Simple Delicious Cookies

Avery and I just finished reading, Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl. We decided to take a break and make some cake box cream cheese cookies. Today, we chose dark chocolate cake mix and added a few chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and a sprinkle of walnuts. -- Avery reports: "The best!" Want the simple recipe for these to make your own variations, check this link out: Cake Mix Cookies

Fudge For My Taste Buds Please

The last posting was about recipe award winners from the recent State Fair in Great Falls using Spam -- something I have always thought of as mystery meat. The same article went on to include a couple of recipes I am going to have to try. Just might have to wait for huckleberry season to come around again though. What do you think of these recipes? Logan took home his third culinary blue ribbon in the C&H Sugar Fabulous Fudge Contest. HUCKLEBERRY FUDGE 8 ounces cream cheese 4 cups sugar 1½ tsp. vanilla 12 ounces white chocolate, chopped ½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped 1 cup huckleberries Grease 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Heat white chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Fold melted chocolate, huckleberries and nuts into cream cheese mixture. Spread into baking dish and chill for one hour. ——— Josh Pecukonis shook up the state fair standings by taking the top prize in the adult category for his fudge that replicates a steaming cup of cappuccino. CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAPPUCCINO FUDGE ¾ cup evaporated milk 1½ cups mini marshmallows 2 cups sugar 1 stick butter 5 tbsp. instant coffee granules 17 ounces white chocolate chips 2 ounces cream cheese 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup dried tart cherries ½ cup slivered almonds For white swirl portion: ¼ cup evaporated milk ½ cup mini marshmallows ½ cup sugar ¼ stick of butter 6 ounces white chocolate chips Mix sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a pan and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add coffee granules, white chocolate chips, marshmallows, cream cheese, vanilla, cherries and almonds. Make white swirl fudge separately. Divide tan fudge into coffee cups. Add white fudge and swirl to recreate coffee house-style cups of fudge. Recipes for all the winning culinary contests are available at the Cascade County Extension office, 3300 3rd St. NE.

Are These Spam Recipes For You?

Okay -- all you Spam lovers -- here are some recipes for you!!! I talked about these at the dinner table the other night and the kids cried YUK when it came to Spam with chocolate. What do you think? This article was found recently in the Great Falls Tribune under a piece called Give and Take, August 29, 2012. Spam rarely gets people running to the dining room table. Frankly, the mystery meat has a bit of an ick factor. Yet every second, 3.8 cans are sold in the U.S. The Spam contest at the Montana State Fair challenges cooks to create unique Spam-tastic dishes. Sean Varner won the youth division with his Summer Camping Spamcakes that was adapted from a breakfast meal he enjoyed at camp this year. He describes it as fun and yummy — just like camp. SUMMER CAMPING SPAMCAKES 12 ounces of classic Spam, diced into ½-inch squares 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 14 ounces of Jiffy raspberry muffin mix 2 eggs 1¼ cup milk Stir muffin mix, eggs and milk and cook 1/8 cup of batter on a hot griddle. Add cheese and Spam while batter is cooking. Flip when pancake is light brown and bubbles pop. The pancakes don’t need syrup, unless you want an extra sweet treat. ——— Adult winner Megan Varner wanted to show Spam in a more sophisticated and modern way. Here’s her recipe for Spam ice cream with a chocolate Spam bark. SPAM HEAVEN 2 cups heavy cream 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 3 tbsp. melted butter 1 cup chocolate ice cream topping (not magic shell) 2 (12-ounce) cans classic Spam ½ cup chocolate chips ½ cup chopped pecans 2 cups white chocolate chips Whip cream into stiff peaks. Whisk condensed milk, butter and melted chocolate ice cream topping. Chop 1½ cans of Spam and fry it. Add to chocolate mixture. Fold in the whipped cream. Place in freezer for six hours in a covered container. Thinly slice remaining Spam. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler. Spread thinly on baking sheet. Layer with Spam and pecans, then cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle on top. Refrigerate for at least one more hour until bark is hard and chilled. Cut into pieces and use to garnish ice cream.

Chocolate Chips

Ever want to spice up some pancakes. My kids are now loving the surprise I did here recently in mine. So instead of plain or blueberry, they now ask for chocolate chip pancakes. I just use regular batter and then place the chips where I want them while cooking in the pan.

And always remember:

Chocolate Banana Bread

A perfect way to end a day at home before heading to an overnight shift at work -- do some baking!

