No Place Like Home: November 2013

My daughter, Ashleigh "Lil Elf" and I have been busy making all sorts of goodies from Pinterest the last few days and having a blast.

We've tried fringed t-shirt scarves and nail polish pendants. She decided to make a bunch of pendants and sell them to earn Christmas shopping money. Although she did keep one scarf and one pendant for herself.

pendants in crackle or stardust finish, each one hand-made and unique

the gray t-shirt scarf she couldn't part with

I miss crafting!!!! Being a stay at home mom sure had it's perks, like getting time to do the fun stuff after the work is done. I won't always be a working mom and full-time student; at least that's what I keep telling myself, lol

Maybe in Heaven there will be an eternal craft table, endless contemporary Christian karaoke night, and a library that never charges late fees. ;)

Today and into the evening, my sisters, mother, daughter, and I held our first-ever Pinterest party. It was such fun we plan to hold one every month and take turns coming up with the evening's schedule.

The basic idea goes like this: 1. Three sisters see Pinterest. 2. Sisters fall in love with Pinterest and pin thousands of fun ideas between them. 3. Sisters convince their mother Pinterest is a good thing. 4. Sisters decide to try some of the Pinteresting ideas they see...together...in a small kitchen, filled with silliness and fun. Ah, life is good. :)

Tonight was Emily's turn. She wanted us to make two new dishes she found on Pinterest: Runza casserole and Apple Pie Bread Pudding with caramel rum sauce. She also picked a craft for the evening: decorating mugs and platters with Sharpie markers. So the five of us (plus my husband, who is turning into a real domestic goddess in his own right) set to work in my very teeny kitchen chopping, whisking, stirring, and layering.

The Runza dish, Em tells us, is popular up in North Dakota. It is a layering of meat, cheeses, onions, and cabbage baked between two layers of cresent rolls. It was very good. We all liked it a lot but we thought it needed more cheese, maybe even some cheese melted on top. My sis says one can substitute mushroom soup for the cheddar called for the in the recipe, and use Swiss cheese in it as well.

Our version of Runza casserole

The real treat was the Apple Pie Bread pudding with caramel rum sauce. While my mother was watching my sisters mix the bread cubes into the sauce for baking, and sniffing the sweet smells wafting through the air, she couldn't help but express with a dreamy look in her eye, "You can just see the calories dancing off of that!" lol. My mother; gotta love her.

But she was right. A million times over I tell you she was! That woman knows dessert and she knew this was a keeper. Oh my goodness...I can't say enough about this rich dessert! (no one else could either as they sat stuffing their faces full of it). It is a wonderful cold weather comfort food, bursting with spices and warmth.And it is even more delicious topped with a dollop of Cool Whip. :) Move over Pumpkin Pie....I think I found my new Thanksgiving dinner buddy. I am ashamed to say I sit here with my jeans unbuttoned after making a glutton of myself on this stuff. I am disgustingly full. And even with this full stomach and indigestion, my shoulder devil is already telling me to be the first one up in the morning so I can beat the others to the kitchen for another piece. With coffee. Hmmmm, hmmmm.

http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/68541974/apple-pie-bread-pudding/

Our stomachs full, we turned our attentions to the craft chosen for the evening. A very simply idea really--grab something ceramic and white, like a serving platter or coffee mug, decorate it with a Sharpie marker, and bake it to make a lasting treasure.

We thought about writing a family recipe on our platters. Then Emily suggested maybe each of us getting a platter and letting mom write one of her recipes on it in her own handwriting for each of her daughters to keep. I thought that was a really good idea, but for our practice session we chose something easy. Mom went with a quote about chocolate, Emily chose to write her pinings for Mathew Gray-Gubler on her mug, and my baby sister Lonessa let everyone know on her mug that she likes both her coffee---and her men---with an Irish flavor. My daughter made a really cute little plaque with a family quote on it, and I made a coffee mug for my mother-in law, who's own late mother used to say, "Good morning, good morning, good morning" while she drank her coffee. We read some tips on the fine art of decorating mugs with Sharpies over at http://www.diyopolis.com/tips-and-tricks-to-the-diy-sharpie-mug/ which really helped. I just baked them and now they are sitting in the oven cooling slowly. We'll see if they are safe to wash.