It's been forever...

Wow, I looked back at my last post and it was over two years ago.  

I was looking for a recipe this morning for John and found it in my ages old Thanksgiving post that goes back to '08.  Those were the days when I used to love to blog and scrapbook

Lots of good food, after you click on the link below, just hover over the name of what you're interested in, click and it will link to the recipe.  You can't do it from the picture above, you have to link to the actual site.

http://munchiebusiness.com/thanksgivingrecipes08.html

Life is good here in Tennessee, I just wish I had the drive I used to have.  I loved posting on Blogger for many years. I still post recipes on jancooks.com occasionally.  I'm still a foodie, still love cooking, and I'm going to try and pop on here occasionally.  I always have something to talk about.

~ Jan

 Oh, the stages of our lives.  I was such an avid blogger back in the day, these days, I post a lot of daily stories to Instagram - You can link and follow me here - https://www.instagram.com/janspicx  I'm active on Facebook, too, but I much prefer Instagram.  No negativity, no political posts on Instagram, it's just fun.

Life moves along, hubby and I are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary this summer. The Grands are getting so big, Abby almost twelve, Ben, turning ten next month and Lexi is seven now.  It seems like it's all a blur, it passes so quickly.

We are enjoying living in Tennessee so much, our health is good, thank goodness the pandemic is hopefully behind us and we're grateful to be out and about again, eating in restaurants and shopping. I certainly have a new found appreciation of normal life, when it was all so abnormal for such a long time.

We got Maggie right before the pandemic and oh what a joy she has been.  The best dog we've EVER had.  Such a sweet, gentle little soul, she is just sunshine every day.  I wish I would have discovered Cavaliers years ago, they are a wonderful breed.

I just posted a wonderful recipe for freezing corn on Jan CAN Cook, so I took a minute for a little update here.  

Here is a link to the recipe, it's an old one, but oh so good.

And that's what's going on in my world.  You can always check out my Instagram daily stories (at the top of the Instagram page) for a glimpse as to what we're up to...

XXo ~ Jan

Jan's Christmas Favorites 2020

Back in the day I used to publish a Favorites Christmas List.  I haven't done that for a few years but boredom has set in and I really do have some good finds this past year.  I couldn't go out and shop, and I love to research products, so that little Amazon truck has been coming to our house multiple times weekly.  Lots of stocking stuffer ideas here, so many under $10 and except for one item, the rest are under $25.  So here we go...

If you know me personally, you know I'm the self-professed kitchen gadget queen, so naturally I have quite a few kitchen products that are winners this year.

Danish Dough Whisk.  My favorite new gadget,  it quickly mixes cookie dough, batter bread, yeast dough, it's such a workhorse I find myself grabbing this instead of a whisk for so many things.  The handle is beefy, this isn't a wimpy tool, it's just amazing.  It popped up a few months ago in my Facebook timeline, and I was intrigued.  This didn't disappoint, it's a winner.

Buy It Here!

Meat Chopper - You're browning ground beef, taking a fork or a spatula, trying to break it up, and it can be really difficult if you want it to break in small uniform crumbles.   Well, no more struggling with your burger, this handy dandy little tool makes quick work of a tedious job and breaks up the burger in a flash.  I liked it so much I bought several for the family.

Buy It Here!

I'm such a fan of America's Test Kitchen, Cooks Illustrate and especially Cooks Country.  Why was I so late to the game with this?  I'm fascinated by their shows and the fact that everything they prepare has a science behind it.  I'm a huge fan of their gadget segment, shocking, huh?  I've been struggling forever with my spatulas, I have several KitchenAid ones and some no-name ones and none of them are that great.  Well, I do like my Paula Deen "Butter Y'All" spatula.  No, it doesn't work well either, but it's funny and at least I smile when the thing is collapsing as I stir something.  And I do have that cute yellow Smiley Face one, but no, it's not any good either.  But back to my crappy spatulas, they bend when you're scraping a bowl, that drives me crazy and they are two pieces, the stem and the handle so food gets caught in the crack or the thing just comes completely apart when you're cleaning it, and then a few months ago I realized I should just go to America's Test Kitchen and see what they like.  Well, this is the winner, I bought it and it's wonderful.  It's stiff so that batter releases smoothly and the end doesn't buckle, it's one piece so no food in the cracks.  It's the best spatula ever!

Buy It Here!

Lodge Griddle - I've become a biscuit maker thanks to Cooking with Brenda Gantt on Facebook.  She always bakes biscuits on a griddle, so of course I needed one for mine.  Seriously, Jan?  Any excuse for new equipment works for me.  This was a steal for only $14.88 and who doesn't love Lodge Cast Iron.  Now I have my eye on their covered chicken fryer, I'm just hopeless when it comes to kitchen equipment.

Buy It Here!

