i baked a cake

yesterday and it's gone over really well. I didn't pay attention to what it's called, but I'm calling it a Strawberry Milkshake Cake because it tastes like a strawberry milkshake in cake form.

It called for fresh strawberries but I only had frozen. I found it on Pinterest and it's super simple. Bake a white cake in a 9x13 pan. Mix 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk with a bigger container of thawed and drained berries while the cake is baking. Once it's done, poke holes in cake. Pour milk and berries over cake and chill. Top with cool whip. So while I'm calling it a Milkshake Cake, it's basically a poke cake and tres leches. It's good. I'll probably try it one day with fresh strawberries. 

let's talk a little about

Lent. The meatless Fridays aren't always easy for a picky eater like me. Want something fast? A filet o' fish is out of the question because I don't like fish. For me, it's either shrimp or cheese enchiladas. Yeah, I can get shrimp at Popeye's drive-thru, but I'm not always in the mood for fried shrimp. Another thing, I don't always want to eat out. I've come across two things I have to share. 

First, for a fast and easy meal at home, I found these frozen shrimp at HEB. 

Put them on a tray in the oven with tator tots and bam. It's easier than driving anywhere. Yes, they're breaded and practically fried, but it was fast and easy. Oh, cheap too. 

The second is a video from a channel I recently started following on YouTube. It's a recipe for Mexican Shrimp. Cosme asked me to please make it again. I definitely will. 

I didn't know if I would like it (onions, tomatoes, jalapeños), BUT I DID. It was easy and different from other shrimp recipes I have in my box. The only thing I did differently from the video was to add my tomatoes to the pan before the shrimp. Since I don't like raw tomatoes, I thought a little more cook time would help.  Oh, I also used ½ tsp of each of the seasonings because it was what I had in my hand. For the rice, I did as she said and seasoned the rice the way I normally would, minus tomatoes. We ate it all.  I don't know how to share the video without my computer, but THIS is a link to it. 

And now, I'm off to TCB. It's going to be a busy week and this is my day to get things done. The bad thing is, allergies. Boy, are they hitting hard right now. I'm sticking to drops instead of Benadryl but if I didn't need to TCB, I'd totally take one and pass out right now. 

about ten years ago

I found a recipe for little snack things called Honey Bunches.  I lost the recipe and I thought I knew which blog I found it from but when I messaged the blogger, I never got a reply.  Hmph.  I kept searching, knowing it was somewhere.  Can you imagine all the results I got with Honey Bunches?  It was all Honey Bunches of Oats cereal and this recipe has nothing to do with cereal.  I decided to search her blog again and somehow, it showed up.  I wrote it down and now I'm putting it here for safekeeping.

Here's the crazy thing about Honey Bunches, they have two things I absolutely do not like: honey and coconut.

Honey Bunches
8 TBS butter
1 1/2 c quick cooking oats
1/2 c flaked coconut
1/2 c walnuts or pecans
4 TBS all-purpose flour
2/3 c honey
couple dashes of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a mini muffin pan.  Melt butter in small, heavy saucepan over low heat.  Add honey to butter and bring to a boil, stirring often.  In a bowl, mix oats, coconut, nuts, flour and cinnamon.  Pour butter/honey mix over dry ingredients and mix well.  Press mix into 24 muffin cups.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes.  Store in air tight container.

The original recipe called for equal parts all-purpose and wheat flour but I just use AP.  It also called for walnuts but I only had pecans and I liked how they turned out.  I also added the cinnamon because oatmeal and pecans need cinnamon.

Anyway, that's that.  Now, if I ever lose the handwritten copy, here it is and I don't have to go search the internet for Honey Bunches and only get results for Honey Bunches of Oats cereal... along with unanswered messages.

last year I had a few strawberries

and made a pie.  I talked about it HERE.  A few days ago I bought more strawberries and made that pie again, taking my notes into consideration.

First of all, HEB always has the best strawberries.  Sometimes they're huge.

