Happy 91st Birthday to My Mom!

My Mom turns 91 on Sunday, April 1st.
Happy Birthday Mom

 You haven't changed a bit!

This picture is a about 3 years old,

But she is still the sweetest mom!

I love you!

More Quilts!!!

A few more quilts from the Pensacola Quilt Show beautiful!! 

Pensacola Quilt Show March 2012

A couple of weekends ago,

Maddie and I went to the

Pensacola Quilt Show!

It was fantastic!!! Amazing quilts!!

I am posting some of our favorites. 

There were so many, it was hard to say which is my favorite.

 More Quilts On the Next Post!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary

Matt and Allison,

Our son and daughter-in-love!

Can't believe it has been

5 years already...



Look what You can Make with Pallets!

I just wanted to show off some of the

furniture my son has been making.

He has started making furniture out of pallets!

I think he has done a pretty good job considering he

has been doing most all the cutting and putting

together by hand.

Can't wait to see what he will come up with next.

Maybe something for Mother's Day or Birthday! (hint,hint) :)

Strawberry Pie Season

I am not sure where the day went today,

I have managed to only get a couple of housekeeping things

done on my long list.

But I did get this lovely strawberry pie made.

When I make this pie recipe, it kinda reminds me of the

old Shoney's Strawberry Pie, but better.

I have had this recipe for about as long as we have been married

which will be 38 years in August! It is hard to

believe how the time has gone by!

Back to the recipe, it is pretty simple and I have listed it below.

Make sure your strawberries are nice and ripe.

The recipe calls for whole berries, but I always slice them up. 

It sure makes slicing the pie easier.

Strawberry Pie

1 qt. strawberries, washed and hulled.

1 c. sugar

1 c. water

3 T. cornstarch

one baked pie shell, it can be either pastry or graham

Take one cup of soft berries, the sugar, and 3/4 c. water.  Bring to boil in a sauce pan over medium heat, so that the sugar dissolves.  Run the berries through a sieve and return to the saucepan. 

Take 1/4 c. water and dissolve the cornstarch.  Add to the berry/sugar mixture, return to pan and cook to thickened.

Slice the strawberries if desired.  When the sauce has cooled slightly, add the strawberries and stir gently to coat.  Pour into the pie shell.  Let it cool in the refrigerator.

Top with whip cream, cool whip or your favorite topping.

Enjoy!! 

 

Do Not Be Anxious......

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Phillipians 4:6-7

Tiramisu Brownies

I love the way coffee and chocolate smell together.

So today I am baking and cooking for Sunday dinner.

My son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter are coming for

Sunday lunch after church.

We don't get together too much because of their

busy schedule.

We are having BBQ pork on buns and slaw.

I have just finished the pork roast that was

cooked in the crock pot.

Now just need to chop and shred for lunch.

Earlier I made slaw and it is chilling in the fridge.

And now for dessert.

I am making a recipe I found recently,

Tiramisu Brownies, with just a couple of adjustments.

It has lots of dark chocolate and espresso powder and

they smell sooooo good together.

Melting dark chocolate in microwave.

I love using my vintage jade Fire King mixing bowls
for everyday cooking.  Why let them set on the shelf.

Creamy filling of cream cheese, eggs, vanilla and sugar.

Batter of butter, eggs, melted chocolate, flour/expresso powder and eggs. 

Chocolate batter, layer of cream cheese filling, and another layer of chocolate batter.  Ready for the oven.

 

Empty batter bowl....the thing about cooking and baking with chocolate...it gets everywhere....but so worth it!!!!

Fresh out of the oven....now the hard part...waiting to cool.

Cooled, dusted with cocoa powder and cut into serving size.  Planning to serve with fresh strawberries. 

The recipe:  Tiramisu Brownies

12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used dark chocolate chips)

1 c. butter, softened

1 1/3 c. plus 1/4 c. sugar, divided

8 eggs

1 c. cake flour

1/4 c. instant espresso powder

2 (8 oz.) cream cheese or Mascarpone cheese

2 tsp. vanilla

baking cocoa

Melt chocolate in microwave according to package directions.  Stir until smooth.  Cool slightly. 

Beat butter, gradually add the chocolate.  Add the 1 1/3c. sugar gradually.  Add six eggs one at a time and beating well after each one.  Combine the flour and espresso powder.  Add to chocolate mixture.  Mix until all combined at low speed. 

To make filling:  In small bowl, beat the cream cheese, two eggs, vanilla and remaining sugar. Mix well until smooth.

Smooth about 4 cups of chocolate batter in a greased 13 x 9 baking pan. Spread filling over batter evenly.  Top with the rest of the batter.  Cover the filling completely.

Bake in 350 degree pan for about 45 mins. or until center is almost set. 

Cool on a wire rack.  Dust with cocoa.  Cut into squares.  Store in the fridge. 

  

Easter Dress

 This is the pattern that I used to make my DGD her Easter Dress. 

 It is a cute and pretty easy pattern to use.  I made it pretty much to the pattern directions, but I think next time I use it, I will disregard the tulle attached to the lining.  It does help it to flare out, but for a silky fabric, I like the dress to not be so puffy.

I used a green cotton that minics a damask.  Then used hot pink for the machine embroidery monogram and the sash,  there is also a little embroidery edging on the lining like the one on the pattern.  It is a little hard to see on the dress I made.

I think I will also make the scrug, but will use a different pattern.  This pattern uses knit for the scrug and I have another short sleeve scrug pattern for woven fabrics.

Maddie Makes Cookies

When my little granddaughter comes for a visit,

we usually end up sewing or cooking something!

This day we are cooking!

Making cookies to be precise.

And since she is Type 1 diabetic,

we are trying some peanut butter cookies with Splenda.

She loves to help in the kitchen and of course tasting is part of cooking!

The recipe we used is below.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/4 c. margarine, softened

1 c. creamy style peanut butter

1/4 c. egg substitute

2 T. honey

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 c. Splenda

1 1/2 c. all -purpose flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream margarine and peanut butter with mixer in large bowl.

Add egg sub., honey, and vanilla. Beat on med/high speed for approximately 1 min.

Add Splenda and beat on med. speed until well blended.

In small bowl, combine flour, soda and salt. Add slowly to peanut butter mixture.

Mixture will be a little crumbly.

Roll tsp. size dough into balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Using a floured fork, flatten each ball making a crisscross pattern.

Bake for 7-9 mins. Cool on wire rack.

2 cookies have 140 calories, 9 g. carbs, 3 g. protein, 1 g. dietary fiber, 110 g. sodium and 11g of fat.