A Snowy Gift

Yesterday the temp was in the 40's and rainy, but they called a snow day. I'm guessing it was because of the mushy rural roads. It was weird to have a "warm" day and not have to work. I worked on a new pair of wool socks.



Overnight the temps dropped 30 - 35 degrees, the wet roads froze over, and a blanket of snow fell to cover it all.

My folks are supposed to be arriving today and hope to leave for Florida on Friday, although a blizzard is forecast for Thursday night to Friday, so who knows. I guess I'll need to get out and see if the snow blower will start on this cold, windy day.

A Sad Farewell

I heard today about the sudden death of a friend in Minnesota, Jane Bowman Nigen. We knew her as the joyful and energetic singer, song-writer, and musician from The Back Porch Band. We always tried to catch their shows at The Blue Moon in Red Wing, MN. Jane loved kids and would often try to get Cheyanne to go on stage with her. Cheyanne wasn't sure how to respond to Jane's boundless energy and enthusiasm and preferred to draw pictures that Jane proudly displayed on the front of her keyboard during performances. We'll always have fond memories of Jane, and we've played the Back Porch Band CD so much we wore the first one out. To learn more about our friend, Jane, click here. Goodbye, Jane. You'll be missed.

Great Movie and Sugary, Fatty Food

My sister-in-law is visiting this weekend. We both really wanted to see the movie Juno so we decided to catch it at a local theater. It was a great movie and definitely worth every penny! I suppose it is more of a "chick flick," as they say. We loved it, including the music. Check it out! Now we are home and she is making beignets. YUMMM!!

Warm Toesies

I decided to try a new pattern for felted baby booties. I personally think they are adorable. I'm calling them "baby boots." You can find the pattern for Old World Booties by clicking here.



I also served lunch to my Aunt and Uncle and their 2 friends who were traveling through here on their way home from a curling tournament in Madison, WI. I served Chicken Noodle Soup and Apple Cake with Almonds. This cake is sooooo yummy!


Apple Cake with Almonds

5 TBSP butter, divided
3 1/2 Cups apple, peeled and chopped -- Braeburn or Granny Smith
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup (4 oz) fat-free cream cheese (block style)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, divided
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 Cup skim milk
1 large egg
1 large egg white
Cooking Spray
2 TBSP sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 Cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Preheat oven to 350. Melt 1 TBSP butter in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup butter, granulated sugar, cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla, and almond extract in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended. In a small bowl, combine milk, egg and egg white. Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to cream cheese mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in apple. Pour into 9-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cook in pan 10 minutes on wire rack; removed from pan. Combine 1/4 tsp vanilla, powdered sugar and water in a small bowl. Drizzle over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature. 12 servings

Sing for Your Supper

Hey! Check out the songs in the left-hand sidebar. Click on a song to listen. Let me know if any of the videos are inappropriate since I can't view them on my computer.

My parents were here last week. They were all set to get on the road to Florida but my Dad ended up in the hospital with pneumonia for 2 nights. Now they are back at home and trying to get better so they can go south before Spring. It's a beautiful, snowy day in Michigan and the snow is expected to continue to fall through tomorrow. I wonder how many times I'll have to pull out the snowblower.

While my folks were here, I made the following recipe. I wasn't a big fan of the chunks of apple, but they definitely added a yummy flavor to the pork.


Pork Medallions with Double-Apple Sauce (from Cooking Light Magazine)

1 Cup apple cider
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into chunks.
1 lb boneless pork tenderloin, cut into chunks
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 Cup half-and-half
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
Cooking spray

Pour cider into large skillet; bring to a boil. Add apples. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until apples are barely tender. Remove apples from pan with slotted spoon, and place apples in a medium bowl. Cook cider until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Pour reduced cider over apples; set aside. Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and pepper. Wipe pan clean with a damp paper towel. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan, cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from heat. Add apple mixture, half-and-half, and rosemary. 3 - 4 servings

New Connection

I just got a laptop from my job! I signed something saying I will only use it for work, so somehow I'll need to justify using it to post things to my blog. I am at the Red Brick Coffee Shop listening to live music and I just finished knitting with a friend, so it's a good day.

