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Kitchen Tip Tuesday:Posted by Rachel on October 19, 2009
If you have problems with cakes, brownies, or cookies sticking to the pan, you can put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and spray it with oil. Make sure you don’t use wax paper unless you want crayon flavored cake. 
And make sure you go to Tammy’s Recipes for more great kitchen tips.
Menu Plan MondayPosted by Rachel on October 18, 2009
I am just starting Menu Plan Monday since I have just started planning the weekly Menu with my sister Lindsay.
Monday: B-Oatmeal pancakes made by me
D-Pasta with Lentil sauce made by Lindsay
Tuesday: B-Banana chocolate chip muffins by me
D-White beans over rice pulled out of the freezer with garlic biscuits by me
Wednesday: B-Lemon poppy seed muffins by me
D-Cranberry pork chops with sweet potatoes, corn, and butter beans by me
Thursday: B-Orange yogurt bread by me D-
Beef pot pie by me
Friday: B-Apple nut muffins by me
D-quesadillas by me
I look froward to posting more menus. Make sure to visit I’m An Organizing Junkie for more great menus!
Tea TimePosted by Rachel on October 14, 2009
My family loves hot tea, one of my favorites is vanilla rooibos. My favorite way to prepare it is to put one teaspoon of vanilla tea in an infuser in a cup, then pour boiling water over it and let it steep for 10 minutes. remove the infuser and add 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar. Enjoy!
I have been starting to cross stitch and embroider and thought I would share some pictures of my latest projects.
Since I am enjoying embroidery and cross stitching so much I want to try quilting soon. If you know of any good quilting books or websites it would be a great help if you would leave me a comment. The first quilt I want to make will be a simple one with some embroidered pictures on a few of the squares.
A New PuppyPosted by Rachel on October 13, 2009
On July 11th we got a new puppy. I had been wanting a pure lab puppy for three years but they cost so much money was not able to get one. My parents said if I could find a puppy at a low price, a good breed mix, and we all liked it we could get one. I was searching several hundred puppies a day on Craigslist. One night at about eight I had been looking at so many puppies which made me want one even more. I got onto Craigslist and saw that an hour before someone had posted a free puppy that was eight weeks old. She was just so cute with her big floppy ears and was just the right breed mix, lab/fox terrier. I showed my dad the ad and he said my mom could call to ask about the puppy. The next evening my dad, mom, Sarah, Caroline, and I were on our way to get the puppy which we were naming Penelope or Penny for short.
She is now five months old and weighs 37 pounds. She looks and acts mostly fox terrier so I call her a giant fox terrier. She loves people, she is a little over protective of me, she is brilliant, and learns new commands quickly. Since she is so smart she can be stubborn. She loves to play, she is sweet, funny, she loves fall, and will lay outside on the porch swing for hours at a time. She is just a wonderful puppy!
Penny loves toys. We got her her first stuffed toy a few days ago, a stuffed chicken, which she loves. If she wants to play, she will go get her chicken and hold it in her mouth, squeaking it and looking up at you until you will play tug of war or throw it for her.
She also loves her walks. I usually take her on one every night and when she sees I have my walking shoes on and have her leash she will get all excited and try to pull me to the gate. If I only have my walking shoes on or only have the leash she won’t get excited since she knows we aren’t going on a walk. She learns quickly.
I use the “It’s Me Or The Dog” training method which I think is by far the best method. I have watched most of her shows and have seen a lot of useful tips. I have not read her book but I want to get it soon.
I will continue to post stories, pictures, and videos of Penny so you can all get to know her.
Here is a picture of Penny I just took the other day. She had just woken up and I let her outside to lie on her swing.
Here is a picture of her the day we got her.
Dog PopsiclesPosted by Rachel on August 27, 2009
Here is a recipe of Ham dog pops! I am making them for a puppy we got on July 11th named Penny.
Ham Dog Pops
3/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 jar Gerber baby food
2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
Mix all ingredients together, pour into a ice tray and freeze.
I am going to try to post daily so I can keep up with my blog, thank you for visiting!
Kitchen Tip Tuesdays: The Cooks Country CookbookPosted by Rachel on March 16, 2009
The Cooks Country Cookbook is a great cookbook for anybody! It does not have a lot of fancy hard to follow recipes, but it has easy to follow recipes that people will use every day. I have only made two of the recipes in it, but they were great! I have made the “whoopie pies” twice and the “Skillet Chicken Parmesan” once and even my dad who does not like Parmesan likes it! This is a great cookbook for anybody to have but especially newlyweds. Don’t forget to have a look at Tammy’s Recipes! And please look at my sisters etsy shop!