Priority Chef Knife Sharpener - Did you know that you cut yourself more with a dull knife than a sharp one. I guess that explains why I've sliced my fingers multiple times over the years.  I read this on the internet, so it must be true, right?   Last summer hubby, who is an avid Amazon junkie as well, and he's always onboard with me buying kitchen equipment because I cook so much, purchased this knife sharpener for me and I love it, it works so well, it's so easy to use, it's fast and so far, no knicked fingers.  It's so so much easier to use than the old fashioned ones, and it has two slots, one is for regular knives, the other for sharpening serrated knives.  Anything to make life simpler at my age is a good thing and it's so inexpensive.

Buy It Here!

Cuisinart Spatulas Griddle Kit - This one is for the guys in your life who love to BBQ.  These spatulas are extra long, my guys really enjoy that length for flipping burgers on the grill.  It comes with accessories, that wasn't a deal breaker, I was just looking for good quality grill spatulas at a fair price.  We did purchase a new Weber griddle this year that fits on our outdoor grill, that was a big hit as well.

Buy It Here!

Warmies - I bought these for the grandkids this fall.  They are stuffed animals with bean filled tummies that you warm in the microwave.  They were a huge hit and will be great this winter when it's cold, something for them to cuddle that's warm when they go to bed and comforting if they don't feel well.  I bought a lion for Ben, a lop eared bunny for Lexi and this horse for Abby.

Buy It Here!

Crayola Inspiration Art Case - This is a great gift, inexpensive, sturdy, it's a nice large size and it comes loaded with art supplies, pencils, markers, crayons and paper so everything stays organized.  

Buy It Here!

Dog I.D. Tag - I bought this for Maggie nine months ago and it still looks great, not showing wear at all.  I got her the turquoise, a girl needs a little bling in her life and the price is insane, $3.00, free shipping.  It had room for her name, our address and phone number.  You will be surprised at the quality, it's really nice.

Buy It Here!

Dog Water Bottle - I obsessed over this one, I know, it's a bottle, right?  I ordered a couple, returned them before I found this.  Good features, works well, doesn't leak, easy to use, and it's blue, I know, but hey, color is important.  Did I mention it doesn't leak?  Seriously, it doesn't leak, need I say more...

Buy It Here!

Beauty Blender - I love beauty blenders for putting on makeup but darn, the original one is so pricey, like $20 for one!  I bought these on Amazon on a whim and they are just as good as the real thing, and you get five of them in pretty colors for $8.99.  Works for me...

Buy It Here!

E.L.F. Brow Pencil - I'm a big fan of drugstore makeup, for the most part, I think it works as well as the upscale stuff.  I used to pay $20+ for Anastasia Brow Wiz, and that was just crazy expensive for a brow pencil.  This one for E.L.F. is awesome, I buy it in taupe and it costs $2.20 shipped to you.  How's that for a deal.  If even has a spoolie.

Buy It Here!

Wonder Puffs - I've always loved Buf-Pufs, nothing better for exfoliating your face, but ouch, the price.  One Buf-Puf is $13.49.  I now buy these Wonder Puffs, they're the same thing and a pack of 12 is $6.18.  Unreal..

Buy It Here!

Reading Glasses - I buy so many of these it's embarrassing.  I lose them constantly, it's just what I do.  These are the ones I'm liking this fall, a friend recommended them and she was right.  They're sturdy, hinged, super cute and this pack of four is super cheap.  And yes, I've lost a couple of pairs already, so it's time to reorder again.  

Buy It Here!

Frontier Frollies - Okay, so I don't actually have this, it will ship on November 17th.  I'm a huge fan of Ree Drumond, I buy her children's books for the grands, loved her first book, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, so when she announced she was writing Frontier Follies, Adventures of Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere, I was first in line to order.  

Buy It Here!

And that's my list if you're still with me.  It's long, but it's all so inexpensive, maybe you can find some goodies on here that you like.  Happy Shopping!

~ Jan

This year is a disaster and so was our vacation...

We've stayed at many airbnbs and VRBO's over the years and always have good experiences. But your luck is bound to run out sometime and of course this was the year that it did, and boy did it! Since pictures really are worth a thousand words, I'll share a few with you.

John was looking for a getaway and he found this rental near Chattanooga in the country that also came with a separate apartment. It had horses, cows, fancy chickens, guineas, cats, a creek, it sounded perfect. A country getaway without being around people. Deanna and I were all over this like a mayo on white, it just sounded idyllic. But as you can see, it didn't quite work out that way.

So we load two cars full of food and more stuff than we could use in a month of Sundays and off we go. We arrive, full of anticipation, up a long winding tree shaded lane and then...  Oh my, it was nothing like the pictures. The yard hadn't been mowed in months, there was this pile of trash next to the fire pit, the landscaping was choked out with weeds, the flowers planted in the spring were all dying in their pots and the creek was a mess with fallen trees in it. To say we were shocked was an understatement, we had arrived at Weedy Acres.



