Peanut Noodle Salad

1 package (8 oz) lo mein noodles (I used thin spaghetti)
1/3 cup peanutbutter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 medium carrots, shredded
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
6 medium green onions, sliced
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts

1.  Break noodles into thirds.  Cook and drain as directed on package.  Rinse with cold water; drain.
2.  In small bowl, mix peanutbutter, soy sauce, orange juice and cayenne pepper til smooth.
3.  In large bowl, toss noddles, peanutbutter mixture and remaining ingredients.
 ***I also fried up seitan in terryaki sauce, and tossed it in.

I threw in some crescent rolls to accompany the above home-made butter!  My girls learned how to make butter, the old-fashioned way, at a harvest festival in Savannah we attended (life in the 1800s:)  So, here is some butter they made at home tonight!!  Naturally we had to have something to accompany the butter:)

Coconut Mud Bars

 

Bottom Layer:

1-1/3 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) unslated butter, slightly softened and cut into small pieces

Ganache:

10 oz semisweet choclolate, finely chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

Topping:

4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp coconut extract (opt)

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups shredded coconut

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

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 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.  

MAKE THE BOTTOM LAYER:  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.  With a pastry blender cut butter into dry ingredients til mixture resembles coarse meal.  Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan.  Bake 10 minutes, or til crust is just set.  Place pan on rack to cool, but leave oven on.

MEANWHILE, MAKE THE GANACHE: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.  In a small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer.  Pur hot cream over the chocolate; let stand for five minutes, then stir til smooth.  Pur ganache over the crust and refrigerate for about 15 minutes to set the ganache.

PREPARE THE TOPPING:  In a medium bowl, cream butter.  Add granulated sugar, vanilla and coconut extract, and beat til blended.  Beat in eggs.  Stir in coconut and pecans.  Drop coconut-pecan topping evenly over the ganache and spread gently.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, til top is golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.

***you HAVE to cool this for a few, but make sure you test a small piece while it's still warm!!!

  

A Birthday Party

 

Once upon a time, someone knocked on a door and a little girl was invited to a birthday party.  Her name is Samantha; Kalela is having the party.  

 

   The much-anticipated birthday party time has arrived.  Samantha is excited to get ready.  Samantha put the invitation on the table and put her greatest clothes on (they were pink:)  Her mom said, "Samantha, you forgot something.....A BIG HUG!"......"Samantha, you forgot something else....your makeup."

 Samantha went to the party.  She rang the doorbell and everyone was at the party.  They ran out of drinks and Samantha had to drink water.  Samantha began to cry because she didn't get a sweet drink.  Kalela was turning 10, Samantha was still nine.  Then, they ran out of food and Samantha began to cry purple tears---she's down in the dumps:(

Kalela, the birthday girl, walked up to purple teary-eyed Samantha and said, "can you please leave?"  As Samantha was sadly walking out, Kalela blurted out, "Please don't leave!  Sorry---Sorry---Sorry!"

Samantha came back to the party.  But she cried again because the birthday girl wouldn't let her play with Fairy Princess doll, only with Prince Charming doll---she didn't want to be a boy.  She wasn't having fun:(

But, she was happy to receive a birthday hat!!  And she started to have more fun!!!  The kids started playing tag, and she chased the birthday girl, Kalela, who tripped and fell head first into the cake.  Then Samantha, running backwards,  tripped and fell butt first into the cake!!  Everybody was laughing.  

NOW Samanth was having fun!

THE END

Oatland Island Wildlife Center Harvest Fest

 

Trying to create fire, the old fashioned way! (good thing we live in the south now:)

Cooking, the old-fashioned way; and our family's preferred method:D

Some good ole-fashioned nut-crackin!  (ok, some things don't change:)

 Spinning

 

Home-made corn bread in the cabin

 Kids are shaking and making home-made butter--it was quite good:)

 My favorite festival find--big jolly santa gourd man--he's come to live with us now:D

 "Come and experience and old time southern tradition.  Back in the olddays country folk would gather together after the sugar cane harvest and
grind their cane to make syrup.  More often than not, it turned into a celebration with children playing games and food being served with music and dancing on the side!  Oatland tries to duplicate the sight, sounds and smells of those by-gone days.  The Savannah Folk Music Society will be playing their hearts out.  We'll be cookin' cane syrup, apple butter, corn bread and other foods."

 

Tortellini with Fresh Vegetables

one pkg chesse filled tortellini
olive oil
small onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium bell pepper, cut into one inch pieces
2 cups roma tomatoes, chopped
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into slices
Italian seasoning
garlic salt
freshly grated italian cheese (I used asiago)


saute' onion, garlic, pepper, zuchhini till softened.  Add roma tomatoes, and cover for a couple of minutes.  Add in seasonings to taste.  Add in (drained) tortellini and stir in freshly grated italian cheese.

Barbie's Finally in The Family!

