Pie!

As the Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close I have a similar thought as I had last year....I didn't have enough pecan pie!  I made two pecan pies for Thanksgiving. One was the classic while the 2nd was a unique variation of pecan pie. I had a piece of the unique variation pecan pie but no classic.

The variation pie was good, I was satisfied with how it turned out. My complaint was it didn't seem sweet enough! I guess I'm used to the overwhelming richness of classic pecan which this version didn't quite have the same type of richness. It was funny how when I said the new variation pecan didn't seem sweet enough my mother-in-law quickly stated she would've recognized it to not be sweet enough. :) She has expert taste buds!

So the new variation pecan pie's fate is in limbo. It's not a definite make-again. Knowing me though, I'll likely be curious enough to try it out at least one more time before abandoning the recipe completely. 

Oh here's something interesting....we are still learning about one another! Brad has made numerous comments about pecan pie in the last 5 years. The word favorite has circled around the words pecan pie. So I've been thinking the pecan pies I've made have been much desired by him each Thanksgiving. The other day he chimes in with something I've never heard him say before...."my favorite pie would be chocolate cream." I instantly said, "Huh?"(with a puzzled look likely displayed on my face). Apparently pecan is ONE of his faves pies but doesn't occupy the top spot in his countdown. He does believe it is the overall favorite within his family. Sigh of relief! All good info to know! Glad we got that established as our 2nd wedding anniversary approaches.

I now have to figure out how to make a chocolate cream pie. I've made one chocolate based pie before. It was okay, but not a recipe I've repeated since. I can't even recall what type of chocolate pie it was: chocolate cream, French silk, or something else. Not even sure how many types of chocolate pie there are, I think 3: French silk, chocolate cream, and regular chocolate. Anyway, I see perfecting a chocolate pie in my future! :) As for me.....pecan is in my top 3 along with fresh strawberry not sure what else deserves a top 3 spot. Pecan is a definite contender for top honors in my opinion however I'm reluctant to definitely award it my #1.

Turkey Day Break!

It was a good Thanksgiving day for us. We spent the day at Granny's. Yummy food, football, and lots of conversation. What could be better? Thanksgiving day is definitely my favorite Thursday of the year. However, I believe Christmas lands on Thursday this year. For 2014 Christmas will likely move up to be my ultimate favorite Thursday of the year. The best part about Thanksgiving other than the obvious is that it's always on a Thursday and there's no work on Friday. It's a lovely 4 day break we can count on every year.

Since the Cowboys have already played this week and the Cardinals are not featured on TV. I'm not certain we will spend a full 9 hours watching football today! In our house football is always on but we are able to shut it off if we want to do other things. Our little section of the world doesn't stop for football it pauses! ;) Long pauses!

Perhaps we'll skip the late afternoon game in favor of going to a movie together or doing a bit of shopping. It's a beautiful day here. Picture perfect! We need to enjoy it today because a 40 degree drop hits town tomorrow. A cold windy and rainy Monday is in the forecast.  Safe to say we'll certainly make an effort to get out to enjoy the great temp today. That's another interesting factor when you live in a place that has some "weather", you have this unbelievable desire to get outside to do something when you know the weather is drastically changing the next day. More of a desire than simply trying to "beat the heat" as lots of people have in Phoenix.

We had company over last night! Which is why I had to be quick and brief with my Quick Snap post yesterday! ;) Last night we played games and did our best to introduce my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to a new TV show we recently discovered. I think a good time was had by all! At least from my standpoint it was. :)

The Breakfast Food Journey!

I'm not a huge breakfast food fan!  Just ask my mom if you don't believe me. However, I was raised in a household where breakfast was ALWAYS served. To me breakfast is quick and to the point. So I rarely crave some of the more, shall I say, "elite" breakfast foods. Not that I don't like a pancake breakfast or a good waffle but I have no time for those things on most days. Besides those aren't healthy enough for everyday. Pancake breakfasts we frequently have on Sundays. Waffles however, are never served in this household. Why you ask? We don't have a waffle maker. If it wasn't for his wife's insistence to eat at least SOMETHING for breakfast Brad would float right on to lunch at least 5 maybe 6 days a week!

There are mornings, those special days where we have the time to go indulge in a morning outing to get breakfast. This past Friday was one of those mornings!  We actually got up and around and out the door while it was still "breakfast time".  Trust me no easy feat for us around here! Especially when you have 3 pets, 2 of which need a long morning walk and you are of course married to Brad. He is not known for getting up and around too early on a non-work morning. I love you honey!

