when you needed it, gave great hugs, and even smelled nice - soft and warm, like a grandma should smell. She also baked like no one else I've ever known. My very favorite cookies that she made were her molasses cookies. I remember my mom and my aunts would even eat the hard ones dipped in Sanka. Sure, other kids can love chocolate chip (she made wonderful chocolate chip cookies) but they just can't compare to the spicy goodness of a molasses cookie.

I usually make them for Christmas. They're good, but they never taste as good to me as my grandma's did. I guess it was that little pinch of love she put in or something that made them taste extra special good.  You should try to make them for your family this Christmas and see what they think of them.  You can decorate them if you like, we've just always eaten them plain, but they look a lot like gingerbread so you could cut them into fancy shapes and frost them or sprinkle them with sugar - whatever makes you happy!

My grandma's recipe was pretty brief. She left off incidentals like temperature of the oven and how long to bake them,  I mean, hello! If you know what you're doing in the kitchen you don't need information like that! For the rest of us, we've just had to experiment to see what works.  When you make them, don't forget to put in that extra pinch of love!

Grandma Peterson’s Molasses Cookies

·1 Cup Sugar
·4 Cups Flour
·1 Cup Molasses
·1 Teaspoon Ginger
·1 Cup Shortening
·1 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
·1 Cup cold Coffee
·1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
·1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Mix together wet ingredients in large bowl (this is very messy), until well blended.  Add dry ingredients, dough will be pretty wet.

I put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to help the dough firm up a little.  When you go to roll it out, you may need to work a little flour into the dough so that you can work with it better.

Roll out dough onto floured surface until about 1/2 inch thick and cut into shapes, cook in a 350 degree oven for about 8 minutes

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So, in my efforts to countdown to Christmas I'm going to do some posts about my favorite holiday things - and yes, one of them is PEPPERMINT! Love it! Love candy canes, love red and white, love the cold way your breath feels when you eat them.  I usually have a pocketful of mini candy canes or peppermint discs - my family laughs at me because I'm always offering them peppermints because I believe that they are a cure-all for whatever ails you.  Seriously, I think they are!

Well, one of my favorite things during December is that Peppermint finally gets some love! Here are some wonderful ways to use peppermint this season!

Peppermint Bark Candy - we make this candy every year, it's incredibly easy to make and delicious

Ingredients

* Crushed candy canes, to yield 1 cup
* 2 pounds white chocolate
* Peppermint flavorings, optional

Directions

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired.) Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)

Here's another lovely version of Peppermint Bark Candy (this would also be nice for Valentine's Day)

Peppermint Bark Hearts

Ingredients:

* 26 peppermint candy canes (2 1/2 inch)
* 6oz. vanilla flavored candy coating (Bark Bars), chopped
* 2 tsp. peppermint candies or candy canes, crushed

Instructions

Line cookie sheet with waxed paper.  Arrange candy canes on paper in groups of 2 in a heart shape.

Melt vanilla bark squares in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir until smooth and completely melted.

Spoon or pipe candy coating into centers of hearts to fill spaces.  Smooth with a toothpick or bamboo skewer.  Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.  Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes or until set.

It's also nice to dip candy canes or peppermint stick into the melted vanilla bark (or chocolate bark) and then decorate with colorful sprinkles.

Another great recipe to make and give for the holidays is White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Ingredients

* 1-1/2 teaspoons plus 1/4 cup butter, softened, divided
* 2 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 12 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
* 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
* 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
* 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions

* Line a 9-in. square pan with foil. Grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside.
* In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, sour cream and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil; cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 234° (soft-ball stage), about 5 minutes.
* Remove from the heat; stir in white chocolate and marshmallow creme until melted. Fold in peppermint candy and extract. Pour into prepared pan. Chill until firm.
* Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Gently peel off foil; cut fudge into 1-in. squares. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 pounds

Here are a few more recipes I found on the Internet

Heart Shaped Peppermint Patties from Erin Cooks

Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies ( So beautiful aren't they?)

Peppermint Chocolate Cake Using Celestial Seasoning Tea!

Here's another wonderful gift giving idea - Peppermint Stick Coca from Sunset Magazine

And now for something completely different - Peppermint Foot Scrub - mmmmm sounds fantastic!

Here's a nice way to incorporate candy canes into your decor. The place setting came from . . . crap, I can't find where this came from - sorry! If you know let me know, thanks!

Lastly, here's a lovely print from Myan Photography on Etsy - so dreamy!

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Gabby and I discovered these delicious enchiladas - we didn't have any enchilada sauce on hand so we used Heinz Chili Sauce and YUMMY! These are some fantastic enchiladas - I highly recommend trying them!

