Making Magical Memories 1/8/15

Great Grandma Max and Everleigh

As the Christmas season draws to a close, may the spirit of Christmas remain in your hearts forever. Hopefully your Christmas was as special as you had hoped. Also, hope you missed us last week as all factions of THE EARTH were on a planned vacation.

As usual, my Christmas was very special, filled with many magic moments!  I received more gifts than I deserved, but do not tell anyone and maybe it will happen again next year! I really do not know which special moment I want to pass on to you today. I have changed my mind several times, but that privilege is now past. Let’s start with the usual gathering of all of my family for their annual gathering at Mike an Becky’s. This year there was a smaller crowd, due to conflicts with schedules, illness and distance. But it was still a very special day for those of us who were there. (Seventy some. I didn’t count, but that is a figure I heard mentioned.) The day after Christmas my nephew and his wife picked up the tradition of a family breakfast started by my sister and her husband.  Since my sister’s failing health she could do it no longer so Mark and Cindy graciously decided to do it at their home which was once my family’s home for 20 years. That makes it more special as it seems like going home to us. Thanks again, Mark and Cindy.

That same day another very special magic experience came to fruition.  Many months ago I asked one of my grandsons if there were anything of mine that he would like to have. His answer was that he was not a keeper of “things” but he liked to create memories. When he was in the fourth grade at school they had a lesson baking bread with the recipe simplified for a child to do it.  He had asked me to bake bread with him. I said “Oh, Dana, let’s wait until I retire.”  So, on the Friday night that I retired I got a call from him asking me if we were going to bake bread on Saturday! Nothing was any further from my plans, but I decided that a child’s wishes were more important. So the next day we made a fabulous loaf of whole wheat bread, but more important we created long lasting memories. That was 24 years ago.  His wishes were that I would let him bring his daughter, who is three, to my home and bake bread with her!  We have been too long in making it happen but it came to fruition the day after Christmas.  If possible it was more magic filled than the first experience. Perhaps because of my age and the interest of perpetuating the experience to another generation. Thanks, Dana and Everleigh for making it such a great day. Maybe we should think more about making memories than buying presents.

Saturday created a dilemma in my day. I was searching in my pantry cupboard for an idea for lunch. I came across an envelope of gravy mix which was a mite past the expiration date.  I quickly prepared it only to wonder what I was going to serve it on.  My mind turned to biscuits, but I had failed to replenish my supply of biscuit mix. I did not want to peel potatoes. If I were going to throw it away, I should have done it before I added the milk and cooked it! So I turned to my favorite cook book and looked for a biscuit recipe from scratch. I found one that is different than most I have seen so the next thing I knew I was mixing the ingredients. I was favorably impressed with the outcome enough to make up for the bother of rolling and cutting, then washing the extra equipment. Hope you are tempted to try it.  It beats prepared mixes! After a meal of two biscuits smothered in gravy, I had a warm biscuit with butter, crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jam for dessert! (the jam was sugar free!)

       

CLOUD BISCUITS

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)

1 beaten egg

2/3 cup milk

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening. Combine beaten egg and milk. Add to flour mixture. Stir with meat fork until dough follows fork around the bowl. Place on floured surface and roll or pat to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut with a biscuit cutter.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake  12 to 14 minutes at 400 degrees.  Makes 9 biscuits.

The next recipe caught my eye because it has no sugar substitute. I did not make it but it has possibilities, even for those of you who are not watching your sugar.

          

DIABETIC BANANA BARS

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup mashed bananas

1 egg

¼ cup peanut butter

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup diced dates or dried apricots

1 cup raisins

Mix flour, soda and baking powder. Mix together bananas, egg, peanut butter, milk and vanilla. Add to flour mixture. Add dates and raisins. Put in a 9 x 12 inch baking pan, bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until desired doneness.

Remember next year to substitute some memories for some presents!

Family Reunion 10/17/13

I received a spontaneous phone call from my daughter wondering if it would be acceptable to me to plan a chili, grilled cheese sandwich and apple dumpling family party at my home on Sunday. This is a carryover of the celebrations of my husband’s birthday and mine a couple of weeks later. I glanced around my living room noticing an accumulation of junk mail, (where does it all come from) newspapers, things I should discard, but just haven’t acclimated my inner peace feelings to make me really throw them out. My oldest sister always criticized me for my mental calculation of how long it would take me to do something that already should have been accomplished. 

