Here's Something That Will Impress Even Your Mother-in-Law (Or Anyone Else For That Matter)

I have always loved sprucing up a table with flowers, but this whole napkin folding thing is new for me. I first thought about it when a few of my friends and I were failing miserably at doing a special napkin fold. I decided I wanted to learn because it makes a table that much more attractive, and it's totally fun! This particular napkin fold is called the French Pleat. It will look great on your Thanksgiving table! 

Two great places to buy inexpensive napkins are at TJ Maxx and Cost Plus/World Market. (Not sure why they have two names.) As you follow the steps below, don't be discouraged if you don't get it down right away. It takes practice, but the result is worth it. 

Step 1.

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 2.

Step3.

Step3.

Step 1. Take a clean, pressed napkin and lay it down flat on a table. (Seam side down.) Then take the two bottom corners and bring them up to meet the two top corners forming a rectangle. Smooth the napkin down. (You can't do this too much when doing a special napkin fold.)

Step 2. Take the left edge and fold the napkin again to make a square. 

Step 3. One at a time peel back each of the top 3 layers from top right corner down to the lower left corner, leaving the bottom layer in place. (Of course smoothing everything down.)

 

Step 4.

Step  5

Step  5

Step 6.

Step 6.

Step 4. Take the top layer and fold it back so that it forms a slightly smaller triangle. Then tuck the tip of the triangle under the next layer.

Step 5. Fold the next layer so that it's edge is about 1/8 of inch from the first edge. Tuck in the tip of the 2nd corner as well. The picture below looks very similar to the picture in Step 6, but the top layer in Step 6 is about 1/2 inch away from the 2nd layer. (Clear as mud. Huh)

Step 6. Then take the top layer and fold it so that it's edge is about 1/8 inch from the edge of the second layer.

Step 7.

Step 7.

Step 8.

Step 8.

Step 9.

Step 9.

Step 7. Carefully turn the whole thing over. Step 8. On the right fold in 1/3 of the napkin. 9. On the right fold in the other 1/3. Smooth everything down.

Step 10.

Step 10.

Step 11.

Step 11.

Step 10 & 11. There you have a French pleat. Finally put your knife, fork and spoon into each pouch.

Voila! You have the makings of a very special table.

 

Bundles of Joy!

Folding a fitted sheet (part 2)

As I mentioned in last week's blog. It is close to impossible using the method I showed you to fold the kind of sheet with elastic that runs all around it. Follow this link and the darling little gal will show you a very simple way to do it!

Bundles of Joy

As you can see in the pictures, there is a super neat way to store a set of sheets. The other day I was getting a set of sheets for my daughter and was dreading finding a set for her that matched. I opened the closet and found a little bundle. I had forgotten all about making it, so I was a Happy Camper! (My very good friend Debbie Trammell taught me how to make these cute little bundles.)

Step 1. Gather a pillowcase and a set of folded sheets. Then you put the first sheet in the pillowcase turning the sheets in a way that they fit best.

Step 2. Put the second folded sheet on top of the other sheet. 

Step 3. Fold the extra room of the pillow case over and tuck it in the little flap of the case.

Fun Saying

I promised when I first started blogging that I would throw out a fun saying every now and then, but I "fell off the wagon". See people from the south automatically talk like that. Anyway my official saying for this week is: "You're The Bees Knees." Do bees have knees? Let's just try to imagine that one for a minute. 

Love In A Bag

Love in a bag.

In California a law just passed in which you have to buy bags (at the grocery store or the drugstore) if you don't have your own. My daughter, Abbey, and I sold "Love Resuable Bags" to raise money for the Fiji Kinde Project (which establishes kindergartens in Fiji). I've been using these bags for 3 years now. ( I'm a total trend setter:) I like "Love Reusable Bags" 'cause they come in all shapes and sizes, are durable, good looking and machine washable. 

Here's something really cool: If you buy one of the "Packables" (pictured below), Love Reusable Bags donates a backpack to a child in need through their "Give Back Sack" Program.

http://lovereusablebags.com

Icky Smell Be Gone

We all have pet peeves. One of mine is stinky sponges, but I'm not the only one. You ask just about anyone about that smell, and they wrinkle up their nose and say 'ugh.' I even have a friend who buys huge packages of sponges so that the minute her sponge gets "that smell" she tosses it and starts over with a fresh one. (I guess that's one way to handle it.)

