Kara and I figured out this year that our Christmas Party has been going on for 6 years. We have a great time inviting our mutual friends and celebrating together. I've been making this recipe for each party and it hasn't gone out of style yet. My mother gave me this recipe 20 years ago. It's super duper easy and delicious.
Mother's Pecan Tassies (I've made a recipe change for 48 total pecan tassies)
Crust:
1 C. butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 C. flour
Filling:
4 T. butter melted
1 C. brown sugar
1 egg
1 C. chopped pecans
1 t. vanilla
Cream butter and cream cheese and add flour. Soften dough for at least 1 hour. Then divide into balls about a large walnut size and press into mini muffin pans sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. (Pressing is best using a Pampered Chef tool that will make them easy to form and somewhat uniform, if you don't have this, you can use a honey tool and dip it into flour so it won't stick)
Mix filing and add to the 48 shells (you will need two mini muffin tins) about 3/4 full, too full and you'll over fill the mini. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and remove from pans and cool on a rack. (you can store these in the refrigerator for a week in an air tight container, let come to room temperature)
I'm in love with these "mini pecan pies" now for 20 years!
Yes my friends, it has been a busy season. I'm excited to announce that the three of us got our Christmas things put away today in 1-1/2 hours with only minimal complaining. And I have to brag that I finished making my annual 6 gallons of tamales today too plus went to church, wrote an article for the local paper the Wynne Progress and made tacos for lunch. Whew, that's only today. Jackie's cousin Counts Louise was here Friday night and slept for 12 hours straight while Jackie and Chloe and Stephen and Counts Elizabeth went to LB Vaught's Duck Club Friday. I totally enjoyed having dinner at Kara's Friday, then early Saturday I knocked out yoga, bible study, Killough's Blueberry Muffins and did 100 tamales then a bike ride at 3 pm. That's called knocking it out and now I'm pooped. Here are some fun photos from the last few weeks.
The Grinch from the Cross County
Arts Council's Festival of Tree Reception.
I told Chloe I thought her dad needed
to borrow this outfit.
Chloe took Biscuit and Gumball to the Wynne Presbyterian
Church's luminary event...they did great tied up!
The Gumball's tongue cracks me up.
I drove during the Cross County Arts Council's annual
holiday lighting contest...this is Mr. Hare's yard...amazing!
Christmas morning
Chloe was dog sitting Penny Stacy (and still is) and insisted
that she get a stocking...there's Essie Mae checking out her bone
I'm not sure who Santa is, but if I
really knew Santa, he would have known
that Chloe already has an IPAD but
somehow Chloe got an IPAD mini.
Who is Santa?
The youth in front of the Wynne Presbyterian Church after
putting out, I'd say, 300 luminaries
How exciting that Teddy who came up
here 2 years ago, had a great Christmas
in Maine. My goodness, he's still so
handsome! Spay/neuter people! :)
He's not the stateliest-of-dogs but he is who
he is. Love or hate. I pick love/hate as I do
other members of the family
Chloe took this just outside of Weatherford,
Oklahoma when we went to my grandparent's
house at Thanksgiving. It was a school house
and is named the same as the neighborhood
where J.Harmon grew up
When we picked up Chloe's Christmas gift in
OKC when we were heading out of town, Chloe
took this in the parking lot
And she squealed when she got this shot
Almost home, we caught this tom cat outside
the Bulldog restaurant as we were on our way
home. Spay/Neuter people. It's just that simple.
Chloe's handy work during the ice we had Dec. 5
Chloe had a narrative part in yesterday's church
program. That's Whit down front with one of Harmon's
miniature donkeys. The donkey did okay until he
smelled the hay in the manger bed. Then his tongue
was all over the place, thankfully Whit restrained him.
Because you know, when you eat, you poo and that
wouldn't be good in church. Just saying.
Chloe and Emily Hirons hosted the Cookie Tea for these 7th
graders at our house. We were glad to host but also glad it's
over. She had a good time. And look, she's the shortest
7th grader dang it. I was hoping for some long legs. Anyway...