So off we went with a destination in mind. My fave breakfast place to go to....drum roll please....Mimi's Café! Where to start? Great blueberry muffins. Yummy French toast and crepes. Oh and of course eggs benedict. See if I'm going to indulge in breakfast foods at a restaurant it's a fancy version of French toast, a waffle, eggs benedict, or possibly crepes that I'm going for.

As we approach Mimi's I quickly notice Mimi's is no more! All boarded up. We were stunned. We then went to a nearby pancake house that we've been wanting to try. People were standing outside the door of the pancake house. It was cold out and we didn't feel like waiting outside for too long. So in the car we jumped this time heading for Cracker Barrel.  Good ol' Cracker Barrel, certainly Brad's fave breakfast spot. Cracker Barrel is more appealing to me in recent months than it has been. I've come around! It's just a slightly different style of food. Took me awhile to embrace what they seem to do best at Cracker Barrel. I told Brad as we headed to Cracker Barrel that it too would be slammed. And sure enough as we pulled into the parking lot there were no parking spaces and people were standing around all over. Brad suddenly changed his mind. I'll be honest after the disappointment of Mimi's and then the ridiculously busy pancake house I had moved on to lunch. Visions of lunch food were dancing in my head. Cracker Barrel was a good option partly because Brad was still in breakfast mode and I could easily get lunch.  After all this driving around it was practically lunch time anyway. Now that Brad had experienced the disappointment of an overly busy Cracker Barrel, he was ready to move onto lunch. In the end we went back to the area of town near the neighborhood pancake house to dine at Red Robin. Certainly one of my fave spots for lunch or dinner for that matter.

After all that driving our taste buds never got breakfast food.  We both laughed though when we opened up the Red Robin menu which currently features a French style burger with an over-easy egg on top. We could combine breakfast and lunch by getting the burger with the over-easy egg! We didn't though! Not our style! Eggs and burgers I just can't put into one meal....sorry folks!

Quick Snap Saturday!

 

Pom-Pom Ready!

 

Piper was ready with her pom-pom in paw to cheer on the Cowboys this past Thursday. However, all her cheering didn't help them any. What an embarrassing game! I almost didn't want to use this pic since the game was such a dud. But hey, it's too cute in my opinion.

 

Notice the position of her paw as well as the lone streamer stuck to her mouth. She had just got done attacking this pom-pom. I think her paw is getting ready to pin the pom-pom.  One of my fave things while watching a Cowboys game is getting Piper hyped up with the pom-poms. Hee Hee!

 

 

 

 

Side Note: I'll do my best to post another post or two tomorrow. Things have been busy as we've celebrated this Thanksgiving weekend.

Quick Snap Saturday!

 

 Giant Cinnamon Roll Morning!

I'm not sure where or when I got this idea for a giant cinnamon roll but I did. This is one of the most fun items I have made in quite awhile. An idea I simply got in the kitchen to attempt.

Here's how I did it. First I made one regular size cinnamon roll, placing it in the middle, then began to "build" off of it. I began wrapping the rest of the cinnamon roll dough with the filling facing inside around and around until my dough ran out. Super fun for me to try. Super easy in reality. Super unique to eat. We ended up cutting it almost like a pie in triangle wedges.

Brad was quite impressed with the finished product. He was in the dark as to what exactly I was doing other than making cinnamon rolls. Perhaps cinnamon rolls are another wintery tradition for us. I think I'm more likely to get the strong urge to make cinnamon rolls during colder months for some reason.

I Think Winter Has Arrived

Time to catch up with things! Winter I believe has arrived. This past week was much more tolerable than the week before. Geez, about 10 maybe 12 days ago it turned super cold. Last weekend snow flurries were in the forecast. While sitting in front of the space heater, Cody I'm sure pondered hitchhiking to Florida.  Meanwhile I kept asking this rhetorical question...'We have to deal with super cold temps already, it's only mid-November?'

Thankfully we had a brief reprieve this past week. We enjoyed a few early morning temps in the 40s versus the 20s with a wind chill. Let me just say I've become accustom to the low 30s, that being said, the 20s with a wind chill and I wimp out!  Today it's colder with the bonus of rain. Take a wild guess as to whom in our household is the most disgruntled by today's forecast? The one whose name starts with a "C".