Three years ago, when my oldest was three and my youngest was 1.5, I realized, "wow, I have little girls---BARBIES!!!!"  and I bought them their first barbies:)  They of course loved the Barbies, didn't do a whole lot with them at the time, but non-the-less, loved their barbies.  Well, soon after, I had gotten into a Goodwill stage for "treasure" hunting--and as luck would have it--the girls spotted Barbie cars--two, as a matter of fact--for $.50 each!  So their Barbies now had wheels!  Well, no long after, it was in my head (though I didn't say a word to Little Angel) that Barbie needs some place to live.  Believe it or not, the very next day three yr old Little Angel said, "Mommy, Barbie needs a house!"  And it was that day that I started looking---and I was shocked by the sticker prices--upwards of $200!!!!  The next day, something told me I should check e-bay---and I did.  And guess what I found--I found the above-shown house, as a local pick-up only, which happened to be in the Milwaukee area, with tons of wooden furniture--oh, and it was only $10!!!!!!  And, not only was this in the Milwaukee area, when we exchanged addresses, they happened to have to be in my town, just a few blocks from my neighborhood; and told me to meet at the local Ace Hardware, just outside of my old subdivision!  Talk about the law of attraction in action!  So, I showed up with the Jeep Grand Cherokee--it didn't fit!  (we have a dog barrier between the trunch and the backseat)---so then I ran home and came back with the Explorer, with the seat down--victory!! 

Well, the girls were of course excited about the new house, but honestly had no idea what to do with it.  So pretty much, for the last three years it's served as a storage shelf---it's been upstairs, it's been in the basement, it's been in both girls' rooms--but, again, pretty much my $10 treasure collected dust.  And, I ALMOST considered donating it before we left Wisconsin, almost...

Excitement arose in our household--last night in fact; my girls finally discovered the magic of barbies, together!!!!  And now, they can't get enough of playing Barbies!!!

My little girls: Fairy Girl, age 1.5, Little Angel, age 3

 

Artwork

 

Grandpa and Grandma's Visit

 

Grandma's Here...

 

 She knitted!!!

Angel Art

 

Angel Art

Cheese Squares (recipe by request)

2- 8 oz crescent rolls
2 - 8 oz cream cheese
1 cup sugar 
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

beat together

pat 1 pack crescent rolls in 9x13 pan.  Spread cream cheese mixture over.  Top with second package of crescent rolls.

sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar.

bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes

Pumpkin Cobbler

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup sugar
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 (1lb 2.25oz) moist yellow cake mix
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
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1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2.  In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except cake mix, butter, and pecans--with wire whisk; pur into pan.  In medium bowl, mix cake mix and spread with pastry bledner or fork til large clumps form; spoon randomly over mixture in pan (some clumps will sink).  Sprinkle with pecans.
3.  Bake 48 to 52 minutes or til toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes.  Serve warm with whipped topping or vanilla ice-cream, if desired.

 

Forsythe Park---Savannah

 

Happy Birthday to Buddy...

Forever My Angel

Halloween---Southern Style!

 

 

We had a couple of the neighbors over for a pre-trick-or-treating gathering.  We had food, a lowcountry boil, and a later a campfire going--all in our driveway.  After we feasted, the moms took the kids through the neighborhood for some trick-or-treating, while the gentlemen hung back, and made the big sacrafice handing out candy--all while sitting by the campfire.  They decided that there should be an age-cut-off for trick or treaters--since bunches of older teens were coming around begging for candy, many of whom didn't even bother with costumes--so the gentlemen took matters into their own hands, and started asking ages (and most of the teens stammered and lied:)--there were guys coming around with facial hair and deep voices--why do they need to beg for free candy?  So, since candy was limited, and really geared toward the chldren---they started slicing candybars--in half, right in front of these alarmed teen trick or treators, who were not pleased:)  I was surprised that the clams shells didn't wind up in the halloween bags of the teens--but am grateful, less our house could be egged, or our palm tree toilet papered:O

It was 82 degrees and breezy by day--and low 70's by night.  I must say, it was rather refreshing not to have to put our winter coats and ear-muffs over the girls' costumes!

We completed our evening with a gathering around the campfire!

Oatland Wildlife Nature Park and A Night on the Town--Savanna

We went to Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah for their annual Halloween night-time hike.  This hike was geared towards young children, with characters set all along the path.  Though my girls had a goodtime, I'd say we got here about 2-3 years too late:)  Once again, I can feel that my girls are definitely past the toddler days, and are truly school-age:)  

We were hungry, so we decided to have a "night on the town" in downtown Savannah, marketplace area.  They close off some of the streets for some night-time fun!  We had pizza, sitting outdoors.  The confectionary shop was open, so we hit that----why, being so close to Halloween?  Because it WAS 9:30 at night, those doors were wide open--and those scents just lure you right in, and that free praline is RIGHT there!  So, I got my praline, and my girls finally got their cotton candy for the first time ever (they were begging me at the Circleville Pumpkin show, but the bags they sell are HUGE---one of our friends, KH, felt sorry for them, and bought a huge bag and let us take a sample out for the girls (turns out KH LOVES cotton candy---so we're glad it wasn't too great a sacrafice for her:)  We then walked around a bit, watching all the drunken skate-boarding, break-dancing bananas, Little Bo-Peeps, Vampires, supergirls, Pirates, etc....Then we came upon The Cinnamon Bear.  This is a crafty kind of shop with a location in Hilton Head and a location in Savannah--this shop was on my "to do" list---and THERE IT WAS!  However, it was 10 pm at that point, so the lights were off--but it wouldn't hurt to window shop, would it?  As I was peeking inside, Fairy Girl happened to lean on the door (you can come in from the back or the front, this was the back)--oh, and it was WIDE open!  I happened to see a police car, and one VERY stressful looking police officer (remember, a LOT of drunks that night, being Halloween weekend--and no, we didn't hang out too long)---and I resisted my temptation to go inside to "windowshop" and did my civic duty, and reported this to the police officer--he looked even more stressed, not even a "thank yewww maam"--but I'm sure he was grateful and preferred dealing with that over an easy robbery.  AND, that means there will be merchandise left when I can go back sometime during normal business hours!

A GREAT time was had by all!