Category: Foods

Love this Crazy Life

Time flies when you are having fun, right? I can’t believe how fast the last month has gone!

Jonathan and Laura returned from Tanzania full of stories, videos, and photos.  I’ll let Jonathan tell you about his experiences in another blog.

After the travelers returned home, we jumped right into a full schedule. Laura wanted to head back to college right away to try and catch up on more assignments, so I took her back to USF just a day after they returned home. A day later, Jonathan and I had an organic farming seminar to attend a few hours from home, so he basically hit the ground running as well.

The following week was Thanksgiving. We were hosting this year, so I was able to plan the event how I wanted it. My rule this year – nobody brings anything, and everyone stays out of the kitchen until time for dishes. The exceptions were Christina, who made the dinner rolls, and Laura, who was my sous chef.  The day was awesome. It was the most stress-free Thanksgiving I have ever hosted!

Our menu was partly traditional, and partly not. As in, we didn’t have any cranberry anything, and no marshmallows made an appearance on sweet potatoes.

We started the meal with a Squash Soup appetizer. While our guests were eating their soup, Laura and I set the rest of the meal on the table.

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The rest of our menu looked like this:

Apple Cider Brined Turkey

Mashed potatoes

A Simple Gravy made with chicken stock (no drippings)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Dinner Rolls (recipe follows)

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For dessert, I made a pecan pie, double layer pumpkin pie, and chocoflan

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After our meal, everyone pitched in on dishes, and then we relaxed. We took our Olson family photo (minus one nephew who is currently studying in India) so Grandpa could send out his Christmas letter.  It was nice to celebrate with Anita and Charles, who will be heading back to Canada in a couple of days to celebrate Christmas with Charles’ family. They will be heading back to the mission field after the New Year.

I am so thankful for my family, my in-laws, the outlaws, my friends. The list could go on forever. I have been so blessed this past year! Thank you, my dear readers, for being a part of my life for the last two years. I look forward to sharing more stories about my family, my farm, and successful ventures in the kitchen.

Fly Off the Plate Dinner Rolls

1 egg

1 1/2 cups warm water

4 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons instant dry milk

3 Tablespoons oil

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Mix egg with fork. Add ingredients in order recommended by your bread machine manufacturer. Put pan in bread machine. Select dough cycle, push start. After about 10 minutes, push finger into dough. If it is sticky, add more flour. When bread machine is done, shape into buns. Allow to rise about 20 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake 10-15 minutes

 

Now What?

The 2012 harvest season has ended for us. The guys are wrapping up the tillage, and should be done some time this afternoon. Many of our friends and family ask us, “Now what?” Some may assume that we kick back and take it easy until spring work starts again. While the most physical part of the work is finished for this crop year, we are not done with our work.

Jonathan and our youngest daughter, Laura, will be headed for a 16 day missions trip to Tanzania next week. They will be working at the Kikatiti school – a place that our church has sponsored for many years. They will be bringing many used eyeglasses with them, and some of the team will be matching vision needs with the glasses we bring. Others on the team will be doing some maintenance work. Laura and a few other women will be teaching girls how to use the sewing machine the was purchased for the school. They will work on the basics of sewing, with the hopes of teaching them how to make things to sell. After they finish their work at the school, they will be going on a safari. How cool! I am very excited for them, yet a tad nervous about keeping things going here by myself.

In the winter, we still have pig chores to attend to, and a lot of paperwork. It is also the time of year when we take a serious look at what varieties of seeds we want to grow next year. We have a yield monitor in the combine, and we’ll print out the yield maps to see what varieties we want to plant again and what varieties we will drop.  We store all of our crops in grain bins, and will be selling throughout the fall and into next year. We work with our buyers to arrange hauling dates that work well with both of our schedules – although sometimes it would be nice if the weather would cooperate on the cold winter days!

Both Jonathan and I will be attending meetings this winter. They are sort of like our continuing education classes. So far, we have the Minnesota Farm Bureau Annual meeting, and three organic conferences on the schedule. I will also have a few meetings for various other committees I am on. I love winter meetings, and networking with other farmers. The education components can really help set the tone for the coming crop season as well. It doesn’t matter what kind of farming you do, it is always helpful to see what is the latest and greatest thing.

