TEMPTATION TUESDAY

Good morning everyone!  Well, it's kinda yucky and rainy out but, still has the potential for being a good morning.  I hope that all of you had a nice Easter.  We definitely did.  I got wrapped up in appointments and preparation for Easter and well, you all know how I am.  I was informed that I needed to get back on and get to posting (Samantha) ....  here goes.  LOL!!!  Somebody has to keep me in line and accountable. 

So, I got this new tablet and have found that I enjoy beating the candy crush game quite a bit, I liked 4 pics one word until it got a bit difficult and frustrating, and I as of last night finally learned how to use the Kindle.  WOW!  I love that little thing.  But the downside of it is that it is one more distraction for me.  Yeah, like I need one.  I know but, it is soooooo enjoyable. 

I wanted to show you a photo of the hubs and Jackson.  That dog has bonded with him so much it is crazy.  You can see in the picture!

Gotta love it!  Love it, love it, love it.    And, now for a picture of all three of my babies together;

They were all lying in the same position but, Jackson always move when you get the camera out and it is hard to snap a picture of him when you want it.  I thought that I would show a couple more pictures of my red fellow too!  I just saw him again yesterday out at the feeders as well but here are a couple pictures I got a little bit ago;

Isn't he so handsome?!

I really enjoy seeing him on the white bowl eating.  Absolutely beautiful. 

Ok, so now on to the recipes.  For today I selected one recipe that I made for Easter and we all loved!  It was a real fun one.  And the other recipe is for a cake.  I have tried both of them and loved them both.  I actually got a picture of one.  I am trying to get pics so that I can show you how they turned out.  The first recipe is for the cake and I got the recipe from here: http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/107929/pioneer-womans-strawberry-shortcake-cake/   and it is for a;

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE CAKE
(OK, so I was drawn to the recipe because of the word cake in the name twice, I couldn't help myself)

Cake:
1 1/2 c flour
3 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
9 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 c sugar
3 large eggs, room temp
1/2 c sour cream, room temp
1 tsp vanilla

Icing:
1 pkg cream cheese, room temp
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
3 c powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb strawberries

Preheat oven to 350*
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream 9 Tbsp of butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add sour cream and vanilla and mix well.  Pour into a greased and floured 8" cake pan.  Bake at 350* for about 45 mins or until no longer jiggly.  Note; the cake does bake to a very dark golden brown. 
Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it from the oven, and place it on a cooling rack.  Allow it to cool completely. 
Stem strawberries and slice them in half from bottom to top.  Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 Tbsp of sugar.  Stir together and let sit for 30 mins.  After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches and sprinkle each batch with 1 Tbsp of sugar and allow to sit for another 30 mins.

Make icing;
Combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a dash of salt in a mixing bowl.  Mix until light and fluffy.
Slice cake in half through the middle.  Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all of the juices.  Place the cake halves into the freezer for 5 mins, just to make icing easier.
Remove from the freezer.  Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer.  Place the second layer on top.  Add 1/2 of the remaining icing on top of the strawberries, spreading evenly.  Use the last of the icing to do around the sides of the cake.

Leave plain or garnish with strawberry halves.  IMPORTANT:  Cake is best when served slightly cool.  The butter content in icing will cause it to soften at room temperature.  For best results, store in the fridge.

TIPS:  I made mine with a hand held mixer so, if that is all you have, it will work fine. 
           There was a lot of cake batter for the 8" pan.  Mine overflowed in the oven.  I would recommend making a small child size cake, (tuna can washed out works good), along with the 8" pan.  Either that or use a mini loaf pan for a little of the cake mixture.  I wish that I had known before. 
            I also mashed up my strawberries ahead of time.  I made them up a day or so before.  They were just sweeter and juicier.  YUM!
            Hopefully these will help you out.  I would encourage you to make this cake though.  It is seriously yummy and if there is a strawberry shortcake lover in your life........... yeah, you need to do this for them. 


