What? You think I sit around all day just eating bon-bons?

Well, you're wrong...I *make* them, not *eat* them!

Peanut butter bon-bons, to be specific. From an old, family recipe for peanut butter Easter eggs, of all things. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

Well, I thought I'd share this gem of a recipe with you, too. Make some, share them, ENJOY them!

Great Grandma Susie's Peanut Butter Bon-Bons

Ingredients

• 1 pound (approx. 3½ cups) of 10x sugar
• 2 Tbsp. evaporated milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1½ bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

Instructions

1. Line 2 large cookie sheets with wax paper.
2. Mix the 10x sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla, butter, and peanut butter until well-blended.
3. Roll the mixture into 48 1-inch balls and space evenly between the cookie sheets.
4. Place the balls in the freezer to set while melting the chocolate.
5. Using a double boiler melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips and vegetable shortening, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
6. Using a fork, or kebab skewers, dip each ball into the chocolate quickly, coating completely.
7. Place the coated candy back on the cookie sheet.
8. Repeate steps 6 & & until all 4 dozen balls are coated with chocolate.
9. Allow to set up completely.
10. Store in an airtight container.

Baking, Music Monday, & I Glee Love...

In keeping with my goal to bake one thing a day from now until Christmas this weekend brought with it, not only the Peppermint Bark from Saturday, but also Peanut Brittle on Sunday, and Monster Cookies this morning!

I haven't decided what I'll make for tomorrow, yet, perhaps a batch of fudge...

It's also Monday, which means Music Monday, and this week I've bot a MAJOR Glee fascination going on, so enjoy their newest cast member below!

It's BAKING SEASON!!!

I love this time of year. As soon as Thanksgiving is finished I hit the baking aisle of the grocery store and set to work. I used to give out Christmas treat baskets of my goodies, but I have a house full of almost grown males, now. Nowadays, if you want some of my baked goods, you'd better watch for a tweet, Facebook status update, or blog post, grab your GPS, and beat tracks! Regardless, I love baking. I love my kitchen and house, by extension, smelling of chocolate, peanut butter, and mint. I love watching the hubby and boys come in sniffing the air to find out what I made that day. I just love everything about it!

This morning I kicked off my month of chocolaty goodness with a batch of Peppermint Bark. As I'm not a huge fan of plain white chocolate I layer mine. The recipe follows. If you try it out make sure and comment and let me know if you liked it, what you changed, etc. The best part about baking is sharing ideas to make newer, better things!

Peppermint Bark a la Bragg

Ingredients

• 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons of vegetable shortening, divided
• ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract, divided
• 12 candy canes, broken into small pieces

Instructions

1. Line a 9-inch x 9-inch pan with wax paper or aluminum foil.
2. Using a double boiler melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of the vegetable shortening, stirring frequently to prevent the chocolate from scorching.
3. When almost melted add ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract and continue stirring frequently until all of the chips are melted and smooth.
4. Immediately pour the melted semi-sweet chocolate into the lined pan and spread evenly.
5. Top with ½ of the broken candy canes and place in the refrigerator until the white chocolate is ready to pour.
6. Repeat steps 2-4 with the white chocolate chips.
7. Top with the remaining broken candy canes and refrigerate one hour, or until set.
8. Remove candy from pan by turning it upside down onto a hard surface.
9. Carefully peel the wax paper or foil from the candy and break from the bottom into the desired sized pieces.
10. Store in an airtight container.

NaKnitMo...

It's almost over, and I'm right on target. So far this month I've knit 24,484 stitches. My goal is 30,000. As I've got a seemingly never ending list of Christmas crafting to do this year there should be no problem fitting in the rest of the stitches.

This past week I finished one WIP, and completed two new projects. The WIP was my Dierdre Afghan, that had been hibernating in a closet since January of 2008. It's now finished and waiting to be wrapped up as a gift for my MIL. It's shown folded so that you can see the neat "weaving" on the reverse side.

Saturday I finished up my Cozy Cowl, a new project and a gift for one of my youngest son's Sunday school teachers. It's a gorgeous knit, and I'd really love to have one for myself....I foresee another on the needles one day this winter when I'm snowed in on this mountain!

Yesterday I cast on and knit a beanie for my father, who recently had his long locks chopped off for donation to Locks of Love, hence the project name of Lost Locks Warmer.

Dad usually does this hair donation every other year, but said that his hair drove him so crazy this time that he thinks it was his last time. A bit sad, really, as I'm so used to seeing him with a ponytail at this point.

This morning I hope to cast on a pair of Mobile Mittens, by Maria Moesby, for him...to match the beanie, of course. I need to have them done by Thanksgiving, however, as his birthday falls on Turkey Day, itself, this year and the set will be his gift from me.

Now that I'm done updating on my crafting progress I guess there is nothing more to do but sing off and get back to it! Everyone have a wonderful Monday...and make sure it includes some chocolate!

Faith, Patience, & Thanksgiving

This morning was bad. Really bad. I took yesterday as a day off, as my body is still struggling to recuperate from pneumonia, and a 3 hour trek to pick up my oldest from college for the Thanksgiving break on Friday had exhausted me beyond all reason. I told each of the 3 males in the house to:

1. Pick up after themselves.
2. Take care of putting their own dishes into the dishwasher.
3. Try not to make a zillion messes for me to deal with.

