Grace Card

A friend of ours loaned us this movie to watch. It's another good, clean movie that you can watch with your family. No cussing and there is a good lesson to be learned. One cop is prejudice against a black cop for something that happened to his family many years before. God has a lesson for him to learn and that is about forgiveness. Another good movie worth watching.

Gift Wrap Organizer

About 12 years ago a friend of mine bought me a gift wrap organizer like number 3. I loved it. I never thought about how handy this would be, until the first time I had to wrap a gift. All I had to do was take the gift and everything I needed was right there! It hung in my closet and was easy to get to. The only thing is the bag was made of vinyl and after a few years, the pockets tore. So I moved up to number 2, which I have now. This slides under my bed and is sturdy. BUT, a couple of weeks ago, I found number 1.  I bought this for my future daughter-in-law from the Container Store.  I LOVE this organizer better than the other two and it's now on my Christmas list!! You can click on the link above and under the picture it'll say, "See How it Works." There is a short video showing how this thing works. It's made of canvas and is very sturdy. The rolls each have their own section to be put in and there is something to hold your rolls of paper as you are rolling it out. Little compartments hold everything you need. You just set it at the end of your table and wrap your gift, then you fold it right up and hang it in your closet by the sturdy hanger. It folds so neat and flat.  Of all the gift wrap organizers, this one is by far, the best.

A Towel Cake

I am going to a bridal shower Saturday and I made this cake for it. These things are so fun to make. You can put just what you want to in them, choose the colors you want etc. You can make them out of kitchen towels or bath towels. This one has 2 bath towels in the bottom and one in the middle, with the matching rags on the top. I wrapped a candle in the bottom one, a dough scraper and timer in the middle and a corn butterer in the top one with a candle setting on top. I bought the ribbon and flowers at the Dollar Tree.  I put it on a bucket lid that I get my wheat in and just hot glued some lace around the  bottom.  It has a magnetic note pad, garlic press, lemon zester, spatula, egg separator, gravy spoon and pastry brush all stuck around it. I love putting those corn cob holders on these cakes. It adds  little bits of color around the cake. What I think is neat about these cakes, is that when the bride gets them home, she finds more goodies in the middle.

Chicken Spaghetti

I never would have tried this recipe on my own, but a friend invited us over for dinner and she fixed it. This is really good! I don't like mushrooms or pimentos but it is really good in this!  She told me she got the recipe from  The Pioneer Woman. The only thing I did different, was that I used my homemade cream of mushroom soup. I also didn't add the 1/8 tsp. of cayenne pepper. It has eye appeal and it tastes great! My entire family LOVED this recipe and it's definitely one I'll be making again and again.


2 cups Cooked Chicken
3 cups dry spaghetti, broke in 2 inch pieces
2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups.
Reserve 2 cups of the broth  to be added to the remaining ingredients.
Cook spaghetti in the rest of the chicken broth until done. Do not overcook.
When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.
Place mixture in a  9x13 c pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar.
 Cover and  bake immediately 350 for 45 minutes until bubbly.

Easy Soap Making Tutorial

This first picture is the finished product. I tried to get it to the bottom of this post, but it will not move. I had to take the soap out of the mold this morning so it was the last picture to post. The box is where I keep it for the two weeks until it's ready to use. 

Soap making is very easy and a lot of  fun. This is a tutorial to show you step by step how you can make it. First gather your ingredients. For this recipe you will need: 4 cups of water, 48 oz. lard, 32 oz. coconut oil and 17 oz olive oil. I get all this at Wal-Mart. You will also need 14 oz of  lye. I get mine from the Lye Guy

The VERY FIRST thing you do, is to put the water in. If you put the lye and then the water, it will blow up on you and burn you badly. This step is very important.  Also make sure you have some regular vinegar right next to you. If this splashes on you, it will BURN your skin. If that happens, immediately stop everything and pour vinegar on it. Don't wash it first and don't worry about the soap, pour vinegar right on it. This has never happened to me, but I always keep it right there just in case. The vinegar is the only thing that will stop the lye from burning further.  I am using a stainless steel pot this time, because it will be easily seen on the pictures, but you can use any plastic bucket. If you use plastic, don't use it for anything else, but with stainless steel, you can wash it out and use it as normal. After you put the water in, slowly pour in  your lye. I put a hot pad under it because it gets very hot. 

If you click on the next picture and  look toward my drawers, you can see the steam coming up from the pot. This stuff gets very hot. When you see this for a minute or two, then add  your lard, then coconut oil and olive oil. It will start to melt it.

Use a large spoon, break up the large pieces to help it melt quicker. Put your stick blender in and begin to mix it. 

When the soap begins to 'trace' then you know the soap is ready to pour in the molds.If you look at the next picture, you will see what tracing is. You can pick your stick blender up and move it and the soap will leave a trace where you put it. If you want to add herbs, oatmeal, scents, now is the time to do that.