So we unpack, trying to wrap our heads around what we had gotten ourselves into, but thankfully both the house and the apartment were clean and orderly, it was just the outside that was a disaster. The poor horses were so skinny their ribs were showing and the lone guinea was as big as a turkey. One of the cats was missing part of it's ear and they hissed and swatted at Maggie with their claws bared, so my dream of letting her run free was curtailed.

Poor Deanna had a run-in with a mean rooster. It flogged her, it really flogged her. LC and I were sitting on the porch and we heard her screaming. She was trying to defend herself, batting at that rooster with a bag of carrots she had taken to feed the horses. It just wouldn't give it up, just kept coming at her! Lexi was hiding behind John, and of course he was doubled over laughing instead of helping her, thankfully this sweet rooster in the picture came to her rescue and chased the mean one away.

And I can't forget the gazebo, it was one of those things you can't describe, you just have to see it. This is it, where they string with lights and hold receptions. Note the barnwood table sitting on concrete blocks. Just the perfect ambience for any kind of reception, NEVER! 

And let's not forget the view from our rickety deck, complete with dirty chairs and a vase of dead flowers on the table. Oh, it did overlook the weedy creek, such as it was. And I had so been looking forward to sitting by that creek, too, just living in the moment, enjoying the sound of rushing water. Well, the creek was dry, or maybe it was just clogged from all the weeds and fallen trees and the mosquitoes were fierce!

You can't make this stuff up, folks. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it. The only thing we can figure is that all of the pictures had been taken a few years ago and this woman's husband must have passed away and she had nobody to help her. Her ad was full of excellent reviews, even from this summer, we just couldn't imagine anyone giving this mess a positive review.  You're probably thinking that it was a cheap rental, heck no, it was pricey!

John walked on the porch, but it was so low that he bashed his head on the overhead beam and fell to the ground, he thinks he passed out for a minute. We loaded him up on Aleve and Tylenol, the lump on his head wasn't that bad and he insisted he was fine, but told Deanna that evening that he saw double vision all day.

He had rented a pontoon, and even though the weather was "iffy" with storms in the area, he thought they would go around us. We boarded with poor Maggie all wrapped in a beach towel since we had to smuggle her onboard. They didn't allow dogs on boats, but there was no way I would have left her behind at Weedy Acres. Mags was such a trooper, I didn't know if she would be scared since she had never been on a boat before, but she loved it and really enjoyed the breeze blowing her ears. Deanna was looking at the radar and shaking her head, but John started the boat and off we went on what Lexi and I later called "John's Excellent Adventure." It was a huge lake and we were the only boat in the water. That should have been a dead giveaway, but it was too late to turn back and the sky behind us just kept getting darker and darker. Deanna told him that he needed to try and find shelter that we were in trouble, but we were in the middle of the lake. He powered down, trying to make it to a Mexican restaurant on the shore, and I'm thinking that's not gonna work even if we get there, we have Maggie onboard. So anyway, the sky lets loose, and of course the canopy on the boat starts leaking like crazy, we're all huddled under beach towels, except for poor John who is steering the boat with water dripping off his nose. Lexi and I were laughing so hard our stomachs hurt at all of that water pouring down on us. There was lightening in the distance, it was a major ordeal, and of course we couldn't make it to that restaurant, but finally the skies cleared and it turned out to be a nice day.

One afternoon we loaded up and went for a drive. John took a shortcut, it was miles and miles and MILES, up this windy, twisty untraveled mountain road. I'm talking look out the side window, scare yourself to death kind of road, that was so bumpy and rocky that I'm surprised we all didn't get car sick. And what was at the top of this mountain? A lake! Seriously, how could there be a lake on top of a mountain.

But I need to put a positive spin on this. We actually had a great time, we made lemonade out of lemons.  I had taken my Instant Pot, I made a Sunday roast beef dinner, Lexi helped me stir up Pioneer Woman's Texas Sheet Cake, which was wonderful, better than my recipe. I took mother's crock full of flour and made Facebook's Cooking with Brenda Gantt's biscuits one morning. We sat on the porch in the evenings and played games with Lexi, it was actually very peaceful if you didn't look out in the yard at the weeds.

We had never been to "SEE ROCK CITY" but of course had heard about it for years because of all the painted barns and billboards. It was such a nice surprise, it was just amazing. We all decided it was one of the best tourist attractions we had ever been to. They only let a certain amount of people in the park, you had to have a reservation to get in, people social distanced and wore masks, so you felt safe. It was so well maintained, very updated, there was a pavillon where we had lunch, fried green tomatoes and blackened catfish cakes, yum! The gardens were beautiful and you really could see seven states from the lookout. It was a beautiful day, the weather was so nice, the humidity was low, it was a great experience. We were supposed to stay another day but we decided to pack it in and go home instead of spending one more night in the weeds.



This vacation is one for the record books for sure, but in this year of Covid, I wouldn't expect anything less...

It's long past time to check in...

Such trying days we're having.  I'm so tired of staying home, days of cold, rainy weather that doesn't seem to end, I'm tired of thinking about and talking about anything that is related to COVID-19, I never want to hear the words social distancing again, yet there is no escape from it, in just two short months, this has become our new reality.

