Most Wanted Recipes

I have a few dishes that I would love to find some recipes for. We'll call these my 'Most Wanted'. I've messed with a couple of them, but haven't perfected them yet. I'm still looking for variations ~ and, of course, will tweak as I go.

#1 - we recently ate at an italian restaurant in the Nanuet/Spring Valley, NY area. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was right across the street from a Wal-Mart.....like that tells you a lot! I ordered a spinich ravioli dish that was to die for......and I'm just itching to try it at home. Any help on spinich ravioli???

#2 - Looking for the best Italian nacho recipe I can find. Oh, how fattening! But, holy cow, they are so good. We'll just use this recipe on the rare occasion......maybe.

#3 - Healthy recipe ideas. Yes, I know, the above is NOT healthy eating, but it sure is good. When we're home, 90% of the time, we eat healthy (low fat, low sugar, lean meats, fruit, grilled veggies, turkey bacon & sausage, soy milk, etc.), but every now and then, we gotta have a treat! I'm always up for new ideas for the 90% of the time that we do eat healthy.

Chocolate Cookie Sheet Cake Recipe

Chocolate Cookie Sheet Cake Recipe

This is that great, thin sheet cake with the yummy frosting that your aunt or grandma used to make and bring to reunions!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick margarine
1/2 cup shortening (like Crisco)
1 cup water
3 Tbsp. cocoa
2 eggs well beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
***see below for frosting recipe

Sift flour and measure.
Resift flour with sugar and salt
Place butter, shortening, water and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil
Pour butter mixture over flour mixture
Combine eggs, bakind soda, buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl ~ add to above mixture and mix well
Pour into greased and floured shallow cake pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
Start frosting when cake has 5 minutes left to bake

Frosting Ingredients:
1 stick butter
3 Tbsp. cocoa
6 Tbsp. milk
1 box powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix butter, cocoa and milk in a saucepan ~ place over low heat, but do not boil
Remove from heat
Add powdered sugar, pecans and vanilla ~ mix well
Frost cookie sheet cake as soon as it's out of the oven

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

This is an old fashioned recipe that requires cooking ~ no 'instant' on this one.

Ingredients:
1 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
1 8 oz. jar smooth/creamy peanut butter

Combine brown sugar, butter, sugar and milk into heavy saucepan. Cook to softball stage or 234 to 260 degrees on candy thermometer (can also check by dropping small amount into a cup of water ~ when it's at 'softball' stage, it will form a soft ball in the cold water)
Stir in cornstarch dissolved in small amount of water
Remove from heat
Beat well
Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat until smooth
Pour into glass baking dish and let set

Enjoy!

Potato Pinwheel Recipe

Potato Pinwheel Recipe

I grew up eating this at Christmas and continue to make it to this day. Back in the day, we had to boil our potato, but now you can use a microwave to soften it. Believe it or not, candy made with potatoes is really GOOD!

Ingredients:
1 medium sized potato
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Creamy peanut butter

Boil or microwave potato to soften ~ mash thoroughly while still hot
Add powdered sugar, a small amount at a time, until potato mixture is the consistency of dough (will get thin before it starts getting thicker)
Roll out onto surface covered with powdered sugar ~ needs to be about 1/4" thick and oblong shaped
Spread evenly with peanut butter
Roll into a 'pinwheel'
Chill 5-6 hours or overnight in refrigerator
Slice into 1/4" to 1/2" slices

Enjoy!

Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

I think I could just eat the apple mixture on this and never actually put it in the pie shell and bake. My husband doens't really care for apple pie, but he LOVES this one!

Ingredients:
8 Jonathan apples, peeled and sliced
2 9" unbaked pie shells
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Flour
Dash of salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Spread apples into pie shell ~ they'll be heaped up
Combine sugar, cinnamon, 1 tbsp. flour and salt ~ mix with a fork
Sprinkle sugar mixture over the apples in the pie shell
Combine butter, 1/2 cup flour and brown sugar ~ mix well
Sprinkle flour mixture over apples in pie shell
Cut up a few pats of butter to top off the pie
**you can bake 'open faced' or add the other pie shell over the top and cover with a few more pats of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (cut a few holes in top pie shell to vent)

Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes or until done

Enjoy!

