Tag Archives: Family Life

Let’s Eat! Breads and Dinner Rolls-Part 2

2 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

There was a time, growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that we would go to our church on Wednesday evenings for dinner.  We had some amazing cooks there, and  what they made was delicious.  But what I remember the most was the dinner rolls they made – absolutely amazing!!  I still remember that yeasty taste, and have tried to find a recipe that is even close to those.  There is one I found called “Schoolhouse Rolls” that comes as close as I can find to that taste.  Here’s the recipe:


School House Rolls

 (makes 24 rolls)


1/2 C. powdered milk 
2 pkgs. active yeast
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. shortening (do not use oil or butter, shortening only)
1 1/2 C. warm water
4 C. all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 C. water along with 1/2 tsp. sugar in a small bowl (smallest bowl of three nested bowls.  Allow to foam. 

 Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add the shortening and blend. 

 Add the foamed yeast to the mixture.  Add the remaining water and blend well.

  Remove the dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a floured surface.  Kneading the dough a couple of minutes and form it into a ball.

Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover and let rise until double in size. 

 Punch down the dough, knead again for a couple of minutes and divide the dough in half. 

 Roll out each half to 1/2″ thickness.  Cut with a biscuit cutter and place on a greased baking sheet, or pull into small balls, place two in each greased muffin tin, to make Dolly Partons.  Let rise again until double in size.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown on top.  Around 10-12 minutes. Brush with melted butter.

There was another time when a friend gave me a recipe for rolls for breakfast.  The neat thing was, the rolls were frozen!  I could purchase them frozen from the store.  The night before I wanted to make them for breakfast, I would get out my Bundt Pan.  I would put together sugar and cinnamon, dip the rolls in melted butter, and roll them in the sugar and cinnamon mix.  Then place them, stacked, in the Bundt Pan.  When all the rolls were in place, I would spread the remainder of the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the rolls (if there was any left), then pour the remainder of the melted butter over it all.  Cover with a dish cloth and let it rise overnight, then bake in the morning!  Yummmm!  

To add bread to a supper meal, I would take those frozen rolls (I can’t find them here in Florida, much to my distress!), place two frozen rolls in each cup of a muffin tin, brush with melted butter, then let them thaw and rise together, and bake when they had sufficiently risen.  

To help them rise, I would heat the oven to about 250º, then turn off the oven when we put the muffin tin in the oven.  They would thaw and rise nicely! We called them “Dolly Parton” rolls – for obvious reasons!  But BOY were they good!

One lady in our church would always bring her squash casserole to church dinners.  I asked her one time if she would share her recipe.  Her comment was “I’ll give you that recipe if you will give me the one for your dinner rolls.  They taste just like the ones my mother used to make”  I was embarrassed to tell her they were frozen rolls!  But we shared recipes, just the same.

Credit Google Search and aseasyasapplepie.com

Long time ago, I was given a recipe for “Dilly Bread” that included Dill Weed in the dough as well as cottage cheese.  It was usually made in a round, squat loaf, rather than in a loaf pan.  I thought it was quite good – a bit different from normal.  Fred, of course, wouldn’t eat it because it had the cottage cheese in it.  So I didn’t make it very often – and haven’t done so in many years. But the memory is there, and I can almost taste it…  Here is the recipe:

DILLY BREAD

1 package yeast – dissolved in ¼ cup warm water

1½ cup cottage cheese – warmed

3 Tablespoons sugar

1½ Tbsp minced fresh onions

1½ Tbsp butter

2 teaspoons dill weed

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

1 egg beaten

2½ to 2¾ cups all-purpose flour

Mix all ingredients – add flour gradually until very stiff

Cover – let rise about one (1) hour

Punch down and place onto baking sheet, shaping into a round loaf

Let rise another 40-60 minutes

Bake at 325̊ for 40-50 minutes.  Cover with foil after 15-20 minutes

Brush with butter and salt

Credit Google search and Farmfreshforlife.com

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Let’s Eat!