Monday, December 16, 2013
Well we've had 3 Sunday's of Advent so far. It's gone fast, hasn't it? Only one more Sunday till Christmas. It's been busy of course for us and I'm sure all of you. Chloe's unending photography still amazes me. She's such a gift.
If you can, I encourage anyone and everyone to get the Austin Theological Seminary's Advent Devotion Calendar every year. We've enjoyed it for several years now, but this year, it's been exceptional.
THESE TWO HAVE FOUND HOMES!! I'm thrilled to report! :)
Spay/neuter people...Just when I think we've been in the clear on fostering (it has been nice not having to deal with more dogs) these two show up and on the same dang day! But I love them both. Sadie is about 3 months, some kind of shepherd mix. Crate trained and leash trained already. I love her.
Then there's Stan who we adopted out in August. He's back because of a move that didn't allow dogs. He's so sweet! Some kind of miniature border collie. He's very smart and is a great listener. Probably 6 months old now.
Both are vetted and can go anytime. Spay/neuter, it would prevent these unwanted litters.
Happy Veteran's Day! And Happy Anniversary to Mom and Gary! He's recovering from knee surgery so they're home bracing for the cold snap they get tonight then we get tomorrow.
Here are some fun photos from Chloe and I...
Somehow Harmon and Jeanie took the grand kids to the Village
Creek Trick or Treat on Oct. 26th, after they orchestrated a
hayride for Whit's birthday party that same day. Jackie
and I were both out of town and Chloe was at their house.
They literally pulled these outfits out of Chloe's dress up box that
she keeps and gets out when she has young cousins over.
I don't know what Harmon is or what Jeanie is.
Biscuit down below was a Hot Dog, Chloe was too,
she's taking the photo. (it was her costume from 5th grade)
Stella is a cheerleader, Whit a cowboy and I think August was
a football player. Whatever they were dressed as, Chloe said
going out there was a blast. Thanks Memaw and Grandad for
once again helping us out and Martin out
I took this last week of the kids, Chloe loved the leaf
throwing even though it's blurry!
Chloe's photography...I love the wind blowing their manes.
I used this as the blog's background...Chloe's photo of course
Chloe's photograph of a chicken at Harmon's...
I wish I knew the breed...a good photo!
Chloe cracks me up!
The fall colors are splendid! Seems more colorful than ever!
Again, Chloe's handy work
I met Aricka Harris Finger up at Fayetteville for the new Kappa
House dedication and we had a great time catching up. Pictured
are Aricka, me, Sharon Brawner Tucker, Corrie Tucker and
Diane Britton
I had to take a snap shot of the grease boards Chloe organizes.
This is one of the characters in The Warrior's series...books
about feral cats (unspayed and neutered that Chloe enjoys
pointing out)
I was cleaning out the beds to get ready for fall planting
and we still have a lot of peppers
I got this one of Essie Mae (that Jackie and Chloe are forcing
me to keep) and Dr. Calico...they really are hilarious together
I had to add a second compost pile so my oldest one will
be ready in the spring to use...
Chloe took this, of course
Here's Chloe's horse Sonyador, she's about 7 now and is
rideable, a green rideable horse. We need to get over there
and keep riding her. She's a good listener but is spooky.
An older photo but we rode bikes some this fall....it's always
fun to do a group ride!
Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013
Whew is all I can say. This fall has been super duper busy! I'm still doing a lot of meal planning to keep us eating out of the garden. I am adding photos of the garden when I planted kale, spinach and greens. When I think about back to school now, I'm usually packing up from the kids triathlon and getting things ready for the kids marathon which starts the first week of school and now that it's after the marathon, I can focus on sharing recipes and restaurants we've been to. I'm excited that we have reservations at Itta Beana before the Justin Timberlake concert next week. I cannot wait to see him at the FedEx Forum and to blog the restaurant. I'm fired up.
