Aunt Monica's Fudge

As I dug the lights and Christmas decorations out of the sea of boxes in our garage, yesterday, I thought of how Christmas is like rearing your children. It's so exciting and fun, but if you do it right, it's also messy and a lot of work. Yes, it was a tedious job of finding each exact box that held the items that I needed. The lights were in a tangle; sadly, some things got chipped in the move; and by the time I was done for the day my sinuses were full of dust and glitter. But last night, when the tree was lit (Saturday, Hubby put it up and the Boyzclub decorated); Christmas music was playing on the radio; the animated angel was fluttering her wings across from the smaller tree in the dining room; and the ceramic Santas seemed to be winking at me every time I looked at them in my kitchen, I knew it was all worth it! Our house had a magical touch of Christmas spirit....but like watching your children grow up, you must enjoy every second because this "magic" doesn't last nearly long enough.

Here's a delicious family fudge recipe that Dana's Aunt Monica used to make. It's rich so you might want to cut it into small pieces.

Aunt Monica's Peanut Butter Fudge

3 C sugar
3/4 C margarine
2/3 C milk
1 C peanut butter
7 oz. marshmallow cream
1 tsp vanilla

Cook sugar, margarine and milk on stove top to softball stage. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, marshmallow cream and vanilla. Spoon into greased square pan. Let cool and cut into squares.

****Don't forget to sign on as a follower and Like Frugalhomekeeping on Facebook for a chance to win The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook next Friday!!****

Favorite Recipe Swaps:

Tues:
-From Mess Hall to Bistro
-Blessed with Grace
-Permanent Posies
-Hearth and Soul
-All the Small Stuff
-33 Shades of Green
-My Sweet and Savory
-Balancing Bedlam and Beauty

Wed:
-Tales from the Fairy Blogmother
-Dining with Debbie
-King's Court 4
-Raising Homemakers
-We are That Family

An Attempt at Returning to "Organizationville"

During our recent move from one state to another, my weekly schedule was "cast to the wind". There were no weekly menus; Mountain-o-Laundry Mondays; Tuesday shopping days (with coupons in hand and list of needed items); regular trash-gathering and house-cleaning (although, having our old house on the market was a cleaning blitz that never seemed to end!)
I'm a person who thrives on having a weekly plan. I know that rigid schedules can put a damper on spontaneity, but if you're flexible, I believe it makes a home run much more smoothly. So, as I ran back and forth from one location to the other until we closed on the house, I kept reminding myself that this chaos would not last forever. I'm happy to report that today I will be posting a menu! Hey, it's a start (oh, and I have my first load of laundry in the washer).

-Monday, Nov. 28
Baked Pork Chops
Baked potatoes with cheese and broccoli topping

-Tuesday, Nov. 29
Evening out

-Wednesday, Nov. 30
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Hot rolls

-Thursday, Dec. 1
Crescent Dogs
Chili

-Friday, Dec. 2
Grilled Chicken Salad
Iced tea

-Saturday, Dec. 3
Cocoa Wheats
Toast

Grilled hamburgers
Potatoes and onions
green beans

-Sunday
Spaghetti
garlic crescent rolls
tossed salad

***Make sure that you go on Facebook and Like us to be entered in my cookbook giveaway. Next week I'll be randomly choosing a reader who Likes Frugalhomekeeping on Facebook to win my extra copy of..........The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook!!! This is my favorite cake recipe book and you'll have a chance to win it. Be forewarned: I do plan to write something mushy on the inside cover about how great my faithful blog readers are to me. :0) Have a wonderful Monday.


I'm joining these recipe swaps today:
-Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
-Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
-Delightfully Dowling
-Beyer Beware
-A Southern Fairytale
-I'm an Organizing Junkie

Chopping, Toasting, Baking.........And What Are You Doing Today??

The cooking marathon has begun! Today we have finished turkey stuffing balls, sweet potatoes with praline topping (see archives), green bean casserole, two pumpkin pies, one apple pie, a black forest cake (see archives), peanut butter fudge (archives) ......and a partridge in a pear tree. My dishwasher wonders what's going on; I've loaded it three times today and I'm ready to load it again. I'm sure you've had a busy day, too, unless you're one of those wise people who eats at someone's house other than your own, or a restaurant buffet. The down side to these options is that you have no leftovers to eat while you watch football games and Christmas specials on TV.
If you haven't chosen a pie for your Thanksgiving dessert table, yet, here's a great one from my new home state:

Texas Pecan Pie

1 C sugar
1TBSP flour
1/8 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/2 C light corn syrup
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 C chopped pecans
1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell

Combine sugar, flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, syrup, oil and vanilla; beat at medium speed until blended. Stir in pecans. Pour mixture into pastry shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake 30 minutes or until filling is set. Makes 1 pie.

Wishing God's greatest blessings on you this Thanksgiving.

Ready to Talk Turkey

Oh my goodness, it was a busy summer and fall around our homestead. If you're one of the folks who check my blog out once in a while, then you probably realize that I've been missing. Some of you might have enjoyed my absence while others just counted it as a little something that was missing from their morning coffee break. This summer, we sold a home and bought another home within a one month span. It was a move that was just amazing, logistically-speaking. While we are now "settled" in the new house, we still have some boxes here and there, garages that are full, pictures that need hung and tile grout that waits to be sealed. These items will all be accomplished in time, but I had to return to the blog; I've missed chatting with you every day. I hope that your summer and fall were filled with great moments. Because, after all, that's what life is made up of.....several great moments.

My new home has a nice kitchen and I'm all set to cook my first Thanksgiving meal in this new place. I'm thawing a 20-pound turkey that I bought at Albertson's. Oldest son, Justin, will be making the green bean casserole, Blake will tackle the stuffing and Ben will make pumpkin pies. I've got to find the roaster (which is tucked away in one of the garages) and get it washed up. Tomorrow will be busy, but I look forward to Thanksgiving all year. I will get my holiday scrapbook of recipes off the shelf, so look for a recipe to show up on here tomorrow. You know that I believe recipes should be shared! Thanks for sharing your time with me every day on this blog. I count my readers when I count my blessings. Happy holidays. ~Marcia