I have been  looking here, there and everywhere for a way to take that icky smell away. The solution most people suggest is putting their sponge in the microwave or dishwasher, but nope, those things just don't work. Then I thought I had stumbled on the answer when a friend said that she sprayed her sponges with Windex. I faithfully Windexed my sponges for weeks, but the icky smell just wouldn't stay away.

I finally hit upon the answer!  I was in my favorite spot, Peet's Coffee, and talking to my Peet's buddy, John, about this very subject. (Just your typical coffee house discussion:) He said that his sponges never smelled cause he just washed them with soap when he was done using them. I tried it and Good Ol' John was right. The answer to the icky was right there staring me in the face. Now after I use a sponge I just add a pump or two of hand soap and rinse it out. Alakazam! No more stinky sponge smell ever. HOORAY!

Happy Sponging!

Spring is in the air!

It won't be long 'til Easter is here, so for the next few weeks Pickett's Pearls will be all about Spring/Easter decor and menu ideas.

If you have been following Pickett's Pearls for a while, then you know that I'm obsessed with making wreaths. I could buy them 'cause they are everywhere, but making them is much more fun not to mention a lot less expensive. Below are some spring wreath ideas. Here's what you do: first go to Michaels or some other craft store and get a grapevine wreath, lots of spring artificial flowers (I think the ones with tiny buds are the best), a glue gun with loads of glue sticks, and garden clippers (or very sharp scissors). Then you go about laying the flowers on the wreath so you can come up with your design. Finally you cut the flowers, stick them through the vines and glue the flowers down with a hot glue gun. Be careful. (Don't be like me and burn your fingers every time.)

My favorite wreaths are the hairy ones. I got the wreath below at CVS drug store for $14. It had about half of the flowers already. I just added to it! (Much of creativity is taking something and improving on it.) About 2 weeks before Easter I will add eggs, which of course, I got at Michael's. If I don't take the eggs off just after Easter, please yell at me.

Easy as 1,2,3,4

It's soup weather, so let's make soup! This tortellini soup is hands down the best soup you'll ever have and it only takes a few minutes to make. Oh yeah, it only has 4 ingredients!

Tortellini Soup

You'll need:

5 cups of vegetable broth.

1 (14.5) can of Diced Italian Seasoned Tomatoes (Look hard they should be there. ) 

1 (9 ounce) pkg. of refrigerated, small cheese tortellini. (If you are going for vegan, you can use vegan ravioli.)

3 cups of baby spinach chopped or torn into large pieces.

In a large pot bring to boil broth, tomatoes and tortellini. Reduce heat and boil lightly until tortellini is soft and fully cooked (about 10 minutes).

Then stir in spinach until it is wilted (about 30 sec. to a minute)

Season with about 1 teaspoon of garlic salt and pepper to taste. (The Picketts are garlic salt crazy, so we are never without it. I use it a lot in Pickett's Pearl's recipes 'cause it is an easy way to get garlic into a dish without counting it as an ingredient:) (Serves 6)

Optional: Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.  You can also add cooked italian sausage but not necessary.

Try It You'll Love It!

Fun Saying:

It's time for a fun saying: "I was flying by the seat of my pants. " What a funny way of saying: "I was winging it." There I go, using one metaphor to explain another. I guess when it comes to being in a hurry and making things happen as best as we can, flying is usually involved. (My daughter, Carly, is my illustrator. 

About the Blog Posts

I’m going to be posting "Pickett’s Pearls" every other Wednesday. Each time I will be posting what my taste buds think is an awesome four-ingredient (or less) recipe. Some of these recipes I got from friends or family and some are my own concoctions. I then test each one on my husband (needless to say, he's behind the project!) 

Also, I will be sharing a helpful or creative idea (usually for the home.)  Learning to make special napkin folds or making simple earrings, for example, are two ideas you'll see in future blog posts. 

Fun Sayings

If that’s not enough cool stuff, I will be throwing out  a "Fun Saying" every now and then like the one above. There are so many random sayings that we can laugh about. 

Send Me Your Ideas

I really want this blog to be a group effort. I want to hear about your four-ingredient recipes and your helpful/creative ideas. All you have to do is fill out the Contact page. I will then test the idea and if it "cuts the mustard", (ha- ha) I will then share your idea, your name and where you are from. (Unless, of course, you want to keep that under wraps.)

