Caramel Corn :)

Fall has hit my corner of the world hard in the past few days.  Up until then it still felt like summer, highs in the 70's and even 80's.  No need to turn on the heat even.  Until yesterday that is.  October 18 is the latest I have turned the heat on in many years, so I guess I cannot complain.  My son is a member of the M-State Spartan football team and it brings back a conversation with our son in August 2010.  Grant had gone off to fall football camp and came home five days later so stiff and sore and exhausted that he wondered if it was worth it.  Now two years later at the end of his M State player career, he could not be happier that he soldiered on and stuck it out.  Tomorrow we trek up to Grand Rapids, MN for the final game of his season.  I decided to whip up some caramel corn to bring along for a snack :)  Enjoy what fall is left in your neck of the woods, and don't be afraid to stick things out!

CARAMEL CORN
15 c. popped popcorn ( I pop mine on the stove top) - set aside
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter
1/2 c. Karo syrup
Put these 3 ingredients into a pan and stir well.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Let boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. baking soda.  Stir well.
Place your popped corn into a paper grocery bag.  Pour your caramel sauce over the popped corn - using a big spatula, stir well.  Close down the top of the bag.  Place in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes on high.  Remove and stir well.  Put back in the microwave and cook one more minute.  Stir.  Pour out onto waxed paper to cool.  Store in  ziplock bags.

My hubby asked - is it time for soup yet?

And I said - WELL, with this fabulous October weather we have been having - it hasn't felt like soup weather.  However, he has not felt well for a month now so figured maybe I best make him some soup and see if that helps his recovery along.  Will he go to the doctor?  I think we all know the answer to this is no.  I asked him, WHY he would not go to the doctor and he said, "Well, it's not like I am dying."  Ok then.  I just have a hard time having sympathy for his discomfort when I have been asking him to go to the doctor for a few weeks now.  I am not certain what his fear of doctors is but apparently there is something underlying here.  SO despite the 75 degree temps outside in Minnesota, in October mind you, I did make said spouse some soup.  Here is the recipe:

CHICKEN WILD RICE SOUP
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1 c. onion, chopped fine
1 c. celery, chopped fine
4 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped fine
carrots, chopped, as desired
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 c. butter
3/4 c. flour
3 c. cooked wild rice
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
2 cans water
1 pint Fat-Free Half & Half

Place chicken and vegetables in a stock pot with the butter.  Season with salt and pepper and add bay leaf.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Stirring occasionally.  Stir in the flour.  Quickly add the broth and water.  Stir in the cooked wild rice.  Simmer for an hour or more, until potatoes/carrots are tender.  Stir in the half & half, heat through.  Serve! 

Channeling Paula Deen :)

I have a few of Paula Deen's cookbooks.  Friday I was looking for a quick treat to whip up and bring to Morris for a small gathering to be held after the home football game.  I stumbled upon the Pretzel-Peanut bark recipe in the Paula Deen Celebrates cookbook.  Three ingredients and a few minutes was all it took to whip up this sweet/salty treat.  I love me some white chocolate so this was perfect for me.  It was also a hit at the party and is now but a distant memory.

Pretzel-Peanut Bark
18 squares (1 oz. each) white chocolate
3 c. skinny pretzel stick broken into small peices but not crushed (measure after breaking)
2 c. peanuts (I used honey roasted) I also chopped these up a bit so they were not whole or half peanuts.

Melt chocolate in microwave.  I did for 1 min. on high and then stirred and back in the microwave for about 40 more seconds.  It was perfectely melted.  Stir in the pretzels and peanuts.  Spread onto a sheet of waxed paper.  Let cool and harden.  Break into pieces and eat.

I made TWO pies :)

Well, another weekend is in the history books.  It was a busy one.  First of all made a 2 hour trek on Friday night to pick up a used car for our daughter, Heather.  Then turned around and drove 2 more hours back home.  Saturday was a Spartan football game, which our son is a team member of, so my mom, her husband, and my brother Scott all came down for the game.  Well, their grandson/nephew was the homecoming king!  Then yesterday got up and went to church and came home to watch the Vikings play - they are now 0-4 which is a stat I am not too proud to report, it doesn't however, wane my support for my team!  I also texted my son, the homecoming king, to see if he would be interested in coming over for supper, an hour later, no response, to I texted him again, seeing as it was past noon and a football game was on t.v., I knew he would be awake!  Still, however, no response.  So I had Heather trost it yety him too, still no answer.  Finally, as most mom's would do, Iwe texted one of his friends, and they informed us that Grant could NOT find his phone!  Now, I tell you this, because surprisingly, said son has had a cell phone for 3+ years now and has not lost it, until yesterday.....his roommate helped him look, his girlfriend helped him look and then I asked a girl he knows on campus to also help him look and she did.  So when he borrows a phone and calls me this morning I am going over there to do a final search before heading to the Sprint store.  Last night we did get him to come over for supper and I made he, his girlfriend and one of his roommates, cheeseburgers for the main course and PIES for dessert.  Here is the recipe for the apple pie I made:

MacIntosh One Crust Apple Pie
1/2 c. Crisco shortening
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. cold water
Mix together and roll out your crust.  Place in the bottom of your pie dish, and Crimp the top edges.
FILLING:
8 large MacIntosh apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
Peel and slice the apples, place in a bowl and stir in the other ingredients.  Place in the unbaked pie crust in the pie plate.
TOPPING:
1 c. oatmeal
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. butter, melted
Mix together to form your crumble.  Crumble over the top of the filling in your pie plate.  Bake @ 375 for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown on top!