For the next recipe, I wanted to share a drink with you all.  This was as fun to make as it was yummy!  I found the recipe for this one here:   http://www.butterwithasideofbread.com/2012/11/homemade-italian-cream-sodas.html  and it is for;

ITALIAN CREAM SODAS

club soda
half and half
Torani syrups
ice
whipped cream
cherries

To make one Italian cream soda, you will need;
1/2 c club soda
3 Tbsp Torani syrup  yummy combination-raspberry/vanilla  2 Tbsp raspberry and 1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp half and half
3 ice cubes
whipped cream and cherry on top

Add ice cubes to glass and add club soda (if you have larger glasses than you will want to double the recipe for the effect).
Measure out your Torani syrup.  You will need 3 Tbsp for each drink you make. The raspberry vanilla combo is what I made and it was delicious.
Add the syrup to the soda.  Just before serving add the half and half.  This is the really neat part of the recipe.  As the cream starts to seep down the sides of the glass into they syrup and soda it looks like a marbling effect.  Really pretty and it was quite entertaining for us. 
Top each glass off with some whipped cream and a cherry and it is absolutely awesome!  Make sure before anyone drinks it, that you tell them to stir the drink up.  That is when you can truly enjoy the yumminess of the drink. 

TIP:  Myself as well as my family do not care for club soda so I switched it out for Raspberry Ginger Ale.  That was sooooooo good.  And I think that I will get a little creative and maybe try Cream soda and just the vanilla syrup or fool around with some other flavors.  This was fun and everyone should enjoy because it wasn't alcoholic. 
        The Torani syrup is found at Wal mart and it is in the coffee/tea aisle.  It was about $3.50 per bottle.  And I believe that the blog that the recipe was listed on said that one bottle would make 12-14 servings. 

I wanted to share a picture of the one I made up after Easter because of course on Easter I didn't even think to get out the camera until the drinks were all almost half gone.  LOL!  That's my way of thinking...... too late.  Also, in the picture I have doubled the recipe for the glass size shown just so that you get an idea of how small the original recipe is intended for .

I searched but, I couldn't find any glasses that were as small as the ones that were pictured on their blog.  They looked amazing but, I think that these came out just fine and I would not hesitate to make these again.  In fact just picked me up some diet raspberry ginger ale yesterday and planning on having another one of these beauties real soon! 

I hope that you all enjoyed my yakkings, pictures and the recipes today.  Again, sorry about missing all of last week and I hope to be back soon with more.

Warm and primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug

TEMPTATION TUESDAY

Hey everyone.   I hope that you are all enjoying the sunshine where you are, as much as I am, here.  The temperatures are getting much nicer as well.  I only wish that the wind would die down a bit.  We can't have it all now can we?!  LOL!  Well, as you all know Kayzer went last Monday to get fixed and just a little update;  he is doing fine.  YAY!   He did not even try to clean that incision once.  He was super amazing and that was a huge relief.  Jackson goes to get his haircut today and a bath so he will be truly styling for Easter.  :)  And, Jeffrey, well he is Jeffrey.  He is dealing with life as it comes.  They are all doing well.  That makes momma a happy camper!  Here is a picture of the two of them (Kayzer and Jackson) getting along together better, or maybe I should say tolerating each other better:  

I have a couple of good recipes for you all to try today.  These are both quick recipes but, due to Easter and the busy week I have.  I didn't plan ahead to well.  Sorry.  But, I will tell you that I have tried both of these and enjoyed them both. 

The first recipe is for a;

PICKLE DIP

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 to 1cup of dill pickles, depending on how pickly you like things------YUM
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
dill, for garnish
pickle juice

Chop the pickles into very small pieces.  Combine with the cream cheese and Worcestershire sauce until well mixed.  Splash in a bit of pickle juice to thin dip out a bit (around 1 Tbsp, more is fine, depending on your taste).  Serve cold or at room temperature with chips. 

Tip:  I thought that it tasted a little plain to me so I added some sour pickles into mine and a splash of the juice from the sour pickles.  It gave it more of a kick and was much more to my preference but if you are a true dill pickle fan, you will probably love it the way it is.  I just really love the sour punch to my pickles!  It was delicious and we cleaned it all up! 

