Thankful Thurs #14

1. No mean April Fools Jokes.                      2. An awesome stay at home Spring break.

3. Blockette does not freak out about large spiders. (Even when they are furry.)

4. Blockette can ride her bike all by herself. (Now we just have to work on stopping and steering.)

5. The trees are blooming.

6. Mrblocko was able to wave two separate bank fees. (How does he do that?  He didn't do anything except say, "I need you to remove these fees."  I was practically crying the day before and I got nuthin.)

7. The fence is nearly finished.

8. I found one of the kitties' "juicy toot" on the bedspread in time to wash it before bedtime.

9. It wasn't a big deal I forgot to buy stamps at the store last week, cause I wound up not needing any.

10. Blockette's new obsession with the movie "The Ten Commandments" and consequently anything to do with ancient Egypt because I'm secretly (or not so secretly) obsessed with it too.

Sweet Charity Pie

My google-fu must be weak today. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this wonderful, dessert is called Sweet Charity Pie. Is it because the ingredients are cheap? Is it named after a restaurant? What!? I simply cannot stand the suspense!

Regardless of Sweet Charity Pie's nominal origins, I happened upon the recipe at Sweet Treats and More. Apparently, Debbie Mortensen was the creator of this recipe.  (But who are you Mrs. Mortensen!?)  Well, whoever you are, you have truly invented some jolly good pie.

At first I thought the crust wasn't going to work out.  You bake the crust mixture in a 9x13 pan and then put it into a pie crust.  I thought that was peculiar.  Why can't the crust mixture just be placed in the pie pan and then baked?  Perhaps because you need to bake the topping part too?  I think the crust would hold together better if it was baked in the pie pan.  I wish I could ask Debbie the wherefores and how to's of preparing the crust in this fashion.

A big fan of cherries, I am not, so I used peach filling.  The cherry filling tints the top layer so you can see the difference between the fruit-cool whip layer and the cream cheese layer.  A darker filling is definitely more visually appealing.  Alas, lesson learned.  Next time I might try a can of strawberry filling.  That way I'll get the colours I want, without having to subject myself to any nasty flavours.

Also, if you do happen to use peach filling, please do not forget, as I did, to cut said peach pieces.  It will be much easier to eat that way.

Do make this pie.  You shan't regret it.

Sweet Charity Pie originally from Debbie Mortensen
1 cup flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, soft
8 oz cream cheese, soft
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup powdered sugar
21 oz can Cherry Pie Filling (I used peach pie filling.)
1 (8 oz) carton of cool whip

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl combine flour, pecans, brown sugar and butter. Use two butter knives or a pastry blender to cut in butter. Mix until well combined and crumble forms. Spread crumb mixture into a sheet cake pan and bake for 15-20 min until golden brown, stirring once half way through. Let cool, then press crumbs into a 9 in. round pie pan, reserving 1 c o crumbs for top. Refrigerate to completely cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and almond extract. Beat until smooth and creamy.  In another bowl, combine pie filling and cool whip. Spread the cream cheese mix over top of crumb crust in pie dish. Some  crumbs might lift as you try to spread the cream cheese layer. It helps if you dollop the cream cheese mix all over top of crust, then try to spread. Top with cherry pie-cool whip mix. Cover with reserved crust mix.

This post has been brought to you by reading too much Austen-esque literature.

Many Ingredient Slow Cooker Chili

I saw this awesome looking 21ingredient slow cooker chili from A Year of Slow Cooking, and I just had to give it a try.

This chili is absolutely loaded with goodies.  I mean sweet potato?  In chili?  Mustard?  Soy sauce?  YES!  It sounds weird, but it all magically works.

I made a few slight changes to the recipe based on what I had on hand.  Instead of 2 pounds of chicken thighs, I used 2 pounds of shredded turkey.   I had purchased an extra turkey in November when they were on sale, and this was the last of those leftovers.

Kidney beans aren't really my thing.  I think it's their tougher skin, so I used black beans instead.  I also had some peruano beans cooked up, so I used those in place of the cannelinis.

I mistakenly thought I had a can of corn in the pantry.  Well, I did, but it turned out to be creamed corn.  I thought that might be a tad odd in the chili, so I used about a cup and a half of frozen corn.  I added the frozen corn about an hour or so before we ate.

