Marley is turning 4

This cake is for a little girl who is turning 4 years old.  She requested a Teddy Bear Cake with a pond.  I like a girl who knows what she wants!!!!  The cake is strawberry and vanilla cake with a raspberry filling.  Covered in Satin Ice Fondant and all parts are made from fondant.  The cookie's are party favors.  Almond sugar cookie's decorated with Fondant

I love these little faces

I love the little shroon's

What a cutie.....

The Joy of Herbs

I love, love, love cooking with fresh herbs. If you ever use fresh herbs you will never want anything else!!!. I also found out that my baby girl Darcee is a lover of herbs also. We go outside she heads to the oregano. She sticks her face into the pot and just stands there taking in the glory. Her eyes roll back into her head and she is in heaven......Oh wait that would be me that does that....never mind!!!
~She does enjoy the oregano~ I am attempting to grow Cilantro, Sweet Basil, Oregano, and Rosemary. Life is good! Life is grand! The only thing that would have made my herb loving heart skip a beat would have been if I could have found some Thyme to plant for fall!!  Oh well look out spring because I am gearing up for a herb fest.

Peach-Whiskey Barbecue Chicken

Okay I have found the best recipe book in the world.  Pioneer Women is my new hero.  I have cooked many of her recipes and have yet to find one that is not good.  This one my husband has asked me to cook again.  Please check out her website The Pioneer Woman Cooks | Ree Drummond  She is amazing and makes me laugh as I am reading her recipes.  She also now on the food network at 10:30 central time on Saturday mornings.  LOVE THIS WOMEN!!!!

Peach-Whiskey Barbecue Chicken Posted: 15 Aug 2011 02:43 AM PDT Boy, oh boy. This was one good Sunday dinner. In my next cookbook–the one I’ve been working on and am almost finished with and can no longer button my jeans because of–I have a delightful barbecue chicken recipe that’s chock full of fresh peaches. It’s divine. But it also takes a little longer to make. You have to halve the peaches. Remove the pits. Slice the peaches. Risk laceration injury. Who knew peaches could be so dangerous? This is a much, much easier version—just chop, brown, and pour. Oh, and stir. Add add. And cook in the oven. But other than that, it’s a cinch! And most importantly: you’ll absolutely love it. Start with a bunch of chicken thighs. They’re my life. They’re a goldarn miracle. Heat some olive oil and butter in a big ol’ pot. Then, four at a time, put the chicken thighs in the pot skin side down. Brown them until golden, then flip ‘em over and brown the other side. Remove them to a separate plate, then repeat with the rest of the chicken. After you pull out the last piece of chicken, pout off half the grease. I’m all about making healthy choices, as you know. Chop up a whole onion… And throw it into the pot. Stir the onions around and cook them for a couple of minutes. And when they’re golden brown and lovely, grab the Jack Daniels (or any other whiskey) from your bedside table. Pour in a bunch. Smells like booze! Stir this around and cook it for a couple of minutes, allowing it to bubble and reduce just a little bit. Next, pour in a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce. Art. Pure art. Next, grab some peach preserves. And *glug-glug-PLOP* Throw in the whole jar. Then fill the jar about halfway full with water. Shake it up to loosen all the leftover bits stuck in the jar. And by the way, do you have any idea how difficult it is to hold a camera in your right hand and take a photo of yourself shaking something in your left hand? It’s actually next to impossible, from a brain synapse standpoint. You know that whole rub-your-tummy-scratch-your-head thing? Exactly like that, only more humiliating because you’re taking a photo of it happening. Then pour in the water. And really, it’s not necessary to shake the water in the jar. Just a little tip if you don’t like to waste. Next, throw in some Worcestershire… Oh! And throw in some garlic cloves. It just…it just feels right. Pruny fingers + missing diamond in the wedding band = Welcome to the forties. I’ve lived a long, hard life. Next up: the CHAAAAAANGE! Then whisk it all together. Give the sauce another stir, then put the chicken back into the pot. And pour in the juice from the plate where the chicken was resting. Not time to eat it yet, though. First you have to stick it in the oven for a good hour and a half. The chicken will finish cooking, the sauce will become magical, and the meat will eventually fall off the bone. And meat falling off the bone is good for your health. And your attitude. And your religion. Moving on… Cook the chicken in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, then remove it from the oven and keep it warm until you serve it. Look at this! It a little bite of chicken, sent from Heaven to fall off the bone during the cooking process so that when I lifted the lid off the pot, I would retrieve it with my fork and gobble it down without apology. Serve the chicken with a big plate of warm, creamy mashed potatoes and sprinkle the whole lovely mess with sliced green onions. But then do this. The sauce is just out of this world. So basically, here’s what happens: you stick your fork anywhere remotely close to the chicken and pieces of gorgeous meat just fall all over the place. So delicious and tender. But then when you take a bite of your smashed potatoes, you get some of that whiskey-and-peach-laden flavor, too. Divine, divine, divine. You’ll love this. Here’s the handy printable! Recipe: Peach-Whiskey Barbecue Chicken Prep Time: 5 Minutes | Cook Time: 2 Hours | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6 Print Recipe 3"x5" Cards 4"x6" Cards Full Page Ingredients 12 whole Chicken Thighs, Bone-in, Skin-on 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 2 Tablespoons Butter 1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced 1-1/2 cup Whiskey 12 ounces, fluid Barbecue Sauce 1 jar Peach Preserves 1/2 cup Water 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce 4 cloves Garlic, Peeled 3 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin Preparation Instructions Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat oil and butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs, four at a time, in the pot, skin side down. Brown both sides, then remove to a plate and repeat until all chicken is browned. Pour off half the grease, then return pan to stove. Add onions to pan and stir, cooking for 2 minutes. Pour whiskey into the pot, being very careful if you're using an open flame. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan, allowing whiskey to reduce for a minute or two. Pour in barbecue sauce, peach preserves, water, and Worcestershire sauce. Throw in garlic cloves. Stir until combined, then return chicken to the pot, skin side up. Cover and put pot in oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, then remove from oven. Serve pieces of chicken over a big pile of smashed potatoes. Sprinkle sliced green onions over the top.