But on a much, much happier note, in late February we adopted this adorable little bundle of fur.  She is two years old, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, whose name was Maggie, so we didn't change it and she has been such a help to both hubby and me during this time.  It was meant to be, for us to get Maggie, if we had waited it wouldn't have happened.

We debated over and over again, all the reasons we didn't need another dog.  Our age, temperament, taking her out, the list went on and on, but yet I couldn't give up the idea of another dog.  We lost Maggie, our Yorkie, two years ago and I miss her every single day, but I didn't want another Yorkie, it just wouldn't be the same.  I've always loved Cavies, especially the Blenheims.  We are a family of gingers, and this color just called to me.  I talked with a wonderful breeder in Eastern Tennessee who told me about a friend of hers, another Cavalier breeder who had two dogs she was retiring.  I called and talked to her, we quickly realized that neither of those dogs would work.  They were both over 15 lbs. and five years old, I needed a dog that was more compact, one that I could handle easily and bathe in the sink.

After I told the breeder about my life situation, she told me that there was another option.  Enter Miss Maggie, two years old, twelve pounds, a dog that she kept to breed but Maggie was too small to breed to her other dogs.

So one pretty Thursday morning in February we drove three hours, past Chattanooga to meet Maggie.  You never know what to expect when you meet a dog, for me it was love at first site because she was a cuddler.  Even though she didn't know me, I picked her up and she nuzzled right into my neck and held on for dear life.  It was a perfect match.

And so we brought her home, and none of our worries ever materialized.  We feel like we won the doggie lotto because she is the most gentle little soul.  She has no bad habits, she doesn't potty in the house, she rarely barks, she just wants to be by your side.  She's definitely my dog, she shadows my every step and brings me so much joy.

And that has been our spring.  One of the few bright spots, except for our good health.  I haven't seen my Lexington grandkids in months, I miss them so much, I do get to see Lexi, but only from a distance, she doesn't even get to pet Maggie.  I pray this will be over soon, but the reality of it is that we don't know when we will be comfortable being in public, and certainly not in restaurants.

But life goes on, Mother Nature doesn't realize there is a virus, the flowers bloom the birds sing and we all hope for better, sunnier days ahead.

Stay safe, don't let your guard down, we're not through this yet.

~ Hugs from Jan & Maggie...

It's all about family today...

The Grands are growing up, Lexi is five, Abby is ten and Ben is six, how can that be?

Lots of Grammie brags here, but they're just the sweetest.  Lexi takes dance and gymnastic classes, she's obsessed with what we all call "trishy trash" all those little Shopkins, Petkins toys.  She organizes them, knows all their names, they're her buddies.  She's in kindergarten and loves, loves school.

Abby continues to be our horse crazy girl.  She has ridden saddlebred since she was four, competes in shows and is just wild about horses.  They live just a couple of miles from the stable and she is there as often as she can.  She's in the fourth grade now, an exceptional student, we're all so proud of what she achieves.

Ben is all boy.  He loves Nascar and football, knows all the teams, the players, the scores.  He's a huge Kyle Busch fan, follows him weekly on Nascar and can tell you pretty much anything you want to know about him.  He takes golf lessons, and he's a good little golfer.  He's in the first grade, has lost his front teeth now and has the cutest little smile.  

LC and I are doing well, no health issues so far and at our age that's a real bonus.  I haven't blogged in such a long time, just busy doing other things.  I do post on Instagram, mostly pictures of the Tennessee countryside.  My favorite times are when we just get lost in nature.

We decorated the house for Christmas last month, I'll try and take pictures and post what we did.  But for now I'm outta here, errands to run today, the sun is shining and it's beautiful day in middle Tennessee... 

A May Morning in Paradise

My idea of paradise may be far different than yours.  Today,  it was an early morning ride in the country.  The vivid colors, the lushness of the grass and the trees after a spring rain, the dappled sunlight, the birdsongs, the flowering bushes, that is where I find paradise.

The child always lives inside us.  I was born a country girl and I will always be one.  There is nothing  I love more than nature and that’s the most difficult part of growing older for me.  I would move to the country in a heartbeat if the circumstances were different.  The time for that has passed, but the yearning is there.  Hubby is really good about taking me for long drives on  Tennessee backroads, he realizes how vital it is for me to connect with my roots.

Earlier this week there was a stream with cows in it, and more cows lying beside it.  Oh, it was amazing.  We often drive by this farm on a hilltop with a pond, where ducks are swimming, goats and cows are in the field surrounding it.   It’s pure magic.

That’s all it takes for me to be happy, nature...

If you're in your 60's you will love this...

 Oh Mary Ellen, you just made my day.  If you want a walk down memory lane, just give her video a watch.  So many memories came rushing back as I watched this.  Enjoy…  ~ Jan

Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer Review

This is hands down the BEST drying  tool I’ve used EVER!  Believe me, I’ve tried everything that’s out there, blow dryers, flat irons, curling irons, other brands of hot brushes, hot rollers in every size imaginable, but I’ve never found anything that works like this does.  Think about it,  no more trying to hold a round brush in one hand and a blower in the other hand, no flat iron, just a product that works.