While cutting them up, I had several weak moments and had to sample.  They were dark and sweet and delicious.  So, back to that pie...  I remembered it being runny last time so instead of the 1/3 cup of flour, I didn't measure but it looked more like 3/4 to 1 cup that I added this time.  I still didn't add cinnamon because cinnamon with strawberries just doesn't sound like a good pairing to me.

I got it all mixed up, dumped it in a crust and topped it with another crust.

Bless my heart, I try.

Pie crusts really aren't my thing.  I have a recipe that I like and use but I'm not the best at handling them or making them look pretty.  Maybe I should take a course on that.  Pie Crusts 101.  Pretty or not, I baked the pie.

We had some after I'd given it plenty of time to cool off and it wasn't runny at all.  Success! 

It's still good after refrigerating and serving cold the next day, just like my notes said.  Last night we had smaller portions so we could have a few bites of Blue Bell Bride's Cake ice cream.  It isn't often I go beyond my beloved Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla but this Bride's Cake, IT IS AWESOME.  It's BEYOND awesome.  It's spectacular, the bees knees, the bomb, da bomb, superb, so good...  Anyway, I just read over the weekly ads and saw that strawberries are on sale now.... so is Blue Bell.  I guess we should finish off what we have first.  Maybe?  Maybe not?  I guess I could always try a new recipe, like a cake or bread or muffins... with Bride's Cake ice cream, of course.

so let me tell you about that

tres leches I found HERE on Pinterest.  I finally made it.

When I first took the cake out of the oven I was a little scared.  It was hard, really hard.  Then I remembered that "oh yeah, this is tres leches so it will be soaked... duh..." and then I didn't worry.  I mixed the milks and poured over the top.

The next day I whipped up the topping,

spread it on top,

toasted it with my torch

and ate it.

It was fine.  Let's face it though, while there are different claims to the origin of tres leches, I was born, raised and still live deep in the heart of Tex-Mex so it will take some time to find what I'm used to.  I had no problem with the cake, it was the topping that was off.  It just wasn't the same as what I've had in so many restaurants around here.  The next day I pulled the cake out and popped open a jar of marshmallow fluff and spread it over each serving and torched it.  While Cosme liked it, I thought it was better but not perfect.

For now I'll probably stick with that.  I mean it was a lot faster and easier than the made-from-scratch topping.  Or, I could just stick with the recipe Cosme's used in the past and save the marshmallow topping for the restaurants... but where's the gluttony in that?

'tis the season for

blueberries.  I tried a new recipe yesterday for a blueberry muffin bread.  It is exactly what it sounds like, a blueberry muffin baked as a loaf instead of muffins.  I found the recipe here thanks to Pinterest.  It was easy and I couldn't stop myself from sprinkling some turbinado sugar on top before sticking it in the oven.

I gave it a little time to cool off before putting a little butter on to sample it.  I was not disappointed.  Sometimes I like butter on my blueberry muffins and sometimes I like margarine but this morning I opted for the third thing I like on my blueberry muffin.  The busted yolk from a fried egg.  That was breakfast.

I also don't think I ever shared another thing I tried.  I'm pretty sure I didn't share because it was last week and my pictures were having issues.  I think I had it typed and ready to share but that's as far as it got.  Anyway, when Eric moved out I started Pinterest boards for "food for 2".  For example, take this loaf of blueberry muffin bread.  There's a lot of it.  I've started having to freeze things before they get old.  That itself is getting old and filling up my freezer.  So, back to last week.  I found a recipe for Fudge Brownie Pots for Two.  I topped each with a little scoop of ice cream.

I also wasn't disappointed with that.  I also couldn't finish it... in one sitting.  I went back later and ate the rest.  I'll definitely make those again.

