A couple of weeks ago marked 14 years since my last radiation treatment for breast cancer. Praise the Lord, I'm still here. Back then, we had 3 teenagers (well, 1 was a preteen). There was a point when I wondered if I'd get to see any of them grow up, much less get married or have kids. Thankfully, I've been able to watch all 3 of them finish school, get married and have babies. I now have 14 grandchildren (some were bonus babies) and two more on the way. I am blessed.
September 9, 2015
October 30, 2014
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Easy Bacon Peach Cobbler
So, the annual Bring It With Bacon Party that my friend throws was this past weekend. It's a lot of fun. Everyone brings a dish of some kind made with bacon. Last year I won with my bacon-pecan sweet potatoes (see previous post for recipe). This year, I didn't win the trophy, but I came in 4th place (out of about 20 dishes) with an easy bacon peach cobbler. I forgot to take a photo of it before I left the party, but here's the recipes, and it got RAVE reviews. And it's SUPER easy to make.
- 1 large can of sliced peaches (I like the light syrup, but hubby likes it in heavy syrup), about 15 oz.
- 1 box of white or yellow cake mix
- 6 slices of bacon, diced and cooked (or use a half bag of Oscar Meyer real bacon pieces)
- Cinnamon to taste
- 1 stick of butter or margarine (I prefer using real butter)
- Preheat oven to 350 degree (F).
- Dump the peaches, liquid and all, into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Dump dry cake mix evenly over the top of peaches.
- Sprinkle cooked bacon over dry cake mix. Press down a little.
- Sprinkle top with cinnamon BEFORE doing next step.
- Cut butter into pats and place on top.
- Bake in 350 degree (F) oven for 50-60 minutes.
- Let cool slightly before serving. I like this served warm or cold. The mixture of cake mix and butter turns into a crunchy crust on top of the peaches. YUMMY!!!
By the way, this is really good without the bacon too, but who doesn't like bacon???
March 16, 2014
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Bacon-Pecan Sweet Potatoes
Here is a recipe I get lots of requests for. It's a favorite wherever I take it. Enjoy!
BACON-PECAN SWEET POTATOES
3-5 fresh sweet potatoes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 stick butter (softened)
12 oz. package of precooked bacon
1/2 cup pecan piecesPeel and cube sweet potatoes, boil until tender. Mash with 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. (If you used canned sweet potatoes, cut back on the sugar.) Place mashed sweet potatoes into small greased baking pan (8x8 or similar). Blend 1/4 cup brown sugar with 2 Tbsp. softened butter. Mix pecans and bacon pieces into sugar mixture and sprinkle over top of sweet potatoes. Place under broiler for 5-10 minutes.
October 7, 2013
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So glad I'm still here
I cannot tell you how glad I am to still be here! I don't get around to Xanga much anymore since getting on Facebook, but there are times when I still want and need my Xanga.
May 12, 2012
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Homemade Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Here's a recipe for pineapple upside-down cake from scratch. This one also comes from my old USDA Homemaker's Cookbook - it's probably my favorite cookbook in my house because so many of the recipes are super easy and good. The cookbook also suggests using peaches or apricots in place of the pineapple. I haven't tried those yet.
PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
- 5 Tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 6 drained pineapple rings (or 1 cup drained chunks)
- 6 maraschino cherries, halved (optional)
- 12 pecan or walnut halves
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup milk
Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pan over low heat. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Arrange fruit and nuts in sugar mixture. In a small mixing bown, mix 3 Tablespoons of softened butter with granulated sugar. Add egg and beat until creamy. Add vanilla. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt thoroughly. Add to sugar mixture alternately with milk. Spread batter evenly over the fruit. Bake at 350° F (moderate oven) 30 to 40 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan and invert on serving plate. Allow to cool 5 minutes before removing the pan.
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Apple-Bacon Muffins
Everything is better with bacon, right? I ran across this crazy idea for apple-bacon muffins in a 1940s issue of Woman's Day magazine while doing some research for our local historical society's newsletter. It just happened that our church had our annual Mother-Daughter Tea just a few weeks later and we were serving muffins (pictured below), so I whipped up a couple of batches. Mmmm, were they good. The applesauce kind of merges with the muffin batter to make a nice, moist muffin, and the bacon on top gives it a bit of a salty flavor for a nice mix of sweet and salty.
To make a dozen muffins, you'll need a cup of applesauce (I used natural, unsweetened) and a bag of Oscar-Mayer Real Bacon Bits. Follow the recipe below for muffins, put a couple tablespoons of muffin batter in each muffin cup (about a quarter of the muffin cup), followed by a teaspoon of applesauce, and topped with another tablespoon or two of muffin batter. Then sprinkle a half a Tablespoon of bacon bits on top before baking following the instructions for the recipe.