Winter is also when I get to have fun in the kitchen. I have been collecting recipes from blogs over the past year, and am excited to have the time to try ones I haven’t gotten to yet.  When the kids all went to college, I warned Jonathan that I may be trying out all kinds of new recipes. He is pretty game to try what I come up with, fortunately!

One of the first recipes sent to me by my good friend is one I have posted above my stove. I see it every day, and have been patiently waiting until I have the time to whip up a batch. This is one that will require an event to bring them to, otherwise I will want to eat them all!

This blog is written in a combination of Swedish and English. The writers culinary passions are rivaled by her photography. This blog is a treat for both the eyes and the taste buds! The first recipe I want to try is her Perfect Expresso Chocolate Cupcakes.  Call Me Cupcake

Another blog that I thought was fun, and had a yummy looking recipe for Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting, is the Brown Eyed Baker. (Notice a theme here?) Her blogging style is one I enjoy reading.  Brown Eyed Baker

On the savory side of things, since we cannot live on cupcakes alone, is a Gratin recipe from Dairy Carrie. This is another blog that has a writing style that I really like, along with some great recipes and awesome information about her dairy farm.

I love, love, love reading cookbooks. I read them like some people read novels. I picked this one up on a shopping trip with my girls, and can’t wait to try out many yummy looking recipes.  This should keep me busy for the winter!

Okay, I’ve given you three blogs and one book to find. I would love to hear about your favorite blogs and cookbooks!

Are We Becoming High Maintenance? Thoughts While Making Supper…

I love the movie, “When Harry Met Sally”.  In it, there is a scene where Harry is describing low maintenance and high maintenance women..

Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.

Sally Albright: Which one am I?

Harry Burns: You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance but you think you’re low maintenance.

Sally Albright: I don’t see that.

Harry Burns: You don’t see that? Waiter, I’ll begin with a house salad, but I don’t want the regular dressing. I’ll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. “On the side” is a very big thing for you.

Sally Albright: Well, I just want it the way I want it.

Harry Burns: I know; high maintenance.
I was catching up on a few blogs while making supper tonight, and they really made me think. One was talking about really listening to those who are asking questions. If we do not listen to what it is they are asking, have we already created a wall that will prevent effective communication?  Is the consumer the Sally Albright in this situation? They just want it the way they want it?  Or are we? I just want to farm it the way I want to farm it.  

When we are the worst kind of listener – high maintenance, but think we’re low maintenance – do people stop trying to participate in conversations with us? Is that when we lose the consumer’s interest, like Sally does to the waiter when ordering a sandwich?  How do we ensure that we are low maintenance, like the cool character Ingrid Bergman played?

As I paused to assemble the ingredients for supper, another thought hit me…

Supper tonight was semi-homemade pizza. The crust was a frozen ready to bake crust from Schwan’s. The tomato sauce was made with fresh tomatoes from the farmer’s market in our hometown and from my uncle’s garden. Since the sauce was a bit watery, even while reducing it on the stove, I added a can of organic tomato paste from my pantry. When the sauce was cooking, I diced some of our thick cut bacon that was left over from our dinner of BLT’s. I then sliced up some fresh mozzarella that was on sale at the grocery store. I’m not sure if that was the one I got free, or if it is the one that is still in the fridge. Anyway, it was a good deal on a food I don’t normally cook with. To top off the pizza, I picked a few basil leaves off of the herb planter just outside my back door, diced them up, and sprinkled them over the top.  The pizza was now ready to go in the oven.

Just by looking at it, it looks like a gourmet pizza…sort of.  If you look at the ingredient list, there is an interesting mix. Store bought (or delivered by the Schwan’s man in this case), organic, farmer’s market, garden fresh from a relative, one item I only bought because it was on sale, and something I grew myself.  When I added the heat, all those varied ingredients became one delicious pizza.


This pizza is kinda how I hope all farmers and agriculture professionals can be. We may be representing all types, but when we add heat (like participating in social media discussions), we can become one awesome pizza.  We need to be careful not to burn one part, or the whole pie will be ruined.