It shall be interesting to see what this winter brings. Our summer was rather mild. I was hoping for a mild winter too. One thing is for sure it's an early start to winter. November typically features brief bouts of cold temps just to prep us for winter but not like what we've experienced so far this November. Who knows maybe November and December got mixed up? Maybe December will arrive and bring back Autumn temps! That would be Cody's dream come true. ;) 

The best part, I think I'm already getting into the holiday spirit. Just days from Thanksgiving and I feel like I'm ready for Christmas to come! I'm ready to enjoy the traditions that Christmastime brings. First tradition we have here is popping in the movie Home Alone! I love that movie! We watch it every year. We do alternate it with Home Alone 2. I honestly wasn't a big fan of Home Alone 2 until about 3 years ago. After giving it another chance I'm now quite the fan of it too. I've actually never seen Home Alone 3, which means we don't own it, but I'm considering giving it a chance this year. Although I'm quite focused on the original Home Alone to start off this holiday season. Definitely one of my fave things during the holiday season is being curled up under a cozy blanket on the couch sipping hot cocoa while watching a good snowy film.

Quick Snap Saturday!

 

He's a one man clean up crew!

 

While prepping apples for some of my fave apple muffins little Simon was cashing in.  As I used the apple peeler the peels were extending all the way to the ground. It didn't take Simon long to gain enough courage to move in on the apple peels that were hitting the floor. However, it is possible he was a tiny bit fearful of getting in trouble because he grabbed a portion of the peels then walked around the corner. Thanks to him we had a long string of apple peels extending from the kitchen counter all the way to the hallway near our front door. I wasn't too worried about it, I don't mind if he eats apples or apple peels.  I quickly stopped what I was doing to grab the camera and follow him around the corner. Smile Simmie! Smile! 

Kisses!

It finally happened!!!!!.....Piper has been attempting to kiss her big brother Simon for months now. He has dodged her at every turn. He's nearly walked into walls, doors, and doorframes to avoid her sisterly smooch. He's also vacated his cozy warm bed when he has sensed she's only hanging around to possibly plant one on him.

The other day the avoidance was over, the sisterly smooch occurred! Maybe Simon was sleepy and unsure his little sister was lurking about. Maybe he was so frozen from coming in from his walk that the warmth of his bed was his only desire not concerned with whatever he might have to endure. Maybe he simply was ready to throw in the towel on the whole thing. After all it's been about a year he's dodged her lovely kisses. Actually it's probably been less than that because cats are not "kissy". That's a dog thing not a cat thing. Brad has been doing his best to teach her to give kisses for many awhile now. But freely kissing is not innately "cat-like". Some where along the way she has gotten the idea to try to kiss her brothers(mainly Simon).

So there was little Simon exhausted from his long walk and likely still feeling the chill from the bitter cold temps he suffered thru while outdoors. He was snuggled in for a long nap, his little sister came over to check up on him. She wasn't interested in doing her best to make him move so she could have a warm bed instead of a cold bed. Nope that thought wasn't on her mind. Good thing, because he wasn't giving up his spot to her. He was paying her very little attention. As he slightly opened his eyes to glance at her, she noticed his gaze, next she leaned in to kiss him twice on the top of his head. His eyes then looked my way and read, "Oh geez! She kissed me!". He wasn't fazed by it. He seemed rather anxious to get back to getting some zzz's.  As I said earlier I think he had thrown the towel in on avoiding what he had determined as the inevitable. In his mind he likely thinks....'So what a cat kissed me, I'm still tough!'

Perhaps, Simon is the most kissable of the trio. Cody has always given Simmie a few kisses here and there over the years. And Piper has been set on kissing Simon for numerous months now. Well, Sime it's tough being you! The pug with the macho/leave me alone attitude when he's on-leash is a big ol' kissable softie when at home. Go figure! I must say, Sime, you are quite fun to love on!

Incase anyone cares....Cody has yet to receive a kitty-cat kiss! Cody is way too much of a disciplinary to Piper I think it will be some time before she attempts to give him some extra sisterly love. Cody has a totally different demeanor when it comes to being accepting to affection. It must be his idea don't you dare force him to being overly lovingly. LOL!  

The Peanut Butter Incident!

By far the most loved food idem by ALL members of this family(oops, minus Pipey)...so by 4 of the 5 members of this family is PEANUT BUTTER. It's a tough race to determine whom loves it more, Simon or daddy! Brad puts peanut butter on items I would never think to put peanut butter on, like pancakes. If you want to up your pancake game, so to speak, slather them with some pb. Certainly makes for a more decadent pancake experience.