26 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

BREADS AND DINNER ROLLS – PART 1

There was a time when I enjoyed making my own bread.  It brought back memories of my childhood when Mother would make her own bread – and the house would be filled with that wonderful aroma!  Bill (my brother) and I could hardly wait for the bread to come out of the oven, so we could slice it, slather it with butter, and eat it warm!  Mother would scold us, as she wouldn’t have enough to make sandwiches for the week, with all the bread we were eating!  

Credit Google Search and A Cup of Jo

When we (Fred and I) lived in San Jose, California, Fred was attending a one-year class at then-San Jose State College to become proficient in Meteorology.  That’s what the U.S. Air Force assigned him to do.  Next door to our apartment was another U.S.A.F. couple, the husband was also in the same class as Fred.  The wife had been a home economics school teacher before they married, and found a job doing the same in San Jose.

She wrote to Fleischmann’s Company, telling them she was a home-ec teacher in a relatively distressed part of San Jose, would like to teach those in her classes to make bread, and would they be so kind as to send her a recipe they could use.  They sent her DOZENS of copies of a bread recipe!  She generously shared one with me.  And until recently, that’s the recipe I used when I made bread.  It was a very good one.

However, in more recent years, if I wanted to make my own bread, I searched the internet for other recipes, and have found some that I like.  Now, please understand that I don’t make bread very often.  But every once in a while I’ll get the urge.  I know that all of the genetically-modified wheat and other foods are bad for us, so I am able to purchase Non-GMO flour that I use in my baking.  

I really enjoy the mixing, kneading, and rising that is involved with making bread.  I thoroughly enjoy seeing that bread dough “rise” in those glass loaf pans.  Makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something!  The only thing about making bread, is that there is no preservative in it, so it must be either eaten quickly (within a day or two) or frozen for later.  But that is doable.  I also love the yeasty smell from making my own bread.

We are trying not to eat much bread these days, so my bread-making days are limited, as well.  But that doesn’t always stop me from wanting.  

There was also a time when I was quite into sourdough bread.  I was never successful in making “bread” out of it, but it makes wonderful pancakes!  We did that a lot while living in Panama City, Florida (Tyndall AFB), and the girls and Fred and I looked forward to my making those pancakes – usually on a Saturday morning.  I alternated the Saturday morning menus of sourdough pancakes or French Toast.  Those are some good memories!

I’ve never tried to make my own “starter” but there now “kits” with dry starter that can be activated.  Or perhaps someone I know has a starter and will give me a cup to make my own starter.  That’s usually the best – it’s been around for a while, and already has the flour and sugar in it that helps it grow.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Let’s Eat-Desserts

19 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

PIES – PART 3

Another pie that I have made in the past, but not recently, is Pecan Pie.  I really do like a good Pecan Pie, and this recipe makes one of the best Pecan pies I’ve ever eaten.  It was given to me by a friend – another U.S. Air Force wife – while we were living in northern Maine (Loring AFB) in 1967-1968.  She is a good ole Mississippi girl, and knows her stuff when it comes to baking.

It’s definitely a good recipe for Pecan Pie; if that is your taste.  Give it a try:

PECAN PIE

Beat well:     3 eggs

Add:                    1 cup granulated sugar

                   ¾ cup dark Karo syrup

                   ¼ cup butter

                   1 tsp vanilla

                   1 Tbsp cold water

Beat well.

Add 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans.

Put in uncooked pie shell.

Bake at 370̊ for 45 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.

FOR DEEP DISH PIE OR 10″

Add:              1 extra egg

Then add:    ⅓ cup sugar

                   ¼ cup dark Karo

                   1 Tbsp butter

                   ⅓ tsp vanilla

                   ⅓ Tbsp water

Also add:      ¼ – ⅓ cup pecans

Bake at least one (1) hour 10 or 15 minutes.

Credit Google Search and chefscottcookbook.com

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Snow Arrived

11 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

The snow arrived a little earlier than expected yesterday.

