GINGER coma~~

Oh my…Oh my…Oh my am I ever in a GINGER coma with these sandeeee brown puppies!!!

Just look at these chewy gingersnap cookies!!  This is the cookie that ends the search for the perfect cookie!! Can ya’ see the sugar that the sugar fairy dusted on the outside of the cookie? Sweetness is the first taste that will visit your taste buds with this edible delight. 

 

Then as you start to chewy the small bite that you have taken(because you want to make this cookie last as long as possible)you will get a hint saltiness from the course salt that was added to the batter.  Then as you think the joy ride is just about over you will pick up the heat of GINGER~~then its starts again because your now starting your second bite.  MMMMM~~I am just tellin’ ya…you will not be able to eat just one. This is the recipe if you would like to tempt your palate??

http://twopeasandtheirpod.com/soft-gingersnap-cookie-recipe/

Good LUCK charm~~

Rob always reads my blog~~now it may be a few days, weeks, or even months before he gets a chance to perruse my writing but if he knows what’s good for him he will visit my weeee little blog frequently!! So months...I guess would be somewhat of a stretch.  I am just being honest her folks~~I am a demanding kinda girl!!! Well…anyway~~after the last read he tells me that he may be wearing a necklace for the first time in his life!!! He has decided that he can use all the good luck he can get!!!

This is a wishbone~~came from one of the 3 Thanksgiving birds that we stuffed, bagged and carved.  He feels that the wishbone will bring him luck and keep the beautiful iron skillet with the 2 hand grips far from any part of his anatomy!!! Yeah—I said 2 handles!!! It was a requirement sent down the pike from the Lodge(manufacturer and the only one left in the good ol' USA) engineers.  This skillet would not exist if it didn’t have 2 handles~~safety first!!!! So~~the moral of the story...have a good luck charm that you hold near and dear to your heart on stand-by!!! Ya' never know when you may need it!!! The thing I like best about this good luck charm~~it was free and with a little bit of twine he can make a loop around the top of the wishbone and wear this around his neck!!!! WoooHooo!!!!

DEADLY weapon or SKILLET??

I want you to check out this skillet!! This was another gift from my dear husband.

I am tellin’ ya that this skillet makes some damn good cornbread and that cornbread just happened to be the cornbread used in the famous dressing that I have been bragging about~but yet to give you the details or the pictures. I promise that it’s coming and coming soon.  I just have to write these posts as they come into my head. Now…I am a woman that loves my husband and would do anything for him.  I consider him my VERY BEST friend in the entire world and would never dream of harming him—well truthfully I have dreamed of hurting him~~~don’t say that you haven’t dreamed of hurting your significant other.  That’s just a normal dream—like your fighting and in your dream you have to kill him/her and then your terrified of getting caught and so on and so forth—then you wake up with REAL tears in your eyes.  Tell me that I am not crazeeeee and that you too have had these dreams??  Back to the “DEADLY” weapon.  Let me just tell ya that if Rob was dipin’ his wick somewhere it shouldn’t be dipped I would be using this gift he purchased for me~~against him!! Sorry folks—for the dippin’ thing-a-ma-bobeeee but I am just saying that if I did hit him with this skillet I may be doin’ time because this my friend could be a deadly weapon.  Look at the fork~~you know how big a normal fork is!! Now—take another look at that beautiful lump of iron.  The handle on both sides is a necessity—not for when it’s full of cornbread or deer meat or a pineapple upside down skillet cake but for the purpose of moving the skillet from the peg-board to the stove. Peg-board~~you ask yourself what in the world is this lunatic talking about—its on my blog so check it out!!! Well--anyway~~I LOVE you—iron skillet!!!

Oh yeah---and you tooooo Rob. Just watch your back!!!! LOL!!!!  