Christi's Sugar Cookie Recipe

Here's my sugar cookie recipe. I can honestly say that somebody walked a mile one day for these! (okay, she was pregnant and had a craving for them, but that's beside the point! ~ luv ya, S!)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour, sifted
3 tsp. baking powder

Cream butter with a mixer
Add sugar to butter gradually and cream
Add eggs, milk and vanilla to butter/sugar ~ cream well
Add flour sifted with baking powder ~ mix well
Chill for 10 minutes in refrigerator

You can roll out and cut shapes or roll into balls and flatten slightly on (greased) cookie sheet ~ cookies come out with a cake like texture and are excellent

Grease baking/cookie sheet
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes

*May be frosted or decorated when cooled
**Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Enjoy!

Light Southern Pecan Pie Recipe

Light Southern Pecan Pie Recipe

I've tried several pecan pie recipes over the years, but just can't find one that beats this one ~ it always turns out great and is a family favorite on the holidays.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup (like Karo)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup chopped pecans
1 9" unbaked pie shell (or make one from scratch)

Cream butter with mixer
Add brown sugar to butter gradually and cream ~ mixing well
Blend in syrup and vanilla thoroughly
Add eggs and pecans
Turn into pie shell

Bake at 450 degree oven for 10 minutes so that pie 'sets'
Reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes
Insert a knife into center of pie ~ if it comes out clean, it's done!

Enjoy!

Hashbrown Casserole Recipe

Hashbrown Casserole Recipe

I don't make this very often, because we'll eat the whole thing! It is excellent ~ calories and fat ~ ugh!!

Ingredients:
2 lbs. frozen hash browns
1 16 oz. jar Cheez Whiz
2 cups sour cream
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
Salt & Pepper to taste

Spread potatoes evenly over 9"X12" baking dish.
Melt butter and saute onions
Add Cheez Whiz to butter and onions and melt
Add sour cream to Cheeze Whiz, butter and onions ~ mix
Pour over potatoes
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, uncovered

Enjoy!

Hot Cinnamon Coffee Recipe

Here's a nice recipe for flavored coffee without having to pay 7.00 a cup at your local coffee shop. Very nice for an evening treat ~ also satisfies a sweet tooth and saves calories and fat!

Ingredients:
2/3 cups coffee (like Folgers)*
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 cups of water*
*adjust for 8, 10, 12 cups

Place coffee and cinnamon in coffee filter

Place brown sugar in bottom of coffee pot

Brew ~ stire sugar with plastic or wooden spoon (a metal spoon may break the side of the hot coffee pot), until it's dissolved and drink!

Enjoy!

Talupas Recipe

My son, Daniel, is home for a visit and I try to fix some of his favorites while he's home. When I was in Jr. High, a friend's mom used to make these for us....they called them 'Talupas', so that's what I've always called them.

Ingredients:
Flat Flour Tortilla shells
Lean Ground Beef
Taco Seasoning (I prefer McCormick)
Refried Beans
Lettuce
Tomato
Green Stem Onions
Shredded Cheese

Brown the ground beef and drain ~ prepare taco seasoning according to package directions

Heat refried beans thoroughly

Chop veggies while ground beef and beans are cooking

Heat tortilla shells in microwave (approximately 30 seconds for 2-3 shells)

Place tortilla shell on plate ~ layer refried beans, ground beef, lettuce, tomato, green onion and cheese ~ of course, you can add whatever 'taco like' toppings you prefer.

Use a fork to eat ~ gonna be a mess if you try to pick it up!

**use remainder of tortilla shells for breakfast burritos the next morning or bean and cheese burritos at lunch

John Chow Dot Com & Bic Promo Pens Contest!

John Chow Dot Com and Bic Promo Pens is sponsoring a great contest ~ with only a few days left to enter!!!

John Chow, my favorite blogging guru, and Bic Promo Pens ~ you guessed it, they make promotional pens ~ are giving away a Flip Video Digital Camcorder. Hurry contest ends July 31st with a the winner drawn on August 1st.

For contest details, visit John Chow Dot Com by clicking here.

August Recipe Contest!

August's Contest is coming up!

Since I am concentrating on posting some recipes and I'm always searching for new ones ~ let's have a recipe contest!

Simply submit your favorite recipe for us to try ~ I'll take photos during preparation and the finished product.

Ratings:
Ease of following recipe instructions
Ease of finding ingredients*
Ease of preparation (including prep time)
And finally ~ Taste!