Fun Food Friday

I was craving some ice cream today, but ice cream doesn’t really like me. I figured out I was lactose intolerant while eating ice cream at my niece’s graduation reception. Not a fun day. I have tried taking Lactaid with the ice cream, but it still doesn’t like me. So, when a craving hits, I like to see what kind of substitutes I can find.

A few posts back, I shared a photo of my new favorite State Fair treat – a frozen banana on a stick, covered in chocolate and rolled in peanuts. It made a good ice cream substitute at the fair, so why not make them at home?

I started by cutting up a couple of bananas into more manageable sizes than the one offered at the fair. This way, if I only wanted half a banana, I wouldn’t have to try cutting it in two after it was on the stick.

We had some some bamboo skewers left over from Laura’s graduation reception, so I used those as my stick. You could probably get by just fine with bigger round toothpicks, depending on the size of banana slices.

I dipped the cut banana pieces in a bath of water and FruitFresh. You could also use lemon or lime juice in water. I dabbed them dry with a paper towel, and placed them back on the plate. I covered the plate with plastic wrap, and placed it in the freezer.

When the bananas were frozen, I assembled the rest of the ingredients.

I coarsely chopped some salted peanuts in my food processor, and put them in a shallow bowl. I had some Magic Shell ice cream topping in the pantry, so I used that for the hardening chocolate. I have a narrow measuring cup that holds about 1/2 cup of liquid. You could use a small juice glass as well.

I poured a little bit of the Magic Shell into the bottom of the measuring glass, since I was planning on having three chunks of banana. Once it is poured into the glass, you cannot put it back into the bottle.


Tipping the glass slightly, I rolled the banana in the chocolate, making sure it was coated well.

I held it above the glass until the chocolate began to harden.  Then, I rolled the banana in the coarsely chopped peanuts.

I repeat the process for the other banana pieces that I wanted to prepare. Then placed the rest of the bananas back into the freezer for the next time I had an ice cream craving.

The bananas satisfied the craving. They tasted just like a banana split…okay, almost like a banana split!

My next challenge is to try different combinations – splitting the bananas down the center, and spreading creamy peanut butter on one half making a pb banana sandwich to freeze. After they are frozen, dipping them in a homemade chocolate shell mixture, and letting them freeze again.  Mmmm. I think I need to go buy more bananas!

Have fun with your food today!

United We Stand…Resisting the Attempts to Divide Agriculture

To be upfront with any new readers, my husband and I are organic crop farmers. We walk the line of organic and conventional agriculture every day – we raise 2400 hogs in climate controlled curtain sided barns, meaning our animals are raised conventionally. We do this for a few reasons, but the main one is so that we are able to capture the manure to use as our fertilizer on our fields. In our opinion, it is the ultimate recycling program.

Much has been said about a newly published report by two doctors at Stanford University about nutritional differences in organic and conventional foods.  I am a little sad that friends who choose to farm differently than I do are touting this report as a “see I told you so” kind of deal.  I have avoided my Facebook account for most of the day because of some comments. So, here is my take on this.

Ever since advertising and marketing started – and all I know about that timeline is it started before I was ever thought about – people have been touting their products in such a way as to sway people into buying what they are selling. Who can forget the slogans “Tastes Great, Less Filling”, “Finger Lickin’ Good”, Good To The Last Drop”, or “Breakfast of Champions”?

Land O’ Lakes will tell you that their milk will stay fresher, longer because of their opaque packaging. Chevy Trucks will tell you that their trucks have a better payload than their competitors. Are they being deceptive, or are they trying to appeal to their target audience? How are the advertising practices of milk brands or truck brands any different than how conventional or organic produce are advertised?

The Stanford study looked at nutrition – mostly vitamins A, C, and E. It also looked at detectable pesticide residue. My first response to the study of the vitamins was “duh”.  I don’t buy organic produce because I think it has better nutrients.  I buy according to taste, and what my family will eat. Many times we can find different varieties of vegetables in the organic section that have a taste we prefer. Look at the surge in heirloom tomatoes being grown in back yard gardens, the the varieties of small tomatoes available at your local supermarket. People are enjoying the food experience, and are demanding foods that fit in with their developing tastes.

