Saturday, September 22, 2012

Apple Crisp for Retro Recipe Saturday




I made an old standby for today, Apple Crisp for Retro Recipe Saturday.  I was gone most of last week, so I was trying to find an easy recipe for today.   This is a friend's family recipe that was passed down from her mom to her and then to the next generation which is where I fit.  I think this recipe is at least 70 years old, if not older.  They were from Leadville, Colorado and raised sheep, so this is one of those recipes that a city girl like me, fell in love with.  It is a basic, homey recipe that is great for the fall.  Especially with the plethora of fresh apples available right now.

So now, today's recipe Apple Crisp for Retro Recipe Saturday.  Have fun cooking.


Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

For Apple Part:
10 medium granny smith apples cored, peeled, and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 TB cornstarch

For Topping:
3/4 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour ( next time I might try to substitute almond meal )
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nugmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a nonstick spray in a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Put your peeled, cored, and sliced apples into a large bowl.  Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch and mix well, so that apples are well coated.

Spread in the bottom of your casserole dish.  Set aside.

In another bowl add your softened butter, oats, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well.

Put on top of your apple mixture.  I do it with my hands, and drop it on as evenly as possible.  I normally put it up to about a 1/2 inch from the edge of the pan.  I am not precise.  It is a pretty rustic dessert.

Bake for 45 minutes

This can be served hot or cold, and it can be served immediately or later when you are ready.  

Serves 12 to 16

I hope that you like this recipe.  It seemed fitting for fall.  I would love to hear any comments that you have.

Enjoy!!!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Caramel Apple Martinis for Friday's Happy Hour




I can't believe it is already Friday again.  This week has flown by.  This week we have a taste of fall for Friday's Happy Hour.  Today we have a Caramel Apple Martini for Friday's Happy Hour.  It's so fun because it is rimmed with caramel sauce and graham cracker crumbs.  We also have my Favorite Links of the week.  So here we go, are you ready,  have a great Happy Hour and an amazing weekend.

Here are my picks for my Favorite Blog Links of the week.  It would be great of you would follow them, also.





Well, I hope you liked this weeks favorite blog links.  Visit their pages and follow them in some way.  They are all so talented.  Now on to our Caramel Apple Martinis.


Caramel Apple Martini

Ingredients:

6 oz vodka
6 oz caramel apple liqueur
4 oz apple juice
caramel sauce
graham cracker crumbs

Directions:

Pour vodka, caramel apple liqueur, and apple juice in a cocktail shaker or large glass with ice.  Shake and make sure that it is really cold.  Set aside for a minute

Put caramel sauce on rim of glass.  I used the back of a spoon and dabbed it in the caramel sauce and then lightly rubbed the back of the spoon along the top rim of the glass.  Around the entire glass.  Pour graham cracker crumbs on a plate and gently rum the caramel edged glass in the graham cracker crumbs.    Put about 1 tsp of  caramel in the bottom of the glass.

Pour the Caramel Apple Martini in the glass gently so as not to disturb the caramel.  

Makes 2 large martinis.
 
This recipe was so easy and really good.  It's tastes like a grape soda but is a beautiful lavender color.  I hope all of you enjoy it.  Send me your comments.  I love hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Navy Bean Soup



I love fall.  Last week we had a cold spell, and I was on a roll making our favorite soups.  One of my favorites is Navy Bean Soup.  I love it's rich hearty flavor, it is a really stick to your ribs kind of soup.  So here is the recipe for Navy Bean Soup, may it make you feel as warm and satisfied as we feel when we eat it.  Oh and it is really great with cornbread. 

Navy Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb navy beans
1 1/2 lbs ham cut into cubes
3 to 4 ham hocks
1/2 onion chopped
2 TB olive oil
1/2 salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
10 cups water

Directions:

Heat olive oil and saute onion in the olive oil until translucent.

Then add the navy beans, ham, ham hocks, water, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.

Cook covered for 3 to 4 hours, until the beans are soft and thick.  The way you see it in the picture above.

Serve with cornbread.

Serves 4 to 6 hefty sized portions.

Enjoy this recipe, and I hope you find it as tasty and filling as my family does.  Send me your comments.  I always love hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!
Debi
Find us at these great parties

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Natural Coconut Bubble Bath and Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party 18




Welcome to my Wednesdays Adorned from Above Link Party 18.   I hope that all of you have fun, and I can't wait to see all of your beautiful work from the last week.  You are all truly amazing.  I want to thank all of you for your support of Adorned From Above.  I really appreciate all of the time you take to link to my parties.  Keep up the good work.

The first thing I am going to ask any of you to do is to become a GFC Follower if you are not already following me.  I would really appreciate it. You could also follow me on Pinterest, Twitter, or Facebook, Linky, anything you want.


This week I am featuring the three top blogs that had the most visits. Clicking on the like button will also help to pick which posts you like the most.  Right now I am picking the links with the most page views.



