Soup Recipe from Baby Shower

BABY SHOWER!

Later tonight I will upload the recipe for the Creamy Chicken Broccoli Rice Soup 

That I made for the Baby Shower today.

It is super easy, and always tastes wonderful.

It can be made on the stove top or in a crockpot.

Have to upload pictures to my laptop, and then I can post the recipe.

What a wonderful time at the Baby Shower for Tracy.

Can't wait for another new baby, and better yet, it's not the only one at Church!

Babies are a gift from Heaven!

Wonderful night

Had a wonderful evening with my church family tonight.  The food was wonderful, and desserts Devine.  It was so nice to be pampered this evening in such a special atmosphere. The youth and volunteers did an amazing job.

Will hopefully get to upload pictures of the two desserts I made for the event tomorrow if I have time.   I even had a little leftover to bring home.

Have plans to share with a couple of people.....

~ Brat~

Getting Ready For Baking

Went shopping today for all the ingredients for my desserts for the sweet hearts dinner at church this weekend.  I'm going to make the Banana Split Icebox Cake and Spicy Chocolate Cake I posted here on my blog.  I am hoping they are both a great success.

I also got to buy my extra cake pan that I have been wanting. Now I can make the Spicy Chocolate Cake that I have been wanting to make, and it will be so much easier, since it is a three layer cake and I had only two pans.  I am a happy camper.  I make three layer cakes all the time, and now it will be a much less labor intensive process.

Last year I made a three layer cake, two layers of Red Velvet and a middle layer of Dark Chocolate Fudgy Brownie with Chocolate Frosting..... it was a big hit, and was beautiful when it was cut into.  

I'll post some pictures of the cakes when I get them done, I'm sure they'll look great!

The dinner will be fun, and I know that it will be a wonderfully beautiful evening

 spent with my Sweet Heart....

~ Brat~

My Zuppa Tuscana Recipe

Recently I had a computer issue, that resulted in me turning on my computer, 

and all my documents, music and photos were missing from my computer, as well as a 

lot of programs that I use a lot.  My biggest sadness was in loosing 

all my documents that I had added over the past year.  

This included everything from the wedding this past summer, wedding printables, 

addresses, labels, etc.  Then I realized all my recipes were missing too, and that made 

me really sad.  I still had most of them backed up on a hard drive, 

but everything from the past year was lost to me....

 I felt like I had lost one of my children.  

Well, I finally located the files on my computer, everything except my music, 

and I am sure it is hiding in there somewhere, but I am not too torn up about that

 because there is always Spotify to listen too... 

 I am very happy to have all my homeschooling files, recipes, and documents 

back to being accessible on my computer.  

Note to self... remember to back up important things to hard drive on 

continual basis!  Never want to go through that again.

Here is one of my favorite Soup recipes to share with you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Zuppa Tuscana                   Alaskan Brat

1 ½ Lb. good quality Sausage – cook, (set aside) 
1 Onion chopped
*½ Green pepper or red pepper  chopped (optional)
2 Stalks Celery minced
1 or 2 carrots Grated or sliced very thin.

 2 tsp. Olive oil

saute veggies with olive oil in bottom of soup pot 

Add to soup pot:

1, 32 OZ Chicken broth
32 OZ water
2 T Chicken soup base or bullion
1 T Canadian steak seasoning 
4 C Sliced red potatoes, (about 1/2 bag) 
Add potatoes – return to boil and cook for 15 min.

when potatoes are tender:

Add:

½ Bunch of Kale about 4 cups – (wash, remove stems then chop) 

Add Kale – cook 10 min 

Add Half and half ----- (turn to warm do no boil) 

2 C Half and Half or heavy cream

Serve with crusty bread, fresh ground black pepper  and grated Parmesan cheese.. 

When reheating, do not bring to boil, or the milk solids with separate......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the basic recipe... of course I never follow it the same way twice... I just can't seem to follow a recipe exactly like it is written, I will add more potatoes, or kale. It is really an easy recipe, and doesn't have to be followed exactly. 

I usually add more kale and Potatoes on the second day, because it seems that the chunky parts of the soup get to be gone before all the broth, so I always toss in more Kale when I reheat this, and microwave a couple of potatoes, slice them and toss them in too. 

 It is always better the second day.... if it makes it that long....

Hope you enjoy!

~Brat~ 

Happy Valentines Day?

What better way to say Happy Valentines day, than with a 

Moose Kiss...

Now, I just think that they are adorable, don't you?

One of the things I miss the most about Alaska is the Moose, living side by side with the people.

They are so darn ugly that they are cute.

Of course on Valentines Day, there would be snow everywhere with the moose, but this picture just says Love to me!

Hope you enjoy this Moose Kiss!

Happy Valentines Day, 

A few Days early,...

~Brat~

German Chocolate Cake

Making a German Chocolate Cake for our bible study.  I love the cake, but especially the frosting!   All the sugary goodness with coconut and nuts....

It takes a lot of determination to make the frosting, the stuff in the tub that they call coconut pecan frosting always tastes waxy, so I have to make my own.

Takes a while but we'll worth the time and effort.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

1- 12 oz. Can evaporated milk

1 cup sugar (I used half brown sugar and half white sugar)

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Mix together in heavy bottomed sauce pan to electronic combined

Add 1 stick butter

Heat over med heat while storing constantly, until boiling and nicely thickened.

Add

2 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 1/2 cups toasted pecans*

Stir and mix in fully

Stir occasionally and cool to room temperature before frosting your cake.

