Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, to all you kooky spookies out there! I've always enjoyed Halloween. I was raised to think of Halloween as a fun time, filled with candy, games, and spookiness.




It's a time for pumpkin carving, caramel apples, and hay rides.

I've never been one to focus on the "evil aspects" of it all, because I believe it's only evil, if you make it that way. I'm not an evil person. I don't do evil things. (Although, sometimes I conveniently "forget" to put a new roll of toilet paper on the roller, just to "make them see how it feels!")



Growing up, I think I only missed one or two trick or treat nights, due to illness.

Otherwise, I was out there full force, and ready to go!

My grandpa knew almost everyone around the area, so there weren't many houses we passed up.

But the best house of all, was my great grandma Maida's. Every year she had mini Hershey bars, Reese's cups, and homemade popcorn balls.

Those popcorn balls were a staple to our Halloween nights. It made the entire trick or treat bag smell like heaven! They were so special, that I rarely ever ate mine, because I wanted to be able to grab my bag, stick my nose down in it, and breathe in that wonderful mixture of candy and popcorn, every time I opened my bag.

The little memories like that are what make me miss my childhood.




Halloween night of my 8th grade year, was the last night I saw my grandpa alive. He was dying at home from the tragic disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). I remember feeling my throat swelling, from trying to hold back the tears when we stopped by. He was always such a strong and vibrant man in life. Now he was bed ridden and could no longer talk or swallow. He passed a few days before Thanksgiving.

I just realized the last time he saw me while he was alive, I looked like this! I'm sure we'll laugh about that together in Heaven.;)

(I'm the one in the flannel shirt.)

 I think that's probably why I took the next year off.

I even trick or treated my junior and senior year of high school! (That was back before they changed the rules to no trick or treating after the age of 13.) I think that was me trying to cling to my youth, as long as I could.

But now that I'm a parent, I get to experience the fun all over again! And even though I'm not the one actually earning the candy, (although I do steal some pieces. Like you don't do the same thing.;) I still get excited when the kids yell out, Look! I got a king size candy bar!!


Because you gotta admit, that's a pretty sweet reward.

Happy Halloween!! Now, on with November!!!

Cheesy Potato Soup

I, like so many of you, have fallen victim to the wonderful world we call, Pinterest.

And up until now, I've only been pinning things, and never actually trying anything. But in my defense, can I just say how fun it is to pin stuff on there?! There's just something so gratifying about it!:-)

So, for my first Pinterest recipe find, I decided to make Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup. If you click on the link, it will give you the Betty Crocker version. If you keep reading, you'll get my version of the same soup, only with a few revamps.;-)

For My version, you will need--

32 oz. of diced potatoes (4 cups)


1/2 cup chopped onion


I medium celery stalk, diced. 


32 oz. chicken broth, or 4 chicken bouillon cubes in 4 cups boiling water.


1 cup of water


1 package of cooked bacon, chopped, to garnish when it's done.


Green onion for garnish.


Put all of the above in your slow cooker, except the bacon and green onion, and cook on high for 5 hours. (Cooking on low is fine too, just make sure to allow more time.)


After 5 hours on high, (6-8 hours on low) you'll need to mix--


3 tbs all-purpose flour and 1 cup of milk.


Add the mixture to your soup, and stir. Let it cook for another 20 min. on high heat.


The last ingredient you'll add, is 1 bag (8 oz.) shredded American cheese. I find it helpful to take the cheese and melt it in the microwave with a tbs of butter. It will end up creamier that way.


Stir the soup every 5 min. to allow all the cheese to melt into the soup nicely. It's super hot, so it doesn't take very long.;-)


After you're ready to serve it up, sprinkle some bacon pieces and finely chopped green onion on top.


And that's it!!

Doesn't it look yummy?!

I added some of the bacon into the soup while it was cooking, but it ended up with fatty pieces, so I won't do that again.

We ate our soup with rolls, which made me realize how wonderful this would be in a bread bowl!

Maybe next time!:-)

January 16, 2012

I made this soup again tonight, and left the bacon out, and it was wonderful! It was super yummy on a cold winter's night.☺

Flashback Friday

Today's flashback only goes back a few years, but it's the Swedish Chef, so it's worth it!:-)

Enjoy!

Why Yes, I DO Have Room For Caramel Corn!

