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Post by Chuckie on Nov 24, 2019 13:59:15 GMT -5
This has surpassed Mrs. Locke's as our fave shortbread. Was in "Hershey's Homemade" cookbook we MAY have gotten for a wedding present!!! Only maybe 10" tall by 6" wide, GREAT book:
ALMOND MINI CHIP SHORTBREAD1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 2–1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup mini chocolate chips Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy ( NOTE: Monkey beats this on like #4 speed Kitchenaid for five minutes!! Says that's CRITICAL). Add flour and almond extract; blend well. Stir in mini chocolate chips; pat into prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes; cut into bars or triangles. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Makes 24 bars. My Auntie Pitty-Pat died Monday in the nursing home she'd been in for about four years, so Monkey made TWO of these and I made 50 Pumpkin Doodle cookies to take out to the staff today. Sorry bout the dirty skillet, I fried an egg to eat on hash for breakfast, figured I'd wash ALL the dishes at once ENJOY!! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by vaporvac on Nov 24, 2019 14:25:43 GMT -5
Shortbread and pumpkin doodles in one day!? You're on a roll!
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Post by nana on Nov 24, 2019 19:06:01 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear about your aunt. Please accept my sympathy, Chuckie and Monkey.
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Post by nana on Nov 24, 2019 19:12:31 GMT -5
On a lighter note, I was amused by the subtitle on the cookbook. Recipes for today's lifestyles, eh? Because eating brownies is just so modern!!
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Post by Chuckie on Nov 25, 2019 8:26:42 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear about your aunt. Please accept my sympathy, Chuckie and Monkey. Thanks, nana. She'd been READY to go since Uncle Pete passed away in February of '14. We kept TELLING her SHE wasn't the one that could PICK when she got to GO, was up to the Man upstairs. It WAS very difficult for her, as they did EVERYTHING together. At any rate, she's gone to a FAR better place where she suffers no more, and herself & Uncle Pete are back together. Chuckie
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Post by nana on Nov 25, 2019 14:34:41 GMT -5
People do get to a point where they are not afraid of death anymore. My dad is 99. We went to visit him the other day and out of nowhere he mentioned that he thinks about dying every day. At first I thought uh-oh, is this depression or what? But then he went on to say very matter of factly that he's not afraid and he's ready to go, but he's still healthy, so he just keeps opening his eyes every morning and getting up to start another day. Sort of a "Well, I'm still here so I might as well make the best of it" kind of thing. And he really doesn't have any physical ailments beyond a bit of arthritis, and the food is good, so he's pretty content. But he is kind of amazed to still be around, particularly because he's kind of lost track of his true age and believes himself to be well over a hundred!
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Post by mach12 on Nov 27, 2019 1:57:12 GMT -5
People do get to a point where they are not afraid of death anymore. My dad is 99. We went to visit him the other day and out of nowhere he mentioned that he thinks about dying every day. At first I thought uh-oh, is this depression or what? But then he went on to say very matter of factly that he's not afraid and he's ready to go, but he's still healthy, so he just keeps opening his eyes every morning and getting up to start another day. Sort of a "Well, I'm still here so I might as well make the best of it" kind of thing. And he really doesn't have any physical ailments beyond a bit of arthritis, and the food is good, so he's pretty content. But he is kind of amazed to still be around, particularly because he's kind of lost track of his true age and believes himself to be well over a hundred! My mother-in-law says the same thing. 98 years old, eyesight is nearly gone, arthritis is so bad she can barely get around, dementia with Lewy bodies (so she's there, but kind of in a different reality most of the time), and she's the last alive of her friends and her family of her generation. She keeps saying she wants to just go to sleep and not wake up. I'm not sure the push to live a long life is such a great thing. Might be better to concentrate on adding life to my years instead of years to my life. And when I die I won't get any more of those danged robo calls!
