Peanut Butter Pie And Projects

Ooops hit a wrong button and got a post with no post. My mind is gone.


Thought I would share a few things that I have been up to while MIA.






First off are a finished knitting project or two. This is the blue vest I shared earlier. I managed to get it finished before I started on the prayer shawls that the church gave my name out to do. I made two of them before I moved on to my next project.









This is a hooded vest/poncho that I made. I really like the way that it turned out. It looks blue here, but in actuality it is a deep purple. Wonder why it looks blue in the picture?














The last thing I am going to share is a new recipe. I made a peanut butter pie one evening and it was a big hit. This is very rich and a small slice really fills you up.

Peanut Butter Pie

1 9" crust baked

1 1/4 cup peanut butter smooth (I used crunchy)

1 8 oz package cream cheese softened

3/4 cup icing sugar

2 tbsp melted butter or margarine

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup icing sugar

Beat the peanut butter and cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually add the 3/4 cup icing sugar, melted butter, and vanilla, mix well. Beat the whipping cream and 1/4 cup icing sugar until soft peaks form. Stir 1/4 of this mixture into the peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly. Spoon into prepared crust. Chill for 1 hour or until firm.

Glaze

1/3 cup whipping cream

3 squares semi sweet chocolate

Bring cream to a boil over low heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, stirring until melted and smooth. Cool slightly and pour over filling, tilting pie to cover top completely. Chill for at least one hour.

Enjoy!!!

Well off to try and get a bit of visiting with all of you before bed. It is going to take me awhile to catch up so please be patient with me.

Everybody have a wonderful evening. God bless.

Peanut Butter Pie And Projects

I'm Still Here

These last few months have been extremely busy. I just don't know where the time has gone. Well I do, but won't bore you all with all that has been happening.

I will share one item with all of you though. I took on an extra sewing job, which seems to take up a great deal of my spare time. I have been making drapery to cover unsightly areas in the class rooms at school. Gone are the days when our children are to be distracted in any way shape or form while in school. The Board of Education has stressed that anything that could distract a child's attention (I say stimulate), should be covered up.

The drapery has to be the same colour as the walls and so I searched long and hard. The closest I could get was a cream coloured broadcloth! I have 4 rooms left to do and hope to be totally done by the end of the month. Whew, remind me please not to take on a project like this again!!!

I am looking forward to getting out in the garden and just enjoying what is left of the spring. My flowerbeds are a disaster, and I need to make the time, between rain or snow to get out and work on them.

I am still trying to cook something new every week. Sometimes I succeed and other times what I serve is a total disaster.

This is my promise to all of you, I will make at least one post a week, and drop by to visit at least once a week as well.

I do have lots to share with all of you, projects completed, wonderful recipes, and updates on my life.

Everyone have a wonderful evening. God bless.

A Glimpse

Thought that I would share a glimpse of my embroidery project.



This is one corner of the tablecloth. I have realized that I just can't work on it in the evening due to the bad lighting in my livingroom. I do work on it in front of the window while the sun is shining. Whew what a lot of work.













This is the next section that I started. I hope to have this little side flower done by the end of Wednesday. We will see.










When it gets too dark to thread my needle, I pull out a knitting project. This is going to be a U necked vest. It is made out of Soy and boy is it soft. Should add some more colour to my mainly black, brown and grey wardrobe.







Well off to visit everyone. Hope you are having a wonderful day.

God bless.

Eye Candy

My idea of eye candy is yarn and of course knitting magazines or books. Yesterday while shopping what met my eyes but three new spring knitting magazines. Did I need them?.....No...But did I want them?....Yes.

Sometimes I indulge my wants, and this was one time that I did. It isn't like I don't have hundreds of knitting pattern free from on line, or lots of other magazines with patterns to chose from, but something called me to pick these up.

Look what I found inside.

This pretty sweater that would just be perfect to wear with some leggings in the spring.

This lovely sweater that can be worn with most of what I wear to work. It should keep the chill off. However I don't know why the photo is sideways. Oh well blogger must be doing something strange once again.

Something to do with the scraps of yarn leftover. I think these napking rings are so much fun and a much nicer way to use up said scraps than multistriped scarves or hats.