Treasure HuntPosted by Rachel on March 14, 2009
On Friday it was a cold blustery, rainy day, but nonetheless, we went to Goodwill and KCM on a treasure hunt. I found some really good bargains, especially when you consider I only had $9 to spend! We first went to Goodwill and there I found:
Little Women! I have been searching for this book for a while. Lindsay spotted it, gave it to me to buy, and now I have my own copy which only cost $1.99. It is unabridged and was made in 2004. Even though it is not old, it was still a great deal. Now I am on the hunt for an old version. I love the story and am pleased I can read it over and over again.
I also found an old Noritake China creamer. The creamer is Royal Pink and was made from 1954 – 1959. It is worth $35.99, yet I only paid $2.99 for it. I have now officially started my china collection. It does have a small crack on the side, but I like it more with the crack, since its imperfection will always remind me how old it is. The colors are cream with a light pink edge and gold trim. You can look at more items in the set here.
I also got a wallet for $1.99 and found a $2 bill inside of it. It is black and has a lot of pockets, which is something I was looking for. I have been needing one for my purse, but they are $10 at Wal-Mart, so I never bought one.
At KCM (Katy Christan Ministries), my mom bought me a bike for $5. I love the oldness of it and all the history behind it. It is a kelly green, has breaks on the handles, two baskets on the back wheel, and one basket on the handle bars. The tires need to be repaired, but it was still a great deal.
I got one gray skirt that is ankle length and is made from a smooth and soft material.
Then I found a blue skirt with a purple net over it which is embroidered with beautiful flowers. It is also ankle length.
I also found an ankle length blue denim skirt, which is full and twirls nicely when I spin.
And last but not least, I got this top to go over other shirts. It has flowers and poodles on it and is perfect for me since I am a dog lover. I can only wear it over other shirts since it is a spaghetti strap shirt and therefore not modest. I will do a post on modesty soon.
I would love to get to know you all as friends. So please feel free to leave as many comments as you like so that we can get to know one another! If you would like me to post anything on here or if you have any questions just leave a comment and I will write a post about if I can.
Recipe Wednesday:Date Nut LoafPosted by Rachel on November 4, 2008
We try to make this every Christmas. It is really sweet and good! You have to use large marshmallows and not mini since you need to cut them up so they will stick. You also need to use plain dates, not flour or sugar coated or they will not stick either.
Date Nut Loaf Mamaw Carathers
1 lb. Marshmallows (must be large marshmallows, not mini)
1 lb. shelled pecans
1 lb. vanilla wafers
1 lb. pitted dates (must be pitted dates, no pre-chopped)
1 can eagle brand (sweetened coundenced milk)
evaporated milk to moisten
Crush wafers, cut up marshmallows (not mini), dates & pecans. Mix in crumbs with hands. Add eagle brand and enough pet milk to moisten enough to make dough stick together (add pet milk in small amounts so as no to over moisten). Wet hands & make into roll on waxed paper. Roll in waxed paper & chill. Slice & serve.
To participate in Recipe Wednesday, you can post a recipe on your blog with the title Recipe Wednesday. Paste the link below in the Mister Linky box, but be sure to use the URL for the post itself, and not your whole blog. If you do not have a blog you can leave a comment with the recipe and your real name or your screen name.
Kitchen Tip Tuesday: Raw EggsPosted by Rachel on
If you are making something that requires raw eggs, you can get pasteurized eggs at the store. They are safe and free of salmonella. You can use them in homemade eggnog or anything that needs raw eggs. Tomorrow I am starting “Recipe Wednesday” on here and I look forward to reading all the recipes you can come up with! And don’t forget to look at Tammy’s blog to get more great kitchen tips!
The Art Of FoodPosted by Rachel on November 2, 2008
Even though I enjoy baking a little more, I also really like cooking. Some of the things I like to cook and bake are cheesecake, cake, pies, chicken, beef roast, stuffing, and other sides. When you cook or bake you are creating art to express yourself. You can make soup for someone that is sick, or you can make them their favorite meal. I think cooking and baking are important, so you can cook for your family. If you know how, you can take a piece of fatty meat, some carrots, and some potatoes and make a fabulous meal. In the future I would like to learn to make all kinds of stuff. There are so many possibilities it’s amazing. I would also like to learn good yeast breads.