old fashioned fudge

My great grandma, Roberta Katherine, is kind of a legend in our family.  She's my maternal grandfather's momma, and she raised 8 kids - 7 boys and 1 daughter, during the Great Depression.  She was a talented pianist and taught piano as well.  My Grandpa, her son, was one of my favorite people I've ever known.  He tutored me in algebra over the phone, taught me to believe in myself, and loved God and his family passionately.

This fudge feels like a piece of my heritage.  It may not win any beauty contests, but it's delicious!

Gramma Roberta's Old Fashioned Fudge
Ingredients:
2 c. sugar

1 tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 cup milk

1 tbsp. butter

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Butter an 8x8 baking dish and set aside.

Boil sugar, cocoa and milk together in medium saucepan.  Stir a couple times to mix together but then leave it untouched while it boils. Add 1 tablespoon butter when it boils up, and continue to boil until mixture forms a soft ball in cold water, about 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and let cool 10-15 minutes.

Beat on medium high until the candy starts to thicken, about 2 minutes.  Add vanilla and the walnuts, if using.  Continue beating about 5 minutes until very thick, then pour quickly into prepared dish.

Note: When ready to pour, the candy loses its sheen.

This recipe can be used for cake icing that will not crack if you boil it a little less time and let it cool until it is warm only (close to tepid) before you start beating it.

Source: Himes family

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thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving hasn't always been a "big deal" in my family, so it was kind of surprising how sad I was to miss it.  Living 1000+ miles away from home and working retail hours haven't allowed us to get to Houston for the holiday.  But actually, I'm not really sure what a "traditional" Thanksgiving looks like anymore!

3 years ago, on the night before Thanksgiving, Lane proposed! Then on Thanksgiving day, we spent a few hours with our families and headed to a football game.

 

2 years ago, we went with a bunch of Lane's extended family - 16 of us total - to Puerto Rico for Thanksgiving.  It was so fun!

Last year, we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Indy - Lane had pizza, and I forgot to take pictures.

This year, we joined some sweet, sweet friends and their family!! We're so thankful they offered to include us and we had a wonderful time eating delicious food, playing with their kiddos, and hanging out. 

I had already bought a turkey when we got the invitation to join them, so tonight, I made my first turkey after all.  I did a lot of screaming but was able to successfully remove the gross stuff and was mature enough to rub butter on and under the skin.  Our Thanksgiving-round-2 was just turkey and from scratch green bean casserole, but it was delicious and fun anyway!

 

I guess I decided that for now, we'll do whatever we can to celebrate Thanksgiving, and be thankful that modern technology lets us "see" our family pretty much whenever we want.

yes, I even videochat with my doggy when I'm away.

After all, being happy is a decision, right?

"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition." - Martha Washington

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make this salad.

Seriously.

Once you get the dressing made, all you have to do is assemble the ingredients.  I have them all stacked on top of the tub of spinach in my refrigerator, so it's easy to pull it out and make a quick salad.  This isn't what I would normally choose when it's 30 degrees outside, but it's so delicious I can't resist.


Spinach Salad with Strawberry Champagne Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
For the vinaigrette:
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
2 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. Champagne
1 tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt

For the salad:
Baby spinach leaves
For topping:
Chopped walnuts, toasted
Dried cranberries
Green apples, thinly sliced

Directions:
To make the vinaigrette, combine the strawberries, red wine vinegar, champagne, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until smooth.  Store in an airtight container.
To make the salad, place some baby spinach in a bowl.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss to coat.
Top with a few chopped toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, and a few slices of green apple.

Source: inspired by Annie's Eats, originally from Epicurious

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7 quick takes

1. We finally found a church this weekend that meets on Saturday nights - that we actually like! I am really excited about the potential for actually meeting new people.  I have to say though - being alone in Indy with Lane is pretty fun.  We go on dates every weekend and I am more excited than ever about seeing him before/after work.  Feel free to barf now. :-)

2. I started watching season 1 of Damages on Netflix. It's actually pretty interesting - a little mystery and a little scary. Both of which I love.  Check it out if you're ever bored and your husband is at work. Is that just me?

3.  Why is it whenever you're shopping for something specific, it's harder to find?  I'm looking for a black dress (not strapless) for my friend Diana's wedding in late March.  If you see any around that are cute, send the links my way.  I bought this one from Anthro this week but I'm not entirely sold on it.

4. Lane got me the painting below for my birthday. I love it! It says "JOY" in Braille.  We're eventually going to hang it over our couch - I love that we'll have some more color to liven things up.  Since we live in the dark mostly, it's pretty exciting to get some brightness in the living room.

5. Made this cookie dough dip for a Super Bowl party today. Sadly, it's not as good as it sounds! Maybe that's because I've been trying to be healthy and I knew what was in it?  Who knows.  All I can say is I'm extremely proud of myself because I actually threw away - in the trash - my leftover chocolate chips.  

6. The Super Bowl was here in Indy!  People here were pretty excited about it and keep talking about how much better it is than it was "in Houston last year". Apparently to non-Texans, any city in Texas is Houston?  Sorry Dallas!  Also, people think of Texas as one big desert. They think I'm enthralled by rain, like I've never seen it before. Funny. :)

7. I've been thinking lately about how glad I am that I was Ko Jo Kai president years ago. It really prepared me to be a manager and deal with people who dislike my decisions.  Never thought I would say that, but it was definitely a learning experience! I take back all the times I said I regretted it.  It made me into the person I am today, and I now have the confidence to stand in front of people and deliver unpopular news. So - to all you haters out there - thanks!! :)

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Back to work

I'm excited to be a productive member of society again, but I would be lying if I said I won't miss my lazy days of getting up to no alarm... Ok, it was actually really boring. I'm going to be working the 4pm-2am shift, which will be interesting! I pretty much keep that schedule right now anyway, so it won't be too hard to adjust.
 
Since I'm starting back to work on Monday, I've been busy this week cleaning house and stock-piling our freezer with easy meals to cut down on some stress as I get into the swing of things!  Because let's face it- I love that husband of mine, but he would eat oatmeal for every meal and be perfectly happy.


So here's what I have ready and waiting!
- Lasagna
- Tortellini Spinach Bake (with chicken)
- Turkey Meatballs
- Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells (plus an extra batch of filling frozen)
- Tortilla Soup
- Pizza Dough


Lane and I will both be taking our lunches, so I planned for big meals so we could eat them for a couple days for lunch and dinner (or until I get sick of it, which may be sooner). 

If anyone has any ideas for quick and easy meals, please speak up! I'm especially in the market for crock pot meals that require no more than 10 minutes in the morning and will be ready to eat without a lot of extra work when I get home.  Or if you know of restaurants besides fast food that will be open for takeout at 2am, please share as well. :)

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smokin'

I bought Lane a smoker for his birthday almost a month ago, and we have had a lot of fun making all kinds of meats (his favorite, and sometimes only food group). This weekend, we made our best brisket yet for dinner while his mom was here visiting. I used this rub recipe and we smoked with mesquite wood chunks for about 7 hours.  We had corn casserole and wedge salads with homemade ranch. Definitely a fun and easy meal, and made me feel like maybe we aren't that far from Texas after all!

PS - notice the "smoke line" on our meat? yum.

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mud hen bars

i made the most delicious dessert this week! i found the recipe on a blog i follow, two peas and their pod. they are called mud hen bars, and believe me, you want to make them. 

ps- anyone have an idea where that name came from?

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