Bacon pancakes

I love these pancakes! These are my GO TO pancakes when I want my boys friends to think I am cool.  Does it work, probably not but I have to try. 

Make your favorite pancake recipe.  Pour a long skinny amount of pancake batter on the griddle.  Picture above.

Put a piece of bacon on the mixture and pour a little pancake  mixture on top of the bacon. 

I didn't do that and I wish I would have.  Next time...I will.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

Recipe from Cooks.com

Ingredients

1 Cup evaporated milk

1 Cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1/2 Cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 Cup coconut

1 Cup chopped pecans

Directions

Combine milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla in saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.  Add coconut and pecans.  Beat until cool and spread on top layers of German Chocolate Cake.

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat oven 350
bake 15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 Eggs

1 C margarine (soften)

2 cups Libby's pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk      

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tb cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp ground clove

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

 Beat eggs, margarine, pumpkin puree, sugars and evaporated milk together. Add baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, vanilla and flour, beat for another 1 minute.
Optional-shredded coconut, dried cranberries & chopped walnuts.

For the cream cheese "batter"

• 4 oz of cream cheese, room temp.
• 1/2  cup sugar
• Fill each muffin cup in your pan about 2/3 of the way full with your muffin batter.    Put one tablespoon of the cream cheese batter on top of each muffin, press the batter into and swirl it around the top of each muffin.

Cookie Exchanges

 2015 Invitation

2014 Invitation

  2015

 I made the peanut butter filled ritz crackers dipped in

chocolate 2014

 Ione's cute gingerbread cookies from 2015 

These cookies were thin and I thought they would be too hard.  But they weren't.  They had a snap and still a little chewy.  So this cookie would please both gingerbread cookie lovers... the people that like them with a snap and the people that like them chewy.

 Mamma Mia~  This toffee is the BEST!  Such an easy recipe.  Teresa makes it great every time.  I...on the other hand mess up more than get it right.  I don't understand what I am doing wrong.  Teresa and I are following the same recipe but we get two different results.

 This is Teresa 2014, we were are Walmart. She is wearing a Christmas headband but in the picture it looks like it is bigger than it really is.  Most of the stuff hanging by her head is Walmart's ceiling decorations.  She just happens to be standing in the right spot on accident.  I laughed so hard when I saw this picture.

These are too cute...I think Natalie or Leslie made these reindeer.

Karries Amazing Cookies 2013

Blank Cards

Rhonda's Ramblings

This is just my account of the whole Cheesecake Battle.  First of all, let my clarify that

I am not sure if Paula knows it was a Cheesecake Battle.  All I do know is that

Holiday Season my mom kept bragging about her friend George's BLUE RIBBON cheesecake. 

She loved it so much she asked him to bring it for Christmas.... I knew I wasn't going to bring a cheesecake that holiday.  My family was going to automatically compare and if George's cheesecake was half as good as my mom said it would be ~ IT was going be GREAT!   Paula was new to the family, not sure she knew we were crazy. We don't let things go~ and we laugh at every one's expense.  Not sure you should do that when someone is new the to family.  I have been the BUTT of so many Gartner's jokes.  I don't mind myself I like a good laugh.  Not sure you should welcome a new family member that way.  I hope after getting to know us she understands how much we loved her cheesecake...we just like a good laugh better.

In my mind I remember like this~

George casually walks in with his cheesecake.  I am pretty sure he didn't know it was

about to get REAL.  Paula proudly walks in with her cheesecake and two AMAZING sauces!!!!!  Being new to the family she was excited to let us try her cheesecake and sauces.  

I don't think she knew George had brought a cheesecake.  Remember, this is just my

recollection.  Everyone has their own version.  Well if you look at the picture you can tell Paula's cheesecake was getting ridiculed by my brother John.  What you don't see is we were all in on it, except my mom.  John and Bob (Paula's Husband) are so funny.  You can't help but

laugh when they are making fun of someone.  I don't know who was worse John or Bob.

  Bob said it looks like she made her cheesecake in a Easy Bake oven. 

That just fueled John even more.   If you can tell by the look on John's face he had about

10 minutes of material about the cheesecake. 