Angela's Awesome Enchiladas

Ingredients

* 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cut into chunks
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
* 1 1/4 cups sour cream
* 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
* 1 package mild taco seasoning mix
* 1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided
* 1 cup water
* 1 teaspoon lime juice
* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 5 (12 inch) flour tortillas
* 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
* 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce ( I use Heinz chili sauce)
* 1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives (optional)

Directions

1. Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces are no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. Set the shredded chicken aside. Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
2. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
3. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
5. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

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For Thanksgiving I decided to make my own flower arrangement for our centerpiece. I was able to buy a few bundles of fresh, fall colored  flowers from the local market. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do, but I knew those colors would look good with whatever else I ended up doing.  I totally believe in supporting your local florist - they always make such beautiful creations, and I love to buy arrangements from them whenever I can afford it. This year, I just thought it would be fun to do it myself.

When I first got home I filled a large bucket with cool water and commercial flower food. If you do a lot of flower arranging yourself you can buy flower food at your local craft supply store or floral supply store. Sometimes florists will sell it to you as well. I filled the sink with water and opened my bundles of  flowers. You will need to trim the stems of the flowers. It's important to do this under water because the stems will "suck" and if you are cutting them in the open air they can suck air into their stems, creating an air bubble that hinders them from drinking water and of course, this causes them to die more quickly. When you cut them stems you should also use a sharp knife, such as a paring knife, and cut the stems at a slight angle. Using scissors is not recommended because  it can crush the stems shut and this will also hider the flowers from drinking water. The only exception to this is if you are cutting woody stems like forsythia or lilac - those stems need to be crushed a bit.  Does this sound too complicated, it's not! You'll get the hang of it pretty quickly.

After I trim the stems I put them into the bucket. It's best to let your flowers sit in the cool water and drink for a bit before working with them. If you are going to be making a lot of arrangements or corsages or something, try to keep your bucket of flowers in a nice cool location.

Since I was making a centerpiece I bought some bricks of floral foam. There are two kinds of floral foam - one for fresh flowers and one for silk flowers - make sure you get the right one for your project. You can also buy floral foam at craft or floral supply stores.  I soaked the brick of floral foam in a bucket of water and commercial flower food for a few hours, but check the instructions on yours for details on that.

With floral foam you can create an arrangement in almost anything - if it will hold water, you can make an arrangement in it. I used a narrow bread basket - obviously water is going to leak through that, so I put some small plastic containers in the bottom and filled those with floral foam. The containers I used are like bowls that you use to mix paints, but you can use whatever you have on hand - Tupperware, old butter tubs, anything like that will work. I cut the foam to fit into the containers and then I was ready to work.

I started by using greenery to make a bit of a "base."  I also think about sort of  "hiding" the foam as I'm working, and the greenery base helps to do that.  When you're making an arrangement you may want to look at a photo to give you some direction if you feel like you aren't sure what you want to do. I just sort of "winged it." When I was adding flowers I just worked slowly, adding flowers throughout the entire bricks of foam. It's better not to concentrate on one area because you may end up with an off balance arrangement. It's okay to be asymmetrical if you mean to, but on accident - well, you'll probably be disappointed with your results.

While I was working, I liked to try to keep the flowers different heights, and sort of sprinkled about "naturally." It's also important not to cut your flowers too long or too short. It will probably take a bit of practice to get the hang of this. If you cut them too short your arrangement sort of sinks into the container, and too long doesn't allow the flower to drink too easily from the foam.  It's good to step back occasionally and look at your arrangement from a bit of a distance so you'll keep the entire arrangement in your mind as you work. Another good tip is to imagine in your mind a center point where all the flowers start from - this helps to keep your arrangement "flow" in a pleasing manner.

Don't get frustrated if you don't make a "masterpiece" the first time you arrange flowers. It takes lots of practice. Sometimes local florists or community centers offer flower arranging courses. There is so much to learn - so many techniques and theories - it becomes really addictive once you get interested in it.  I'm sure that when a professional florist looks at my arrangement, they can see all the problems, but I had a lot of fun creating it and everyone said it looked nice - so that made me happy!

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Here is a down-loadable Advent Calendar for you! I've made one with a list of activities, and also a blank one so you don't like the activities I've chosen, you can fill it up with activities that your family enjoys.

To construct the calendar, all you need to do is print both pages of the calendar onto card stock. Take an x-acto knife and cut each numbered box on THREE sides to make a little "door." Then glue the page with the activities onto the back of the numbered "doors" so that when you open a numbered door you can read the activity on the second page.

Have fun counting down to Christmas!

Page One of the Free Downloadable Advent Calendar

Page Two of the Free Downloadable Advent Calendar

Blank Advent Calendar

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These are a light, but delicious Brownie - chocolate and mint - what's not to love? They're a favorite around our house, and a nice treat on a cold winter evening.

Junior Mint Brownies

Cooking spray
1/4 cup butter
32 (about 3 ounces) creamy, small-size mints in pure chocolate (such as Junior Mints)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 large egg
1 large egg white

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine butter and mints in a 2-cup glass measure; microwave at high 30 seconds or until soft. Stir until smooth, and set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, soda, and salt in a bowl. Combine sugar, cocoa, egg, and egg white in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add mint mixture; beat well. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean; cool completely on a wire rack.

