Archive for September, 2009
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Photography, Travel on September 30, 2009|
Split Second Cookies
Posted in Cooking on September 27, 2009| 3 Comments »
I love trying new desserts! I have a few go-to recipes that I will make over and over again, but if I find something interesting I am going to try it. I found this recipe last March on Leslie Land’s blog, http://leslieland.com/blog/fast-cookies/. Ms. Land is a garden writer for newspapers and magazines. She calls these Split Second Cookies aka Lightening Cookies because it only takes a short time to make them.
I made mine with homemade (by my mom and grandmother) peach and blackberry preserves, but you can use any flavor you like. The cookies by themselves would make wonderful butter cookies, but the fruit filling really adds to them. Here is a little word of warning: I made my cookies too thin and they would break when you tried to eat them. Only roll them out about 1 inch thick, no less.
2 scant cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup very soft butter
1 beaten egg
2 tsp vanilla
1/3-1/2 cup fruit preserves
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put dry ingredients in a shallow mixing bowl and stir to combine. Using a wooden spoon, work in the butter, egg and vanilla just until you have a cohesive dough.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 parts. Shape each into a log about 13 inches long and a scant inch thick.
Place logs well apart on a ungreased baking sheet. I used a Silpat baking mat. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to press a deep trough down the center of each log.
Fill the troughs with preserves, mounding them slightly. Bake until light gold, 15-18 minutes. Remove logs from pan and slice while warm. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
There are a couple of other versions that Ms. Land has on her website that I haven’t had time to try yet, but they look delicious as well!
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Photography, Travel on September 23, 2009|
Go, Toppers!
Posted in Fun on September 22, 2009|
Saturday night C & I attended a college football game at his alma mater, Western Kentucky University against Central Arkansas. The game didn’t go so well with UCA winning 28-7, but we had a blast. It had rained off and on all day, but at game time, the weather was perfect!
The gentleman sitting beside C began talking to us. He was originally from Virginia, had graduated from WKU, and now lived in Florida. This was the first WKU football game he had attended in 50 years. Even though the game didn’t go as well as we would have liked, we had a wonderful time and will definitely go back again!
Smoky Mountain Trip Part IV
Posted in Fun, Photography, Travel on September 20, 2009|
On Saturday afternoon, we arrive back in Bluegrass land! How about that fence? It’s supposed to keep falling rock from smashing cars on the interstate. Sure hope it works!
We are on our way home when we decide to take a side trip. Sometimes it is easy to forget what is available in your own state. Both C & I had been to Cumberland Falls when we were children, but had never gone back. Since it was just off the interstate a few miles on our way home, we wanted to see it again. It is just as beautiful now as it was then!
It is state park inside of a national forest so the drive is a curvy, tree-lined lane.
I have to confess that when we first parked we didn’t read the sign very close and walked the wrong way to the overlooks. We ended up thinking that we must be in the wrong area and drove around some more. When we looped back around to this area and actually read the sign, we felt a little silly! Oh, well. We had a good laugh out of it. Enjoy the view!
We took a couple of self-portraits in front of the falls.
We hope you enjoyed your virtual trip because we really enjoyed the real thing!
Look what we did!
Posted in Home on September 16, 2009|
The front yard landscaping is almost done! A local home improvement store delivered 8 scoops of landscape rock yesterday and C’s dad was available to spread it tonight! A big green tractor with a front-end loader and a father-in-law that is willing to help are wonderful things! Thanks again!
I dug the last of the potatoes from the raised bed today. So sad! I pulled a few carrots as well, but there are still a few of those left. The peppers are also still producing.
It has been a very successful week for getting things accomplished!
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Photography, Travel on September 16, 2009|
Smoky Mountain Trip Part III
Posted in Fun, Photography, Travel on September 13, 2009|
After spending most of Friday in Gatlinburg, we made our way back to Pigeon Forge. This is an interesting place. There are no casinos, but the lights and signs almost remind me of photos of the old Las Vegas. There were music shows, mini golf courses, and go-kart tracks galore.
There is also a building that looks like it landed upside down. It is an “amusement park for your mind”. We didn’t have a chance to visit this, but it looked neat from the outside.
Also being built is a new museum set to open spring of next year. It is a Titanic museum that is going to look like the actual Titanic!
Friday evening we visited a store that was right up my alley. It is the Christmas Place and they have Christmas decorations for sale all year long! I could have spend hours in there just looking around. The people who own this store also have a hotel across the road.
Saturday morning began with a new adventure for C. When he and his family visited here years ago, he had wanted to try indoor skydiving but changed his mind. This time he was determined to give it a go and he did! He really liked it and was an adrenaline high for a while afterward!
We hit the outlet malls for a little while after this. One of my co-workers gave me a tip for a wonderful place to visit and eat. Before we headed back toward Kentucky, we checked it out. Boy, was I glad we did. The Apple Barn is a great place to go! They have 2 restaurants, The Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant and The Applewood Grill. We ate at the Farmhouse and it was delicious! They start everyone’s meal with an order of apple fritters with apple butter and their house “Applewood Julep” which is a combination of apple, orange, pineapple and lemon juices. So refreshing!
C had the angus burger and fries and he said it was very good. I had the applewood grilled pork loin with fried apples, mac & cheese and biscuit. Oh, my goodness! It was some of the best restaurant food that I have EVER had! Loved it!
There are several shops at the Apple Barn complex and we visited the candy store and gift shops. I could have worked in their candy shop. It was darling! We picked up some gifts here and purchased 2 bags of the apple fritter mix at the gift shop.
Now, we’re on the road again! Come back soon!
Hot Ham & Cheese Rolls
Posted in Cooking on September 11, 2009| 5 Comments »
My workplace likes to eat! We will find just about any excuse for potluck lunches, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, The Kentucky Derby. You name the holiday and we have had potluck at one time or another. This recipe was given to me back in 1996 by a lady that worked in another office. She has since retired, but someone always tries to bring these in her place.
These rolls are full of hot cheesy goodness! I like to serve them with a pasta salad on the side. Talk about carb overload.
1 container of flat dinner rolls
1 cup shredded cheese
1 pkg sliced sandwich ham
1 stick butter
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 1/2 tsp dried mustard
1/2 tsp worcestshire sauce
1 tbsp poppy seeds (These are optional. I usually don’t add them.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If the rolls you buy come in their own foil pan use that. If not, use a 13×9” baking dish and spray the bottom with a little non-stick spray. Slice rolls in half in book form.
Place 2 layers of ham and a layer of cheese on the bottom half of the rolls. Replace top layer of the rolls and slice through ham and cheese to form small sandwiches.
Melt butter. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Pour over the rolls. Bake for 20-25 minutes. I cover the pan with aluminum foil to keep the tops of the rolls from overcooking. Reslice the rolls after baking and enjoy!!
“Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Kerrygold.”
Almost-Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Photography, Travel on September 9, 2009|
Picture Perfect Cooking 