Hot “TURKEY” Salad~~~

Ok~~this is the deal…we make one extra turkey before the “BIG FEAST” day.  This turkey is for the stuffing—which is out of this world and I will be posting on how my skirt flies up when I take my first bite—but that’s next. We also use ol’ Tom Turkey for this HTS(hot turkey salad).  Now that I have that off of my chest we can get back to the HTS. I mean this stuff is the “BOMB” and that’s just how it is!!! The entire family looks forward to mom making this for us the day after the “BIG FEAST”!!!!!!!!! I will show you a picture of this dish in just a sec. so hold on to your britches.  I just want to say that you need to make a turkey and try this dish or chances are you may have enough left over in the frig to whip up this puppeee tonite~~go look and I will wait on ya!! It’s ok…seriously—go LOOK!!!! Ok--now that your back you know if you need to baste another bird or get started now!!!! Trust me…if your bored out of your gourd with turkey—you will love this dish!!!

Ain’t she a beeeuut~~don’t lie just because it’s me!! I know this is not a looker but I am begging you to trust me on this one!!! Oh…Oh…Oh…look at that stunning piece of marble~~do ya see it? It’s under the dish that’s holding the HTS.   Well---that was gift from my honey~~I am thinking it’s a hint for more pastries!!! Like pies—or should I say choc cream pie—and I am not talking out of a box here folks!!! I am talkin’ bout the reeeel thing babe!!! That box stuff doesn’t enter my pastry shells!!!

OOOOOOK~~give me a break--I just had to tell ya that!! It was weighing heavily on my mind.  Back once again to the HTS—you can taste the tang of the mayo—and for the love of all things good…do NOT ruin this by substituting miracle whip for the mayo~~oh lord I can’t believe I just typed the word miracle whip.  I can’t stand the stuff and why on EARTH they called it “MIRACLE” is beyond me!!! I would not call this a miracle in any shape…form…or fashion. Even if it joined my fairy tea lights on a red wine evening.   I’m sorry but I just wouldn’t!! Do what ya’ want but I won’t be held accountable for the travesty your about to commit.  Now that I am down off of my high horse—speaking of horse—SanDee is doin’ just dandeee!!!! That sounded good—it rhymed and all~~can ya tell I miss teaching 2nd graders?? OK!!!!!HTS!!!!  Your mouth just has an explosion of crunch-zing-tang—sharp(cheese)—savory(turkey and nuts) all in one bite.

OK~~I am finished with this post!!!

Just kidding~~sheeesh…I am gonna give ya the recipe!!!

1. 2 cups cubed turkey (cooked) now who were you kidding mom?? you have never cubed the turkey—just pull the stuff ya want to use off of the bone and be done with it!!! 
2. 1 cup MAYO~do I have to type it again??
3. 1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)
4. 1 cup cheese(now don’t let mom fool ya’ here—she has never in her life just used one cup of cheese) more like 1.5 or 2 (we use cheddar)
5. 2 cups diced celery(now she does dice this) probably not such a good idea to put the entire thing in dish?? You could try if ya want!!!
6. 2 cups croutons or toasted bread crumbs (prolly a good idea to tear this up into small pieces but mom put cubed~~what did I tell ya about cubed?? ok…you got it!!!
7. salt and pepper to taste

That’s it~~mix it all together and pop it in the oven on 425 for about 15-20 mints. 

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

Me and the PRINCESS~~

I just had to take a break from cooking so that I could pose with my baby KaDee!!!! Here we are!!!

Isn’t she just a DOLL BABY!!!! Remember…THANKSgiving is to be spent with family~~even those 4 legged ones!!!!!!!!!!

Tea Fairy Lights~~~

Did fairies come down from the heavens and drink tea with the worldleee and light candles with the sparkle dust bursting from their wings!!!??? Well~~~that's what I am thinking about during the holiday evenings when I light these little mystical lights~~~~what the heck am I talking about!!! Well--you needn't fear~~I am not crazeeeee!!! Check out the picture below!!!!

See aren’t they just fairy deeeelish?? Be honest!!! You know darn well that they are not~~however I do have some pictures that show off the little baby fairies so that you too can appreciate them as much as me!!!! Here is a little sneeeek peeeek!!!! Do you notice that I love to use the vowel “e”?? Why is this!!?? Better yet~~if your reading this post on my simple lil’ ol’ blog you know me pretty darn well. Tell me what you think~~why am I obsessed with the vowel “e”? Just drop me a response in my in-box and we will get into some good therapy!!! No~~seriously it’s because I am a terrible speller and a great deal of the time I really don’t have a clue of the correct way to spell a word!! For ex: is it ee, e, ea, sneeeekeeee “e”, sometimes the second vowel does the talking or just another one of those ding-dong-dang- phonics rules that I loved to teach!!!! What in this world am I talking about!!?? A little tooo much of that wine I was telling you about earlier~~oh..that’s right I have not mentioned that yet!!! Sorry 'bout that!!