Meatloaf and Cauliflower Mash

Meatloaf

It's winter time which means it's time for warm and cozy food. One of the combos that is so appealing this time of year is meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I used to make a meatloaf recipe that my mother-in-.aw, Mimi, made. The problem was that it had about 10 ingredients, so I dreaded making it. Lisa Taylor, Newport Beach,  gave me a 4 ingredient recipe that she got from her mother. Here's what you'll need:

2 lbs. of ground meat 

1/3 cup of evaporated milk (once I mixed up evaporated milk and condensed milk. Big mistake! Thankfully I didn't go so far as to mix it into the meatloaf!)

1 pkg. of lipton onion soup mix

Ketchup (1/3 cup of ketchup + ketchup to pour on top)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees then spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. (Using your hands is the only way to go.)  Put the mixture in the loaf pan and squirt some ketchup on top. Then put the meatloaf in the oven for an hour.. (After an hour cut into the meatloaf to make sure it is cooked through.) There will be lots of juice in the baking dish, but don't worry the juice keeps the meatloaf moist. Finally broil the meatloaf for about 3 min. or until it is browned on top. There you have it an easy and tasty meatloaf.

Cauliflower Mash

Mashed potatoes are always good with meatloaf. These days most of us eat low-carb (or at least, in my case, say I eat low-carb). Anyway mashed cauliflower is a good substitute for mashed potatoes. I have made cauliflower mash many ways, but here is the best way I have found:

For the cauliflower mash, take two bags of cauliflower florets. (Found at most grocery stores)  Make as directed. I prefer to use the microwave. (My microwave takes about 6 minutes for each bag, but my microwave has been around since Queen Victoria.) The next step is to put the bags of cooked cauliflower in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

After cauliflower has cooled, put it in a kitchen towel (with no texture), a cheese cloth (whatever that is) or believe it or not the outside of a pillow case .  You then squeeze all the water out. Squeezing the water out is the key to good cauliflower mash! Finally put the cauliflower in a food processor with 1/4 cup of Ranch Dressing, 1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese and garlic salt & pepper to taste. Cream cheese or sour cream can be substituted for the ranch dressing.  Voila! Your mashed cauliflower will be creamy and delicious!

Caesar Salad

Caesar salad goes great with this meal! For a while we used the ready-made salad packets, but I realized that I could put together a better one that was less expensive. We use a pkg. of romaine, shaved parmesan, (DiGiorno, if you can find it.) Marie's Caesar Dressing and either Butter and Garlic Croutons (Using Caesar croutons goes a bit overboard.) and/or avocado.

There you have a delicious meal each part having only 4 ingredients!

 

Shop with Success

Do you often go to the grocery store and then come home only to find that you forgot something? (I know I do.) Do you also find yourself circling back to grab something from the first aisle you covered? (I'm guilty again.)

I have tailor-made a grocery list for our family that includes the things we buy over and over. Also on the list there is room for us to write in what we need.

In addition, the list follows the route I usually take in our grocery store. (Is that smart or what?)

Once I've typed the list out, I print it on brightly colored paper. That way my family sees it on the counter and can add to the list. Of course I've had to train them to use it. (The good news is "they can be taught.")

Happy Cooking and Shopping!

Asparagus Even Kids Will Love

I learned how to do asparagus this way from our Mimi (The best Mother-In-Law ever). Most kids (including me) don't love vegetables, so I'm always looking for ways to make them eatable. This asparagus dish isn't only eatable, but good.

Here's what you'll need:

A bunch of asparagus

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of sesame seed oil

1 Tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce

First you  snap off the bottoms of the asparagus, then cut each piece about 3 times diagonally. You then heat up a pan on medium high with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of sesame seed oil. Saute the asparagus until it is cooked but firm. Finally stir in 1 Tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce and serve. (Serves 4 to 6)

Try It You'll Love It

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES

You probably love vegetables, but I actually could do without them. Here is a simple way that my husband, Todd,  makes vegetables that makes them far more enticing, even for me:

First, you take the vegetables that you are planning to use and slice them fairly thin. Then you toss them in a bowl with olive oil and garlic salt. Next you spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, then lay  the vegetables out one layer thick. Finally you broil them on high. Cooking them this way only takes about 8 to 10 minutes. (You want them to be golden brown on top.) When done they come out crispy and delicious. If you want to cook denser vegetables like brussels sprouts, you still want to slice them very thin, but bake them a bit first. (About 10 -12 min. at 350.)

