Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge

Another Dr’s appointment tomorrow/today, thankfully I officially started my Christmas baking on Wednesday.  I will be posting as I make things. I think Kim and I are going to have a “Baking Day” in a couple of weeks to finish off any baking we are planning on doing.  On top of the Preserves baskets, I like to hand out cookie trays to a few people, homemade of course!

Sandie

2 x 4 Scrap Snowmen

I had an extra piece of 2 x 4 laying around from another craft and asked Dillon to cut it to size for me to make a few cute little snowmen with!

Sandie

Crock Pot Recipe – Balsamic Roast Beef

Last night I thought I would try something different with the roast I was cooking.  Since “the boys” have loved anything I’ve made with balsamic vinegar so far I decided to add it to my roast beef and cook it in the crock pot. And it was quick to get started!

There was no “slicing” the meat, it damn near fell apart and from the way Chris was shoveling it in…. it was a success lol…. sorry Chris!

Sandie

Guitar Pick – Guitar Holder

This is another one of the wood crafts I am making for a Christmas gift for my son-in-law. This time I am making a guitar holder for him, shaped like a guitar pick.  Kim sent me a picture of something like this when I asked for suggestions.

Sandie

Caramel Apple Dump Cake

Yes, another dump cake, but I have been so busy washing the walls and painting doors to get ready for Christmas that I’ve cleaned through a whole jug of cleaning solution and about 5 scrubbie sponges, and haven’t had a chance to do much else… meaning any dessert had to be quick and easy!

Sandie 
Here are the ingredients I used. 

To start, I washed, peeled and thinly sliced the apples into the prepared baking pan. 

Next I poured the caramel sauce over the apples and then sprinkled the cinnamon on top.

I sprinkled the cake mix evenly over the apples. 

And then poured the melted butter over the cake mix. 

I baked it at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes until the top browned and the filling is starting to bubble around the edges. 

Recipe 

Caramel Apple Dump Cake 

Preparation time: 15 minutes Baking time: 50 minutes Servings: 4 – 6

Ingredients 

• 5 or 6 medium apples 
• 1 cup caramel sauce 
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon 
• 1 white cake mix 
• 2/3 cup melted butter or margarine 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease baking pan. 
2. Wash, peeled, core and thinly sliced the apples into the prepared pan. 
3. Pour caramel sauce over the apples. 
4. Sprinkle cinnamon over apples and caramel sauce. 
5. Spread cake mix evenly over the apples. 
6. Pour melted butter on top of the cake mix evenly. 
7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 – 60 minutes. 

Grandma Natalie’s Cranberry Relish — one more bite

This Cranberry Relish looked so good I wanted to share it with everyone.  This is definitely going to go on our “to make” list!

Sandie

My Sicilian grandmother didn’t know from Thanksgiving, but she was a great cook and her cranberry relish is the best I’ve ever tasted. It is sweet, sour, crunchy and fresh. It’s a welcome counterpoint to all the heavy Thanksgiving foods: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes etc. There were no food processors back in the day so she […]

via Grandma Natalie’s Cranberry Relish — one more bite

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Breasts

Along with the Baked Cheesy Garlic I made on Thursday, I made some chicken breasts with one of my favourite go to recipes for “the boys.”  Not only is it delicious, it takes minimal preparation!

Sandie

Baked Cheesy Asparagus

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday had a great day!

Yesterday was another out of town Dr’s appointment for me so I am exhausted but dinner still needed to be made so I at least have posts for today and tomorrow with recipes I hope you all enjoy because today is going to be another long day….

Today Kim and I are making the trek to visit my grandmother, her great grandmother. We are looking at a good 3 or 4 hour round trip but it’s worth it to go see our “Nan.”  Nan is my cooking inspiration.  When I was growing up, she always had delicious meals and treats ready for us whenever we visited her and more than that, she actually loved to cook.  My mother cooked but there was no enjoyment to it like with my Nan.  Even now, there are some recipes that I make, like my Potato Soup, that when I cook it feels like she is right there with me! Memories of her cooking, and more important than that, her acceptance of my crazy personality, are some of my best memories!

Last night with dinner I cooked some asparagus.  I baked it in the oven, smothered in cheese and cream! (And… It passed the chocolate milk test lol)

Sandie

Christmas Air Freshener Pot

Today is another Drs appointment, so only a quick post.

I have seen air freshener “pots” all over the place.  I didn’t have all the “ingredients” for some I saw so I just used what I had on hand.

I have been so busy washing the walls and cleaning in preparation of decorating for Christmas that I’ve barely done anything else. 

Again, I know it’s early but I really wanted to give this a trial run… and since I’m washing walls and cleaning getting ready  for Christmas, this seemed like a perfect time to try it!

I cut up a few oranges and added them to a big pot, along with some frozen cranberries, whole cloves, 2 tsp. of cinnamon and 1 tsp. vanilla. 

Next I added about 4 cups of water and brought it to a boil over medium heat. 

Now I will just lower the temperature to low and let it simmer in the background while I’m cleaning!
It smells wonderful!

Sandie 

Happy Thanksgiving

We would like to wish all of our American Friends a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Sandie and Kim