I found the recipe for this dip here:  http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2012/01/18/pickle-dip/ 



The other recipe that I wanted to share with you all today is for ;

CINNAMON SWIRL BANANA BREAD

3 over ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 c melted butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 1/2 c flour

For the swirl;
1/3 c sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350*  Butter and flour a 9X5 loaf pan.
Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together.  Sprinkle baking soda and salt around on top of banana mixture.  Then gently stir in flour.  Be careful not to over mix.  In a small dish mix together the 1/3 c sugar and the 1 Tbsp cinnamon.  Add half of the banana bread mixture into the pan and then sprinkle half to three quarters of the swirl mix.  Then, you add the remaining banana bread batter and top with the remaining swirl. 
Bake for 50-60 minutes.  If you use a different size pan keep a close eye on the time it will cook differently.  When I made mine I cooked it for the full 60 mins but, I think it could have come out 5 mins earlier at least. 

I found the recipe for this bread here:   http://lovintheoven.com/2010/03/cinnamon-swirl-banana-bread.html 

I made up a loaf of this last week when I wasn't feeling so great.  It was a quick and easy recipe and the end result was quite pleasing.  Not only to my tummy but my eyes as well.  You take a look for yourself;

Can you believe it?  I remembered to take a picture to show you all?  Of course, it was half eaten at that point but, I still got a quick shot of it before it was all gone.  Love that swirl of cinnamon.  You could do the same thing with any favorite banana bread recipe.  I liked this recipe because it didn't take a lot of ingredients and it went together so quickly.  Try it for yourself.  It will be worth it. 

Are you all ready for Easter?  I am not.  We are having a Bar B Que!  YAY!  It makes me feel that much closer to better weather.  And, it is much simpler to prepare.  LOL!  But, there will be lots of good grub!  Can't wait. 

Hope that you all have a great rest of your day.

Warm and primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug

WOW, IS IT WHITE OUTSIDE?!

Good afternoon everyone!  I don't know what it looks like outside your windows but, mine it looks like winter---not spring!  It is beautiful but, I am so ready for spring.  I wanted to share some pictures with you all today.  I had a little time this past week end to work on my needle punch so there is a little change and I thought that I would share where it is at right now;

I love it so far.  This is such a fun craft but, like everything else it takes a little time.  I have to mix strands of colors so it takes a little more time than if you were just using one color each time.  I love the flowers in this, it truly makes me want spring even more.  I am obviously working on his legs right now.  When I get back to work on it.  I thought that you might like to see the change in it as I progress.  (No matter how slowly that may be.  LOL)! 

The next thing that I wanted to show you all was a photo of my studded pears.  I had never heard of them either but, I saw them on Marly's blog here;  http://samplers-and-santas.blogspot.com/  and I loved the idea and look of them.  First off, it doesn't get any cheaper than a couple of pieces of fruit for a craft.  And, hers were so awesome looking.  They are pretty low maintenance too while you are making them so, I had nothing to lose but some pears.  Here they are:

I wanted to show you a close up of the cloves studded in the actual pear.  By the way, the cloves were a little pricey.  You need whole cloves and I did not have a chance to get to the health food store (I am obviously Not a frequent flyer there).  When I do get a chance to go in, all of their spices are always fresher and cheaper so it definitely pays to go.  I just eat poorly!  Here is another picture of them on display;

They look awesome with the sugar cone that I made from last year.  I love it when I can create a display with things that I have made myself.  That makes them so much more special. 

These pears were so easy to make.  A little time consuming but, not at all strenuous.  All you do is poke your whole cloves in and leave space enough in between the first and next clove the size of another clove.  That way when the pear dries and starts to shrink, it wont pop out any of your cloves.  The most important thing to remember was to keep moving them around and making sure that they were dry on bottom.  I kept mine on a paper plate with some paper towels under them.  I just kept changing out the towels and plates as needed.  You can also mold them to stand after a day or so, and shape them a little too.  As they dry they get easy to form.  Marly gave more in depth information than I did but, I wanted to quickly share these with you today. 

On Monday I got to go to one of my favorite junkin' spots, Elmer's Barn.  I went with one of my SIL.  I just picked up a couple of small goodies but, I thought that I would show you anyway. 

