Somebody Pinch Me...This HAS To Be A Dream!

 Oh lookey what I found on the internet! I am drooling,my head is spinning...BACON?! Yum.
http://www.evilchefmom.com/2010/10/caramel-coconut-chocolate-chip-and.html

caramel, coconut, chocolate chip, and bacon magic bars: adapted from food & wine november 2010

1 1/2 sticks salted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 large egg yolk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces bacon, finely diced
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut (6 1/2 ounces)
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup salted roasted almonds, chopped
One 16-ounce jar caramel
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving up to 1 inch of overhang. Spray the paper with vegetable oil spray.

In a medium saucepan, cook the butter over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and browned, about 4 minutes. Scrape the butter into a large bowl and freeze just until solid, about 15 minutes.

Using a mixer, beat the sugar, vanilla seeds and egg yolk into the butter at medium speed until blended. Add the flour and salt and beat until moistened crumbs form. Press the crumbs into the prepared baking pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 25 minutes, until the crust is set and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, wipe out the bowl used to make the crust. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels and let cool. In the bowl, toss the coconut with the chocolate chips, almonds and bacon.

In another bowl, whisk the caramel with the condensed milk; pour two-thirds of it in the crust. Lightly press the coconut-bacon mixture over the caramel and condensed milk mixture. Drizzle the remaining caramel mixture on top.

Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the bars cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Carefully remove the bars from the pan and peel off the paper. Cut into bars and serve.

Split Pea Soup

I made Split Pea Soup today for the first time. It turned out great despite my "alterations"! For the most part I followed the recipe on the bag of split peas. It went something like this..
1 pork roast bone in,
1 bag of frozen soup stock from a previous soup(mine was a mix of diced veggie scraps from "Make Ahead Meal Days") or soup stock with diced carrots celery, onion,garlic etc.
Cooked in the crock pot until the meat pulls apart,approx 4-5 hours.
Pull the majority of the meat off the bone a freeze or store for future meal.
Add meaty bone and stock into large saucepan and boil.
Rinse peas and add to stock. Simmer for about 2-3 hours,stirring frequently.
Add more pork as desired.
When the bone is boiled clean,remove it.
The recipe called for milk and it just so happen I was out so I added a can of cream of mushroom soup instead and a little water. Yum!
I cooked for another hour and WA LA!
Yummy,thick Split Pea Soup!
Cheap,easy and enough to feed an army....or at least freeze and store for the winter ahead!

I know this may seem like a silly recipe to share but I also know...
#1-how difficult it can be to think of meal ideas and
#2- how nice it is to cook dinner without a trip to the store!

The Wait Is Over

So remember the pumpkins and moss I got last weekend? I finally put it to good use today decorating the yard and front porch for fall.
Drum roll please......

Please pardon my tattered old porch. It's next summer's project...

The moss turned out better than I thought-and it was FREE!

I think it will also be soo cute at night with candles glowing inside!

What do you think?

Is the moss adorable or horrible?

But the moss doesn't stop there....

I also did another project while I was out enjoying the sunshine!

Remember this post they installed for THE REMODEL that happen here last summer?

Well, it ended up looking a little better than this but...not much. It is waiting patiently for the new deck to get built. In the meanwhile,it's one of the first things I see when I go in or out of the house...and it's not pretty.
So I did this...

All from things I collected around my yard and lots of help from the moss! I think the moss gives it a cool "aged" look. Bye bye ugly post!

I am happy I was able to complete some of my unfinished projects today

:)

So far this had been a beautiful fall!

Health,Habits &Halloween

The good news is..I'm going to live. With  the exception of a little cough and some sniffles I am ALL BETTER!!! Yaayyy! It's funny how a cold can make you appreciate things like breathing and the ability to sleep laying down.
I have found a new friend in tea. So far I am still exploring Celestial Seasonings. I like it more and more each day but I am still adding sugar and creamer.My favorite is the Country Peach mixed with Sleepy Time Extra and french vanilla creamer in the evening.I'm trying to replace bad habits with better ones but then that friggin Starbucks went and made a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate! This is the best fall and winter drink ever..mmm...I've had one a day for the last 3 days and I am counting the hours until tomorrow. I am going to try it mocha style with coffee because we all know hot chocolate won't cut it on Monday morning!
Vern and I went for a little walk near Mud Mt Dam...

and I collected a pile of moss.