Now they are lookin’ just a teeenseeee bit faireeeish~~that word looks a little weird!! I know~~but I like it any-ol-how!!!

Still not so pretty~~just you wait and see!!!

Now look at that little fairy~~these are hand painted holly and holly berries.  If you look very close~~the blue and red ones also have the same print but its raised…I guess you would describe it as fairy braille.  It is beautiful but just not painted. Now back to that wine~~when I am thinking of these dreeeemeee faireeeish thoughts I might just be drinking a little red wine that I have my lil’ sis pick up from me whenever she is in Richmond, KY.  This red juice may even make the fairy tea-lights look as if they are floating off of the table with their little baby wings!!!!

He Got Him One~~

The last week or so has been gun season in our area.  Matthew has been really working hard at getting  a “BIG” 10 point.  He did get him one~~however…it was not a 10 point but it was a young doe.  Hey~~we will take it because I want some of that deer meat ground up for a nice big bowl of deer chili!!!

I know that he doesn’t look all that excited about the situation but I can assure you that he is!!!!

By the time that I arrived on the scene he had already gutted her and everything was all cleaned up!! Now don’t get me wrong—I am not complaining one little bit about my late arrival and late pictures.

Do you see that thingamabobby that the deer is hanging from?  Well~~~my son created this contraption to hang his catches on!! I am very proud of him and his creation.  Now don’t get me wrong…I am not naive enough to think that he has not seen something like this in a magazine or store.  However---how many 17 year olds do you know that could use the cutting torch and weld up their own hanger thingamabobby?? Go ahead—think about it?!?! Not many~~right??

His dad is also impressed~~he was just as surprised as I was to discover that Matthew was becoming a man.  He was creating things on his own without even telling us about it!!! It was like Matthew was surprised that we were surprised.  He acted as if it were just a given that he would have been able to do something like this on his own.  I tell ya...I am one proud momma.  I know that this is not a “BIG” deal to some—but to his dad and I it is a “BIG” deal!!! This is our “10 point”.  Matthew~~we love you!!!!

GIFT from above~~

 

Today was such a soggy, dreary and stressful day that the gift from above was great appreciated.  I am not going to write a bunch of details~~the pictures will speak for themselves!!

Hope you enjoyed as much as I did!!!!

GORGER is more like it!!

 

The first evening that we made the homemade kettle chips (HKC) Zo~~my beautiful little niece!! Here she is~~~

Just had to have here it is~~ HOMEMADE DONUTS!!! She is assisting her mom in making them here in this pic~~~can ya believe it!!!??? Teens can do this~~they have the metabolism to support such frying!!! Now you may be asking yourself?? What in this world is she opening?? SSSHHHHHH~~~this is top secret here people—canned biscuits!!! Yep—that’s the ticket!!! You will never want another Krispy Cream Donut again in your life after you take one bite of these golden rings of love!!! More like a golden ring of love around my waist!!! 

 

Here they are—now Zo put down a little flour to help with the sticky-ness of the donut!! This is totally optional her folks!! You could use wax paper or a pie dough mat!!?? She used an old pill bottle that we have had since 1970—not kidding here~~to make the perfect little donut holes!!! We keep this little pill bottle under lock and key—not our money or weapons(oops did I just say that) but we sure do this little cooking tool. I would show you a picture of these little baby donuts but—just like the HKC~~we were eating them as fast as they came out of the deep fryer!!! I think that must be a rule in our house!!! Eat as your working~~nothin’ wrong with that—I am just sayin"’!!!

Here is a pic of the icing~~I will warn ya before you judge me!!! The key to the donuts is the icing.  It has to be just right—not tooooo thick and not toooo runny!!! The recipe is easy---just water and powdered sugar!!! It’s just the consistency has to be right or the donut will just not be the same!! This is another department area for Mama Maggie to help. 