I've got to stick to the smaller portioned desserts for two because now I'm a little scared to go for a walk.  I decided to do something different yesterday and went across the highway to a park with a walking trail.  Cosme and I go there sometimes and I figured it was a pretty day so why not.  The park is between a nursing home, an elementary school and the softball fields.  The park has a couple of pavilions with picnic tables and several areas of playground equipment.  I pulled up and noticed ladies in scrubs under one pavilion, clearly on their break from the nursing home.  There were a few ladies out walking so I felt safe.  I started my walk with my music going.  I started thinking about why I stick to the right side of the trail.  Most people go the same direction but I guess it makes sense to stick to the right in case that one person walks the opposite direction.  But then I thought that maybe they could move out of my way and I could walk on the left if I wanted, it's not like we're driving.  Then I thought about the few people who choose to run.  Kind of like the highway, I guess it makes sense for the slower traffic to keep right.  So, I came out of the curve and decided I'd just stick to the right and that's when I almost stepped on the biggest water moccasin I've ever seen, coming from the grass and brush to the right.  Granted, it's the only water moccasin I've ever seen but still.  This guy was huge.  After I jumped and waved my arms, but while my heart was still racing, I had to stop and stare, just to check him out.  He was so big.  I wondered if he'd just eaten or something.  After I got the picture to share on fb (of course), I started walking again.  I completed one lap and decided I'd keep going.  I made it back around to the snake area and he was gone.  I panicked and started running.  Fear and craziness took over and I imagined him jumping out at me and chasing me.  I ran.  On a trail.  For about 20 seconds I looked all athletic and motivated and junk, like those people who go to a trail to run.  So for about 20 seconds I didn't feel like a wimp.  Let's go ahead and make it a solid 60 if you want to count the time I was hanging around to check out the snake.  I mean seriously, that's not something wimps do.  So I made it back to my car and noticed a lady just got there with her little boy.  They were eating lunch at a table and I was sure he was going to play on the equipment after that.  I walked over to show her the picture and pointed to where I'd last seen the snake (which was on the path near that pavilion) and which direction he was headed (toward the playground we were near) and she grabbed their food and the boy and left faster than I did.  I can't say much though.  I was only about 10 steps behind her.  I wasn't sure what kind it was but kind of thought it was a water moccasin.  I don't know much about snakes but I know water moccasins are black and I know pointed heads are not good.  I've also heard water moccasins stink and there was definitely a stink in the area but I wondered if it had something to do with the standing water from the previous day's rain.  It doesn't matter now.  I'm home, he's gone and I'm not going back to the park alone.

Looks like I'll have to walk off all this blueberry muffin bread in the neighborhood... you know, where there are still snakes and lakes versus standing rain water.  I give up.  Maybe I'll just stay home and bake.

so i made that

almond pound cake, the one from Pinterest that I found here.

I like it.

I like it a lot.

I went ahead and did it in the bundt pan instead of the two loaves.  I'm hoping I baked it long enough.  I did it for the full hour and 45 minutes and the toothpick inserted came out clean but there are spots in it.  Maybe it's spots where cream cheese or egg wasn't blended thoroughly.  I don't know but we're eating it anyway.  Besides, it didn't hurt me when I licked the batter from the bowl.  It's not dry like a lot of pound cakes I've had.  Maybe it's because I didn't overcook it.  Maybe it's because it's just a good cake. This one is good alone but I'm sure it would be just as good with cream and berries.  It would've been nice to have when I had those strawberries leftover from the that "healthy" drink I made the other day.

Now I have to sit here and try not to eat it every time I pass by.  It's raining and got a little chilly over night.  All I want to do is sit around and enjoy being inside and eat cake.  That would be nice but I'll probably keep working on my decluttering.  Actually, I had no plans of doing any decluttering today but as soon as I say I won't, I'll walk by something, think it needs to be thrown out and before I know it, I'll have another bag ready to donate.  I won't make any promises.  I especially won't promise to not have another bite of that cake.

you know what's

crazy?  In the past when I've been so busy, I've totally neglected the blog.  Lately I've been really busy but I've managed to keep up over here.  Hmm... Maybe it's because I've worked it into my routine?  Maybe because Eric's moved out and there's one (or two) less loads of laundry to do?  Maybe it's because of this creative rut I've been in so I'm not preoccupied with anything like that?  Maybe it's because I've become so underimpressed (is that even a word?) with so much happening on FB that I've put all that extra social media energy into this?  But wait, I'm just as busy with Instagram so that theory doesn't fit.  I don't know.  I do know I've been pretty consistent and I'm okay with that.  I feel so organized and on top of things.  Maybe that's the answer!  I'm so on top of things that I'm not overwhelmed with my to-do list and voilà... here's a post!  Yeah, but I'm sure the other things have a small part to play as well.

