Addicted

ok...i will admit ... i am addicted to the Internet....how do i know??...i could not get on all day yesterday and this morning i was on the phone with my server BEGGING for assistance!...i actually read the whole Boston globe and new york times yesterday...well...not all of it because i could use the computer....and did a layout for my sister's birthday....want to see it...of course you do...all these pictures are old!! credit goes to Katie Pertiet from designer digitals for the template! And, as you can see, i am back on the internet...my router was dead...so had to bypass it...(whatever that means) new one coming soon but at least i can get on...do i feel better!!

Amazing Voice

I saw this 15 year old on tv the other day and my mouth just dropped....found her on YouTube....want to share this with you.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZccz5cy3ks

just amazing!!!!!

Chocolate Junk Pie

yes....you read right!! Junk Pie....this is amazing! I have not made this pie in years because it is not for those watching their weight...not that i have been watching BUT i would eat this whole thing if i made it now.....all the kids are gone....but...maybe the next gathering...i wanted to share this so that if anyone wanted one last splurge before the new year begins.....lol.

Chocolate Junk Pie
grease a 9 inch pie plate
1. smash 40 saltine crackers; add 1 1/4 teaspoon of Baking Powder, 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 cup of chopped walnuts

2. Beat 4 egg whites until stiff - add 1 tsp.vanilla

3. Combine 1 and 2, pour into pie pan and bake 350 degrees for about 25 minutes (nice golden brown)

4. cool completely than top with this:
Combine: 1 pint heavy cream
1 tsp.vanilla
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
Beat until stiff......

5. Sprinkle with grated chocolate or chocolate chips

6. Refrigerate until served........

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Tis the Season

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!

Cookies

I am just baking away....since i am "trapped" in the house given the weather....these cookie recipes came from King Authur Flour....http://www.kingarthurflour.com/...love them!! Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti and the others are a hazelnut cookie with chocolate filling ( i cheat and use nutella)...need the molds for these cookies.

Snow and More Snow

Already we have had more snow this month than we had all of last winter!! I am trapped (hee,hee) in the house...take a look at these pictures...not great but you get the idea...waiting for "the man" to come and move it off the roof...Big rain coming in on Sunday...we have been lucky..lot of people experiencing ice backup into their homes...we just don't want any trouble so let's get it off the roof (been on the list for a few days now).

Delicious Beef Meal

I love cranberries!!...and this time of year is only when you can get them fresh...buy bags and just throw into your freezer!! This is great and you can do in your crock pot....

Beef and Cranberries
2 Tablespoons oil
¾ cup beef broth
2 Table.butter
2 Table.red wine vinegar
2lbs of cubed beef
1Table.tomato paste
Salt/pepper
½-1cup of fresh cranberries
2 garlic cloves(chopped)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 medium onions(chopped)
2 Table.flour
¾ cup red wine
Brown meat in oil and butter…combine all ingredients except cranberries, brown sugar and flour…simmer 2 hours ,,,,add fruit (chop if you like) plus the remaining ingredients and simmer 10 minutes…Serve over noodles or rice….Enjoy! I double this recipe because it is soooooo good....and IF there is leftovers it is even better the next day....

Hanukkah

My Josie is GREAT!! Everyone use to tell me that grandchildren are such a blessing!! They are right....i am so in love with this little one....When she calls me "Mimi" i melt and she can have and do anything she wants (her mother (my daughter) just shakes her head)...She was so into Hanukkah this year...singing along with her Papa in this layout like she knew all the words...sounded like Hebrew to me.....LOL

White Wet Weekend

What a mess....Saturday i finally dug out my car from Thursday's storm when another one came in...this time bringing in snow and ice...Car is now covered again and if i didn't have to go out it would stay that way until spring...So i spent a quiet Sunday..stuffed a turkey and in it went to warm the house and fill it with "thanksgiving scents"... made the works to go with it....I am thinking of making more cookies and make up packages for my friends....Italian cookies, pistachio and cranberry biscotti, hazelnut cookies with chocolate filling....yummmmm...well, off to the kitchen with my granddaughter to bake.....

Backing up!!!

Well....I have been formatting my c:drive...yes, wiping it all off....gone...zapped...boy, was that a scary experience...it was a good thing the kind people from Dell Connect was holding my hand thru this whole thing...had to start from the very beginning!....Can i tell you how HAPPY i was that i had backed up everything to an EHD...so i am back up and playing.....if anyone out there has been hesitant or havn't done it in awhile with their backup system...LISTEN to me....just DO IT!! Will be back with something creative....not sure what ....

My Friends...

Hello.....notice the blinky....well...my friends at Jessica's forum are great...in many ways...they tried so hard to help me with this blinky thing...because i just had to have it on my blog!!! Deb solved the problem...needed new "code thingy" and she is soooooooooooo smart...she did it..i would never have been able to figure this one out!! Thank you....! Here are some cookies for you..(or at least the recipe)....yummmmmmmmy!