TRY IT YOU'LL LOVE IT!

Helpful Hints for the Home - Keeping Things Fresh 

One way to keep produce like berries or lettuce fresh longer is to use paper towels to absorb the moisture. You can wash and dry berries, layer them with paper towels and put them back in the container. (This way you can keep the  lovely mold at bay.) With lettuce just stuff paper towels into the plastic bags they came in. If you do this the lettuce won't get stinky and wilted so soon. By the way, have you noticed that Romaine lasts longer than any other lettuce?

A funny memory that I have of my Mother-in-Law, Mimi, involves lettuce and a pillow case. (This was before the days that lettuce came pre-washed.) Mimi would wash lettuce, put it in a pillow case and swing the pillowcase high above her head until the lettuce dried. She performed this feat outside of course.

I'd love to hear what Helpful Hints and Tricks you have! (Just go to the Contact Page and share away.)

 

 

And You Thought Jam Was Just For Toast

Apricot-Pesto Chicken

A couple of months ago a few of us were having dinner at Paula O'Connor's house (Newport Beach, CA). She served this wonderful chicken dish. (Of course we all wanted the recipe.)

I'm always looking for new chicken dishes because somehow no one in my family eats anything but chicken and turkey. So coming up with new recipes is a bit of a challenge.  One of the best things about making this recipe is that it involves barbecuing, thankfully that's not my department. Here's how you make it:

Ingredients:

4 Thin sliced chicken breasts or 2 regular breasts

1/2 cup + 1/4 cup of apricot jam

1/2 cup + 1 /4 cup of pesto 

1/3 cup of very finely chopped pecans (pecan chips)

First you put the breasts between plastic wrap, and pound the heck out of them till they are almost paper thin. (I use a mallet.)

Then you mix the jam with the pesto and set aside about 1/3 of the mixture for later. Next carefully spoon the mixture on top of each breast leaving about 1/2 an inch around the edges. After that you evenly sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of the breasts as well.  

Next you roll up each breast and secure them with toothpicks stuck in diagonally. Before you put them on the BBQ, brush the tops with half the mixture you've put aside.

You then BBQ them on the top rack on medium for 6 to 7 minutes on each side. (The trick is cooking the breasts through without drying them out.) Once you turn the breasts over use the remaining part of the apricot/pesto mixture to apply to the top of breasts.

While the breasts are cooking mix 1/4 cup of the jam and 1/4 cup of the pesto. Right before serving microwave the new mixture. You will use this mixture as an additional sauce for the chicken.

Another option is baking the chicken at 350 until the breasts are cooked through or cooking them in a pan with oil. However, these option doesn't come out quite as tasty.

Arugula What?

Assuming you know how to make rice, a salad that goes well with this chicken dish is an arugula salad. I have had to get used to Arugula, but now I love it. Years ago I was in Florence with my husband and we went to a well known pizza place. When our order came out, the pizza was covered with this green stuff, and I didn't like the bitter taste of that that pizza at all. Now I actually love it. Go figure.

Recently I was at the home of Kelsey and Chris Nunziata. They served a simple but delicious arugula salad.

Here are the ingredients:

A bag of arugula lettuce

The juice of half a lemon 

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/4 cup of shaved Parmesan (DiGiorno is really good.)

Salt and Pepper (doesn't count as an ingredient in my book)

Starting with the arugula, just throw in all the ingredients and toss. (Taste the salad to see if you need more of something.)

Try It You'll love It!

 

Fun Saying

"She had me in stitches." What on earth? What I envision is someone with sutures  all over them. It really makes no sense, but who cares:)

 

 

Name brands vs. store brands

Helpful Hints for the Home - Name Brands vs. Store Brands

I went to college at Auburn University and don't laugh, I majored in Home Economics Education. I actually learned a few things that I still remember. One day our cooking teacher had us do a blind taste test of name brand vs. store brand products. (I always think of a blind test being one where people are blind folded and say what they like best.) Anyway in our case the products were unlabeled and we simply wrote on a piece of paper which one we liked best.

In almost all cases, the store brand products tasted just as good as the named brand ones. The teacher told us that the reason why the named brand products were so much more expensive is because of advertising costs. Look at the mustards, for instance. The two mustards probably taste the same, yet French's is almost $1.50 more expensive. Really? We are just talking yellow mustard. And what about our good old Aunt Jemima. She makes good syrup, but with that price it should have some gold in it! Needless to say. I almost always buy store brands.

