Mom's Recipe Box

This is the first vintage recipe out of the box...about 20 years ago....Alan was diagnosed with diabetes...and Mom started collecting sugar free recipes.....This is one of the first she ever made and as I made it again...its quite tasty......he finished the pan in a day or so..I think I got one slice...... She got this out of Parade magazine that comes out in the Sunday paper...it was best served warm...but its good cold too..it has no sweetener except for the bananas and dates.....I think when I make it again, (and I will)...I'll add a little date sugar to it....date sugar is a natural sweetener and very very sweet...you can get it at the health food store.....

I beat the ripe bananas with softened butter...then added the eggs, vanilla and water..beat well...mix the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda and baking powder together, then add the dry to the wet...Stir in the chopped dates...then put all in a baking pan (13 by 9) it will be thick and needs to be spread...then you make a topping of more chopped dates, chopped walnuts and some flaked coconut on top..bake all in a 350 oven for 20 -25 minutes....



I was trying to think of what to call these vintage Thursday recipes....any ideas? If you'd like to join me..please feel free on Thursdays to post some favorite family recipe....maybe we can get something going? Anyway..I know you will enjoy this one and I plan on making it again very soon.

Wednesday Dog of the Week - Little Dude

Meet Little Dude..a 3 year old pure bred Jack Russel terrier...his owner could no longer take care of him....he loves loves loves to ride in the car with his owner..quick to learn and doesn't bark constantly...loves other dogs and people..he is house trained. He is active (as all terriers are) but loves to cuddle also... all around great dog for a family..you can find Little Dude and many other wonderful rescued pets at Sun City K9 Rescue.....rescued pets are the best way to get a new family member pet..many just need a chance and have been given up because of our bad economy...please support especially no kill shelters as they are only funded by our donations.

Locksmithing is slow this week so we are concentrating on getting our garden ready for spring planting as I posted about yesterday. Last year we started the garden and did fairly well for the first year....this year we are working on improving the soil, putting an edge around it to keep out the lawn and growing lots of tomatoes! There are two garden areas measuring about 15 ft by 20 ft.each .giving us plenty of room.....We also have fruit trees, a peach, nectarine, apple and fig....boysenberry bushes..and strawberries....all in a 10,00 sq. ft. lot. Even us in the city can grow enough for our family and perhaps help a few others too.
a wonderful Australian blog that has given me alot of inspiration is Down to Earth
lots of good simple advice for gardening in the city....

Tuesday Chat

We've been delighted with little Tommy..his antics are so cute....he lives up to his name...Tuppence is rather miserable as she was still nursing when the kittens were given away....but today she seems to feel better....no calls so we may be in the clear as far as keeping them.....Tommy discovered the cat tree today and as you can see is having fun batting the toys around.....he likes to run across the living room and dive onto a low trunk we have underneath our front window...making the runner I have on the trunk go every which way...

we were a little surprised last evening when Donny our oldest came home and announced he was moving out....he took all his furniture last night.....he's going to be sharing a house with some friends not too far from here......he's almost 22 so its time....but when he went out to the dog rescue trailer, he found someone had broken in, stole his nice plasma TV and PS3...isn't that awful? He works so hard and is so dedicated to the rescue and the animals there...he has Daisy the duck, 10 turtles,, a snake and the dogs...I like them all but the snake.....the ginger cat I originally was posted about was happily adopted through the local Pet Co. His room looks like some of the homes we re key..covered with debris but he said he'd be back for the rest soon...
I advised him to get renters insurance for his new place.....

Matt, his brother will get his room after we clean and paint it...it has TV hook ups in there..and then we are renting Matt's room to a friend of his...its so hard for young people today, we'd thought we'd help the friend out and give us a little extra money....not charging him much..The young man works at a local pizza place and goes to the community college..I like a full house and he's a nice young man.....we had a short meeting with him and his parents last week. He'll be moving in the first of March...maybe he'll bring home pizza? He is a Christian and goes to Calvary Chapel here in Menifee and he's 22. He likes cats too.
so some change in the air..new pet additions and new living arrangements...life is change...
I am discovering some of my favorite bloggers are in a change mode too. Several of my favorite blogs are either going on hiatus, quitting or changing......Change can be a good thing and I am looking forward to seeing what God has around the next corner.....

