Making Cinnamon Toast The Right Way....

This is not your mama's Cinnamon Toast....

I am about to change your life regarding Cinnamon Toast! Are you ready? I am not sure you can handle this, but here I go. First of all there is a wrong way and a right way to making cinnamon toast, I bet you did not know that, I didn't. We have been making it wrong for way to long. You have been taking the bread putting it in the toaster, then taking it out spreading butter on it and sprinkle cinnamon and suger, oh no that is defiantly the wrong way. Let me share with you what I have just learned, the only way to make Cinnamon Toast. Take 1 stick of room temp butter, then take 1/2 cup of sugur, 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and sometimes I use a little more, then about 10 swips across the microplane of a fresh nutmeg, and 1 tsp of real Vanilla Extract I used Mexican Vanilla Extract mix this all in a small bowl, until all is blended. Take a piece of White Bread, Whole Wheat Bread or what ever you have, spread a genouse amount on your bread cover the bread all the way to the edges, this step is important. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes I layed tin foil down on a cookie sheet and then place the buttered bread down butter side facing up, no need to spray the foil. Then after the timer goes off, yes put the darn timer on, then turn the oven to broil, now at this point don't walk away not even for a second. Are you listening to me you see the picture of the burnt toast do you want your toast to look like that? I don't think so! Open the oven door while the broil is on, your pan should be on the top rack, watch your toast cook for 10-20 SECONDS, no more or you will have something the dogs won't even eat, trust me on this. If you followed my directions to the tee, you will have something that is amazingly out of this world. "Just look at that." The top is crispy, crunch and carmalized you really have something very special here. You can thank me and Ree later, I know, I know where have we been all your life? Its crazy good isn't it? You should have lots of cinnamon butter spread left over to make it again and again. Let me know what you think. I just descovered this from another blogger Ree she is awesome. I have been making it wrong my whole life until now.

I deocrated my School Bus

I decorated my school bus for the children. When they came on the bus for the first time they went crazy! It was so pretty. I like doing this becuase it gives the kids something to look at. I gave them little goody bags for Christmas. We also sang Christmas songs on the way home from school, we had a great time.

It's been a while...

Sorry it's been a while since I have written anything. Let me catch up in the next few blogs. I have been so busy. Anyway, Thanksgiving was awesome. All my food turned out great and my family was as lively as ever. I think we did end up talking about poo after dinner was over , which is not un-common.

Tuna Sandwich and Girlfriends

I went to the Girlfriends event at church today and it was great. I made some new friends and saw some old ones too. Marking my calendar for the next one. I made tuna fish sandwich on a buttery croissant with a little Vadalia Onion and a home grown tomato. I sprinkled a little White Wine Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cracked pepper and Sea Salt. Yummo!

Working on my Thanksgiving Menu

I am working on my Thanksgiving menu......First of all I have my two son's, my daughter and her husband, my aunt and uncle, my sons 3 friends that are from another state. This makes a total of 11 people for dinner.

Thanksgiving Menu

November 25, 2010

Golden Roasted Turkey

Rich and Creamy Gravy

Buttery Mashed Potatoes

Sausage Sage Apple Stuffing

Nuttty Sweet Potato Casserole

Chunky Apple Orange Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce from you know where

Fresh Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

Green Beans with Mushrooms and Toasted Onions Casserole

Cauliflower with Gruyere Cheese Casserole

Crescent Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Dark Chocolate Slik Pie

Coffee and Wine

It's a must that we all sit around a totally decorated table with the finest of dishes and china and a linen table cloth. I actually decorate it with everything Chirstmas. I know it's crazy, but this is how I have done it for years. What a great way to welcome in the season of Thanksgiving of our saviors birth. Now about that can cranberry sauce there is one family member that loves this cranberry sauce so for them I greatly serve it. I have been making this whole meal for years, I keep trying to get my kids in the kitchen to learn the recipes and the timing of cooking everything, but no one want's to get up that early. I put my turkey in a Brine for 24 hours and I make a buttery wine sauce to baste my turkey.

Halloween treats for my kids on the School bus....

I made goody bags for my kids on my elementary routes. I put cute Halloween erasers, gooey eyeball, pencils, kaleidoscopes, spiders, stickers, silly bands, Halloween activity books, spider bouncy balls, a gift certificate for free chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A and much more....I have 106 students on my two elementary routes. I had to fill this basket several times. I also made these cute spider pencils too for the kids. I used Halloween pencils, green flower tape and plastic spider rings and Chenille Stems to make them.

I have totally lost my voice....

I have totally lost my voice, so what do you do? You make homemade Chicken Veggie Soup! How I made it; I took fresh rosemary, thyme, sea salt, cracked black pepper and Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pureed it in the food processor I then poured it over the peeled veggies; carrots, potatoes, celery, Sweet Valida Onion 8 whole cloves of garlic and roasted them at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. I took half the veggies and put them in the food processor and pureed them, I added this pureed mixture to chicken stock and broth with the remaining veggies. My husband bought me a Cooked Rotisserie Chicken from the market. I took the skin off and shredded the meat and added it to the chicken stock. I cooked separately egg noodles and then added them to the soup. I also, cooked sweet corn, green beans and peas and added them. So yummy!

