Apple Butter-mmmmm GOOD!

Wash, peel, core and cut up your apples-amount doesn't matter at this point.
Place them in a heavy bottomed pot.
Add 1½ cups of one of the following-apple cider(best), apple juice, water.
Cook on very low heat with the lid on.
Occasionally stir. They will break down into mush.
At this point, measure the apple mush.
For each cup of apple mush add ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. You can adjust these two ingredients to your own tastes and the type of apples you are using.
Put back in heavy bottomed pot and cook till thick.
Put in hot jars. 


Process in a water bath 15 minutes for pints.

Hot Honey Mustard

18 Small to medium hot banana peppers (or jalapenos or habaneras, or a combination)

1 Tbsp mince garlic

2c apple cider vinegar

Wash peppers & remove stems. Place in food processor with a bit of the vinegar & process till almost all liquid.  I leave the seeds. Pour pepper and vinegar mixture along with rest of vinegar and garlic in pot and slowly bring to a boil. Keep at a boil 7-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and add:

2c honey

2c prepared yellow mustard

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

 1½tsp ground Cayenne pepper

1½tsp onion powder

Stir well with a fork or use a wire wisk. Return to heat. Do not boil again but cook well to blend flavors about 20 minutes.

In small bowl combine:

¼c corn starch

¼c water

Stir till smooth.

Wisk mustard mixture  while slowly pouring in corn starch/water mixture. Cook just until thickened.

Pour into hot sterile jars (pints or half pints) and seal.

Makes 3½ pints.

This will be great as a mustard based barbecue sauce for pork or chicken. It will go well as a sauce for sliced roast beef or with the addition of a some horseradish for Corned Beef Brisket. Fish comes to mind also-maybe add some dill for fish.

Oreo Cookie Truffles-YUM! YUM!

I have a newly discovered sweet wonder! A lady came through my check-out line at Wal-Mart in Dickson, TN and told me about making truffles with Oreo cookies. At the next break I got online and discovered the easy recipe and proceeded to buy the ingredients when I clocked out that night.

Many thanks to this un-named lady!!!

Here is my recipe with variations:

While shopping I bought the Great Value brand of regular Oreo type cookies and the Oreo Berry Burst Ice Cream (strawberry) and Oreo Mint and Cream flavors.

I also procured strawberry Flavoring, Mint Flavoring, 1 8 ounce package of cream cheese per bag of cookies and various sprinkling toppings (finely crushed pecans, colored sugar, coconut) and Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips, regular chocolate chips for melting and dipping.

You will also need wax or parchment paper.

At home I took one flavor of cookies (strawberry), crushed them in my non-electric food processor (it is very similar to the one seen here.) Then I dumped it into a mixing bowl, added a teaspoon of strawberry flavoring and the room temperature cream cheese. After trying to mix this with a wooden spoon, I decided to put a disposable exam glove on and mixed with my hand.

I sat the bowl in the fridge for about an hour while the cookie sheet lined with wax paper was in the freezer getting cold.

Then I used a small ice cream scooper/cookie dough scoop-it looks like this-to scoop the dough out onto the cold, lined cookie sheet.

I then set the balls in the freezer and proceeded to melt a bag of Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips-adding just a touch of paraffin.

I took the very cold truffle dough and rolled in the melted chocolate and paraffin, placed back on the cold, lined cookie sheet then sprinkled with red, white and green candy sprinkles from the cake decorating department. Do the sprinkles while the chocolate is still warm and sticky!

These were then placed back in the fridge to harden.

I will be making these smaller--most recipes I found on the Internet said "walnut sized balls"--I think about half that size is better for party trays or even to give as gifts.

I used regular, alcohol based flavorings but feel that the oil based ones sold in the cake decorating section would be better.

You could use white chocolate for dipping and add food colorings to suit your taste or the occasion.

The plain ones, just regular Oreo cookies will have coconut sprinkled over some and finely chopped pecans sprinkled over some.

Colored sugar doesn't look exactly right on dark chocolate but may on white chocolate.

You could also dip in melted peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips.

You could dip in dark or sweet chocolate, let harden then drizzle with melted white, dark or milk chocolate, peanut butter or butterscotch chips. Please-if anyone could have a peanut allergy do not even consider opening anything with peanuts or a peanut warning on the label in your kitchen for several days before you make these or until after you have removed these from your kitchen.

I can see these in so many ways! This just may become as popular and famous as my Two Handed Oatmeal Cookies!

Oatmeal Cookies

I started making these cookies for our first daughter's first Christmas. We have done them ever since. The men and children in the family start requesting them in October. I always make these the last of my Christmas baking and make at least 5 batches. I buy all the ingredients but I use up the left over dried and candied fruits from the other items to make up the 2 cups of chocolate pieces. My brother had not been home for a Christmas, in years. I gave him a bunch of these the year he made it home for Christmas. He called me in January asking for more. He had taken ice cream and softened it, spread a thick layer between two cookies and frozen them!


6 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons real vanilla
8 cups regular oats (I use organic oats the real big ones.)
1-cup candy-coated chocolate pieces
1 6-ounce package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate pieces

In large mixer bowl beat eggs. Add sugars, peanut butter, butter, baking soda and vanilla; mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Drop dough from an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with bottom of glass dipped in sugar or, you can spray the bottom of the glass with a non-stick spray instead. Bake in a 350° F oven for 14-16 minutes. Cool cookies slightly before removing from cookie sheet; cool completely. Makes about 40 (4-inch diameter) cookies.


I have made this using shortening instead of butter and I had to start using soy butter when my eldest developed a severe and deadly allergy to peanuts.  

Helping Brings Blessings

We all need to learn, rich and anything above poor, to give. It matters not how much money we have or the government takes from us, if that is shared with the less fortunate.

We can help in many ways, time--go donate a few hours to a soup kitchen or Habitat for Humanity or go fix that broken porch or leaky faucet or the single parent in the neighborhood or the widow or the elderly couple or the kid just of school that is on their own now.

Next time you go shopping buy a bag of bath soap, toilet paper, feminine supplies, shampoo, etc. and some groceries and go leave it on the door step of someone you know needs it--and you do know!

The surplus from your garden, do you preserve it or toss it? Why not share it.

Ask the harried parents at church or in the neighborhood if they would like a couple hours without the children and take their children to McDonald's for an hour or the park or to come watch cartoons with yours and pop some popcorn.

Set up a clothing and toy exchange in the neighborhood and make sure the family that has nothing to exchange does get something for each child and parent.

Sew? Offer to mend someone's clothing. Not everyone knows how to sew.



What we do for others, be it good or bad, will come back to us and our children-for 7 generations--

Are you blessing or cursing your great grandchildren??

Lots Of Things

This day was productive.

I made several bead rings. These will be offered for sale at Pau Wau this year. 

My hubby's friend went with me to the paid storage building and we got the sewing machine, lots of cloth, and a few odds and ends.

We came back and straightened up the storage building here--hoping that will be a full fledged Craft Room by January--hint, hint Honey. (My birthday is in January.)

Then, we realized we had to go back over to the paid storage building as my jewelry making supplies were not here. Note-It was starting to storm outside. Luckily the rain held off a few hours.

Brought a box in the house that needs to be gone through. Bet most of it can be trashed.

Sat down and watched "Every Which Way But Loose" while I beaded "Dakota" in pale yellow with a pale green background.

Yes, it is very hard to read. I believe it will be made into a choker for her. She's still too small for a bracelet with her name. Little bugger, she pulls her earrings out then tries to take her Mom's out!

Giorgianna and I went to Linden, Tennessee the other day. Stopped at the Cane Creek Market. Bought a new mortar and pestle, Farmer's Cheese, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, bologna, and oil based natural flaorings to use in some of my products.

Nothing like shopping at a true country market!

Hubby has been sickly the last few days--seems to have bronchitis, but you know these hard headed men!!! Refuses to go to the doctor. Of course going to the VA can be a true pain at times.

Had a pattern made to make Ms. Robbie some jumpsuits that zip up the back--she has an annoying habit of taking her Depends off and then wetting herself. She also has developed a habit of tearing them apart and flushing them down the toilet.  That gell just swells and stops it up. A friend snaked the toilet for us last week.  She will also play in the poop in the toilet--this was the best way I could figure to stop these activities.

I will be working on getting at least three made this week.


Here are some pictures one is the bead work for Dakota's choker and the other some of the bead rings:

Yellow Outfit for Dakota Dream

It's a bad photo but I am so proud of this. It is so pretty! I cannot wait for her to put it on.

Dakota Dream's Baby Blanket

Here is Dakota's baby blanket!

The main color is a yarn I found nine skeins of at Goodwill. The Coffee was some I had for an afghan my husband wants and the pink on the edges is one I received in an exchange I was involved in once.

Latest Sewing Project

Sat up last night and cut out this pattern for my granddaughter Dakota Dream.

Making view "A"- the one in the center. It's a dark yellow what a lot of sports teams use and call gold.

She is a true Indian baby with a round face and pretty dark skin. She will look very cute in this (and no Unchee does NOT have a biased opinion! LOL)

This will be her Christmas present.

Pictures coming when it is done. Right now I have the hardest job of all-finding a zipper and bias binding that will match the cloth color.

Been Sewing Again!

Well, I have been at the sewing machine again. Here is what I have so far and there will be more from the Jayme Bodice - one for each of the Granddaughters.

The first is a Tear Skirt for Kimberlee.

The dress with the bunny skirt is for Dakota Dream.

The two denim dresses are for Kimberlee and her sister Di'Chariah.

Still have to make for Nikole and Makenzie.

More photos to come!

Baby Blanket for a Friend

I have finally finished a blanket for a friend. She is expecting a boy and is doing his room in teddy bear browns.

Beaded Amulet Bags

I have just completed two very cute beaded amulet bags:

This one is made of beige 100% cotton thread with different colored, metal lined, glass beads.

This is made from variegated cotton thread with different colored seed beads.

Each of these are for sale in my shop on Etsy.com

Prayer Cloth for my Brother

I was checking out some blogs of others on CrochetList at Yahoo! Groups and found this pattern-Filet Prayer Cloth Pattern.



With a few changes as to hook size and yarn, the below picture is what my finished project looks like:



Yarn used: "Silkine" Pearl Cotton, Mercerized, #5 by The American Thread Company in a yellow.
Hook Used: Steel #3

Another Pair of Earrings

Below is a pair of earrings I made.

Hand Crafted Diary

This is a Diary or Journal I made for a Special Friend for Christmas one year.

Leather Bag

I made a slide show of the leather bag I made. It was a commissioned piece.