Blog Surfing

I love this great idea for a special birthday party hat. I'm putting it here for safekeeping! From Hoosier Homemade. You should at least look at it!
 
This Grilled Vegetable Salad from Land O Lakes looks easy and good.

I have seen recipes for bacon in everything, including ice cream! Here is a recipe for bacon scones. I'm always looking for granola recipes to try. This recipe is for Cherry Almond Granola. Peach Crumble looks like it would be good. All from Taste of Home.

Most bakers have their favorite recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you haven't found your favorite yet, you might want to check this one out. From Serious Eats.

If you enjoy baking, you should check out Joy of Baking. Here is their recipe for German Chocolate Cake, but you should check out their blog. Lots of great recipes.

This Peach Vanilla Jam sounds really good. It is from Seasons and Suppers. I would love to make this in a few weeks. 

Smokey Mountain Cafe has a recipe for So Gone Pork Tenderloin. It looks and sounds like a great recipe!

Culinary in the Desert has Graham Cracker Chewy Bars that look easy to make and a great way to use up graham crackers.

Looking for the perfect Gazpacho? This could be it! From Tasty Kitchen.

Cookstr featured this recipe for Grilled Salmon with Fresh Blueberry Corn Salsa looks and sounds great. 

I haven't had time to read anything lately, so I'm keeping this here for when I do have time. I'm looking forward to seeing the Top 25 Recipes of the Summer. This was sent to me by Food.com.

I love how easy it is to make your own Cupcake Tower. It takes a couple of soup cans, cardboard, paper, ribbon and time. These are basic guidelines that can be adapted to make a cake tier also. If you enjoy creating this type of presentation, you should check it out. Thanks to Annie's Eats for the great idea with instructions and pictures.

These Pizza Cups caught my eye. You make them in muffin tins and they would be great as an appetizer or a portable lunch. From My Kitchen in Snippets.

You will find a few Blue Ribbon winning recipes from several State Fairs here.  They are from Food.com.

I have had my eyes on some blackberries that are almost ripe. This Blackberry Cobbler recipe could be a great way to use them. From Taste of Home.

If you like popcorn and use the microwave bags, you might want to read this information from Yahoo! Green.

Epicurious has a recipe of the day for World Peace Cookies. The promise to be a dark chocolate lovers dream!

Country magazine is featuring Taste of Home recipes for salad recipes using avocados, including this recipe for Avocado Mandarin Tossed Salad. 

I love these easy steps on How to Make a Flower Pie Crust that I found on Love & Homemade Recipes. It's a great idea. You might also like the Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes or one of her other zucchini recipes below.

Wordless Wednesday

"Lofthouse" Sugar Cookies

I made these cookies for a party way back in July. I knew there would be lots of kids and I though they would like these cookies with all of the sparkles. They definitely did! A couple of us got a kick out of watching as the kids came back for handful after handful while their parents were busy talking. My grandson was one of them. The adults came back for more too!

This is the first time I remember making cookies using a cake mix as the base. It made the whole process so easy! I wanted a sugar cookie but a little more soft and pillowy. The recipe I found sounded just right and it was quick and easy, which is what I needed at that time. I found this recipe at Food.com.

I started with a Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix. I added oil and two eggs, mixed it up until just combined, rolled them into balls, using a very small scoop. I baked them for about 6-8 minutes in a 375-degree oven. I let them cool and frosted them with a tub-o-frosting and showered them with sprinkles! That's it. If you would like the exact recipe, you can find it here. 

I forgot to try one before they were gone, but my sources tell me they were good.

After several weeks in moving/vacation mode, we are back on a semi-regular schedule, which will give me time to check in here more often. I have lots of pictures that I have downloaded but no cooking/baking at all. I expect to be back in cooking mode in a week or so.

It's Official (almost), We Are Oregonians Again!

 
Here I am, sitting in a Starbucks, enjoying my coffee and their WiFi, and then I remembered that in a previous life, I had a blog! I checked to make sure and yes, it was true. I have not checked in for a while but we are alive and still kicking! I hope that you are all enjoying your summer! Ours has been eventful, in a good way!

We arrived in Oregon on Saturday the 14th, which makes it almost official that we are residents of Oregon, again. 

We hit the road that morning at 4:30 a.m. and arrived at 11:37 p.m. That was a very long day, 19 hours and 7 minutes to be exact, especially after five hours of sleep the night before! We made a plan to take this trip a little slower than our usual trips. We decided that we would make more stops than we usually make. In hindsight, that wasn't the best idea we ever had. All of those hours spent on the road were almost unbearable. It broke our previous 'longest road trip' record of 16 hours and 32 minutes. Our doggies didn't complain but we sure did, or maybe it was just me that complained! Yes, it was just me!

We have been recovering this week as we are vacationing and will continue with our vacation through next week. I'm not sure if I remember how to cook and bake any more or if I every want to again. Being waited on is definitely a great way to live! Now being serious again, I will get back to blogging soon enough, and until that day arrives, I will post when/if I have a free moment. I have kept my camera close, so I have been taking lots of pictures, I just need to be in the same room with my USB cord so that that I can download! For now, we are traveling and vacationing and having a great time!

I'm guessing that we will be official Oregon residents after we take the drivers test. Hopefully we will pass the test and have our Oregon drivers licenses reinstated! I think that might be what makes it official. Either that or paying taxes to the State of Oregon.



I hope that you are enjoying your summer!

We Are Family

Our daughter and her family have made their way up north and are now occupied with starting their new life in Oregon. I have a few parting shots!

 

 

 
It was hard to see them go, but as they were leaving a beautiful angel named Lori arrived to support me with help sorting, packing, and our Saturday moving sale organization (including signs and pricing)! And most importantly, she supported me by willingly listened to my endless "gramma" stories!! We were very busy working but, we had lots of fun together at the same time. I'm so happy that I have had Lori here to bridge that loneliness gap and to keep me on track. Her support was amazing! We accomplished everything I had hoped for and more!

  I am sad to say that she flew away today! 

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I love you Lori!

I am now focusing on wrapping up our life here in California before we make our move north next week. I will try to check in here every few days!

A big thank you to my other three sisters and two brothers that would have helped me if they could have made it down/up here.

If you love family and sisters, click here!

Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Treats

Things have been very busy around here. Our daughter and her family are all moved out of their home and will be heading for Oregon very soon. I have spent a lot of time with the grandsons while their mom has been taking care of moving details and I have enjoyed every minute of it! We have been to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Lunch with Gramma Barb, Aquarium of the Pacific, swimming and last, but not least, the beach! Lots of fun memories have been made during their last week in California!

We attended a great summer party last weekend and I made Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Treats that I saw on Brown Eyed Baker. No baking needed. There was a lot of great feedback and everyone loved them.

I didn't get a picture of them with the milk chocolate drizzle on them. My camera battery died so I didn't get any pictures of the party either!

The finished treats!

Another view!

Enjoy!

Great Grandma Paulsen's Peanut Butter Cookies

I recently got a note from my niece Cindy, reminding me about great grandma's favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. I'm so glad that she did, because I had forgotten about it and now I'm posting it. With only four ingredients, it couldn't be easier. Our kids liked to make great grandma's cookies when they were younger and I'm glad that I can pass this recipe on to her great-great-grandkids and beyond.

Mix together:                      

1 cup Peanut Butter

1 cup Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

Dip a fork in water to make the criss-cross on the cookies and put them in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Thanks, Cindy!

Enjoy!