Anyway... I used Grandma's yeast roll recipe but I did it a little differently.  Instead of rolling them out and cutting them with a biscuit cutter to bake in a muffin tin (as seen looking very yellow here), I just made little balls like this

I still let them rise for a while.

I baked them on a little lower of a temp and reduced it more after a little bit.  And Instead of pulling them out of the oven after the 12 minutes, I turned the oven off and let them sit in there a little longer.  They came out like this

Perfect.  Well, perfect except for the fact that other than coarse sea salt and kosher salt, my only form of salt was a grinder so I didn't really get an accurate measurement for that.  Live and learn but hey, at least I had salted butter.  Right?

In animal news, I heard whimpering yesterday and looked under the table.  One of the cats was having a bad dream but they each had their own chair.

You know, if I were say... more like a cat and wanted to be a jerk, I could've slammed my fist on the table and woke everybody up.  But I didn't.  Maybe the cats should take notes.

Now I'm off.  I've got places to go and people to see.  More specifically, I need to run to a few stores and pick up some raffle tickets to sell tonight.  I guess I could dry my hair too.

so those candy bars

I posted yesterday were for this

Graham Cracker Toffee Bars that I found on Pinterest and the recipe is here.  They were fine.  I could've done without the candy bar and just had the graham cracker with toffee - and maybe chased it with the Hershey bar but then again, I'm not the type who needs chocolate on everything.  Don't get me wrong, I like chocolate okay but there are other things I'd rather have... like toffee.  It was a lot like a Skor bar (which I LOOOOOVE) but with nuts.  Maybe that's what made it just fine, the nuts.  It's not like I'm against nuts either. Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that less is more.

In other news, it'll be another busy day.  I'd like to make it over to Hobby Lobby to pick up a few art supplies and also look into a frame for the painting we picked up in NOLA.  I still haven't gotten the cat/craft/art/guitar room under control.  It needs some work and we all know I don't cope well with disorder.  I've pretty much ignored that room, feeling a little overwhelmed.  I have started to figure out that my creative block might be from that room though.  These are the kind of things I think about. 

I was doing my photo for the daily photo challenge and I got a couple of pictures.  The actual challenge was "angry".  I don't think Lucille is ever angry but her game face is pretty good.

I got this one after the daily pic.  It's nothing special, just the cats.

Now I'm going to do a few things while the chaos of the front room lingers in the back of my head.  Maybe a YouTube video will help.

i made another one

of Grandma's recipes from the recipe blog yesterday.  Shrimp Creole.  It was good... a little spicy, but good.

This might not represent the dish the best because I'm not into soupy sauces.  I like my food a little on the drier side.  I also didn't feel like running everything through the blender like the recipe calls for so it's a little chunkier than it should be.

The recipe didn't call for any cayenne pepper or creole seasoning but I figured I'd add some.  Wow.  Well, it was hot for me but that's not saying much.  Cosme still added a little hot sauce to his.  The only thing we were missing was some crusty French bread.  Next time.

Oh yeah, I was going to talk about how I've been reading and thinking about bullet journals lately.  Maybe tomorrow.  Today I've got to get busy on some laundry and cleaning out my closet.  I don't actually want to start cleaning out my closet today but maybe just take another look at it to see where I could start.  I don't know.  Maybe I'll start one of those failed projects I started a few years ago where I got rid of one bag of things a day.  (Which was one bag...)  Either way, I have entirely too much stuff and it's getting on my nerves.

In other news, Strat still thinks he runs things around here.

"You will be my body pillow and you will enjoy it, Lucille."