I was sitting on my bed with the window blinds open, ready for the show to begin. According the my weather app it would arrive at 12 noon. At 11:00 am my husband came into the room and announced it is snowing. I looked out my window and the roof of my husband’s shop was beginning to turn white. How did that happen so fast? The snow was very fine and I wasn’t sure it was snow but since it was sticking on the shop, I made the decision it was snow. I am bummed I didn’t take a photo.

I had no idea how much snow we might get so I did snap a picture of our walkway.

The driveway is black asphalt.

The snow set in with short intervals of no snow. For the most part the snow was very fine but we didn’t have a few moments of the beautiful large flakes.

Back yard

Our driveway has a slope and I don’t see us driving down it until the snow melts. We wanted to walk around outside but decided to attempt to be responsible old people. We have a package being delivered to our mailbox on Monday. We are plotting a route to walk down to the mailbox. It’s hard being responsible old people.

An update on the people in the disaster area of the Blue Ridge mountains.

FEMA announced today, Saturday January 11, that they are extending hotel vouchers until January 14th. They put out a message to call them if one has a problem. The message didn’t mention that their office has closed down due to the storm. Please remember the people in our prayers and the volunteers who are exhausted.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Will the Snow Arrive?

9 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Eillis

As I write this, western North Carolina is hunkering down for a big winter storm. Hunker down is a Florida phrase in hurricane season. I’m not sure what the proper term is here so until I know better, I’m hunkering down.

HUNKER DOWN!

Photo is AI generated

In Florida my hunker down prep was all about food. I started with the most basic, coffee. Must have coffee. At the start of hurricane season we made sure we had propane for our Coleman camp stove so making coffee would be no problem. Hurricane stress requires snacks. Lots of snacks. Highly processed lunch meats and hot dogs are awful, but they don’t spoil easily. Of course, plenty of Peanut butter and bread are a must along with bottles of water. Oh, and must not forget ice for keeping foods chilled in the ice chest.

Photo is AI generated

Hunkering down for a snow storm is different. Our biggest concern is water. Our water is supplied by a community well and that pump does not like cold weather. Usually there is a switch that needs to be flipped back on but last year it froze. Some of the men used hair blow dryers to thaw it.

We’ve filled empty gallon water jugs with water for dish washing and er…other things. In the kitchen I filled up pitchers with water because coffee must be available!

Photo is AI generated

I don’t need to worry about food spoilage. The garage is colder than the refrigerator. I didn’t stock up on snacks since we are trying to eat very low carb. I may come to seriously regret this decision.

I’ve loaded my iPad and my Kindle with books to read should the power go out. I have also charged up my battery power bank. Unlike during a hurricane power outages with miserable heat, I can snuggle under blankets and read.

Even if we don’t lose power, I should have a lot of reading time. The weather predicts that after the snow, there may be ice and that will prolong thawing and as I said, this Florida girl does not drive on ice.

11:00 pm- My phone just buzzed with this warning.

CODE RED WEATHER WARNING.

The warning sounds ominous. So far the skies are mostly clear. The warning goes from 7:00 am tomorrow the 10th to 7:00 am on the 11th.

I really want the snow to arrive. We extended our stay in the mountains in the hope of snow. We didn’t exactly ask for a strong winter storm mixed with ice.

On the other hand, I don’t want the snow to arrive. The people living east of us in the area devastated by Hurricane Helene don’t need this storm. There are still people living in tents. There are people who have no place to sleep being housed in hotels paid for by FEMA. Today FEMA announced they were discontinuing paying for the hotel rooms after previously saying they were extending the vouchers. A huge outcry went up. Volunteers were frantically trying to find funding to keep the people safe. Mercury 1 Charity stepped in to pay for the rooms. By late evening FEMA relented to give the people another 24 hours.

In our 14 years of spending time in the mountains, we have only experienced one big snow storm. Snow makes everything beautiful. And if the storm does arrive, we will be enjoying the beauty for several days because like I said, this Florida girl (and her husband) don’t drive on ice.