Here's my "from scratch" muffin recipe from an old USDA Homemakers Cookbook my mama gave me years ago:
MUFFINS (makes 12)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup oil or melted shortening
- 2 cups flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup sugar
Beat egg until yolk and white are well blended. Blend in milk and fat. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add liquid and stir until dry ingredients are barely moistened. Do not overmix. Batter should be lumpy. Fill greased or lined muffin tins half full of batter. Bake at 400° F (hot oven) 20 to 25 minutes.
Here are a few other variations to the recipe:
Blueberry muffins -Increase sugar to ½ cup. Lightly blend ¾ cup fresh or drained canned blueberries when combining liquid and dry incredients. Do not crush berries.
Bran muffins - Reduce flour to 1¼ cups. Mix 2 cups of bran flakes or raisin bran cereal with dry ingredients before adding liquid.
Oatmeal Raisin muffins - Reduce flour to 1¼ cups. Mix 1 cup quick rolled oats and ½ cup raisins with dry ingredients before adding liquid.
March 19, 2012
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Healthy Chicken Enchiladas - So Yum!
This is probably one of my favorite recipes from the Curves Complete program. I use low-carb whole wheat flour tortillas because I'm not a big fan of corn tortillas, and a couple of other "free" alterations.
Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 medium onion
- 2 oz fresh spinach leaves
- 8 tortillas
- 1 cup green enchilada sauce (or tomatillo salsa)
- 8 oz light mozzarella cheese (sometimes I substitute queso blanca)
- 8 Tbsp. light sour cream (optional)
- Diced green onion
- Cook chicken breast and shred. I find it easiest to bring it to a boil and boil 15 minutes.
- Dice onion and chop spinach leaves. Saute together until both soften.
- Mix chicken breast, vegetables and 1/2 of the cheese. (This is where I sprinkle in some cilantro and add a small can of diced green chilies to make it a little spicier.)
- Fill tortillas with chicken and vegetable mix. Roll to enclose, placing seam side down in a casserole dish.
- Top enchiladas with tomatillo salsa/enchilada sauce and remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake at 350-degrees F until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with sour cream and diced green onion.
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I don't buy boxed pancake mix anymore
I have stopped buying boxed pancake mix because I have a great recipe from an old homemakers cookbook. This recipe is so easy, and made with stuff I always have around the house anyway. Now I'm sharing with you.
Makes 10-12 pancakes, approx. 5" across
- 2 Cups flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 egg, well beaten
- 2 Cups milk
- 1/3 Cup oil or melted fat
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Combine egg with milk and oil, add to dry ingredients, stirring only until combined. (Not over-mixing is the secret to fluffy pancakes.) Heat griddle on medium heat. Griddle is hot eneough when drops of water sprinkled on it bounce. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. Cook until edges become dry and bubbles on top burst into craters. Turn and brown the other side.
These are the best pancakes, and healthier for you because they aren't preprocessed.
September 22, 2011
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I'm still standing
Seriously considering returning to Xanga on a regular basis. Facebook is just making too many changes for my comfort level. One of the reasons I left Xanga was I was spending too much time here trying to keep up with my friends posts. I had originally gotten mad at Xanga because they made changes that afforded non-paying members benefits I got from being paying member, but then they have also added things to help me keep up with my most favorite friends here. Problem is, most friends have also jumped to Facebook.
Sooooo, keep watching. You may see me back here on a more regular basis.
June 15, 2011
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How do I stay so busy?
I know, because I have a hard time saying no.
Relay For Life is in 3 weeks. We have a fundraising garage sale this Friday and Saturday for it and I'm nowhere near ready for it. I'm planning on taking most of the day off tomorrow to get set up. All of the proceeds are going to the American Cancer Society through our Relay For Life team.
I'm excited about Relay For Life because this is the first time in the 10 years that I've been going that I've actually managed to put a team together. My mom, two brothers, a daughter, granddaughter, several nieces and nephews are all coming in from out of town to participate with me. We are going to have a lot of fun that night. I'm so thankful they are making the extra effort to come and help me celebrate 10 years of being cancer free.
It will also make 10 years of being on Xanga, later this summer. I found Xanga as an outlet to express my feelings about cancer, and then life in general. Like with most of us, Facebook has taken over my online social life and I just manage to get by here every now and then to peak in.
If you are a Xanga friend and you are on Facebook, too, look me up over there www.facebook.com/debbie.doty and let me know your Xanga handle when friend me.
Don't forget to do those monthly self breast exams and get those mammograms. Early detection saved my life and it may very well yours, too.
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