Recipes for Christmas

Well, they could be for other times of the year...

PUMPKIN CUSTARD:
I got this recipe from the same place I got the pulled pork recipe: 3 Books In One - Rival Crock Pot - The Original and #1 Brand Slow Cooker book.... Just want to give credit where credit is due.

The original recipe:

1 can (30 ounces) pumpkin pie filling (I ended up using a can and a 1/2)
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk)
1 cup dried cranberries (or equal amounts of currants or raisins)
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup crushed or whole ginger snap cookies (optional)
Whipped Cream (also optional)

Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, cranberries (or other fruit) and eggs into the slow cooker. Mix thoroughly. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 4 1/2 hours or until done.

Serve with whole or crushed ginger snap cookies and whipped cream if desired.

PLEASE NOTE:
Apparently some canned pumpkin pie mixes come with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg mixed in... I bought the plain stuff and found that it was rather bland, but improves with a whole load of crunched up gingersnap cookies and whipped cream with cinnamon in it...

However in the second recipe I added about 1/2 tsp of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and instead of currants substituted currants. It still tastes really good with extra ginger snaps and whip cream, but you probably don't need quite as much!

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OLD-FASHIONED GINGERBREAD WITH LEMON SAUCE:

I got this recipe from Page 180 in 'The Family Slow Cooker" by Donna-Marie Pye...

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup hot strong coffee

Lemon Sauce:
1/2 cup confectioner's (icing) sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
juice of two lemons (or can use lemon juice to taste)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp butter

1) In a large bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat for about 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses.

2) In a separate bowl sift flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

3) Stir flour mixture into butter mixture alternately with coffee, adding three additions of flour and two fo coffee, mixing well after each addition.

4) Lightly grease slow cooker stoneware and line bottom with parchment paper or waxed paper cut to fit. Preheat slow cooker on High for 10 min to warm the stoneware.

5) Pour batter into the slow cooker. To prevent moisture from dripping onto cake batter, place two clean tea towels (folded in half to make 4 layers) across top of stoneware before covering with the lid. Towels will absorb any moisture that accumulates during cooking.

6) Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hrs or HIGH for 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Turn out onto a baking rack and remove the parchment/wax paper. Let cool slightly.

7) To prepare lemon sauce, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, salt and cornstarch.

8) Add lemon juice a little at a time, stirring to form a smooth paste. Add water. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat for about 1 minute, or until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.

9) Cut cake into wedges and top with sauce...

*** I made extra amounts of Lemon Sauce because my cake had really really strong coffee in it... It tastes good if you absorb as much lemon sauce into the cake as possible. Otherwise the cake tastes a little bitter from the coffee (which some people like, but I am not wild about the taste of coffee).

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EASY BREAD PUDDING AND VANILLA SAUCE:
I couldn't believe how simple and fast this recipe was... And DELICIOUS! 8D Page 176 in 'The Family Slow Cooker" by Donna-Marie Pye...

6 thick slices of white bread, crusts removed and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes (about 6 cups total)...
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups of hot milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 2-oz chocolate caramel bars or rolls, broken in sections

The sauce they use in this recipe is easy enough: *(see note)
1 cup of vanilla ice cream, melted
2 tbsp Amaretto liqueur (or other such as Baileys)

1) Place bread cubes in a lightly greased slow cooker stoneware.
2) Place white chocolate chips in a bowl. Pour hot milk over the chocolate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Beat in milk/chocolate mixture. Pour chocolate mixture over the bread cubes.
4) Press pieces of chocolate caramel bar evenly into bread. Let stand for about 20 minutes.
5) Cover and cook on high for 3 or 4 hours...
6) Prepare vanilla sauce if using. Stir ice cream and liqueur until smooth.
7) To serve, spoon warm bread pudding into serving dishes and spoon sauce over pudding.


* NOTE
Instead of the one vanilla sauce above... I used the following recipe that I found online...
- 1/2 cup confectioner's/icing sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- dash of salt
Preparation: In a small saucepan combine the sugar and cornstarch. Boil the water separately and stir it in. Simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes on medium heat. Stir in 2 tbsp butter, vanilla extract and salt; blending/stirring in well... Serve vanilla sauce warm with your favourite pudding or other dessert.

The Night Before Christmas (an ode to a Christmas Dog)

Here's my Creation this year... I've done one on different topics for the last two... Maybe I will make it a tradition...

