Care Packages and My Week

On Sunday our church had Shalom Sunday. I was part of a team that packed and sent out packages to our soldiers. We were so blessed with donations and excited helpers that we were able to mail out 13 packages. There were many prayers and commitments to continue to pray for each soldier that got a package too. We sent them to family members of church members and neighbors and friends.

If you are mailing a package to a deployed soldier they have different needs than one that is stateside. I thought I'd share a bit in case you want to mail a soldier a package. Christmas is coming!

Of course, letters and pictures. If kids are drawing pictures remind them that they should draw pictures of what they have been doing at home. Soldiers don't need pictures of war, they see that everyday.

Use many Ziploc bags as they reuse them and can put them to good use. Plus it's good to keep the smells of the hygiene items secure.

Shelly's son Jed has been deployed so she had great ideas. As she reminded us, soldiers don't always get enough to eat; after all they are at war. I know Sam misses many meals and he is stateside for now.

Deployed soldiers:

*baby wipes- it's dusty over there.

*mouse traps and fly strips- enough said.

*hygiene items-solids and they like Axe products to mask smells.

*drink mixes, zip fizz energy drink, crystal lite etc.- sometimes their water doesn't taste good.

*Starbucks Via- add it to bad coffee to amp it up.

*beef jerky, protein bars, trail mix, nuts.

*homemade cookies usually arrive in crumbs but they tell me they don't care, it tastes like home.

*books and current magazines- don't worry about their reading tastes, it's trading stock.

Stateside soldiers:

*homemade cookies and bars- wrapped two by two for controlled sharing.

*gift cards.

*candy, beef jerky, favorite snacks.

*drink mixes-they are required to stay hydrated and sometimes the water isn't great.

*Via for the coffee.

*Treats for their spouse and children. We put together a package for a soldier, his wife and six boys! That Mama is a saint :) We packed a box for a family with a new baby too. See below for the dinner idea we sent.

College students:

If you're mailing a package to a college student, they love the homemade cookies and bars. I send emergenC, gift cards, microwave popcorn, snacks, etc. A meal in a bag is great too. For chicken and rice soup, I send Groentesoep mix, cream of chicken soup, 1 cup rice and a can of chicken. Dump it all in a crock pot or soup pot, add water and cook. Danny loves to get this soup. He needs a package this weekend as he's been super busy and had a bad cold. I think I'll send the afghan that Great Grandma made for him. It was in his room and it's going to be winter soon in Michigan.

*EDITED TO ADD: A great site for ideas and restrictions for packages to military personnel.

Meanwhile this week...

*My Dad was in the hospital being treated for a blood clot. He got to go home last night and is sooo happy to be home. He is 76 and it was his first hospital stay. He was hoping to never need to stay but fortunately the doctor realized he had a blood clot. He happened to go with my Mom to her appointment and since they share a doctor and he asked about Dad and it was discovered. That was a God thing!

*I've been crazy busy at the museum, getting ready for the Open House which is October 13, getting ready for Christmas, getting a new VISA system and more.

*Today is the BiG Fall Costco trip. Hubby has a day off so he is going with me. Very happy about that this morning!

* Meanwhile the laundry was piling up at home. Sigh---I hate it when that happens.

Have a great weekend! I have an exciting day on Monday with lots of prep this weekend. Fun, fun, fun! Oh, and I have to get my Fall decorating done...

Almond Joy Bread

Almond Joy Bread

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
¾ cup canola oil
¼ cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sweetened coconut
½ cup almonds, chopped
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine the first 6 ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat ingredients on medium speed for 2 minutes.
In a separate bowl, sift and combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Starting with the flour mixture alternate flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk and flour…in that order. Mix until just combined, like you would if you were making muffins.
Fold in coconut, chocolate chips and almonds.
Pour into two loaf pans or 8 mini loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 350F for 1 hours(minis take only about 10 minutes less). I made one regular loaf and four mini loaves from the recipe.

Remove from oven and place on rack to dry. While breads are still warm, poke several holes in the top with a wooden skewer. Drizzle Coconut Glaze(recipe follows) into the holes. Finish glazing bread by taking a pastry brush and brushing on remaining glaze(as much or as little as you would like). When bread is completely cool, drizzle chocolate ganache over bread(I used a ziploc sandwich bag with corner snipped off).

Coconut Glaze

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 tsp coconut extract

Place ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about a minute. Turn heat off but leave saucepan on burner. Glaze breads as instructed above. I halved this recipe for you. I think it's plenty.

Chocolate Ganache
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped *I used chocolate chips
¾ cup heavy cream*I went with a bit less

Place chocolate into a bowl.
Place cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Once cream has boiled pour over chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes.
Stir with whisk until smooth and glossy.

I am loving the mini loaf pans that come with covers. Great for gifts or to take to a friend for coffee or put in a care package. Add a ribbon and a tag for a sweet gift.

Saturday Evening

On Saturday evening we had friends over for dinner. It was probably our last Grilled Pasta of the Summer. I used Janice's recommendation and tried a new Alfredo sauce recipe from Best Bites.

I used 2% milk and added some parsley for color.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender. Process until smooth and set aside.

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Stand above the pan (but not close enough to scald your face) and inhale. Ahhh…butter and garlic. Okay, now get cooking again. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.
When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

For dessert I baked a Tiramisu Layer Cake. We had an Italian theme going on with dinner so I just went with it. I'll post the cake recipe sometime, if you like.

We had starters on the patio and dinner inside. It was a fun evening with good conversation and great friends. A nice way to move from summer into fall.

