Heavenly Deviled Eggs

It's been awhile since I've been at my parent's house for Thanksgiving. While in college I was usually stuck doing homework, or my mom had everything prepared by the time I made it home. So, I really haven't had a chance to help prepare the meal since I've been old enough to really be of any assistance.

Being back for a week, and spending most of the time driving back and forth to the hospital 30 minutes away, mom actually consented to letting me assist her in the kitchen (she usually gets up before dawn the few days before and takes on everything herself). I was delighted.

I was put in charge of making the deviled eggs. I've never made deviled eggs before. I've never watched her make them (remember, up before crack of dawn so they were always done). So, I needed instruction.

I don't like any deviled eggs besides my mom's. They usually taste way too mustardy for my liking. But, as most of her recipes go, we don't have any actual measurements to go by, just taste. But I like cooking this way; it makes me feel imaginative and capable.

Sorry no pictures for this one; I was set to work before I had time to think to grab a few shots!

Mom's Deviled eggs

dozen hardboiled eggs with yokes removed
two or so dollops of mayonaise (REAL)
squirt or two of mustard, probably about 2 teaspoons
3 or so Tablespoons of sweet relish
pinch or two of sugar
dash of paprika plus more for top

Mash the yokes in a small bowl using a fork until almost smooth. Add in your mayo, mustard, relish and sugar. Mix well. Sprinkle in a little paprika. Taste and add to more of ingredients to your liking. Fill each egg with the mixture. Sprinkle all the tops with paprika so they have a nice speckled dusting.


My youngest nephew is a big fan of grandma's deviled eggs. He ate quite a few before my mom told him that I made them. My compliment from him, "I couldn't even tell."

Thankfulness

I know I'm quite late for a Thanksgiving thankful post, but I'm going to go on anyway.

We spent almost two weeks out of town visiting family back in Illinois for Thanksgiving, and hunting season for my husband. While we were back, we got a real reminder of how precious and short life can be. My dad had a heart attack halfway through our visit. He is recovering, but gave us all a big scare, including himself.


So, this Thanksgiving and holiday season I am extremely thankful for family, and the opportunity to be able to travel to see everyone. We generally only make it back to Illinois once a year, and I am beyond thankful it was during this time.

As I sit here looking at thankful verses over and over I need to remember every single thing in my life is a gift from God. Most importantly, my salvation through Jesus; even more poignant as we near the Christmas season and remember His birth.

"Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, His love endures forever"

Psalm 136:1

Upcyle boxes, to custom boxes!

Since we are traveling north for Thanksgiving and not for Christmas, I've had to do some early Christmas shopping. I can't see spending all that extra money on shipping packages, so I'm doing what I can to have everything packed in our suitcase. We'll drop off our gifts during our visit so they can be opened on Christmas. Sounds fine, right?

Well, I've discovered Christmas shopping early means many stores aren't stocked with the holiday boxes, at least where I did my Christmas shopping, so I had to get creative. I know I could have bought the ready-made boxes, but again, I don't like spending unnecessary money.

I had all these other boxes around from other things we've ordered as of late, so I decided to undertake making my own boxes. It wasn't pretty, and I wasn't sure if it was going to turn out alright, so I don't have step-by-step pictures.

I started by unfolding all the cardboard boxes to see what kind of shape I had to work with.

As I was measuring out for my boxes, I realized it is much easier to make the kind of box where the sides slip into the main part of the box. (Think pizza box) This required less taping and notching, and more just folding the boxes together.


A few tips I learned during this endeavor:

• When using corrugated cardboard, use a ruler with a sharp edge, like this one:

I'd put the sharp edge down on the cardboard and use this to form my new crease. This made it immensely easier to create the new folds where I wanted them to be!

• Clear packaging tape works best, but in a pinch, masking tape will work.
• If possible, make use of the existing folds. This will give you a starting point when you're unsure.
• If you start making a wrong cut, just tape it together tightly and make the correct one. If you're unsure about a cut, start small, never cutting all the way through.
• Allow extra space in the inside of your box for tissue paper and for the outside folds of the box
• Use good scissors! Cardboard can be tiresome to continually cut through!

Here are the three I finished in this particular session. The picture of the cardboard above is not all I used!

For one of our large gifts, I didn't make a full box because I did not have enough cardboard to go around the edges. Instead, I made more of a sleeve, but this should work out fine since I still have a solid surface to attach my wrapping paper.

It makes my heart happy to have all these wrapped up and ready to go!

Perfection is in the icing

Yum....

Pumpkin cookies are one of my favorite fall treats, and the best part is the icing! I make mine with my aunt's penuche frosting recipe, and it can get quite messy.

