Caramel Chocolate pecan bars

Crust:
2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c butter or margarine,softened
1 c. pecan halves

Caramel:
2/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. In large mixer bowl combine all crust ingredients except the pecans. Beat at medium speed. make sure you scrap the sides of the bowl often. mix until well combined and particles are fine about 2 to 3 minutes. Press on bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle pecans evenly over the unbaked crust. In a 1 quart saucepan combine 2/3 cup butter and 1/2 brown sugar.Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full boil. Boil stirring constantly until small amounts of mixture dropped into ice water form a firm ball or with a candy thermometer reaches 242 degrees F. Pour evenly over the pecans and crust. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until entire caramel layer is bubbly. Remove and Immediately sprinkle the top with chocolate chips allow them to melt slightly and swirl chips leaving some whole for a marbled look..Let cool completely before cutting into pieces..Great for gifts..very yummy and very easy to make..

Pumpkin Bundle Cake

cake:
1/2 c.butter melted(margarine can be used)
1 c all purpose flour
1 c sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
3 c canned pumpkin
1 c evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 tbls all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp each,ground ginger,cloves and nutmeg

Topping:
1 Tbls butter or margarine
2 Tbls sugar

Pour butter into a 13x9x2 inch baking dish"set aside. Ina bowl,combine the four,sugar,baking power and salt. Stir in milk and vanilla until smooth..Pour into the prepared baking dish.In a mixing bowl beat the pumpkin,milk and eggs. Combine the remaining filling ingrediants,add pumpkin mixture.Pour over the crust misture (do not stir) Dot the butter and sprinkle the sugar ontop.Bake at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean and the top is golden brown..yields 12 servings..

The cake will bundle up over the pumpkin filling and will be ontop of this cake..I like to top mine with whipping cream or Pecan Ice Cream it's very yummy...

FALL CLEANING

Hi everyone..I'm sorry I've been lost for several months but life has thrown me a curve ball and I'm so trying to hit it back but keep striking out..

Well Fall is here...I'm so excited it's my favorite time of year the colors here are unbelievable and it's also time for burning firewood and I love the smells that seep from our wood stove and fireplace. I also love the smells of Fall. But most of all Halloween is on it's way very soon and it's my Ute most favorite Holiday of the year. I can't wait..

So to start Fall process it's time to pull the plastic bins or bags out and put the shorts,tees and flip flops away. I say guys and gals lets do this country a huge favor and get organized in our closets. No wire hangers please..LOL..I am a true believer in this to but do get good quality hangers and get your closets in shape not only by the items but by color to it's so much easier to find and organize if you follow color..I know this to be true for I worked in clothing retail and we had to constantly organize by item and color and it works to find things and put them back this way. I also must stress not only closets but your dressers. Get those rags thrown out or donated now. Take used unwanted winter coats and boots to a thrift shop cause there are many families that need and can use them. Coats and boots are not cheap items..

Now for closing..all you gals with crafting rooms hide your Tim Holtz scissors from the hubbys. Mine found my favorite expensive pair used them on his project and now he can't find them. I'm not a happy camper they are my favorite crafting scissors and I'm so upset he lost them. They are not cheap to replace either but hubby of mine is going to have to buy me another pair and extremely soon to..LOL..really don't let that DH in your craft room while you're gone lock it up or this will happen to you to..LOL..what disappointment this was for me to find mine missing tonight..and no where in the house..I think he took them outside in his hobby shed and they are now full of motorcycle grease..ugh the nerve..

Well that's all I gotta say tonight..when I find my scissors I'll be back and going with my crafts soon..until then good luck with organizing..Happy FALL!!!

POOR MANS LASAGNA

For starters I'm not a professional food photographer..I do my best with my tiny digital camera so this is all I can do to share this yummy with you..

1 jar of any Spaghetti sauce or make your own sauce

1lbs hamburger meat

1 cup Cheddar cheese

4 Tbls Parmesan cheese

1 16 oz container cottage cheese

3 medium eggs or 2 large eggs

1 tsp Italian spice

3 Tbls parsley flakes

1/2 cup diced onion

salt and pepper to taste

10-12 Lasagna Noodles uncooked

Fry hamburger meat,onion,Italian spices,salt and pepper to taste in a fry pan. Then mix together in medium size bowl cottage cheese,Cheddar cheese,Parmesan cheese,parsley flakes,salt and pepper to taste and eggs. set aside. Begin your lasagna layers by adding a small coating of spaghetti sauce to the 8x8 glass baking pan then layer uncooked lasagna noodles on top add hamburger mixture then cheese mixture then noodles,some more sauce hamburger mixture,cheese mixture,noodles and then sauce you should have two very thick layers make sure you end with noodles and sauce. Cover with tin foil and bake in oven at 350 for 1 hour. Take out of oven remove foil let sit for at least 20 to 30 minutes to set up so it won't sog out on the plate. Serve with a nice green tossed salad. YUMMY..

now because of budget this is a cheap way to make Lasagna and truth is you won't even know the difference really. I like mine with 7 different kinds of cheeses and no meat but to get the volume to this I added meat and when I fried the meat I fried it in big chunks. I really thought it was going to taste something awful but low and behold I was extra surprised it came out good. Really super good..You must try..I dare you..

