Creativity

Yes, really.   The university is having a western themed dinner this evening for the graduating seniors.  As part of the menu we are making homemade ice cream.  We’re even making it in a 5 gallon freezer.  I was able to borrow the 5 gallon ice cream freezer that my grama’s church owns.  They used to use it for their ice cream socials.  It’s a beautiful site too.  An old White Mountain freezer made of wood and cast metal.  It used to have a crank, like the one pictured at the left, but someone has built a frame for it and added a 1/3hp motor.  It really is wonderful.  My husband wants me to ask if we can buy it from the church since they don’t use it anymore.

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Tags: filled milk, homemade icecream, ice cream, icecream, Milnot

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You will need:

• Pork Shank or Shoulder (shank has more flavor, and when you butcher your own pork, this is a good way to use it)
• 1 medium Onion
• Salt & Pepper
• BBQ Sauce (I like to mix Jack Daniels and Sweet Baby Ray’s, I like the mixture of sweet and spicy)

Slice your onion into thin pieces.  I used a mandolin slicer set to 1/16″.  The mandolin slicer is faster and made my eyes water less.  Layer the bottom of your crock pot with 1/2 of the onion.  Place your meat in the crock pot, along with water.  You’re water should come to just about 1/2 way up the meat.  Do not use less than a cup and a half.  Salt and pepper your meat.  Layer the remaining onion on top of the meat.  Cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  I recommend cooking on low to keep the meat tender.

When the meat is done, remove it from the crockpot into a seperate bowl, leaving the liquid and onions.  Remove any large areas of fat, especially if using a shank.  They should “slide” off of the meat.  Using 2 forks, shread the meat.  This should only take a couple of minutes.  You can then add the sauce directly to the meat and mix in, or serve the meat and put the sauce on top.  Personally, I like my BBQ mixed in.

Tags: barbeque, barbeque pork, bbq, bbq pork, pork, pulled pork, pulled pork bbq

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I love candied pecans.  I have a great recipie I found in a cookbook which uses 2T of Brown Sugar, 2T maple flavored syrup and 2T Karo Syrup for the glaze.  You put these in a pan, and mix them together, bringing them to a boil.  You then pour in 2C of Pecans and mix it together for about 2 mins or until they are coated.  Then you put them on a pan and bake them on low to set the coating (just like caramel corn). 

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Tags: brown sugar, cinnamon, cinnamon sugar, cook, Cooking, Karo, maple, nuts, pecan, pecans, syrup

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I got a wreath made for my grama last weekend, and got it hung for her.  It was about time too…. She still had her Christmas / Winter wreath hung up outside.  And a really cool thing, my neighbor Vicky, whom I went to the Taste of Home Cooking School with, liked it so much, she’s asked me to make one for her.  I went down to Hobby Lobby in Evansville this afternoon and picked up some flowers for it.  I love Hobby Lobby’s sales.  50% off of Floral Stems and bushes made it a LOT less expensive. 

I’ve got some beautiful flowers to go on her grapevine wreath.  I’m using her old wreath base and will be spraying it with a chocolate brown Krylon indoor/outdoor spray paint and then using a decking spray to seal the wreath from weather.  The color scheme for the wreath will be blues and violets with a touch of yellow and white.  I’m excited about how this will look againt the white siding on the house.

Specific flowers for this project include: canary yellow peonies, white daisies, violet irises, lavendar poppies, royal blue and white carnations, and several other flowers in shades of blue.

Tags: blue, Floral Arrangements, flower, flowers, purple, silk, silk flowers, violet

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I’ll be heading to the Taste of Home Cooking Show tonight with my friend Vicky.  It should be a lot of fun.  I went a couple years ago and really enjoyed it.  There were vendor booths before the show and prizes throughout the night.  Plus, the most important part…. great cooking!

Tags: Cooking, Cooking Show, event, live, Taste of Home

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This is the cheesecake recipe that my mom always made.  I’m not even old enough to remember when she clipped it out of a magazine, but I’m glad she did.  This cheesecake is good by itself or topped with cherry pie filling, strawberries and cream, or chocolate/caramel drizzle. 

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Tags: cheesecake, cheesecakes, dessert, desserts, topping, toppings

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This is an easy treat any time of the year.  My favorite part about this dessert is how easy it is to serve.

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Tags: apple. apples, cola, dessert, desserts, soda, Sprite

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A coconut cream pie with a handmade crust.

Tags: coconut, coconut cream pie, coconuts, cream, creme, dessert, desserts, pie, pies

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This is one of the pages from my 2-page graduation party layout.  This page incorporates metalic gold paper on solid black with photos of attendees and decorations.

Tags: college, graduation, layout, Purdue, scrapbook, scrapbook page

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