Squeaking in one more post in September :)

Yesterday in Fergus Falls, MN we had nearly 88 degrees and sun and it was B E A U T I F U L!  Today - totally windy and 64 degrees, and the sun was hiding but has now just peeked out.  Tonight is coronation for homecoming @ MSCTC Fergus Falls, and my son Grant is up for homecoming king - how exciting!  I am going to go to the coronation - it should be fun!  Then it will be home to watch Grey's Anatomy :)  My hubby has been craving a pot roast with carrots, and potatoes - simple.  So tonight he is getting just that!  He will be excited and he will have leftovers to take for lunch tomorrow!  Of course we need some sort of treat after that nice fall, hearty meal and today I decided it should be Pumpkin Bars.  Here is the recipe now:

Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
1 c. canola oil
2 c. sugar
1  15 oz. can pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix all together.  Spread into a jelly roll pan that has been greased.  Bake @ 350 degrees.  Frost with cream cheese frosting - you can find my recipe for that in an earlier carrot cake blog! 

Computers . . .

Since the move, we have been totally wireless for computers and phones.  We will see how this works, we consider ourselves somewhat tech savvy but not really tech savvy - this for sure we have learned in the past 2 weeks.  My Old faithful Dell computer was getting a bit slow and it was not set up for wireless, so I decided to get a new one and ordered it and it finally showed up yesterday.  So now, I thought my husband will finally get my desk all assembled and get my new computer set up and I will be ready to go, Hey there, not so easy is what I learned last night.  First of all, we are going through the old computer (which is not hooked up to internet) to pull off information, pictures, documents, etc., that we feel we cannot be without.  You know the computer guys who will offer to transfer your information from one computer to your new one - TAKE THEM UP ON IT!  Needless to say, we spent about 3 hours working on this last night and alas, still today my desk is not ready and my new computer is not yet assembled.  Good thing hubby leaves his laptop here for me to work on!  Before the above-mentioned new computer showed up at the door last night, I did make this recipe, one I had not tried before, it too is in the Gooseberry Patch Best Ever Cookies cookbook (page 150) and was submitted to GP by Linda Elvins from Missouri!

Bake-Sale Butterscotch Bars
1/2 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
In a saucepan over low heat, combine butter and brown sugar.  Cook until bubbly, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sweetened flaked coconut
1 c. chopped walnuts (optinonal)  I did not add the walnuts because I am not a fan of walnuts.
Mix thoroughly, spread into a greased 15 x 10 jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. 
**I used a 9 x 13 cake pan instead of the jelly roll pan and they turned out fine!

Packing, Unpacking, no time for cooking or baking . . .

Well I see that I have been almost 1 Month delinquent in posting to my blog.  Sorry about that.  As I type today it is from my new 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in Fergus Falls.  I have learned a great deal of things since my last post, some of them listed as follows:
1.  It's much easier to move across town, than it is to move 55 miles away, from the home you have known for the past 23 years.  :(
2.  It's much more exciting to unpack than it is to pack.
3.  It's no fun getting ready for a moving sale.
4.  It is exhilirating to go through stuff and decided you don't need that STUFF anymore.
5.  It is good to make lists!
6.  I hope I remember where the STUFF I did save, is all stored, some at a friends, some here in Fergus Falls and some at my Mom's house another 2 1/2 hours away.
7.  As soon as you pack something in a tote to be stored away for the next year - you will NEED it.

Shockingly, all of this work, as mentioned above - has not caused me to lose lots of stress related pounds  :(  Oh well, such is life.  Good news on that front - there is a very nice treadmill, in the fitness room, right down the hall from me, so I can't even use the "I am not going out in this weather" excuse to not exercise!  I did tread down to said treadmill last night and walked 2.5 miles in 35 minutes and then ran (well, more like, jogged) for the last 2 minutes!  Hey, I am trying.

Today is gray, rainy and cool here in Fergus so I am making my 6-can chili for supper and following it up with Lemon bars for dessert.  Please look through my previous posts for the chili recipe.  Without further ado, here is the lemon bar recipe, WHICH BTW (by the way) you can find on page 130 of Gooseberry Patch's cookbook entitled Best-Ever Cookies!

Buttery Lemon Snow Bars
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
Mix together.  Pat into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.  Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes, until light golden brown.  Then mix together, the following:
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
6 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. flour
Mix well.  Pour over the baked crust.  Bake an additional 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, cool slightly.  Dust with powdered sugar (while still warm).