The Night Before Christmas (an ode to a Christmas Dog)

T'was the night before Christmas, 2001
Everyone's shopping was already done
All the presents were wrapped without fail
except for one wiggly puppy with a waggily tail.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds
and the parents, who had gotten it into their heads
the perfect gift fo their offspring would be a pup,
imagined joy on their faces when the kids would wake up...

True enough, the next morning, when the children had woken
and flew down the stairs like horses unbroken
and ripped through the gifts with cheerful cries...
They saw mom and dad brought in another surprise.

He had pointy black ears on his pear-shaped noggin
and white 'socks' on his feet, which never stopped joggin'.
His shape Boston Terrier, his coat Aussie merle,
and one of his brown eyes had a fleck of blue pearl...

The kids were ecstatic, at least at that time
But, soon after, enthusiasm turned on a dime
When mom and dad explained that each child had a duty,
To take turns to feed him, to train him, to clean doody.

Of course, Mom and Dad ended up looking after him,
As their children's interest eventually grew dim,
especially when the canine grew up to adult size
and lost his playful infant cuteness and puppy eyes.

Mom and Dad just didn't have time to do all that stuff.
They had full time jobs and their kids: it was tough,
what with soccer and hockey and ballet and swimming...
It seemed everyone's schedules were filled to brimming.

So they settled on building a fence for a dog run.
He was out of the way and sometimes completely forgotten.
They didn't neuter him or pet him or walk him or play,
And he grew more miserable with each passing day.

The dog was bored and frustrated and sad
But for some reason the family thought he must be bad.
He was jumping and barking in his cage and looked meaner,
so they blamed him for his 'aggressive' demeanor.

Mom and Dad shrugged, and took him out to the pound,
and couldn't understand why all the employees frowned.
Despite pointing out this dog's problems and failures
the staff members didn't seem enthused to take the position of jailors.

But took him they did and put him up for adoption,
And on their website of him posted pictures and description...
"I like people and dogs and even cats," it read,
"I need exercise and love and I'm not neutered," it said.

Well my husband and I had long wanted a canine companion
and frequently searched dog blogs and websites with abandon.
October '09 we found this orphan canis familiaris,
and we let out a cheer saying, "I think he's the one for us!"

We went to the see this dog, so respectful and sweet,
could already shake-a-paw and sit down on his seat.
True, he was shy and unsure and had a bit of a cough,
but he seemed perfect to us, a diamond in the rough.

We still can't fathom the first owners' misguided intents
But if they'd kept him we wouldn't be fortunate recipients
of a wonderful dog who knows tricks and is mannerly,
and is now a wonderful part of our happy family!

Hide N Seek with Bruiser

This is a game we play... We stick our head around the corner and if Bruiser sees you do that he will chase you... So you can try to hide, but so far neither of us can outrun him! lol

This is more fun... First you go hide while the dog is distracted... Then you call him or make little noises to attract his attention... lol



Daddy's (David's) turn to hide! I'm just following the action!


Another search and rescue performed by Bruiser...

Welcome to our family, Bruiser!

We got our little Bruiser on Oct 8, 2009 from the Humane Society. He is a Boston Terrier with some Australian Shepherd mixed in. When we got him he already knew how to shake-a-paw, high-five, and sit. He has never had an accident in our house. He is a compact, medium-to-high energy dog who loves to retrieve his ball and frisbee and play hide-n-seek and go for walks. We are still training him to come right away when he is called (treats help), and to be calmer when he meets other dogs for the first time. He does like other dogs and people. We are training him not to jump up and lean on people when they come in the door.

We checked out our Humane Society website and came across him. We read up on his history and temperament and decided we definitely have to meet this little one! Well after meeting him, we knew this was the 'one'!

When we got him, he wasn't yet neutered. The Humane Society advised us that whoever dropped him off had told them he is 'too aggressive.' I have never heard of such hogwash and balogna. He is the sweetest little dog, wonderful temperament and so affectionate, just sometimes a little excitable or unsure. He is growing to love his pack leaders and trust them, and we are already full-blown in love with our little guy. The Humane Society advised us that the previous owners kept him outside in a kennel all the time, but that his body type is more suited to indoors. Well, I am sure any dog would be hard to control if they were left alone all the time with no exercise and nothing to do and not neutered.

He is already very well-trained now when it comes to food manners. Although he is curious and wants to smell, he will sit a couple of feet away while we eat our food. We have trained him not to jump up on our couches unless we invite him to. We also tell our friends to feel free to point to his bed and tell him to sit or lie down when they are occupying the couch. He waits in the livingroom watching us in the kitchen when we prepare his dogfood, and when we are done he will sit until we tell him he can eat.