*if I can not locate ingredients in our area, I will email for substitutes

Email recipes to me at crcm66@gmail.com or let me know at http://www.twitter.com/cleaverton or @cleaverton on Twitter.

Prize for best recipe is a Harley Davidson checkbook cover !

Get to sendin'!

1920s Good Southern Cookie Recipe

Here's a recipe for 'Good Southern Cookies' from 1923

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sweet milk (or water)
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
2 'heaping' tsp's baking powder sifted with flour and enough flour to roll soft
*currants, raisins or shredded coconut may be added if desired

Cream butter and sugar

Add egg, milk nutmeg and baking powder (sifted with flour) to butter/sugar mixture ~ mix well

Add currants, raisins or coconut if desired ~ bake until done **I never put my oven over 350 degrees, so just keep checking until done

1920s Lyonnaise Potatoes Recipe

This is actually a very good recipe for potatoes! It's easy to make and adds a side dish to your meals that is a welcome difference from the usual - 1923 recipe.

One quart cold boiled potatoes ~ boil and allow to cool off and cut into 'dice' or small squares
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 of a chopped onion
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Salt & Pepper

Saute the onions in the butter until they brown ~ then remove onions
Add the potatoes to the butter
Stir potatoes with a fork, being careful not to break them
When potatoes are hot, add the parsley and put the onions back in with potatoes and cook two minutes longer (parsley can be omitted)

1920s Birthday Cake Recipe

Here is a recipe for birthday cake from 1923

Ingredients:
1 cup sifted pastry flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla

Sift pastry flour six times with cream of tarter

Sift sugar six times

Beat the 12 egg whites until stiff and dry ~ add the vanilla

Fold egg whites into sugar and then fold that into flour ~ do not beat, but use the folding motion until smooth

Bake in a "slow" oven for 45 minutes

1920s Hunter's Pudding Recipe

Here's a recipe for Hunter's Pudding from 1922

One cup chopped suet
One cup molasses
One cup stoned raisins
One cup milk
Three cups flour
One level tsp. baking soda

Mix together and steam for 3 or 4 hours
Serve with foam or hard sauce

1920s Plain Cake Recipe

Here's a recipe for a plain cake from 1922

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
3 level tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
milk
5 Tbsp. well softened butter (but not melted)

Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt

Break two eggs into one cup measure and finish filling measuring cup with milk (will have 2 eggs and however much milk to fill to one cup)

Add milk/egg mixture to dry ingredients ~ add butter

Beat hard until smooth and creamy

Bake at 350 until done (**springs back when touched or toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean**)

1920s Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

Here's a recipe for sweet  potato pie from 1922

Cook 6 large sweet potatoes with a little salt

When cooked, remove from fire, peel and mash smooth.

In a separate dish, beat three eggs ~ add to the eggs, three tablespoons corn starch and a quart of good rich milk and a piece of butter the size of a walnut.

Mix well with the mashed potatoes and put in crust and bake.

A meriungue may be added if desired.

Old Fashion Chocolate Gravy Recipe

My grandmother passed this recipe on to my mom and we had it quite often growing up. I used to fix this for my kids and it was always one of their favorites.

Think of it as a chocolate 'sauce' to put over biscuts instead of 'gravy'.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. cocoa
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring 2 cups milk to a slow boil, stirring constantly so it doesn't scorch ~ this is a great 'job' for an older child who wants to help you in the kitchen.

Mix cocoa, sugar, flour and 1/2 cup milk in a bowl and mix well - the cocoa sits on top of the milk, so you'll need to 'beat' it a little.

Pour this mixture into the boiling milk and turn the heat down ~ stir until it thickens ~ this is another great job for an older child, as this takes a little while to thicken. It will be the consistency of a sauce instead of a gravy, so it won't get real thick.

Remove from stove and add vanilla ~ mix.

Serve over biscuts ~ enjoy!

Pecan Chicken Recipe

I can not even describe how easy this is to make and how GREAT it is to eat!



Ingredients:

1 package chicken breats (skinless, boneless)

salt & pepper

6 Tbsp. butter

Oil (preferrably olive oil)

2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

3 small packages pecan pieces



Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt 2 Tbsp butter and remove from stove



Mix Dijon mustard into melted butter ~ you will dip chicken breats into this mixure



Melt 4 Tbsp. butter and 2 Tbsp. oil in skillet

Dip chicken breasts in butter/mustard mixture, then coat with pecan pieces

Saute chicken in butter/oil mixture in skillet for 3 minutes on each side ~ this sears the pecans onto the surface of the chicken.