We use the tongs for easy dipping but you could use a big slotted spoon or even a fork would do!!! These are not hard to make—icing is the key!!! Did I already tell ya that little tid-bit of info.???

TaaaDaaa~~~~

Here they are—in all that fat~~~but…if the greeezeee is hot enough the donut will not soak it up!! Remember mom’s tip—put newspaper under the paper towels.  That will also aid in we older folks from getting a donut around our mid-section. 

BEEEEUTIFUL!!!!

See how the icing drips off but not all of it!!! The key here folks—is the icing!!! Did I already say that??? Sorry—I won’t do that again!!!

Oh—look Jack even wanted to get in on the action!! John—if your reading this??? Which chances are your NOT~~but just in case??? This is not sharp!!!!LOL!!! You would think that this was the first baby for John?? Oh…wait~~it is!!

Julie took the time to stack them nice and neat and all prettified~~that lasted all of about 3 hours and they are all gone!!!

Thanks for your efforts sis—it was a nice thought!!! Also—thanks Zo for the donut!!!!

GLUTTON for PUNISHMENT~~

Well...I am thinking that the Biggs/Riffe/Collier family has started the Thanksgiving eating marathon a little earlier than normal.  Just yesterday I posted about our homemade kettle potato chips.  I even dreamed about those little crevices with the sea-salt and fresh cracked pepper. (you would have to read the post to completely understand that comment) So~~today mom and I decided that we would not only make another batch of KC but we would add to the excitement (it doesn't take much folks) and slice up a few sweet potatoes.  Oh my word--I am tellin' ya that I was in 7th HEAVEN!!!!! I was using the Sweet Baby Ray's like there was not gonna be a tomorrow!!! I am going to show you some pictures of these deep, golden, savory, slightly sweet little coins of lovin' but I want to tell ya something first.  When we went to drop these into the hot grease--we both were worried about them not getting crispy enough or that it was gonna take forever for one batch to get good and done!!! Well--hello BETZEEEE...were we ever wrong!!!!??? Now...this is not a common occurrence but I will be the first to admit when I am wrong.  So...I am just sayin'--check these often and try not to eat them all before plating them for the dinner table.

Look that them~~just look at em!!!

Yes--that is my mom dumping them into the dish.  She is actually the one doing the deep frying and I am just helping with getting things ready and taking pictures of course. I mean someone has to be in charge of the camera.

Mom's tip for this cooking lesson is to always put newspaper under the paper towels so the grease will be drawn away from the chips!!!! If you don't have any newspaper--another good tip is to use a brown paper bag.  Sheesh~~mom is full of little tips!!! You would think that she would take all of her good tips and open a restaurant!!!(inside joke here folks!!!)

Thanks again mom--your teaching me some really good healthy cooking!!!LOL!!! Just wait till you read the post tomorrow!!! Let's just say that gluttony won't even touch it and we can blame this one on Zo bug!!!

Homemade KETTLE CHIPS!!!!!

 

 

Here they are in all their glory!!! The crispiness of the potato with that fantastic sea salt and hint of black pepper!!! We have been paying big money for these puppies at Kroger and your lucky if there is 30 in a bag!!!! I am sorry that there are only a few of these beauties to show you but we couldn’t keep them made up fast enough. 

This is the size of the dish that we were transferring the crispy warm kettle chips to after the seasoning settled into the crevices!!! Oh—my those are the best little crevices I have ever laid eyes on. LOL!!!  Now…the ones on my face are not so great but I will leave that for another post!!!! However~~they are there!!!

Once again I have to thank dear ol’ mom for showing me how to make these golden little nuggets!!! You really need to have a tool called a Mandolin~~very dangerous little weapon!! Trust me—I know this to be the truth!!! This is another story in-and-of-itself that I will post about later!!! LOL!!! Man—I have some stories to tell ya!!!

Things I have learned from mom about making homemade potato (kettle) chips!!!

• oil needs to be very hot—make sure that between each batch that the oil reaches the correct temp again or the chips will be greeezeeeeee!!! YUCK!!!!!