Since I had several days to work with, I gave me daughter an affirmative answer since I had a weak social schedule for the week and could whip the place into company shape. The biggest handicap was that I forgot that the years are piling up and it takes me twice as long to do half as much and requires several appointments with my recliner!  I was making great progress and fairly proud of the results when another daughter called and wondered if it would help me if we moved the party to her home where they have a back yard very adaptable to an outside campfire where they would cook the chili and cheese sandwiches over an open fire. They also added a skillet of baked apples smothered in syrup and raisins.  So here I was left with a cleaner house than usual and no one came to see it, but I can spoil that in about 2 days.

It was a special day with my grandson home on leave from the military, all but two sons were able to attend, with the only drawback being the wind that we did not need which chilled us to the bone in spite of sweatshirts and parka hoods.  But it takes more than that to spoil the magic of a special family day.

The day before was my paternal family reunion at my nephew’s home. There was a small attendance. As I was trying to rationalize the fact that all of the attendants were my Dad’s descendants, (he was one of six siblings) I realized that there are only 10 of thirty two cousins left and we are all getting to be very senior citizens.  Distance and poor health affects some. So we operate on the premise that we just have a good time with the ones that can attend and do not spoil the day because everyone couldn’t make it.  

The highlight of the occasion was a pair of beautiful horses, and their owners, were our guests and they provided rides to anyone who wanted to go in a white buggy owned by my nephew. My sister and I who are on the high half of the eighties (I am ready to fall out) were sitting there when she said, “Max, let’s go for a ride!”  She is 95% confined to a wheel chair and I am not as nimble as I  used to be, but I answered “it’s O.K. with me!”  I don’t know who was the most surprised, us or our kids and nephews. The rest of the story was they assisted her into the buggy, with me following and we had a fantastic ride down the road and then back through the fields of the farm where we lived for years of our childhood.  Then there was the problem of our dismounting.  It was very easily solved by my nephew from Ft. Wayne who said, “Aunt Max, just put your arms around my neck and I will lift you out.”  What a simple solution. Since he managed me successfully, my sister who weighs a lot less was a simple procedure.  It was a great day to file into my memory book of magic moments and days.  Isn’t family one of God’s greatest blessings?

My family rates food pretty highly and both days we had plenty of it. So I had better come up with some recipes. I just opened another church cookbook and found two simple ones on the same page. Would it surprise you that both of them are dessert?  I think I needed two sugar pills when I came home today. Nothing but carrots and celery for tomorrow. The first one has my sister’s name on it. It is an old book but I do not remember her making it.  Maybe she does.

                 

DATE ROLL

1 cup white sugar

1 stick  butter

1 egg

½ half cup chopped nuts

30 dates

2 cups Rice Krispies

Powdered sugar

Mix sugar, butter, egg, nuts and dates together and cook for ten minutes. Cool and add Rice Krispies. Shape into a roll and coat with Powdered sugar. Slice into serving pieces. Rolls should be about 1 inch in diameter.

           

EASY DESSERT

1 carton (12 oz.) whipped topping

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup chopped pecans

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 can strawberry pie filling

1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained

Mix all ingredients together and chill before serving.

May each of you find magic in each day when you aren’t even looking for it!

October Magic 10/3/13

As I type in the first time the month of October, it brings to mind that it was always a favorite month to me.  It was the month of so many relative’s birthdays that it pushed to the back of my mind the coming months of snow and bad conditions.  I love the beauty of a fresh snowfall, but I want it just on the lawn, trees, and hills, not the roads, my sidewalk, nor driveway.  So I am hard to please!  I will just concentrate on the magic of the joy of my husband’s birthday l6 days before mine which made him think he was boss because he was the oldest. I have a son born on the first, several  grandchildren, several cousins, and my grandmother’s birthday was also in October. Also, my favorite brother and too many greats to keep track of. There were several wedding  anniversaries in the family, also. So it was a great time of anticipation and celebrations.