I can't remember what he was watching on tv when I took this picture.  He'll be so excited when he finds out Real Housewives of New Jersey is coming back.  That's one of his favorites.  I obviously need to let him spend a little more time watching the Beverly Hills housewives.  It's so much better.  Most of their episodes make me want to have a dinner party.  Speaking of the housewives, I have an episode of New York on dvr.  Okay, maybe the closet can wait another day.

i was able to get

a picture of the peach cobbler.

I also finally posted it, along with the recipe, on the recipe blog.

I was so excited to finally find this recipe last year.  (I think it was last year.)  It was practically in front of my face all those years.  I made a few adjustments that I know Grandma did and then made a few on my own.  The cobbler only uses half of my pie crust recipe so now I still have some dough ready to be rolled out in the refrigerator.  I can't decide if I should do something similar with some apple pie filling I have or pull out some blueberries and make another thing.  Decisions, decisions.  Chances are, I'll wait and do whatever tomorrow.  Seriously, it's been a busy day and I don't feel like making another mess today.

Speaking of cooking, when I was grilling the vegetables I posted yesterday, I had one of those flare up moments.  Not the kind where I get angry but the kind where I had to check to make sure I still had eyebrows.  I did.  I know I had to have lost some hair somewhere.  I could smell it.  Even when I got in the shower later, I could still smell burning hair and double checked my eyebrows before scrubbing my head with shampoo, making sure I put out any signs of sizzling.

I think I'll go ahead and fold my towels before I get too comfortable sitting here.  I'll remind myself to talk about bullet journals tomorrow.

i tried a new

recipe the other day that I found on Pinterest.  Actually, I saw a recipe and did it my way.  This recipe was for a marinade that you put on vegetables and sausage and then grill it all.  First, I didn't want my sausage marinated.  Second, Italian dressing would be much easier and plus, I like it as a marinade.  That being said, I cut up all the vegetables the recipe calls for, minus cherry tomatoes but add mushrooms.  I let everything sit in the dressing and tossed it around occasionally.

Once that sat for a while and the grill was nice and hot, I put some foil down and started the vegetables.  I cut up some sausage and left some to just grill on its own.

Pretty simple, right?  Wrong.  The part I didn't plan out too well was getting that off the grill.  I needed Cosme's help to hold the platter while I worked at getting a grip on all that with tongs.

Anyway, we fixed our plates and ate.  We both agreed that the sausage didn't need to be on the foil with the vegetables and preferred it with the grilled texture. 

I'll definitely try it again.  Oh, I also baked a peach cobbler that day... which is almost gone.  I was going to post a picture with the recipe under Grandma's recipes but that might not happen this time.

Now I need to go figure out how to make this headache go away.

the last couple of mornings

we've had BOB's, or if you're driving through Whataburger, Breakfast on a Bun.  There were leftover brioche buns from the beach so that made it tastier.  Yesterday's BOBs were short though.  We only had one brioche bun left so the second was done in Whataburger fashion with a burger bun.  Not wanting to go to the store until Friday, Saturday or Sunday for my Kroger double fuel points, I decided to make bread.  I decided against buns since a loaf would be more versatile... and not to mention I've never made buns before.  Anyway, I got on Pinterest and picked THIS recipe.  I whipped some dough together and let it double in size and then put it in the loaf pans to rise 1-2 inches above that pan.

I forgot about them.  Oops.

 I stuck them in the oven and hoped all that extra sticking over the side would be okay and not burn or anything.

Nope.  It was fine.  I sliced a warm piece off and tried it with butter.

Yum.  And as soon as Cosme got in from the tennis court (because who doesn't want to come in sweaty and eat hot buttered bread?), I gave him a slice as well... and then took half of it from him.

I started thinking of how good that bread would be for a grilled cheese sandwich or toasted with jelly for breakfast.  yuuummmm.  Too bad I then realized we're out of jelly.  Oh well, at least I'll get double fuel points when I buy some today.

As for the recipe, it was super easy and tastes awesome.  I'll definitely make it again.

i found a recipe on

Pinterest for a small batch of biscuits.  I decided to try it this morning.
(Recipe's HERE)

Nice and golden.

