PW's Caramel Apple Sticky Buns

Feeling domestic?
yea, that was me last night, adding some ooey gooeyness to our late night Bowl game.

They taste wonderful, like so wonderful that you feel guilty. Check em out at:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/08/caramel-apple-sticky-buns/

Of course mine didn't look like this....

And my oven was smoking from the gooeyness that dripped to the bottom...

And my hand has an inch long burn mark from trying to pull them out....

And I may have used  a bit of profanity when discovering the gooeyness dripping out of the pan...

And I may have sent my daughter to bed with flour and sugar encrusted in her eyebrows from letting her "help"...

And it may have take me a good 45 min to clean up all the pots and surfaces I tortured.....

but they were GOOD and I'd make 'em again.

Gift a Book

Here's my latest reads, both of which I would highly recommend as great gifts for Christmas. I'm into nonfiction right now and have no plans to switch!

This one is good for any dad reader. The "real" story of Moby Dick as told by a shipmate who's diary was just recently found. I'll say this....deperate times call for desperate measures. Glad I was not meant to be a whale hunter.
Nathaniel Philbrick's In The Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex.

Next, for the ladies.....a quick, easy and fun read, Tractor Wheels and High Heels by Ree Drummond. Oh my, she speaks my language of all the millions of thoughts that go through a woman's head.

Family Traditions

I grew up with family traditions with my siblings and to this day they don't let us break them when we are together for holidays! Most all of them are pretty traditonal and I like the sense of unity and routine (surprise surprise!) they bring.

Except for the circus----pretty random! When I was small the circus was always in town on Thanksgiving weekend. It was awesome.

I want to have our little family's own traditions too.
Here's our short list:

Watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade
Attend Christmas Eve service
Make a birthday cake for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday

That's it --- it's so short!
I'm looking for help to think of ideas, so leave a comment and tell me your family's favorite tradition!

Shantaram

My reading kick ended with this one:  Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Wow, I'm not sure I ever read a book this long (~900 pages)!

What a story to put our lives into perspective. A reminder that third world countries today still have clean water rationed, waste filling up the streets, and no access to medicine. A reminder that love for one another has no monetary boundaries or privileges.

I almost quit the book about three times, had to skim through a few sections, but I was determined to finish.

Open your mind and try this one out.

Let's Read

I've been reading a bit lately (or trying to).

Here's the books that have made their way on (and off) my nightstand.

Any Place I Hang My Hat by Susan Isaacs

The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky by Ken Dornstein

I attempted both these books for a good 80 pages and then gave up. So, save yourself some time.

Now, I am on my 3rd book and it "feels like" a keeper, finally.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

I think we will see this one in the movies.

*update* I finished this book in 48 hours! whew. I'm embarassed to say that I don't know much about WWII and this book definetly brought some things to light -- how many men died, how horrible POWs were treated, and of course post-tramatic stress from anyone returning from war and trying to life a normal life from then on. As an adult I think that we should know these awful, inhuman stories that built our county. So enlighten yourself and you will surely find a more grateful attitude.

What's that you smell?

yumminess baking in the kitchen!

Ladies, I am have been putting the crock pot and oven to use. It's amazine how when you keep good ingredients in the house you can find something to eat.

Here's what we've been eatin:

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana

http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2009/07/recipe-for-easy-baked-eggplant.html

Crock-Pot Baked Apples

http://skinnychef.com/recipes/baked-apples/

Rosemary Bread

It tastes awesome, especially if you have a rosemary plant at your house (or a bush in my case).

• 1 packet dry yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp)
• 2 c. warm water
• 1 T. sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 c. flour (all purpose is fine)
• 1-2 tsp. fresh Rosemary plus more for topping ( I typically add more rosemary)
• Olive Oil, Corn meal, Melted butter and
  salt

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and sugar. (I like to buy yeast in a large package and then store it in a plastic container and keep in the freezer. It lasts forever. OR if you don’t make bread that often, just buy the yeast packets.) Add flour, salt, and 1-2 tsp Rosemary and stir until blended, do not
Knead!! Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until double in size. (don't use metal bowl for the first rising or mixing metal cookie sheets for baking is ok)

Remove dough. It will be sticky. I like to put shortening or oil on my hands for taking out the dough and shaping it. I think it works better than flour hands. Place it in 2 rounds on a cookie sheet lightly coated in oil and sprinkled with corn meal. OR you can place it on your silicone baking mat with no oil. Cover with a towel or greased plastic wrap. Then let it rise another hour.

Brush each round with melted butter and
lightly sprinkle with
more Rosemary and salt.  Bake @ 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce temp to 375 for 15 minutes more.

Cool slightly, then cut into nice size bits or
rip it apart and dip in a bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This bread can’t be beat! It is soooo delicious and a really easy bread recipe. If you’ve never made bread before, Rosemary Bread is a great one to start with.

Bacon Ranch Chicken‏ from the crockpotgirls:

http://crockpotgirls.com/recipes/main-dishes/chicken/bacon-ranch-chicken/

It's starting to feel like fall, happy cooking!



Pocahontas Camping

Camping if FUN! smores, outdoor cooking, brews, being one with nature, crickets chirping as you fall asleep.

I highly recommend this place. It is located near Richmond, has a good playground, electricily (hello fan!) and an awesome waterpark!

except when....
it's 92 degree, you have poison ivy, a hurrican has just come through and a 2 year old who missed her nap.
Which is why we cut our stay short and came back to the air conditioning.

I hope to come back and make this place work for us.

We did have some fun:
-Wigwam using her potty in the back of the truck.
-Wigwam going down the big slide at the waterpark, making that other toddler look like a sissy! ha
-New way to cook eggs-slice a green pepper ring and crack the egg into the center
-Sixletts for Noah
-Marshmellows for all
-Wigwam taking a shower with me and yelling "mommy, nakid nuddie"
-Maymont park visitng the animals
-Moe's for dinner

And some not fun:
-Wigwam refusing to nap in the tent
-Wigwam melting down at the waterpark due to no nap
-Wigwam melting down at the campsite
-Wigwam melting down because I ate a bite of the ice cream we were sharing
-Me melting down because Wigwam is melting down
-Noah melting down because it's 95 degrees and he is packing the truck as soon as possible

Maybe we'll try the back yard next time.