Our icy world last Friday…
Archive for January, 2013
Almost Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Home, Photography, tagged Ice, Our Home, Winter, Wordless Wednesday on January 30, 2013| 2 Comments »
Cookies & Cream Bars
Posted in Cooking, tagged Baking, Chocolate Cake Mix, Chocolate Chips, Cooking, Oreos, Picky Palate, Pinterest on January 26, 2013| 7 Comments »
This is the first sweet treat I got to make after my dad got out of the hospital. The need to bake hit me and this recipe looked like a winner! A little goes a long way so you will get plenty of bars out of one pan.
I found this on Pinterest posted by Picky Palate and Ms. Picky Palate always has tasty treat to try!
1 chocolate cake mix
1 stick butter, softened
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
14 Oreo cookies, broken into bite sized pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9” baking dish with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray. Combine the cake mix, butter and egg together. I used my hands to do this and it is MESSY! If you wear rings while cooking, take them off. Put the dough into the baking dish and pat out evenly.
Top this with the broken cookie pieces then pour the milk over the whole thing.
Bake for 23-25 minutes or until cooked through. Cool for about 5 minutes then removed from pan and peel off the foil. Cool completely; cut and enjoy!
Thoughtful Thursday: Life Update Edition
Posted in My Thoughts, tagged Thoughtful Thursday on January 24, 2013|
Hi, everyone! It is so nice to be back in my little blogging world after having to be away for a while. Thankfully, I had several recipes and book posts pre-scheduled or this space would have gone completely silent. For those of you who have not had a chance to read my previous Thoughtful Thursday post, my dad had a very serious car accident on October 22 and was in ICU for almost five weeks. To say our lives turned upside down would be a gross understatement!
After about 3 weeks in rehab, Dad is now home and able to take care of most of his needs. We have witnessed a miracle in his healing. To go from where he was right after the accident to where he is now in a relatively short time is astounding. God’s blessings have just poured over us in never ending waves since this all began. Every time I went to Him in need, He was there. Small needs, big needs…it did not matter because He is more than able to take care of everything in our lives.
I can’t imagine how I would have gotten by during this time without God and Jesus in my life. If you don’t know Him, please seek him out NOW with all your heart. I know there are bad things happening all over the world, but that’s not God. That is the devil and the ability to make decisions that God gave us. He gave us the opportunity to choose him or not; to make good decisions or bad. It is called free will, and if we follow His voice in our lives and make good choices, good things will happen to us.
Believe me, I am not saying that we won’t have hard times. Far from it as my recent past has shown me, but He will lead you through it and give you the strength to deal with whatever “real life” sends your way.
I’m no preacher by any means and I am really shy about speaking out in my everyday life, but this little spot on the world wide web gives me the confidence and freedom to shout to the world how much I love God and Jesus. Seek Him, find Him, and ask Him into your heart. You just can’t imagine the peace and love that will fill you.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Posted in Cooking, tagged Baking, Bundt cake, Cake, Chocolate, Chocolate Chips, Cooking, Peanut Butter, Pinterest, The Big Green Bowl, Yellow cake mix on January 19, 2013| 22 Comments »
I am a sucker for semi-homemade Bundt cakes using a cake mix as a base. I have posted about three such cakes in the past: chocolate chip Bundt cake, moist caramel apple cake, and chocolate Bundt cake. I found this new version on Pinterest from the blog The Big Green Bowl and knew I had to try it.
This is really tasty and, like most Bundt cakes, is better the day after it is baked. The Big Green Bowl used a peanut butter glaze on hers, but also included a recipe for a chocolate glaze so I went all out and used BOTH glazes.
For the cake:
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 cup milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
For the peanut butter glaze:
1/4 cup cream peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk, more or less
For the chocolate glaze:
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a Bundt pan by spraying with Baker’s Joy (best stuff ever) or grease and flour.
Beat all cake ingredients except the chocolate chips for two minutes at medium speed. Stir in chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove and let cool completely.