Scrapping, Baking, Cooking this Week

It's not too early to start your December Daily album. I did some scrapping with friends this week and made pages for days 1-25. I am not going to scrap December Daily 1-31 this year but rather 1-25 plus Thanksgiving weekend. It's my way or the highway and I think this will work for me. Last year I was exhausted for the holidays as we put the addition on the house so no December Daily. I missed it.

This year I used a kit from Hobby Lobby, a Pretty Little Studio Christmas kit that I won from Ali Edwards, some packs from making memories that I got at the UVill sidewalk sale and mini file folders from the new Paper Source located in UVill. A mishmash of products keeps me from getting bored. I'm not a heavy embellish'er, more of a plain Jane but I do say, "when I grow up I want to be an embellish'er just like Julie!" I'm trying!

I got a ton done and met some great women. Love that :) A good day of reconnecting. Amy's husband is a beans to bar chocolatier. We didn't have hot chocolate but rather we sipped drinking chocolate.

*Hubby was in Washington D.C. this week. His luggage may have had more fun than him as it went to Hawaii. He eventually got it. This afternoon he and hopefully, his luggage come back home where they belong. I missed him...

*Besides a scrap day I have been crafting up some fun things for the redecorated guest room. When Hubby is out of town I make Max a BiG pan of beef and bean enchiladas. That way I don't have to make dinner all week. Everyone is happy and I have time to make stuff.

*Shalom Sunday this week at church so I am busy baking cookies and finding fun things to send in soldier's care packages. Ideas?

*My windows are filthy but I'm not going to wash them until the potatoes are harvested from the field next door. One year I washed all the windows, dusted the house and everything was a dusty mess in a matter of minutes. Lesson learned! I'm waiting it out.

*I got new eyeglasses. They are purple and paisley. You'll see me coming...

*Hubby and I are having a small dinner party on Saturday evening. The foodie and wine connoisseur friends are coming. Game on!

*Have a great weekend! The weather promises to be unpredictable. When I left my house for boot camp before six this morning it was 71 degrees outside. Weird.

Ick!

Boys get dirty. Someone once told me that boys are just noise with dirt on it. They were right. Max went riding on Sunday and it was dusty. He had on several layers of clothes but the dirt goes right through clothing. Sweat, dirt, grease and oil, blood stains on the riding clothes.

I missed my calling in life... I should be starring in laundry detergent commercials.

Happy Birthday Yogi

We celebrated my Dad's birthday today. We all love Dad's Birthday because his favorite meal is pic-a-nic food. Just like Yogi bear, "hey Booboo, let go find a pic-a-nic." Fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, a green salad, Ina Garten's corn salad, fresh crab legs and french bread. Yum! My Dad is smarter than the average bear.

I brought dessert. I remember Dad having a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream at night before bed so when I found the recipe for Neapolitan Layer Cake on Pinterest I knew I had to bake this special birthday cake for a special guy on his birthday.

Neapolitan Cake

adapted from:here and here

Strawberry Cake

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 oz. strawberry Jell-O

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1 + 1/4 + 1/8 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. milk

1/2 T. vanilla

1/4 c. strawberry puree (I used frozen strawberries and pureed them with a bit of sugar in my magic bullet until smooth)

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add dry Jell-O. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Combine flour and baking powder and add alternately with milk and vanilla; beating until just combined. Blend in strawberry puree. Pour batter into one (9-inch) greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. Cool in pan 10 minutes, invert to rack and cool completely.

Vanilla Cake

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one (9-inch) round cake pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 22-26 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert to rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Cake

For the chocolate cake:
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. dark cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg
½ cup black coffee
½ cup buttermilk
1½ tsp. vanilla extract

To make the chocolate cake, butter and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan, shaking out the excess flour. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, vegetable oil and egg. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, blend in half of the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Blend in the coffee, buttermilk and vanilla just until smooth. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

I try to use good quality cocoa when I bake, after all I want it to be worth the effort. A bit of coffee with chocolate just amps everything up a notch. When recipes call for coffee I use Starbucks' Via, easier than brewing a pot and very tasty. I make a cup and sip the leftovers as I'm baking.

I use the spray flour and oil combo, it's easy and it works great. As I have mentioned before, buttermilk in a recipe just amps it up to a whole new level.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cubes butter, softened

1/3 c. shortening, optional

1 stick cream cheese, softened

6 c. powdered sugar

3/4 c. strawberry puree (frozen strawberries with a bit of sugar, thawed and pureed)

2 tsp. strawberry extract (I didn't use any, I didn't have any and the strawberry flavor was fine without it.)

a few drops red food coloring, opt.

Cream together butter, shortening and cream cheese until fluffy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar. Add 1/4 cup strawberry puree, strawberry extract and food coloring and beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and strawberry puree alternately and beat until reaches desired consistency.

I put it in the fridge for an hour to chill it back down and firm it up prior to frosting the cake.

TO ASSEMBLE CAKE: Slice the strawberry and the chocolate cake layers in half horizontally. Trim the vanilla cake if you want it to be the same size as the strawberry and chocolate, if not, just leave it whole. I used the whole layer. Place one chocolate layer down on your cake board and top with either strawberry jam or strawberry frosting*. Top with a strawberry layer and top with more jam or frosting*. Top with vanilla cake, then more jam or frosting*. Followed by the remaining chocolate layer, jam or frosting*, then top with the remaining strawberry layer. Frost entire cake with strawberry frosting and decorate as desired. Eat immediately or store in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

*I used frosting only. I served the cake with Neapolitan ice cream, of course.

On this last shot I think my Dad is wiping a tear because Max is such a putz!

Happy Birthday Dad! Love you!