This was in 2014.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lets Eat-Desserts

5 Jan

akingSUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills 

PIES – PART 1

Okay…I said pies, but I have one more cookie recipe that I want to share.  It’s a favorite of mine even if I don’t make it very often.  It is soooo easy!  Got the recipe from an old friend of my Mother’s from Dallas, Texas days.  I’ve just always known them to be called “White Cookies.”  There are probably other names for them, but that’s what I call them.  Here they are:

WHITE COOKIES

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

⅔ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts

1 package butterscotch morsels

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350̊   Put aluminum foil on the oven rack.

Whip the egg whites until they are stiff and very dry

Add ⅔ cup sugar to the egg whites and whip

Add 1 tsp vanilla and whip

Fold in 1 cup chopped nuts

Fold in 1 package butterscotch morsels

Lightly spray the foil with PAM.  Drop the cookie mixture by teaspoon onto the foil covered rack

Turn off the oven heat as you put the rack in the oven.

DO NOT OPEN the oven until the oven is completely cool.  I frequently do this in the evening, and let them sit overnight.  Remove carefully – they are delicate!

Enjoy!

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

And now on to some of our favorite desserts – PIES!!  

I guess my favorite pie to make – and eat – is cherry pie.  Fred especially loves cherry pie, so it’s a labor of love when I make one for him.  And the best part is that I get to eat it, as well!

A history of cherry pies in my family goes back quite a ways.  Bosque Farms…cherry picking…cherry pitting with the hand-cranked machine Mother had.  Made a mess, but those pits just popped out, seldom missing any of them.  If it did miss one, when we found it in the pie, we just said that it proved they were real cherries!  Mother would wash and pit the cherries and freeze them, so she could make the pie just any time she wanted.

One of our favorite things was to make the pie on a Sunday afternoon.  Stop by Fitzgeralds after church on Sunday night for some home-made ice cream.  Then have the cherry pie with ice cream as a treat when we got home.  WOW was that good!

Below is my recipe for cherry pie.  It’s not exactly like my Mother’s, since I add Almond extract to the mix.  Fred really loves it that way, and I’ve come to love it that way, as well.  Mother didn’t like the taste, so she didn’t add it.  But this is good!

CHERRY PIE

1 cup granulated sugar

1 Can red sour pitted cherries                                                       

¼ cup flour 

¼ teaspoon almond extract                                                                           

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon  

1 ½ Tablespoons butter                                         

Crust for double crust (9″) pie plate

In saucepan, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and juice of the can of cherries.  Sift the flour into the mixture, resulting in no lumps.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils (about 7 minutes).  Remove from heat.

Stir in extract.  Stir in cherries.  Pour into a 9″ pastry-lined pie plate.  Dot with butter.

Cover with top crust; seal edges and crimp/flute.  Cut vent design in top crust.

Bake at 425º for 30-to-35 minutes until nicely browned and juice bubbles through vents.

Serve warm with or without vanilla ice cream.

Makes 6-to-8 servings.                       

Pie and photo by Judy Wills

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Christmas and Beyond

2 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Where did December go? Wasn’t it Thanksgiving just a week or so ago? Surely I am not the only one feeling this way.

December was a busy month at our house. Our daughter invited us to join her on a week long Caribbean cruise during the first week of December and of course we said yes.

The weather was perfect, sunny with highs in the mid 70s. We had a very pleasant time. I did a lot of reading and sleeping. And of course eating. I think my husband had four desserts before we left the port.

Speaking of the port, we cruised out of Port Canaveral which is not only a cruise terminal but Space X launches from there.

The large vessel attached to the tug boat is the barge rocket boosters land on after launching. Three boosters are behind the barge. Space X reuses the boosters. As a side note, Space X launches Starlink satellites from here. After Hurricane Helene, Elon’s Starlink provided communication in the mountain disaster areas. He also provided reduced pricing on the equipment and gave service for free to hard hit areas.

A few of pictures from the cruise.

Made from a decorative throw at the botton of the bed. Cute
Private island Christmas decoration.
I liked the ornaments
I’m surprised they weren’t Mickey and Minnie snowmen.