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I think Pineapple Upside Down Cake is the easiest and one of the most delicious cakes to bake. I also think it goes perfect with Thanksgiving! The caramelized glaze that tops the cake keeps the cake so moist - and it looks so beautiful after baking while you didn't even have to decorate it or frost it - BONUS!

The way I learned to make Pineapple Upside Down Cake was in a cast iron skillet, but if you have a large cake pan I'm pretty sure it will work in that as well.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

1/4    cup butter or margarine
2/3    cup packed brown sugar
9  (or however many will fit into your cake pan attractively)  slices pineapple in juice (from 14-oz can), drained
9 or so maraschino cherries without stems, if desired
1 1/3    cups  all-purpose flour
1  cup granulated sugar
1/3    cup shortening
1 1/2    teaspoons baking powder
1/2    teaspoon salt
3/4    cup milk
1    egg

Heat oven to 350°F. In a large skillet or cake pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice.

In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.

Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.  Store cake loosely covered.

When my mom makes this cake she sometimes adds crushed pecans or walnuts to the butter and brown sugar mixture.  She has also made this with sliced peaches instead of pineapple rings - and wow that's delicious too! In fact you could probably top this cake with whatever fruit or berries is your favorite and it would taste fantastic!

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Here's a nice warm for a chilly autumn day! Your guests might enjoy this for Thanksgiving too!

Apple Cider Punch

4 qt apple cider
1 cup packed brown sugar
6 oz frozen lemonade
6 oz frozen orange juice
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cinnamon sticks

If you use the whole all spice and cloves, tie them in cheesecloth. Heat the mixture. Stir occasionally. If you want an alcoholic drink, rum would be nice.

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Well, here it is, less than two weeks until Thanksgiving. I’m already starting to feel a bit of nervousness – as always I want everything to be “perfect” but I also want to enjoy the day along with everyone else. I remember one of the first times I cooked Thanksgiving for everyone in our families – and I decided to cook everything from scratch. I was trying out a bunch of new recipes, cooking a lot of new foods, and pretty much overdid it all. The thing I remember the most was being so busy that I forgot to eat anything all day. Then when the guests arrived and we had a glass of wine, I was instantly tipsy! Not exactly the condition you want to be in when you’re pulling together a dinner for your inlaws and outlaws!

Luckily, I did manage to feed everyone – and no one complained (to my face anyway!) But I also remember spending a lot of time in the kitchen while everyone else was around the table laughing and talking. I’ve learned several things since that early Thanksgiving – mainly, don’t forget to eat breakfast!

I also learned not to do everything myself if I can help it! For me I love being in the kitchen with my mother in law and mom and daughter and husband all working on something different, laughing and catching up. I learn a lot from working with other people, and it sure beats working in the kitchen alone – so if anyone volunteers to help out, I take them up on it! I’ll even put kids to work peeling potatoes or cleaning vegetables or drying dishes – whatever their skill level is. If they’re too young to help out in the kitchen, you can give them some craft projects. One year I had the younger kids make Pilgrim hats and feathered headbands for everyone to wear.

I also use my planner. I make sure I have a menu written out with a grocery list so I can avoid any last minute runs to the grocery store – you know it’s nuts to try to go shopping on Wednesday before Thanksgiving! Don’t forget to pick up these items either: Butter (enough for the table and for all the cooking and baking you’ll be doing!), Whipped cream or cool whip for desserts, extra ice, extra drinks, wine, some snack foods for those who are watching the football games, and some items for sandwich making – mustard, mayo, lettuce – you know, so everyone can make sandwiches with the leftover turkey! And lastly, don’t forget to have plenty of aluminum foil and containers to store and send leftovers home with guests!

I try to cook as much as possible the week before Thanksgiving – whatever is on your menu, see if you could make it ahead of time and either finish cooking it, or just warm it up in time for your guests to eat. I also clean out the fridge as much as possible, because I know I’m going to have a ton of stuff to store in there!  I also make a chore list and have everyone in my family help me clean the house from top to bottom the weekend before Thanksgiving. This helps me not freak out and try to do it all at midnight on Wednesday night.

What I do on Wednesday night though, is set the table. This gives me plenty of time to fold the napkins just so if I want, and to make sure I have enough wine glasses, and all those little things that I don’t want to be thinking about at the last minute while guests are waiting to eat turkey. I can also sort of go over my “game plan” the night before and make sure I’ve got everything pretty much lined up and ready to go. There’s nothing more aggravating than realizing after everyone has left that I forgot to serve the special side-dish that got left in the back of the fridge.

On Thanksgiving I make sure that I’m dressed, have my makeup on, hair styled, first thing. I just feel better – more prepared that way, and if guests show up early I don’t feel caught off guard.

Most importantly, I remember to feel thankful – for everything that I’m seeing, feeling, and experiencing that day – it’s a memory in the making. I remind myself that no guests are coming to my house because my candles match the tablecloth, or because my place cards are handmade, they are coming to share time with each other, to laugh and talk and fellowship. When I keep that in perspective, I can relax and enjoy myself, and if something burns or breaks it’s not the end of the world – it’s just a funny story for a later Thanksgiving!

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