Cooozy...


Chew chew! Um num num num num...


Bruiser loves chewing!


These are later photos (above) of when we got Bruiser his new bed.


These are earlier pictures of the first week we got him... He still has Kennel Cough from when we brought him home from the Humane Society. He is a little unsure right now, but he is a fast learner.


We love that adorable underbite!


Waggle Snaggle! You can see the interesting features of an Australian Shepherd's merle coat and the blue speck in his brown eye!


When we got our little Bruiser from the Humane Society, he had kennel cough for over a month. It didn't help that his appetite was barely there for about 8 days... Believe me, we experimented with mixing the dogfood with beef broth and hot water and gravy and whatever we could think of to get him to eat. We tried giving him a vet-approved dose of Benylin DM but he could barely tolerate the stuff even with a syringe mixed with honey. He was also licking his paws a lot and appeared to have a bit of skin irritation so our vet (Dr. Kim at the Albert North Vet Clinic) gave us Codeine and an antibiotic. It helped us all sleep! Poor little beast.... He also hacked up a lot of phlegm and threw up food for a while because of all the coughing: we went through probably about 10 of those wipies containers. Poor thing couldn't even pee properly sometimes because of all the coughing so he had a couple of baths. We tried to keep up his spirits and bought him a little bed & a crate which he immediately took to, as well as bones to chew. In the video above you can still hear him hacking a bit, but he's not as bad in this video as he was previously.


Here is an example of him still with kennel cough, but at least his energy levels are going up and he loves his little monster-squeaky toy. We also occasionally will take the little green monster with us and hide in a closet somewhere and then squeak it until Bruiser finds us. lol He loves it!


Bruiser likes the challenge of getting his toys or chew-chews out of a brown paper bag. So whenever we order from Triple 8 we get this big brown grocery bags... And then we put his things in there and scrunch up the bag. Sometimes it will occupy him for a good 15 - 20 minutes. It's fun for the whole family!

Nick names for Bruiser:
Bean
Peanut
Legume
Mr. B
Snaggle-Wags
Boo-Boo
Shnorky
Little Man
Goose
Pickle

Holly's Answer to The Correctness

The Correctness has a Bingo for men who are bored by Romantic Comedies seen here at this link: http://www.thecorrectness.com/movies/rom-com-bingo/

Here is my answer to that with Boring Sports Bingo (you can click on the picture to make it more legible):


PS: I do like some sports, but I was catering to the stereotype. My husband doesn't do (much of) those things in the above Bingo game...

Some Scenary on The Way & Exploits of Gainer

Spectacular sun & cloud formation...



Canola field! We kept singing, "And it was aaaaall Yellooooow... "



Not too many of the grain elevators left, I noticed... They seem to be getting torn down and replaced with more modern storage...


Blue flax!




Gainer reads Harry Potter while at the Travel Lodge... Turns out if you have CAA it's cheaper... Which we had... But even better prices are at the Best Western plus we get to store up points toward visits with our Best Western travel card...



Gainer was watching his football team, but at the moment TSN commentators are on... We won by ONE POINT! Almost had a heart attack...


Gainer gets into the alcoholic chocolate....



Gainer hangs out with Harry, the Hip-Hop Hamster...


Robin and Grace gave Harry to us... We have re-named him Garry, the Gangstah Gopher... I'm hoping my friend Carla can knit him a little green toque. The plan is if we get a touchdown, Garry will boogie for us...

Robin & Grace: The CunningHas...

Above: Gainer tries out sliding down the railing....


Grace is cooking up a storm in the kitchen... FYI, Robin was in charge of the BBQ. Or was supposed to be. David and Robin got a little misdirected on the highway while taking a quick spin in what turned out to be a rather large downpour and wind storm. You know road signage is bad when someone who LIVES in that city gets lost...


She and Robin fed us like it was Christmas! 8D We had huge steaks and corn on the cob, potatoes, mushrooms, shrimp, mojitos, and even dessert!


Oh right, I forgot about the delicious garlic toast... Robin and David kick back on the deck. The neighbourhood is still getting fixed up, as you can see in the background...

Beer n Garlic Toast... MMmmm... *looks up at the sky* I wonder why it's getting so dark out?


This could be why! We made into Edmonton a few hours before the storm. Quite the gusty wind and pouring rain, as I mentioned earlier...


This is, of course, just before it hit... And the barbecue had some difficulty staying lit in those winds!


Grace's Korean Korner...


