Sweet Southern Blue

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, and banana pudding in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.

2. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper baking cups. Place a wafer in bottom of each muffin cup. Spoon batter into each cup, filling each 2/3 full.

3. Bake 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool in pan on wire rack.

4. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight.

Optional: Top with whipped cream, bananas, chocolate, marshmallow cream or anything you like. Enjoy!

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Strawberry Rice Krispies Treats

2013-01-21T20:02:00.002-06:00

In an effort to use more of the Rice Krispies Cereal that I have stockpiled, I am experimenting with different recipes. My first batch was Banana Treats. They turned out so good that I decided to try a different flavor. I found several recipes using strawberry marshmallows.

I purchased the marshmallows and thought they were good but it didn't quite have the strawberry taste I wanted. I added a box of strawberry creme pudding to the next batch...much better. You could also go somewhere in the middle and use one half a box of pudding with the strawberry marshmallows. It's your treats - make them your way!

Ingredients

6 cup Rice Krispies

1/4 cup of butter or margarine

10 oz bag strawberry marshmallows

1 small box of strawberry creme instant pudding mix

Directions

Use parchment paper or butter to prepare an 8 inch square dish. Place butter and marshmallows in a large bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and return to microwave at 30 second intervals until melted * Add pudding and stir until completely combined. Fold in cereal. Pour into your prepared dish. I use a piece of parchment paper to press my treats into the pan (no sticky butter fingers!) but go ahead and use your butter fingers if you don’t have parchment paper. Next take a spoon and scrap all of the marshmallows and cereal that stuck to the bottom of the bowl and eat immediately!

* My microwave takes 1 ½ minutes to melt the marshmallows perfectly.

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lancing beauty and bedlam

Chicken Breeding Charts

2013-01-19T15:17:00.001-06:00

A friend gave me these charts several months ago. I have no idea where they came from or who deserves the credit for the work. There are probably more charts out there so if anyone knows where they came from, I would love to hear from you.

I plan to breed and sell Cochins, Silkies, and Millie Fleur D'uccle this spring. These charts will be useful when I get ready to separate them but I still need help in deciding what to do with the white and buff chickens. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I could find information on chicken genetics for dummies? I have found other charts but they seem to be very detailed and wordy. I love these simple chicken drawings where you can simply glance at the pictures and see what the results would be.

Update: A kind reader gave me the link to the origional post on Backyard Chickens forum. You can check out that link here.

BANANA RICE KRISPIES TREATS

2013-01-14T09:52:00.001-06:00

I have several boxes of Rice Krispies in my stockpile so I pulled one out and decided to make rice krispies treats. I try not to make them too often because I could sit down and eat the whole thing. Seriously….I could cut it into two giant pieces and say I only ate two bars. It’s that bad.

I decided to make banana pudding treats since I had this lovely box of banana pudding just sitting in my pantry. I used a whole box of pudding in my rice krispies but if you like a milder taste, you could just use ½ box. If you don’t have pudding on hand but have some banana flavoring, you could use that instead. Just add it to the marshmallows after they have melted. It still taste like banana but you lose that pudding taste.

Ingredients

6 cup Rice Krispies

1/4 cup of butter or margarine

10 oz bag mini marshmallows

1 small box of banana cream instant pudding mix

Directions

Use parchment paper or butter to prepare an 8 inch square dish. Place butter and marshmallows in a large bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and return to microwave at 30 second intervals until melted * Add banana pudding and stir until completely combined. Fold in cereal. Pour into your prepared dish. I use a piece of parchment paper to press my treats into the pan (no sticky butter fingers!) but go ahead and use your butter fingers if you don’t have parchment paper. Next take a spoon and scrap all of the marshmallows and cereal that stuck to the bottom of the bowl and eat immediately!

* My microwave takes 1 ½ minutes to melt the marshmallows perfectly.

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Winter at Historic Washington State Park

2013-01-11T08:38:00.000-06:00

January Sunset on the Farm

2013-01-10T20:15:00.000-06:00

The sunset was so pretty when I got home that I had to grab my camera and head outdoors.

More Chicken Breeds

2013-01-06T20:49:00.003-06:00

Here are some more pics of my chickens. I don't raise any particular breed of chicken but most of my chickens consist of Silkies, Cochins, and Millie Fleurs.

Montego Bay, Jamaica Part 2

2013-01-01T12:54:00.000-06:00

My daughter booked us at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa. It was beyond my expectations ! If you are looking for a place to spend some time in Jamaica, I would highly reccomend it. We paid $80 a person and it included your choice of food from three restaurants, beverages (including all non-premium brand liquor, draft beer, and wine by the glass), non-motorized water sports, kids club programs, fitness center, access to internet cafe, and tax and service charges.

My daughter Heather

This is Heather's cousin Kimberly

Food, Food, and more Food

2013-01-01T10:37:00.001-06:00

The Hilton Rose Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, Jamica was beautiful . The food was also wonderful. Here is what we had for lunch. No, we didn't eat that much food....

We saw some people sitting at the next table with these mango drinks so of course we had to have one.

