Wordless Wednesday~

Cheddar Bacon Dip aka "Crack Dip"

First of all let me preface this post by asking......do you Pinterest?

OMG. I am addicted. Addicted in the worse way I tell ya. Never heard of Pinterest. Don't feel bad, up until a few months ago I hadn't either, then I noticed I kept getting lots and lots of blog hits from it. So many that it made me look into it. I asked around, found out a lot of my blogging buddies were on it so I checked it out and that's when it happened.

I got addicted.

Think of a page when you can bookmark something every time you say "oh that looks good" or "man that looks delicious, I need to make that" or "what I great idea, how am I gonna remember that??"

It's a visual bookmarking page that you can share with your friends. You see what they like, they see what you like. It's like a happy little sharing space.



I have mentioned it before. My kids are really into dip. I think most kids are, but my youngest will sit with a bowl of dip and some crackers and put a hurtin' on it in one sitting.

I see several entries for this "crack dip" on Pinterest. Hmmm. Sounds interesting. The word crack implying that it's as addicting as....yeah we get it. I actually see that not only is one crack dip featured, but several, some a buffalo chicken crack dip, and even though buffalo "anything" is high on Evan's list of goodness, I decided to try the Cheddar Bacon Dip.

This needs to sit for 24 hrs so I made this Saturday afternoon as a "test dip". You certaintly can't serve a dip that you never made before right? So Sunday morning I go into the fridge and give it alittle mix and decided I should taste it.

It's 10am.

My son and nephew come down the stairs, just haven woken up, and they see dip. They see crackers. They dive in.

After 10 minutes of non-stop dipping, I assume the dip is a hit. My nephew declares it "awesome". He is the ranch dressing addicted child, so I knew this dip would be a hit with him.

Cheddar Bacon Dip (a.k.a Crack Dip)
16 oz sour cream
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
3 oz REAL bacon bits (in the bag not jar)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and refrigerate 24 hours. Serve with chips and/or veggies

Recipe from plainchicken.com

Snow in October

I love snow.

I really do....but in October? Before Halloween?

It's just not right I tell ya.




We woke up to about 3 inches of heavy wet snow. So heavy that it destroyed our gazebo. The whole thing came crashing down. I can't even post a picture of it cause it's just too depressing for me.





We're off tomorrow so I guess we'll be spending most of our day doing demo. *sigh*

I do love the snow, but it could have waited a little longer to make an appearance.

Before & Afters - Part 2

The breezeway is finally done! We actually finished it about 2 weeks ago.

My anxiety level is finally dropping.

I just can't take it when things are a mess or my routine is broken. I am a creature of habit in the worst way.

So my floor went in, my furniture is all refinished, and the walls are painted. All I had to do was decorate.

Thought you might like to see a picture of the ugly dry sink before.



Here it is with the top partially off.




Ugly right? It was a horrible 70's green. This piece belonged to my parents before I inherited it back in the 80's. It was green stain no less with a nice thick coat of polyurethane on it. What a joy to strip!

John spent hours sanding. That was not a fun day.



After a few coats of paint and some new hardware, my ugly old dry sink was barely recognizable!



Not bad hey?

The project haven't ended though, in fact they are just beginning. We have Christmas woodworking ahead of us. I'm really excited about this years project. I also picked up 4 step stools at yard sales. I've refinished 3 of the 4 so far. I don't know why but I have a thing for cute little step stools. Two of them are just the cutest little pieces made in Romania no less.

So we begin our busy season. Every year there's lots of crafting and canning going on. I have apple sauce and apple butter to can up over the next few weeks and I have to start working on this years Christmas ornament.

I love Fall.

Have I mentioned that????

Wordless Wednesday~

Dutch Apple Pie & a personal loss.

I have a heavy heart today. I lost an old friend this weekend.

Andy was 42 years old. He had two little boys who he affectionately called "the punks". He was the kind of friend that even if you hadn't seen him in years and years, you'd just pick up where you left off. He was always smiling. He was a drummer. He loved heavy metal. He gave great hugs. He loved life.

Two weeks ago he crashed the bus that he was driving into a tree. It took too long to get him out. He laid in a coma for weeks. Saturday he passed away. I read about it on Facebook. Sign of the times I guess.

This is the 2nd friend that I've lost in the past 2 years. Both too young to leave this earth. Both with children who won't grow up with a father in their life. It just tears me up inside.

I cooked a lot for Andy back in the day. He was a young kid living on his own for the first time in his life and I can't tell you how enthusiastic he was when I made him a meal. The joy on his face was just contagious.

I was cooking most of the day when I heard he was gone. Cooking for me is like cheap therapy. It's takes me to another zone.

While I was chopping and dicing he was in my head the whole time. I thought about whether or not I should even post about Andy here. I know most people want to come and see recipes and photos and hear about all the happy stuff, but life isn't always happy, and if I'm gonna keep it real as they say, I thought I should share this part of my life too. The not so happy part.

I'll miss him forever. We shared part of this life together and for that I am thankful.



So in honor of Andy I bring you PIE.

Sweet Dutch apple pie with a crunchy topping no less. This recipe was a snap to make...NO PIE CRUST involved.

I think Andy would have loved it.



After reading the reviews of this recipe, I decided to add in some cinnamon as suggested by many. Glad I did.

Dutch Apple Pie
recipe from Taste of Home
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup quick cooked oats (I didn't use quick cook, came out great)
3/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons of corn starch
1 1/4 cups cold water
3 cups diced, peeled apples (about 3 medium)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the crust and topping:
In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, oats and butter. Set aside 1 cup for the topping. Press the remaining mixture into an ungreased 9 inch pie plate. Make sure to push the mixture up the sides a bit too.

For the filling:
Combine the sugar cornstarch and water in a saucepan until smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, cinnamon and apples.

Pour into pie crust, top with reserved topping mixture. Bake at 350 for 40 - 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

2 Ingredient Appetizer!

What could be easier?

Company is coming and you need a quick and delicious appetizer. You don't want to spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen. What to do? What to do?

Pick up a jar of Trader Joe's Honey Apple Butter (love, love, love, love, LOVE!) and a piece of brie or any other soft, melty cheese of your choice. Bake the cheese in the oven just until it's soft and gooey, then pour over some Honey Apple Butter, break out a few crackers and the appetizer is ready.

How easy is that?



No I didn't come up with this great idea on my own. This was demoed at my local Trader Joe's. They even took it a step further and added some finely diced sauteed spiced apples to the top. It was so good it made me walk right over and grab a piece of cheese so I could make my own.

Don't even get me started on the Honey Apple Butter. I love this stuff. Between this and the Fig butter, I am in heaven.