Italian Cookies:

3 eggs ....................1 teasp.anise(or lemon)flavoring
½ cup oil............... 1 teasp.salt
½ cup milk........... 6 teasp.baking powder (yes)
1 cup sugar ...........4 cups flour
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl starting with wet ingr…than dry….mixing until well blended..roll into balls (I roll into ropes and than coil up). Place on cookie sheet (use parchment paper) and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes….Cool and than glaze with:
1 Tablespoon of softened butter
2 Tablespoon of milk
½ teaspoon of vanilla
Confectionery sugar (until you like the consistency)
Combine all and mix until smooth…(I double recipe)..Dunk cookies…Can sprinkle with colored sugars if you wish…..Enjoy !

New Layout

Well...I tried to put a couple of "blinkies" in the side bar but not having any luck...it was making me crazy so i said "self, go and ask your digi friends"...will tomorrow...so I decided I'd better do this weeks PhotoshopFriday challenge (from out wonderful teacher http://www.jessicasprague.com/) since tomorrow will be a new one....so here it is:

Cranberry Sauce

I make my own......this is so eaaaasy!!! I make it up and it stores in the frig for ever (not ever but the sugar keeps it going...) Once you do this you will never buy the canned stuff..trust me!

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1 pound fresh cranberries...(i use two bags and modify the amounts)
dried orange peel (optional....if i have it i use it)

Combine sugar and water in large glass bowl. Cook at HIGH (yes in the microwave..told you it would be easy) 4 to 5 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved; stir once. Add cranberries and cook, covered with plastic wrap at HIGH 5 to 7 minutes, or until berries are soft. Add peel to cranberries. Mash (i use a potato masher) berries (i leave some whole); cool slightly. If desired, add additional sugar to taste...chill before serving....CAREFULL....it becomes really HOT!

I buy bags of these wonderful, healthy berries at this time of year (only time they are in the stores) and throw them into the freezer.....for many recipes....will share later....!!

I just made some this morning.....can you smell it......ahhhhhhhhhhhh,nice!

Holiday Card

Here is the holiday card that I created for members in my family. They won't see this for I have yet to give the address of my blog...not until I am truely comfortable with this process...my digi friends have it for they are encouraging me and have been thru this...my family is great but not quite sure how they will react to this...this is my side of the family (they all have Christmas)..My husband side (as well as my husband and I) do Hanukkah...(should have done their card first since we are already looking at the 4th night tonight) It is an 8x8 layout and once printed I mounted on black cardstock...all old christmas pictures of our past (some are ancient...I am in there as a child)...

MMmmmmmmm

The scent of raspberries....don't you just love these little delicate morsels of goodness!!?? and to think you can get them year round!! Here is a wonderful recipe for a raspberry sour cream coffee cake...you have to try this...Now i want you to know that these two sites I love for baking and cooking...http://www.kingarthurflour.com/ and http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html We are fortunate here in the Boston area to have a Penzys store near by...just to walk into the rooms is such a pleasure for your nose!! And of course KingArthur flour is from my home state of Vermont...the best products in both these stores!!! Anyway...here is a picture of this wonderful cake (if i can figure out how to bring it in)

(i did it...amazing)

Raspberry-Almond Coffee Ring

Batter: ¼ cup softened butter 2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar ¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs (slightly beaten) 1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teasp. Almond extract 1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the eggs. Stir in almond extract. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and blend into butter mixture. Stir baking soda into sour cream and allow to bubble for 1 minute. Stir sour cream into batter and blend thoroughly.

Filling: 2 cups raspberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablsp. water
Crush raspberries in a small saucepan and add the sugar. Dilute cornstarch in water and add to raspberries. Cook the fruit mixture over mod.high heat, stirring, until it is thick and clear. Cool. Spoon half of batter into greased tube pan. Spoon cooled raspberry mixture evenly over batter. Pour remaining batter on top.

Topping: ½ cup sugar ¼ cup honey
¼ cup soft butter ½ cup almonds, finely chopped
1 egg white
In a small bowl cream together sugar and butter. Blend in egg white, honey, and almonds. Spread topping on coffee ring and bake in a preheated 375 degreeF. oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

From: Cooking with Berries by Margaret Woolfolk

I'm making it happen....

well....I made the "header".....not bad for a beginner....I want to credit: paper by Katie Pertiet from www.designerdigitals.com; Japanese Folliage Brushes by www.designfruit; and butterfly brushes by www.obsidiandawn.com This is fun...now maybe I can learn how to do a slide show and display some of my digital scrapping layouts from my classes with the devine Ms Jessica Sprague.....That makes sense!! To be continued......

The Beginning....

Can you smell that?...it is fear…to think at my age I am starting a blog...but why not…my dear friends at http://www.jessicasprague.com/ have encouraged me to dive right in…so here I go…I am going to learn and be comfortable with this…yes I am!! Each day I will add something to this blog and the less intimidated I am the more creative I will become…so watch me….This is the beginning of something I never thought I would engage in for I could never understand why anyone would want to read these things...but I have been enjoying my friends and this is also for ME…..Hold on…Here we go……………….