Jessica's Apple Pie

I finally had time today to make that cobbler I was telling you about in a previous post. we really liked it. I think you could use this just as pie. I made it in an oblong dish so I could stretch it a little to feed more folks.

Recipe:

6 Granny smith apples

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 stick of butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

2 eggs

1tbl vanilla

3tbl flour

Peel apples and place in a large pan, add remaining ingredients and cook until apples are soft.

While they are cooking, make your pie crust. You can use your regular recipe or 2 boxes of pie crust mix. Add some sugar to the pie crust while you are making it..Rub butter on the glass dish to prevent sticking and roll out the bottom layer. After you put the filling in it, you can cover it with a lattice crust if you like. I have some small apple and leave cookie cutters that I used to make the crust with. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and brown and then cover with powered sugar as soon as you take it out of oven.

Serve with ice cream.

Warm and Cozy!

I love it when it is cold outside and I can stay indoors. I have had the most delicious fire blazing all day. When my sweet husband came home, we decided to make some homemade loaded baked potato soup and hot cornbread! Yummy! I am warm and full and happy. Life is such a good place to be! When I stop to think about such things, I realize just how very blessed I am. I have such a wonderful husband, and great kids! Life is very rich when we look around and see all that God has done in our lives. Everyday we talk about how lucky we were to have found each other, even though it is late in life. Each day is extra special because of it.
Here is my recipe for my soup. Hope you enjoy making it.


Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Peel 6 potatoes and cut them into small size pieces. Put in large pot and boil until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add 1/2 stick of real butter
1/4 cup of flour or cornstarch
2 cups whole milk.
I always add the milk to starch and mix well with a whisk then pour into potatoes and water. This keeps it from clumping up.
I stir on low heat until thick and bubbly.

We fry several pieces of bacon and crumble
Shred sharp cheddar cheese
Chop green onion fine
Sour cream

When you serve, top with cheese, sour cream, chives and bacon. We love to eat cornbread with ours and I always use Jiffy cornbread mix, follow directions and add 1/4 cup of sugar. It think it tastes better with a little sweetness to it.

Hope you are warm and happy today!

Snow!

We woke up to a little frosting of snow this morning. It is so unusual to have weather this cold in our part of Texas. 3 Days ago, the weather was warm and sunny, this morning it is wet and very cold! I am trying to get a fire started with my wet wood! Hope you have a great day. I am off to do a little shopping, I have a baby shower to attend this afternoon.

Sunday Drive

Today we decided to take off and visit one of our favorite little towns. Jefferson, Texas is one of the oldest towns in the state. I have some documentation recently given to me that my relatives arrived in Texas in 1860 via a steamboat in Jefferson port. We have loved this place for so many years, I have lost count. Most of the streets are still brick lined and it is just such a homey place. Reminds me of Mayberry! Donnie and I love to ride the motorcycle over on Sunday afternoons and just stroll through the antique shops, eat a great cornbread sandwich and enjoy the day.

The old time General store has a huge assortment of EVERYTHING! We stopped in today and bought some Burts Bees and a couple of funny cards. They have an old fashioned ice cream parlour with hand scooped ice cream. The fudge shop is just around the corner. We always have to stop in and buy some homemade peach amarreto fudge. It is just too good for words!

My youngest daughter LOVES this old truck. She wants one that is red! We ate at Auntie Skinners today. They serve the absolute best burger in the world! It is a hot spot for bikers and tourists who visit.

Jefferson is a wonderful little town with so many things to see! The Jefferson Hotel is downtown and reports to be haunted! I have never stayed there, but Kristy and her girlfriends spent a night a few years ago.

Well, dear friends I know I promised a recipe this weekend and I will get it posted. The day has just flown by and I havent even baked that apple pie yet. I had some homework to do tonight and have been busy as a bee cleaning house this weekend.

Have a wonderful week and dont forget to take time for yourself!

It's National Pie Day!

