Rainbow Bridge

Over the weekend, we lost a loved member of our family, our cat Pippi.  This was especially horrific for our 8 year old daughter.  Pippi was her birthday gift from her Papa for her 3rd birthday.  To help her cope, a good friend had us look up the poem Rainbow Bridge.  This helped her calm down and realize that she is in a happy place.  For those of you with children and animals, keep a copy of this poem to help them cope during times like this.

Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge...

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they miss someone very special to them; who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

THEN YOU CROSS RAINBOW BRIDGE TOGETHER...

 

Our beloved Pippi, 2007-2012
 

 

 

 

http://rainbowbridge.org/

Winter Prep

Over the past few years, I have become increasingly interested in self sufficiency.  I was raised in a hunting/fishing family.  My mom even kept a garden for some time.  The thought of being able to provide for yourself in such a way gives me a sense of pride.  The past two yers my garden has failed.  I blame it on three things, the kiler summer sun, the excessive heat, and the drought of 2012.  It is December, and I am in full planning and preppuing mode for my garden next year.  I have moved my garden from a spot that gets full sun all day, to a spot that gets full sun until about noon, then the shade blocks out a little of the sun for a few hours.  I have also expanded my plot.  I also plan on using a green house cover to help expand my growing season.

Does self sufficiency interest your family?  What are some ways you help to provide for yourself?

Swagbucks: Holiday Hundreds Giveaway

 

Swagbucks is working to make the holidays even more rewarding with their Swagbucks Holiday Hundreds Giveaway. Starting at 12pm Pacific Time on November 14th every transaction you make through the Swagbucks Shop & Earn will get you an entry to win the $100 Gift Card of your choice from the Swag Store! As soon as the Swag Bucks show up as pending in your ledger, your entry has been earned! The first drawing will take place on the 19th and will run every day through the 14th of December - if you're the winner, Swagbucks will contact you at whatever email address you have on your account. Entries are cumulative, so the more transactions you make, the more entries you'll get. Travel Category is excluded.


Haven't joined Swagbucks yet? Sign up today and enter the code HOLIDAY100s to start with 100 Swag Bucks of your own!
 

Swagbucks: Expedited Shipping Is Here!

Just in time for the holidays, Swagbucks has brought back Expedited Shipping on all of the Amazon Gift Cards in the Swag Store. Starting November 1st, all you have to do is order and verify your gift card by 2pm PT to get it the next business day, select the Expedited Shipping option and chip in an extra 50 Swag Bucks! It's super simple and if you haven't verified your account it can be done easily via cellphone.

 

Sign up for Swagbucks today!

Eclairs....YUM!

This is a post I originally posted on my other blog, The Crazy Life of a Pantry Cook. 

I love eclairs, but they tend to be a bit pricey at my local grocer, so we only get them every so often. My father-in-law had asked me to make up a bunch of cupcakes for his work. They loved them so much...but they wanted to know if I could make eclairs. After much research, I realized that they are easier to make than I thought. Even better, I had everything I needed for them already, except the heavy cream (but then again, who keeps heavy cream in their fridge at all times?). I found a super simple recipe over at Hidden Ponies. Here is the recipe that I used, along with my own additional comments:

Easy Eclairs

Serves: 10

• CHOUX PASTRY:
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 large eggs
• CUSTARD FILLING:
• 1 (4 serving size) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups milk (or as called for on pudding package)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• CHOCOLATE ICING:
• 2 oz semisweet chocolate (or ⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp hot water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.
2. In medium saucepan, combine ½ cup butter and water. Bring to a boil, stirring to melt butter.
3. Reduce heat to low and stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to form a stiff ball of dough.
4. Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition to ensure they are incorporated. Work quickly, especially with the first one, to prevent it from cooking into scrambled eggs on the bottom of your warm pan :)
5. With a spoon or pastry bag fitted with a large tip, spread/pipe the thick dough onto prepared cookie sheet into 10 strips approximately 1½ x 4″ each. (**I piped different sizes to see which worked best....make your pastries a little bigger than the size of your thumb.)
6. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake another 20 minutes, until puffed and golden and hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom. When removed from oven, IMMEDIATELY pierce the ends almost through to the other side to let steam escape and prevent any sogginess in the middle. This hole is also where you will be piping your filling into. Let cool completely before filling and icing (this will only take about half an hour).
7. For CUSTARD FILLING: combine pudding and milk in a bowl and mix according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in ¼ cup icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and ¼ tsp salt. Fold whipped cream into pudding. (**The custard was too thin, even after refrigeration, so I added a little bit more powdered sugar, and I will probably use a tad bit less cream, maybe 6oz. vs. 8oz.)
8. Scoop mixture into pastry bag fitted with a smallish tip (I enlarged my steam holes a bit to make my tip fit, so do whatever works) and pipe mixture into centers of eclairs until full. This is a bit of a messy business, but worth it for ease of eating and pretty appearance. You could certainly also just slice the eclairs in half horizontally, fill the bottoms with cream, and replace the tops. Either way, you will probably have some custard leftover.
9. For ICING: Melt the chocolate and 2 Tbsp butter over low heat in a saucepan (or in the microwave, stirring after 30 seconds and giving additional 10 second increments as needed until fully melted). Stir in 1 cup icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Stir in hot water, 1 Tbsp at a time, until icing is smooth and reaches desired consistency. Drizzle, pipe or spread over filled eclairs.
10. Store in the fridge.

 

*The great thing about using the pudding for this recipe is that you can change the flavor of your eclair by using a different type of pudding! I may try chocolate or banana next time.

His & Her Mugs

I keep seeing these super simple DIY mugs floating around Pinterest.  You probably know the ones I'm talking about....the cute his & hers mugs.  I decided to add this little project to my always growing "Pinterest To-Do List".  Like with any project you find on Pinterest, there is a good chance it will fail, but for $2.....this project was worth it.

Here is how my mugs turned out!  Please disregard my sloppy handwriting.  How did I make them?  Simple......2 dollar store mugs....doodle or write on them....and bake them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Viola'!  My daughter and I are going to doodle on one and give it to her teacher for Christmas.  :)  These hold up well to hand washing.  I think this project was a success!  Dollar store, here I come!

*Do not use in the dishwasher., you may lose part of your design.



Update (Nov. 6, 2013):  It's been over a year since I did this project.  One mug still has the design, while the other doesn't.  I blame the fact that I used a scrubby pad (whoops) on one of the mugs.  Regardless, it would be easy to redo my design onto the mug in question.

Honey Fried Chicken

I love fried chicken! But, I know that I can't have it as much as I would like. This past weekend we tried to trim a few calories from the chicken by frying it without breading. This is one of those dishes that my hubby stops eating, looks at me, and tells me how much he loves me! I think that this may have become a quick favorite!

Ingredients
2 whole (bone-in) chicken breasts
2 tbsp honey
Vegetable oil
Chicken seasoning (recipe follows)

Directions
Heat your oil to 350 degrees. Pat your chicken dry. Do not season it at all. Put your chicken breasts in the fryer and cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oil. Sprinkle the chicken seasoning over the top of the chicken and put back into the oil to fry for another 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Once your chicken is cooked, it will have a nice crust on the outside. At this point, you will want to mix 2 tbsp of honey with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1 tbsp of your chicken seasoning. Spread over the outside of your chicken and serve.

Mrs. T's Chicken Seasoning
2 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar

Reposted from The Crazy Life of the Pantry Cook