Homemade Caramels

We've been big fans of Alton Brown's show Good Eats for some time. Albeit, disappointed fans since the show's no longer on. But we have acquired his three cookbooks and Caleb thought he'd like to try his hand at making homemade caramels.

The first batch cooked too high and too quickly. Primarily due to the fact that we don't have a heavy enough pan. Nothing like the smell of burnt sugar. Blech.

Caleb enjoyed stirring and playing with the bad batch. He stuck it in the frig so it would harden quicker and we could toss it.

Then the pan had to be washed so he could start batch #2.

Looking much better.

Much, much better. Caramels were never meant to be black.

I wasn't sure how they would be sea salt on them, but that was what the recipe called for, so that's what he did. They're really not too bad. In fact, looking at how quickly they're being eaten, I'd say they were a big hit.

I actually cut my little square into about eight tiny pieces. That stuff is brutal on the teeth! But they are super tasty. I suspect we'll see those being made again sometime in the near future.

Peanut Butter

Just the title alone will cause some to practically salivate at the thought. Others, not so much. And many in between. Well, if more than three people read this, anyway.

I'm not a huge peanut butter fan. At least that's what I say aloud. Even in my head. In fact, most of the time, things made with peanut butter don't sound that appealing (other than fresh, warm, soft peanut butter cookies!). But I actually kind of like it more than I let on. Especially when it's freshly ground and flavored with maple and honey.

We have a store downtown called PB&J's. They make their own fresh PB in their store in a cool red grinder. {Which reminds me - why did I not take a picture of it? That's so out of character for me.}

They have other flavors, though they didn't really appeal to me, so I conveniently forgot what they are. Other than plain. Which I'm sure is pretty awesome, too.

But this? Honey Maple Peanut Butter?

(Pardon the focus, or lack thereof, on these. Not sure what happened.)

OH. MY. WORD.

Nothing short of amazing! It's so incredibly good that it needs no accompaniment. I had a bread and PB sandwich today. It was so good that I made another half. Sigh. Pure bliss.

What food do you eat that you think you don't care that much about, but when you eat it you really enjoy it a lot? When it comes to peanut butter, I also love Reese's little teeny weeny miniature unwrapped cups. Chilled, of course.

Thanksgiving Day

We had such a nice Thanksgiving day this year. Not that there was anything outstanding or spectacular, but it was just a good day. Splitting the meal preparation amongst Mom, my sister, and me is nice because no one person has to do everything. Although I think Mom gets the bulk of the work, being the pie queen and all.

Side note: every year around Thanksgiving and Christmas, Schwan's and Village Inn try like crazy to convince us to buy holiday pies. What they don't understand is that the best pie baker on the planet just happens to be my very own mother. So there's just no need for their pie sales and such. Not that their pies are bad or anything, but they'll never compare to Mom's. Ever. Sorry, fellas, you'll get no pie sales in my family!

I almost always buy the turkey. The biggest one I can find since everyone wants plenty of leftovers. And that's where my dear hubby is awesome. He knows how squeamish I am about raw meat and turkey innards, so he's happy to take the bird out of its package, pull out all that stuff, clean it up, and pop it in the roaster. And then I take it from there. I can handle brushing it with buttery olive oil and sprinkling it with Pampered Chef's yummy Rosemary Herb seasoning. I'm also very capable of putting it in the oven and checking its temperature later in the day.

This turned out to be an exceptionally amazingly good turkey this year. Very moist and very delicious!

The guys were engaged in some auto repairs that were a little more challenging than they should have been.

Something about a very stuck ball joint, I believe.

With the unseasonally warm temperatures, Zach got in a little leaf blowing.

When Mom & Dad showed up, Mom had a very nice gift for both Susan and me.

Mine is the one on the right. Mom made these on her rigid heddle loom. I think she did a fantastic job!

Mom usually makes the gravy. She's very good at that, too. Unfortunately, she didn't have a good method for keeping the entire spoon out of the pan, though.

A rousing game of Pente is always a good way to keep out of the way of the cooking.

Or maybe a little DS. In pink, thankyouverymuch.

After all that hard work in the garage, they got to relax with a good movie.

I always write at the top of our white board "I am thankful for..." and let everyone add their thoughts to the board. My niece decided to make her own version. She's so creative.

And we've come full circle. John gets to carve the turkey when it's done. He loves the turkey. If I left him to do this job unattended, he'd be pretty full before it ever made it to the table. Fortunately, it was a 24 pound turkey, so there was enough for him to snack on, eat at dinner, and still have leftovers for everyone.

Photographic evidence that I was there. Sans makeup and all, but there, nonetheless.

After dinner, we played a game of Loaded Questions, ate pie, and then played Taboo. It was a really wonderful day. What about you? How was your Thanksgiving?

Wordless Wednesday - Not Coffee

For more wordlessness, check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub.

Wordless Wednesday - Sweet

Check out the Wordless Wednesday hub for more pictures.

I know I usually send you over to my friend Gabriel's blog, Live From Waterloo, however he was hacked last week and his blog all but disappeared. He's in the process of putting it back together, so he should be back on board soon. In the meantime, head over and say "hi" and offer some encouragement. It's been a rough road for him on this. Thanks!

