Mini Ham Puffs

I am not sure if that is the name for these, but that is what I call them....another favorite!

Also, easy and delicious

mix chopped ham, shredded swiss cheese, chopped onion, dijion mustard, 1 egg, salt and pepper. Cut crescent roll sheet into 24 squares, fill them and bake.

Eclairs

My new recipe.....Eclairs for some reason always seemed "too difficult" to make. But, a few months ago we went to a restaurant with some family and my grandpa was talking about getting an eclair for dessert, except he didn't want to pay the price for a giant eclair he wouldn't be able to finish eating.....so that inspired me to try my hand at making eclairs, if nothing else, to make papa happy! And really, they aren't that hard to make!
Here are the ingredients for all 3 parts

First....to make the eclair shell

melt a stick of butter and cup of water until they boil, then add 1 cup of sifted flour and stir until it forms a ball...

Remove from heat and let cool. Then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time.

Then place dough in pastry bag (or large ziploc bag) and pipe onto cookie sheet.

Onto step 2: filling

I used instant vanilla pudding, 2 1/2 cups of milk, 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla to make the filling

After the pastries are cooked and cooled, you can cut them in half and fill. I also put the filling in a pastry bag to fill

Step 3: Icing  - this part I still need to perfect, but this is what the directions say to do...

Melt 2 1 ounce squares of chocolate, then add 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup whipping cream. Cook over medium heat until it forms a soft ball (kind of like the dough for the pastry) (except for me this didn't happen, even after an hour!) Then cool and beat until smooth.

You can just see the sugar in the icing, haha! BUT....they were VERY YUMMY!!

We Love Our Happy Dog

Of course we love Buster, but we also love "Happy Dog."  Happy Dog is a dog daycare and grooming/boarding place we recently (in the past few months) learned about. They are wonderful with Buster and even put up with his barking fits for the first month he was there.....He goes about once a week for daycare and every few months to be groomed. He LOVES going and pulls me in the door. And, he is TIRED when I pick him up. We are so thankful to have learned about such a wonderful place, and to have a happy dog. Here is a picture of Buster on the car ride home one day....

tired, tired, boy!

Reasons I Love Walking the Dog

Don't get me wrong....there are plenty of days I lay in bed in the morning thinking, "does the dog really need a walk? I bet he is too tired...I wonder if it's raining?" haha, but as I was walking Buster this afternoon, I was thinking about all the really good things about it, because sometimes you just need to only think about all the really good things...

*These are in no specific order

• I get exercise....and fresh air
• I meet a lot of people....neighbors, and I am sure a lot more people know me "the girl who walks the brown dog"
• The dog is happy, and sometimes it makes you happy to see someone else happy (yes, I know I referred to the dog as a someone, and if you know me, you know this is no mistake)
• I get plenty of time to think....about life, stresses, good things, and bad things. Lessons to teach and things I need or want to do.
• I get inspired, mostly to write, whether it is the blog or a story
• I learn a lot of things (mostly who is moving, how many kids and pets people have, who doesn't know which week is recycling pick up, etc)
• Buster is exposed to children, odd objects and sounds....because he is a bit timid of these things
• I get to help people....I have returned a few "lost" dogs, reported a lost rabbit, collected trash, turned trashcans upright, and even chased down bottles and newspapers from recycling bins without lids on a windy day.
• It's like a treasure hunt....today I found a protractor. I have also found markers, pens, and even a bar stool that I "recreated" as a cool new furniture piece for my classroom.

We love our dog, his life is so simple and a walk means so much to him each day, but really... it probably does more for me (and TJ)

Party Punch

This recipe is quick, easy, yummy, and beautiful!

Mandarin Orange Salad

This is a favorite!! Beware....it make ALOT!!

Ingredients: 2 large containers of cool whip, 2 cups smalkl curd cottage cheese, 4 large cans of mandarin oranges (drained), 1 can crushed pineapple, 1 cup coconut, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 box orange gelatin, and 1 box apricot gelatin....oh, and a LARGE bowl!

Mix cool whip and cottage cheese

Add gelatin packets

Then add oranges, pineapple, pecans, and coconut

Trust me...it's REALLY good!!!!

Where's Buster's Ornament?

Pumpkin Muffins and Glaze

Let me just say....these were good!!! Here is the recipe I used.

Ingredients....I used the pumpkin I made from an actual pumpkin (but it was only 1 cup, and I needed 2 cups, so I used some canned pumpkin that my mom found for me!)

Dry Ingredients

Batter

Ingredients for glaze.

2T butter

2T pumpkin

2T milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

This glaze really added an extra "yum" to the muffins!

I REALLY recommend this recipe!



I couldn't find canned pumpkin....so I made my own!

1 Pie Pumpkin

Cut into wedges, seeds scooped out, covered tightly with foil. Bake on 350 for 1 1/2 hours

Peel the skin off...

Stick it in the food processor

Pureed pumpkin! But we aren't finished yet!

Let it sit/drain for about an hour

to get rid of the watery stuff

And THEN you are finished! I would say it made about as much as would be in a can you buy from the store. However, it was not as easy as buying it from the store, haha. It wasn't difficult, just time consuming. I am going to try to find out if/how I could make this in a crock pot!!! I can't wait to try this pumpkin compared to canned!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

And boy does it smell good!! I really want to cut into that baby, but I do plan to take it to work tomorrow, so I need to practice some self-control! Here is the recipe I used (except I only did 2 layers).

Here are the ingredients ( I love it because I only had to buy sour cream!)

Cinnamon, sugar, and nuts (for the top and filling)

Flour mixture....added to the.....

butter, sugar, sour cream, egg, and vanilla mixture...

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes - I wait about 10-15 minutes before I invert the cake onto the cooling rack, just long enough so it doesn't fall apart, but not too long, so it doesn't get stuck in the pan!