Nice and flat.

Maybe I need new baking powder.  Maybe I need to give up on biscuits and keep buying the frozen ones.

Other than the fact these looked more like scones, they were fine with syrup... I guess.

fancy biscuits call for a fancy plate

Speaking of looking like scones, I bet these would've been good with dried blueberries or cranberries in them.  Maybe next time.  If there is a next time.

let me talk about

last Friday.  I went to bed Thursday remembering that I was supposed to make baked goods for a lock-in the church was having.  I had stuff for rice krispie treats so I decided that's what I'd make.  I found a new recipe on Pinterest for treats a little gooier than some of the treats that are too dry and not as tasty.  Anyway, I made a batch at 6:00 Friday morning.  It was a flop.  Sure, they tasted REALLY good but they were sticking to the foil.  Anyway, I washed my pot and headed to Walmart for more ingredients.  I came home and started on the next batch and realized the first batch only had half the cereal that it should.  (It's amazing how much better things work out when you grab the correct measuring cup.)  Anyway, the second, third and half batch after that turned out fine.  (I sampled to make sure.)  I was done and dropped them all off at the church, leaving the first batch for us to peel foil from and snack on.

Yummy, gooey goodness.

I was also able to make my appointment at the car dealer for my first scheduled maintenance visit.  No biggie, just a routine oil change, tire rotation, fluids check, wash and all that sort of stuff.  My appointment was at 12:00 and I'd told them I'd wait (when I scheduled the appointment AND when I checked in).  I was given a tour and taken to the waiting area and told they'd be there as soon as they finished, probably in about an hour.  TWO hours later, I was getting restless.  I was looking around on my phone and luckily, I decided to check my email.  Sterling McCall sent an email 30 minutes earlier letting me know my vehicle was ready to be picked up!  WTF?!?!  Nobody bothered to come tell me.  I went up to the front desk and she let me know they were bringing it around so I stood and waited.  I saw one car and thought it was mine but then doubted it.  Let's face it, most of the cars looked alike.  One silver SUV was pulled around and I almost walked out... until I noticed the handicapped placard hanging from the rear view mirror.  I then realized the first car I saw, that had been sitting there all along for who knows how long, had my neighborhood sticker on the windshield.  Again, WTF?!?!  I told the valet and he told me I'd need to get my keys from the desk... you know, the girl who just said they were going to bring my car around.  OMG.  Anyway, I finally got to leave and pulled out onto the 59/69 whatever feder in front of an oncoming car and got honked at.  I was thirst and hungry and had a vicious headache.  I made it to Five Guys in Pearland and ordered.  I was filling up my Coke while lunch was cooked.  By the time I got the lid on my drink, it had fizzled down to only being half full.  I went back to the machine and pushed for more Coke, not realizing the lid had slid back over, causing Coke to spray everywhere.  I finally got my food and dealt with the slow traffic and got home.  My headache went away but I snacked on more rice krispie treats that evening and went to bed after having ginger ale and crackers for dinner.

That was my Friday.  On the plus side, the rice krispie treats were wonderful... until I overdosed.

I'm not even going to read over this.  Thinking about it is giving me another headache.  I'm sorry for any out of place words or punctuation that might have happened in the typing of this post and reliving of Friday.

i was going

to take the dogs for their walks this morning.  I had my doubts since it's been raining so much and I know there are already slick spots in certain areas.  I don't even want to imagine Archer seeing something and me trying to hold him back and then slipping and lying there on the ground in pain while he turns his attention to me and starts with the licking.  So yeah, I had my doubts... but I decided I'd do it.  I went out to get Archer on the leash and was trying to get him inside but Maggie was fighting too hard to come in too so I said forget it.  I told them both that Maggie just ruined it for everyone.  So there.  No dog walking today and on top of that, I totally avoided the situation I didn't even want to imagine.  Instead, I had a nice, peaceful walk down to buy the newspaper and that was that.

