Old Fashioned Good - Buttermilk Sauce

I had leftover buttermilk in the fridge from a failed cupcake recipe (failed only because the offspring assisting me, put twice as much oil as the recipe called for - BLECH) Leftover buttermilk nags at me...almost dares me to find a way to use it so I don't have to pour it down the sink. Luckily, in my blog cruising, I ran across a recipe for buttermilk sauce and it looked delicious. Guess What? It really is too! The possibilities for this sauce are endless. I can just imagine it poured over a warm apple cobbler or drizzled over a blonde brownie. We ate ours on Blue Bell homemade vanilla and brownie sundaes. I can't tell you how scrumptious it is - similar to caramel sauce...but better. It has an old fashioned feel to it. Like something my great grandmother probably made. Next time you have buttermilk leftover give this sauce a try....you won't regret it.

Buttermilk Sauce

3/4 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) real butter

2 T. corn syrup

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla (not pictured in ingredient pic...oops!)

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a big pot with tall sides (spaghetti pot) and bring to a strong boil. Reduce heat until it is still slightly bubbling....but not at a rolling boil. Stir frequently for 9 minutes. It will be a dark yellow color. Remove from heat and add vanilla. This sauce is better if you let it cool for a good 30 minutes or longer. It thickens as it cools. It will have a thin foamy layer on top that you can scrape off if you don't like how it looks. Now, just try not to go back for spoonfuls while you wait...impossible.

This would look so great in a jar with a cute decorative label and an ice cream scoop.

Your kids can assist with the ingredients and with the stirring...but be cautious - it gets incredibly HOT!

Snow Much Fun!

When you are a kid...is there anything better than playing in fresh snow. Look at the drifts to see that we had a moderate amount of snow combined with lots of WIND! How unusual for West Texas...LOL!

Things I LiKe

This is a cool website that I found on another blog that let's you group together all sorts of items. The search engine is right there...you don't have to go hunting for pictures. It really is kind of fun and looks like something out of a magazine. Try it out if you are like me and trying to avoid vacuuming - it delayed me a good 30 minutes! LOL

Look Out Justin Timberlake

Just because it's pretty...

doesn't mean it's better! This is a great motto to live by and we found out the hard way (through our wallet) that it applies to cupcakes! We hunted down the very much talked about cupcake store that recently opened in Lubbock. We walked away having spent a TON of money...only to find out that they look better than they taste. A couple of flavors were fair, one was pretty good (if you like Carrot cake - it was by far the most moist), one was strange (pink lemonade) and one was dry and nasty! I am thinking that it will be pretty hit or miss at this store. The rumor is that they sell out of their 700 cupcakes every day - at 2.50 each that is a CHUNK of CHANGE! My suggestion is make funfetti cupcakes (just as delish) and save your self about 55.00 based on 24 cupcakes.

Spring Break Fun!

Our NO plans for Spring Break suddenly changed when Chance decided he would be working in Lubbock for a few days and the kids and I could stay with him. It was a really fun filled trip. Nana, Papaw, Aunt Jill, and Campbell came to visit too.
First, I have to apologize to the few friends that I didn't see this trip. I let the kids dictate the itinerary this time and seeing some of their friends they have missed was a priority. Chesley and Cambry both got to spend the night with a friend - they were so grateful.
1. We ate at our FAVORITE Japanese grill - Tokyo and Cutter had 4 bowls of soup. We love to take him there because he eats the chicken, the rice and he even loved the ginger dipping sauce.
2. Chance, Cutter and I went to see Race To Witch Mountain - fun entertaining movie. We all enjoyed it.
3. We spent a day shopping - what's not to be enjoyed about that!
4. We spent some of our money and some of Nana and Papaw's money at The Main Event. It was tons of fun. We played laser tag, went bowling, played games, and ate pizza - all in one building. So convenient. The bowling was a blast and Chance smoked us all...as usual!
Cutter had a few college girls as fans on the lane next to ours. The more he thought they were watching him - the more he "performed". It was hysterical! They even came over and told him how cute he was and how much they loved his dancing.

It was just a great easy going time and a great way to usher in SPRING!

My B.B. gun bandits

Here is one of the advantages to living in the "semi-country"...you know it's not really the country, but it's not really the city. Your kids can play with B.B. guns all day long shooting targets and tin cans. What a great way to spend the day and did i mention how peaceful it was in the house.