Place in glass baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Here are a few pictures from tonight's dinner:

Preparing chicken ~ turn in butter/mustard mixture and then in pecans

 

Cook in butter for 3 minutes each side to sear pecans to chicken

Final product ~ I cut the chicken to show how tender and juicy inside! ~ served with baked sweet potato and corn on the cob

Enjoy!

Spinich Dip Recipe ~ tastes like Ruby Tuesdays

This spinich dip recipe is always a favorite at gatherings for family and friends ~ very easy to make and tastes great!

Ingredients:
1 package frozen, chopped spinich (thawed and drained)
1 16 oz. container sour cream
1/3 cup mayonaise
1/2 package Knorr Vegetable soup mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Thaw and drain frozen spinich
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix all ingredients into a glass casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

That's it! Serve with tortilla chips and/or crackers ~ enjoy!

Mom's Meatloaf Recipe

This recipe used to be on the back of Quaker Oatmeal boxes and was the one my mom always used ~ when I grew up and had a family, it's the one I used (and continue to use) exclusively. It always gets rave reviews!

Ingredients:
1 pound hamburger (preferrably lean ;)
1 cup tomato JUICE (can get this in individual cans in the juice section of your grocery store)
1 1/4 cup oats
1 egg ~ beaten
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix all of the ingredients into a bowl ~ I wash my hands and mix by using both hands and squeezing and squishing all ingredients together. (I always saw my mom do this and thought it was the only way ~ obviously it isn't, but it works great).

Pat ingredients into a casserole dish. Note: I used a square glass casserole dish so that it gets done in the middle - sometimes in a loaf pan, the middle is to thick and the meatloaf isn't quite done

I pour a drizzle of extra tomato juice over the top of my meatloaf prior to baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour - check to see if it's done in the middle and bake slightly longer if it needs it. If you spoon some of the drippings over the meatloaf as it's baking, it keeps it moist on the edges.

Enjoy!

Wilted Lettuce Recipe

This was my mom's recipe that she made at most family barbecues. Very tasty!

Ingredients:
1 head lettuce cut into pieces
5 strips bacon
6 Tbsp. vinegar (plain, white)
6 Tbsp. water
salt and pepper (to taste)
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
green stem onions ~ chopped
hard boiled egg - optional

Fry the bacon strips and crumble them up ~ save the bacon drippings

Combine vinegar, water, salt & pepper and brown sugar with the bacon drippings and heat to a boil.
Add crumbled bacon to above mixture

Pour vinegar mix onto chopped up lettuce and toss to wilt ~ add chopped up hard boiled eggs as an option.

Easy!

Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe

This is my 'I better show up at family dinners with it' recipe. Please note that I do use 'name brand' ingredients as I've found that generic or cheaper versions alters the taste.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice (uncooked)
1 10 oz. can Cambell's Mushroom Soup
1 small jar Cheez Whiz
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 stick butter/margarine (to saute the onions)
1 small package chopped frozen broccoli

Set broccoli out to thaw a couple hours before preparing. I like my broccoli chopped, but if I can't find chopped and have to buy just frozen 'broccoli pieces', I chop it up smaller myself.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare 1 cup of rice per package directions. While that is cooking, saute onions in butter in a small skillet.

Mix all ingredients ~ rice (while still warm ~ it causes the Cheez Whiz to melt and mix well), broccoli, sauted onions, Cheez Whiz and mushroom soup ~ into a square glass casserole and bake for 30-45 minutes or until slightly browned.

That's it ~ enjoy!

No Bake Cookies Recipe

This recipe is for my son, Daniel. I don't know why he doesn't save it ~ he just keeps texting me to ask me to email it. This was my mom's recipe, complete with the Ozark redneck/hillbilly way of making sure it turns out every time!

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter (or 1/2 stick butter)
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 cups oats
1/2 cup peanut butter ~ plus some (I round off my peanut butter, so I'm actually using quite a bit more)
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, butter, cocoa and milk in a heavy saucepan (a thin saucepan can cause scorching). Bring to a rolling boil ~ here's the redneck/hillbilly part of this recipe ~ boil for 1 minute and 30 seconds, preferrably counted as "one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand...." all the way to ninety-one thousand ~ sounds silly, but mine turns out great every time doing this.