With the exception of Tuesday, when I had almost too many things scheduled so close together that I almost had to write down where I was supposed to be and when, but I met them all, it was a week almost as dry as the weather. Guess I will have to consider Tuesday as a little shower in my week. You might think that I got a lot done in my postponed housekeeping, but you are dead wrong.  It was just a week of  sitting in my recliner, working cross word puzzles and doing just what had to be done. Maybe I will run the sweeper this week and dust the next.

Today has been a quiet day, also.  I got caught a couple of Sundays with no food to offer my company, but it paid off in a supper at the local restaurant and a dinner at our church festival.  So today I decided that I would bake an angel food cake. (I like the Hospitality Brand at our local grocery store.)  I had some frozen strawberries I removed from the freezer, added strawberry glaze, and whipped topping. The only problem was that the only company I had was when my cake was just an idea. Now what does one little old lady do with a whole cake?   I was concerned for a while, but now I have had two pieces by myself and it is not time to go to bed. Who knows what will happen by then. One of the bright spots of the week was my connection with two special people in my life who gave me positive comments about my ramblings, so here I am trying for another week.

Guess this will be a good time to go to food. I was glancing at a cook book that I had open at my computer and noticed one for pumpkin bread, which will be compatible with my admiration of the fall month. It is from a church cookbook and those are always family favorites and are worth trying.

DELICIOUS PUMPKIN BREAD

5 eggs

1 ¼ cup vegetable oil

1 can (15 oz.) solid pack pumpkin

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 pkgs. (3 oz.) cook and serve vanilla pudding

l teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat the eggs. Add oil and pumpkin, beat until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients. Gradually beat into pumpkin mixture. Pour into 2 greased 8 x 4 x2 loaf pans. Bake at 325 for 75 minutes. May be baked in several smaller loaf pans and baked for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

This recipe will be a good fall snack for your family. It was originated by a mother who mixed her kids favorite snack ingredients. So you can substitute any that your kids like better.

      

SWEET AND CRUNCHY SNACK

2 ½ cups Rice Chex

2 ½ cups Honey-Nut Cheerios

1 package (10 oz.) honey flavored bear shaped graham crackers

2 cups miniature pretzels

½ cup butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine the cereals. Melt butter, add brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour over mixed cereals and stir to coat. Spread into two ungreased 15 x 10 baking pans. Bake at 275 degrees for 10 minutes. Stir and bake for 10 minutes longer. Store in an airtight container.

Since all of my orders for the form of snowfall have been back ordered, are there any offers from my readers to storm heaven’s gates and get better results than my ignored attempts?

Old Cookbooks, New Magic 2/28/13

Life is taking a great demand for my time this weekend.  Hope to pull it all off, but now it looks like a big job. Some sad, some fun and joyous and some just a lot of work and I am not as young as I used to be! So we will see where this takes us.

My life is not crowded enough that a bit of magic can’t get through.  I received a phone call wondering if I would be interested in some cook books.  My first reaction was “How many?” To my delight and amazement an acquaintance, neighbor a block or two away ,a reader of The Earth and now my friend wanted to give me some of her mother’s cookbooks. I readily accepted and she delivered them to me the next day, creating a lovely visit with two large 20 year old cookbooks and a couple of recipe files, so neatly arranged that it made me ashamed of my drawer full.

The books are large and before everything started out with a prepared mix, although there are some that do use them. I did not have time to search through them but I am going to pass on a couple that I thought were interesting.  You may not want to try them but in my judgment they are very unique.  There were 30 some for French Dressing.  Now I thought that French Dressing was French Dressing and not something that could be prepared that many different ways or it would not be French Dressing! When my world slows down I will research my amazing gift and share more with you. What an amazing compliment for someone to want to give you their mother’s recipe books and collected recipes!  Thanks so much.

I eat a lot of pears, but I never heard of doing this to them, but all of the recipes in both books came from Home Economics teachers.  That brings up another issue with me.  What were educators thinking when they dropped the Home Economics program from the high school curriculum? How few of our girls will not need the art of homemaking and many of the issues of just dealing with everyday life that are taught in this department?