I grabbed a bunch of these little bobbins.  I thought that I would be able to make up some make-do's using these.  And at .50 each, I figured worst case they will look good in a bowl in my sewing room.

I have a THING for old rusty colanders.  I don't know why and my mother thinks that I am insane.  LOL!  I just love the looks of them.  When I first started picking them up I had no idea what I was going to do with them.  After looking around the house I figured hanging them up would work well.  At that time I had No idea of Pinterest.  I have seen on there though that they took an old colander and made a hanging lamp out of it.  (pretty much used the colander as the shade).  It looked awesome.  You never know, if that just right extra special one comes along, I just might have to make one for myself and maybe even a second one for mom!  LOL!!!!   Here is a photo of the ones that I already have hanging.  Now I just need one more to complete this display.  Just another excuse to keep junkin'.  (sorry if I have already shown you these)

Do ya see the gaps in between the third and the middle colander and the gap between the middle and the fifth colander.  Those holes need to be filled.  Well, now only one needs to be.  YAY!

The last little goodie that I picked up was a homemade stuffed puppy.  I love my dogs and this one is no exception.  It looks old and had a hole in it from wear.  I haven't found the perfect spot for him but, I will soon.  Here he is;

I just couldn't leave him behind.  That was all I got.  We were pressing our luck on time and will go back another day.  Hopefully I will remember to bring camera for pics. 

Now, last night I shared with you all that I had just received something from Nancy.  I wanted to show you that pic as well.  It is a petrified pineapple.  She said that she just let it dry out on top of her microwave from August (I think) until now.  I couldn't believe it.  Why?  I don't know.  I have seen tutorials on preserving them by hollowing them out and drying in your oven but, I never have tried it.  In no way would I have ever thought to just let it sit and do it's thing on it's own.  It is light as a feather and really cool.  Here ya go;

Yes, that is the tag still on it.  I wanted to show it.  Afterwards, I cut off the tag and remember at the beginning of the blog when I showed my display that I had made myself?  When I said there is nothing better than a display that you make yourself.... well, there is something better.  When you add something someone else did for you, it looks even better!  Thanks Nancy.  I love it!

I think it looks pretty neat all together like that. 

I hope that you have a good evening, and enjoyed the pics today.  I am not feeling too great so I will talk with you all soon.  Hopefully more pics and I hope to tackle a tutorial from Pinterest.  Yay! 

Warm and primitive blessings to you all!

prim_bug

TEMPTATION TUESDAY

Good evening everyone!  I know that it is getting late but, it is still Tuesday and I wanted to get at least one good recipe on here for you all.  It has snowed here all day and is supposed to get worse throughout the night.  YUCK!   I am ready for Spring!  I hope that you all have had a good day.  Most everyone that I know had today off due to the weather. 

It has been a long day here for me today.  We got Kayzer fixed yesterday and he has been a bit of a job since.  First off, they pulled a tooth while he was under and they removed a mass that was by that tooth.  They had already looked at it and said that it was nothing, just be better for him if it were gone.  Okay.  While they were removing that they noticed on the roof of his mouth that there was another one only larger and black.  Yay!  They have sent it out to the lab to find out if it is cancerous.  How nice?!  I should know by Friday.  Second, the lovely hat/collar/cone.  Kayzer was not treated very well as a pup and no matter how long I have had him there is just no getting him over that.  Therefore, anything new/different------ SCARY!  He was in such a state of panic with it on.  It broke my heart.  So, long story-short, I was up all night with him.  Did not sleep more than a couple hours tops, done in maybe 5 minute intervals.  Not trying to lay a sob story on ya but figured that I would explain the delay in todays blog.  It has been a day. 