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Post by nana on Nov 27, 2019 8:41:33 GMT -5
Going to sleep and not waking up has to be the number one way everyone hopes to go when their time comes. I don't think it is a bad wish. I'm sorry for your mother in law that she is in pain from the arthritis, and I hope her dementia is like my dad's, where he's generally happy, just out of touch with time and place. Sometimes he smacks himself in the forehead because he's trying to remember something and it's just not there, and he remarks ruefully on how he's forgotten so many things, but a lot of the time he'll just go with the flow of whatever he's making up. He talks a lot about going for long walks in the woods, and other things from the past as though they just happened yesterday. Who am I to correct him? What would I gain from trying to get him to accept that he hasn't gone past the back porch of the adult home in over a year? I ask him to tell me what he saw on his walk. It makes for a much better visit.
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Post by Chuckie on Nov 27, 2019 10:38:38 GMT -5
Going to sleep and not waking up has to be the number one way everyone hopes to go when their time comes. I don't think it is a bad wish... I want to go like MY MIL did!! Ninety-three years old, down on the white sand beaches at Pensacola on spring break with her grandkids. She had JUST finished a Bailey's and coffee, and was going over to help her daughter-in-law with the breakfast dishes. She took two steps from her chair, and fell over in the sand from a brain aneurysm! She was a COOL lady, we miss her IMMENSELY, but Hollywood couldn't WRITE a better ending IMHO... *sigh* CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by nana on Nov 27, 2019 13:33:49 GMT -5
Easy on her, but probably hard on the person(s) who was there, trying to revive her, calling the ambulance, etc. But I remember you posting about that when she passed--it WAS a great way to go, and seemed very fitting from what you told us about her. Happy and vibrant up to the last minute and then lights out. We should all be so lucky!!
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Post by mach12 on Nov 27, 2019 14:08:57 GMT -5
Nana, you're doing it right! A walk like that was obviously something he enjoyed and in his dementia taking it was real. Letting him keep that is a wonderful gift. My mother-in-law sees people and they tell her to do things that she normally wouldn't do, like a year ago when she took off with her cane and purse but no coat, 2am, and we didn't find her for hours. All because one of her imaginary (to us, real to her) people told her she needed to escape because one of the others was going to lock her in the house so she couldn't get out. My wife tried convincing her that they weren't real and that was just confusing to her and frustrating for both of them. I read that you should just go with it so I do that and she's fine. She comes to me and tells me what one of them said and I tell her to just have them see me and I'll take care of it. The other day she said one of them said another was stealing her money so we logged in to her account and checked the statement and she was totally happy. Sometimes I think on one level she wants to check things like that and her brain puts together the "friend" warning her.
Chuckie, I remember your MIL from when we had dinner with you guys and man was she fun and full of life. It was a shocker when you told us she had passed but I totally agree, going like that is such a blessing. My brother-in-law came down from Iowa and visited while we were there at IPE and a couple of weeks after getting home my sister-in-law called and told us he was standing in the kitchen talking to her, got this confused look, and down he went, dead before he hit the floor. I'm in no hurry to get there but when I do I hope I'm as lucky as your mother-in-law and others who are given the quick-exit option are!
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Post by nana on Nov 27, 2019 20:38:46 GMT -5
I learned in a class on mental illness that rather than arguing and trying to convince the person that their delusions are not real, you should instead respond to the emotion that's behind it. Dementia is not quite the same, but it sounds like you've figured it out for yourself the best way to deal with it and still have a relationship with your mother in law. It's not always easy, though.
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Post by nana on Nov 29, 2019 18:09:52 GMT -5
This thread took a serious turn, but on a lighter note, I wanted to make the pumpkin doodles, but all I had was a can of pumpkin that was hiding out in the back of the cupboard. Best by date: 2013. We don't use too much canned pumpkin apparently. (I opened it to see how it was, and while it looked and smelled OK, it tasted so metallic not even the chickens would eat it. Really!) So I made these.
