Sweet Potato Recipe

I have had a lot of people ask for my Sweet Potato recipe over the years and I'm pretty much not allowed to arrive for our Thanksgiving meal without it!  My Auntie made these for years and they were always my favorite.  If you need an easy dish to bring to your Thanksgiving dinner, make this and everyone will love you!  

Auntie Mar's Sweet Potatoes

*3 Cups Mashed sweet potatoes

1/2 Cup White Sugar

2/3 Cup softened butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs well beaten in a separate bowl

Combine all ingredients in a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish

Topping:

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup softened butter (1/2 stick)

1/3 Cup flour

1/2 Cup chopped pecans

Mix together, will be crumbly, sprinkle on top to cover potatoes

Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes

*First bake 3 medium size sweet potatoes @ 400 for 1 hour.

Cool, peel and mash

Serves: 6

The last few years I have made the entire dish the night before, stuck in the fridge and just popped in the oven about 1 1/2 hours before we are due to leave.  Cooks up great and easy to transport.  I also always double this recipe and put in a 9X13 dish.  With the larger size and being cold from the fridge, I think I leave mine in the oven for a little over an hour...plus I like the topping a little more "done".

This is wonderful, brown sugary, crunchy goodness that your family will love!  Enjoy!

Grandpa Glasses

Attic Grandpa is in from China and stopped over for a little visit on their way home from the airport. 

 Nikkels had a good time drawing with Grandpa's fancy pen on his plane ticket.  

But HEY!  Grandpa has glasses....

Nikkels needs glasses...

Just like Grandpa!!

A Good Laugh....

One quart of milk:  $1.99

One quart of milk in a diaper:  Priceless!

Dot's Art

One of the coolest things about being a parent is watching your kids grow and finding out what their interests and talents are. We didn't have to wait long to figure out Dot as she is only four.  This little girl loves to draw and draw and draw....she can go through a ream of paper in no time.  Here are just a few of her drawings that I pulled from her massive art pile. 

Horse, chicken and kitty

 Recognize some of these guys?  Sponge Bob, Patrick, Gary the snail and Squidward...yes, they are playing in a band on stage with guitars and tambourines.

 Mouse and bird...that's a mouse house igloo.

 I thought this was cool....it's a moon and pine trees reflecting on a lake.

 She made this one for our friends who just had a new baby.

 A scarecrow...with birds, bats, pumpkins, watering can, plane...even a feather falling off the bird!

 Spot the dog.

 Dot

Just thought it was cute...

 Another Sponge Bob....Gary the snail and Mr. Crabbs..she drew this in the car.

 And with some oil pastels...some more Sponge Bob.

And then this just about melts my heart...here.she is working on her Great Grandpa's easel.

And yes, those are brown spots on her face...she was a puppy for the day!  ;-)  

Keep creating Dot!  

Caterpillars and Butterflies

Somehow caterpillars and butterflies came up in conversation the other morning.  Dot has been asking for awhile now to make a craft...we have been trying to soak up as much outside time before winter so we have done very little in the craft area.  She was thrilled to get the paints out again and we did a quick make-it-up-as-we-go little craft.  Just that morning we finished a carton of eggs...perfect for a caterpillar body!

Nikkels painting....very serious....

 Dot chose red...

 What mess?

 Painted some coffee filters, added some crazy eyes, pipe cleaners...

 And Poof!  Our caterpillars turned into butterflies!  

Thanksgiving Tree

We are doing our Thanksgiving Tree again this year.  We started this last year and it was really fun to sit down each night at dinner and pick one thing we are each thankful for, write it on a little piece of paper and hang it on our tree.  By the end of November our tree is filled with many of the things we are Thankful for and it's great to talk about all the wonderful things in our lives and how we are truly blessed. 

My New BFF

Okay, I feel pretty silly about writing about this, but I have a new BFF.  It is my new Electrolux Ergorapido Ultra.  I love it.  I have found that new gadgets aren't always what they are cracked up to be....but this one...this one has done exactly what I hoped it would.  You see, I have 3 children....3 wonderful children, but they are messy.  The crumb-factor under the kitchen table is out of this world.  And then I have this fabulous golden retriever, but he is shedding....a lot.  Not just a lot, but he apparently is "blowing" his coat.  Apparently this can be worse some years than others.  In this house we get a lot of afternoon light which is great as my plants are actually growing, but in the afternoon the sun seems to highlight every last crumb and golden hair.  Sweeping does nothing as all the hair and dust go flying just to resettle moments later.  I have one of those Norwex floor dusting mops, which is good for small amounts, but not for the disaster that happens on my floors.   It has been just about enough to drive me a little crazy...okay, a lot crazy.  So, I originally was thinking I wanted to change from my upright Kenmore (which I also love and continue to use on the carpets) to a canister vac....you know a little easier to vacuum the hardwood floors.  But then I was at Costco the other day and came across this little guy.  It's a cordless vacuum for wood floors.  It has an additional handheld "dust buster" style attachment for cars, couches, etc.  It's bagless and holds a decent charge for our needs.  With that said, I would not choose this to be your main vacuum if you have ALL hardwood floors and would want to clean you house from top to bottom.  It's small, easy to use, gets under the table easily to suck up all the hair and crumb clumps.  I use this multiple times a day to keep the mess under control. Oh, sweet little ergorapido....how I love you!