Last night I made Shrimp Jeannine.  I've talked about it before but it's really good and so easy to make.  I made cheese grits to go with it but they weren't as thick as I'd hoped.  Oh well, I ate them anyway.

Now I need to decide what I'm going to make tonight and get to the store before the next round of rain comes.  I'm thinking carne guisada.  I'm also thinking it'll be a while before my fence can actually be installed.  I'm bummed and ready for things to dry out a little.

today

I'm going to share some of the new things I've tried lately, as well as some of the usual.  Last night I made Shrimp Jeannine but I don't have a picture of it.  No fear, I know I'll be making it again so I'll get it then.  I might just post it over on the Our Grandmothers' Recipes site... but I'll wait until I have the picture.

As for the other stuff, there was the white tail shoulder that Dad gave Eric.

I made it out on the grill and Maggie almost couldn't stand the wait... sad to say though, she didn't get any.  Eric left and took it with him.

Over the weekend I tried a new recipe.  It's a Graham Cracker Cake.  It sounded odd but looked good.

Ends up, it is good.  It reminds me of a carrot cake.

Next up were the corn dogs that Eric requested.  We both liked them and they weren't as near a pain in the butt as I thought they'd be.

Then there was the bread I made.  This one isn't a new recipe but it's simple and baked in a bowl.  Anyway, here is the Peasant Bread.

A while back I was on a sandwich kick.  Not just any sandwich, but the Deli Trio from Jack in the Box.  So lately, we've been making them at home.  Sourdough with pastrami, ham, muenster, kosher pickle slices, a little bit of ranch and grilled in a little butter.  I have a feeling I'll have another one this weekend.

Well, that's it for now.  I need to run to the store.  My macaroni and cheese is ready for the oven and now I need to find a meat to go with it.  I'm thinking chicken...

Chicken or not, I need to be at the church at 2 and I'm hoping this sinus/allergy headache pill doesn't knock me out.

a few years ago I

found a recipe.  I don't know where it came from and I even went out of my way emailing the food blogs where I was pretty sure it came from but I couldn't find in a search.  I searched my recipe binder, hoping I had a weak moment with time to kill and printed it out.  Nope.  I gave up on it.  I think I might have found something similar on Pinterest but that didn't matter.  I wanted my recipe that I'd used before and I had nothing to compare it to.  Fast forward.  I was cleaning out my recipe box and guess what I found.  Correct.  Luckily, I had written it down and tucked it away.  It's like I knew I'd never come across it again online.

So anyway, we'll call then Honey Bites.  We could go with Oat & Honey Bites but that's a little wordy and if wordiness didn't matter, I'd probably go with something cutesy like Bits o' Honey and Oats.  We'll go with Honey Bites.

The odd thing is, Honey Bites involve two things I do not like: coconut and honey.  I know that if I can get past that and enjoy this recipe, anyone can.

HONEY BITES
8 TBS butter
1 1/2 c quick cooking oats
1/2 c flaked coconut
1/2 c chopped walnuts
2 TBS all-purpose flour
2 TBS wheat flour
2/3 c honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a mini muffin pan with Bakers Joy.  Melt butter in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat.  In bowl, combine oats, coconut, walnuts and flour.  Add honey to the melted butter and bring to a boil, stirring often.  Pour butter mix over dry ingredients and mix well.  Scoop mixture into the muffin cups and slightly press it in.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let cool for 10 minutes.  Store in an airtight container.

So that's that.

In other news, I think Lucille figured out that I'm boss.  The whole issue of wet versus dry food seems to be working.  Now it'll probably come down to do I like having to keep them separated to eat or will I eventually give in and have them both cross over to the wet side.

On the dog front, I was out playing with Maggie yesterday and my phone kept going off with texts in my pocket.  My text tone is a line from Despicable Me.  ("IT'S SO FLUFFY!")  I finally took my camera and iPad out to catch her reaction.  Although it wasn't as dramatic as she had been doing it, you get the idea.

Now I'm off to do housework while I catch up on my full load of Sunday night dvr.