It's me...DeeDee: My Gypsy came In...

It's me...DeeDee: My Gypsy came In...: "I won a Gypsy online about a week ago and it came in yesterday! Hip hip hurray! I can't wait to start making some really cool things... O..."

My Gypsy came In...

I won a Gypsy online about a week ago and it came in yesterday! Hip hip hurray! I can't wait to start making some really cool things... Oh for of those of you who do not know what a Gypsy is it's a hand held piece of equipment that I can use anywhere, design on the go. It holds all my Cricut cartridges. I am very excited about this!

The Apple Festival on Saturday

Ashley, and I spent the day together at the Apple Festival, we had a great time. I had the most wonderful apple dumpling. It's a hot baked brown sugar and cinnamon apple covered in a baked crusty dough, topped with a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. One of the things we bought was aprons for the kitchen, we just fell in love with them. It was a beautiful cool sunny day! These bird houses made me smile, it's the Big Chicken Bird houses. Do you think birds want to live in a the Big Chicken, he he.... One of the other picture is of these really pretty colored glass wind chimes, I just loved them.

A scarecrow that I made

My scarecrow: I took a green foam ring cut a piece out for the hand separation. I covered with material and I made a collar and sewed it onto the other material. I made a face and stuffed it with batting I also, used black buttons for the eyes and I sewed the details on the face. I used straw for the hair and around the collar and hat, glue was used for this. For the hat I used orange material and sewed the hat to his head. I used my garden gloves.

Craft I made for Halloween

I made these cute pen, pencil and stick holders for my school bus! I also made the can. I painted the cans and used really pretty paper to cover the cans and put ribbon on one and die cuts on the other. I used die cuts, Chenille Stems to wrap the pens! If you double click the picture you can see it closer up. Every kid wants one. Easy peezy, lemon squeezy.....I put these on my school bus!

My Halloween Card

This is made for a Spooky Challenge! I made this card with Mini Monster's Cricut Cartridge! I used a $1 stamp from Micheal's "Trick or Treat." I used Martha Stewart Drip Punch, and ribbon I just had. The pumpkin and owl is a puff sticker thingy! This was a fun card to make.

Happy Halloween Card

Here is one of my fun cards I made this week. I used my Cricut to make the witch and Calderon. I used purple and black tulle on her hat, I used a rubber stamp for the Happy Halloween! I used these design lines for the skulls and tomb stones. I used black cob webs paper for the inside of the card and use Stickles Glitter on all the webs and I had a little puffy spider with goggle eyes! I used Martha Stewart Drip Punch.

Today's breakfast

Today's breakfast; scrambled eggs, English muffin with my homemade blueberry jam and a cup of coffee, yummy! Now I can start my day.

My cute mice cards

I made these over the weekend. I had so much fun making these cards. My girlfriend Linda has been sick, so I made one for her! And she just told me she loves it and wants to frame it! To funny....

In remembrance of 9/11

In remembrance of 9/11. I will never forget!
Thank you to all who serve our country and our people. God Bless the USA.

Dinner tonight; salad, steak and potato!

Dinner Tonight Baked Chicken with Garlic Goat Cheese and fresh Basile Leaves

Baked Chicken with Garlic Goat Cheese and fresh Basile leaves. Also a crispy salad!

Steak Dinner Sunday August 29, 2010

Tonight's dinner grilled Rib eyed steak, baked potato, salad and broccoli with a homemade Gruyere Cheese, Sharp Cheddar Cheese sauce and a glass of wine. I know this is a lot of calories, it's a treat.

Sunday August 29, 2010

Jeff and I went to church this morning, then we went to the grocery store and came home and made lunch. I am still working on my scrapbook room. I am organizing it and cleaning it out. We have several stacks of paper of mail to go through. I really hate all the mail that comes in our home. I will post a picture of my craft room once I get it cleaned up enough. I haven't been taking pictures of my food lately, because I started back to work. I will try to put some pictures up, it's hard getting the good lighting for the pictures. I also, want to start posting pictures of my cards that I make! I just love my Cricut Machine, it is so much fun to play with! I made these cards with my Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge. I also used the toilet paper cardboard to slide my tags into. I painted the inside of the cardboard to match the paper I put on the outside. I used Martha Steward flowers and I used Stamping Up Stamps. Some of the stickers are Creative Memories The paper came from Hobby Lobby! I hope I didn't forget anything. I did, I didn't take a picture of the toilet paper holder that I slide the tags into, I will post at another time.

Dinner And A Movie .

Dinner tonight was Tri-Pasta with Sausage. This is how I made it; I roasted a whole garlic bulb and Italian Sausage in the oven for 25-30 minutes on 350 degrees. I boiled fresh pasta for 3-4 minutes and then I squeezed all the soft garlic into the pasta, I used a pinch of red pepper flakes, 2 chopped green scallions, 1/4 - 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, cracked black pepper and sea salt to taste and a squeeze of a fresh lemon! Yummy! Jeff and I went to see a movie with our free passes that I won. We saw the movie Inception. It was pretty good! Jeff took me by Jo Ann's, which is a craft/fabric store! I love going in there anyway, I met a consultant from Pravo, who was doing a demo with the Cricket Machine. I was so excited to talk to her, Lisa was showing me some cool things with the Cricket! We ran by the grocery store picked up some food for the week. Jeff likes to grocery shopping and he is a great bargain shopper!

