Little Family in the Big Woods

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  I wanted to be sure I got the ingredients for these little lovelies recorded. I want to be sure to make them again next year. So fun and so easy to make and so yummy! The best part of this is I purchased the molds at Target’s after Christmas sale and payed less than a dollar for them.  1 bag Ghirardelli white chocolate melting pieces 1/2 - 1 bag Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips 1/4  - 1/2 cup peanut butter Add to microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals stirring at each stop until chips are completely melted.  Spoon into molds. Wipe knife across back of mold to clean off excess chocolate.  Refrigerate until set.  Pop out of molds.  Store in an airtight container.  The fun of these molds is being able to use just the snowflakes and snowmen on into December. Very easy and fun Christmas treat.  Enjoy!

It is such a joy to come upon a hidden surprise. This is exactly what happened to my  daughter and I last weekend. Who would have guessed that there was a hidden gem less than 5 minutes from her home? Bloomsbury Farms  is located in Smyrna, TN. They have a special day to open their farm called Farm Fridays. The public is invited to purchase from an assortment of homegrown fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The produce for sale is only a part of the prize of finding this place.  The drive to get there is peaceful and beautiful and relaxing. I will share the flowers in my next post. They deserve their own attention.

Sometimes, I choose to make my favorite strawberry pie recipe as parfaits rather than making an actual pie. To do this, requires making a graham cracker crust. I used 2 cups crushed graham crackers, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a stick of melted margarine all mixed together. You can then add as much as you like of this mixture  to the bottom of each parfait dish. The recipe for the cream cheese part of these parfaits can be found here: Recipe for Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie Strawberries can be sliced any way you like. Then, add strawberry glaze on top. I usually cover each of these with plastic wrap and keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Delicious!

It's hydrangea season in Tennessee. These came from my sister's house. Gorgeous, gorgeous blooms of blue. The flowers are huge! I bought a few fake ones for my porch, so I could have them a little longer than the season. This is an arrangement that was at my church on Sunday. These are beautiful blue hydrangeas and white oak-leaf hydrangeas. These are a blooms from my small hydrangea bush. I love to bring them inside when they are just beginning to bloom. See the ladybug on the top?

A spring brunch on a beautiful day is one of the feel goods of life.  This one included a bacon/egg casserole, fruit, hash brown casserole, and a very special featured treat.  Can you spot the special treat? My daughter had given me a box of pastry’s from   Ballerina Farms   for my birthday.  They were absolutely delicious.  The ones on the top are plain, and the ones on the bottom are chocolate filled. My little treat for my guests was their own mini take out  box of fruit.  Something fun on such a special day. 

One of my favorite things to see when I open my refrigerator door is a bowl of potato salad.  Potato salad is such a wonderful side item to make ahead and eat on for a few days, or to make ahead for company or to take to a covered dish dinner.  I typically start with 8 potatoes chopped into small cubes.  This is the perfect size cube.  Nobody likes potato salad with big pieces of potatoes.  Cover the potatoes with water and boil on medium until the potatoes are fork tender.  While the potatoes are boiling, boil 6 eggs (I boil mine about 5 minutes.), and begin chopping the other ingredients.  If you’re lucky enough to have a brother that makes really good Chunk Sweet Pickles, chop some pickles into very small pieces. We like sweet pickles in potato salad. Some people prefer dill.  Do the same with the white sweet onion.  Chop very fine. I typically use about 1/4 of a large onion.  Once the eggs are done, cooked , and peeled, chop them the...