After the cruise we took a day to rest then drove back to our place in the mountains to get ready for Christmas. Of course we had to throw in some out of town doctor visits just to keep life interesting.

And then it was Christmas and then it was our daughter’s birthday. It was a milestone birthday so we wanted to do something special. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate with any plans we made. Finally after checking and rechecking the weather projections we decided to celebrate on the day before her big day. Rain was supposed to hold off until evening. Except it didn’t. A cold, drizzle began shortly after leaving home and followed us all the way to Dahlonega, Georgia.

One of her friends had recommended a family style restaurant there. It did not disappoint. Beside being a restaurant it is also an Inn.

Love that Santa is the picture above the mantle.

We had not visited this cute town but we plan to go back in the spring. Want to know more about Dahlonega, here’s a recent article from The Detailed Traveler. An interesting tidbit, the town was the home of the first Gold Rush.

And then time spun away and our daughter returned to Florida and now it is 2025. The weather has been sunny, windy and cold. There is a possibility of snow over the weekend. One would think that living in the mountains we would get a lot of snow, but we don’t. I plan to drink coffee and hot chocolate, watch the snow (if it comes) and have a pajama weekend. And read, of course.

After thought, when visiting with a friend after Christmas, she asked what i got for Christmas. My mind went blank. That’s embarrassing. The first thing that came to my mind was this.

My friend was a little envious.

My husband had asked what I would like for Christmas and I told him Sharpies. After 52 years of marriage he realized I was serious.

I hope each of you had a lovely Christmas and I wish you blessings in this new year of 2025.

If we get snow, I will post the pictures.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Christmas Memories

22 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I wrote this back in 2013, but it fits today as well, so I am reblogging it here.

Christmas memories……..so many……all good.  I remember, as a child, waking up to Christmas morning and rushing into the living room to see what Santa had brought.  And then to opening all the presents from Mom, Dad, Granny and Aunt Jessie.  I suppose my brother had gotten me something as well, but I just don=t remember that. 

Bill and me – 1953

Bill and me around the Christmas tree – 1951

I remember Daddy sitting us down and reading the Christmas story from the Bible.  He and Mom always made sure that we knew the true meaning of Christmas – why we celebrated the season and all the gifts that came with it.  And why we gave gifts to each other and to those who didn=t have all we had.

Daddy – 1954

Bill and me – 1954

I remember one Christmas that we were traveling to San Antonio from Albuquerque to spend the holiday with Granny and Aunt Jessie – this was before they moved to Albuquerque.  We had a car wreck along the way and Aunt Jessie came to pick us up and take us to her home.  We still had Christmas!  We didn=t have a workable car any more, and Bill had a broken arm……….but we still had Christmas!

Bill and me – San Antonio – 1950

I remember the last Christmas my Daddy was on this earth.  He’d had a very unfortunate accident in the hospital and was really banged up.  Fred and I flew in from California, and Bill and DiVoran, with their two children, flew in from Florida, to celebrate that time together.  I remember the children tearing into their presents under the tree that morning, and DiVoran stepping out of the way to urge Bill to get in the best position to get some good pictures of that.

Renie and Billy – Albuquerque, New Mexico – 1966

And there was Daddy, with that black eye, just enjoying his grandchildren and children around him.  It was a time to treasure.


All the gang – Daddy’s last Christmas – Albuquerque, New Mexico – 1966

I remember traveling from the Florida Panhandle to Titusville to have Christmas with my brother and his family, and then across the peninsula to Clearwater to have another celebration with Fred’s parents.  Being with family at this time of celebration is so very precious, and we cherish each memory.

And now I remember a recent time with the family in Titusville and the significant others that have joined the extended family.  I wouldn=t trade it for anything – no amount of non-Christian beliefs and just the time for partying is nearly as satisfying and delicious as being with family, in the Spirit of God’s blessings.

Nope………Christmas Memories are just too precious.

