Holiday Cookies by Madison

I told Madison I'd pay her $20 for some holiday cookies for my party this week. She got a bit carried away with the frosting, but you have to admire her spirit!

Tiny's Donut Show

Yesterday we made the delicious 500-calorie Apple Strudel.  Before doing so, we watched several YouTube videos about how to prepare Apple Strudel.  Madison loved the shows, and as soon as we had a few minutes she asked if I would help her with something.  So, here is the beginning of the next "Rachel Ray"...

Apple Strudel - DELICIOUS!

We had a big "Root Beer & Apple Strudel Festival" today at church as a fundraiser for the youth group's trip to San Felipe.  Well, after 48-straight hours of Halloween parties, birthday parties, and sleepovers, Kids #1 & 2 were too pooped to go.  But I had already bought all the stuff to make the strudel (the recipe is here).  I did make one change though... I soaked the raisins in Bourbon and microwaved the bourbon & Raisins for about a minute to soak up all the juice.

Holy-moly!  It's so good.  The only problem?  As you can see from the recipe...500 calories a slice!

The Obligatory Malibu Seafood Photo

The clams at Malibu seafood in prep for the cruise.

Vegetarian thoughts...

My daughter doesn't like to eat meat. I wouldn't exactly say she's a vegetarian though. She's more of a "desert and breaditarian".

So, I've decided to try and help her eat more healthy by going Veggie with her until mid October. We've been eating vegetarian now for a week. It's not been hard, and it's been really yummy! Last night we made a terrific vegetarian chile. Here's the recipe if you want to try it.

Chili Mac w/ Nun

Need I say more?

A Greasy Morning with the guys...

Today Older Brother, Dad and I enjoyed one of our favorite traditions...biscuits & gravy at Roy Roger's.  These things probably have enough calories to get you through a whole day, but they are yummy and comforting to those of us who grew up eating this kind of thing.  We had a lot of fun visiting and catching up over some pepper-covered biscuits & gravy. 

After breakfast I went for a ride on Mark's new Honda Shadow 1100.  It's super nice...has curvy handles that I loved and a nice quiet exhaust.  I'm definitely going to go pick up a more quiet exhaust for my bike.

PS-don't I look like an angel in this photo?

This is the goo that I made with Andrea's recipe. Yum!

• 1 1/2 C Sugar
• 1/2 C Cocoa
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 stick butter
• 3/4 C Water

Bring contents to boil in sauce pan. While still hot, serve over yellow cake. Ummm...