Well off to visit you all.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Kurt's Pride and Joy

Over Christmas I did manage to get a few things out of my house that belonged to Kurt. Just thought I would share something of his with all of you.

Kurt went out to shovel our driveway and remarked how his students giggle over one of his ski jackets. One day while he was in high school we went shopping in Regina and happened to stop in at Jersey City (don't even think they exist any more) and he fell in love with a LA Raiders jacket. Since he needed a new coat we bought it for him, now his students get a kick out of his retro jacket and make fun of the fact he still wears it.

I sat and thought for awhile, and disappeared downstairs. When I came up I had a special surprise for him. Kurt came in from shoveling the driveway and I called him into the living room. There on the couch was this.....

Kurt wore this official Montreal Canadiens jacket for his junior high days and part of his high school days. This was a gift from my parents one birthday, and they went through a great deal of trouble to get it for him. Dad knew a few of the old players through his job and wrote to one of them about his grandson who was a big fan. The player sent Dad this jacket (it is the same as the team wore at that time) and Dad paid for it. Kurt was so proud of this coat and wore it proudly to hockey practices where it earned him the nickname "Froggie".

The look on his face was priceless and I got called the coolest Mom ever! All because I could not bear to get rid of a small piece of his childhood and teenage years.

The coat is with him now, and I just know he is proudly wearing it once again. Oh did I forget to mention that it still fits.

Everybody have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Days Slip By

The days have been slipping by just like sand in an hour glass. I don't know where they have disappeared.

I have started a week of holidays, and hopefully will be able to visit more often.

Valentine's Day was spent quietly here in the Phillips house. Harvey came home with some lovely roses for me. Quite a surprise as he usually buys me chocolate. Lovely red ones that seem to be doing just beautifully sitting on my coffee table.

I did try a new recipe or two during the last while. This one is a keeper. We enjoyed this for supper last night.

Beef and Corn Bake

Company's Coming Casseroles

2 lbs ground beef

1 medium chopped onion

a little cooking oil

Put ground beef, onion and oil in a frying pan. Stir to break up meat as it browns. Drain off fat and discard. Put meat mixture into a large bowl.

12 0z kernel corn

2 cans condensed cream of tomato soup

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp ketchup

Put corn, soup, salt, pepper and ketchup into bowl with beef mixture. Stir to mix together with the meat.

2 cups cooked noodles

Prepare noodles according to package directions. Drain well. Combine with all ingredients in bowl. Pour into 3 qt casserole.

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Sprinkle grated cheese over top. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I did cut down the meat to a little over 1 lb and it still turned out very well. We have leftovers for another meal.

Well off to visit you all.

Everybody have a great day.

God Bless.

Valentine's Day Is Coming

It has been a few days since I posted anything. I am still alive and kicking. Busy getting ready for Valentine's Day and trying out a new recipe.

I had some leftover chicken from our Sunday Dinner and decided to make a totally new recipe tonight for supper. Harvey loved it and had second helpings. I did change the recipe up a bit as I did not have some of the ingredients to hand. It still tasted wonderful.

Here it is.

Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Company's Coming Leftover Cookbook

3 cups medium bow pasta ( I used penne)

12 cups boiling water

2 tsp salt

Cook pasta in boiling water and salt in a large pot for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but firm. Drain. Return to pot. Cover to keep warm.

1 tbsp oil

1 cup thinly sliced onion

Heat oil in frying pan. Add onion and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often until onion is softened.

2 cups sliced white mushrooms

2 cups sliced brown mushrooms

1/2 tsp garlic powder

I did not have fresh mushrooms so used 2 cans of drained mushrooms. Add these to the cooked onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Or if using fresh until liquid is evaporated.

3/4 cup chicken broth

4 oz cream cheese cut up

Add broth to the mushroom mixture and bring to a boil. Add cut up cream cheese. Heat and stir until cheese is melted.

1 cup chopped leftover cooked chicken

1 tbsp dried parsley

Add chicken and parsley to the frying pan. Heat and stir until chicken is heated through. Add to pasta. Toss. Makes about 6 cups. Enough to serve 4.

