How I Saved Christmas: Tales of the Half-lit Tree

Pre-lit tree is getting old. Last year pre-lit tree had some dark patches. This year pre-lit tree has a whole dark middle. I tried to fix it. The man of the house tried to fix it. Even armed with fancy short detecting technology pre-lit tree refused to light.

I tried to buy a new pre-lit tree, but the only trees available at such a late date had purple, black, or orange needles. Think Dr. Seuss.

So today as I ate lunch I resigned myself to Christmas with half-lit tree. Once I had resigned myself to the situation, as it generally goes, the creative problem solving side of my brain kicked in. So off I went to the drug store to buy an extension cord & a set of 100 white tree-lights. I got some sets working using the extension cord & the few dark branches that were left got wrapped in the supplement set of lights.

Now half-lit tree looks like THIS!
Isn't that more like it!

White Chocolate Pop Corn

I first had this as a midnight snack at a scrapbook retreat it was so tasty I knew I needed to try making it. You just need a REAL big bowl (or two.) This was a big hit with my family. They are already offering suggestions of all the different things we could mix into it.

1 bag of microwave pop corn with NO BUTTER (air pop corn would work well too)
3 squares of White Bark Coating
colorful candy decorations (optional)

Pop the popping corn. You don't want any butter or oil, it will make the coating get gummy & not set up properly. Transfer the popped corn into a bowl. At this point I transfer the pop corn by hand to a bowl I will mix in. By doing it by hand you can make sure not to get the un-popped kernels at the bottom of the bowl.

In a microwave dish melt the candy bark. I used 3 squares. Melt the candy 30 seconds at a time when it begins to get soft, stir around with a spoon & continue heating 30 seconds at a time until all of the candy bark is melted.

Pour the melted candy onto the popcorn & toss around in the bowl with two spoons. Once you have mixed in the candy bark, you can mix in your colorful candies. I used cupcake sprinkles, you could also use holiday colored M&M's or, hmmm, I wonder how some crushed candy cane pieces would be.

While the mixture is still soft (it doesn't set up too fast so you have time to work with it) use a large ice cream scoop to portion the popped corn into colorful muffin papers.

Wordless Wednesday: Lead Me - Music Video

What Am I Up To? - Cooking

This recipe is currently under development.
It needs more garlic, and a different kind of pasta but look how beautifully it photographs.

Inspired by the tortellini that comes with TGI Friday's Parmesan Crusted Chicken & Chicken Evangeline that I ate this Saturday at Babin's Seafood House. And of course I love shrimp more than anything so I have to make it a shrimp dish.



Step by step slideshow of last night's developing the spinach sauce can be seen here http://thefragranthand.blogspot.com/2011/11/wordless-wednesday-tortellini.html

Wordless Wednesday: Tortellini Evangeline

Not A Scrapbook

I'm at a scrapbook retreat. It's been wonderful, but suddenly...

It's not a scrapbook. It's not a journal. It's a picture capturing how I feel in this moment.

Chuck Roast Barbecue

This recipe is from the cookbook Southern Living Our Best Easy Weeknight Favorites - this is an old favorite I'm reviving. It's made in the crock-pot so a perfect recipe for dinner on a busy Fall night.
This make tasty sandwiches, but it's also wonderful served over baked potatoes with sour cream.

Chuck Roast Barbecue

1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed of fat
2 medium onions, chopped
1 (12 oz)can cola flavored drink (1 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons beef bouillon (I use one Knorr beef bouillon cube)
¾ teaspoon dry mustard
¾ teaspoon chili powder
¼ to ½ teaspoon ground red pepper (I'm a spice wimp, I use none)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 CUP ketchup
1 tablespoon butter
6 hamburger buns
dill pickle slices (optional)

Place roast in a 3 ½ or 4 quart electric slow cooker; add onion. Combine cola and next 7 ingredients. Remove 1 cup of the sauce, cover & chill the reserved cup for later. Pour remaining sauce over roast. Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or on LOW 9 hours or until roast is very tender. Remove roast with chopped onion from cooker, using a slotted spoon, and shred meat with two forks. (reserve remaining meat juices to spoon over mashed potatoes or toast, if desired.) I throw out the onions, they add flavor to the roast but don't have much flavor in them by the end.

Combine reserved sauce, ketchup, and butter in a saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thoroughly heated. Pour sauce over shredded meat, stirring gently. Spoon meat mixture onto buns.
Yield 6 servings.

Show Me Your Desktop: October 2011

A photo I took at my Dad's house in 2010.