Toasting pecans

Place pecans in dry nonstick skillet over med high heat, stir and shake skillet until pecans start to smell nutty and start to turn a darker shade.  Do not over cook or burn.

I frosted the outside with Milk Chocolate frosting to hold it all together.  It added just the right amount or sweetness to the cake, and also made it look so much nicer on the outside layer.  It is really difficult to frost the outside with the coconut frosting since it is so lumpy.

One of my very favorite cakes.


~Brat~

One Year Old

Can't believe that it has been a whole year since I started this blog.

So much has happened since February of 2013, it has been a year of changes for our family and for me.  I am so grateful for all the great experiences that I have had in the past year.

I am looking forward to seeing where God takes me and my family this year.

There are too many blessings to mention, God has provided so many opportunities to praise him, in good times and in sorrow.

I am so blessed!

Almost 3000 visitors to this blog too!

Simply amazing..... touching the lives of people form the east coast of America, to Russia, Malaysia, Poland, Germany,  Indonesia, Netherlands, France, and many more countries!

I am truly thankful.......

~ Brat ~

Sidewalk Singer Christian Movie

Sidewalk Singer Movie

Amazon


A couple of summers ago, my family had the amazing opportunity to help out on the set of this movie in Techumpsech Michigan.  It was a wonderful couple of weeks helping out where needed, and getting used as extras in some of the scenes.  We learned the tricks of the trade of making a movie, late night sets and filming, special effects makeup, crowd control, lighting, prop setup, so many little details that make the movie happen.

I haven't seen the final version that made production, but the pre-release version still had my family and friends in several scenes.  I am hoping we made the final cut into production.

Pastor Maki, wrote the screen play and is the main character in the movie, he has written several movies, and has also started filming another movie.
He is the pastor of a friend's church there in Michigan, an an amazing man, and talented writer and pastor.

Looking back, it was such a wonderful experience and an awesome time getting to know all the actors and movie crew and the support crew from the church.  It was fun being a part of it, and was an awesome learning experience being part of our Homeschool year's curriculum.

It is a time that I will always cherish and remember fondly.

Thanks Pastor Maki for making it all possible, and for dear friends that encouraged us to participate.


The Trailer

Orams Donuts

People from all over the country come to get these donuts. 
They are famous here in our little community, and people come to
Get some whenever they come back home to the area.
Once you have eaten them, you'll understand how special they are.


There are many kinds of donuts to choose, cake or raised, filled or glazed.... 

but the big demand is for the cinnamon rolls.

Some people call them cinnamon rolls, some call them sinkers, some call them hubcaps.... but we called them delicious, especially when made into
 French Toast.

My darling daughter made us breakfast last week for dinner one night, and she made us French Toast using the amazing cinnamon rolls from Orams.

They were really good, and was a great use for the day old pastries that 
we had.  It would have been a shame to waist them so we tried
Them in a new way.

She sliced the rolls in half, dipped them in beaten eggs and milk with a 
dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cooked them on a medium hot skillet until nicely brown.  We drizzled a little syrup over the top of it 
(you don't need much since they are sweet enough).

They were very yummy and smelled Divine while being cooked.

If you have a chance you should try them.... you won't be disappointed.

Go early in the day, they open at 5:00 am. And the cinnamon rolls are frequently all gone by about 10:00am. They are closed on Sunday.

Hope you enjoy!



~ Brat ~

Banana Split Icebox Dessert

Banana Split Icebox Dessert from Taste of Home Magazine

Direct link to the recipe

Banana Split Icebox Dessert

Doesn't this look yummy?

I am thinking of making this for our Valentine's Dinner at Church.

I think it would look beautiful displayed on the dessert table.

I have a really pretty antique oval platter with roses all over it that I think 

would look beautiful with this sitting in the middle of it. A beautiful dessert on a romantic looking platter.... presentation makes such a difference with 

food, especially with desserts.

I think I will add some other ingredients too, like Carmel sauce, chocolate chips, maybe strawberry sauce, maybe switch up some chocolate Graham crackers for the plain ones....  because more chocolate is always better.

I really can't wait for this event. 

The dinner is a fund raiser for our youth group, and it is always an 

amazing night with wonderful food and amazing desserts,

all served by our awesome youth from the church.... 

The fellowship, food and entertainment for the night is always a 

highlight to the Valentine's Day Holliday.

I know I will be making at least 2 desserts for this event......  I just can't not make and bake for this event.... I'm too excited!

So many choices of great things to make...

And then I'll have to choose which ones to try at the dinner.... oh dear, this is going to be really tough to make that decision!

If only they were all calorie free, then I wouldn't have to choose!

~Brat~

Spicy Chocolate Cake

This recipe came across my computer today and screamed make me.

I am looking forward to making it soon, maybe for our sweethearts dinner at church for Valentine's day...

My brother makes a wonderful dark chocolate fudge that has chili pepper in it that I love, it is deep and rich chocolatey with a slow burn after eating it.  

I am hoping that this will be as wonderful as his fudge.

There is something divine about dark chocolate and spicy chili-peppers that warm your insides....

This is the website that has the recipe.

Doesn't it look delicious!

Heather Christo is the source of the recipe.

spicy-chocolate-cake-with-jalapeno-chocolate-fudge-frosting/

The best part about this recipe is that you need three cake pans since it is a three layer cake, and I have really been wanting to buy another pan anyway so this would be a good excuse to us a coupon at Michaels and get a new pan.

I love making layer cakes and using my assortment of cake plates... 

They always look pretty when frosted and sitting up tall and elegant 

on top of a cake plate...

You could also make this as cupcakes, but I wouldn't 

feed them to the kids....