Oh..I was saying we had big rocks? Here is an example of what we've found so far....

Friday, Alan re keyed a home here in Menifee for a person who's taking advantage of the low housing market by buying up homes to rent, later for re sale....he buys the houses at auctions..Alan found these kittens and their parents in the house....cute huh?
We decided to bring them home......we found homes right away for the kittens..and the mom/dad will be staying with us...they are both very good tempered, affectionate and sweet cats...above is Tuppence (we named them after characters in a series of stories that Agatha Christie wrote.
and this is the dad, Tommy...Tommy is very friendly...purrs constantly and loves to sleep on your lap..He's also lively and loves to play...curious too...Tuppence is shy but likes to be petted and has slept on my lap several times...our other cats, Bandit and Smoky are adjusting.....some growling and hissing but no fights......they are a little better everyday and soon will be friends...we are going to get Tommy and Tuppence fixed asap....I'm going to look into a low cost clinic the local shelter has on Saturdays to get them shots and fixed...they look like they were well taken care of...no fleas and well fed......I wonder why they were left behind.....we did get a call from the new owner saying, the previous owners wanted the cats back...we told them the kittens were gone but they could have these two but haven't heard back from them.......its been 3 days, if we don't hear anything this week....The new owner had told us to find them homes so we are in the clear.......one way or another....I'm getting attached so kinda hope they don't call....
I think they've been abandoned for some time..a neighbor was feeding them......


There have been a few questions about the giveaway...I will do my best to answer them..no, you don't have to be a member of Blog Spark...if you'd like to become a member and get free stuff by just blogging about it, feel free.....so far I've gotten 4 free boxes of cereal and the gift card.......there is a link on the left hand side going to the site...
secondly..you may have a store in your area and not realize it....Here is the link to the Safeway locator there are stores on the East coast from what I could figure out....mostly in the larger cities.
I always thought the Vons here was expensive but the sales are really good and some of the products were the same price or less than the store I usually shop at....I was pleasantly surprised.They have a very nice bakery too.....my weakness. It was nice to have someone ask if I wanted help too....shopping at our Winco, you bag your own groceries....which I don't mind but it was a pleasant change. I picked up a Vons card and saved 14.00...

Feel sorry for the East Coast and Midwest with all the bad weather......we've had rain again but its coming about once a week...no more flooding..it rained two days ago very hard and we are expecting rain again tomorrow...then on the weekend......sunny days inbetween....Alan and I are working on our garden...getting it ready for planting in a few weeks.....continuing digging up big rocks...you won't believe how large some of them are.....all the rain makes for " easy" digging....weeding also.....we are looking forward to planting and harvesting some nice tomatoes...can't stand the grocery store ones......trying something new this year..peas....
I remember my grandpa and I shucking peas in his backyard on the garden bench..they were so good and I ate my fill of fresh raw peas......

Sunday

I've been working designing my own candle and table mats. This is a design for an owl candle mat..owls are popular again and each one mat will be one of a kind. I am not the greatest artist but I think these came out kinda cute....
I went to Vons yesterday and used the gift card...got everything we needed for the weekend and still have about 15.00 worth of credit on it..hit the sales, of course.....I am wondering why no one is signing up as I'd love to bless someone with free groceries....if you don't have one of these stores close..you can always use the card as a gift for a friend or love one..they last forever and could be a nice stocking stuffer..or you could donate it to a homeless shelter or food cupboard...I know they'd appreciate getting extra groceries....I know we did.....

$50.00 Gift Card Giveaway!

Best-selling author and food expert Lisa Lillien, AKA Hungry Girl, has given her “seal of approval” to the new Fiber One yogurt the only leading nonfat yogurt with 50 calories and 5 grams of fiber (20 percent of the Recommended Daily Value). It is also a good source of calcium and vitamins A and D, making this a guilt-free and all-around great choice for dieters and those watching their weights. Each cup includes the creamy, delicious taste you expect from Yoplait, and you don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying it. Fiber One is available in a variety of flavors including, Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla and Key Lime Pie (see what Hungry Girl thinks about the new yogurt here:) If you've never heard of Hungry Girl...she has an interesting blog and reviews new products....