Over Christmas we attended the wedding of my cousin Mike and his girlfriend, Elizabeth. It was a beautiful evening wedding that ended at a fantastic venue decorated with white lights. I think my nieces thought that Elizabeth was a princess and Mike was a prince. I guess they were, for the night.

I don't have many pictures with my nieces so I really wanted to take some while we were all dressed up. They were quite happy to take sweet pictures with my cousin, Suzanne,


but when I came around they brought out the sillies.

Lake Effect Snow

New Year's Week was a snowy one around here. 8 inches of snow blanketed the area and I got to use the snowblower 3 times. My nieces and sister-in-law came to visit, making it much more fun to play in the snow!

Recipes That Work

In my rush to send out a Christmas letter, I didn't thoroughly proofread the recipes on the back. I realized too late that a few of them had typos. So, to correct my mistake I am posting the corrected recipes here. Only the people who actually take the time to check out my blog, and those that I caught in time, will have the correct instructions.

Teriyaki Chicken
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (find it by soy sauce at grocery)
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP rice vinegar
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp dark sesame oil
sesame seeds toasted in dry skillet
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mix first 7 ingredients (through sesame oil) in a bowl. Pour into a ziplock bag and add chicken. Marinate in fridge at least 4 hours or as long as overnight. Grill until no longer pink.

The Easiest Chimichangas Ever
1 tsp cumin
1 can (4oz) diced green chilis
8 flour tortillas
4 cups water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Boil water. Add chicken. Cover pan and put on the lowest setting for 15 minutes. Shred cooked chicken and mix in a bowl with cumin, green chilis and cheese. Wrap chicken mixture in tortillas, folding all 4 sides under. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Top with guacamole and sour cream!!


Aunt’s Chicken Noodle Soup
2 carrots, diced
4 green onions, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
3 cans chicken broth (about 5 ½ cups)
1 cup water
2 celery stalks, chopped
½ tsp basil
½ tsp parsley
3 cloves garlic
4 chicken breasts, diced
1 ½ cup pasta, any shape

Simmer everything except pasta and chicken for 20 minutes. Add chicken (raw or cooked) and cook 8 minutes. Add pasta and cook until done. Ahhhhhh…


Do you keep leftover pancakes in your freezer and then end up throwing them away later? Finally, here is a solution!
Overnight Baked Blueberry French Toast
1 loaf Italian bread (or leftover pancakes)
6 eggs
¾ cup milk
¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 ½ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cornstarch
2 TBSP butter, melted

Slice the bread or pancakes into strips. Spray pan with cooking spray. Put blueberries in pan (at least 9 X 14). Mix sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch in small bowl and pour over berries. Place bread, overlapping slightly, on top on berries. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, baking powder and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Pour mixture over bread. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 425. Brush bread with melted butter and bake until golden brown, 20 – 25 minutes.


Parmesan-Baked Salmon
1/4 cup mayo
2 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
4 salmon fillets (1 lb)
2 tsp lemon juice
10 Ritz crackers, crushed (1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix mayo, cheese and pepper until well blended. Place salmon on foil-lined shallow baking pan. Drizzle evenly with lemon juice. Top with cheese mixture. Sprinkle with crackers. Bake 12- 15 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily with fork.

A Home for the Horses...and Zebra and Duck

My Dad built a wonderful, bright, red barn for my nieces for Christmas! They love to play with animals and I know they will love the barn.

Close Call

Just before Christmas we had a vicious wind storm during the night. When I woke up for church on Sunday morning I glanced out the kitchen window to discover that our canoe had blown off the top of our camper and onto the driveway...just a snidget away from my car. ("Snidget," by the way, is Ember's word for something very small.)




Thankfully, because I was going to church in the morning and my family wasn't arriving until the afternoon, I decided not to park directly next to the camper the night before. So, in a sense, my car was spared by God.