                        

BAKED PEARS

6 pears

1 cup sugar

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Grated rind and juice of 1 orange

Butter

Peel and core pears, leaving then whole and upright. Place them in a shallow round casserole dish. Combine sugar and fruit  juices. Pour over the pears, dot with butter and bake at 350 degrees 1 hour.  That seems like a long time to bake, but I did not write the recipe and it is new territory for me.

How about a very simple dessert that you can fix while you are cooking supper?  I would have to taste it to be too excited, but it rated a place in my new “old” cookbook.

                                    

QUICK  DESSERT

1 package instant vanilla pudding

½ cup coconut

1 small can fruit cocktail

Mix coconut and fruit cocktail with the pudding mix. Chill.  Now what could be simpler and you have a new dessert to try on your family.

I had something else I was going to share with you but will save it for when my time is not scheduled so full.  Now I have to decide if I should go to bed and get up really early or work until I drop and then sleep in.

6/28/12

What a magic day!  I am still basking in the pleasant memories.  On Wednesday, my five daughters spent the day with me as a Mom-Daughter-Sister day. It took some planning to get everyone free on a week day but it did come to pass.  Did you ever hear of the Quiet Corner Tea Room near Churubusco, Indiana?  It is a small, secluded, tree surrounded  tea room owned by a man and his wife, started about 12 years ago after a storm damaged their workshop.  From an idea when they were repairing the damage the Quiet Corner was made a reality.

Two of my daughters had visited the Tea Room and from there they planned our second Mom-Daughter Day.  Four of them gathered at my home and we drove to Waterloo to the home of the fifth one.  An added bonus of the day was our tour of their garden that is the  pride and joy of Judy’s husband, Bob.  I have never seen such a productive and well cared for garden, especially this year. It makes me want to buy a brown blanket to match my grass and cover my small excuse for a garden. I thought about a sheet. But the white would draw attention to the fact that something was there. Bob, thanks for your patience in answering questions and letting us see the results of your hard work. (We all received a nice bag of lettuce on our return home.)

We arrived at our destination to find a corner reserved especially for us.  A very pleasant lady at a nearby table asked if she could take our picture  when one daughter left her place to take a picture of the rest of us.  She later stopped by and asked me if she dared to ask how old I am, since she was looking at my daughters and knew I had to be over 49!  The Tea room has a very limited but adequate menu. Since it was a tea room, I decided I should have tea and ordered a small pot of peach tea, chicken salad sandwich on homemade rye bread, cottage cheese and peaches.  When my pot of tea came, it had a hand sewn,flowered, heavy flannel jacket with openings on each side for the handle and spout.  If it had been smaller and my mother had not brought me up so well, I might have put it in my purse!! The owner asked us a few questions and knew an Edgerton resident, then he took us to their bigger dining room and called our attention to a newspaper that announced Lincoln’s assassination and let us view a movie he had made of his dog and sent it to America’s Funniest Home Movies.

When we went outside we saw a white patio table surrounded by nature’s outdoor woodsy environment.  Since we had each been given a gift of an antique cup and saucer from two of my daughters, it was suggested that since the table had only two chairs that we pose for a picture of me and each daughter drinking our tea. (Any of you who have Facebook and are friends with any of my family know the rest of the story.)  It was a very pleasant experience, but the highlight was the pleasure of spending the whole day with all of my daughters.  Why don’t you plan something similar with your sisters and mother?

As I was scanning a 10 year old Quick Cooking annual book I marked about six recipes that I would like to use.  Now I have to eliminate four of them.   Since I am lazy myself today, I will use that as a determining factor and give you a simple one to start with.  I eat oatmeal and cinnamon almost every morning which helps keep my cholesterol and sugar numbers in the satisfactory range,  When I am not in the mood for oatmeal, I try to include cinnamon. Here is an idea for a cinnamon spread that can be used on toast or bagels. I am also impressed with cinnamon and raisin bagels.
                      
CINNAMON SPREAD
¼ cup butter, room temperature
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Bagels, split
Combine the butter, brown sugar and spices.
Toast bagels and top with spread.

I had to choose between a dessert and a main breakfast entrée.  Guess what, the dessert won out 3 to 1 !!
                          