You will look like you’ve had a salon blowout after you use this.  I read about it online and reviewers compared it very favorably to the new Dyson pricey $500 brush dryer.  I read over and over how good it was, I bought it and I was just amazed from day one.  Even long hair doesn’t tangle in the brushes, it gives your hair volume and shine, it’s a time saver, it just works.

I usually let my hair partially air dry, usually to about 80%, or if I’m in a hurry, I’ll blow dry it part of the way, then use this to finish.  I turn my head upside down and blow from the back starting at the nape of the neck first, then I blow dry it in sections.  Most people start at the back bottom and work up, for me it’s easiest to do the crown first, then flip the hair that I’ve dried forward and continue downward.  It’s just what works for you.  I loved this dryer so much I bought it for both daughters-in-law, they too think it’s wonderful.

So, if you want to give yourself a great gift for $60, the link is below.

Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer Review

This thing is holy grail, trust me on this.  ~ Jan

Below is the video I watched that convinced me I needed to buy this.

The year was 1978, I was in my late twenties, a foodie even back in those days and Cuisinart had recently introduced their line of food processors.  Of course, I was all over that like a hot potato, just the thought of a food processor was so exciting, the ease of preparation, the endless possibilities, but oh, the price.  I wanted the top of the line, the DLC-7 and it was $175.

Hubby and I had a young family, that was a lot of money to spend on a piece of kitchen equipment, but I just had to have that food processor.  We went to a department store in Cincinnati shopping one winter weekend with our friends, Charlie and Nisha, and there it was, front and center in a display.  I was drooling, and LC who had heard me talk constantly about wanting one bought it for me.

And here I am, forty years later, I still have the same food processor, I still use it weekly, and even though he’s asked over the years if I wanted to update it, I’ve always declined.  I bought all the attachments for it, I bought Abby Mandel’s Cuisinart Classroom Cookbook, I was off to the races and never looked back.

I’ve used it for countless meals over the years, I had to replace the work bowl twice, and once it locked up, we couldn’t get the bowl to release, so we mailed it to Cuisinart to repair, but it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.  Of course I used it more when the boys were growing up, but it still has a special place in my kitchen, I’ll never get rid of it.

Thanks to that purchase, I’ve always been a strong believer that you don’t go cheap on workhorse kitchen equipment.  Even though it can be hard to pull the plug on expensive equipment, it will stand the test of time.

Which brings me to this afternoon.  It’s a cold winter day in Nashville, well not as cold as other parts of the country, but a good afternoon to just sit by the fireplace with my laptop browsing websites.  For some reason I thought about one of the staples I always made with my Cuisinart, their recipe for cornbread which was included in a recipe booklet that came with my food processor.  I haven’t made it for years, but thanks to the powers of Google, I found it easily and saved it, maybe I’ll try it again someday, just for old times sake when the boys and their families are visiting, even though it does use a lot of butter.  I always made it my 9" Le Creuset cast iron orange skillet, another one of those items that will never wear out, it’s still my go-to skillet for cornbread after all those years.

Here it is, the original recipe from 1978, oh it does make yummy cornbread.  ~ Jan

Cuisinart Cornbread

1½         cups yellow cornmeal
1½         cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
12           tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3             tablespoons granulated sugar
1½         teaspoons baking powder
½           teaspoon baking soda
¾           teaspoon kosher salt
2             cups buttermilk
2             large eggs

Steps

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan with the softened butter or nonstick cooking spray; reserve.
Put the butter, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the workbowl. Mix on Speed 4 until creamy, about 10 seconds.
Add buttermilk and eggs and pulse on Speed 4 to just incorporate, about 5 pulses. Scrape down and pulse a few more times, if necessary.
Add the dry ingredients and pulse until in short bursts, just until combined – it is important not to overmix or the cornbread will be tough and dry.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Love My Pillow Revisited

It’s been a year now since I purchased MY PILLOWS from Zuilly.  Hubby loved them from the start, I wasn’t onboard because I like flat, soft pillows, and these were not only lofty, but they were also too firm for me.  I will say they’ve maintained their loft, instead of most pillows that deflate in a few month, but because they were firmer I felt like I was sleeping at an angle which resulted in waking up with a stiff neck.  I think I ordered medium soft or medium firm, I can’t remember which, but I was never a fan like the hubs.  He kept telling me to order two more to replace the other pillows we have on the bed, we have king size bed, and always have four pillows on it, so last month they had a really good sale and they were available in SOFT, so I bought them.  They were really cheap, I think I paid $60 for them shipped to my door.

They came in a little box, flat as a flitter like they always are, I tumbled them in the dryer, they looked flatter, felt softer, and I’ve slept on them for a couple of weeks now and I have to say I’m a big fan.  The soft ones are such an improvement over the firmer ones, you can scrunch them, they’re aren’t so lofty that your neck is at a odd angle, I really like these.

So, if you have any interest, it looks like they are in stock right now, if not, sign up and they will send you a reminder when they come available.  They’re a little pricier than what I paid, I had never seen them that cheap before, it was probably a holiday thing, but they are still worth paying more for, I would definitely do it again.

Here’s the link, these are Jan recommended and approved.   😘

Mammy's Blackberry Jam Cake

A family tradition and a hilarious family story...

This is my great-grandmother’s recipe for Kentucky Jam Cake.  It was a family tradition, handed down through the generations, and my daddy made this every year.  It’s a wonderful, old fashioned cake made with lard and ground raisins, so many memories and a helluva good story as well.

First the story, then the recipe...

Daddy was getting older, his eyesight wasn’t that good anymore and he wasn't the cleanest with his cooking, but he still made Mammy’s Jam Cake and one year he made it and sent it home for us at Christmas in this rusty old cake tin. That cake didn't look right and I was afraid for us eat it so I sat it in the garage on the workbench. The boys were little, like, eight and eleven, and in the garage was a putty knife, we used it as a pooper scooper because we had a cocker spaniel that crapped on the garage floor and we would use that putty knife to clean up the dog doodoo. The boys were horsing around in the garage one afternoon and they cut a piece of that cake with that dirty pooper scooper and threw it in the floor for the dog.

And then hubby was going to work, he ran the company so everybody of course ate when he brought in food, so he grabbed that cake with the hunk cut out with the pooper scooper off he workbench and took it to work for the company Christmas pitch-in dinner. AND in the meantime, Daddy had called me and said "Janice, don't eat that cake, I think I doubled the flour and left out the sugar." OMG, can you imagine, him taking that nasty cake in that old rusty tin and all of those people trying to eat it. He was in SO much trouble with me!!! We have all laughed about it for years tho, it's a great memory...

And now for the infamous recipe that dates back to the early 1900’s, it really is a delicious Christmas cake.  It’s best made several days ahead and stored in a sealed container to age. ~ Jan

 

Mammy's Jam Cake

 

2 cups sugar 
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
6 eggs (leave out 3 whites for frosting)
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. slt
3/4 cup lard (not shortening)
1 cup blackberry jam (if you make this I would buy a good quality of blackberry jam with seeds, nothing compares to the old days tho when it was homemade)
2-1/2 cups flour

 

Cream lard, sugar, add eggs and beat. Sift flour, soda, salt and spices together 3 times. Add alternately with buttermilk to mixture. Mix thoroughly, add jam and beat 3 minutes (do not use mixer).

Spoon into greased cake pans (makes 4 large layers) - Bake at 350.

Frosting

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 box raisins (ground)
3 egg whites stiffly beaten

Cook sugar and water until hard ball, add hot to beaten egg whites, stir in raisins. Frost cake between layers. 

Note: I remember eating this as a little girl, and it was a tall cake, I’m guessing those 4 layers would be 8” cake pans. Daddy always let this age a few days.

The Autumns of my Childhood...

I changed my Facebook Cover photo today using the photo above, and the childhood memories just started flooding back.  We had so many trees in our yard and it was a huge job, raking those leaves into the road and burning them.  Oh, what fun though, burrowing in the piles, and the smell of those burning leaves was magic.  Since I was an only child and we lived in the country there were no kids to play with, so my playmates were dogs and cats.  The dogs would run through the leaves with me, I can still see it all in my mind.

Fall was such a busy time at our house.  I’ve blogged before how mother and I would trudge through the muddy popcorn fields in our rubber “galoshes," dragging a tow sack which we would fill with popcorn that was left in the field after the combine had picked the corn.  Sometimes the mud was so deep it would suck the boots right off my feet and I would be left with wet socks to stuff back in them.  We would spend evenings in front of a coal stove, shucking that corn and emptying it into quart Ball jars to store for the winter.

Late in the fall we would go to the pecan groves, where tractors would bump the trees so the pecans would fall and we would gather coal buckets full of nuts to be weighed and paid for.  We also gathered black walnuts, messy nuts whose hulls would stain our hands and my favorite hickory nuts.  Hickory nuts were so hard to crack, and it took many hours to pick the nuts from the shells.  We would gather sticky persimmons to make persimmon pudding, always picked after the first frost, they were bitter if you didn’t wait and we would crack open the kernels because we believed persimmons predicted the winter weather.

If the kernel was spoon-shaped, you could expect plenty of snow to shovel.  If it was fork-shaped, plan on a mild winter with powdery, light snow.  If the kernel was knife-shaped, expect frigid winds that “cut” like a blade.