This past weekend, my family and I had some fall fun. We went to the pumpkin patch, had chili in the slow cooker, and I made my first batch of caramel corn of the season.

Until last year, I was too afraid to make homemade caramel corn, because people had told me it was hard to make, and took FOR-EV-ER. (That's right, I'm talking "The Sandlot" For-Ev-Er.)

But I decided to give it a try, none the less. And oh man, did I make the right decision!

I found the recipe online and in my old Betty Crocker cookbook, and changed a few things here and there. That's what I love about Allrecipes.com, because you get real pointers, from people who have actually tried the recipes.

That's how I decided what to cook the caramel corn in. A roaster pan!

This is what I use.

To start out, I heat my oven to 250, and then I pop 1/2 cup of un popped popcorn, in my air popper. (I couldn't tell you how much popcorn comes out of a microwave pack, so to me, this is the best way.)

I mean, you can do it that way, but you would have to make sure you get 5 quarts from it.

1/2 cup un-popped corn = 5 quarts popped corn.

After I pop my corn, I grab it by handfuls and place it in the heavily sprayed with non-stick cooking spray  roasting pan, making sure all un-popped kernels stay out.

When all the popcorn is in the pan, place it in the preheated oven. (The warm popcorn makes it easier to stir when it's time.)

While that's in the oven, you can start making the caramel mixture.

First, melt 1 cup of butter in a medium size sauce pan.

Next, stir in 2 cups of light brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of corn syrup.

Stir constantly until it boils.


Let it boil for 4 minutes without stirring.

After the 4 minutes, remove from heat, and stir in 1/2 tsp of baking soda, and 1 tsp vanilla.

Remove your popcorn from the oven, and poor the mixture over the top in thin streams, stirring in between coatings.


I stir it with a long wooden spoon, so I'm less likely to get burnt by hot caramel. The first time I made it, I used a rubber spatula with a short handle, and got a pretty bad burn. Instant water blister.

If you do decide to use a rubber spatula, just make sure to spray non-stick spray on it first.

After you have all your caramel mixed into the popcorn, put it in the oven.


Now, you're going to pull out the pan every 15 min. and stir it. You'll be stirring it every 15 min. for an hour. (I sometimes even let it go for an extra 15 min. at the end.)

After it's done, let it cool for a few minutes before you grab a handful. (Which you will, because it's awesome!!)

Make sure you put it in an airtight container!:-)

I promise you it's delicious!! I used to like the caramel corn that comes in the big tins at Christmas, but ever since I've started making my own, I can't go back. This is just too yummy to give up!

I hope you give it a try!:-)

Flashback Friday

I seem to be in the Halloween spirit lately, so here's more Halloween themed flashback videos.


The happy meal toys were just SO much better back then! (I was in high school in '95, but I'm pretty sure my sister had one of those tapes.)


I hope you enjoy these old McDonald's Halloween commercials!

Flashback Friday

I chose today's flashback video, because my husband went to school with the girls this morning, for Dad's and Donuts. They had a nice time together, and they got to show daddy around their classrooms.

And who doesn't love donuts? :-)

10 Years and Counting

10 years ago today, I married my partner in crime.

Just look at us! We had absolutely no idea what we were getting ourselves into. LOL

This couple right here, had no idea, that in 10 months time they would become the parent's of a beautiful baby girl.

They didn't realize how hard it would be to pay bills and take care of a baby.

They couldn't have known that at least for them, the second year of marriage was the hardest, and would almost break them.

They probably didn't realize how true the phrase, "Love prevails" could mean to them.

Little did they know, that in 4 1/2 years, they would become parents once again, to another beautiful baby girl.

They made it through the heartache of the doctor telling them they shouldn't have anymore children, due to a large amount of internal scarring from 2 c-sections.

They talked, and prayed, and asked for guidance on making a decision to have another baby, even without the doctor's blessing, and were given those answers in a way that would be simply... miraculous.

8 years after their wedding day, they would become parents once again, this time to a son.


3 kids, and 10 years later, they're still going strong.

They've dealt with ups and downs....

They've said goodbye to family and friends, until they meet again....

They've gone from having some money, to having almost no money....

They continue to laugh with each other, and sometimes at each other.....




They can drive each other completely bonkers, but still can laugh about it.

But most of all, they still love each other through the good and the bad.

Happy 10 year Anniversary, my love. And many more on channel 4.;-)