Too cute to keep to myself.

Visit Where The Heart Is for an eeeee-asy DIY Tutorial. 

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer. 

I  cornbread. 

My Grandmother Phillips had a skillet of cornbread and a pan of biscuits on her stove top at all times.  Thanks to my Momma, who taught me well, no other corn meal will do.  It has to be Hudson Cream Corn Meal.

My recipe for cornbread:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Put a glob (about a spoonful) of shortening in an iron skillet. 

Place skillet in the oven to heat up while you are preheating. 

Stir together

• 2 cups of Hudson Cream Corn Meal (no other will do)
• 1 egg (slightly beaten)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup sugar

Mix well.  Pour into heated skillet.  Bake 20 to 25 min. 

Sometimes I use the above recipe to make muffins.  Bake 15 min.  Makes 12 large muffins.

You just try it.  Cornbread will never be the same. 

Thinking of making this later today for my "monkeys".  Just right for a cold snowy day, don't you think?

2 cans of biscuits

1/2 stick of butter

Sugar

Cinnamon

Vanilla
 

Pre-heat oven to 375.  Lightly butter a bundt pan.  In a bowl combine 2 C of white sugar with a couple teaspoons of cinnamon and a dash of Brown Sugar. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Roll the biscuit pieces in the sugar mixture until well coated. Drop the biscuits into your bundt pan.  In a small saucepan over medium heat bring 1/2 stick of butter, 1 C sugar and roughly 1 tsp of vanilla to a boil. Pour this evenly over the biscuits in the bundt pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes.

I went to Walmart yesterday.  Which is remarkable for several reasons,

1. I've become a snowed in hermit.  (I'm not really snowed in.  I'm just pretending.) 
2. I don't like driving in the snow.  I had a car accident once in the snow.  I was 21.  (The chief reminded me that I'm not 21 anymore and our vehicle is 4WD.)  
3. I have to put makeup on to go to Walmart.  If I go to Walmart without makeup I will see the entire LHS Class of '94.  It's a rule of life.   
4. Snowed in hermits don't wear makeup.   

So I'm at Walmart and notice that their Valentine's aisle is geared up and ready to earn the big dollars.  I ♥ Valentine's Day.  I do not ♥ $5 cards. 

You can see how all those red and pink hearts got me to racking my brain for things to do for my Valentine.  Cause if you've been to Walmart, you're probably doing the same thing.  It's another rule of life. 

All that racking got me to remembering.  Remember November '08, when we did  The Love Dare?  That was cool wasn't it?  I want to do it again.  Only this time, let's do an abbreviated Dare for Valentine's Day.  We have five weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.  Will you join me for this challenge? 

Whether your marriage is hanging by a thread or healthy and strong, we need to be open to a new understanding of what it means to genuinely love someone.  The truth is, love is a decision and not just a feeling.  And when you truly demonstrate love, your relationship is more likely to change for the better. 

So each Monday, I'll post three dares for the week.  Schedule them however suits you best.  Some will be easy and some very challenging.  But take each dare seriously.  Be creative.  Be courageous.  The following Monday, drop us a comment on the post or a link to your own blog, sharing what you did and how it went.  It doesn't have to be super personal.  Just let us know you're "in". 

Will you take the dare?  Are you "in"?

Valentine  Dare, week 1

Valentine Dare, week 2

Valentine Dare, week 3

Valentine Dare, week 4

Valentine Dare, Concluded

This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday.  For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit We Are THAT Family.

Every Wednesday, Kristen at We Are THAT Family hosts a blog Carnival, Works for Me Wednesday.  You will literally find hundreds of tips that work for you them me.  This week's carnival is a reverse works for me.  Instead of offering a tip, I ask you to give me a tip.  Which leads to.... (Drumroll please)

My towel dilemma. 

Our current towels are pretty much rags (a thorn in my homemaking side). I'm eagerly biding my time to replace them.  In my anticipation, please share where, what, why, and how to buy towels.  Where do you find the best deal on bath towels?  Which brand holds up to frequent use and laundering? 

Repost from Feb, 08

(The chief had a cold sore this week and we zapped it with this home remedy.  Reminded me how well it works.  Just spreading the word. )

If you've ever had a cold sore/fever blister  - you know how miserable it is.  You are gonna love this home remedy!

As soon as you feel the cold sore coming on (the earlier, the better), hold a cotton ball saturated with rubbing alcohol on it for about a minute.  It will sting.  Just a little.  The cold sore will not get any bigger.  I'm serious.  The alcohol zaps it or something more medically technical.     

Just for good measure, I do the alcohol a couple more times over the course of the day and the following day.  I really don't like sores.  So, I'm not taking any chances. 

I've been told that the alcohol kills the cold sore germ.  Preventing the cold sore from getting bigger.  It is also suppose to prevent it from being contagious.  Who told me this?  I wish I could remember. 

All I know for certain is that it works for me. 

For more Works For Me Wednesday y'all gotta visit We Are THAT Family. 

Mandi Shandi's Necklace Tutorial

Super inexpensive.  Super easy.  Took less than 2 minutes to make.  I love it!

Did you know that you can use a scrub sponge to remove pills from sweaters?  Gently run the textured side of a new sponge across your knits to de-fuzz.

Works for me!

Linked to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Lazy Day Lasagna

(Makes a 9X13 pan or 2 – 8X8)

• Cottage cheese – 12 oz.
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – 2 cups
• Eggs – 2
• Parsley (chopped) – 1/3 cup
• Onion powder – 1t.
• Basil – ½ t.
• Pepper – 1/8 t.
• Spaghetti Sauce (homemade or not) – 32 oz.
• Cooked ground beef – ¾ cup
• Lasagna noodles, uncooked – 9
• Water – ¾ cup

Multiply the ingredients by however many you want to make. I usually make six at a time. 

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, parsley, onion powder, basil and pepper until well blended.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, mix together spaghetti sauce and cooked ground beef.

In baking dish, spread ¾ cup meat sauce on the bottom.  Layer 3 uncooked noodles on tip of the meat sauce.  Next spread ½ of cheese mixture and 1 ½ cup meat sauce.  Layer 3 more uncooked noodles on top of the meat sauce.  Spread with remaining cheese mixture.  Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining sauce.  Pour water around the outside edges.  Cover the top of the lasagna with wax paper and then the foil.  Freeze. 

When you are ready to serve, remove from freezer and thaw at least overnight in the fridge.  Bake covered at 375 degrees (remove wax paper before placing in oven) for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. 

To bake from the frozen stage, add 30 minutes to the total baking time.

This post is linked to the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom and Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

The chief of our tribe taught me this tip when he was an account manager for a vending company. 

Microwave a cup of water for two minutes.  Then let it stand for 2+ minutes.  The steam will do its stuff to make all the gunk wipe away easier.  Remove cup.   Wipe inside microwave thoroughly with paper towel.  Good as new!  Now wasn't that easy?

Read more Works For Me at We Are THAT Family.