COCONUT CREAM DESSERT
2 ½  cups crushed butter flavored crackers, about 68 crackers
½ cup plus two tablespoons butter, melted
½ gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
½ cup milk
2 packages (3.4 oz., each) instant coconut cream pudding mix
1 carton ( 8 oz.) whipped topping
1/3 cup flaked coconut
Combine crushed crackers and butter. Press into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Combine ice cream, milk and pudding mixes. Spread over the crust.  Top with whipped topping and coconut. Cover and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving.

I can barely believe that we have used up another month of this year.  Before long will have to think about Christmas. I just got all of my Christmas stuff stored away!

4/26/12

Today I find myself in an emotional turmoil with my literary productive functions in lockdown.  This just proves the folly of me not carrying out one of my original plans. I was always going to have at least two columns done ahead of time so I would have a back up on days like today.  As of Sunday, I find myself one of two siblings left out of an original very closely knit family of seven siblings. Since I am dealing with the very recent death of my youngest sister, I am really struggling with this today. The best solution I have mustered is to just go quickly to food for those of you who look for recipes.  Rest in peace, Till.

I am giving you two entrees.  One of the problems in providing food for a family is often, “What in the world will I prepare for  today’s meals?” If you really appreciate Reuben sandwiches, here is a very easy to prepare recipe, and you can say, “I did this myself.”
             
FAVORITE REUBENS
8 rye bread slices
2 packages (8 oz.) corned beef slices
1 can (8 oz.) sauerkraut, drained
8 slices process cheese spread
½ cup Thousand Island  dressing
Butter

For each sandwich, cover one bread slice with I ½ ounces of meat, approximately ¼ cup sauerkraut, 1 ½  ounces of meat, 2 slices of cheese, 1 tablespoon of dressing and a second slice of bread. Spread sandwich with butter and grill in skillet until lightly browned on both sides.

If you need a hearty casserole entrée , try this chicken based pasta one. You can bake it in 2 small containers and freeze one, or bake it one large one if needed. It is similar to one I use a lot , only mine uses noodles and this one has a few extra ingredients.  I think you will like it.
             
CHICKEN & CHEESE PASTA BAKE
1 package ( 16 oz.) spaghetti, broken
2 medium onions
I medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
½ cup butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) cream of chicken soup
1 can (10 ¾ oz. ) cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, sauté onions and pepper in butter in a Dutch oven, until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil, cook and stir until thickened. Stir in the chicken, soups, sour cream, salt and pepper.  Drain spaghetti, add  to sauce mixture. Transfer to two 11 x 7 inch, or one large, casserole baking dishes.  Sprinkle with cheeses. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.
Can be frozen for up to three months.

4/19/12

I hope you saved the recipe for the no-bake cookies from last week. Even though my daughter told me they looked like raw meat balls, and several Easter guests said they were afraid to try them, I have a good report from an unexpected source. My sister-in-law said she took one just to see what they tasted like.  On Tuesdays one daughter always visits me on her lunch hour. I told her to take the leftover ones home with her to keep me from eating them because of the excess sugar. She could throw them out if no one wanted to eat them. She said she would just take them back to work with her. An hour or so later, she sent me an email stating that one co-worker said that they were “so good” that she bet that I made them! Later that day she asked me for the recipe so she could make them for something special at their church next Sunday!  They were better a day or so after I made them.

Why do I keep doing stupid things just so I have something to write about the next week? My latest caper came from a bad decision to clean my refrigerator.  I turned it to the off position and apparently did not set it cold enough because my milk soured way before the expiration date. From my upbringing to not throw out anything that could possibly be used, I decided to use some of the milk for a batch of sugar cookies.  They turned out to be some of the best ones I have ever made. So I joyfully started to make my own frosting which calls for a stick of butter, an 8 ounce package of cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon flavoring. All went well as I reached for my powdered sugar in a Tupper Ware container stored above my microwave oven.  As I started to blend it with my hand mixer, I thought something was amiss, but decided that I had put in too much powdered sugar.  To remedy this I added three tablespoons of milk. This improved the situation until I started frosting cookies and it did not spread right. I have done this for years, so why was it acting like this?  Oh, oh, I have two identical containers and I had used corn starch!!  There is a very legible label on the side of the container but did I read it?  NO.  As I have said before, the person who does not read is no better off than the person who can’t read. There is a dear lesson in here somewhere. To save a cup of sour milk, I had to throw out a stick of butter, 8 ounces of cream cheese and several cups of corn starch! Please do not tell my kids because I was chipping away at their inheritance.