So, I shall get to the point and share the recipes that I picked out for you all for today.  I wanted to share again some that I have tried and we really enjoy.  For the first one, these little sweeties are so yummy and I really enjoy that you have to make them ahead of time because then when you are ready to bake they are too.  Love that!   Oh, and they are originally called Funeral Sandwiches on Pinterest here:  http://www.sundaybaker.net/2010/12/funeral-sandwiches-nothing-mournful.html   but, I decided that they deserved a better name and I have nick-named them Fun Sandwiches.  When you tell people that they are Funeral Sandwiches, um- let's just say you get some looks!  LOL!  So to me from here on in they are:

FUN SANDWICHES

1 pkg Hawaiian sweet rolls --I found mine at the Wal-Mart and I bought the dinner rolls, they are   
                                               the ones that were pictured on Pinterest.
1# ham-  I like shaved ham, it covers more and was just about perfect for the whole pkg of rolls
1/4# Swiss cheese- sliced thin- I broke my slices up to fit on each roll. 
1/2 c butter-melted
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp mustard
2 Tbsp brown sugar
onion powder or finely diced onion-- I would definitely say to use the finely diced onion.  They are so good when you get little bites of onion on this tasty little sandwich. 

Cut your rolls in half and make into ham and cheese sandwiches.  Put in baking pan.  I used a cookie sheet and I also sprayed mine lightly with non stick spray.  The sauce is sticky and I don't like to have to scrub a pan for hours. 

Mix remaining ingredients.  Pour all over sandwiches.  (I also put a little spooning of sauce on the buns before I make them into sandwiches.  The first time I made them they were good but, it seemed like they would have tasted better if some of the sauce was in the sandwich with the meat and cheese.  It is all personal preference but, I like it saucy).   Cover the sandwiches tightly and let sit in refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours.  Bake at 350*, UNCOVERED for 15 mins or until cheese is melted. 

This is my short hand version of the actual recipe.  If you would like a more clearer and precise version go to the link above.  Just make sure to give these a try, they are really delicious. 


The second recipe is also another that we have tried and love.  These are found here:  http://umamigirl.com/2009/11/salt-and-vinegar-broiled-fingerling-potatoes.html  If you like the deliciousness that is salt and vinegar, then this is the recipe for you.


SALT AND VINEGAR BROILED FINGERLING POTATOES

1# fingerling potatoes, sliced lengthwise to 1/4" thickness  (I used regular potatoes and just cut them  
                                                  the same size as what the finger lings would have been).
2 c white or malt vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

In a small pot, combine the potato slices and vinegar.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer until fork tender, about 8 mins.  (mine took a little longer).  Let cool in the vinegar for 30 minutes.  Then drain well and pat potatoes dry with paper towels. 

Preheat the broiler with a rack about 6" below the heat source.  Dump the potato slices onto a sheet pan, sprinkle very generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat.  Arrange the potato slices in a single layer.  Broil until lightly browned on top, about 7 mins.  Then, flip the slices and broil the underside for about 5 mins more to brown that side too.  Serve warm. 

Oh my holy yumminess!   Love these! 

I am going to leave now and I hope to be back on tomorrow with another update for ya on all the other stuff I wanted to share with you all but, I can hardly type at this point.  Plus, I will share a picture of a special goodie that I was just handed about 5 mins ago from my sweet friend Nancy.  I can't wait to show you and tell ya all how she did it. 

Warm primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug

HAPPY SATURDAY ALL

Hey!  Good afternoon everyone.  I woke up this morning to snow covering everything...... what???!!!  I thought we were all ready to move on.  What the heck happened?  The good news- it is almost all gone right now.  The poor mans (mine) fertilizer.  LOL!  I hope that you all had a good week, and are enjoying the week end.  I am.  The hubs is home today, the dogs are all panting, I am trying to get going on my needle punch.  I don't know if your all remember or not but it is a cute little number with a rabbit.  I have a photo below of the package:

The floss that I am using is different than the recommended. I use DMC.  It is affordable and if you mix strands of colors, you can get some real depth of color in your work.  My pattern came from Country Stitches -By My Hand. You can find this pattern and more yummy looking needle punch patterns and other goodes here:  http://www.countrystitchesonline.com/catalog.php?category=8&page=8   I cannot wait to go back to the site and order a few more little goodies.  Anyway, I just started working on it and have started putting the green flower stems in;

Awesome, right?!  I think so.  I can't wait to get more done to show you.  I have actually gotten most of the stems done right now.  I just didn't take another photo before I came in to blog.  Hopefully by Monday you will get to see a big change.  I would really like to have a lot of it done.  Here's hoping. 