 I shouldn't love this picture...but I do.  It reminds me of my family. 

note*** Paula's cheesecake and sauces are amazing.  She is still part of our family  and it had been at least 12 years.  We just have to grow on you.

Cupcakes

Red Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada Sauce Recipe

I am so glad I found this recipe on Food.com

Ingredients
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
3 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

Directions

1.Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. 2.Stir constantly, slowly add enough of the water to make a thin paste. 3.Pour into pan and add rest of water. 4.Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. 5.Stir in tomato sauce.

Balloons

I put money and anything that will fit .

2016 Trevor's 15th birthday

I really dropped the ball or balloon this year.  I prepped all the balloons and realized around 5pm on Trevor's birthday that I forgot to give him his balloons.  They are suppose to be one of the first things you see in the morning.  Oh well, just made another fun balloon memory. His friend helped him blow up his balloons.  Next year I will make up for it and do something clever~ go out with a bang.  I stop doing the balloons after your 16th birthday, so only 1 year left.

Conversion Table

Rice Pudding

This post has 3 Rice Pudding recipes..  The recipe from All Recipe will be the recipe I use for now on.  It is easier and taste great.  I am so glad I made Dave's and Ina's because they are very delicious.

I

          

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

All Recipe

Ingredients

                       

3/4 cup uncooked white rice                                                 

                       

2 cups milk, divided   

            

1/3 cup white sugar
       

1/4 teaspoon salt                                                    

                      

1 egg, beaten

                                                  

2/3 cup golden raisins                                                

1 tablespoon butter  

                                                  

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions

1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir rice into boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In a clean saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and raisins; cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.  Recipe makes 4 servings  

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                Recipe adapted from  Dave's Lieberman 

You will love the texture of this pudding and how easy it is to make.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup Arborio rice
• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Few dashes ground cinnamon
• Whipped cream, for serving

Directions

Bring water, salt, and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the rice, return to a boil, and then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Shake the pan occasionally and cook until rice has absorbed the water but it still al dente, about 15 minutes.

Bring milk, sugar, vanilla, and a few dashes of cinnamon to a simmer in a separate saucepan. Add the cooked rice and cook at a simmer over medium-low heat until rice absorbs most of the milk and mixture starts to get thick and silky, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer pudding to a large bowl and cool to room temp.
 ***note~ In Dave's recipe he calls for a large bowl~
I don't think so! Notice that only half of the bowl has rice pudding in it.                                  

        Dave's recipe                                        Contessa's recipe
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I have made the Contessa's recipe a lot and love it. 
Watch Video

Contessa's Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

3/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons dark rum

3/4 cup white basmati rice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

5 cups half-and-half, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1 extra-large egg, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a small bowl, combine the raisins and rum. Set aside.

Combine the rice and salt with 1 1/2 cups water in a medium heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stir once, and simmer, covered, on the lowest heat for 8 to 9 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed. (If your stove is very hot, pull the pan halfway off the burner.)

Stir in 4 cups of half-and-half and sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, until the rice is very soft. Stir often, particularly toward the end. Slowly stir in the beaten egg and continue to cook for 1 minute. Off the heat, add the remaining cup of half-and-half, the vanilla, and the raisins with any remaining rum. Stir well. Pour into a bowl, and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Serve warm or chilled.

      

Candy sushi

Kids and some adults go crazy for Rice Crispy Sushi.

 Click here for the directions There are a lot of different ways to make sushi.  I have tried them all and they are all great.
Click here to see a great you tube video with instructions.

Directions

1.  I made Rice Crispy treats and rolled them out to 3/4 in. thick
2.  Then I used a glass or a round cookie cutter and cut them into circles.
3.  I use butter or powdered sugar to work with the rice crispy.  It keeps them from sticking to your cookie cutter or round glass.
4.  I wrapped a fruit roll up (foot long) around them, topped them with a Swedish fish  and tied
another thin strip of the foot long roll up around the sushi.
 I found that tying the knot is hard and now
I just tuck the fruit roll up string under the sushi.  It is much easier.  You can see in the picture I stopped tying knots.  I think I only tied 6.