Remove from burner and add peanut butter (remember to round off your measuring cup when measuring out 1/2 cup!) and oats ~ mix, then add the vanilla and mix some more.

Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper ~ or my favorite way, to add an extra buttery taste is to smear butter all over aluminum foil and drop by spoonfuls onto the foil.

Let the cookies set until they cool and enjoy! I like them best when they're still slightly warm.

*******NOTE: I read Prevention Magazines latest article on the top 10 foods to help trim your tummy. Lo and behold, peanut butter and cocoa were on the list! Hmmmmm.......so, that makes these cookies, kinda sorta have some healthy benefits??? Well, I am lactose intolerant and I'm always trying to put soy milk in my recipes, just to see if it works. Tonight, I made half a batch of these cookies using Silk Vanilla Soy milk and Smart Balance Omega 3/Extra Virgin Olive Oil butter - guess what??? IT WORKED!!! They were DELICIOUS! My hubby ate 4 of them before they were even cooled off if that tells you anything!

Look at pics of making this recipe using healthy ingredients!

 

Sugar, Cocao, Smart Balance Butter and Silk Vanilla Soy Milk in heavy saucepan

 

Above ingredients in a 'rolling boil' - 1 min and 30 sec - or counting like stated above (yes, I counted)

 

Adding oats and peanut butter when first ingredients are done boiling - I add the vanilla after mixing this up, and then mix again

 

Mixed again after adding vanilla

 

I dropped by spoonfuls on aluminum foil coated with butter - again, Smart Balance (see pic), because it gives the cookies a little more buttery flavor

Hotwire Rant ~ Unwanted Blockbuster, Today's Escapes, Zoobooks!

We recently purchased airline tickets for my son and his *former* fiance through Hotwire ~ she wasn't his *former* fiance until AFTER the tickets were purchased, go figure. (we purchased the tickets when she was 100% gung-ho to come home and get married - if only we had waited two more days. Of course, Hotwire does not offer refunds, so we had to eat the ticket with no offer to be paid back, which is a whole other rant not related to THIS rant. But, while I'm at it, even though we were two weeks from the flight date, Hotwire couldn't transfer the ticket to one of our son's friends so it wouldn't be a total loss either - again, that's another rant).

Today's rant is the extras that Hotwire fails to tell you about when you purchase your tickets through them. For shame, for shame, Hotwire!

We purchased out tickets using our PayPal debit/credit card, which has up to the minute account information. Two days after the ticket purchase through Hotwire, I noticed a charge on my card for Blockbuster for $10.76. At first I didn't associate the two ~ but, I knew we hadn't been anywhere near a Blockbuster for years....yes, I"m talking YEARS. I called PayPal and got the charge reversed, only to have it show up again the very next day. I called PayPal again and also noticed a pending charge for Today's Escapes and Value Max. By this time, I was thinking somebody had gotten ahold of our credit card number.

PayPal was very helpful and also very proactive. We ended up disabling our current PayPal Mastercard and they reissued us another one. It took about 10 days to get our new card ~ so, that's 10 days without access to our PayPal balance other than online payments (like eBay for instance). We use our PayPal card at the gas pump, when ordering pizza, to reserve a hotel room, etc. So, thanks to Hotwire, we were without the ability to do this for 10 days. We travel, therefore, this was more than a *minor* inconvenience.

After getting all of this straightened out through PayPal - well, actually, I am STILL trying to get Blockbuster to comprehend that I did NOT intentionally sign up folr their service and I do NOT WANT their service ~ c'mon Blockbuster, get a flipping clue!

Anyway, after hopefully getting this all straightened out with PayPal, I just got not one, but two notices from ZooBooks that my credit card had failed to authorize (ya think???) and they were billing me for my subscription.

I'm not sure what happened or how exactly we got all this headache through using Hotwire. Is it a survey after the purchase that my husband filled out? Is it that we didn't go through and UNcheck all the little boxes? What a farce! You would think with a responsible company that wants repeat customers, you would make it where you have to physically check boxes to receive all this crap and not that you have to UNcheck boxes in order NOT to receive all this crap. And, it is crap. If I wanted Blockbuster or ZooBooks, I would go to their website and get it myself. I don't need Hotwire deciding what I need and signing me up for it automatically.