I have talked with people at different events that appreciate the way we grow our crops. They believe that a minimal three crop rotation is the best for the soil and the environment. They will buy organic as a way of supporting those who farm in ways they believe in. Nothing was said about nutritional value. There is more to the organic equation than just nutrients, I think.

We should all be celebrating that fact that there was only 38% of conventional produce that had detectable pesticide residue. That means our pesticide residue monitoring systems are working. I understand that there are those who have very little tolerance for pesticide residues due to allergies and illness, which is why you buy organic. I am happy you have that choice, and that it is becoming more readily available for you.

I will never make anyone feel bad for the food choices they make. We all have different taste in clothes, shoes, cars, TV’s, computers, orange juice, cereal, etc. We don’t tear each other apart for those differences, why do so many feel it is okay to condemn food choices? I see no need to have an us vs them attitude in agriculture. What benefit is that to anyone? I would encourage everyone to have a mixed, balanced diet filled with color…and the occasional deep fried Milky Way on a stick.

I am just thankful I live in a time where I do have the choice to buy what I like.  I am thankful for those who gave their lives so that we are able to express our opinions in a public forum, and not be jailed for it. I am thankful for those who are still serving who are sacrificing time with their families, and for those who are eating mess hall meals so we are able to walk into a grocery store and buy whatever I feel like buying that day. I am thankful for all of the families that are farming, doing the best they can to raise crops and livestock for those who are unable to.  As you can tell, I think there are many other issues that are a little more important than this study.

My younger brother, saluting the American Flag at a Twins game in July…a few weeks before being deployed for 12 months. I thank him for defending my freedom, and pray for his safe return.

New Recipe Time – Chocoflan Cake (With Photos!)

We’ll start this story way back in March of 1993. Jonathan went to Ecuador on a short term missions project, and to see his sister who was a missionary there at the time.  While there, he experienced an excellent dessert called Flan. Thanks to the Food Network and the internet, we all probably have heard of it now. At the time, however, it seemed way too hard to attempt to make.

Fast forward 19 years. We are now in a newly formed Dinner Club where the hosts choose a menu and divvy up the courses of the meal to the attendees. Jonathan and I were asked to bring the dessert, which I thought was awesome. The whole evening was based on Rick Bayless and his Frontera recipes.  We had the choice of making….wait for it….Flan de Cafe or Chocoflan!  Jonathan was pretty excited that at last I would learn how to make this dessert.

I read through both recipes, and settled on the Chocoflan. I had more of the ingredients on hand, and a pan that it would fit in. I cheated a little bit, and made a test cake the day before our dinner party. Good thing. More about that later.

Here is the process, with the recipe…and in true Bredlow fashion, a few modifications.

The recipe calls for a 10 inch round cake pan with three inch sides. I couldn’t find one in Williams Sonoma when I was at the Mall of America the last time, so I started looking online for ideas.  I came across a video from Chef Marcela Valladolid from Food Network, where she made basically the same cake in a Bundt pan.  Excellent idea!

For the mold (Bundt pan) you will need

  • a little softened butter and some flour
  • 1 cup store-bought or homemade cajeta (goat milk caramel)

I found an 8 ounce jar of goat milk caramel at Williams Sonoma, which was the only “exotic” ingredient.

The goat milk caramel along with some of the wet ingredients.

Butter and flour the pan as you would for making any cake (or used a spray like Baker’s Joy or Pillsbury Baking Spray with Flour).

Pour the caramel into the bottom of the pan, and swirl it around a bit to spread it up the sides about a 1/2 inch.

For the cake:

  • 5 ounces (10 tablespoons) butter, slightly softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons espresso or 2 tablespoons espresso powder dissolved in 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
  • 9 ounces buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Heat water for a water bath. Use a pan with high sides to put the cake pan in for the water bath. Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder together. Set aside. With an electric mixer (use the flat beater if you can), beat the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light in color and texture. Scrape the bowl. Beat in the egg and espresso.  Add half of the flour mixture, at medium-low speed, followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat. Scrape the bowl, then raise the speed to medium-high and beat for one minute.

Sifting the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda

For the Flan:

  • 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
  • 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla made with Madagascar vanilla beans and Prairie Grains Organic Vodka, and the rest of the flan ingredients.