When I made this batch of cookies last week, I remembered how much trouble I had spreading the icing on the cookies when I made them last, so I thought ahead this time and achieved great success!

Here is the original frosting recipe:

Penuche Frosting

3 T melted butter (remember to melt it, otherwise you get butter chunks, not appealing!)
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 milk
Powdered confectioner's sugar to make it spreadable (about 2 cups)

Combine butter and sugar. Whisk in milk. Add powdered sugar until you achieve spreadable consistency.


My big change isn't really big at all, I simply don't put as much powdered sugar to make it "spreadable." I leave the frosting a little runny so I can dip my cookies, rather than struggle with spreading the icing.

You simply dunk the cookies in your icing as seen in the photos:

Here is what the cookie looks like if you do the old-fashioned spread with a knife. You can see the icing doesn't spread to the edges and isn't uniform:

And here is the cookie completely covered in ooey frosting goodness! With the dunking method, frosting covers all sides of the cookie much more evenly.

My icing has remained a little gooey rather than being slightly hardened like I remember. That might be because I'm in the humid south now rather than the Midwest, or it might be from less powdered sugar. I've remedied that by placing the cookies in the fridge.

Here is another before and after shot. The lighting is a little off, I apologize.

Now all my cookies are frosted and ready to eat. Don't they look so pretty!

Combining Recipes: Apple Pie

I grew up calling my next door neighbor "Grandma." Grandma makes the best apple pie, complete with crumbly topping and yummy goodness. But, I forgot to get her recipe before we moved, so I had to do some improvising.

I often don't like pie because of the crust. I do not like packaged crust, which means I had to find a recipe for homemade, preferably one that did not take that much time to make and had basic ingredients. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com, and I think it's pretty tasty. It's pretty simple to make as well.

So that's one recipe I use. But I use three recipes in my apple pie!

I use the apple pie filling recipe in my "Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know" I got from my mom when I moved into my first apartment.

Apple Pie Filling

1/2 C sugar
1/4 flour
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
dash of salt
apples (I use a variety, but I love using Honeycrisp when available. I use about 4 large apples)
(it might call for lemon juice, but I leave that out)

Peel and slice your apples and place in large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients over top of the apples and mix well so all apples are coated. Place into pie crust-lined pie plate.


You remember how I mentioned Grandma's crumble top? Well, I had to duplicate it, but I couldn't find a recipe exactly like I wanted, so I improvised and changed a crumble tart recipe I found. I've listed it below:

Crumble Topping for Apple Pie

3/4 C flour
1/2 C sugar
5 T melted butter

Stir all three ingredients together until crumbly. It will remain a little mushy, but just break it into small pieces as you sprinkle it over the top of your pie filling.

The problem using different recipes, is determining the cooking time. I bake mine at a lower temperature, but longer than the crust recipe calls for. The crust is the most important to get cooked, so I check it often. I bake my pie at 375° for about 30 minutes. Be sure to cover your crust with foil though, as it can burn easily since it is in the oven longer than recommended.

This is one of my fall favorites. My husband even requested it last year instead of birthday cake!

Being Bold

I've been struggling with being bold lately. Well, probably all my life since I am incredibly shy; now I just know how I want to label it. Luckily I've found some verses lately that instill in me a peace and calm about myself. Here's one of them.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

Isaiah 43:4-5

This verse lets me know I'm perfect the way I am. While being bold is definitely something I'm going to continue working on, having peace right now is huge. I think having peace is the first step, and boldness will follow naturally.

Something as simple as when I went out early Christmas shopping last week. I mumbled my usual "I'm fine" to the inquisitive store associates and quickly walked away because I'd rather not face my shyness. But this time, after I walked away, I could feel the little boldness bubble up, so I turned around and asked my questions despite being fearful of my shyness.

I know it's something silly, but doing something like that, and recognizing the change, helps me to know I'm on way and I can be bold in anything. This blog is another step for me. Sharing with whoever out there is in itself "being bold" so I hope I can continue.

I love these verses right now:

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

Psalm 37:4-6

Fall Smells

I love fall. Bonfires, camping, sweatshirts, leaves, apples, all of it. I decided I wanted to make my favorite fall dessert, homemade apple pie, last week. I know you can have this any time, but to me apple pie just reminds me of fall with all the fresh apples around.

When I was finished, I had all these apple peels leftover. I knew my grandma always said to put orange peels in the garbage disposal to make it smell fresh, so I wondered if apple peels would work also.

Sure enough! They gave our house a yummy apple scent. I can't wait to do this again next time I peel some apples for a dish.

I'll let you know how my recipe for apple pie came about in a few days.