I am a very, VERY unhappy FORMER Hotwire customer. I would rather have paid the 50.00 or so that I saved by using Hotwire, and dealt with a reputable, responsible company and not had three weeks (and counting) credit card headaches that I've had to deal with.

Twittering this, too. Hope it helps somebody else!

Just For Fun.....

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Eco-Fabulous Book Swapping

Like to read? Got paperbacks lying around? Want a good way to be eco-fabulous? Try Paperback Swap ~ post your paperback (or hardback) books; after 10 books are posted, you'll earn a credit that you can use to get a book from another Paperback Swap member ~ it's that easy! When another member requests one of your books and you've mailed it to them, you'll get another book credit. Paperback Swap allows you to add books to your 'Wish List' and when somebody lists a book you're looking for, you'll get a notice that your book is available. Want a hard-to-find book? Search bookshelves of other members and chances are, you'll have your book by the end of next week. Hint: try the 'Book Bazaar' (Communities -> Discussion Forums -> Book Bazaar) for members who are cleaning out their bookshelves and offering 3 for 1, 4 for 1 and more!

A great way to share books and be environmentally friendly by recycling!

Feedflares in Blogger Beta & Blogger in Draft

I tried and tried.....and tried some more to get Feedflares from Feedburner to work on my Blogger blog. I search all of the help groups and forums on both Blogger and Feedburner - and sent the little bX xxxxx message (can't remember what the numbers were) to the Blogger Resource.

Every time I would try to get it to save I would either get an error message about 'parse' and 'script' OR it would simply not save and give me the bX error message.

Finally, I sat down and thought about it ~ and, of course, I was using IE 7 on Vista - if there's a problem, always try another browser. I went into my blog using Firefox, copied and pasted the code, hit save and wah-lah! Feedflares work!

So, just go into Feedburner and set your feed up - click 'Monetize' and click to enable Adsense (you have to be signed up with Adsense and have it set up to allow Feedburner). Click 'activate' at the bottom and then click the link for setting up what blog you're using. Chose 'Blogger' and copy the code Feedburner gives you ~ follow their instructions to paste the code into your blog ~ but use Firefox as your browser when you're doing this and it should work the first time!

Happy Blogging!

Nushka ~ Taking A Break

Dakota ~ Our Long Hair German Shepherd

She Rides The Storm ~ J. Coiner

Several years ago a friend pointed me to this poem ~ at the time, it reminded her of me. I no longer 'ride the storm', as my storm riding has ended with a beautiful and wonderful husband. This is to those of you who can appreciate the storm and all it's beauty.

She rides the storm as she's always done,
amongst the fury, becoming as one.
The passion is evident if you look in her eyes
as is the courage to keep riding, no matter the size.

A true tornado in plain human form
on the outside a wild and volatile storm.
On the inside, in the eye, where the winds die down,
you'll see just a woman, who's standing her ground.

Is this fury formed of sorrow and pain?
Was she hurt once for another's gain?
Or is the fury part of her wild heart
The innocent, free, and untameable part?

As the storm moves out across the land
it can only be calmed by her gentle hand.
For under the hard shell & front that's so ruff
is a woman that maybe isn't so tuff?

And maybe someday she'll trade in the storm,
for arms that will hold her and keep her warm.
Or soft words whispered on a gentle wind,
Giving her a reason for her storm riding to end.
But until then...she rides the storm.
J.Coiner 3/19/2000

Just Some Work I've Been Doing...

Well, after much work and research, I finally figured out how to set up my posts to display ads ~ and then I switched blogs to Blogger (it seems like I am forever in the development stage of this blogging thing). I didn't want anything that was obtrusive or flashy ~ don't you just hate when websites have those? Like that crazy ad on the Weather Channel website ~ the one with dancing girl. Yuck! Who wants to look at that moving craziness???

I also got our travel blog started and some of my original posts imported into my Typepad blog - and will now have to transfer over to Blogger. I've got more travel posts that I need to work on, but a little at at time on that one. Those posts are usually kind of long and I tend to incorporate a lot of links. After all, what good is a travel blog if the reader can't click to investigate what I'm talking about? I also post reviews of places we've stayed and/or dined at on there; complete with a section called STOP HERE for places we feel went above and beyond and a STEER CLEAR section for those places a person should definitely avoid.

Meanwhile, I'm working on posts for this blog ~ so, stay tuned; there's no telling what I'll find to talk about!