Now for the fun stuff. I had a great deal of chocolate left from Christmas and decided to pull out the lollipop molds. I have been busy making Chocolate Lollipops for the students. Harvey thought they were so cute he asked me if I could make a few extra for the girls at work.

Hopefully I will be finished up tonight.

Well off to visit you all, hope the coffee is still on.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

New Project

I promised myself that I would finish off a few of the many unfinished projects I have hanging around my sewing/craft room. Over the last while I have managed to cut down my yarn stash by about 15 balls, and decided it was time to pull out the stamped embroidery once again. Many of the pieces I got from my Dad when Mom passed away. I finished off a few of them and stored the others for a rainy day.

That rainy day has finally arrived. At the beginning of the week I pulled a tablecloth out of the tote to get started on.

This is the table cloth. It is covered with stamped daisies and stems. Oh my, I think perhaps I should have pulled out my unfinished dragon cross stitch or even the unfinished angel cross stitch. This is going to take a long time. Harvey figures I will still be working on it six months from now.

This is how far I have gotten in the past three days. Hope to finish another couple of stems tonight. Heck, even one stem will make me feel like I have accomplished something. Each of the four corners have this stamped design. The middles of the sides have a smaller stamped daisy bouquet and the center has a circle of daisies.

Oh well this should keep me busy for awhile.

Off to visit all of you.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Vest And A New Purse

Today was a strange day. It started out nice and sunny. In fact the sun glare from the snow was blinding at times...then I left work to come home. I came out of the school expecting sunny skies and a gentle wind. What met my eyes was an overcast sky and softly falling snow. Oh well, only two more months of winter I hope.

Now I bet you are wondering how a purse and vest go together. Well I needed a break from black, brown and white purses and on this bright day turned dreary decided to get some colour in my life. The vest is something I have been knitting for awhile and I finally finished it tonight.

I think I managed to get a bit more colour in my life.

Well off to visit everyone. Hope the coffee is still on.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

The Last Day of the Month

Tonight I am going to share my thrift store find.

Since spring is so far away up here in the plains of Canada, I needed to bring some spring into my home. Searching one of the thrift stores in Regina I found a lovely glass container and looking further I came upon a package of fake limes that had never been opened. Bingo. Now this is sitting on my diningroom table.

All for a total cost of ....are you ready..... $3.50. It brightens up the room, and now all I need is just the right candles.

Off to visit everyone.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Biyearly Mammogram

Last night I went to the mobile clinic for my biyearly mammogram. I am so happy the province sends a mobile clinic to all the cities outside of the two big cities in my province. I get to stay home, even work all day and then go after supper to have it done.

This year I had the last appointment of the day, and the technician was a bit tired and grouchy. Usually I enjoy talking to the ladies, but not last night! Oh well it is over for another two years and I can rest easy, I have been so lucky in that I have never gotten a letter telling me to come for more tests.

The weather here is very cold once again, the wind chill is almost unbearable at times. I hope it clears up and warms up by Friday as I am not working and have decided to go up and visit Kris (well at least take him out for supper) and do some shopping. I have a gift card for Michaels and am planning to do some serious shopping.

Well off to visit you all.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Cranberry Muffins

I am mixing up my new recipe challenge to myself. I made these Cranberry Muffins yesterday and they are very, very, good. So I am sharing this recipe with all of you.

Cranberry Muffins

1 cup chopped cranberries (I used dry, rehydrated, next time I am using fresh)

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup melted shortening ( I used butter)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees when ready to bake. Mix the 1/2 cup sugar and cranberries in small bowl and soak together overnight. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and 1/4 cup sugar together. Add beaten egg, buttermilk and melted shortening. Mix in cranberry mixture. Grease muffin cups and put in the batter. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Mine made 10 muffins, but they are very large.

Hope you all enjoy them.

Off to visit you all.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Another Recipe

Thought I would share my newest recipe with all of you. This is a picture of it before the baking.

This is a picture of the finished product. Harvey had two helpings so it has to be good.