Just got a fresh baked loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread out of the oven. Got the recipe in an email from MomsMenu.com -- added a little cinnamon and nutmeg. The house smells wonderful and the taste test divine!!

Happy Earth Green Day

Happy Earth Green Day!!!!

We here in Montana happen to experiencing quite a bit of the WHITE DAY this April 22, 2011.



From our local paper (The Great Falls Tribune) -- A spring storm dumped 7.4 inches of wet snow on Great Falls by 5 a.m., bringing 0.94 inches of precipitation over night that started as rain. Another couple inches of snow had fallen by 9 a.m., said lead observer Jerome Saucier of the National Weather Service. Higher elevations, under the warning, are expected to receive five to 10 inches of snow, while elevations of 3,500 feet or less are in the advisory area should see less. Great Falls is at 3,334 feet and lies in the northwest portion of the warning area so has already seen higher snow accumulations.

Thankfully by 5 p.m. the roads are melted off and things are just plain sloppy.


Wonder if we will be green for the Easter Egg hunt tomorrow at Gibson Park. Even though my kids are past the age of getting a basket full of goodies, I think a chocolate bunny just might tickle their fancy and put a smiles on their faces.

Holiday Spirit

Here are some photos of ornaments I have been stitching lately:






Working on getting in the holiday spirit? Well, I found a blog spot on some tips for hot chocolate and thought I would share them with you.



My family has been playing it very low key this season as my husband has been out of town for weeks and weeks with only a short visit for Thanksgiving. We will all be so glad for his return this coming Wednesday.

I have been stitching and sewing odds and ends. I have been stirring around in projects and actually getting some things done. As the end of the year comes so do memories from this life changing 2010. My family has experiences ups and downs, additions and losses. We have grown in many ways, and yet I find it hard to believe I have two teenagers in my house -- ages 13 and 16. As well as my baby is turning 11 next week and he is taller than the rest of us.

Hope you are in a GOOD place this holiday season and taking things easy and slow. It will all get done, even the baking!! (I have been enjoying baking banana breads and pumpkin breads this past couple of weeks. Something new for me.)

1966 S'mores Cupcakes

On a recent Thrift Store find I came across a first edition Betty Crocker's Cake and Frosting Mix Cookbook. One recipe for a sweet treat I found while in the store looking at the book was S'mores Cupcakes.

I doubt they had so many different varieties of Hershey Kisses to choose from or even Cocoanut Covered Marsh Mellows in 1966, but my kids sure did enjoy the flavors in our cupcakes.





In conclusion, if you are looking for a simple and easy to make sweet treat -- this would be a highly recommended one from my family. They also would like to insert: BEST ENJOYED WHILE WARM!!!!

Rainforest Cafe' -- Opry Mills Mall -- Nashville, TN

Recently the family went for dessert to the Rainforest Cafe'. We chose to go there because the kids had remembered several years ago getting a Volcano Cake that had actual lit sparklers on it making the smoke like an erupting volcano.


They were not happy to find for safety reasons or expense that the sparklers had been replaced by a foil decoration, but the treats were enjoyed by all.





Some of our friends came along and we had fun playing tourist and snapping photos while inside.







Ms. Laura (now 2) had fun coloring and looking around at all the jungle decor. The apes did scare her a bit as she did not like their movements.



This is a fun outing for young, old or inbetween.

An Afternoon in Franklin Tennessee

On most Fridays my daughter, Savannah Rose, and I travel to a beautiful part of Tennessee known as Franklin. We have an appointment at Saddle Up! (A nonprofit recreational therapeutic horse riding program for those with disabilities, “Where all children are equal in the saddle!”)



(January 8, 2009) – Southern Living magazine named Franklin to its Readers’ Choice Awards top ten list, ranking fifth for “Best Small Town”. Franklin joins a diverse group of destinations in the listing. Southern Living readers voted for their favorites in different categories. January’s issue names the magazine readers’ choices for “best” places to stay, visit, shop and dine in the South.


After Savannah's lesson, we decided to explore a specialty shop we usually pass by always wondering what goodies can be found inside. Well, just as I last wrote about -- chocolate has a way of calling my name -- today was no exception. A specialty chocolate and truffle shop -- Hillsboro Chocolate Company. We treated ourselves to a truffle and picked out a box of 4 for my sister-in-law in Chicago and another for my sister-in-law in Montana. Let's hope they get put in the mail and not opened because chocolate calls other people's names in my house as well!