Old Fashioned Hot Spiced Tea

2 C sugar
2 C water
Boil together to make a sugar syrup.
Add:
4 C water
1/2 C tea leaves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 can orange juice, frozen
1 can lemon juice, frozen
1 cup pineapple juice
10 Cups boiling water
Put tea leaves and spices in cloth bag.
Options - use tea bags and just put spices in the liquid, or coffee filter tied with clean string or sewing thread.
Heat and serve with cinnamon sticks.
Can be kept warm in crock pot.

Lemon Teriyaki Chicken

This is a good, quick idea!


Lemon Teriyaki Chicken
(30 minute meal)
4 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 Tbls. flour
3 Tbls. butter
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 Tbls. lemon juice
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
Flatten chicken to 1/2" thickness,
coat with flour. In large skillet, cook
chicken in butter over med. heat for 4-5
min. on each side until juices run clear.
Remove from skillet & keep warm.
Add the teriyaki, lemon juice, garlic & sugar
to the skillet, stir to loosen browned bits...
Return chicken to skillet. bring to a boil,
reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 2-3
min. turning to coat with sauce & heating
through.

Rooting sweet potato plant to winter over

I read on the internet how the sweet potato plant can be saved for spring planting.

We snipped some runners, cut them to 5-6 inches long, put them in a small jar and place them in some sun. My first ones rooted good in about a week. It was then potted using good miracle gro potting soil. Some will be in the garage in a south window for good sun exposure. One pot is in the house sitting in a patio door with good light. We will see how this does.

Baby blanket with crochet edge

Family favorite for years. My Mom made these and taught me. Maybe my girls will carry on the tradition. Soft, made of flannel and wash very nicely.

potholders

Finding myself with lots of left-over

quilt filler and fabric scraps, I decided

it would make nice potholders.

Three girls with quilts

These are the nine patch scrap quilts I made

for each of the girls. Not very fancy but they

seem to be proud of them.

applique quilt

I have no idea how old these
quilt blocks are and not sure
who made them. I think it
must have been Grandma Isabelle
Reeves. She is the only person in our
family that I remember doing the
applique by hand. My Mother, Ophelia,
did some on the machine but I don't
remember her ever doing it by hand.
The blocks stayed on the end of Mama's
sewing machine for years and then I had
them in my closet several years. I would
take them out once in a while and think
I should do something with them. There were
only 12 blocks and I couldn't figure out a way
to make a usable size quilt with that few blocks.
This is what I finally did with them and it did
make a fairly nice size quilt. I had Collette
Greene machine quilt it.

Aprons & Crochet names

When my Sister Shirley sent me an apron like this, I cut
a pattern from it to make some for my girls. Then Cheryll
suggested I make one for little Molly for when she wants to
help "stir" for Grannie Christie. The crocheted name is
another of my pet projects and I have made a few lately
for the newer members of our family.

Corn Flake Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup white syrup
Mix together & bring to a rolling boil.
Remove from heat & stir in:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup coconut, if desired
4 cups corn flakes, slightly crushed.
Mix....Drop by large spoonfuls onto
buttered wax paper.

This one is for you, Leeann...hope it is the one
you wanted....bjs

EASY COOKIES

1 Chocolate cake mix (or any flavor desired)
2 eggs
1/2 cup veg. oil
chocolate chips ( I used about half of 12oz. bag)

I did use the hand mixer to make the batter, then stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in pre-heated 350 oven for 10-12 min. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

This is about the easiest cookies I ever made and by using the parchment paper, the only clean-up is
the batter bowl.... The only other kind I have tried were made with carrot cake mix....I used the canned cream cheese frosting on them and even made cookie sandwiches with some by putting two together with the frosting between...those were good too...bjs

Hankerin' Cookies (No Bake Cereal Cookes)

1 cup sugar

1 cup white syrup

Mix together & bring to a rolling boil.

Remove from heat & stir in:

1 cup peanut butter

6-8 cups Cheerios & Rice Krispies

1 or 1 1/2 cups M & M's

Mix well and spread in well-buttered

cookie sheet or drop by tablespoons

onto well-buttered wax paper....

Note: The cereal measurement is for a

combination of the 2 and not that much of

each one.

This cookie is one that I ate at a church pot luck meal one time and thought they were so good, I asked for the recipe. Once when I had made some at home, I happened to be talking to Cory on the phone and told him I had made some of those cookies. well, he thought maybe he ought to come by and see me because he had just been "hankerin'" for some of those!! Our family has called them hankerin' cookies since that time.