Zucchini Pork Bake

Company's Coming Leftover Cookbook

2 tsp cooking oil

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped apple

Heat oil in frying pan on medium. Add onion and apple. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until onion is softened. Turn into large bowl.

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup fine chopped leftover cooked pork

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese (at least medium)

3/4 cup flour

1/3 cup oil

4 bacon slices cooked crisp and crumbled

4 large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

Add above ingredients to the bowl. Mix well. Turn into greased 9 X 9 pan. Smooth top. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Cuts into 9 pieces.

Well off to visit all of you now.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Tasty Beef Rolls

I have another new recipe to share with all of you. This is so good and uses up many leftovers not just roast beef.Here they are cut and ready to go in the oven. They don't look very appetizing yet.Now here they are fresh out of the oven. Getting better!

Here is the finished product with the Mushroom Sauce. Mmmm, good.

Tasty Beef Rolls

Companies Coming Leftover Cookbook

1 cup chopped leftover cooked beef, packed

1 cup leftover cooked carrots (or mixed vegetables, this is what I used)

2 coarsely chopped green onions (I used 3 as they were fairly small)

10 oz can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 tsp Worchestershire Sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 1/3 cups Biscuit mix

1 tsp Curry powder

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup water

3 tbsp white wine (I left this out)

Process beef, carrots and green onions in a blender or food processor until finely ground. Turn into a medium bowl.

Add 1/3 cup soup. Reserve remaining soup. Add Worchestershir sauce, salt and pepper. Stir until beef and vegetables are well coated. Set aside.

Combine biscuit mix and curry powder in a separate bowl. Add milk. Stir until dough forms a soft ball. Turn on to a lightly floured surface. Knead 6 times. Place on a large sheet of waxed paper, lightly dusted with flour. Press or roll out into a 10 inch square. Spread beef mixture over dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border on 3 closest edges and a 2 inch border on the farthest edge. Roll up jelly roll fashion. Press seam together to seal. Cut into 8 slices and arrange cut side down, in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 8 rolls.

Combine reserved soup, water and wine in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer 2 mintes. Drizzle over each roll and serve.

We enjoyed this meal immensely.

Off to visit you all.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Finally Finished

I had been working on a sweater for Harvey for Christmas for over a month. I never did get it finished in time for Christmas Day, but I did finish it yesterday.

I loved the pattern and the yarn, it just took a bit longer than expected what with working full time, baking and keeping house.

He did love it when he found the sweater laying on the bed. He had to try it on right away.

Now that I know how long this pattern takes I am sure I would be more than willing to make one for Kurt and one for Kris. This sweater was made from Beehive Astra and they have lots of colours to choose from.

Off to visit you all.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

God bless.

Anniversary And Some More Recipes

Harvey and I just had our 34th Wedding Anniversary on January 10th. I must say the man can still surprise me. He disappeared for awhile on Saturday and came back with these lovely gifts for me.

Thirty-four various shades of pink roses, with a couple of white thrown in for good measure. This is one of the bouquets I made.

He also bought me an angel for my collection. I am now the proud owner of an "Angel of the Kitchen". He says it is because I am such a good cook that he picked that one.

This is one of the arrangements I made of the flowers.

Here is another one. Right now I feel like I am living in a florist shop.

I have three recipes to share with you. Only one has a picture to go with it though, Harvey ate the other two so quickly that I didn't even get a chance to get a picture.

The first one is not a new one but one that my family really enjoys. I had more leftover ham to use up and I always make this.

Souper Supper

Company's Coming Casseroles

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 soup can of water

1 soup can of rice

1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli

4 slices cheese cut up

1 1/2 cups cooked leftover ham cut up

Put soup, water, and rice in a casserole. Mix together. Add broccoli, cheese pieces, and ham. Stir to combine. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serves 6.

Italian Chops

Fix It And Forget It Cookbook

16 oz bottle Italian salad dressing

4 pork chops

baby carrots

quartered potatoes

Place pork chops in slow cooker. Add washed baby carrots (or sliced carrots) and potatoes. Pour salad dressing over top. Cover and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours.

I also added sliced onions to this.