To help restore my creditability, I will give you a salad dressing recipe that even I cannot mess up.
           
PEANUT SALAD DRESSING
2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
2 tablespoons  honey
½ cup salad dressing
Blend peanut butter and honey. Stir in salad dressing. This is perfect for banana or apple salads.  I would like it on apple slices for a snack or for a fruit dip.
                       
POTATO EGG SUPPER
3 cups sliced cooked potatoes
6 hard boiled eggs
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Plan ahead to have potatoes already cooked. Sometimes a whole bag of potatoes need to be used and will make too many for that day’s meal.  It can be a quick meal for lunch after church. Place potatoes and eggs in a 2 quart casserole. Blend milk, soup and seasonings. Pour over potatoes. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes.  If you like onions, I think they would be a good addition. Be creative.

9/22/11

The weeks certainly do roll past quickly. Last evening I was working on a project that I had put off conquering. That left my mind in a completely different direction. There is not enough of it left to spread in more than one place. So I quickly chose two recipes and a thought flashed through my extended mind which I quickly grasped and calmly went to bed thinking that I had everything under control. I awakened in the wee hours this morning with my subconscious nudging me that I still had this job to do. I was tempted to just pull the covers up tightly and pretend that I had a free day. That did not happen and I also could not recall what I had decided to focus on this week. That was scary enough to really wake me up. As I pondered deeply and discarded a few substituted ideas, my original idea floated past. So I scrambled (only to me it was a “scramble” - to those of you who already have your day well on its way it was more like slow motion) out of bed and here I am much earlier than I ever planned before my thoughts vanish again.

The past couple of months my family has been interacting on a project that has brought much magic into focus. We walked to California to visit my niece who lives in a San Diego suburb! Now you all know we did not actually physically accomplish this. We had a Healthy Heart walking program. Those of us who wanted to participate wore pedometers and each week reported our steps to headquarters which were tallied into miles and mapped out across the good old USA. This created special interest to those participating and inspired us to walk more than we otherwise would. Each week one of us was granted a Healthy Heart award for major distance accomplishments. You can imagine that my contribution was the bottom of the list every week, but I got two awards! One for participating, that was easy. The other one was for valor above and beyond the call of duty. My numbers were so insignificant that I walked to Dollar General and back when I didn’t even want nor buy anything! My best week was a total of 14 miles. My daughter who was the headmaster each week made an itinerary of the area we covered with pictures of that area which we could download. I appreciated her efforts of an interesting account of each week’s journey. The imaginary antics of each of those participating and the interaction between us was full of magic. Now we are in California so how do we get home? One is going to try for a buddy pass on Delta from his brother. As for me I stated “I am tired, I am going to hitchhike home.” We have one problem. Kay enjoyed our fantasy journey and visit, but has double dared us to make it a reality.

After all of that walking I am certain that we need some nourishment. So I have suggested a quickly prepared snack to munch on while you prepare something more lasting. It is also time for pumpkin to appear on our menus, so I am offering one that is easier to do than make a pie, but will fulfill that pumpkin urge.

PEANUT BUTTER POPCORN
2 quarts popped popcorn
1 tablespoon peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
2 tablespoons butter
In a small sauce pan, melt butter and peanut butter
until smooth. Pour over popcorn and mix well. Add a bit
of salt if desired.

PUMPKIN DELIGHT
½ stick of butter, melted
Graham crackers
12 ounces whipped topping
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 large can pumpkin (not pie mix)
½ cup milk
2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup brown sugar
Line bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish with graham
crackers. Melt butter and brush over crackers.( I’m tempted
to make a graham cracker crust).Beat cream cheese, add spices
to pumpkin and add to cream cheese. Add sugar, milk and sprinkle
in dry pudding mix. Mix in the pumpkin and cheese mixture.
Blend well. Fold in whipped topping. Pour over crackers, cover
with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

This is great. It is all finished and ordinarily I would just be crawling, not scrambling out of bed!