When It's Good To Be Cheesey

These various cheese dips are adapted from a recipe given to me by Lisa who lives in Roseville, CA. She said that her mother has been making this appetizer for 50 years, and it's a total crowd pleaser. Here's what you'll need:

3 cups of coarsely shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 of mayonnaise

1/3 cup of whipped cream cheese

1 piece of chopped bacon

2 teaspoons of chopped shrimp

1 teaspoon of pimento cheese

Squaw or pumpernickel rounds (If you can't find them, the person in the bakery at your grocery store may slice some for you. At least Sarah at Ralphs sliced mine for me.)

Mix the first three ingredients together, divide into 3 parts and put in separate mixing bowls. Mix small pieces of bacon into one bowl, shrimp into another and pimentos into a third bowl. You then put the three types of cheese dips in 3 small serving bowls.

Next lightly toast the rounds and set them out with the dips (Lisa's mother spreads the first and second type of cheese mixtures onto the rounds and lightly broils them.) The ingredients that Lisa gave me sounded a lot like the pimento cheese that everyone from the South is raised on, so I added that as the third dip.  In the South we pronounce pimento "pimenta". Every one who pronounces it "pimento" is just plain wrong.

A Rose By Any Other Name Is. . . 

This rose napkin fold is sure charming and super easy to do. (and we are all about easy.) Below are the steps plus a video for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy impressing your guests!

Step 1. Take a clean pressed napkin and face one of the points toward you so it looks like a diamond, then bring the bottom point up to meet the top point. 

Step 2.  With your  hands about a foot apart tightly role the bottom part toward the top stopping about short about 4 inches. 

Step 3. Turn the napkin over then make sure one end points towards you. Begin with the end closest to you then tightly roll it toward the other end stopping about 3 inches short.

Step 4. Tuck the little tail into the fold of the rose.

Step 5. Pull the pointed parts down in opposite directions.

Step 6. Finally flip it over and you have your rose.

Spaghetti?

I never made spaghetti squash because the thought of making it intimated me. One day Marcy Tillman from Laguna Beach showed a bunch of us the ropes. She said to stab it all the way through with a knife and slam it on a step. (outside of course). If you have someone with muscles around, they can cut it longwise starting in the middle.

Next clean out the inside with an ice cream scoop.  You then roast them at 425 for 40 to 55  minutes. (Depending on size.) You want to stop cooking the squash when you can take a fork and comb through the squash. It's strands should be soft but not mushy.

My husband actually likes to scrap all the cooked insides out when they are still firm and saute the squash in some butter and chicken broth. Not only does this make the squash yummy. It gives you control over how soft it is.

You can serve it lots of ways. For instance: Greek style with olives, tomatoes, feta, balsamic dressing, etc.,  or spaghetti sauce. The classic way to serve it is with butter, parmesan and garlic. I prefer the butter route. (There's a reason why I'm a bit rounded.)

Try It You'll Love It!

Lisa's Chicken

My very good friend, Lisa, is an awesome cook. Possibly part of it is out of necessity because she has 5 very large males to feed and that's not even counting Nicky, her husky! She gave me this recipe which is called "Easy Chicken Casserole" from the Wolitarski family cookbook. Who can boast of a family cookbook? Not many of us. Anyway, we just call it "Lisa's Chicken" around our house. Here's what you'll need:

2 packages of chicken breast tenders (Not the kind at McDonalds:) 

1/2 cup of Wishbone Russian dressing (Not so easy to find these days, but it's out there. Of course like everything, Walmart has it.)

1/2 cup of apricot jam

1 pkg. of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

All you do is combine the ingredients in a casserole dish (I try to mix the ingredients right in the dish. It makes clean-up easier!) You then put the chicken tenders in the sauce. Bake at 325 for an hour, and believe it or not, that's it!!! Lots of white rice is the perfect compliment. (Serves 6)

Cooking Tidbit: Did you know that one of the main reasons rice gets gooey and lumpy is that it is cooked too fast with the heat too high?. So when the directions say turn it on low, make sure you turn it very low. (I learned this the hard way.)

