Our New Family Member---CHEWIE

Meet CHEWIE--she is soooo cute! She really likes her exercise wheel.


Zach has been wanting to get a pet for a while. The husband and I talked about it and told him he could either get a RAT or HAMSTER. We picked up a little black and white hamster today. Her name is CHEWIE. She was snoozing in the dinner bowl at the petstore when we saw her. Zach thinks she looks kind of like a cow (spots). She's settled in very well I think. Zach has been sneaking into the sewing room to pet her while I wasn't looking LOL. We plan on putting her in his room,but don't have a stand or extra table at the moment,so she's hanging out with me and the parrot in the sewing room/my office. Tinkerbelle has had her eyes on the new arrival all day. It's been funny to watch her watching Chewie! The husband texted me from work and said he's thinking about getting himself a RAT. I told him as long as he cleans it I didn't care. I swear he's still a 9 year old trapped in a 43 year old body LOL!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Merry Christmas---and Happy Holidays from our family to all of our readers....Peace.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,ZACHARY!!!!

Zachary is 9 years old today....if you want to read about his birth story check out my other blog.....

http://sweetmissmagnoliachat.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas.......

CHEESECAKES--Sweet Potato Pie----Dressing OH MY!

My son has been waiting days for me to make the pumpkin cheesecakes (or pumpkin pies) as he calls them. He loves them and this year I made an extra one. I have 3 pumpkin cheesecakes plus an experimental apple cheesecake in the fridge.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 graham cracker crust
8oz neufchatel cheese (softened at room temp)
1/2 cup sugar
dash pumpkin pie spice
8oz cool whip (room temp)
1 cup canned pumpkin pie mix

Mix all together well and pour into pie shell. Let chill in fridge until firm.



Apple Cheesecake

1 graham cracker crust
8oz neufchatel cheese (softened at room temp)
1/2 cup sugar
dash of apple pie spice
8oz cool whip (room temp)
1 cup of apple butter

Mix all together well and pour into pie shell. Let chill in fridge until firm.


Sweet Potato Pie

1 pound sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
heaping dash of cinnamon
heaping dash of nutmeg
2 unbaked pie crusts

***Heat oven to 375*F
Boil sweet potatoes (skins on) until they are "fork soft"---rinse in cold water and
remove skins--place in large mixing bowl--add in the other ingredients mixing well--pour into pie shells and bake for about 55-60mins.

***The original recipe called for other spices but I used these--the original recipe only made one pie--I guess I had heavier sweet potatoes. You can find the original recipe at ALL RECIPES.


My Family's Dressing Recipe

2 boxes jiffy cornbread muffin mix
a few boiled eggs (I used 5)
2-3 chopped apples
1 bag of dried cranberries
1 large onion diced
1-2 bunches of celery chopped (with leaves)
1 small roll of mild sausage
chicken stock (I used about 2 boxes)

***Heat oven to about 375*-400*F
boil,peel,and chop the eggs--add them into the muffin mix--add enough water to mix and bake until done---remove from oven and let cool----chop the apples,celery,and onion.--add the cranberries and apples to a large bowl--crumble in all of the baked cornbread----in large skillet saute the onion and celery until it is soft--add into the cornbread---mix it all together---in same skillet you cooked the celery/onions cook the sausage until it is done--drain well--crumble it into the cornbread---mix well----pour the dressing mixture into a baking pan and add chicken stock until it is moist---bake in oven until it is brown and bubbly (not burned)-might have to add more chicken stock to keep it from drying out.

**Usually my family adds chicken into the dressing,but this year I am trying something different. Instead of the box cornbread mixes,you can certainly use cornbread made from scratch-this is just easier for me.

Apple Butter Cake

I found this recipe on a blog that I visit quite regularly-BLESS US O LORD. It looked so good I couldn't wait to try it. It has the kitchen smelling so UNBELIEVEABLY GOOD. I can't wait to slice into it! I kind of tweaked the recipe to fit what I had on hand,but if you want to look at the original recipe,check out the blog.

1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups a/p flour
1 TSP baking soda
1 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP salt
1 stick butter (softened)
1 cup sugar (splenda)
1 cup apple butter
1 TSP vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream

***Heat oven to 350*F
Spray a 9x13" baking pan (or a bundt pan like I used)---mix together the eggs,sugars,vanilla,butter and apple butter---add in the flour 1 cup at a time stirring between each cup---stir in the baking soda and the baking powder---stir in the sour cream---pour into pan and bake for about 40mins or until toothpick (or knife) comes out clean.

CRANBERRY POUND CAKE

I originally saw this recipe in TASTE OF HOME magazine (another magazine I'm crazy about). It's originally for a raisin pound cake and I've made that and it's delicious,but I decided to try it with cranberries instead. Here's a link to the original recipe RAISIN POUND CAKE at TASTE OF HOME.

Cranberry Pound Cake

1 package of yellow cake mix (I used one with SPLENDA)
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
3 eggs
heaping dash of apple pie spice
1 package of dried cranberries

***Heat oven to 350*F
In a large bowl,combine cake mix,applesauce,water,oil,eggs,and apple pie spice--stir in the cranberries---Pour batter into 2 loaf pans sprayed with non-stick spray----bake for about 45-50mins or until toothpick (or knife) comes out clean.