Chloe's knee deep in 7th grade with AP Math and AP English so there's no shortage of projects and homework. She's got two low B's in AP English and Science that we hope we can pull up by the end of the semester (and here's a prayer for a healthy fall and winter). We'll see. There is no shortage of work. I wonder about her classmates that add cheerleading, basketball and other things to their agenda. Sometimes I feel we're treading water, barely keeping our heads above water.
Anyway, Chloe said she wanted to have Martin's Chicken and Dumplings the other night. I have no idea when she has ever had that over at their house nor do I have that recipe. I found this one off Allrecipes.com one of my favorite websites to find things. Here goes with my changes, of course. I always improvise and substitute because of where we live. You know, the COUNTRY!
Chicken and Dumplings II from Allrecipes.com 1 (4 pound)whole chicken
In a large pot over medium high heat, combine the chicken, water, bouillon, poultry seasoning, thyme, garlic powder, sage and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer. Add the onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, green bell pepper and tomatoes, cover pot and allow to simmer for one hour, or until vegetables are tender and chicken is done. I totally skipped doing a whole bird, I used 4 boneless, skinless breast and deleted poultry seasoning and I SHOULD have omitted the salt because the bouillon has so much salt already in it. I didn't have carrots and I deleted the tomatoes, just cause I thought it was a dumb ingredient. Only cooked it for about 20 minutes, it was cooked perfectly.
In a separate small bowl, combine the flour, buttermilk baking mix, parsley, ground black pepper and milk. Mix together well and form into little balls. Drop these balls into the simmering soup. Simmer for 5 more minutes. I used plain flour for the baking mix and didn't have parsley so I used dill from the garden instead and it worked perfectly.
Remove chicken, debone, take off skin, chop the chicken meat and return to pot. Heat through and serve. There wasn't really a place to add the can of broth so I deleted it too.
This was really so easy and tasty, I was totally bummed out that there were ZERO leftovers! Delicious and EASY!!!
CRAZY Blogger has changed their widgets, this page is nutty!! Come on Google, let's get 'er fixed!
I'm so excited that Chloe's new camera did a great job of recording yesterday's piano recital. She did a great job at Junior Music Club yesterday. Let it load first, then watch it. She's also excited that her next piece is a lot harder. I hope she hangs in there with piano through 12th grade. We'll see!
A big shout out to all the kids and parents who participated in our 4th Annual Midsouth Kids Marathon in Wynne. It was a record for participants, 177 entered from Wynne and Cross County School Districts.
Chloe was my photographer this year and did a great job!
Our final day to walk on the Walking School Bus, a shout
out to Cross Ridge Community Hospital for getting us all
a shirt that says, "Be cool, walk to school"
We had many, tireless volunteers out giving us a hand with the event, thank you to each one of them. We are also honored to have many corporate sponsors who help us with event costs like shirts, medals and bibs. They are Wynne Apothecary, Wynne
Medical Clinic, Crowley’s Ridge Therapies, Wal-Mart, Shaver and Smith, Cross
County Veterinary Clinic, Puryear/Jackson Family Denistry, Circle N Exxon,
Wynne Medical Pharmacy, Caldwell Discount Drug, Childers & Jackson Family
Eye Care, Stricklin Plumbing, Farm Bureau Don Mills. Thanks too to the Cross County
Ramblers and Muckas Running Club, Cross County Sheriff and the Wynne Police
Department for helping make our event a safe one.
Those 4th graders were FAST....
Joy brought a farmer's market to the kids marathon this year,
it was a neat thing to have the kids all get to pick fruits and
vegetables to take home with them! THANKS Joy and
the Cross Ridge Community Hospital
Jackie and I ran the half after the kids marathon.
This is Jen our fabulous front desk manager at
the vet clinic. She finished in record time too!
We both had been eating Chia Seeds to help
with endurance and I do believe they worked!
I got some good photos of Chloe for Christmas cards recently
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