Blend until smooth.

Flan ingredients in the blender.

Put cake batter in Bundt pan over the caramel

Cake batter in pan – layered over caramel

Gently pour flan mixture over cake batter.  It works well to pour the flan mixture into a small ladle and let it over flow.  (I couldn’t do that for the photo…my hands were full!)

Gently pour mixture over cake batter.

Place roasting pan and Bundt pan into the oven. Pour hot water up to an inch deep in cake pan surrounding the Bundt pan. Do not put water into the Bundt pan…just around it. While you are doing this step, you will notice the cake batter floating to the top of the pan. This is a good thing!

Batter is floating to the top. I used a Wilton 1/2 sheet pan for the water bath. You want the custard to cook gently, thus the water bath.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the surface of the cake is firm to the touch, except the very center. (Using the Bundt, the center will be done, however, the cake may jiggle a little bit. That’s okay.)

Remove from the water bath and cool to room temperature. This will take longer than one hour.  Remember earlier when I mentioned that it was a good thing that I tested this recipe? If you turn the cake out too soon, the flan layer will slide right off of the cake layer. Still delicious, just not very pretty. At all.

I put my cake in the refrigerator for a few hours to make sure it was chilled, and firm enough, to unmold.  Carefully run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the cake/flan to free the edges. Invert a rimmed serving platter over the cake pan, grasp the two firmly together, then flip the two of them over. Gently jiggle the pan back and forth several times to ensure that the cake/flan has dropped, then remove the pan. Scrape any remaining cajeta from the mold onto the cake.

This is how ours looked right before serving to our Dinner Club:

It was absolutely delicioso!  It is very rich, so we served coffee with it, which brought out the cocoa really well. I will most definitely be making this one again!

Now that I have this cake figured out, I’m thinking a caramel flan can’t be that hard!

Making A Change…

I wanted to share the last blog I wrote as a member of SparkPeople.com. When I joined, the nutrition articles were fairly balanced, even though their nutrition expert is vegetarian. However, in the last few months, a noticeable change has taken place. They are currently pushing their vegetarian cookbook, and encouraging a vegetarian lifestyle. I have issues with this both as a farmer, and as a Christian who believes that God created our body to rely on things received from animal protein. God also gave us the animals to use, but we are to care for them before we use them for food.

 

I have loved my time on SparkPeople, and have interacted with many great people. The calorie trackers and fitness articles have really been helpful for me.

Sadly, I cannot ignore the changes that have been happening regarding the nutrition articles and cook books that are for sale. Pushing a vegetarian diet goes against recent research by unbiased sources. The articles that were published were even available on the Health Article pages. The human body needs cholesterol to be able to use the vitamin D we get from our food and the sun. We also need the amino acids and B vitamins only available through an animal protein for brain health. They are finding that vegetarians and vegans have smaller brains and more issues with dementia as they age than those who eat meat regularly.

Jonathan and I raise hogs on our farm. I can tell you that their diet is more nutritionally balanced than anyone in my family’s is. When a blizzard is raging, Jonathan is out in the barns making sure the animals are warm and dry, with plenty of food and water. When there are severe thunderstorm warnings or tornado warnings, he is out in the barns making sure the animals are comfortable, and that the power stays on so they will have plenty of food and water. They are fed free choice, like a buffet on a cruise. They are healthy and happy. They grunt in a contented way when we check on them throughout the day. My ranching friends treat their cattle the same way. With care and concern for their health and well being.

I cannot continue being a part of a web site that continues to perpetuate the agenda of animal rights groups by promoting the Meatless Monday concept, and pushing vegetarianism and veganism. So, I am breaking up with SparkPeople. I will move on and find other ways to track my daily calories and my fitness goals. I will read nutrition articles that are peer reviewed, and not based on a biased understanding. I will eat meat, vegetables, grains, dairy, fats, and sweets all in moderation. The human body was designed to run on nutrients provided by many sources – meat included – and I intend to feed mine that way.

To all of my friends on SparkPeople – I will miss you! I will be keeping my account open for about a week before permanently closing it.

Summer dinner for Jonathan- t-bone steak, mashed potatoes, and garden peas.