I am still loving Pinterest.  I have found a couple of charts that you could cross stitch or needle punch that are freebies.  There is one of  that has a rabbit and says "happy easter".  That one is found here:  http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/viewimageframe/23063186/394654510   I believe it comes from Gettysburg Homestead or she linked to it.  Not sure but it is very sweet.  The other one is a vase with 1862 on the front with some heart shaped flowers coming out of it.  It is adorable and I can't wait to make this one up too.  You can find that one here;  http://farmhousenotforgotten.blogspot.com/  from Lori at Loris Notforgotten Farm blog.  She has a wonderful blog.  I love popping over on hers all the time.  Check it out if you haven't already.

I also thought I would share another little peak at our BIG monster.  I love to watch him eat.  And to think, I thought that I enjoyed My food.  Take a look at how Jackson eats; 

Yes, we are so big that we have to lay down to eat our dinner.  Oh and yes, we HAVE to clean out the bowl and every little kibble that spills out and around it.  He is a big baby.  Love him lots... <3


And earlier today I let the dogs out to do their thing and something was moving out of the corner of my eye;

Yep, he was filling his belly too!

Love it! <3

Well, wherever you are today, I hope that you are enjoying the day.  They sure are getting nicer.  It is so nice to see the sun.  I know, I will be complaining about the heat before you know it!  Sorry.  Just the way I am.   See you on Monday or Tuesday the latest. 

Warm and primitive blessings to you all.

prim_bug

TEMPTATION TUESDAY

Good morning everyone!  I had hoped to be on here again last week but, you all know how that goes.  Same old, same old!  Anyway, I sure did enjoy the weather yesterday but, it doesn't look like we are going to get sun again for a while.  Oh well.  It is definitely nice though to have the daylight for longer.  It was so awesome to have it still light outside at 7:00 the past few nights.  I hope that you are all enjoying it too!  Well, I have to make today's post a short one.  I need to leave early this morning for an appt. so I guess I should just get right to the recipes.  I am quite positive that you all wont mind.  LOL!

With Easter on it's way I thought that I would share a couple of sweet recipes that I have found on Pinterest for fudge.  Okay, I know that I shared my peanut butter fudge recipe with you all but, if I had known how simple and basic that making fudge could be...... needless to say, I would have spared you all the ingredients and time.  (I would have spared alot for myself as well)!  But, now I know and maybe you all already know these but, I didn't.  And to me these are the next best thing to peanut butter.  And you all know where I stand with the peanut butter!  <3  Alright, so here's the magic recipes:

I got this recipe from here:  http://realmomkitchen.com/9290/foolproof-peanut-butter-fudge/  

FOOLPROOF PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

1 tub of vanilla frosting
1 3/4 c of peanut butter


Line 9X9 pan with foil and set it aside.  In microwave bowl add tub of frosting and peanut butter.  DO NOT STIR!!!!!  Microwave for 1 minute.  Stir until well combined and smooth.  Pour into pan and spread until even.  Refrigerate until firm.  Cut into squares. 

RIGHT!!  Unbelievable.  And it tasted awesome!  You would never know that there was a tub of frosting in that.  However, knowing that there was..... made it that much yummier to me! LOL!

Okay let's see if you all can handle this next recipe.  It is a little more hands on and takes a bit longer so just rest up for it.  I got this recipe from a search engine when I typed in two ingredient fudge.  I unfortunately didn't save the address.  Sorry for that but if you type that in, you will get lots of recipes for the fudge.  I happened to get this one:

TWO INGREDIENT FUDGE

10 or 12 oz pkg chips (chocolate, peanut butter, dark chocolate, mint, butterscotch whatever flavor
                                                                           that you want)
tub of frosting (16oz)  again, this is whatever flavor you want your fudge to be
salt
vanilla or any flavor extract to go with the flavor fudge that you are making

Place your chips in a microwave safe dish and melt for 90 seconds ( I pulled mine out and stirred the chips at about the halfway point).  Take out of microwave.  I stirred mine until smooth at this point.  Then you add the tub of frosting.  DO NOT STIR!!!!!  Microwave for another 90 seconds.  Add dash of salt and extract.  Mix well.  (You need to be fast on this recipe because once it starts to harden, it will lock up on you and you will not be able to pour into the dish).  Just saying!  Pour into a buttered 8X8 or 9X9 pan.  Refrigerate until firm.  Remove and cut into squares.