Cute Shaped Cards

These are so cute..if you want the patterns go to paperwishes.com and they have videos and the downloads for these patterns..way cute..I used an array of papers,Doodle bug paper,lasting impressions,TAC,Papertrey Ink polka dots,DCWV and my minds eye. The birthday stamp is from TAC it's from the chicken scratch collection..They took me awhile to do because they are paper pieced and the papers were not easy for me to coordinate but I did my best. Next time I make the bday gift card I won't use the strips for the base it just doesn't look that good..but I tried that all that matters..good luck..feel free to leave an email for me if you want the web site..

Baked Potato Picnic Salad

6-8 medium size Russet Potatoes
8 strips of crispy cooked bacon (break up into tiny pieces)
chives as much as you prefer
8 oz of sour cream
salt and pepper to taste.

optional but good is shredded chedder cheese added

Bake potatoes until cooked. Let cool then cut into cubes put in large bowl add broken bacon pieces and finely chopped chives,salt and pepper and sour cream..stir all together let sit in fridge for at least an hour..This is also served warm and very good cold or warm..

Crayon Resist Card

This was not easy to do not for me it's my first try at crayon resist and glossy paper. I like it's untidiness and the fact I smeared the ink by accident not enough gold so I used a piece of grosgrain ribbon to fix that..I used a piece of glossy photo paper and stampin up ink spots with a ginak design flower stamp. the sentiment is from TAC (The Angel Company). I'm a sales rep for TAC if you'd like to order from me. I've not posted much the past few weeks been sort of Craft dead. But today I'm actually making scrapbook pages for my 8x8 outdoor album.. I hope everyone had a very nice 4th of July..We had a fest at my house. Next I'll post a recipe that I did on my own for a baked potato picnic salad...Have a Great Day!!!

Yesterday I made this Birthday card. The paper is from The Angel Company it's called Tutti Fruitti and the Happy Birthday Stamp is from Stampin Up. Ribbon I buy from JKM online. Purple ink I used a Color Box Petal Point Classic Pigment Inkpad. very simple lay out.

Sugar Cookie Icing

I was asked how I make the hard Shiny Icing for my sugar cookies and what my secret was to keep my cookies soft well I make a basic sugar cookie recipe but instead of butter or margarine I use a block of cream cheese instead. Makes them a lot softer and keeps longer to. I also eliminate the vanilla for a flavor like Almond or Lemon. When I make my icing I will use the same flavor extract as the cookie. So here is my icing recipe and you will need to adjust it it never comes out the same.

2 cups powder sugar
flavor extract of your choice
3 Tbls corn syrup or more
2 Tbls warm water..

You will need to use a kitchen aid blender for this hand mixers tend to burn up. You will need to adjust the corn syrup most likely adding more. You will add until it is thick and shiny then color it to any colors you feel fit..I don't really have a precise recipe I just adjust the corn syrup as I go. I know what I like it all depends on you. I do know to much makes a hard icing to little it just doesn't work right. the icing should smooth out of it's peeks when drizzled that's when I know it's done. It should not get to hard if it does you've used to much corn syrup..I use the warm water when it gets to thick. to thin and it runs all over...try it and enjoy decorating fun with your kids.

Buttercream Frosting Recipe

1 cup shortening
1 cup butter
8 cups (2lbs)sifted powder sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Tbls Milk

In a Mixer blend shortening and butter until well combined add half the sugar and Vanilla blend, then add remainder sugar and by tsp.add the milk until you get the right consistency. You may not need all 2 tbls of milk you may need to add more all depends. make sure you sift the powder sugar though it makes a huge difference..You can color this frosting..really yummy on cakes and cookies for cookies I recommend you make it a bit thicker..Enjoy!!!

Norwegian Pancakes w/Huckleberry Sauce

To start you will need 6 large eggs or 7 medium eggs,1 cup flour,1cup sugar,and 1cup milk

crack eggs and put in a blender with milk blend on slow for 30 seconds then add sugar and put blender on low while slowly pouring the flour into the wet mixture. Put lid on and blend on medium speed for at least 1 minute. Let stand until bubbles are gone about 3 minutes.

Heat an 8" pan to medium high and spray pan with pam or you can use cooking oil just make sure the pan is lightly oiled. Pour batter in the middle of the pan and roll batter until it just comes up the sides of the pan. Let cook until edges come to a golden but not to golden brown then flip pancake let heat a few minutes until bottom gets a little spotted brown.