The recipe calls for chipotle chili powder.  I didn't have any of that, and thought adding it might make the chili too spicy for Blockette.  I found myself wishing that the chili had a bit more heat, so I think next time I will either go out and buy some chipotle chili powder, or use a finely chopped small chipotle in adobo.

Finally, I added a cup of cooked quinoa.  I had read a recipe somewhere that said they used quinoa in their chili.  I happened to have some cooked quinoa in the freezer, so I tossed it into the crock pot in a few frozen chunks.  This was a bit of an afterthought, so I probably added it a few hours into the cooking time.  This chili is so thick and hearty that I couldn't see or taste the quinoa at all.

This chili really feeds a crowd. I'll be making it again once we work our way through all the leftovers in the freezer!

Hearty Slow Cooker Chili from a Year of Slow Cooking
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut in 1-inch chunks) (I used precooked shredded turkey)
1 onion, diced
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I used 1 1/2 c cooked black beans)
1 (15-ounce) can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (I used 1 1/2 c cooked peruano beans)
1 (15-ounce) can corn (drained and rinsed) ( I used 1 1/2c frozen corn, added at the last hour of cooking)
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes (whole can)
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated (I used a large one)
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder (start with 1 tsp. 3tsp = 1tblsp)(I omitted this, but next time will just add a finely chopped chipotle pepper)
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white pepper (optional.  I used the full amount, but use less if you are heat sensitive.)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2-4 cups chicken broth (depending on how thick you like your chili)
1 c cooked quinoa (optional)

Use a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Put the chicken into the bottom of your cooker; frozen is okay, but cut it into chunks. Add the diced onion, canned beans, tomatoes, chiles, corn, and grated sweet potato. Now add the mustard, honey, and dried spices. Carefully stir well to distribute spices the best you can. Pour in the chicken broth.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until chicken easily shreds with two large forks. Although you could cook this on high in 4 hours, the flavors will meld best when cooked low and slow. Stir very well and serve in a large bowl with your favorite chili toppings.

March Reads

1. The Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine.  I really enjoyed this story.  I'd say it was geared toward late elementary and middle school.  The main character goes to the city of Two Castles for an acting apprenticeship only to discover that the laws have been changed and she does not have the finances to apprentice.  Stuck, penniless, in a strange city this young girl finds herself a friendship among an ogre and a dragon, and a mystery to solve.  I loved that the main character was naive, but not stupid.  Gail Carson Levine always portrays young girls so realistically. I hope there is a sequel.

Source: Republic of Pemberly

2. Jane Austen for Dummies by Joan Elizabeth Klingel Ray PhD. It seems like every spring I get on this Jane Austen jag.  This book provides a bit of historical and cultural background to the setting of the Jane Austen books.  It was a bit dry in some parts, but that was just because I wasn't interested in all the topics covered in the books.  A good read if you are a fan of the books or the movies.

3. Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen by  Serena Valentino.  I bought this book last spring for my best friend when we went to Disney World.  I had heard nothing about the book, but thought that she would like it as she is a fan of the villains (or as Blockette used to say, "The Mean.")  The story tells the back story of how Snow White's stepmother turned evil.  It was a fun little quick read, but it seemed to have a few holes in the plot.  Like who were the 3 cousins? How did they come to own the Queen's mother's soul?  Why were they evil?  If they already owned the Queen's soul, why did they waste time turning her into a crone?  I'm sure I'm missing some other things.  While the bones of the story was great, it would have been better if the best and most interesting parts had been fleshed out a bit more.

4.Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale.  This was a sequel of sorts to Austenland.  It's set in the same sort of Austen - based resort/LARP (live action role play).  This story was a bit different as it was set in more of a gothic mystery.  I was wondering how they were going to make this sequel different from the first book, and the mystery aspect makes the story not feel repetitive.  I must be in a good mood as of late, because I enjoyed and "alls well that ends well" sort of happy ending.  I hope Shannon Hale figures out how to work a third story into this setting.