 
I am thrilled to feature the following posts this week.  So without further ado, I would like to present these beautiful and informative blogs.  To those of you that I featured just grab my new Wednesdays Adorned From Above Featured Button in my sidebar, or you can post a text link.

I want to thank everyone who linked with my Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party.  All of your projects are wonderful and I would feature all of them if I could, but I think that the blog would probably be a little too long.  I hope that all of you link more posts this week.  Let's Party!!!

Your posts can include anything, I would love to see what you have been up to.



The only rules are to follow me, have a link somewhere on your post to Adorned From Above, and visit some other posts - after all it is a party.
 


I love bubble baths.  Doesn't everyone love a bubble bath?  They are relaxing and there is still that part of us that has fun being surrounded by bubbles.   Today I made a batch of Natural Coconut Bubble Bath.  


I did lots of research and found that bubble bath is a little difficult to make if you are allergic to liquid Castile soap.  Since I'm allergic to liquid Castile soap I opted to go the route of natural unscented baby shampoo.  You can find lots of websites that have recipes; Crunchy Betty, This Time This Space, and Bali Home

I decided to go with products that I already had in the house.  So here it is Natural Coconut Bubble Bath.




Natural Coconut Bubble Bath

1/2 cup unscented shampoo
1 cup distilled water
1 tsp jojoba oil
1 tsp liquid glycerin
15 drops coconut fragrance oil

Directions

Mix all ingredients together.  Store in a pretty bottle.

Pour 1 tablespoon under running water.

Enjoy and relax in your bubble bath.  It made tons of bubbles.  I really loved this Bubble Bath.  You could also make it without the oil and glycerin.  I decided to add them since I live in Denver and it is so try here, I didn't want my skin to get any dryer. 

Let me know what you think of this recipe.  I always love hearing from you.

Debi 
Find us at these great parties

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Natural Orange Air Freshener



Since I am always on the lookout for natural products, I was looking for a Natural Air Freshener / Room Deodorizer.  I have read all over the internet about using baking soda and essential oil.  So I decided to go that route rather then a gel air freshener.  I did read the the other about a spray air freshener, and and I may try that next, but for today, I am going the baking soda route. 

I used a small mason jar, and cut a small square of fabric for the center of the screw on cap.  The fabric is thin enough that the scent will come through the fabric.    It is that easy.

Natural Orange Air Freshener / Room Deodorizer


Ingredients:

 
1/4 cup baking soda
30 drops sweet orange or tangerine essential oil ( you can use any scent that you want.  I made a second one with jasmine fragrance oil)
mortar and pestle
1 small mason jar 
6 inch square of thin fabric
screw lid without the center

Directions:
 

Put baking soda in mortar and add essential oil a few drops at a time working into baking soda with pestle. 
 



Put baking soda in a small mason jar, and put the piece of fabric over the top and screw the lid on. 



I decided to the jasmine scent in my living room and the orange scent in the bathroom.  It looks really pretty in there.
 


Let me know what you think about this air freshener.  I always love hearing from you.


Enjoy!!!

Debi 

Monday, September 17, 2012

Love 1 Corinthians 13:7



Love... bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:7

God loves us unconditionally, and when we accept his love, we are also able to love others unconditionally.  We don't say to our friends or loved ones, "You messed up, so I don't love you anymore."  No, we keep loving them, even after they make mistakes, just like God keeps loving us after we make mistakes.  

God instilled a perfect love in Jesus, and Jesus loved us perfectly.  He died on the cross to save us.  His hope for us was that we would be able to love others the same way he loves us. 

Isn't it beautiful when you read it slowly and repeat it out loud. 

            Love bears all things,  how beautiful is that, Love bears all things. 

Isn't that what we do for our loved one.  Isn't that what Jesus did for us?  He even bore the cross for us.
          Love Believes all things,  another amazing thought!!!

Don't we believe in our loved ones?  We love them and even if they do something wrong, we still believe in them.

           Love Hopes all things, I know that I do

I know that I always hope for the best for my family. I love them so much, and really want things to go well for them.  It's wonderful, when you accept God's unconditional love, it brings good things out in you.   Things like hope.

         Love endures all things, isn't that the truth

When we love others, it is enduring, forever, and infinite.  It also bears all things,  with God's love we can get through anything.  For that I am truly grateful.

I always love hearing from you.  Send me your comments. 

Have a blessed week.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Beaded Bracelet Pictorial

I made several bracelets and wanted to do a Pictorial for you.  They are easy to make and I love the way they came out.  If you have all of the supplies, they will take about 30 minutes each to make.  Not too bad to have two new, fun pieces of jewelry.

Supplies that you will need:

Beads of your choice
clear elastic for the bracelet
glue for jewelry ( I only had fabric glue that day and it worked fine)
tape measure













 





The only thing that you will need to do after you tie the elastic would be to add some glue to make sure that it does not come untied.

I hope that this is helpful in making beaded bracelets.  If you have any questions please feel free to send them to me.  I am always happy to hear from you.

Enjoy!!!
Debi 
Find us at these great parties