Needless to say this did NOT happen. I awoke this morning to wet towels on the floor, dirty laundry on the bed, empty pop cans everywhere, empty candy wrappers on tables, a double kitchen sink FULL of dirty dishes, and a myriad of other messes to assault my nerves. I snapped. I spent 1 hour and 10 minutes just getting it all set to rights, cleaning out the litter boxes, and running the vacuum. I didn't get a shower before church (thank GOD for the invention of velcro rollers!). I barely had time to eat a hard-boiled egg and little bit of applesauce before dashing out the door. I was LIVID. I blew up at my youngest, sent a humdinger of a nasty text message to my hubby at work, and wanted nothing more than to put on my sweats, curl up on the couch, and have a good self-pitying cry followed by a brooding session.

Then a little voice in my head...one that sounded remarkably like my dear, departed Papaw...said to me, "If you're this dissatisfied with you life sitting on the couch moping is the last place you need to be. Get dressed and get your behind to church." So I did. PRAISE THE LORD, I did.

Our message this morning was geared directly towards my bad attitude. To the point that the preacher's opening statement had me doing the "guilty shuffle" on the pew. It was simply this: GIVE THANKS. Do not be unthankful, ungrateful. Rejoice even in the trials in life, because you're here to suffer them. As the sermon went on I admitted my guilt to myself, and to God. With that admittance came calm understanding. I figured a few other people out there might be feeling dissatisfied with their lives, too, so I figured that I'd list out the progression of HOW I'm now giving thanks for what had me disgruntled a few hours ago...

• Yes, I awoke to a mess...but I have a HOME that can be messed. How many people don't?
• Yes, the mess was taking advantage of me...but I have a houseful of HEALTHY, HAPPY MALES that made the mess. How lucky am I, when so many others are dealing with illnesses, addictions, etc.?
• My hubby might not appreciate me the way I want him to, but his is FAITHFUL & HARD WORKING. We all know that is saying something, with the world full of lazy cheaters!
• Last of all, the MESS was taken care of. By ME. I had the energy, the will, the desire, AND the ability to take care of it. I had the health and stamina to live through it, and to get dressed and get my behind to church. A month ago I wouldn't have. A month ago I was so ill that the doctor was debating admitting me into the hospital.

So the next time you're feeling under appreciated, disrespected, and taken advantage of I challenge you to find the hidden blessings. Because they ARE there. Because finding them will bring you some peace. Oh, and if you'd like to read the verses in the Bible that sparked this understanding in me here is a list of the passages that were covered this morning:

• I Thessalonians 5:18
• II Timothy 3
• Romans 1
• Romans 8:28-29
• Ephesians 5:20

Another project done!

My second NaKniMo project is finished! I finished up my NYOBE 2008 Lapghan last night.

With the work that I did on my Dierdre Afghan tonight my total stitches for the month are at 12,802. Not bad, but I was really hoping to be past the halfway point by now. I guess I'd better get cracking!

I'm hoping to finish Dierdre tomorrow, and cast on a cowl for my youngest son's Sunday School teacher this week. If the real life monster can be tamed, that is. The pictured lapghan is heading out the door Wednesday for donation to the local Ladies' Auxiliary, who give to local veterans' homes.

NaKnitMo

I joined the NaKnitMo group on Ravelry. I missed out last year, only finding out about this gem at the end of the month. This year I almost forgot again! Hey, no judging, alright? I've been battling pneumonia, and my youngest had a tonsillectomy on Friday. Right now I'm doing well to remember my name.

Anyways, getting back to the point, I cast on a Coal Springs Scarf for a teacher's gift for my youngest on October 30th. I figured since I was sitting around bored to death recovering I might as well get a tedious project out of the way. Don't get me wrong...I loved the pattern, truly...it's just that a scarf project is SO boring. Same repeat time and time and time and time again until it's FINALLY long enough. I figured that this scarf was perfect for starting out NaKnitMo with. Turns out I was right. My goal of 30,000 stitches is now 9, 360 closer for my efforts, AND I've finished my second Christmas gift of the season!

Now. About the pattern. I strongly recommend this pattern for anyone just venturing into the world of stranded knitting. There are no wraps necessary, making it an ideal beginner project, and tension won't be as much of a problem as normal as it's a scarf...which means that any discrepancies would be easily hidden. I'd rate it medium on the difficulty scale, simply because it is a stranded project, and the end result makes it a show-stopper. In other words, what are you waiting for? Grab some needles and make one, already!

Recipe: Potato Cabbage Soup!

I mentioned on Facebook tonight that I had made this soup, and it garnered some interest...so I figured I might want to jot my recipe down here for everyone to enjoy! I serve this soup with hot, fresh from the oven cornbread.

Potato Cabbage SoupServes 6-8

Ingredients
8 Idaho potatoes, peeled & diced
4 cups green cabbage, shredded
Water, enough to cover the potatoes & cabbage
1 medium onion, chopped
4 oz. ham, diced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 chicken bullion cube
6 cups 2% milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Scallions or chives

Instructions

Put potatoes and cabbage in a large soup pot, put enough water in the pot to cover the potatoes, and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and boil until potatoes are fork tender; about 10 minutes.

Strain liquid out of potatoes and cabbage, reserving 1 cup. Place potatoes in cabbage in a large bowl and set aside.

Place the large soup pot back over the heat, and add the onions and ham to the pan. Cook over medium heat until the onions are tender; about 3 minutes.

Add reserved 1 cup of water and chicken bullion cube to the pot and stir.

Add in the flour, quickly stirring to mix into the water.

Add the six cups of milk all at once, whisking until smooth. Once smooth add the salt and pepper, and add the potatoes and cabbage back into the pot.

Bring back to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the soup begins to thicken.

Allow to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and scallions or chives and serve.