It's going to be a great day! July 27, 2010

Good morning, thanks again for stopping by! I did not post all my meals I had yesterday, so I will put them in this post. Yesterday for lunch, I had leftovers; Broccoli and Steak with Pork Fried Rice. For dinner Jeff and I had Spicy Chicken Breast with a fresh salad. I made my own salad dressing; I used EVVO, White Wine Vinegar, honey, Dijon Mustard, Soy Sauce, garlic clove, pepper and Salt. For breakfast this morning I made another Greek Yogurt with fresh fruit. I used strawberries, pineapples and a Peach, honey and homemade granola. I forgot to mention, Jeff and I just celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on Sunday! God has truly blessed us with our relationship as wife and husband. I have to give God credit for this, because this was another answered pray. He is faithful. Every storm that has come our way, God has been there along with every joy! We praise Jesus, and we thank him for the desires and dreams he places in our hearts. I will be attempting another go at cleaning my craft room. This is a very big job. It has become a catch all room. I might get brave one day and post a picture, but I am to embarrassed to show you. Oh, I took this picture of the glob in my garden this morning.

Monday breakfast July 26, 2010

Good morning, thanks for stopping by! I made myself a fruit yogurt parfait. This is how I made it; I took a fancy glass and yes the glass is important. I then used plain Greek Yogurt and I put a little bit of honey in and then took my micro-plain and a lemon and put about 1/2 tsp. lemon zest in the yogurt and then I cut up into bite size pieces fresh pineapple and strawberries, I mixed it all together. I took some of my homemade granola about 1 tbls spoon, and place it at the bottom of the glass. I then topped the granola with the yogurt and more sliced up strawberries and pineapples then another layer of yogurt and more fresh fruit and granola. This is so much better than those yogurts that already have fruit in them. They are loaded with sugar and all kinds of chemicals. I use the Chobani brand Plain Greek Yogurt, it has 140 calories, 0 fat, 9 grams of sugar, and 23 grams of protein. I think those other little yogurts; have 9g of protein in them.

I hope be have a blessed day! Look to the lord for your help and your guidance and start reading the bible, if this is your first time reading it, I would start in Psalms. But first pray to god to reveal to you what he wants to show you through the word as you read the word of God. Here is a verse for you, it is in, II Chronicles 26:5 "As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success."

Sunday morning, when a family is standing on the side of the raod asking for help. July 25, 2010

We drove to church this morning, and passed a family, sitting outside the car holding up a sign that read "we need help" WWJD? We kept driving to church. We pulled into the church parking lot at Mountain Lake Church and felt compelled to pray for this family. My husband and I were moved by the spirit during the prayer to leave right at that moment, to go and see what kind of help they needed. The man was on oxygen, the wife was sitting beside him and their 13 year old daughter was sitting in the drivers seat. He said he had gone to many churches for help, but none would help him. He seemed very bitter towards the church. Another man was there too asking what he could do for them, this man said he would help them. He told us a number of things he needed. His car need fixing, his trailer that they were living in needed to be shored-up, he needed a tire for his car for one was in really bad shape and he needed his tanks to be filled. His wife lost her job and he can't work because of his health. Another man came up and said he was led to turn around to help them. He gave them some money, and he said he lost his 21 year old son in January. You could see the pain in his eyes. We left to go get some money, we returned and they were still sitting there, we prayed with them and handed them an envelope. I said "do you have a relationship with Jesus" and he said yes. I said to them "put your trust in God not man or a church, because sometimes they will let you down." That is why so many people walk away from God. I said, "trust God to do a work in people, to minister to you." I wrote his name, number and address down and the other man who was standing there to see if we could get more help for them. What would you have done? There are so many people hurting out there today. We were hurting pretty bad too when Jeff was out of work for 9 months. We are still not back to normal yet, but we are working on it, there is always someone worse off than you. So what would you have done, just curious?

For lunch today, I used the leftovers from last night. I made mini steak sandwiches with a homemade blue cheese sauce. This was very good!!

One of the way's on how I save Money!

"One of the ways I save money" I wash my cloths in cold water, I have turned the hot water valve off, on my washing machine. I also, hang out my laundry whenever every now and then. There is something about hanging out your cloths in the fresh air, the freshness it gives to your cloths.  If they get to stiff I just toss them in the dryer for 2 minutes. We've really notice a big savings in our electricity bill. For those of you who have children at home, I know this would be a big task for you especially if you work. If you committed to hanging out your laundry to a least a couple of loads or maybe your rugs, that would be a start. During the summer months when our electricity bills go higher, you could get the kids to help you hang out the laundry and bring it in. Plus the dryer, shrinks your cloths and I hate when my shirts shrink. Sometimes if I don't hang my cloths outside, I will put them on hangers and hang them in guest bathroom overnight. I am not saying I don't use my dryer I do, but I try to use it less than I use too.