Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo Sauce

1 pkg pasta
1 stick butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 pint heavy cream
1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
2 T cream cheese
1/4 t salt
1/2 t white pepper [I use black.]

1. Make pasta to your desired level of doneness.
2. In sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter, add garlic and cook 2 minutes.
3. Add cream and cream cheese heating until bubbling, but not boiling.
4. Add Parmesan cheese and mix until melted.
5. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste.
6. Mix the hot sauce with the pasta and serve.

Great Reads

In my humble opinion, here's a list of really good books--in no particular order.

1. Old Yeller, Fred Gibson

2. Gone With the Wind, Martha Mitchell

3. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

4. Outlander--the series by Diana Galbadon

5. The Sunne in Splendor, Sharon Kaye Penman

6. The Host, Stephanie Meyer

7. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
8. The Winter King and others by Bernard Cornwell
9. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Water For Elephants, Sara Gruen
12. A Dance With Dragons and the all the books in the series, George R.R. Martin
13. Page From a Tennessee Journal, Francine Thomas Howard

Easy Quick Cobbler Recipe

1 c. flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 c. white sugar

1/4 c. melted butter

3/4 c. milk

2 c. sliced fruit--I used blackberries.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour butter in 9X9 pan. In a bowl, mix all ingredients except fruit and pour over butter. Do not mix. Place fruit on top. Bake for about 45-60 minutes or until top is golden brown. 

The original recipe called for peaches. But almost any fruit--canned, fresh, or frozen works well. I used freeze dried blackberries from Thrive. Turned out so well that I had two helpings. Guess I'll have to work that off somewhere!

Favorite Cookie: Molasses Crinkles

My favorite comfort food is the cookie. Grandma Minnie Mae taught me how to make peanut butter cookies when I was four years old. It was an instant love affair the cookie. Here's one of my favorites.

Molasses Crinkles

       1. Cream:

 ¾ c shortening   

 1 c brown sugar  

 1 egg

2. Add:

  ¼ c molasses

  2-1/4 c flour

  ½ t cloves

  1 t ginger

  2 t soda

  ¼ t salt 

  1 t cinnamon.

3. Chill dough.  Roll into 1 inch balls, dip tops in white sugar or sanding sugar, place sugar side up on greased cookie sheet, flatten slightly, and bake until set but not hard (8-10 minutes).  

Projects in the Works

Magic Number quilt for Granddaughter #1. She  chose the materials. I had the fun of piecing the quilt. It is now layered and partly quilted. 

Here's a close-up of the unfinished quilt top.

Granddaughter #1 is holding up the unfinished top. Added the remaining border pieces later and am now in the process of machine quilting.

*Finally finished this quilt about a year later. Such a fun project. Thinking I need to make another one.

Directions for making a Magic Number quilt from my favorite quilt blogger./

Getting a Start on Spring Break

Second day of Spring Break 2013! Time for a little yard work before quilting this afternoon. Yesterday I rescued my oldest granddaughter from a week of boredom and chores at home. Chores at someone else's house is always more fun! So she can now help me clear a few weeds that survived the mild West Texas winter and clean up the yard. My neighbors will be happier with me I'm sure.

LATER..Too windy and cool for yard work this morning. Guess I'll head on over to Tractor Supply and Ace Hardware to pick up mulch and various other supplies in the hope that the wind and chill goes away this afternoon. 

A Little Bit Later...Wind died down. Granddaughter #1 helped carry mulch bags, weed, put down cardboard layer, rake mulch and just generally helped out. Two-thirds of the front flowerbed covered. Back to the store tomorrow for more mulch and gardening gloves. 

Finished with the weeding and mulching. Now kill a few strands of grass peeking out near the border and to add some plants. Thinking of adding some big pots of flowers or greenery. Maybe some decorative grasses? Hmmm....