Round and Round

Often I come up with random ideas. Sometimes they work and sometimes they flop. This idea is one that totally worked. It was for our wedding rehearsal dinner. (It seems like these days couples have a sit down dinner after their wedding ceremony, but this still applies.) The idea is that the guests at the dinner get to visit with at least one significant couple such as the Bride and Groom, the Best Man and Maid of Honor, etc.

The significant couples eat the salad course at their first table, the main course at a second table, and the dessert at a third table. See the diagram below and it will make more sense. (An important detail is that there needs to be a separate salad fork, main course fork/knife set and dessert fork.) This rotation game makes a wedding dinner extra fun. Maybe you or your daughter, niece, etc. is getting married and you can share this with them.  (Of course number of tables, significant couples, etc. can vary.)

Fun Saying:

Recently I heard someone say that they went to a flea market." Now that's a lovely image! The French came up with the term "Marche aux Puces" which referred to a market that sold the type of old furniture and clothes that might actually have fleas. Great! Just great! Thank goodness our modern day flea markets don't have fleas hopping around.

Dump Cake?

I first heard of a dump cake from my friend Lisa Taylor (Newport Beach). Lisa has 4 large sons, so she cooks a ton. Anyway I needed a dessert for something and she said, "Why don't you try a dump cake? I sarcastically said, "that sounds appealing," Anyway I went for it despite the name, and I was a happy camper. Here is my version of this unbelievably easy and yummy dessert. You'll need:

4 large Granny Smith Apples

1 Box of Spice Mix (Betty Crocker makes it.)

A Stick of Butter

(Opt.) Vanilla Ice Cream

vertical apple dump cake.JPG

Preheat the oven to 350. You start with peeling the apples. Then you use a contraption that quarters the apple and separates the core from the apple. (You can peel and quarter an apple without this tool, but it sure makes life easier.) Finally you cut the apple into tiny pieces, so they will bake faster and be bite-sized.. At this point you cover the bottom of a baking dish with the apples.

After that you evenly "dump" the cake mix all over the apples. Then you melt the butter and pour it evenly on top. Finally you bake it at 350 for about about 50 min. or so until it is golden brown. (An equally yummy variation is to use another fruit like berries. In this case you would use the traditional yellow cake mix.)

I serve it hot with vanilla ice cream. This is optional, but I can't imagine this dessert without it.

TRY IT, YOU"LL LOVE IT! 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

When we think of autumn, we think of all kinds of wonderful tastes and smells. Who doesn't love a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks or the smell of a pumpkin pie baking? Pumpkin things seem to have a corner on the market when it comes to fall desserts.

There are bunches and bunches of pumpkin bread and cookie recipes out there, but Mimi, my girl's Grandmother, often made the cookie recipe below. Both the bread and cookies are actually two forms of the same recipe. The best news is that they both have 2 ingredients!

Pumpkin Bread

You'll need:

A box of spice cake mix

A can of pumpkin puree 

Optional: 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or cream cheese frosting. (I think the store-bought cream cheese frosting is way too sweet, so I mix a cup of whipped cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of powered sugar.)

Preheat oven to 350

Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.

Mix pumpkin and cake mix with a hand mixer or a Cuisinart until thoroughly blended. If you are using chocolate chips, pour them in and mix just a bit more. 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean when stuck into the center of the bread.

After bread has cooled a bit, turn pan over, and let it fall onto a plate. Then turn it over again, so bread is right side up. If you are putting icing on the bread, wait till the bread is room temperature.

The Picketts like it made with chocolate chips and icing on top. (And of course cold milk is a must!)

*The bread or the cookies can be made with gluten free spice cake mix. Namaste Baking Products has them. (Not sure if you will be full of peace, but if you use this product you will definitely be full:) Another GF option is using Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Cake mix.

Pumpkin Cookies

You'll need the same 2 ingredients as above

Preheat the oven to 350

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray

Mix cake mix and pumpkin thoroughly as with the pumpkin bread. If you are using chocolate chips, slightly stir them in last. Put heaping tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. 

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. or until cookies are no longer gooey inside

Optional: When cookies come out of the oven and get entirely cool, ice with cream cheese frosting. (see recipe above.) 

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

I went to the grocery store the other day and saw these pumpkins. Hopefully I'm not offending anyone, but why would someone buy a pumpkin covered with a million green warts?

I went to the grocery store the other day and saw these pumpkins. Hopefully I'm not offending anyone, but why would someone buy a pumpkin covered with a million green warts?