This is a view to the livingroom by the front door. I'm standing on the 1st landing, by the Korean Korner. A second landing is upstairs where the loft and the bedrooms are... They have 18 ft high ceilings! Probably in case Robin tries to do jumping jacks or something.

Below: some photos of the CunningHa Couple...

Grace has to stand on something to see eye-to-eye... Or Robin has to crouch... Or if their heads are standing flush with the horizon, Grace probably has to stand two feet further back, though. They're an absolutely fun couple to hang around with!


Grace and Robin: some close-ups...


Well, the above facial expression was when Robin claims he was trying to keep his eyes open from the flash... Although... Where are Grace's hands?? lol

Robin and Grace hanging out with us at Boston Pizza. Gainer enjoyed the Tuscan Pizza!

Thanks for the awesome visit! We already miss you guys!
"SPIN me goddamnit, SPIN ME!" Robin gets hooked on the door hinge whilst trying to spin in rap to the boom-boom-boogie...

Video from Gramma's 90th Birthday Party

Here are a lot of short shots (they are easier to download than big long ones) of bits of the fun! Please let me know if I spell names wrong... Or worse, if I give the wrong names! 8O I apologize for my voice which can sometimes be distracting when I am muttering about 'Oh, I thought I was recording, but I was only on standby!' 8P

Again if you have any photos or video you can email me I would love to add them here as well! 8D

Thanks again to Linda and Wayne for hosting that wonderful day! Wayne was great with the kids: they all got chances to drive the tractor, feed and lead Alpacas (even me and Susan had a chance).

That was a lot of work Jodi-Lynn and Donna put into that photo album for Gramma! It's beautiful... Also Gramma surprised her kids with her own gift!


Above: The Human kids herd the Alpaca kids...

Above: Nicole signs 'Peace!' at the Cunningham gathering...


Above: Another pan of the Cunningham clan...


Poor Alex gets Alpaca boogers...


After Wayne tells Tyler and Matt that these particular Alpacas are 'little girls' and they appreciate compliments and being told they are beautiful and that they are doing a good job...


See, now, this isn't easy as it looks, is it!?


Abbie and Alex go for a walk with the Alpacas...


Sean's turn!


Leah's turn to walk with the animals...


We sing Happy Birthday to Gramma!


Linda explains about the book of memories...


Jodi-Lynn gives props and gives the book to Gramma...


Gramma's gift of photos to her children: unbeknownst to everyone (well almost lol) she also created a beautiful photo album and dvd with photos of all the kids...

Photos from GRAMMA'S 90th BIRTHDAY and Family Reunion

I'd love it if you could send me some photos in an email that I could also add and give you props for... I just have some video I want to post as well and then I will also lable everyone's names, etc...


Far left -- Mary, Doris, Donna on the picnic table; in the middle, back to front -- Kathy, Don, Teresa, Brian; on the far right -- Cheryl, Linda, Gramma and Sandi...


Yummy Birthday Cake from Costco! 8D
Gramma and Linda, in the front on the left; behind the table -- Malcolm, Sandi, Bob; Mary and Doris on the picnic table on the far right...


MMMmmm... Golfing, anyone? 8d


Gramma takes her first peek at her Birthday Present: the scrapbook with all her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids...


L-R: Chris, David, Laurel & Paul (in back), Alex in the middle with Abbie in front on her lap, Jodi-Lynn presenting the photo scrapbook to Gramma... Hiding behind Gramma is Matt (I think), Tyler, Luca, Sam, Brandon and Mary...


Another quick pic of Sandi, Jodi-Lynn, Gramma and Matt...


Gramma kicking back in the shade; in the background Doris, Jenn, Kathy, Brian, & Malcolm...


Now THAT'S a beautiful smile! 8D Love you Gramma! X X O O


Me and JL posin'...


Chris hanging out with Dakota....


Traci, Bob and Doris... Aha! Finally got a shot of Traci and Bob! Did I mention Bob just did a tri-athlon .5 iron-man competition and then came out to visit Gramma on her birthday?


Hm... I was worried I might run into some crazy mountain man, but this looks like a relatively sane foothills husband. Ain't he cute? 8D


Alex and Abbie hangin' out...


I had no idea an Alpaca kid was called a Cria...


I was like, okay, how about taking the picture right NOW!?!?


Gainer is such a show-off... He liked watching the Alpacas from a distance but he declined a bare-back ride.


Aaaaw.... BABEEEEEEEE!


Nice of David to get a shot or two of me, as I tend to take all the pictures... lol


It's Brian... I mean Sean.... lol