BACON, AVOCADO, TOMATO GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

2012-12-31T14:26:00.005-06:00

I discovered Bolillo bread in the Walmart bakery a few years ago and use it for all of my sandwiches. At my Walmart it runs around 1.68 for 6 buns. I cut each bun in half and butter all 4 sides and toast in a skillet or I melt butter in the skillet and toast it that way. I always make my hamburgers on these buns (it and chipotle mayo are my secret ingredients). I also use it for my BBQ, BLT’s, BAT’s, etc. It is also great for plain old grilled cheese sandwiches. The bread makes everything taste better so give it a try.

Ingredients per sandwich

4 slice(s) bacon
cheddar cheese (or your choice of cheese)
1 bolillo bun cut in half lengthwise
1 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 avocado peeled, and cut into slices
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Prepare bacon according to directions; drain set aside

Salt & pepper tomato and avocado slices as desired

Cut Bolillo in half. Cover both sides of each slice of bread with butter. Cook bread slices with the insides down on medium heat until toasted. Turn bread over in skillet and place cheese on the inside of the bread you just toasted. Once cheese has melted and the outside of bread has toasted, remove from heat and layer bacon, tomato, and avocado onto sandwich.

Enjoy!

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Cozumel

2012-12-30T16:33:00.003-06:00

Cozumel was beautiful but I liked Jamaica and Grand Cayman better. We didn't do an excursion here so that may be why I didn't enjoy it as much. If I ever get back to Cozumel, I plan on going to Tulum to see the Mayan Ruins.

That little person you see standing by the Puerta Maya sign is me...

Now this is the life...I could have stayed her forever.

Hanging out in Margaritaville

Just imagine how they would act if they had actually had something to drink besides Coke!

Unbeknownst to me, this guy is groping my daughter as I am taking the picture...can you see his eys?

My Chickens Introduction to Snow....

2012-12-29T13:34:00.002-06:00

Most of my chickens have never seen snow. First of all, we don't get much snow here in southwest Arkansas and second, most are chickens that I have hatched or purchased this year. We received snow on Christmas day and I was excited the next morning to introduce my chickens to it and see their reactions. (Only a chicken lover would understand this) So...camera in hand I open the doors to the coops. Several chickens cam flying out as they usually do only to discover the white landing space. Many of them kept jumping up in the air tyring to keep from touching this strange white stuff on the ground. I laughed so hard.

This picture was taken after they had settled sown some but you will notice the white silkie is still in the doorway.

These two flew out to a bale of hay and refused to move.

Most eventually settle down though you will notice the rooster picking up his foot.

Great camouflage for my white silke ~ the one that would actually come out of the pen.

It was a while before the two would venture out....It looks like the white silkie is asking my cochin what he thought about it.

From Tropical to Winter

2012-12-29T12:45:00.003-06:00

I come back from my Caribbean vacation to this. Yep, it has snowed in southern Arkansas. It's rare that we have snow, especially on Christmas day. In a few days time I had the opportunity to see both spectrums of God's creation and I have to say that they are both exquisitely beautiful in their own way.

GRAND CAYMAN

2012-12-25T19:16:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the pictures that we took while in Grand Cayman. It was absoutely beautiful.

The Stingray City snorkel trip was the highlight of our vacation. We had the opportunity to touch and feed Stingrays and snorkel the magnificent coral reefs.

The North Wall is an abyss that plunges in the excess of 6000 feet past the reef and offers a few beautiful wall dives.

The girls had a great time snorkeling. The girl you see with the camera in her hand? That's my daughter. She likes to take pictures as much as I do.

I loved how the water changed colors. We went from a seagreen to a turquoise, to this rich dark blue.

We booked with Sun Ray Tours where were sailed to Stingray City in the North Sound aboard their catamaran. It was $60 USD which was less than half of what they wanted to book through the cruise line. They were awesome and I highly recommend them. You will not be disappointed.

The captain of the boat is Lorenzo who was a civil engineer who sailed by himself from La Rochelle in France to the Caribbean and up to Washington D.C. You will also get to met Alex from Milan, Italy and Davide from Genoa, Italy.

Free ebooks: Les Miserables, The Ultimate Lunch Recipes, How to Find Free Kindle Ebooks

2012-12-25T14:33:00.000-06:00

Download a free copy of Les Miserables

Download a free copy of The Ultimate Lunch Recipes boxed set.

Download a free copy of How to Find Free Kindle Books.

Please note that the price is currently $0.00, but that could change at any time. Be sure to check the price before checking out to verify that it is still free.

These ebooks are specifically for Kindles, but you can go here to download a free application that enables you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA PART 1

2012-12-23T20:43:00.000-06:00

I have not posted anything on my blog for the last week because I have been on vacation. I decided to take a cruise with my daughter as a graduation/Christmas/Birthday present from me. We left New Orleans last weekend and went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel on the Carnival Conquest. We had an amazing time and it was a great way to spend time with my daughter before she gets married and starts giving me grandchildren.

Here are some of the pictures from Jamaica....

Merry Christmas Jamaica

The girls decided to go Kayaking. Not me...My feet is staying firmly on the beach !

