I can just imagine him with his wife in heaven, sitting in their old woven chairs, under the shade, right beside God’s garden with their hoes propped up right beside them.  Ah memories.  To say that this man impacted my life is an understatement.

He filled a gap in my life and supplied me with many things – his heart, his home, his wisdom, and goodies! There are two goodies that when I see them or think of them, remind me of him and his warm smile.  Cranapple Jelly and Glass Candy.  I’ve never made jelly, but I’ve been trying my hand at candies lately.

This Christmas, I made 5 batches of this Glass Candy and gave ziplock baggies of it to family and friends.  We actually still have some and every time I see it on my counter, I think of Mr. J.

Through trial and error I can say to use 2 drams (2 teaspoons) of oil flavoring per batch.  I made 3 batches with only one dram each and the last two with 2 drams… the last two were the best – so don’t skimp!

Glass Candy

1 3/4 cups light corn syrup
4 cups sugar
1 cup water
food coloring
2 drams flavored oil

Line a large baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non stick spray and make sure that the flavoring and food coloring is easy to grab – you’ll wanna work quick in the end.

In a large pan add the corn syrup, sugar and water. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Turn up the heat to high and let it boil without stirring (though I do tend to stir occasionally- I’d rather have crystals on the pot than burn the sugar). You want the temp to reach 300 degrees, but not 310. I keep a cold glass of water by the stove and using a spoon to drop the candy mixture into it to test for hard crack stage. Once at hard crack stage, remove from heat and add food coloring (if wanted) and your flavorings. Mix well and then pour into the baking pan.

When the candy has hardened, break into small pieces and dust with powdered sugar so they don’t stick to each other.

Just a note, I started with a thermometer, but it soon broke. I’ve found that cooking to a hard crack was the answer – just be careful not to caramelize the sugar. Check out this list, it describes the different stages of candy.

Enjoy!!

It all started when I found out she liked Red Velvet.  There were so many things I could make: mini cupcakes, cookies, cake balls…then I finally decided, what about cookie sandwiches! Red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting inside!  I thought I was a genius, a brand new idea… then, I searched the internet for red velvet cookies and came across many versions of this cookie sandwich.  Drat.  I thought I was onto something new.

Never the less, I decided to go the easy route by using my Aunt Theresa’s method of making cookie dough from a cake mix. They make really moist chewy cookies – perfect for what I was going for! You take a cake mix (Red Velvet by Duncan Hines in this case), add 1/3 cup oil and 2 eggs.  She had told me about this years ago and it’s really so very simple!  Just mix that all together, then take a tablespoon, grab some dough and roll it in your hands (helps if they have oil on them.).  Place about 2 in apart on a bake sheet.  I used my Pampered Chef stones and they took 15 minutes.

Next, I made a cream cheese icing, mixing some cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together (use your fave).  I made it stiffer than usual.  Then I piped it on the bottom of one cookie and topped with another.  These cookies are so delicious!

Will be posting to Made By You Monday!

One of my fave things to eat while sick is Vegetable Beef Soup.  This recipe is super simple, so not much effort when you are sick.  It’s very hearty.  It’s crock pot friendly. It’s also a freeze and reheat kind of meal.  Seriously, what more can you ask?

This recipe is highly customizable, so feel free to change it up for your tastebuds!

Ingredients:

Add it all  in the crock pot and let it meld together for 6-8 hours on low.  Add water to the get the consistency you like.  I like mine thick, my mom likes it with more liquid.  I do add salt, pepper and any other spices that I might fancy at the moment.  If you put in a bay leaf, only use one or two and make sure you take it out before you serve.  Serve with cornbread, bread bowls or crackers.

If you want to, you can freeze it.  Just let it cool down to room temp and put in a freezable container.  I usually just use large freezer ziplock bags and store flat in the freezer.  Easy to reheat on the stove or crockpot!

Really.  I was.  I just didn’t know what I wanted to make.

So when Shawn came home from high school, I gave him some options.  He chose Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate Chips. I’m glad he did, cause these are divine.  Warning:  They are very detrimental to any diet you may be on… One is not enough.

Not having a recipe for pb brownies in my arsenal – I went out in search for one and came upon this recipe from yumsugar.com .  My recipe below is inspired by that recipe, but I had to put my own little spin on it

Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven at 350 and line a 9×13 pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup (I also spray my foil with a little spray oil).  In a large bowl, cream butter, peanut butter and brown sugar.  Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, while beating.  Sift flour, baking soda and salt together.  Slowly beat into butter/sugar mixture, a little at a time until all flour is incorporated.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Pour mixture into the 9×13 pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  I know, I know – it takes a while to bake.  If you use 2 8×8 pans it’d probably be done in about 40-50 minutes.

These are delish and highly recommended… unless you have a peanut allergy or are on a diet

I saw a link for some yucky bloody worms at the Idea Room.

Don’t they look real and creepy? They are made out of jello using bendy straws as the form. I just don’t know if I could bring myself to eat those!

Now these, these I could do. They are Family Fun’s Pizza Mummies.

Pizza Mummies

I can’t believe I’ve missed a couple of weeks of posting my meal plans. I’m loving the Plan to Eat program – it’s really so very simple to use!

For this week we’ll be having:

• Meatloaf w/ mashed potatoes
• I’ll have to write out this recipe sometime, it’s just a stand by I’ve made forever so I don’t really have a recipe.
• BBQ chicken Sandwiches
• Easy Peasy! Take some frozen chicken breast, put in crock pot, cover with water, cook on low 6-8 hours. Drain water, shred chicken, add fave bbq sauce and serve on bun. Simple and Delish!
• Baked Chicken Nuggets w/ Mac and Cheese
• Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo w/ Breadsticks and side salad
• I’ll have to take pics and share this one – it’s FAB!
• Bacon Cheeseburger Rollups

Thanks for stopping by for Meal Planning Monday! Check out more menus at Organized Junkie!