Dinner: Quick and Easy

When I was growing up, my mom used to can beef. It was a terrific staple to have on hand. She'd heat it up, make some gravy, and serve it over potatoes or maybe rice. It was always so delicious. Once, as an adult, I canned some beef with her and of course, we loved it and ate it all up.

Recently, I'd been thinking I'd like to can some beef again. I'd need mom's help, because I don't remember much about doing it before. Not that I couldn't figure it out if I had to, but I don't have to, because she's so handy. But when I talked to her about it, she mentioned that Costco happens to carry canned beef that's pretty much as good as what she used to can. At least my dad thinks so and he can be a little particular.

So we gave it a try.



And it really is pretty tasty. What I love most of all is that it's a meal that can be prepared in the time it takes to boil a pot of noodles. And the carnivores in my house (read: the guys) LOVE it.

So I'm happy because it's quick and easy. My guys are happy cause it tastes so good. And all is right with the world.

Beef & Noodles
16 oz. bag wide egg noodles
2-12 oz. cans beef
1 packet brown gravy mix

Boil water for the noodles. In medium saucepan, prepare the gravy according to packet instructions. Cook the noodles.

Pour both cans of beef, along with broth, into the gravy. Shred beef pieces with spoon while stirring.

Drain noodles and pour beef and gravy over the noodles. Serve it up with your favorite side dish and/or bread.

It's just that simple!

Wordless Wednesday - Grapefruit Float

For more wordlessness, check out Gabriel's blog and the Wordless Wednesday hub.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

While outside photographing our backyard deer a couple of weeks ago, I met our new neighbor. I will call her Denise. Even though that's not her name. But I have no permission to use her real name out here in the blogosphere.

Anywho. I met our new neighbor and she seems quite nice. We chatted for awhile before heading back to our regularly scheduled days. Since then, I've been thinking that I should do something nice to welcome her to the neighborhood. After all, that's the neighborly thing to do, right? And she's the newest person in the neighborhood next to my own family.



But what do I do? Back when, you could take someone a plate of cookies or perhaps a homemade loaf of bread with a jar of jam. But then I think,

What if she's gluten intolerant?

What if she's on a sugar-less diet?

What if she has soy allergies?

So now what am I supposed to do? I don't know her well enough to know her tastes in decorating. I can't exactly get her a housewarming gift. Even a gift card to a local restaurant might be nice, especially during all the busyness of a move. But then we're back to the previous questions, and then some.

What if she doesn't like Chipotle? Maybe even can't stand cilantro (horrors!).

What if she doesn't care to support national chains?

What if she only eats raw?

Good grief! When did it become so difficult to offer a gift to a new neighbor? Why do our lives have to be SO complicated? I'm not trying to make light of people's health, but this is rather frustrating.

a miracle

To say my oldest son is picky about food is a major understatement. Getting him to taste anything new is virtually impossible.

Our family loves to watch Good Eats. Where else can you catch a cooking show that shares history and science tidbits along with a big dose of humor? It turns out that not only is it a great show for those reasons, but Alton Brown actually has influence on my very picky son. He's constantly oohing and aahing over food that I can't fathom he'd ever consider tasting. Alton truly makes things appealing.

Yesterday a Penzey's store opened up here and we dropped in to check it out today. It was there that my son discovered the jars of crystalized ginger. Prior to the recent episode on ginger, there is NO WAY he would have tasted anything to do with ginger. Except the time he tried one of my ginger mints. I tricked him with the word mint. Which he did not like.

So back to Penzey's. We're checking out all the spices, herbs, and seasonings when my son decides to purchase his very own jar of crystalized ginger. Not only did he spend his very own money on it, he tasted it. Entirely of his own accord.




And HE LIKED IT!


Will wonders never cease?

Not as long as we can watch Good Eats. As a mom, I am singing your praises, Alton! Keep up the awesome work, my friend.


Well, not that we've met or anything. I don't think he considers me a friend. Especially since he doesn't know me. But he's certainly my friend, given that he's the only person on this entire planet who could convince my son to try something new.

It is truly a miracle.

Wordless Wednesday - Late Night Dinner

For more wordlessness, check out Gabriel's blog and the WW hub.

Wordless Wednesday - What Flavor?

For more wordlessness, check out the WW hub and Gabriel's blog.

Cookie Sampling

Every year in December, The Girls* get together for a breakfast or lunch out and to give Christmas gifts (secret name drawing).

*The Girls - Mom, my sister, four other good friends, and me. We've been doing things together for years and our kids are friends.

Due to a variety of employment situations, or lack thereof, and decreased finances, I thought it would be nice if we did something different. Something that cost little to nothing and would still be fun.

Eating out and gift shopping costs money. Cookie swaps are nice, but you have to make a TON of cookies. So how about a cookie sampling? Each of us brought a batch of cookies - enough to share with the others (and kids that were present). Prior to our gathering, each lady sent me her recipe. Using my mad creative skillz, I made a cookie recipe book (to be posted here soon) for each of us.

We had coffee, chai, and hot tea and a lovely afternoon visiting, enjoying some tasty treats, and it didn't cost more than a batch of cookies.

I think it was a great success!!