Welcome to Blog Hop ’08 with ellen b. Info all about me is in my profile button on my header. I’ve been bloggin a little over a year now. I’m keeping this simple and offering you a great recipe that kids and adults enjoy. Blessings on you!
I’m reposting my Peanut Butter ~ Chocolate-Butterscotch Rice Krispy Bar Recipe here for Blog-hop ’08. It’s a wonderful quick treat for blog parties, barbecues and picnics. Robin at Pensieve is hosting this party so click on over and check it out. You can visit more party posts from her site!
To make these wonderful bars you will need 1 cup sugar, 1 cup Karo Light Corn Syrup, 1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter, 6 cups Rice Krispies, 1 cup Butterscotch Chips and 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.
Bring 1 cup sugar and 1 cup karo light syrup just to a boil mixing well. Take off heat and add 1 cup peanut butter and mix till smooth.
Add 6 cups Rice Krispies and mix till all the krispies are coated well.
Put this mixture into a well greased 9×12 pan and press down evenly into the pan. Mix both the butterscotch and chocolate chips into microwaveable bowl and microwave at 3-30second intervals, mixing well after each 30 seconds. Mix together till smooth. (You can use the double boiler method to melt your chips if you prefer). Pour entire mixture on top of the pressed down Rice Krispies and spread to cover.
Give it some time to cool and set then cut and serve. Enjoy!
While you are waiting for the bars to set up here’s a Margarita, your choice a double or a single! Oh and for those of you joining the party early in the morning these margaritas are probably grossing you out so here, have a nice cup of french press coffee!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed your visit! Thanks Robin!
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.
On Wednesday afternoon Josh, Laura, Michelle and I took the Ferry from Edmonds to Kingston for High Tea in Port Gamble. The Tea Room at Port Gamble is in an old Victorian house on the main street in this little town. You get off the ferry at Kingston and follow the road to Highway 104 headed for the Hood Canal Bridge. When you get to the 25 mile an hour speed zone you know you are close. You can’t miss it and it’s a delightful afternoon stop!
Josh was such a good sport to play along and don a hat, too. He had never been to High Tea and we discussed just how civilized it is. Of course none of us had to wear hats but we were just in the mood.
I think the highlights for us were the wonderful scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream and then the chocolate fondue at the end of our tea. Duhliscious!! (I miss-spelled that on purpose!)
We strolled through the little town and enjoyed the architecture and unique little shops. Took the picture of the Artful Ewe for you Willow!
My son Josh and Laura
My DIL Laura and niece Michelle
Do you see the sign the antique dealer has under her cash register in her shop? It says “YOUR HUSBAND CALLED – And said you can buy anything you want” On the way out of town we stopped at the Anglican Church.
From the cemetery we could see the Hood Canal Bridge and we commented that we should drop in on Dave and Beth but we didn’t call ahead and our afternoon was turning into evening. Maybe you can meet Katie and I for tea sometime in Port Gamble Beth!?
At the cemetery Josh spotted this engraving on one of the tombstones. “Remember friend as you pass by, As you are now so once was I, As I am now you soon will be, Prepare for death and follow me”
Sobering thought or it could be taken as an encouragement to prepare ourselves for the inevitable by making decisions today that guarantee our future in Glory when we meet our Creator…
Well we decided it was time to head back to the ferry dock and journey across the Puget Sound to Edmonds and onward. But what did we spot on the way back…
CB’s Nuts! A small Roasting operation right off the main highway. We made a U-turn and headed back after we zoomed by too fast to stop. We are glad we turned around. We met Mr. Roasting Guy and he sold us some fresh peanuts, pistachios, and peanut butter.
Can’t get too much fresher then this!
At the ferry dock while we were waiting for our boat I zoomed in for this shot of Mt. Rainier and downtown Seattle. If you look closely you can see the Space Needle to the right of the rest of the buildings.
Another fabulous day in the Greater Puget Sound! To end the day we met my other kids, Dan and Katie, at PF Chang’s for dinner. A very full day that made this lady pretty tired but joyful.
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.
I’m still in the State of Washington. Trees in my backyard. Original photo replaced by this one from 2016.
Skywatch has a new site so check out more Sky Watch photos by clicking here. Tom is still our host but the site is new.
This is an easy recipe that I elaborated on and decided to share with y’all!
The original recipe was by Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network
Chicken Stew
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, cut into bite size pieces
1 carrot peeled, cut into bite size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (14-1/2 oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 (14 oz.) can low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 Tblsp. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1-1/2 lbs. total)
1 (15 oz.) can of organic kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Heat the oil in a heavy 5-1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minuts. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
Bring the cooking liquid to simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occassionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
Discard the skin and bones from the chicken. Shred or cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with good crusty bread.