My husband said these pumpkins must be Halloween pumpkins cause they're scary. My oldest said that she knew just what Harry Potter spell did this:)

And then there's his cousin Moldy Wart Dude. Is society bored with the traditional Orange pumpkin? What did it do wrong? Do I need to start a "Save The Orange Pumpkin" campaign?

  

 

Deck Your Halls,Your Living Room, Your Dining Room....

Last year when I was putting away our Christmas decorations, I realized that they seemed a bit tired, so I vowed to revamp and refresh things this year.  I have had a very fun time.  Speaking of revamping, I have a friend (who will remain nameless) that really revamped her Christmas decorations one year. Instead of decorating her tree with all her traditional ornaments, she decorated her tree with nothing but purple and teal birds. Her grown-up children went bulistic. The revamping I was thinking of isn't quite that extreme. 

Here are a few ideas that may help you revamp this year:

Dress Up Your Tree 

One Christmas season I was at Juliet Kienhle's  from Newport Beach and I was struck by how beautiful her tree was. The thing that made it extra beautiful was the ribbon that she had swirled around it. I decided to swirl my tree that year too and have swirled every since.  Here's how you do it:

Step 1. Buy around 8 yards of very wide ribbon for a smaller tree and 10 yards for a larger tree. (I seem to keep learning the hard way that It's better to get too much than too little.)

Step 2. Put your lights on your tree. I have found the more lights the more beautiful. (Look at Juliet's.)

Step 3. Wrap the ribbon around the tree in a sort of candy cane pattern starting at the top (I tuck the beginning inside our big star)

Step 4. Add your ornaments.

Christmas Stars 

Recently I talked to my friend Lara Lanfried also from Newport Beach. She said that she puts autumn leaves on her tree and that they look beautiful with the white lights. Since I am such a gold and glittery type, I had to add gold and glitter. (Frequently, Linda, my favorite checker at the grocery store, asks me why I have paint on my hands and glitter all over my face? ) Anyway here's how you make them:

Step 1. Gather Autumn leaves and spray them with shellac to make sure they don't whither as much. (Let dry.)

Step. 2 Spray each leaf with either gold, rose gold or silver spray paint. Lara said this combo is really in. (Heck if I know.) Another option is spraying all the leaves one color. 

Step 3. While the spray paint is still wet, sprinkle the leaves with glitter. (I like the fine stuff.) 

Step 4.. Bundle 6 of the leaves starting with the smaller ones to make a beautiful star.  Using masking tape, tape the stems of the bundle where they meet the leaves and go down.

**These stars will look great on your Christmas tree, Christmas wreaths or even in flower arrangements.

Mirror Wreath

The other day I was looking at my my walls and noticed that I had nothing Christmasy on any one of them. I thought to myself, wreaths--that's the answer! By now you've probably gathered that I'm wreath crazy. Well the question was, what kind of wreath and where? I wanted to go with gold over my mantle. So here's what I did. 

Step 1. I went to my local craft store (Michael's) and  got a grapevine wreath

Step 2. I also bought some foliage that I could work with (As I have said in an earlier blog. it takes time to get just the right materials, so you may have to look and look till you get what you like.)

Step 3. I then arranged the foliage on the wreath, so I could plan where to put things. In my case I took the foliage apart and just used some. (See below.)

Step 4. I then sprayed some of the foliage gold. (In this case I sprayed my the leaves gold.)

Step 5. With a hot glue gun I glued the foliage onto the wreath.

Opt. Step 6. Finally I hammered a nail into the top of my mirror and hung the wreath with a  ribbon. Voila!

And Yet More Wreaths

The top of our piano is filled with Santa Clauses, so I made a red and green wreath for that spot. My daughter, Carly, said that my first design was kitch which I think means tacky, so I went about trying to come up with something else. I decided to wrap the whole wreath with a long red ribbon, then I added a bow. (See steps below for making the "perfect bow".  I really don't try to rhyme it just comes out that way.)

The Perfect Bow

Step 1. Get two kinds of wired ribbon and put one kind on top of the other.

Step 2. Begin making the bow by making loops on both sides and holding the center.

Step 3. Cut one type of ribbon and continue with one more loop on each side with the ribbon that's left.

Step 4. Using about 10 inches of ribbon tie the center of the bow tightly, then spread out the parts of the bow and fluff it up. There you have the perfect bow!

Happy Decorating!