Have your molds ready before you even begin making soap, so that when you get to this point, you can just pour it. My husband made me this mold. It is 3 inch PVC pipe that he cut in half. He put the end caps on them that he also cut in half. Then he nailed a small board to each end to hold them in place. I got some foamy sheets from Wal-Mart in the craft section and lined it with that. I put masking tape on the backs to hold them together. I also marked  the PVC with a permanent marker as to where I wanted them cut, so that all my bars are the same size. So when I cut my foam, I pieced it together where a mark is, so that I don't have lines in the middle of my soap. The seams are right on a cut line. So now you just pour the soap in the molds. I'm making a color in it, to show you how to do that, so I left a little bit in the pot. 

I took a half a teaspoon of soap coloring powder and mixed it with 1 tsp. of olive oil and then added it to the pot. 

I poured it into  a two cup measuring cup and began to pour over the top. The higher you hold the cup, the deeper it goes. So I poured some high and then some low, to get the color on the top as well. 

Then I took a butter knife and I swirled the color in and then I ran the knife straight down the middle. It kind of made it look like hearts!

Let it set for one hour and then take a butter knife and cut for the size bars you want. Let it set for 24 hours and the bars will lift right out, by pulling up the foam. Just wipe the foam off and it's ready for the next time you make soap. I then put the bars in a box lined with wax paper and let it set for 2 weeks.  This mold makes the bars a half circle shape, which I like. We take our funny scissors and cut pieces of scrap booking paper and wrap around a bar to give as gifts. 

Never wash your pans or utensils the day you make them, unless you wipe the majority of  it off first. It will set up in your pipes and clog them up. Another soaping friend gave me a good tip that I do every time now. Just take a hand towel and wipe the pot and utensils off and throw it on the washing machine. The next time you wash whites, just throw it in. This way you can wash your stuff up that day and it won't hurt your pipes.

Best German Chocolate Cake

I had to make a German Chocolate Cake for our pastor's birthday last year and I had never made one ever! So I went online looking for a recipe with great reviews and found this one. I don't like German Chocolate Cake, so I was relying on those that do, to tell me the truth.  They said this was a great cake and that the chocolate on top  really makes it.  I got it at All Recipes, but I did make a change on the icing and chocolate. That little one ounce was not enough and the cake really looks prettier with the sides covered, so I have extra chocolate for the drizzle and the icing is actually a half more than the All Recipes recipe.  This really makes a pretty cake as well as a good tasting cake!

2 -1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp.  baking soda
1/2 tsp.  salt
1/2 cup water
4 (1 ounce) squares German sweet chocolate
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp.  vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
4 egg whites
 Filling:
1-1/2 cup white sugar
1-1/2  cup evaporated milk
3/4  cup butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
2  cups flaked coconut
1-1/2  cup chopped pecans (optional)
1-1/2  tsp. vanilla

2 tsp.  shortening
4 (1 oz. ) squares semisweet chocolate


Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan or 3– 9 inch pans.  Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat water and 4 ounces chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated.
In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.
Pour into 3 - 9 inch pans Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto wire rack.

To make the Filling: In a saucepan combine   sugar, evaporated milk,  butter, and  egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.
Spread filling on top of cake. In a small saucepan, melt shortening and chocolate. Stir until smooth and drizzle over the cake.

Chocolate Pound Cake

My daughter had this at work last week and was so impressed with it that she made it for us yesterday. It really is a very moist, good bundt cake. It would be great with some vanilla ice-cream!

3 sticks (1-1/2 c )butter
2sugar
3/4 c cocoa
5 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 tsp. instant coffee
1/4 cup hot water
1 c buttermilk
2 c self rising flour

Cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes.  Add cocoa, then eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix the coffee with the hot water and add to the mixture. Alternately add the flour and milk. Bake in bundt pan at 300 for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Temple Grandin

If you want to see a good, clean movie that your whole family can watch, this is it. It's based on a true story of a girl who had severe autism and the doctors told her mother to put her in a home, but she wouldn't listen. This girl grew up to do some pretty amazing things. Both kids and adults will laugh at the very funny things she did on a daily basis because of her autism.  It's a 2 hour movie, but it doesn't seem like it, because it's just so fast moving and interesting. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I went to a Longhorn Steakhouse with someone a couple of weeks ago and she ordered this dip. I thought it was disgusting. I don't like spinach, or artichokes or mayonnaise. I don't care for cheese unless it's on my pizza. I only eat sour cream if it's in a cake. So the only thing in this recipe that I actually DO like, is the garlic. So I wasn't going to try it, but she insisted. I was glad I did, because this dip is very good! So good that I came home and told my family that I was going to make it and they were ALL going to try it! So if you don't like these ingredients, don't let  that stop you from giving it a try! You just might be glad you did. I found this recipe here. They show this dip with crackers, but my family all agreed that it's better with tortilla chips, like the restaurant served it with.


2 cups parmesan cheese
1 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Mix together Parmesan cheese, spinach, and artichoke hearts.
Combine remaining ingredients and mix with spinach mixture.
Spread in a 9 inch pan and bake for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with tortilla chips.

For Bosch Users

I love my Bosch Universal mixer. I went to buy a meat grinder attachment for Christmas and noticed that they had a new attachment for the mixer. This thing is SO nice. It swipes the edges and the center piece so it all gets mixed in well. It snaps on easily and clean up is easy as well. I bought mine from Pleasant Hill Grain. It's really worth it! Here is a short, 28 second You Tube showing how this works.