Sunny Saturday…

Today I helped Jonathan put the star up on the windmill. Okay, help may be too strong of a word. Let’s just say I handed the star to him after he got to the top of the ladder, then walked away. I hate watching him climb up the windmill! I pretty much pace back and forth, with phone in hand in case I have to call 911.

It was such a beautiful day out today! Mid 40’s, sunshine, little wind. I would normally be happy about that, but I love snow. It looks so brown and dreary outside. Not very Christmas like.

I did go for a little run/walk for about 1/2 hour. The first running I’ve done since the goat chasing incident.  It felt really good!  When I got done with my stretching afterwards, Jonathan was baking up the Belgian cookies I had mixed up earlier in the day.

I still have Peanut Blossoms and Russian Tea Cakes to make before the night is done. They are heading for a bake sale at church tomorrow. Extras will go in the freezer for our Christmas celebrations.

Tomorrow we’ll light the third candle in our Advent Wreath! Have a blessed day!

Christmas Joy

We had a great Thanksgiving at my sister’s. The weather was great, so we didn’t have to worry about icy roads. That is always a plus when traveling over 5 hours!

I participated in the Facebook thing of counting down to Thanksgiving by posting something you were thankful for each day. I have been missing out on the intentional daily reflections that would help me focus on what I was thankful for.  So, I think I will continue the practice. Only I can’t call it Thanksgiving Thankfuls…  Maybe the Christmas Joy’s? I’ll take suggestions for a catchy name!

My challenge for you, the few who actually read this, is to post on your Facebook pages or in your own blogs about something that has brought you joy that day…or just in general makes your heart happy.

My Joy for the day: Having Jonathan give me 30 minutes of his time to do anything inside the house that I wanted him to do. Thanks for taking out all the trash, honey! 🙂

P.S. The house is smelling really good right now…I’m making a new bread recipe called Sour Cream Bread. It is supposed to make great grilled sandwiches and french toast. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

First Snow!

Call me crazy, but I love the first snow of the season. After staring at brown grass and empty fields for awhile, the blanket of snow makes everything look so fresh and clean.

Traditionally, I bake the first batch of Christmas cookies during the first snowfall. Even if it happens to be October!

When Jonathan and I were first married, we lived in a tiny house across the section from where we now live. We didn’t want to turn on the fuel oil furnace too early in the fall, so sometimes the house was pretty chilly.  I think it was the first October that we were married, on the day of the first snow the house was very cold. I decided to bake some cookies to warm up the house. The snow reminded me of Christmas time, so I baked Christmas cookies.

I have kept this tradition just about every year, maybe baking the day after if I didn’t have the right ingredients on hand.  The other part of this tradition has remained as well. None of the cookies make it to the end of the week.

This year, our first snow fell while I was out of town. (Which is a funny term, since I don’t live in town-maybe I should rephrase with out of the county?)  When I arrived home that evening, I was tired from the long day of meetings and driving on slick roads. I still had to go to the grocery store to buy ingredients for a large batch of chili that I was making for a chili cook off at church the following morning.  Cookies didn’t even enter my mind.

When I arrived home from the grocery store, I made my chili, a batch of corn bread (from a box), and caramel for the rolls for the high school Sunday School class.  I think I went to bed around 1:30 am.  After the very fun chili cook off, I came home and propped my sore ankle on some ice, and vegged out for awhile. Again, cookies didn’t even enter my mind.

I’m kind of sad that the excitement of the first snow was lost due to a crazy weekend. As I am making my Thanksgiving pies today, I will try to slip a batch of Christmas cookies in the oven.

Today I am making Double Layer Pumpkin Pie:

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip
1 prepared Graham cracker  crust (6 oz)
1 cup milk
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin (not the canned pie filling, just pumpkin)
2 pkg. (4 serving size)  instant vanilla pudding
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Mix cream cheese, 1 tbsp. milk and sugar in bowl with wire whisk
until smooth.  Gently stir in whipped topping.  Spread onto
bottom of crust.
Pour 1 cup milk into large bowl.  Add pumpkin, pudding mixes
and spices.  Beat with wire whisk until well mixed.  (Will be thick.)
Spread over cream cheese layer.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.