So here are my variations: I doubled the recipe. I used a whole chicken instead of just breasts. I let the dark meat cook a little longer than the breasts. I used chopped tomatoes with jalapeno and chopped tomatoes with sweet onions and garlic. I used both kidney beans and a can of garbanzo beans (chick peas) I drained and rinsed both. I didn’t have fresh basil so I used dried. The last thing I did different was to throw in some fresh mushrooms!
Enjoy!
We had a full wonderful day yesterday exploring. Didn’t get home till 9:00 just in time to watch the New Season of Project Runway. Whoohoo! This happy old gal is tiii-rrred! Now to upload all the wonderful photos. Have a great morning everyone…
I do other things beside canoeing, and sight seeing, and eating out when I’m in Washington or California for that matter. And whatever I do I’m inspired to take pictures. Digital Photography has made me free to snap, snap, snap away! First off it was time to change out the Red, White, and Blue table from our 4th of July celebrations. A fresh tablecloth, runner and a vase of fragrant lavender from my bushes make a nice crisp change. Then out to do yard work. I mowed, I pulled weeds and last but not least I attacked the following…
I don’t know what this fast growing, bamboo stalk type plant is but it has completely covered other plants and part of the trunk of this big pine tree we have in our side yard. I decided it was time to tell it who’s boss!
Now you can see the trunk of the tree and the other plants that are trying to grow here. In this shot you can see the stalks of the plant/weed that was taking over.
This shows you the bamboo type stalks on this plant.
And after work like this in the yard my body tells me it got used to living in a condo the rest of the year. I put my comfy clothes on and take 3 Ibuprofen every 4 hours just like Dear told me to. The next day I go out and am pleased I can now see all the not so well taken care of plants that were under the domination of the Bamboo stalker. What do you think, Dear? For those of you who don’t know Dear is in California right now while I’m in Washington and I miss him…
Now I just have to put all those branches in the Yard Waste bins…
Ha! But before I do I’m off for a day of fun because my niece Michelle, from Wait For It, is here in town and we’re going to have some adventures together with the family. Have a wonderful day everyone.
Oh and just one other thing. The sun has been shining most every day that I’ve been in Washington. Just gorgeous weather we’re having in the Great Northwest…
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.
John 14:6 ~ Jesus saith unto him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
For more Word Filled Wednesday visit the lovely Amydeanne at the 160 Acre Woods.
Since I had absolutely nothing for ABC Wednesday, the letter Z, I decided to cheat a bit and use my Suzzallo Library Post for Z. Look! There are two z’s in Suzzallo! My daughter and I were here last Thursday.
This is Suzzallo Library on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. Ground was broken for this library in 1923. The building is an example of the Collegiate Gothic style adopted by the University as part of the 1915 campus plan, developed by architects Carl F. Gould and Charles H. Bebb.
Three heroic figures of cast stone depicting “Mastery”, “Inspiration”, and “Thought” sculpted by Allan Clark stand over the portals of the main entrance.
We walked up the beautiful staircase to get to the second floor reading room.
One of the entrances to the reading room. This room has inspired comparisons with the great library reading rooms of the world. After being in it I can understand why.
Oak bookcases are topped with a hand-carved frieze representing native plants of Washington State, including salal, Douglas fir, scrub oak, grape, dogwood, mountain ash, rhododendron, pear, trillium, salmon berry, wild rose, apple, marigold, canteloupe, tulip and cherry.
The room measures 65 feet high, 52 feet wide, and 250 feet long.
At each end of the room, a paneled alcove features a hand-painted world globe hanging from the ceiling, which bears the names of different explorers.
Tall, traceried windows incorporate leaded glass which is intended to break the direct rays of light.
The room features a vaulted ceiling elaborately decorated with rich colored and gilded stenciling.
A 1927 article in The Pacific Builder and Engineer stated that “This room has been pronounced the most beautiful on the continent and is ranked among the most beautiful in the world. It is comparable only to the nave of a cathedral.”
Some more views of the outside of the building.
If you live in the Greater Puget Sound Area and have never visited Suzzallo or if you happen to travel to Seattle, I highly recommend you put it on your list of places to visit.
ht: Most of the information I’ve shared comes from a Library Guide that is free at the entrance to the Library.
If you’d like to see more ABC Wednesday, Z is for posts click on over to Mrs. Nesbitt’s.
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.
While Katie and I were canoeing around Lake Washington we saw many Herons, Ducks, and Lily pads. We also saw some turtles, a woodpecker, and a raccoon in the water.
We’re headed back to the Canoe barn. We have to canoe all the way back to Husky Stadium. Can you see it in the distance. Now we’re getting closer. When we reach these lily pads and colorful boats we only have a short distance to go. I did put my camera down now and again to help Katie paddle back. Going across this part of Lake Washington was the roughest part of our canoeing but still very doable for us gals…
If you missed it my first post on our canoeing trip is here.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 