Credit ChurchArt.com

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Let’s Eat!-Desserts-Cakes

15 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

DO-OVER

Photo Credit Google Search and allrecipes.com

Let me apologize for this posting.  Back on October 20, 2024, I wrote about my favorite pound cake.  At the time, I said I didn’t remember where I got the recipe.  Turns out (after I found the recipe in my recipe file) that I was given it by my now “famous” Mabel in Wiesbaden, West Germany.  I therefore would like to pass it along to my readers.  This really is the very best, most moist, sweet, delicious pound cake I’ve ever eaten.  For those who don’t like icing – this is the perfect cake.  It can be eaten plain – yummmmmm – or with a glaze, or fruit topping.  All is good.  So, here’s the recipe, and I hope it will give some enjoyment.

MABEL’S POUND CAKE

Cream:   

    ½ pound butter with

     2½ cups granulated sugar

    (After mixing well, turn mixer to “whip” and whip until “white”)

Add:             

 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition

  1 cup buttermilk – mix well with ½ tsp soda**

  3 cups sifted cake flour***

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla 

1 Tbsp warm water

DIRECTIONS:

Cream the butter and sugar well; add eggs, continuing to beat well.  Add the buttermilk and soda mixture alternately with the salt and flour.  Last, add the vanilla and warm water.

Pour into tube pan (Angel food pan – Bundt pan) and bake one (1) hour and 15 minutes at 325̊.

Serve either with or without icing.

ICING:

½   8-oz. can of crushed pineapple

¼ stick butter (2 Tbsp)

¼ cup granulated sugar

Juice of 1 lemon (fresh-squeezed if you want – I use thawed Minute Maid frozen

 lemon juice)

1   3-oz package cream cheese (or half of an 8-oz. package)

1 box confectioner’s sugar

Cook pineapple, butter and granulated sugar until “dry”; COOL!!

Combine lemon juice and cream cheese

Blend in confectioner’s sugar.

Add pineapple mixture

Mix well

Spread on cake

ENJOY!!

This cake doesn’t really “work” unless you beat/whip the butter and sugar mixture until it looks “white.”  The difference in color and texture is noticeable.

**I don’t usually have buttermilk on hand, so I make my own:

1 cup milk, mix in one (1) Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, stir and let sit.

***If you don’t have cake flour: 

 sift regular flour – measure out three (3) level cups, then take out 3½level Tbsp).  That is equal to cake flour.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Let’s Eat-Desserts

8 Dec

Cookies-Part 2

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills 

There are a couple of cookies that I have made in the past – the very distant past – but my family thought were quite good, so I would like to share them here.

One is called Eskimo Cookies, that my beloved sister-in-law, DiVoran got from a good friend of hers, Jenny.   I have taken these to cookie-exchanges before, and they seem to be a hit.  The good thing about them, is that they are a no-cook cookie.  How can that be, you ask?  Well, here it is:

ESKIMO COOKIES

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter, softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp water

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 cups uncooked oatmeal

Directions:

Let the butter stand in a bowl until soft.  

Cream with a wooden spoon and add the sugar.  Cream well

Stir in the vanilla, water and cocoa powder.

Add oatmeal, and mix well.

Shape into small balls and roll in powdered sugar..

Keep in the refrigerator.

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

In 1971, when we were moving from Loring AFB, Maine to San Antonio, Texas, we stopped in a neat place called Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.  It is a ways from Boston, but not far from the Connecticut state line.  It is very like Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, but we hadn’t seen Colonial Williamsburg by that time, so this was a unique experience for us.

While there, we purchased some of their home-made cookies.  We enjoyed them so much, that I purchased a small booklet of cookie recipes.

I must admit that I only tried one of the cookie recipes, but we enjoyed them, all the same.  They are called “Quakers.”  Here’s the recipe:

QUAKERS

As you can see, I made a notation for myself – the 2 cups of brown sugar equals one (1) 16-oz. box.  I usually pack the sugar down into the measuring cup.  And I admit that I have never tried to make any other cookie from this cookbook – even the Hobnails on the next page…although they sound intriguing. 

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →