Day with Friends, Family Valentine Dinner & Recipe of the Week: Rice Krispie Treats with a Twist

I've been a busy bee lately. Saturday was chock-full. Me and a couple of friends got together and checked out a home and garden show in Ashland at the old K-Mart. It was nice, but I don't think worth the $5.00 admission. Then, we stopped at Drug Mart, Goodwill and Hawkin's Market. Later, we dropped off Angie, who had some prior commitments to attend, and then my friend Peggy and I went to Home Depot. I bought a humidifier. My allergy doctor recommended I get one and put it in our room and run it at night while I sleep. I also bought some microfiber cleaning pads. After Home Depot, we went to Applebee's for dinner. We maybe didn't plan that so well, considering it was Valentine's weekend. Our food took forever to come and our waiter was so apologetic. He had only been working there for two weeks and seemed a bit frazzled.

Sunday was our family Valentine Dinner at my parent's house. Matt and I left early to take care of the kitties one more time before heading to church. I totally underestimated how long it would take. On the last day I cat sit, I want to make sure the dishes are cleaned up, kitty pans cleaned, floors are swept, etc. By the time I got everything done, we were running so late, we just headed to Mom and Dad's and missed church. I felt bad because this was the second week we've missed.

We had a lite lunch and then Mom and I started getting things prepped for supper. I was handling the vegetables and Mom had already made the dessert. All she had to do was mix up the meat for the Salisbury steak. While I was in the kitchen, Mom and Matt filled the porch up with wood. Mom and Dad have a wood burner too. I made Green Bean Casserole and Candied Carrots. The casserole was good. I didn't use mushroom soup, but instead made a cheese sauce and sauteed onions and mushrooms to add with the beans. The carrots were cooked in a heavy syrup of brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. My brother, his wife and my three nephews arrived around 5:30 PM. We had a nice meal and fellowship. At the end of the evening, Mom got out her "Valentine's" for us. She made big heart-shaped sugar cookies with pink frosting. In the middle, she put the first letter of our first name in white icing. Yum! She's such a good mom!!!

Tuffy, my big, lovable Valentine!

Decorations

Mom's Valentine Tree

Place settings for dinner.

Today hasn't been real exciting. Matt informed me that we were to get another four to eight inches of snow by tomorrow evening! Ugh! So, he's sleeping in anticipation for being "Plow Guy" again. I reorganized my spice cupboard today and threw out all of my really old spices. I just gave everything a good going over. I am starting to bake a lot of my own bread now and needed to make room for the 20 pounds of flour I bought at the bulk food store last week!

It just bothers me to read the labels on the foods I eat and not be able to pronounce most of the ingredients. I was reading the list of ingredients on the bread bag in Wal-Mart and it was an inch-long paragraph. That's just crazy. So, I've started making or baking a lot of my own food. I'm a big believer in using minimally processed, natural or organic foods if I can. And, I'm staring to do a lot of "from scratch" cooking, like my bread. It is different, but I feel better doing it--Like raising my own vegetables. I know what went into that green bean from seed to my dinner plate. If you have the time, it's worth doing.

Along with this new way of eating, I'm also looking at how I can be more frugal and earth-friendly. I am a neat freak, especially in my kitchen. I hate a dirty floor. So, I use the wet Swiffer pads a lot. The wet Swiffer pads cost like $8.00 (I think) for the big pack. I use them once and have to throw them away. How wasteful. But, I don't want to break out my mop and bucket all the time either. So, what to do? Then, the other day I had an idea. While I was at Home Depot Saturday, I bought a pack of those microfiber cleaning cloths. I put about seven of the cleaning cloths in my Swiffer container, added some all-purpose cleaner and enough water for the cloths to get saturated. Now, when I want to "Swiffer" I pull out one of my cloths, attach it to my Swiffer mop and clean away. When I'm done, I pull off the cloth and throw it in the laundry. Now, no waste and I save money!

The Recipe of the Week is nostalgic for me. I made these treats for Matt last week and it's the same recipe my Grandma Hay used to make. They are so good!

Rice Krispie Treats with a Twist
courtesy Valerie Buehler

1 c. white Karo
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
6 c. Rice Krispies
6. oz. butterscotch chips
6 oz. milk chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Bring Karo and sugar to boil. Take pan off the heat and add peanut butter. Stir until mixed together. Pour over Rice Krispies and mix thoroughly. Pat ingredients into a greased 9x13-inch pan. Melt the butterscotch chips and milk chocolate chips together. Pour over top of Krispie Treats. Refrigerate until topping hardens.