It's National Pie Day! What a great excuse to get busy in the kitchen and make a few yummy desserts. I love pie! It is my favorite dessert. I had rather have pie than cake or cookies. I have a new apple pie recipe that I will post this week for you. I am off to the grocery store to buy the ingredients today and plan to make it this weekend. A friend shared her version of this wonderful treat. I just cant wait to try it out! Have a happy Saturday.

Need Ideas!

Howdy! Girls, I need some help.

We are expecting some company from Ireland this summer and I need to freshen up the house a bit. I really havent done much to this house since I moved in it. We sorta put everything together and gave the excess furniture to the kids we when combined households. So, this means most of the things we have do not go together. A very electic collection! Any ideas would be appreciated. I have very large furniture, since I lived in a home with tall ceilings. My husband's home has 8ft ceilings, so I cant put alot in the rooms and need to lighten up. Any new fashionable colors and trends would be welcome. I will have to mix up what I have and add a few things for a little sparkle. Please put your thinking caps on and tell me how you would prepare for company! Love to hear from all of you.

A Lovely Day

What a wonderful Saturday it has been. I got to spend the day with my youngest daughter. We had our hair done, ate lunch and then went shopping. We were both wanting homemade chicken and dumplings, so we made a small pot to eat for dinner. YUM! The weather here is still very cold. Our temperatures are in the teens. We are not used to such cold temperatures and have brought out the winter coats! I have had a roaring fire going since we came home and we are snuggled down watching girl movies! My husband left early this morning for a trip, so we were left alone for the day! I have enjoyed spending time with my girl. It seems that she has grown up so fast! Lots of plans for tomorrow, hope you have had a great day.

It's Cold Out There!

We are experiencing very cold weather! I read a report this morning that this week will be the coldest in 15 years! Single digit temperatures, sleet, ice and some snow are in the forecast for this weekend. I have ordered more wood for the fireplace, planning on stocking up the cupboards tomorrow and dragging out the extra blankets. I also, have to dig out a coat. Our temperatures are usually very mild here and I seldom get to wear my heavy coat. This past Monday we had some ice on the roads and there were several accidents on my way to work. For those of you who live in other states, this might sound crazy. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE IN ICE!! We close the schools down with the first sign of a flurry, and call in to work for fear we might be snow bound by afternoon! What I cant understand are the people who continue to drive 80 miles an hour, they hit a bridge, start spinning and next thing you know 4 cars are in the ditch. I hope they are more cautious this week than they were on Monday.
Have a great week and stay warm!!!

A Princess Bed!

Here is a wonderful custom bed fit for a princess! We have been looking for baby beds for a new grandbaby. I couldnt resist this one! It's only $40K!!

Technical Difficulties

I am not sure what is going on with my blog. Please bear with me as I am trying to figure out what I have done to make the pictures lean to one side. Sorry!

Beautiful artwork

I love art and have always admired people who have a gift to produce such wonderful pieces. I stumbled upon this website http://www.jenniferlanneoriginals.blogspot.com/ . She has a wonderful selection of original artwork. The pasture scene above is my all time favorite.

Cozy Cottage

This is such a cozy picture to me. I have a slight obsession with tiny houses. May be it is because I read Little House books and wish for a simpler time to live. Wonder what it would be like to live in such a tiny little place. Tiny homes are making a huge comeback in our society. Tumbleweed homes were featured several months ago on many news programs. The owner has built homes ranging from 200 square feet to a larger version that is well under what we would live in today. Maybe I will try it one day. I cant imagine living in a shoebox with my teenager! I have camped out in a tiny trailer with my husband and it was a blast. But for the long haul, not sure it would be enjoyable every day! What do you think?

Friday Night at the Movies

We chose to get out of the house today and decided to go see a movie. Several friends had told us what a great movie this was. So we decided to check it out! I havent laughed this much in months! It is very complicated, but literally laughed the entire movie. Keep in mind this is an adult content movie. Please do not take your younger children to see it!