A few people have asked for my apple butter recipe, so here it is! The original recipe was made on the stove top, but I like using the crockpot.

Ingredients
  * 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
  * 1 cup apple cider
  * 4 pounds Macintosh (I've used several different kinds, but something with a good balance of tart and sweet work best) apples - peeled, cored and chopped
  * 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  * 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  * 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  * 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  * 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

After you've peeled and sliced the apples, blend them with the cider in a food processor or blender. Mix everything in the crockpot and turn it on high. I cook mine covered 2-3 hours on high, then covered for an hour on low, and then uncovered on low or "keep warm" for as long as it takes! To test if it's done, place a spoonful on a saucer. If, when it's cooled, there is no water around the apple butter, it's finished!

I think this is quite possibly the best banana pudding I have ever made! I have loved Maya Angelou for years, and this just made me love her more. . . and remind me I need to get her second cook book!


Maya Angelou's Man-Winning Banana Pudding


Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• pinch of salt
• 3 cups milk (whole milk, no cutting calories here!)
• 8 eggs, separated
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups vanilla wafers
• 4 ripe bananas, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt; stir until blended. Mix in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and boiling. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.
2. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, then whisk in about 1/2 cup of hot custard until blended. Pour yolk mixture back into saucepan of custard; cook over medium heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla until blended.
3. Place vanilla wafers on bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish. Top with layers of banana slices and custard. Repeat layering, ending with custard.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar at low speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar; increase speed to medium and gradually beat in remaining sugar. Beat until egg whites hold stiff peaks.
5. Spoon meringue over hot custard immediately, making sure that meringue touches baking dish on all sides (this prevents it from shrinking). Transfer to oven and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove pudding from oven and cool 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

I made Bacon Cheddar muffins today. They weren't bad, but they were missing something. They just reminded me, yet again, that I still couldn't find the recipe my mom had for them. I knew she had clipped it out of Taste of Home magazine, but YOU try searching their site for breakfast muffins and see how far you get. I decided to try again anyway, and wouldn't you just know the person who created the recipe called them "Ham and Cheddar Cups?!" No wonder I couldn't find it! I am so happy I finally did though. I can't wait to make them, and I will never ever lose this recipe again. Which is another reason to share it with everyone- never hurts to have a back up!

Ham and Cheddar Cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 eggs
  
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 pound fully cooked ham, cubed
• 1/2 pound cheddar cheese, diced or shredded
• 1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 small onion, finely chopped

 In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pepper. Beat eggs and milk; stir into dry ingredients until well combined. Stir in the ham, cheese, bacon and onion. Fill well-greased muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: about 20 cups. 

Classics to Read

I need to make a list of some of the classic books I want to read, so I'm doing it here.

1- Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
2- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
3- The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
5- The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
6- Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
7- Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
8- Animal Farm by George Orwell
9- Gone With the Wind- Margaret Mitchell
10- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
11- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
12- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
13- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
14- Dracula by Bram Stoker
15- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov


That's it for now, but I'm sure I'll be adding to it.

Old Man In Nursing Home Reacts To Hearing Music From His Era

This is so true! I have seen this happen to residents I have cared for. The effect music has on us is truly incredible!

The other day at work, I was talking to a lady I take care of about how she had just turned 91 the year before. I asked her is she had gotten to go do anything fun, and she said, "Well, the kids came by, and we went out to dinner. Oh! Look over there at the wall behind you! They gave me that picture of me and my husband." I looked behind me, and on the wall was beautiful 5x7 black and white photo of herself and her husband, she said not long after they had met, kissing each other. All you could see were the sides of their faces, but it was the perfect picture. Everything about it was so sweet, and so loving. She then said, "He passed away in '73. I miss him so much." I asked why she never remarried, and she said, "Once you find a good one, you don't need any others."

The photo above is of my Great Grandparents- Gran and Deadeye. They were married for 63 years. When Deadeye passed away of Alzheimer's complications in 2001, Gran never remarried. I think it's safe to say she found a good one.

I know we're just dating, but I think I've found a good one. He loves me and takes care of me, I never hurt for anything. He supports me emotionally, and is by my side with every decision I make. I want to grow old with him. I want to look at pictures of us, many years from now, and see that love I've seen in the two pictures I've talked about. I want our children and grandchildren to always love and remember the way we loved and took care of each other. And, most of all, I want them to remember, "Once you've found a good one, you don't need any others."