I am hoping to use it for my Halloween decorations. We also went to a new fruit stand and got pumpkins and squash. I cleaned the guts out of  all 8 of them and attacked them with Vern's power drill! Are you dying to know what I did? HAHA! You'll have to wait...I'm not quite done yet...that was just a little tease :P But it's gonna be cute! Hint-Martha,Martha,Martha....Stewart that is...
I hope Monday is kind to you all
:)

The reason our knees get weak when we fall in love is because of the long walk it took to find that person.

Dreamer

 

Dreamer by Ozzy Osbourne

Who knew Ozzy could be so deep?!

Gazing through the window at the world outside

Wondering will mother earth survive
Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her sometime

After all there's only just the two of us
And here we are still fighting for our lives
Watching all of history repeat itself
Time after time

I'm just a dreamer
I dream my life away
I'm just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days

I watch the sun go down like everyone of us
I'm hoping that the dawn will bring a sign
A better place for those Who will come after us ...
This time

I'm just a dreamer
I dream my life away oh yeah
I'm just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days

Your higher power may be God or Jesus Christ
It doesn't really matter much to me
Without each others help there ain't no hope for us
I'm living in a dream of fantasy
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah

If only we could all just find serenity
It would be nice if we could live as one
When will all this anger, hate and bigotry ...
Be gone?

I'm just a dreamer
I dream my life away
Today
I'm just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days
Okay
I'm just a dreamer
Who's searching for the way
Today
I'm just a dreamer
Dreaming my life away
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah

Tea Party Anyone?

I think I am finally on the healing side of this cold!

Man,it has been a long rough struggle! For the last 2 weeks I have taken more pills than my liver or kidneys ever want to see again. I have slept too much and at times not at all. I have become very acquainted with the many types of fluids the human body produces. At times I honestly just wanted to die,I was miserable. Just when I decided to surrender and go to the Doctor.....I started to feel better.

The last two days I have felt a little better each day..oh thank you God!

Today I slept 12 hours. It was hard to sleep on such a beautiful day but the sacrifice had to be made. I need to get better. Then Vern and I went for Thai in hopes that the spicy Tom Yum soup would help cure me.

It smells like curry,garlic and lemongrass. Like most Thai food it has simple ingredients yet tastes so delicious and complex. I followed that with a cup of Celestial Seasonings Eucalyptus Wellness tea this evening (http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/wellness-teas/echinacea-complete-care). It's the first time I can remember buying or "steeping" tea for myself. I'm a coffee girl. It wasn't good but it wasn't horrible. I drank the whole cup in the sake of good health and I was rewarded. That warm tea stopped my cough and cleared my nose almost immediately! I won't be drinking it everyday but...perhaps I will explore this tea thing further.
I found this cute photo while writing this blog and just had to share! It's proof that photographers are a little nutty...who else would think to stick a half naked baby in a pumpkin,matching hat and all?! haha Yet I strive to be this "insanely" creative someday! I heart photography :)

One more thing before I head to bed,take a peak at http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/pumpkins

and check out her carved pumpkin ideas. They are amazing and somewhat simple...This is one of my faves-

But realistically..I'm doing this instead-

and hopefully this cute project-

Use a pumpkin incense burner to suggest the cozy scent of pie just out of the oven. Cut off the pumpkin's top and scrape out the innards; carve round vents with an apple corer. Rub cinnamon or pumpkin-pie spices onto the lid, or push cloves into it. With a lighted tealight candle inside, the pumpkin will give off a lovely fragrance for about six hours.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Pumpkin Pie Potpourri - Martha Stewart Holidays 

 

Oh Martha! 

Nite :p