By mid-November the temperatures were cold in Southern Illinois and my uncles would butcher hogs.  Sometimes we had our own pig that we raised to butcher, other times they would give us hams and bacon.  Mother would sugar cure them with salt, brown sugar, spices and pepper, and hang them in a gunny sack from the rafters of our outbuilding.  We hung them so that the mice wouldn’t get to them.   I never cared for the cured meat, the flavor was too salty and strong for a little girl, but I spent many nights, racing to the outbuilding in the dark to retrieve those hams for mother to slice off pieces with a butcher knife and fry in an iron skillet for dinner..

At Thanksgiving she would make a hickory nut cake.  I have so many of her recipes but that one escaped me.  She also made black walnut divinity, always on a dry sunny day, for Christmas and she would store it in tins that she saved year after year.

She always made a fruitcake the week after Thanksgiving, chocked full of candied fruits and our pecans that we had shelled.  She baked it in an angel food pan and would put it in a tin with a wine soaked dishtowel surrounding it and a brandy soaked towel in the center so it could age for Christmas.  I never liked them as a child, and she would only give me small very thin slices because they did have alcohol after all and I never liked the taste. I probably would think they were wonderful now.

Fall always brought a new load of coal to be stored in the coal house for our winter heat.  I wish I still had her old receipts, it would be interesting to see how much it cost.  Coal was sold by the ton and we would get a couple of tons to last us through the winter.  The delivery man would dump it in the driveway and we had to carry bucket after bucket to the back coal shed. The house was always cold when we got home in the evening, mother would fill the coal buckets to build a fire and It was always my job to empty the ashes in the driveway ruts to help us keep from getting the car stuck.  We lived on a road that wasn’t graveled, so getting our car stuck in the mud was something that occurred on a regular basis.

We always put plastic on our windows to keep out the winter cold, usually nailing it on the windows on a cold blustery Saturday and it was a big job to unroll the plastic and cut it to fit the windows. The walls of our house weren’t insulated, only the attic, so it was always really hard to keep it warm.   She always made me new flannel pajamas with big buttons in the fall and I slept on a feather bed piled high with quilts.  Looking back I wonder how she managed to do all of that.  She worked from 8-5 at the drug store five days a week, Daddy didn’t live with us, he worked in Northern Illinois, so it was just a woman and a little girl, doing the best they could with absolutely no luxuries at all and nobody to help them.  No bathroom or running water, for years we didn’t have a pump, just a well and a bucket, but we managed and I have happy memories of my childhood.

I didn’t have a mother that played with me, I don’t ever remember her playing board games or reading to me.  She had no time, she was always working because she had to do all of the chores herself.  There was no television in our house until I was twelve years old, I listened to the radio in the evenings and played the piano (badly).  I was always an avid reader, probably more so because there wasn’t that much to do in the country in the cold weather.  No neighbors to talk to, no kids to play with, but if it’s all I knew, and it was okay.  I’ve always admired mother for all the hard work she did.  She didn’t complain or feel sorry for herself, and she worked from early morning until bedtime to make a home and put food on the table.  She really was a strong woman.

The older I get the more nostalgic I am.  My childhood stories are of a difficult life, but it wasn’t a sad life, I was a happy child, I was fed, clothed and loved and I was grateful for the things I had and proud of the accomplishments of daily living.   I miss those days and go back often in my mind.  Some of this you may have read some of this before, as I’ve talked about my childhood in my blog quite a bit through the years, but it’s always good to reminisce, to once again remember the way it was and to be reminded of how lucky I am to have the life that I have now...

 

Hamburger Press

 

So you all know I’m the gadget queen, right?  So, when I saw this hamburger press, I was all over it like mayo on white.  It’s such a simple thing, but oh I do love this.  I use two sheets of wax paper sheets that I buy in a pack, one under the patty, one on top so it keeps the press clean, and you have perfectly formed patties every time.

Quit rolling your eyes, this thing is a game changer.  I make multiple patties at once to freeze or put in the fridge for another meal, it’s quick, fast and with the waxed paper, cleanup is easy breezy.  Don’t cheap out and not use the waxed paper, it would be a pain in the patootie to clean without them.

It’s not expensive, $20 and change, you spend that much for one meal at a fast food joint.  Just buy the darn thing, trust me, it’s so worth it.  ~ Jan

Here’s the link, go for it...

And here are the squares, it’s a big pack, they last a long time.  

Here’s the link for the squares

Parchment Paper Liners for Muffins

 

 I love all things to do with cooking, and I have a feeling I’m a little late to this parchment paper game, but last month when we were visiting Ryan and family, we went every morning for breakfast at The Dixie Diner, a great little restaurant not far from their house and every morning I had a Jumbo Blueberry Muffin (don’t judge me) in a parchment paper liner like this one above.  I was intrigued, the muffin didn’t adhere to the paper like it does with a regular muffin liner and it was so darn cute.  It’s all about the presentation for this old(er) girl.

So I did a little research and it’s a pretty simple thing to do.  For jumbo muffins or cupcakes you need 6” parchment paper squares and for regular sized muffins or cupcakes you need 5” squares. Now you could cut your own, but seriously, who wants to do that when you can buy them precut already.