We are having our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, due to my knee surgery (hey, 4 more days of recovery is worth it!) and some health issues my daughter is having--anyway, I am not up to my usual houseful of relatives and mountains of food, so it will be simple. I'm only doing turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. I've farmed out the sides, rolls and desserts to the few other guests. But I wanted to make something sweet, and these seemed simple and easy. Instead of almond/chocolate chip I did pumpkin spice and walnuts to make it Thanksgivingy. I put 2 tsp of pumpkin spice in, but it could have used a bit more, I think. (I had to try one in the interests of scientific inquiry.) But they were easy and at least now I've made a dessert and my only problem will be to keep them hidden from my husband until Sunday!
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Post by mach12 on Nov 29, 2019 22:44:08 GMT -5
One time when I was repairing a fryer in a commercial kitchen I heard the chef cuss and then say the tomato sauce tasted "tinny". He told one of the cooks working for him to put some sugar in and heat it up and let it simmer about 5 minutes. The can looked like a #10 and it looked like they put about 1/4 cup in it. He came back and tasted it and said it was fine and to go ahead and use it. And this wasn't some place like Denny's. I've tried it when I've had tomato sauce that had a bit of a metallic taste and a tablespoon to a can of tomato sauce worked fine. Pretty handy trick that probably everybody knew but me lol.
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Post by nana on Nov 30, 2019 8:21:26 GMT -5
I wonder if that would have worked with the pumpkin? You can't really simmer it though--too thick. But maybe being mixed in with the sugar in the cookie dough would have been enough. Or maybe I should just clean out my cupboards once in a while!
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Post by Chuckie on Nov 30, 2019 9:10:43 GMT -5
I wonder if that would have worked with the pumpkin? You can't really simmer it though--too thick. But maybe being mixed in with the sugar in the cookie dough would have been enough. Or maybe I should just clean out my cupboards once in a while! The pumpkin I used was homemade stuff Monkey found in the freezer, dated 2016!!! It STILL tasted fine though, and that got rid of it!! LOL Every year she USED to ( note past tense!) take the Halloween pumpkin decorations, half them, remove seeds, and CWTGTO in the Chambers. SOMEWHERE out here is the recipe, I'll try to hunt it up... CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by mach12 on Nov 30, 2019 11:01:54 GMT -5
I wonder if that would have worked with the pumpkin? You can't really simmer it though--too thick. But maybe being mixed in with the sugar in the cookie dough would have been enough. Or maybe I should just clean out my cupboards once in a while! I was wondering that too and meant to say so but duties called me away. We were watching our 3 year old great-granddaughter yesterday and I'd promised to let her help me cook dinner and she came in and told me it was time. I guess I closed the comment a bit too quick and forgot my main point but I've learned that when that little girl say jump I'd better be jumping. My wife has obviously been teaching her some life skills.
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Post by karitx on Dec 2, 2019 18:53:18 GMT -5
My Auntie Pitty-Pat died Monday in the nursing home she'd been in for about four years, so Monkey made TWO of these and I made 50 Pumpkin Doodle cookies to take out to the staff today. I'm sorry about your aunt, Chuckie. But I absolutely love that you call her Auntie Pitty-Pat.
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Post by cinnabar on Dec 2, 2019 20:23:32 GMT -5
Nana, I used some canned pumpkin from 2014 (from Mom and Dad's house we emptied out last year) for pie and it was delish. However the cinnamon whisky probably helped it along with letting it steep in the spices a couple days in the fridge.
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 2, 2019 21:02:22 GMT -5
My Auntie Pitty-Pat died Monday in the nursing home she'd been in for about four years, so Monkey made TWO of these and I made 50 Pumpkin Doodle cookies to take out to the staff today. I'm sorry about your aunt, Chuckie. But I absolutely love that you call her Auntie Pitty-Pat. My sister Mary came up with that name, to kinda "rib" her--as there was a MUTUAL non-admiration thingy going on there---they (for some reason) DESPISED one another until my sister got out of her teens/graduated college/got married and Aunt Pitty-Pat came around to her way of thinking. You see, Auntie Pattie was MAYBE 110#'s in her PRIME, and more like below SEVENTY pounds before she died. And "Aunt Pitty-Pat" from "Gone With the Wind" prolly weighed TWICE that!!! LOL
And Mary calling her that REALLY got her goat!--as both KNEW the connotations!!
CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by nana on Dec 6, 2019 15:32:43 GMT -5
Someone ought to write a book about you and your relatives, Chuckie! A bestseller for sure! Meanwhile, today I am going to attempt my first trip to crock pot night at the brewery since my surgery 6 weeks ago. I don't think I will drink, maybe a half glass to be polite, but I really miss my friends and the camaraderie. Plus my husband's gone empty-handed without me these past three weeks and I don't want people to start to talk. These shortbreads are so yummy and easy to make that they have the honor of being my contribution on this momentous occaision! Hubby reported that no one brought dessert the last 2 times, either. (So watch it be nothing but desserts tonight!) I made chocolate chip/walnut and pumpkin pie spice again. (They were a big hit last time.)
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 8, 2019 0:24:09 GMT -5
Someone ought to write a book about you and your relatives, Chuckie! A bestseller for sure! Meanwhile, today I am going to attempt my first trip to crock pot night at the brewery since my surgery 6 weeks ago. I don't think I will drink, maybe a half glass to be polite, but I really miss my friends and the camaraderie. Plus my husband's gone empty-handed without me these past three weeks and I don't want people to start to talk. These shortbreads are so yummy and easy to make that they have the honor of being my contribution on this momentous occaision! Hubby reported that no one brought dessert the last 2 times, either. (So watch it be nothing but desserts tonight!) I made chocolate chip/walnut and pumpkin pie spice again. (They were a big hit last time.) I HOPE they were as BIG a HIT as they were for US, nana!!! Again, A-L-L the credit goes to Monsieur Hershey!!! I may be posting ANOTHER recipe tomorrow, depends on HOW it comes OUT!!! First attempt, going to KofC for the feed @ the Chief's game tomorrow---wish us LUCK!! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by nana on Dec 8, 2019 7:17:46 GMT -5
You got it!
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 8, 2019 21:45:06 GMT -5
THIS was the recipe I was GONNA post--- IF it came out good--- NOT!!! Of all the food I've taken to KofC over the years, this was NOT well accepted AT ALL!!! They left over HALF of it UNTOUCHED!! www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooker-kalua-pork-cabbage/Did it in the well overnight. Just W-A-A-A-A-Y too "bland" for us. I even made a special trip to Denny's Produce to buy MSG, as folks that reviewed it said that REALLY made the recipe " POP" vs. just the sea salt!! Had never used MSG BEFORE, will never use it AGAIN!!! I tried doctoring it later w/onion salt before taking it---too little/too late! So that's how MY Sunday cooking went!!! You can't win them ALL in the culinary world!! *sigh* But @ least our CHIEFS won!!!! WOO-HOO!!! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by nana on Dec 9, 2019 9:09:23 GMT -5
I looked at the recipe. Yeah, I guess bland was the nicest thing to say about it. It needed a sauce or something! It's just plain cooked pork. I saw kalua and I was thinking some kind of coffee liqueur sauce, which would have been unusual, but maybe good...Perhaps they meant luau like in Hawaii? Even so, it should have had some Polynesian flair, pineapple, or coconut...SOMETHING!!! Ah well. It lets the other people see that there's a chink in your armor. It gives them hope that they can be the one bringing home the emptiest dish!
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 9, 2019 12:39:28 GMT -5
I looked at the recipe. Yeah, I guess bland was the nicest thing to say about it. It needed a sauce or something! It's just plain cooked pork. I saw kalua and I was thinking some kind of coffee liqueur sauce, which would have been unusual, but maybe good...Perhaps they meant luau like in Hawaii? Even so, it should have had some Polynesian flair, pineapple, or coconut...SOMETHING!!! Ah well. It lets the other people see that there's a chink in your armor. It gives them hope that they can be the one bringing home the emptiest dish! Funny you should say that, cuz I thought about buying a small can of pineapple chunks and throwing it in the well pot with the dead pig!!! LOL. At least THAT would have given it SOME kind of flavor! CHEERS!! Chuckie
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