In The Kitchen

I am having so much fun with this cooking challenge

and although I have not been too adventurous

it has given me the excuse to sit down and

research some of those "pins" that have been

keeping me on the computer for hours at a time!

one of the recipes I had first on my list

was my Grammy Brown's butter tarts

I have had the recipe for years and truth be told I was 

afraid of the pie crust because I have not made it from scratch

since grade 9 home economics class

and that my friends was more than a couple of years ago

I pulled the pie crust recipe from the Crisco site

and it turned out perfectly!

Mom said that Gram would be proud

and that made me smile

when I found this recipe I knew that it had to go on my list

I am a lover of anything dill and that there was cheese in them

well that is just a bonus!

I did not have fresh dill so I used dry ~ I added by the teaspoon until
it looked about right... about 3-4 tsp.

I also made dump cake as I have been wanting to try it for awhile now

it was fun and easy and good

I also whipped up a little breakfast casserole this morning

taking ideas from a couple of different things I have seen

and made it my own

see ~ that's what I love about cooking

taking a recipe and making it your own

all in all I checked off 5 more recipes this weekend

so that's 11 out of 28

I can do this!!

Saturday was s now day here ~ it was snowing when I got up

and still snowing and blowing when we went to bed

43 cm in total which is about a foot

blowing and drifting created a 5 foot drift in the back yard

so today was spent shovelling walks and decks

and snow blowers could be heard for miles and miles!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Friday Potpourri

Ahh Friday

so nice to see you this week

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we have seen the sunshine most of the week

but along with the clear skies

has come frigid temperatures again

not my favourite part of winter to say the least

after my cooking extravaganza last weekend

I have only made one new recipe this week

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 these are 2 of the things on my to make list

and I am so excited that one of them is my

Grammy Brown's butter tart recipe

I have had it for years and never tried them

wish me luck!

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 snowstorm in the forecast for tonight into tomorrow

so making comfort food ~ and snuggling under blankets

are high on the priority list

along with hot chocolate and cuddles

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 hope you have had a great week

and that the weekend events whatever they may be

make you smile.

In the Kitchen

If I came to one conclusion this weekend

it is that I enjoy cooking more than baking

with cooking you have variables

you can omit this and add this

it's all about your taste

with baking I have to follow the recipe step by step

I guess I am more of a free spirit than I thought I was!

As you know I started my cooking challenge on the 1st

and I ate take out on the 1st

yeah ~ I know!

the thing is to cook 28 recipes that are new to you

ones that you have never cooked before

expanding your horizons ~ and your taste buds too

you can do one recipe a day or mash 5 into a weekend

like I did.

Saturday morning I hit the ground running

I will tell you that this cake is in my top 10 now of favourite cakes ever

even after all the grief it gave me

after I mixed it up and plopped it in the oven

my cake runneth over

oh yes it did

so picture this ~ the cake is still not cooked

but every time I open the oven to check on it

smoke pours out ~ the smoke detector went off

the dog is howling from the pain in her ears

and we have the windows open on this balmy -20 C

that's -4 F to my friends south of me

Trevor says to me ~ so we are not going to make this one ever again.....right?

yeah right ~ after we tasted it ~ it was worth the cold

and the smoke

the recipe can be found here

and the cooking time is not correct ~ it took about another 20 minutes or so.

Next up was a recipe I had pinned but never tried

slow cooker rolls ~ recipe here

2 thumbs up!

which went great with this soup

the best part I likes about this recipe is that I used it as a base

and made it my own by adding a few of my own things to it.

It was game night on Saturday

and this dip was a big hit

picture and recipe found here

since it is a bacon double cheeseburger dip

I added a couple of tablespoons of relish

which added a little something extra

and we all loved it.

After all the cooking on Saturday ~ I was ready to just relax today

but before I did that I made these

it's chocolate and peanut butter so basically it is a no brainer

a little more work than your normal everyday cookie

as you make the chocolate balls

then the peanut butter balls

flatten the choc into a disc and mold around the pb

well hello there ~ they are worth the extra time 

all in all my weekend was a success

every recipe that I tried ~ I would make again

so that's the glory about trying something new

this little man celebrated 6 candles yesterday

my Cooper cat

in his Playcat pose ~ just for you

he is going for a haircut tomorrow morning

shhh ~ don't tell him ~ it's a surprise!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend

I am now headed around to catch up on some blog reading

see you soon!

Friday Potpourri

Hello February
so nice to see you

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after the mild weather we have had

the last couple of days

our snow is gone

I am talking green grass people

of course I know it will not last long

but we sure enjoyed the warmth after the frigid days

we experienced last week!

busy week ~ getting back into the routine

vacation is definitely over!

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I am excited to be starting this today

follow along on Instagram

you can find me at @nbwildflowers

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I am also starting the recipe challenge

28 recipes in 28 days

also happy that Simone & Mikal

are joining in on the fun

along with a couple of more lovely ladies via Facebook

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this yummy dessert is on the menu this weekend

as thebestneighborsever are coming over for game night

not sure whether I am going with a layer cake

or cupcakes ~ time will tell

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this is also on the list ~ yummy

it is going to be a full week-end
with lots of fun and things to do

what is on your agenda
something fun?  I hope so!

Tick Tock

If you have been here for any time at all

you know how much I love items that have been handed down to me

from family members.

this clock was at the farm for as long as I can remember

and I think Dad received it from his father back in the late 70's

they were removing the valuable pieces from the farm

before my grandparents took an apartment in the village

as my grandmother's alzheimer's was progressively getting worse

it hung in our dining room at home and eventually was moved to our rec room

as I do believe that Dad was planning on refinishing it.

The origin of the clock is that it hung in the

Windsor Hotel

in the village of Dorchester

the marks on the right hand side

as the story is told 

is from a candle as the clock hung above the mantle

it was passed on to me when Trevor and I moved in together

and although it no longer worked

I still loved it and the history it held.

Before Christmas my handsome hubby took it and had it fixed

and the glass replaced

so once again it goes tick tock tick tock

this is a shot of the hotel in it's heyday

if I remember correctly, I believe that it caught fire

and had to be levelled ~ I think it happened in the 50's or early 60's

but I am awaiting confirmation from a local historian.

Another little thing that makes me smile

and that is a good thing!

Happy Monday.

Friday Potpourri

Well it's Friday

and my vacation is drawing to an end

and...

I am feeling a little angry with myself

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I did not get even half of what I wanted to do ~ done

why do I do this to myself?

do I give myself unattainable goals

I think I was in vacation mode

relaxation mode

too cold to do anything mode!

oh well ~ everything will get done eventually ~ right?

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we had date night on Monday when we went to see

Blue Rodeo

they are one of my very favourite bands

so Trev got me tickets for Christmas

I was a happy girl ~ lots of smiling and singing happening

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I have also been pre-planning

making lots of lists

in preparation for my recipe challenge for Feb

if you would like to join in

check it out here

if you do not feel you can do the entire month

why not plan one new recipe a week

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the first day I actually ventured outside was yesterday

I took Mom to lunch and we ran some errands

it was so so cold though

it did not take us long to get what we needed done

so we could get home again!

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today will be low key

maybe a couple of movies

and puttering around the house

doing little things that I did not get done this week...

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I have posted this before

and needed a little reminder this week

that taking time for me is ok.

Hope you had a great week

and that your weekend is full of sunshine and smiles.

xo