SUPER EASY CANDY COATED PECANS

2012-12-12T16:19:00.000-06:00

This is a super easy, super quick candy coated pecan recipe.

What is so great about this recipe is that the main two ingreadients came from my yard ! The pecans came from my huge pecan tree and the eggs came from my chickens. This not only taste wonderful but is a great frugal recipe if you have access to pecan trees.

The first time I made this I remember looking at the nuts thinking that there was no way this was going to make those beautiful candied pecans I had seen pictures of. The first two times you take it out of the oven to stir it, the coating is still going to look liquified so don't panic. The third time you take it out to stir (after 45 minutes) you will see a huge difference. When you take it out after one hour, you will have perfect candy coated pecans.

NOTE: I have started using parchment paper on my cookie sheet which has made clean up a breeze.

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
4 cups (16 oz) pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 225. In a large bowl beat/whisk the egg whites, water, and vanilla. Add pecans and stir to coat. Mix together the sugar, salt and cinnamon, then pour over the pecans, stirring to coat. Spread pecans on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray and bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Whisk the egg whites with 2 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Stir in your pecans..

In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sprink over the pecan/eggwhite mixture.

Stir well making sure to coat all of the pecans.

Spread the sugar-glazed pecans onto a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake on low heat, 225, for one hour. You’ll want to stir about every 15 minutes.

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The Gibson Family

2012-12-05T21:16:00.000-06:00

I had the pleasure of photographing the most adorable family. Meet the Gibsons....

Hot Fudge Sundae Cupcakes

2012-12-02T09:36:00.001-06:00

I have been toying with the idea of hot fudge cupcakes for awhile. Like everyone else, I am super busy so I use any shortcut I can find when baking. Though I prefer baking from scratch, it's just not in the cards at the moment. This is a quick, easy, I need to make something in a hurry because I don't have much time recipe.

I have posted before that I would never purchase a chocolate cake mix again. I usually make my chocolate cakes from a yellow cake mix adding sour cream and coca. You can find my recipe here. But in an effort to save time, I purchased a swiss chocolate cake mix to use as my base. Adding hot fudge topping and chocolate pudding to the mix gave it that little touch to make it wonderful, not to mention that it makes this a triple chocolate cake! I topped it with a french vanilla frosting, chocolate sauce, and nuts. I substituted sprinkles on some of the cupcakes for those who do not like nuts.

For the Cake:

1 box of your favorite chocolate cake mix or favorite cake from scratch
1/2 cup Hot Fudge Topping
1 small box of chocolate pudding mix

Make cake according to directions on box; add the hot fudge topping and box of chocolate pudding mix. Mix and bake according to directions on box.

For the Frosting:

1 cup of vegetable shortening
1/2 cup french vanilla creamer (I used coffee-mate french vanilla liquid creamer)
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups of powdered sugar

Mix shortening, creamer, and vanilla with an electric mixer on low speed. Alternately add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. You may need to add more powdered sugar or creamer to achieve correct consistency.

Drizzle with more hot fudge and nuts/sprinkles as desired. Top with cherry !

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Fall Pics of My Daughter ~ Heather

2012-11-25T12:54:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures I took of my daughter. The fall colors were absoutely beautiful.

White Chocolate Mousse in Phyllo Cups ~ A quick and easy dessert.

2012-11-20T14:29:00.002-06:00

Mini phyllo cups make it swift and simple to create an elegant dessert. I needed a dessert for work and I didn't have much time. I simply pulled some whipping cream out of the refrigerator and some white chocolate chips, phyllo dough, and blueberries from the freezer and voilà …... instant dessert!

As I mentioned, I was in a hurry. I didn't even waste time with the phyllo (fillo) dough, I went straight for the mini phyllo shells. All you do it remove from the freezer, let it thaw, and fill it with whatever you can throw together in a hurry. In my case it was White Chocolate Mousse. This mousse also taste great in cupcakes!

Mousse Ingredients:

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

2 cups white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

This will fill about 45 phyllo cups.

note: substitute 2 cups of chocolate chips for chocolate mousse.

Instructions:

Step 1: Place mixing bowl and beaters in freezer to chill.

Step 2: Melt chocolate chips in microwave at 30 second intervals until melted and set aside to cool a little.

Step 3: Beat whipping cream until desired thickness in reached. (if you have never used whipping cream, it should have a similar consistency to Cool Whip)

Step 4: Pour the melted chocolate into the whipped cream and fold the chocolate into the whipped cream. If you over mix it, the cream you worked so hard to fluff will fall. It will still taste great so if it happens, do not stress about it.

Step 5: Place you mousse into a piping bag or zip lock bag with corner cut. It can be placed in the refrigerator to use at a later time or go ahead a pipe into you phyllo shells.

This mousse taste great topped with fruit, jelly (I melt it a little and pipe over top), nuts, and chocolate or caramel syrups. If you are in a hurry, look around your kitchen and see what you have on hand.

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Free eBook ~ The beginner's guide to backyard chickens

2012-11-15T22:12:00.004-06:00

Right now you can download this book for free. The price could change at any time so be sure to make sure it says $0. Go here to download a Download a free copy of The Beginner’s Guide to Backyard Chickens.