FEAST-Day 3--Apple Cider Cake

 I have made this cake exactly twice.  I have probably had 20 requests for the recipe after serving it twice. No kidding. I have never had a piece of it. No kidding. But apparently it is the bombdiggity, as both times it is devoured and the recipe is requested.  I originally made it for a party my mother-in-law was hosting. I thought I would be nice and help her out. But I did not want to go to the store. So I used only what I had on hand. So, I kind of used a little of this and a little of that, because  that is what was available to me. Then my MIL told me how popular and delicous the cake was, and that everyone wanted the recipe. Dang. I had not written it down. So, I recreated it again, as much as I could remember, for the rehearsal dinner I gave. Once again, the cake was gone and requests for the recipe were many. So, once again, I am going to try and recreate the recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as everyone else appears to! And, finally, it will be in writing!

Apple Cider Cake

 (with delicious filling)

Prepare a white cake mix according to directions AND

add to it a teaspoon of almond flavoring AND

a tablespoon of cinammon. Mix well.

Grease a bundt pan (grease well)

Pour in a little over half the prepared cake mix.

Mix the following together in a small bowl:

2 small apples (peeled and chopped)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons of cinammon

Spread this mixture over the cake batter in the pan.

(If you want to add more of any of the above, feel free to,

my measurements are approximate!)

Then add the rest of your cake batter, covering all the "goo"

you have in the middle.

Bake at 350 degrees, just as you would a regular cake.

It takes probably 25  to 30 minutes, but check it to be sure.

When it is done, take it out and let it cool.

After it is cool, loosen it from the sides and turn it over onto a plate.

Glaze

Mix together 1/4 cup apple cider with powdered sugar. (Once again

you can add more cider or as much powdered sugar as you want.)

As you can see from the picture, I have a thick glaze on mine.

Pour this over the top. You may also add a few nuts to the top.

Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

Tomorrow: Scotchies

30 Days of Gratitude-Day 2- Voting

I am grateful for the right to vote.

 It is almost hard for me to believe, but one of my grandmothers did not have the right to vote for a few years. She was born towards the end of the 1800's and would have been able to vote before women were given the right. I cannot imagine her sitting back and letting men tell her what to do and how to do it. She was very smart and up on issues of her time. When women were finally given the right to vote, I can almost guarantee she would have been one of the first in line. I wish now I could go back and ask her about situations such as these.

 Admittedly, there are flaws in our voting processes at times. But we acknowledge these and work to fix them. We are still given more voting rights than any other country.
Our process is becoming more and more drawn out, but we, the people, still get to decide on our officials and our issues.

 The right to vote is a privilege. It is a privilege that each of us should never take for granted. On this election day, and every single election, from presidential elections to city council we each need to exercise our right to vote.

As I go to the poll this afternoon, I will think of my grandmother and all the women before her that waited for the very moment they could vote. I'll say a silent thank you to the women that paved the way for me.  And I'll thank God that I live in a nation that gives each of us the right to cast our vote. For that, I am grateful.

FEAST-Day 2--Apple Blossoms

 Apple Blossoms....much like their cousin the Blooming Onion... are delicous.

 The difference.......this is the fastest and easiest thing to make. Ever.

 Because I wanted this delectable treat to be as healthy as possible, these are the ingredients I used: Honeycrisp Apple (if you have not had a Honeycrisp, then you are missing out), sugar-free caramel (found in the ice cream section), sugar-free whipped cream, and almonds (although any nut could be used).

 The Honeycrisp apple was so big that I could not get my apple core tool to work. The apple was bigger than the core! So, in this case I pressed it into the apple on the top and had to hand cut the rest, along the lines the core had left. In most cases it should work! I then heated the caramel in the microwave and drizzled the apple (that I had spread out in a bowl).

 I then piled whipped cream in the middle of the apple blossom and drizzled it with more hot caramel. Then I added the almonds. Obviously you can leave off the nuts if you choose. Or you could add chocolate chips. Or butterscotch chips. Or toffee pieces. Or whatever you like! 

I then grabbed a couple of heavy-duty napkins and took the bowl with the Apple Blossom into the living room to share with my husband while we watched college football.
These are so fast and easy to make that they could easily be a dessert at a party.  Try them!

Tomorrow: Apple Cider Cake

30 Days of Gratitude-Day 1- Teachers

While we should always be grateful for what we have, November makes us truly reflect.

 I ask you, what are you grateful for?

Day 1-- I am Grateful for Teachers

The fact that I picked teachers as my first day of gratitude has nothing to do with the fact that I, too, am a teacher. And it has everything to do with it. This is not a 'grateful for myself as a teacher post' but rather a 'grateful for the teachers that shaped my life and made me want to be a teacher and made me love to teach' post.

I had many wonderful teachers. They were more than educators, they taught life lessons. I heard a quote once, "I like a teacher that gives you something to take home and think about besides homework."  Those kinds of teachers are the ones that I am grateful for. Their lessons began with paper and ended with real life. They didn't just teach, they educated. They didn't just suggest, they pushed. They didn't just talk the talk, they walked the walk. They nurtured my brain. They fed my soul.

