Goodbye November!

 

This fall has presented so many challenges - from my son being rear-ended and totalling his car, to finding out I had some strokes to hubby getting a severe ear infection and flu, a broken sewer pipe in my son's home (that we still can't locate the problem part of the pipe) plus so many odd things in between. Will I miss this autumn? Still yes. All the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the autumn colors, the skunk that visits the cat dish and compost bin every day. my son's search has ended and new to him home has been found (with lots of fixing to do)... There are so many things that I am grateful for and will miss. And this month held 2 days of snow - the first on November 11th where we had about 1/2 inch and November 20th with just a dusting - either way, it was still white. Black Friday bestowed black ice for the travelers and many local accidents. So we are having more seasonal weather than we've had in years!

I purchased most of my baking items yesterday. Usually this is the time of year to find some decent deals. If you use evaporated milk, Walmart has their GV brand on sale for $1 a can and they also have their GV brand of Sweetened Condensed Milk for $1.77. (maybe different in your area). I use a few cans of each for baking so I need to stock up on these at this price. I cannot remember Aldi's prices, so I will be checking there first. I know the Aldi's online prices are different that in store.

Today is preparing to can all the broth day and then refill the roaster with beef bones. My local farmer gave me lots of beef bones to make broth with. He says no one else usually uses them. I find that interesting, since bone broth is so expensive. I have to buy more onions, celery and carrots for the beef broth, so will be picking up some this week. I'm freeing up space on my shelves and moving this around for all the broth that will be canned. There's going to be a lot!

The monstrous bird is now pack safely away in the freezer. I'm searching for recipes on top if the tried and true ones in my recipe box. Turkey potpie will be tasty this winter as well as other favorites!

One more month to go. I really can't believe it. How did this happen? It seems the year has flown by so quickly. I'm now in the mood for baking and candy making. I haven't had the itch to do that in a long, long time. Sadly, chocolate has skyrocketed, so I won't be making a lot with chocolate, but there are so many other cookies to make that I don't think anyone will miss them. I pulled out my grandmother's Betty Crocker Cooky Book and did a flip through. So many wonderful recipes and memories. I'll be putting it to good use this year.

I dug out my cookie press and my rosette iron. I forgot these recipes were both in this book. And so many others that Grandma had made for the holidays (not just for the Christmas season). Chocolate Crinkles were one of my favorites as well as the Spritz. Now I'm going down the memory path of when we were children and all gathered at Grandma's house. Everyone is pretty much gone now, but the memories still live on. See what opening a cookbook can do?

Next month will also hold some planning time. I usually do it through the month when I have some time. I know already that I want to complete some knitting, crochet and cross stitch WIPs. I have this need to get a lot done and not really start much. So many things are kitted up, and so much yarn and floss to use, plus all the crafts to get done that I have wanted to do, but have not so far. 

I love this time of the year!

As Good, If Not Better!

I was over the moon when Aldi put a new store in our area. Our closest one before they came was over 40 miles away, so we didn't visit much unless we had other things we had to do in that area. Now, Aldi is my store of choice and where we do the most shopping at. The produce is beautiful and reasonably priced and there's a nice selection. Actually, the store has a nice selection of everything! 

Prices of everything keep climbing and we're cutting out more and more items. Girl Scout cookies were one of the things we removed from our buying since it's an overpriced unnecessary item. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across these look-alikes of my absolute favorite of the GS cookies. I had to purchase them to try. They cost under $2 here at my local Aldi. Now, at that price, I wasn't holding a lot of hope, but they are from the Benton brand, and most of their cookies are awesome.

We got them home and after bringing and putting away the groceries, we sat down to a nice cuppa and tried a cookie. OH MY!!!! I was in heaven! Both of us agreed that the cookie not only looked like the GS cookie but tasted AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER than the originals!! Now I can treat myself get a taste of my favorite cookie without feeling guilty for spending so much money on an unnecessary item.

I took the rest and put them in a jar in the freezer, where they will stay fresh and we can nibble on a lovely treat now and then. Another Aldi score for me!!!

Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

My son is a responsible adult, yet, he can turn back into a kid when he finds out Mom made Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats! I saw it last night when he showed up in the kitchen after his Tai Chi practice. His eyes lit up and I swear he was drooling just a bit when he reached for the knife to cut the first piece out of the pan!

I originally didn't plan on making the treats when I bought the marshmallows. I had all intentions of dehydrating them (yes - you read that correctly). They were on clearance at Ollie's for 50 cents and then I came across a sale on Crispy Rice for less than $1.50. Still, I had no intentions, until I opened up the marshmallows to find that they had become sticky and globbed together. These certainly were not dehydrating material! Change of plans!

This was not a problem though, as I ended up with a really happy son!

Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Treats

4 Tablespoons Butter
12 oz bag regular sized marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups Crispy Rice

Butter a 9" x 13" pan. Set aside. Measure all ingredients ahead of time so they are ready to be added in when needed.

In a pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Add vanilla and mix well. Add peanut butter. Mix well. Remove from heat and add cereal, mixing to coat evenly. Do this quickly as the mixture becomes harder to work with as it cools down. Pour into buttered pan and pan in evenly. Allow to completely cool before eating. Some prefer to cut when warm.