Chicken in Tomato's and garlic

Just a little something I whipped up today for the hubby!

Okay, I used boneless skinless chicken breast but I think thighs or legs would be better.

4 pieces Chicken of choice

6 ripe tomato's

Olive oil

2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup white wine

1 onions

1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil

8 cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 400

I poured olive oil into the bottom of my Dutch oven and then added butter. Heat until butter is melted and bubbly. Brown chicken on both sides then remove from the pot. Put in the White wine and let it cook down about half then add onions and garlic. Let it cook for about a min then add the tomato's and herbs of choice. Smash the tomato's down then bring to a boil and place the chicken back in the pot. cover and place in a preheated oven for an hour to hour and a half. Chicken will be fork tender.

I served this with Rice Pilaf but would be good with Mashed potato's or pasta also

Friends on Vacation!!

Well, we just had our first vacation in 2 years. Everyone told us, go, you deserve to take some time off. The beach was calling my name and I was responding back with "I am on my way my love". What we did not know at the time of planning was it was calling Tropical Storm Lee's name and he responded also. We debated on weather we should go or not, there were 2 other couples going with us and all were in for heading for the beach front condo. My husband and I arrived first so when picking the rooms our thinking was first one's there are the WINNERS.... what we did not take into consideration was that the last one there takes revenge. First night there I woke up to a scratching sound at 2 am. I just thought it was the wind from TD Lee or maybe a sea gull looking for a place to get out of the storm. I got up and set on the balcony for a while until my husband came out to check on me. I told him I heard something but he just patted me on the head and said the voices inside there were talking to me again. Little did he know!!! Around 4:30 we decided to lay back down for a little bit. Well a few hours later I wake to my husband almost standing in the bed yelling to me "WHAT DID YOU SAY" I yelped back " I DID NOT SAY ANYTHING", I just figured he was dreaming and rolled over to hear him say .....DID YOU HEAR THAT???? I was like no what did you hear. He said it is saying...in a whisper....."can you hear me". the look on his face was priceless and full of fear. Well this went on for a little bit until I heard it. I jumped up and yelled....I HEARD IT. By this time everyone was getting up. My husband went running out of our room telling them the condo was haunted. They all laughed. He then proceeded to cover the TV with his tee shirt, like it was a

poltergeist and was going to jump out of the TV and snatch him in. This went on for over an hour, us hearing it and him running out to get them to come in and hear it. Finally we all decided to go and eat breakfast. Tim and I were going in our own truck because we needed to go and pick up some stuff afterwards. The other 4 left and we getting ready to leave when our of the room we heard "can you hear me" again in a whisper. I got to searching the room and found this little mic that our dear friend had placed under the TV. It makes random noises along with "can you hear me". We stood there trying to think what we were going to do to get them back, we hid the mic and decided to just not say anything. We put it under a shell in the living room and waited. They got back to the room before us and was watching TV when the little device went off again. They knew they were busted!!! Needless to say we all had a good laugh.......but we are in the planning stages of payback!!! We had a great time, we relaxed, ate a lot of food, got new hair doo's, thank you TD LEE I am still picking the knots out, we laughed and enjoyed great friends. Thank you mostly to God for all His creation! Praise Him in the Storm!