If you want the tulip effect like the one above, it does take a little work, but they look so good they are totally worth it.

It’s pretty simple really, just pleat the muffin around an overturned glass the same size as the muffin tin and then plop them in the tins.  I suppose you could just pleat them inside the tin itself, but this is much easier.

You can buy these liners, bleached or unbleached.  I’ll do easy links for you below.  AND since yours truly, who buys everything kitchen related just realized that I don’t have jumbo muffin tins, I’m going to remedy that today by ordering them.  Oh, I am a sucker for Amazon Prime, but aren’t we all.

So, here are the links, happy baking, and now your muffins will look just like the ones in the bake shops. 😋
 

 

The ones I ate were in these unbleached liners, which looked great.  Here’s the link for the 5” ones

And the 6” ones, are actually marketed to use as squares between hamburger patties, which brings up a whole other subject that I will address in another post.

Here’s the link for the 6” ones

And now for those jumbo muffin pans, Wilton sells them on Amazon for $11.99 Prime.  Here’s the click

 

Not your typical "Grannie Panties"

Thongs, bikini panties, boy briefs, well those days are long gone, thank goodness.  So what’s an old(er) girl to do.  

I’ve tried a lot of panties over the years and I haven’t found any that I like better than these.  They’re really comfortable, they aren’t ugly, they’re not hot, they wash well and don’t give you muffin top, it’s a total win-win. They have just enough spandex to give you light control and they are made of silky fabric, so your clothes glide on smoothly.  If you don’t like the neutrals they also come in brights.

These are a super everyday panty, trust me on this one.  ~ Jan

Here’s the link, check them out for yourself...

DIY Dry Dog Shampoo that WORKS!

Boy, do I have a great tip for you.  This recipe is floating all over the net so on a whim I gave it a try.  It’s all natural, non-irritating and I pinkie swear, it will make your furry friend smell amazing.  

It takes 5 minutes to make, put it in a shaker jar and you’re done!

1/2 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Cornstarch
3-5 drops of Essential Oil, I used 4 drops of lavender

Whisk all together, I put mine in a spice jar, sprinkle it on Maggie, brush her and she smells so good.  The smell doesn’t dissipate quickly either, it lingers on her  fur for a couple of days …  What a find!

Pioneer Woman's Daughter Leaves for College

What a powerful picture, and one that mothers of children who are leaving the nest can certainly relate to.  Every time I look at this I get teary eyed, remembering when my sons left for college.  Its a brutal reminder that our children are only loaned to us for a few short years, once they leave on this journey, even though they come home, it’s never the same.

That ship has long sailed for me but in some ways it seems like yesterday.,  Whew, I need to quit looking at this picture...

The Big Crash

Ugh, what a mess we had!  Apparently the pins in one of our cabinets were shorter than the other cabinets and it all came crashing down.

We heard a noise, couldn’t find anything wrong in the house, but when hubby started to open the cabinet, the shelf had collapsed and it all came tumbling down.  Thankfully he wasn’t hurt, and none of my appliances or the granite counter were damaged.

And the dishes?  Well, if I could have picked a shelf to fall, it would have been this one.  It was serving pieces, a collection of Chantal that I’ve had for years.  I was tired of it anyway.  The brown covered casserole, however is another story.  I’ve had that since John was a baby.  But I can replace it on eBay and I will, and then I will just replace all of the serving pieces with Pioneer Woman.  I feel a shopping spree coming on.

Check your cabinets ladies, if this would have been a cabinet shelf filled with Fiestaware, I would have been really upset.

Between You and Me, what a book!

Oh, this is a good one!  I’ve had so much fun with summer reading, I’ve read most of Dorothea Benton Franks Lowcountry Series, and decided it was time for a change.  I started this and couldn’t put it down.  I’m a big fan of Susan Wiggs and this book did not disappoint!

Deep within the peaceful heart of Amish country, a life-or-death emergency shatters a quiet world to its core. Number-one New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs delivers a riveting story that challenges our deepest-held beliefs.

Caught between two worlds, Caleb Stoltz is bound by a deathbed promise to raise his orphaned niece and nephew in Middle Grove, where life revolves around family, farm, faith—and long-held suspicions about outsiders. When disaster strikes, Caleb is thrust into an urban environment of high-tech medicine and the relentless rush of modern life.

Dr. Reese Powell is poised to join the medical dynasty of her wealthy, successful parents. Bold, assertive, and quick-thinking, she lives for the addictive rush of saving lives. When a shocking accident brings Caleb Stoltz into her life, Reese is forced to deal with a situation that challenges everything she thinks she knows—and ultimately emboldens her to question her most powerful beliefs.

Then one impulsive act brings about a clash of cultures in a tug-of-war that plays out in a courtroom, challenging the very nature of justice and reverberating through generations, straining the fragile threads of faith and family.

Deeply moving and unforgettable, Between You and Me is an emotionally complex story of love and loss, family and friendship, and the arduous road to discovering the heart’s true path.