I have tried both of these recipes and love them both.  The first one so far is My favorite but the hubs likes the second recipe best.  I do like that you can make all kinds of flavors of fudge with the second recipe.  I would like to make him a triple layer fudge, with the chocolate layer on bottom the vanilla layer in the middle and the strawberry layer on top sprinkled with coconut like those old fashioned candies.  You could easily do it with this recipe.  Or, you could make a chocolate layer and then a layer of white frosting with white chips and coconut extract and put almonds in the chocolate layer for like a Mounds flavor fudge.  There are endless possibilities with this recipe.  Unfortunately after trying alot (and I mean alot of these yummy recipes) my sugar has gone up, so I have to stop testing All of the possibilities for a while.  But, I can still give you all ideas!

There is another recipe for one more type that I didn't get a chance to try.  YET.  But, I wanted to share with you all.  It's another easy recipe and different ingredients.  Looks yummy and I cannot wait to try a piece of this one......... someday.  Ok, so I got the recipe here:   http://bakedfromabox.blogspot.ca/2012/07/cake-batter-fudge-10-minute-recipe.html 


CAKE BATTER FUDGE

1 c cake mix
1 c confectioners sugar
1/2 stick butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 c milk
sprinkles/rainbow jimmies

Mix cake mix and confectioners sugar in microwave bowl.  Add butter and milk---DO NOT STIR!  Microwave for 2 minutes.  Stir immediately until completely combined.  Add sprinkles.  Do not over mix with the sprinkles or the color will bleed.  Spread into buttered pan.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  This looks delicious! 




Well that is it for today's recipes.  I hope that you all can enjoy them.  I cant wait to try out the last one and make up some variations of the middle recipe as well.  The one thing that keeps bugging me though is------- what happens if you stir?????  I mean it is driving me insane.  So, if I don't mention trying it sometime in the near future and one of you do-please let me know what happens if you stir!  LOL! 

I hope that you all have a wonderful day and go out and make some fudge for someone you love.  C'mon it only takes a minute.  Enjoy.

Warm and primitive blessings to you all!

prim_bug

I'M BAAAACK!

Hello everyone!  

I honestly didn't think that I would be gone sooooooo long.  I am truly sorry for the long hiatus.  I had gotten truly discouraged with my old camera and didn't feel like I was doing any good just jabbering on here.  Then I had stupidly downloaded a bunch of malware and my computer was really messed up and when I got it back I really didn't even want to bother with it for a while.  I guess I just decided to pout and feel bad for myself for a while.  Along with the rush of the holidays, and then everything just stops and it was like, what do I do now?!  Well, thanks to my family and friends, I am back.  I had not even looked to see if anyone had been on here looking for me.  I just stopped.  Thanks to some encouragement and a new little camera, I hope to get things back and be better at it this year. :) 

So, not a lot has changed around here.  We have been getting snow...... every day!  And still in the forecast for the week ahead.  WOW!  The good thing is that it melts so quickly now.  I love it!  You get to see it snowing and feel like you are on the inside of a snow globe that has just been shaken, and then within hours it has almost completely melted.  The best of both worlds.   I also have found Pinterest!  That is the greatest.  I cannot pull myself away from it.  Too much to look at and I want to make everything that I see.  I never have time to because I am too busy still looking at more.  What a vicious cycle. LOL!  I just printed off some free patterns for cross stitch and needle punch.  I haven't done one of those in a long while.  Actually either of them.  I hope that you have all been busy crafting.  And I am pretty sure that I am probably one of the last Pinterest followers but, amazing.  I just love it.  I will have to step away from it though so that I can craft on my patterns now.  Then I will have something to show with you. 