Hot Turkey Sandwiches

Company's Coming Leftovers

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1 can drained sliced mushrooms (10 oz)

2 tsp parsley flakes

1/4 tsp paprika

8 slices bread toasted

2 cups chopped or shredded leftover turkey

1/2 cup grated Cheddar Cheese (I used grated mozzerella)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan. Stir to combine. Heat on medium for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the turkey and heat through.

Make your toast and place the 2 slices of toast on each plate. Spoon the hot mixture on top. Top with the grated cheese and either broil until cheese melts or put in the microwave for a few seconds to melt.

Serves 4.

Well off to visit everyone.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

Sharing Some Christmas Photo's

I thought I would share some photos from our Christmas Celebration with everyone. I finally got them downloaded on to the computer. Just a little bit slow here.

This is a picture of one of my great nephews, Peyton. He is a little doll and always wants me to play with him.

This is a picture of another great nephew, Jouquin, and his "MeMe" Nancy. Nancy is married to Harvey's brother Kevin.

This is a picture of Kevin, cleaning up after carving the Christmas beast. That is what we call the turkey in this family.

Our handsome boys, sitting in front of the fireplace letting their Dad take a photo of them. It isn't too often that they are together. It was wonderful to have them for an extended time. Kind of like the old days.

A photo opportunity. Those in the family that managed to make it to our celebration. There are two brothers and three sisters missing for various reasons. Harvey is in black on the end and is the oldest sibling here.

Well that is enough for tonight. I will share more in a day or two.

Off to visit everyone.

Everyone have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

New Recipe Is A Keeper

Well my goal of at least one new recipe a week is one that I just may be able to keep.



I am sharing the recipe with all of you. It was very good, but made a very big batch. We ended up having the leftovers tonight. Good thing overall as I had forgotten how tired I am after working all day.

Ham and Pasta Bake

from Recipes For Leftovers by Jean Pare

2 cups chopped sweet potato or yam

2 tsp cooking oil

1/4 tsp salt

Combine sweet potato, cooking oil and salt in small bowl. Arrange in single layer on greased baking sheet and bake at 400 F for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once at half time, until tender and golden brown.

3 1/2 cups penne pasta

Cook pasta as directed and drain. Set aside.

3 tbsp margarine(or butter)
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked leftover ham

1/3 cup chopped green onion
3 tbsp flour

1/2 cup sour cream
3 1/2 cups milk

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper

10 oz box of thawed spinach, chopped (squeeze dry before chopping)
1 1/2 cups grated white cheddar cheese

Melt margarine in large saucepan on medium. Add ham and green onion and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until ham starts to brown.

Add the flour and heat and stir for 1 minute. Gradually stir in milk until boiling and thickened.

Add the sour cream and remaining ingredients. Stir and heat the spinach through.

Put sweet potato mixture, ham mixture and cooked pasta in a large bowl. Toss to mix well. Transfer to a greased 3 qt casserole (3l). Spread evenly.

Top with the grated cheese. Bake uncovered at 375 for about 35 minutes or until cheese is golden.

Serves 8

A picture of the finished product. I think next time I make it I will add another 1/2 cup of chopped ham.

It tastes a bit sweet, but was very, very, good.

Off to visit you all now.

Everybody have a wonderful evening.

God bless.

The New Year Is Here

Well the old year is past, my tree is down and the decorations all put away. The house is quiet now that Kurt and Kris have left and it is only Harvey and I....can hardly wait until it is noisy and a constant go, go, once again.

I thought that to start the year off I would show a picture of the sweaters I made for the youngsters.

The black one was for Kris and the royal blue was for Kurt. Much easier to knit than the one I am doing for Harvey! I am still not done that one yet, working on the second sleeve. The pattern is gorgeous though and I will be sure to post a picture of it once I am done.

I have made some "goals" for this new year, while some of them are old ones that I did not follow through on, some are completely new and I have started out the month with a bang. The one goal that I think will be no problem to keep is making at least one new recipe a week. Started a new one today for supper. I will take some photo's and if it passes the taste test I will post the recipe...if not all I will share is a picture of my failure.

Well off to finish off the casserole and set the table. Be back to visit all of you after supper.

God bless.