5.Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell. This story was essentially Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice set in post Civil War Texas.  (Near, of all places Austen, TX of course.)  I'm not normally into Westerns, but I loved this book.  The storyline veered enough from Austen's original to make it interesting, but not so far that it was objectionable.   For example, in this story, I loved it that Charolotte married for love.  I always hated it that she got stuck with Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice.    Aside from the well written storyline, I learned something about the Civil War.  I always thought the Civil War started because of slavery.  That's what I was taught in school, and was never given any other explanation.  Turns out Lincoln didn't abolish slavery until 2 years into the war.  The war started, in a nutshell, because congress told the South they could only sell their goods to the Industrialized North, and not other countries.  Then Congress went and taxed those Northern goods so much that they were no longer affordable.  Basically the whole thing was taxation without representation.  I think it's crazy, but great, that this book has gotten me interested in the Civil War, and has this Yankee looking at a great many things in a completely different light.

Swedish Piggies

No!  Not this Swedish Piggy:


These Swedish Piggies:

 I found the tutorial over at Princess Piggies.

The Swedish braids (or piggies) were a nice change from the usual French braid to keep her hair out of the way.  Blockette's bangs are still not all the way grown out, so this style didn't last through a long day of hard playing.  Next time I'll have to put some sort of product in it, or wait until her hair gets a big longer. 

More patchy pants!

Yes. The patchy pants party never stops. Remember here where I said I was working on another patch?

Well here it is!  A funky little peacock feather.

Stubborn peacock feather who didn't want to smile for the camera. At least that's my reason for why the pic looks a bit on the blurry side.  (Best to blame the subject or the camera, not the photographer and her lack of photographic skills.)

Here it is for placement reference on my jeans. I think it looks like lil miss croc-a-gator is waiving at it.

And wouldn't you know it?  My other pair of patchy pants are nearly worn through in another location.  So I've got to start working on yet another patch!

The party really never stops.

And you know what else I've discovered?

It's not all that fun to stitch on denim.  I'm just a glutton for punishment.

Playdate Fun

Yesterday Blockette had her friend "K" over for a playdate.  This is a pretty rare thing.  K's mom is my best friend, and she doesn't drive, so it's just easier for us to come to their house.

This year both Blockette and K's Spring Breaks fell on the same week, so it was a great chance for her to come over to play.

I was worried the girls would get bored so I planned out some activities for us to do.  First, we made some brownies:

I found the Brownie recipe over at Rainy Day Gal.  I wanted to give this recipe a test drive as it contained chocolate chips, instead of the usual cocoa powder.  The recipe calls for two bags of chips, but I only had a little over half a bag!  This was right after I announced to the girls that we were going to make some brownies, so they were already geared up and into brownie mode.

What did I do?  Panic?  Nope.  I decided to half the recipe.  I added the last of the peanut butter chips lurking in the pantry and it wound up to be exactly the right amount.  Awesome!!!!

The brownies were nice and fudgy, and the peanut butter chips turned out to be a tasty substitution.  You can't ever go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate!

While the brownies were cooking and cooling, we made some marbleized paper.  I found this tutorial over at Unplug Your Kids.  This was a bit messy, but easy and lots of fun.  This was one of those messy projects that are actually easier if you have more than one kid to do the project with.  If you're going to make a mess, might as well make a lot of it right?  Next time I do this I will have to remember to put some newspaper down, or do it outside.  Until I broke out the rubbing alcohol, I was worried that I had stained the kitchen counter top forever.

Here are a few of the many papers we dyed together:

The last project we did was color some paper dolls.  Practical Pages has a ton of historically clothed paper dolls that I think are super cool. The girls did too.

Both girls decided on the Egyptian styled clothing.  I don't think either of them had ever played with paper dolls before and were frustrated with how the clothing didn't want to stay on.  They were in problem solving mode so they whipped out the glue stick, and glued the clothes on.  They also decided to add wings to their dolls, which I thought was incredibly cute.

I think they had a fun time.  I know I did.

Chippy Brownies - a half recipe from Rainy Day Gal
3/4 c flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/3 c butter
3/4 c sugar
2 T water
1 1/4 c chocolate chips (divided)
1/2 c peanut butter chips
1 t vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325F. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  In a medium size sauce pan melt butter, water and sugar, allowing it to get just to a boil.  Remove from heat and add in 1 c chocolate chips.  Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add vanilla, and eggs, one at a time.  Then slowly add flour mixture.  Stir in remaining chips.  Pour into greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan.  Bake fore 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow brownies to cool at least 1 1/2 hours before cutting.  If you cut them before they are cooled, they will fall apart.