Miss Hemphill was my kindergarten teacher. She was life personified. She made learning exciting. She made a 5 year old want to explore things she had never heard of. She made me want more. She taught me to reach.

Then there was Miss Holler. She had the most beautiful penmanship I (to this day) have ever seen. When she wrote on the board I loved to watch her write and I gobbled up her words as well as her penmanship. She brought art into our classroom before there was art in schools. She read a chapter from a book every. single. day. after lunch. I COULD NOT WAIT. She read classics. She read Nancy Drew. She made me want to read and read and read. She was SO before her time!

Mrs. Culter continued to feed that passion for reading. Our school did not have a library (this was back in the 60's!!!), and Mrs. Culter would go to the Tulsa library and bring back loads of books for us to check out from her. Oh. my. gosh. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It opened up my world.

Mrs. Whaley stressed the importance of numbers and rules. I knew I had to act good in her class because she was my mother's good friend. I knew I had to act good and do well in her class because she expected no less than the best. She taught me never to settle, when the best is what should be given.

Mr. Zimmerman took us outside of the classroom. He did much more than teach us science. He brought science to us. If it could be hands on, then we did it. If it could be taught outside of the classroom walls, then we went. He made science part of our lives. Science was not a mystery. It was life.

Mrs. Tipps furthered that science-is-our-life-theory in high school. I did not always agree with things she said, and for the first time I learned that we are all allowed our own opinion.  We are all allowed our own opinion...with respect given to other opinions as well as our own. She made me want to stand up for my opinion even more, but on the other hand, I learned that it was fine if we did not agree.

Mrs. Mize could not give enough compliments, and praise, and you-can-do-its, and I-like-your-works. She made each student feel like they were the most special student in the class...in a class of 30.

Mrs. Walker taught me to respect Parliamentary Procedure. She taught me that life is not all about 'me'. (Tough lesson at the age of 13.) She managed to teach a lot of us that lesson.....along with math. Wow. She had her hands full!!

Then there were teachers that I never had and just observed.
 Mrs. O'Kief taught me about graciousness and love. I never had her and none of my children ever had her, but I have seen her loving and giving nature personified over and over and over again. If she was in your life, she touched it. She left a mark.

Mrs. Dillard (Davis) taught me that you should look your best each day. The students that had her as a teacher not only got her gracious spirit, but they had eye-candy to look at each day as well. She showed me that if students are 'stuck' with a teacher for an hour. or two. or six per day, then they need to enjoy what they see. Mrs. Dillard (Davis) dressed to the nines each and every day. It did not matter that most days she dealt with smelly-coughing-germ filled students, she dressed like she was going to a fashion show. Her students were that important. She taught me respect for myself...and others... by example.

Then there are English teachers that I have taught with. They taught me that we can never ever, ever, ever, ever quit learning. We learn more from our students than we ever give to them.  Rita and Darlene and Stephanie were there to brainstorm, to pick from their ideas, to offer support, or lessons, or games. They taught me there is much more to high school than English class. They taught me that the stories we teach are nothing compared to the lives we reach. They taught me that every single day is important. They taught me that every single student is worthy of my effort.

For all my teachers and professors I am grateful beyond words. For the teachers around the nation that are in the classrooms each day, I am grateful. For the teachers that are able to turn dust into gold, I am grateful. Our future depends on each of you. 

The First Day of the FEAST

Hang on folks. We are going to try and get through the month of November with a recipe a day! Yep, you read it right. AND not only a recipe a day, but for the most part, these are recipes that are not labor-intensive and could be made by even the most novice of cooks. BUT the best part is, they taste great and your family and friends will love them...and you. First up......

Gingerbread/Pumpkin Trifle

Ingredients:

1 box gingerbread cake mix

1 large carton of whipped cream

2 small boxes of pumpkin (spice) pudding OR

2 small boxes vanilla pudding AND pumpkin pie spice

milk

toffee candy (optional)

Bake gingerbread according to directions on box. Let cool.

When cool cut into cubes or squares.

Put one layer (about half the cake)of gingerbread cubes in

the bottom of a large glass compote.

Make one box of your pudding according to pudding directions.

(At this time of year you can buy pumpkin pudding. I use that. If

you cannot find it, you can use vanilla pudding and put a teaspoon or two

of pumpkin pie spice in the pudding when you are mixing it. I have done that too.)

OR you can just use vanilla pudding.

Layer the entire pudding on top of the gingerbread cubes.

Next layer a generous layer of whipped cream.

Repeat your layers using the rest of the gingerbread cake cubes.

Repeat with your second box of pudding.

Top it off with another generous layer of whipped cream.
You can then add gingerbread crumbs on top....
or what I like to do is to put
Toffee candy pieces on the very top.
Dig in.
Enjoy.

 

Tomorrow.........Apple Blossoms. Easiest. Recipe. Ever!