In our pantry at all times you will find at least 3 maybe 4 jars of peanut butter. A crunchy, a creamy, and 1 sometimes 2 jars dedicated to the boys. Now in our pantry the boys pb jars are on the far right and our jars are on the far left. Plus the boys pb is clearly marked with the word "boys" on all sides in large letters. The other day I went into our pantry to notice the boys pb jar had moved to the opposite side and was now on top of our crunchy pb. Hmm, strange I thought and promptly moved it back to its normal residence. The next day once again the boys jar had been moved. I moved it back to it's usual spot again.  By now I'm curious if Simon is using his jedi mind tricks to attempt to get the peanut butter out of the cupboard or if Brad is sneaking the boys some extra pb on the side when I'm not looking. Both seemed like plausible theories. LOL!

Well low and behold on day 3 of the mystery movement of the boys pb jar Brad and I are both in the kitchen together he reaches into the pantry and out comes the "boys" pb. I quickly point out to him that's the wrong jar, that's the boys jar. He looks puzzled and a bit alarmed. Asking me, "What? This is the boys jar?". My response was to say "yes" as I pointed out the word "boys" clearly written in 3 different places on the jar. Brad then exclaimed, "I've eaten that peanut butter for the last 3 days. I never saw the markings. You didn't write it in the normal ink." Well, that last exclamation of his was true, I didn't mark it in the typical black ink, it was marked in maroon. Still though it was clearly marked. Brad had a mini freak out moment as he was a bit disgusted after finding out he's been eating out of the boy's jar. I reminded him it's just his loving pug son's germs in the jar nothing to really fear. His response to that was, "Great. Now I have a ton of pug cooties! I'm probably going to start growing fur." His fear over his pug cooties he has possibly contracted has made us move the pugs pb jars to the pet food closet. It's not as convenient for me since the pb goes in the boys Kongs which I always prepare in the kitchen during a down moments as dinner cooks usually. But oh well, as long as Brad is happy!

Brad's reaction to realizing he's been eating from the wrong pb jar was priceless. And the "cooties" comment was almost too much for me to bare as I cracked up. Don't worry I'll let everyone know the moment Brad starts growing pug fur. ;) LOL!

Quick Snap Saturday!

Whew! I'm just barely posting this in time for this to still be "Quick Snap Saturday" and not have to turn it into a "Quick Snap Sunday" post.  It's been a busy day! Quite frankly it was an extremely busy week. One of those weeks where each day I seemed to be running to catch up with things. 

The pic for this Quick Snap Saturday post is the cake I made for my youngest nephew Dylan. We celebrated his birthday today at my in-laws place. Great fun! He simply requested a chocolate cake but I know his fave color duo is black and white. Therefore I instantly wanted to do something with Oreos. This is what I came up with, a chocolate cake with rows of chocolate frosting and rows of Oreo cookie frosting then as you can see I topped it off with Oreo's spelling out the bday message.

I must admit I was quite happy with how this cake turned out. The cake, the frostings, and my Oreo decorations were all just as I imagined them in my head.  I like it when something I make turns out the way I envisioned.  Who doesn't? Am I right?

Sunday Football Picks!

 

 

Who ya got? Cardinals are visiting Dallas today! It's that time of the day to get your pick in! Could be quite the dilemma for me, however, it isn't.  I'm a winner either way! My hometown team comes to play the team that is now my home team.  However, how does the rest of this household stack up? Is anyone struggling to make their selection? Notice how certain somebodies are dressed!

Is Piper thinking about choosing the Cardinals?

Couldn't resist posting a couple bonus pics from our engagement. Both of us wearing our team's Super Bowl shirts.

Quick Snap Saturday!

 

Look at the beautiful flowers my husband surprised me with today.  It was a hectic day for him. The day started early for us. He had an early tennis match plus had to go into work during the afternoon since it's the 1st. I got up while it was still dark out to walk the boys. I wanted to get the boys long walk of the day in before Brad had to leave for his match.

 

It was a long wait as I did my best to waste away time before he came home. I always miss him so much on Saturday's that he has to go into work. Then to be surprised by him arriving home with flowers was extra exciting! I love sunflowers this time of the year plus the red roses and orange flowers mixed in just make it one perfectly Autumn inspired bouquet. He did good! I love sweet little surprises like flowers!