In addition, from January 13th through February 9th, the Safeway family of stores has a special deal where you can purchase two 4-packs of Fiber One yogurt for only $4!

I was given a free coupon to try the new Fiber One and I have to say that it's delicious..creamy and good...so yummy...I like the vanilla and my boys like the strawberry but the key lime pie was a close second......yogurt doesn't stay around long here....

The Giveaway...Safeway, Fiber One and Blog Spark will be awarding one $50.00 gift card to the winner..I will run the giveaway for 10 days..it will end on the 15th of February....you will get your card directly from Blog Spark in the mail.....$50.00 will come in handy, I know...Safeway includes the following stores..Dominicks, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons and Genuardi's.....we have a Vons here....
so please sign up......you know you want to.......

Mama's Recipes and cooking

The other day, I was digging through a box and found my mothers old recipe box....brought back many good memories...she was a wonderful cook as were her two sisters..One of her sisters, my Aunt Alyce had worked for the Spokane school district for years as a cook when schools had cafeterias...plus my mom's brother had his own candy store for years and years..made all the candy, from fudge to caramels.....
so of course, when they came to visit, the conversation was food and lots of good cooking...my mother wrote down alot of the recipes and also did clipping out of newspapers and magazines....
here is Ann Landers famous meat loaf recipe that was in the paper in 1995..

Dump cake recipes were really popular back in the 80s.......as was this recipe for no bake brownies....in Mom's handwriting...
Every Thursday, I will post a recipe and make one of these goodies...it will be fun.....there are recipes going back 30 years or more so a little time travel too......

Wednesday Dog of the Week..Muffin

Lively little Muffin is ready for adoption....she is about a year and a half old and a stray......a terrier mix who really needs a forever home..she is small, under 15 lbs. and no she doesn't have green eyes..that's just the flash.....she's friendly and sweet......a great companion pet for a senior or family..you can find Muffin at the Sun City K9 Rescue
I heard that the West Hollywood City council is moving to outlaw pet shops from selling dogs and cats unless they are from shelters or rescues in an effort to curb puppy mills....I think this is a good idea.....what do you think?

 As some of you know..I am a member of Blog Spark and I will be having a giveaway soon for $50.00 Safeway gift card provided by Safeway, Fiber One and Blog Spark until then I wanted to let you know that Safeway is having a special on the Fiber One yogurt until the 9th...two 4 packs for only $4.00..this includes all Safeway family of stores, Randalls, Vons, Genuardís,Dominicḱs, and Tom Thumb. Fiber One is available in a variety of flavors including, Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla and Key Lime Pie I am partial to vanilla myself and only 50 calories! plus 5 grams of fiber. No guilt!
please check back in a day or so for the giveaway...its going to be fun....

Tuesday Chat

A artist I follow has some wonderful prim items she's created on her blog and I just had to share with you...this one is my favorite..my MIL collects cardinals.....and I think this one is the bomb...what do you think? You can find him and much much more at BayRaysChild..she also has a wonderful wonderful Basset hound, other birds and dolls so I hope you will take a look...great eye candy..I hope one day to be able to purchase something from her..
My sales have been flat since Christmas and I need to get going with some creations myself....mostly been organizing and cleaning, Saturday..I was cleaning out the fridge when Alan decided to help...a cursory clean job turned into a major one when he took the entire fridge insides apart...it was a good thing too....really grungy in spots.....guys are good to have around, aren't they?
I rewarded him with a apple/cranberry pie, sugarfree

I am finding the pie crust recipe from Pioneer Woman needs to have less shortening...I used a cup instead of a cup and a half..much easier to roll out and only tore in one spot this time....I also think I should have used an egg wash on the top so it would have browned a little more..with no sugar..browning can be a problem....but it was so tasty. I also baked a single crust and froze it to make a cream pie later.....Alan's partial to banana cream pie...