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Apple Butter

Apple Butter

No fancy pictures for now. Got the recipe up to share with a friend. I'll make it pretty another time.

3 pounds Granny Smith apples
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
Sugar - 1/2 cup per 1 cup pulp
1 teaspoon kosher or canning salt
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Remove the stem from apples. Cut them up into chunks, core and all. Put in large pot with water and vinegar. Boil until soft. Approximately 20 minutes.

Using a sieve or medium mesh colander force pulp into a bowl. Measure how many cups of pulp you have. Add sugar 1/2 cup to each cup of pulp. Add remaining spices.

Cook uncovered on medium-low for 1 - 2 hours stirring often. It will be cooked long enough when a small amount dropped onto a chilled plate doesn't run.

Once it is fully cooked you could refrigerate what you can consume right away and freeze the remaining in small containers. I hot water bath can mine for 10 minutes.

How to can at  National Center For Home Food Preserv…
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Chicken and Fluffy Herbed Dumplings

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Thirty years ago I learned that not all chicken and dumplings were alike. Growing up in my sheltered world I only knew of the lovely egg dumplings that my Mom made. To this day I still love them! (One day I will share that recipe too.)

When I moved to a different part of the world in my late teens I was served chicken and dumplings for a holiday dinner. I stared at this odd looking dish that was put in front of me. The dumplings were flat and square! They weren't bad.

It wasn't until many years later when my husband made me HIS chicken and dumplings that I realized how good what I consider Southern Chicken and Dumplings could be. If I attempt to make his I wouldn't even try to say mine were as good as what he makes. I also couldn't share the recipe because he has none.

Then there is the next chicken and dumpling recipe. I was at some restaurant somewhere and had this wonderful fluffy herb sprinkled dumplings and my mouth went "OMG These are awesome!!"

More y…
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Marshmallow Spaghetti??

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Sometimes things happen that absolutely MUST be shared with the world. For those of you lucky enough to have ever heard Mikey tell one of his "stupid Mikey stories" will probably be able to imagine him telling this one. For those that haven't heard one of his stories you are missing out!

We have been busy lately. Very busy. We have been just eating when we feel like and rarely eat the same thing.

Last night Mikey asked for spaghetti for dinner. That was good because there was leftover sauce in the fridge and all I had to do was cook the noodles.

Which I did.

I left them on the stove for him to eat after he slept for a while.

This was mid evening.

A short while later I got tired and had a somewhat achy throat. Hot cocoa should do the trick. Hot cocoa with marshmallows even better.

Did you know that Kraft makes these cute little containers with the crunchy marshmallows in it? They are fantastic!! Now I can have homemade hot cocoa and still have the marshmallows in it that…
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Salut! Hello and Goodbye with a Special Cake

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We recently had a "Welcome Home" party for one of our friends that had just returned from a tour in Afghanistan. It was also a "Going Away" party for my husband that had recently left the company into a wounded warrior unit. 
The thing about this group of soldiers is they LOVE their sweet treats. One of the girls in the unit requested a Reese's cake at the party. I wanted to make sure it was over the top and the recipe I found HERE was fit that bill. I also made cupcakes and a sheet cake to decorate. 
I didn't change it too much and clarified the instructions a bit. You need to plan ahead for this one but it is not at all hard to make. By starting the day ahead I had plenty of time to freeze the layers and then put it all together. 
There are 4 different recipes so make sure you go through them all to make sure you have all the needed ingredients. I didn't take pictures through the process, but it is really easy to do. 

Reese's Overload Cake
Peanut B…
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Whipped Laundry Detergent Test

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I have been making my own laundry detergent using the same ingredients in the whipped detergent and have been happy with it. The whipped detergent is reportedly better and doesn't use as much. So I decided I would give it a try.

You can see the original here from Budget 101.

WARNING: If you have lung problems you probably want to wear a mask through the entire process. I didn't and I'm regretting it. I didn't directly breathe in any of the fumes but let's face it, the fumes are in the air when this stuff has to cook for so long.

A note regarding using the laundry crystals. These are scent enhancers, not fabric softeners. The original said it was to eliminate the need for softener and I've seen others suggest that too. Just wanted to point out in mine that it is a scent only option. I think next time I will just use lavender oil for scent.

What you'll need:
1 bar Fels Naptha, finely grated - No substitutes!
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda - NOT baking soda!
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No Raise Quick Cinnamon Rolls

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Anyone remember Hardee's? I loved Hardee's and miss them. There are still a few left scattered about the country but they are rare. In our town, Hardee's was a place to hang out in the morning and drink coffee with all your friends. Hardee's had these wonderful fluffy cinnamon rolls that were amazing. Yes, a fast food place actually had something that was THAT good!  I've tried cinnamon rolls from other places and they are no where close to the ones I loved.

I've had this idea in my head for a while and now I wished that I had tried it much sooner.
I knew that the cinnamon rolls had a biscuit like texture and since I love my buttermilk biscuits so much why not make cinnamon rolls with it? So I finally did. AMAZING!

After they were finished I tried one and loved them but I don't like to be the judge of my own food so I had to have Mr. Fussy try them. (He might not like me calling him that, but really he is a food snob.) I took one to him and waited patient…
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Homemade Maple Butter Pancake Syrup

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My husband and I have different opinions on syrup. I want mine warm he wants his refrigerator cold. No matter, we both like lots of syrup on pancakes, waffles and French toast. Mom always made simple maple syrup when we were growing up which was sugar, water and the maple flavoring. It is good and if you are lacking all the ingredients it will satisfy that sweet maple flavor we need on our breakfast foods. If you want to spend somewhere in the middle of simple syrup and the name brand butter flavored syrup then this recipe is what you need.

This does not make very much syrup. Depending on how much syrup you like and how many you are feeding you may want to double the recipe.

Maple Butter Flavored Pancake Syrup
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon Mapleine or maple flavor
1/2 teaspoon butter flavor extract
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan.

Bring to boil for 1 minute.
Thickens as it cools. Can be reheated or eaten cold. Store in refrigerator.

If you…
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