*** Cambry is shooting Chance's B.B. gun from his childhood. His parents recently delivered it to us and Cambry has adopted it as her own.

Hedger Family Vintage Movie Night

Last night was a blast. I know my father in law can hardly believe that, but it really was. Chance and I really enjoy seeing the old movies and hearing Kenny talk in such detail about each person and his memories of them. He has the best memory of anyone I know. He was once the bat boy for the Amarillo Sandies (he was elementary age) and he can still remember the code that was on each bat and the name of the player that it went to. AMAZING!

We had lots of laughs and he told us thank you at least 1000 times...no thanks needed - it was a joy.

Yesterday I was a Stay at Home MOM!

okay - honestly, I still am a SAHM...it just doesn't feel like it most weeks. I have been subbing just enough days that the "off" days are spent running around trying to make up for lost time. Last week was especially crazy because we had open houses, a Florence Nightingale costume (I still feel like I'm going to break out in hives over this one), eye doctor appointments, and a couple of days of subbing. So, I decided that Friday was going to be an homage to the person I used to be before life got in the way. I am so tired of serving my family sub par meals...and they are tired of eating them.

I first headed over to the pioneer woman's blog and whipped out a few pans of homemade cinnamon rolls - her recipe is DELISH! The rolls are very tender and delicate. I was impressed. This recipe will be replacing my old one.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

Then - I cruised over to my cousin Jana's blog and snagged the Alfredo recipe....unbelievably great! The addition of the cream cheese just puts it over the top! It will be a new staple in our house. I roasted a couple of chicken breasts in the oven for 45 minutes. (browned 3 chicken breasts placed them on tin foil with a little garlic salt, black pepper and a T. of butter and then sealed the tin foil to make a packet...these were wonderful and were a great compliment to the alfredo sauce.

http://thefourhenrys.blogspot.com/2009/03/alfredo-sauce.html

Then because my back was only slightly aching, I found this recipe for French bread and made two yummy loaves to compliment our chicken alfredo. If you haven't attempted to make homemade bread - this a great recipe. Super easy and super yummy!http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/French-Bread/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

I even managed to complete several loads of laundry, picked the kids up from school and chauffeured the girls to get haircuts - all by 4:00. It was a great day and I don't feel too guilty saying that I am glad that tonight is PIZZA NIGHT! Ü

pure sweetness

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Two of my most favorite people have reason to celebrate today! They demonstrate to many of us what a happy and content marriage looks like. It saddens me to think that some people are never able to see examples of that in their own lives. Thank you for blessing us with that gift. Hope you both have a wonderful day!

Up In Smoke

Wow! we are all just a little shocked after getting the news yesterday that the house we grew up in on Bryan Street burned almost to the ground. Strange how something like that makes you feel sad...even though you no longer live there. Fire is just so permanent and final. It is a complete loss. My grandparents owned the house until this last Fall. It was currently empty while some guys flipped it for resale. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the arson investigation. My family moved into the house the day before Valentine's day, the year I was in the 3rd grade. I left there when I got married. (except for a brief 6 month stint in an apartment) My parents moved a few years later.
Here are some special memories that I remember about Bryan Street:

• Mom always having homemade cookies for us on Wednesdays (her afternoon off)
• walking home from school
• playing dog show with Tiny (our cocker spaniel) in the backyard and making her jump the seats to the picnic bench
• sharing one bathroom (I didn't say all the memories were good)
• walking to the Handy Hut to buy candy cigarettes and play smoking them on the way home
• this cool little secret cubby I had in my closet...have no idea why it was there
• watching the Sunday afternoon movie on cold winter days while eating big bowls of canned chili
• sitting in the closet in Jeremy's room one night with Chance, Nanny, and everyone else - while a BIG tornado warning was in effect. Chance and I still laugh at the funny things Nanny said that night!
• reading all of my Nancy Drew mysteries...every one of them!

Here is a video of the fire - seriously it looks scary - I wonder what it felt like to the neighbors to see a house burning so close to you?

http://myhighplains.com/content/fulltext/?cid=45741&shr=addthis

http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=9930217

Proud Aunt

Here are the first pictures of Campbell being held by his proud Aunt. Isn't he just adorable. I can't wait to hold him everyday this week. I told my favorite school that I would NOT be subbing the first part of this week - I need some Campbell time.