I would also like to continue on with Temptation Tuesday even though I sometimes slip up and post it later in the week.  OOPS!  Sometimes I just forget.  I do not have a great memory and that procrastination--- if only they could make a pill for that! LOL!  The recipes going forward would have to be some that I come across from, oh I don't know maybe Pinterest!  I already shared my family favorites that I have, but, I have come across some new ones that are either yummy looking or very easy to make.  I have recently tried some too and I would like to use those.  Hopefully this might help some of you that work out of the home and do not have the time to look at Pinterest alot. 

I can tell you that I have missed blogging with you all and it seems nice to have this chat with you all again. 

I wanted to share a few photos to show you some of what I have done and been enjoying.  I hope that you all enjoy these as well.      

Alright, this is a little lap quilt that my sister had ordered and tried to do for herself.  It was very difficult for her to do (only able to use one hand) so, I took it and cross stitched it for her.  Now, I know that there are people that can do this stuff and do it quickly and beautifully.  I worked on this little bugger for over a year!  Not constant.  I get bored if I work on something for too long.  I think that is why I start a lot of projects and they never get finished.  My goal is to try and finish projects that I start now or have started in the past.  This was priority one!  Nailed it!!!!!!  I hate to do the outlining at the end of the project.  It seems like it takes forever and I just want it to be done so I procrastinate (hard to believe, I know) it as long as I can!  What a shame!  It is the easiest part and didn't take half as long as I thought that it would.  Here is another photo of it at a different angle, I didn't have anyone around to hold it up for me so it is lying down on the counter top.

My sister loves her two cats, Chloe and Pepper.  And she is the reason that I love watching the birds so much.  She knows alot of their names just by listening to their song.  I think that is awesome.  I am extremely happy that this little quilt is done now.  She says that she doesn't want to use it she wants to hang it on the wall by her bed.  Now, I have to figure out how I shall do that! 

This is a little stitchery that I had seen the saying done up like this in a magazine.  I could not afford one so, I copied the saying using my own handwriting and stitched it up.  I love the saying and it was a quick stitch.

I had taken these two photos before the new camera so sorry for the blurrr.  This was a quick stitchery that I had gotten the pattern for a long time ago.  I really love this one too!  I also tea stained these and baked them up.  I love how they got a little darker in some places more than others. 

I was trying to show you all a look at the snow globe that I was looking out of the other night!  I cannot believe how big the snowflakes look in the pictures.

It was really beautiful out there. 

I guess that I thought you all would like a nice shot of my doggies play area!  Consider yourselves lucky that there is snow on the ground out there if ya know what I mean!

Speaking of the (little) devils, here is a picture of Jackson!  He has put on quite a bit of weight since we first got him.  That is a good thing.  Just look at that face!  And, to answer the most frequently asked question, Yes, he does drooooooooooool!   ALOT!

This picture was just taken.  I wanted to show my husband that Kayzer and Jackson shared the same space.  As you can see by the expression on Kayzer, he is not at all thrilled about this whole deal.  He is not very fond of Jackson but we are trying to make things work with them.  This looks like it might be getting a little bit better.  As you can also see, Jackson is not the one with the issues.  He just wants to sleep! LOL!

Thought that I would show you some of my outdoor babies as well.  This is a baby Blue Jay.  I tried to get a good picture of him but, every time I would snap it he would put his head down to get a piece of seed.  This was one of the better shots but, you can't see the tuft on his head in this one.

I love this picture!  The Blue Jay on the feeder, and the male Cardinal on the branch next to the female.  The beak on the female looks almost orange.  She is a duller coloring but, her shades are absolutely gorgeous.  But, when he is around, nothing else will get your attention, he is so beautiful.

Again, the male and the female.  They are waiting for a chance at the food because of the squirrels.

And there he is again.  I just wanted to keep taking pictures of him.

This big guy is one of the reasons the birds have to sit back and wait for their food.  I still love them though.  I think that they are so entertaining and fun to watch as well. 


I hope that I haven't bored you all too much.  I really enjoyed sharing the photos and projects and now I can't wait to share some recipes with you all too! 

Enjoy the rest of your day and I will be chatting with you all soon.  I hope to have some more stuff to share with you all as well.  I hope that the weather where you are is as pleasant as you want it to be.  And enjoy it all because Spring is on it's way!!!!!!

Warm and primitive blessings to you all!

prim_bug