A flurry of activities

Manning saw his first snow this weekend. He was slipping and sliding trying to keep up with it. It was definitely a sight to be seen. He's now prowling outside looking for all his toys buried underneath the snow. Brrr!



On another proud note, Manning had his 2nd kill yesterday morning...a little field mouse. No pictures, but I couldn't be happier. Who needs d-Con with a puppy around!

It's a Gooey holiday season!

Given all the weddings in the Diva family, I thought it would be fun to put all of our family recipes together in a book. I headed over to Tastebook and got to work. One big perk about this website over others is that the book is spiral bound, which means we can always add more recipes in for those stragglers who didn't make the deadline or new delicious must include recipes that crop up later. I'll post the book after Christmas since it's going to be sitting under the tree for a few of my fabulous family members. In the meantime, I'll give you a tasty recipe tease.

It's been fun getting everyone to send over their favorites. Most are family staples,but a few others were surprises. The Gooey Bars were a long forgotten dessert from my great aunt, Mama Sister, that I recently made to rave reviews. You can't go wrong with cake batter and more butter!

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
½ t vanilla
1 box confectioners sugar, reserve some for garnish

Directions:
Mix cake mix, 1 egg and butter. Press into a 9 x 13 pan. Mix cream cheese, remaining eggs, vanilla and sugar for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Pour over cake mixture. Cook 25-30 minutes at 325. When cooled dust with remaining confectioners sugar and cut into bars.

Apple Slab

I've been trying lots of recipes lately, but haven't had too many worth posting until now. A few weeks ago, I made Beantown Baker's Apple Slab. It's advertised as the portable apple pie. Given that it's made in a 9 x 13 Pyrex, you can cut this slab into brownie size portions and top with ice cream or whip cream at will. It's a tasty alternative to your All-American apple pie though I wonder if you could just get by with store bought dough, which would make this dessert a definite repeat. These days I'm all about the best flavor for the least amount of work.