• have your paper towels and newspaper ready to use for blotting any excess oil

• slice the potatoes very thin—1/16th of an inch is what we did

• if your not using the potatoes immediately you will need to give them a salt water bath

• before dropping them in the hot oil pat them dry with a paper towel or tea towel

• fry them to the desired doneness that your prefer and then season them up with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, parm cheese or just eat them plain~~whatever makes your skirt fly up!!!

Thanks again mom for the fantastic tutorial on potato chips!!! Can’t wait to see what she teaches me next!!!!

Pie Dough~~I mean real PIE DOUGH!!!

OK...OK...OK... I realize that I may have written a post or 2 concerning or involving me making my mom's homemade pie dough recipe!!! I thought that I had it down pat but after today~~I realize that I in fact didn't and can honestly say that I NOW have it!! I can say what mom tells me all the time~~~"You will just feel it!!" What?? I will just feel it!! I don't think so because I feel dry, sticky, wet, I have NO flippin' idea what I am feeling for!!????  Well--whalla-whalla-bing-bang--MOM~~I finally reached the pinnacle of pie crust making.  So..folks I have been converted into a pie crust snob!! No more box pie shells for me!!! Since this was such a monumental event in my life I snapped a few pics!!!!

Ain't she a beautiful round disc of lovin"??

 Look at it~~just look at it!!! Here is another thing that dear ol' mom would say to me~~I don't see the shortening in this pie dough!!! You can't see what??? Where??? How??? I know that I put it in there but its all mixed in!! That's what ya told me to do!!! Well=then a few tears would be shed and I would throw yet another pie shell away!!!

GOT IT~~MOM!!!! It's hard to see in this pic--I will try to do a better job next post on my pie dough making picture taking!!!LOL!!! However--you can see the shortening in the dough!!! Guess what?? I was cutting in the shortening way toooo much!!!!

See--look~~~I got it in the pie dish and it didn't fall into about 40 pieces!!! At the point of pie crust crumbling into a small pile of dry dough I would cry for my mommy and throw the shells away and all the while saying words that I really shouldn't be repeating!!!! Seriously-ask Rob if ya' don't believe me--well anyone that lives in this house will verify the many temper-tantrums thrown over this homemade crust ordeal!!!!  

You just have NO idea how happy I am at this point in the pie making process!!! I am smiling and singing Christmas songs!!! Everyone was gone today so I had the holiday music blaring.  It was a true day of rejoicing!!!!

Pumpkin is in store for these beautiful shells!!! Thanks so much mom!!! You stuck with me and made it out alive!!!! You have made me one happy gal and 2 very happy men!! Oh--those men would be Rob and Matthew!!!

I LOVE YOU MOM~~~your so AWESOME!!! I am getting closer to your AWESOMENESS!!!!!

Results of the Beauty Appointment

Here are a few pics after the beauty appointment!! They are not so bad~~KaDee is still a doll baby!! I think that you will have to agree.

There was a little boo...boo...right here!!! Do you notice it???Much??? I didn't have the right length on the trimmer and one little swipe and it was tooooo late!!!! Besides that I did a pretty good job!!! Well...the beard is a little short but besides that!!! Does this happen---you see every little imperfection when you are the one doing the trimming??? Is this worth it~~I ask myself????

Trim Job~~

Well--since I am not working we have really tried to cut back on the expenses!! Now...I am not gonna say that I have done everything that could save us money!!! I still have my IPhone and l am holdin' on to that puppy.  One of the ways that we have been doing that is by grooming KaDee's hair!!! Man--I am tellin' ya~~it's a BIG job!!! A lot of work and patients go into making my baby as pretty as possible!!!! Here are a few pics of this event and let me warn ya!!! It gets a little messy!!!!

I even have pink handled scissor~~but...let me tell ya~~they don't cut worth a snap!!! So....if I am gonna try to continue to save money I am going to have to spend a little!!! That is kinda weird. Don't ya think?? Guess the ol' saying that it takes money to make money is sorta true. What do ya' all think???  I am gonna spare ya' the pictures of KaDee~~at this point it may shock your pants off!!!!LOL!!!