For the chocolate glaze:
Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat. Add the cocoa and cream. Cook and stir for about two minutes or until the mixture thickens. Do not boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Pour over the cake and let cool.
For the peanut butter glaze:
Whisk all the ingredients together. You may add a little more sugar or milk to get the desired consistency. Pour over the cake and allow to set up. Slice and enjoy! 
Book Beginnings
Posted in Books, tagged Book Beginnings, Books, Janet Evanovich, Wicked Business on January 18, 2013|
Hello and welcome to today’s edition of Book Beginnings, a fun link party hosted by Rose City Reader for all you book lovers out there. Grab a book, jot down the first line or two, and tell us what you think. That’s all there is to it!
My book today is “Wicked Business” by Janet Evanovich:
“My name is Lizzy Tucker, and I used to think I was normal.”
From this first line, you really don’t know how this book is going to go. If you are not familiar with Ms. Evanovich’s work, you might think that this may be someone with a serious problem in her life, but don’t fret, Lizzy is just fine. She just has a little extra gift.
I always enjoy this author’s books, especially if I am looking for something on the sunny side of reading. This book is fun, flirty and fast…just perfect for a lighthearted read when you want to escape from the real world.
Pioneer Woman’s Fried Round Steak
Posted in Cooking, tagged Cooking, Cube Steak, Fried Round Steak, Pioneer Woman on January 12, 2013| 8 Comments »
I have a confession to make…I am a Southern cook who has never been able to fry meat. The shame! My husband says that he can tell when I fry something, because the smoke detectors go off. Sad, but true. It seems I never get the temperature quite right. Either the oil is too hot and the outside of the meat is black and the center is raw or the oil is too cool so the meat is done in the center, but greasy on the outside. Enter Pioneer Woman and her recipe for Fried Round Steak! She has saved me from my frying dilemma.
These are great with potatoes and gravy, but also make great sandwiches with just plain white bread. Mmm, mmm! I get hungry just thinking about it.
3 lb.s cube steak
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. seasoned salt
3 tsp. ground black pepper
salt to taste
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tbsp. butter
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix together the flour, pepper and salt to form a dredge for the meat. Season both sides of the steaks with more salt and pepper before coating the steak in the flour mixture.
Add the butter to the warm oil right before frying the steaks.
Place the steaks in the hot oil/butter and fry on the first side until they are a deep golden brown. Flip and cook on the other side for about 3 minutes for well-done.
Remove them to a paper towel lined plate and serve hot. Tasty!!
Salsa Sloppy Joes
Posted in Cooking, tagged Cooking, Eat Cake for Dinner, Ground Beef, Salsa, Sloppy Joes, Tomato Soup on January 5, 2013| 16 Comments »
Looking for a quick, easy, and tasty weeknight meal idea? Look no further than this Salsa Sloppy Joe from Eat Cake For Dinner. Ms. Eat Cake for Dinner always has yummy recipes on her site and I have followed her for quite a while. There has never been a disappointing dish!
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup salsa of your choice
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste
hamburger buns
sliced cheese of your choice (I used provolone and American.)
Brown meat in a skillet over medium heat. Add the salsa, soup, sugar. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Stir to combine ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve on buns with cheese.
Book Beginnings
Posted in Books, tagged Book Beginnings, Books, Kathleen McGowan, Rose City Reader, The Expected One on January 4, 2013|
Welcome to my book corner! I am linking up today over at Rose City Reader for her link party, Book Beginnings. Join us by choosing a book you are reading, have read, or want to read and give us the first line or two. Then let us know what your thoughts are on it. It’s that easy!
My book today is “The Expected One” by Kathleen McGowan. It is the first book in a trilogy and if the other two are as good as this one, I know I will be very entertained!
“There wasn’t much time left. The old woman tugged the tattered shawl around her shoulders.”
These lines really make you wonder what the “old woman” was experiencing and why time was running out. It also makes you wonder who this “old woman” is and why is she important? It turns out that she is a very famous historical figure and, depending on whose theory you are listening to at the time, was a bad, sinful person or a good, but totally misunderstood, one.
Picture Perfect Cooking 