Then fold in half and then in half again and put on a platter.

HUCKLEBERRY SAUCE

2 cups Huckleberries

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

2 Tsp. Corn Starch

3 TBLS Water

In a sauce pan combine berries,lemon juice and sugar heat on medium heat until bubbles form.

Prepair Corn Starch mixture with Water then add to bubbling berries and stir until it gets to a medium thickness top pancakes with the Sauce and YES you must add a huge helping of Whipping Cream to the pancakes to. I didn't have any..Then Enjoy the yumminess..

You can eat these pancakes with Syrup and butter also. I usually butter mine when I take them out of the pan.

ENJOY!!!!! THIS IS A FAMILY RECIPE FROM MY NORWEGIAN SIDE OF THE FAMILY!!!

.

This morning I got busy using my new Flower Soft Products that have been sitting on my craft table for a month. The picture doesn't show the dimension of the flower soft at all. I hope to be able to capture this some day. I used All Solid Color Papertrey Ink Cardstock and the DP is from Memory Stor. No stamping was done the rest was from my Flower Soft Starter Kit. I purchased all these items from online stores. Thank You and Enjoy...If later today I can find the time I will try to post my Nowegian Pancake Recipe with Pictures. I'm still de-cluttering my Kitchen and Deep Cleaning it to. Moving all the Appliances has been an exhausting chore but it had to get done it was just making me miserable. I hope you all will enjoy today and find time to create something fun or de-clutter a room.

Getting Started

Well lets start this blog out with a simple Hello and Welcome to my Blog. I'd like to hear from you what you'd like to see and learn here. I have 33 years of Cleaning Experience and can pretty much figure what it takes to get it done. My first and for most rule to a clean home is
"GET IT ORGANIZED"..then the rest comes easy. Organization means less is more people!!! There are rules to follow if you want tidy. Don't think cause you've gone to someones house and it's clutter free it's sanitary and clean. Many people do not know how to clean they think they do but they don't. A sanitized house is impossible no one has that not even a hospital. A good clean home is possible but remember start from the top and work down that's key. Rid of clutter..if it's in a drawer and not being used what would you normally do? Well ask yourself these questions.

1) When did I last use this?
2) What's it's purpose?
3) Do I really need this?
4) Can I sale,re-purpose,or give this away?

Many people collect clutter they pile their mail and adds all over their counter tops and then shove them in drawers. If it's dated and over the date toss,toss,toss it..I find that I was better organized if I had a big desk calender on my desk and took my kids school papers and announcements and wrote time,date and what it was for to keep myself on top of her school things. If it piles on a counter you won't look at it again and sometimes you won't be able to find it. Once the kids hands that announcement to you go write it down and toss the paper. There are so many things you can do to de-clutter..Kids these days have more toys then they will use in a life time. Keep their toys to a minimum amount. If it brakes and you don't fix it that day then toss it the next. It will not get fixed. I promise this is a big thing..If it sits in a toy box longer then a year toss it or donate it or give it away to some kid that will appreciate it and play with it. Lots of children out there that have nothing. Cloths if not worn out or torn up and no longer fit, have no reason to be in a drawer of closet..if you haven't worn it in a year you won't wear it and Ladies (I'm one of them) Skinny jeans..OK good come on how long have you held onto those skinny jeans anyway? Over a year? Then get rid of them..the style changes so why hold on? Really now why?? Will I ever wear my size 10 again? I say not and Mine finally went bye bye three months ago oh girls it was painful very painful but really holding onto cloths for 25 years is stupid...LOL...My belts though are still in my closet and I do wear them..Vintage belts are amazingly fun to wear..I do own some Vintage clothing but I can wear them still and I do. Then there were cloths I bought dummy me did not try them on when I got home..Well did I find they were wrong for me and held onto them..oh I did..many gals can wear them and would love new cloths. Consignment stores are good to make a few bucks from. I know I Managed one when I was in College it was amazing how many things you can find in good and new condition for a fraction of the cost. I took new cloths that didn't fit or look good on me to a Consignment Store. If it didn't sale in a few months a good Consignment Store would call and let you know. Check monthly on any sales you may have gotten. You can make some good bucks this way. I also say do this with baby stuff to and good quality items to. With the Economy the way it is people will be thrift shopping away now. Well this has got me in the mood to do a funny card now..maybe tomorrow I'll post a card tutorial..And those of you that don't make your own cards shame on you shame shame..It's so simple and you can buy pre-cut kits from all sorts of sources and I'm one of them..LOL.. A handmade card is more sentimental and enjoyable these days and also eco-friendly cause they can be re-used for scrapbooking.. I'll get to that someday..but for now..Let's all get to Organizing our Homes!!!