My grandmother's 95th birthday was on August 8, and we had a birthday party for her at our house last weekend. We had a great time. Here are a few pictures from our party. Read Full Story

Today I am posting an invitation that I made for a baby shower that we are giving for Allison, who is one of our nurses. When we have parties at work like this, we just post a single invitation on the wall for everyone to see. This could also be done on a smaller scale if you had several to print, but it would take a little time. I bought all of my supplies at Hobby Lobby. I have been using vellum for a few projects lately, and I decided to use it for Allison's invitation. I used a mottled... Read Full Story

Marsha, who is a nurse friend of mine from work, makes amazing pimento cheese. She said that she believed that what made it so unusually good was the addition of cream cheese. Well, being an avid fan of the cream cheese, I decided to try it. I didn't write down her exact ingredients, but I got the general idea and we loved the results. I also didn't have pimento, so I used Vlasic Roasted Red Pepper strips. I ran it all through my processor to save time, but if you like it chunky, then just... Read Full Story

This is a recipe that I have had for years. It is very tangy and tasty. Boys love it. Hot German Potato Salad 1 - 1/2 lb new potatoes, sliced, skins on 1 small onion, chopped 8 strips bacon 1/2 cup vinegar 3 tbsp flour 1 - 1/2 cups water 1 - 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp pepper celery seeds Cook potatoes in boiling water for about 20 minutes or until done. Cut bacon into small pieces and fry in a skillet for about 5 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook until the bacon is done and the... Read Full Story

We gave a bridal shower for one of our nurses this week. I love to give gifts that relate to cooking, and she was registered for a set of melamine bowls. I have bowls similar to them and I really like them, and knew she would use them a lot, so I decided to get them for her. I enjoy wrapping a gift in something that relates to it. I considered a dish towel, but it wasn't big enough. Flour sack towels are much larger and I have always thought they had a natural and fresh look. I bought this... Read Full Story

Gil and I had to run errands last night and I figured that we would be gone for about an hour. I wanted to roast some chicken breasts while we were gone, so I combined a couple of my favorite spices with oil and vinegar for a marinade and brushed it on the chicken. I set the oven at 250 so they wouldn't burn. I also put some rice on in my rice cooker. Oven Roasted Chicken 3 chicken breasts 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1/4 tsp thyme 1/2 tsp dried rosemary 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp... Read Full Story

This is a recipe that I found online recently. I altered it a little to simplify it. It still involves a few steps, but is well worth the effort. I made it for a party we had at work and it was such a big hit that I am going to make it for another party we are having next week. So, I will dedicate this recipe to my friends on 2 Women's! (Especially Brenda) Chocolate Cake Combine in a mixing bowl: 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt In a saucepan, melt: 2 sticks butter Add 5 heaping... Read Full Story

Our close friends, Johnny and Tammy, just moved into a new home, and they invited us over for dinner the other night. I had to work that day, and didn't have much time to make a hostess gift, but I did have the ingredients for oatmeal cookies. We all went on vacation together a few years ago, and I made oatmeal cookies a couple of times that week. The thing is, Johnny likes them with nuts and raisins, and Tammy likes them with chocolate chips. So I would divide the basic cookie dough in two... Read Full Story

This is a recipe that my mom gave me when I got married. It is made from simple ingredients, as most everything was in the 70's. It makes a large amount and you can freeze half of it before baking if you would like. It is REALLY good. Joy's Hamburger Corn Casserole 1 - 1/2 lb ground chuck 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 cup chopped pimiento (I used Vlasic red pepper strips instead) 1 (12 oz) can whole kernel corn (or frozen corn, thawed) 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup 3... Read Full Story

This pie is similar to a pecan pie, but with almonds and cashews instead. And, chocolate of course. This recipe was intended to be made as a 9" single pie, but I wanted to make individual pies. I will first post the ingredient amounts for the single pie, then how much I increased it to make 6 individual pies. (I actually made 7 pies, but I recommend making 6 and putting more filling in each one). Chocolate Almond Cashew Pie 1 - 9" pie shell (or 1 All Ready Pie crust) 1 cup semisweet... Read Full Story