Lawren Kay's Chicken Spaghetti

about 2# chicken pieces (to double the recipe, use one 3 1/2 to 4 lb. fryer)
One medium yellow onion
one green bell pepper
8 oz. spaghetti (I break in thirds lengthwise) to double, use 16 oz.
1 can cream of mushroom soup (to do double use 2 cans)
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies (or two to double)
8 oz. Velveeta cubed (one pound if double recipe)

Cover chicken with water in large stockpot; add coarsely chopped onion and green pepper.
Boil until meat is falling off bones. Remove chicken from water and cool. DO NOT DRAIN
WATER OFF! Discard onion, green pepper, skin and bones. When chicken is cool enough
handle, cube meat and set aside.

Remove any onion and green pepper from water. Add water to pot to increase volume
sufficient to cook pasta. Bring back to full boil. Cook spaghetti until ALMOST done. Drain
water from pasta and save again.

In separate pan add soup, Rotel, and cubed Velveeta. Warm slowly until melted and blended.

In large pot combine spaghetti, cheese mixture, and meat. Add saved broth to make mixture juicy
enough that when reheated will not dry out.

The larger recipe will make two big 9 x 13 pans....I usually make the smaller recipe and sometimes
divide it to have one now and one later....it freezes and reheats well. When using it for later, it helps
to take it out of the freezer overnight to thaw some before putting it in to reheat but works either way.

Note: In order to use frozen turkey meat, I would not have broth so I use some bouillon cubes or
chicken broth in cooking the spaghetti....remember to season to taste with salt and pepper...since
you do not cook the onion and pepper as directed, you can add it to the spaghetti as desired.....
bjs

Of course it depends on how many you are feeding as to how many meals you get from a turkey
but don't you agree, that can be a lot of meals for 6.99!

Turkey in cooking bag

Around Thanksgiving time, our store had frozen turkey for a good price...I had room in the freezer for a couple extra...This one was ll.84 lb. @.59...cost was 6.99. After thawing in the fridge 5-6 days, I washed it good in cold water-dried it some with paper towels-put salt and pepper all over and inside as much as possible-brushed with cooking oil and put the bird in the prepared cooking bag. instructions for that say to put a tablespoon of flour in the bag and shake it around-put the turkey in and use the provided tie to close it-then poke 6-8 holes in the top of the bag to allow steam to escape.....My Mom always cooked meats slow and longer to tenderize them....That is usually the way I like to do it too...it cooked at 250 for 5 hours......
Even tho it had the pop-up, I used my meat thermometer to be sure it was up to 180 to be safe.

Another very important step to this process is to bag the packaging and use bleach water to wash all the surfaces the bird had contact with...this is necessary anytime you work with poultry especially...I usually put a piece of wax paper and some paper towels on the cabinet where I will lay the bird to season it....that helps some with the clean-up....

Now that it is done and I have eaten all the turkey I want for now, I will de-bone and bag the rest of the meat in freezer bags to use later...it can be used in turkey-noodles, fajitas, turkey spaghetti, enchiladas, soup, salad, sandwiches, etc.....

When I make fajitas, I start by cooking some red and green pepper with onion in a little olive oil or cooking oil....I like lots of pepper and onion...when it is about like I want it, I add some turkey and the fajaita seasoning..to serve it, I have some sour cream, cheese, onion, tomato and lettuce ready to use as desired. Put that and some of the meat mixture on a flour tortilla and enjoy!

I will stain the broth and let it set in the fridge overnight so I can remove the excess fat....(you don't have to do this but it is better for me if I do)...then I will have to add some water to that, season it and cook the noodles....add as much turkey as I desire and that is ready....that meal would be good with a vegetable such as green beans or broccoli and maybe a salad.....

The turkey spaghetti will be made with the following recipe for chicken spaghetti and I will substitute the amount of turkey meat as desired....it will make a big 9x13 or two smaller casseroles to have one now and freeze one for later...

Stuffed Bell Pepper

4 or 5 Med. green pepper, cut in half lengthwise
1 lge onion chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb. or 1 1/4 lb. lean ground beef (ground turkey works too)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
6-7 oz grated cheese
2 med. tomatoes, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I prefer to use cooked rice)
paprika or catsup for topping

Cut peppers in 1/2 lengthwise....boil 3-5 min. drain, rinse
in cold water. Set aside...before filling, salt insides.

Cook onion, garlic and meat with oil until browned. Drain if necessary...
Put in large bowl...mix other ingredients...spoon into peppers...
sprinkle with paprika or top with a little catsup....
Spray pan or dish....arrange peppers in dish....bake at 325 for 20 to 25 min. uncovered.

note: sometimes I put them in two dishes...one for now and one
to freeze for later.