Washboard Annie

Washboard Annie never had any money.




where's
the hydro

Until she met up with Tim tom Sears.

2013 cruise

on ship celebrating birthday

potato pie puzzle and recipe

Here's a potato pie puzzle and recipe that might help keep you busy.

Many people give you that puzzled look when you mention a potato pie. Most people have never tasted this type of pie. Some people really like a pie that contains potatoes while others don't care much for it.

You don't need to want to know how to prepare a potato pie in order to enjoy making this puzzle. Simply click the image to start and click the back button to return to this page.




Making a potato pie is not difficult. There are a few secrets that will ensure you get a flaky crust and a good and well cooked bottom. The potato mixture is basically just mashed potatoes flavoured to taste. If you know how to spice your mashed potatoes just right then you are half way to solving your potato pie puzzle.

Making a successful pie crust is about knowing when to stop churning the ingredients. The pie mixture must be mixed well but not over mixed. If this is done properly then you will almost be guaranteed to succeed in turning out a flaky pie that will hold your potato mix.

If you solve the potato pie puzzle and recipe correctly you will soon be serving this with a nice piece of meat and some wholesome vegetables and you will dazzle your dinner guests.

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Recipe To Make Flaky Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups flour ( white or whole wheat)
• 1 pound vegetable shortening
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Mix in bowl - egg, vinegar, water

Mix in another bowl - flour, shortening, salt

Pour half of egg mixture in flour mixture and mix with fork and with hands.

Add more of the egg mixture slowly until it is chunky and moist - make sure it does not go past the moist point to where your pie dough is wet. A wet mixture will not make a flaky pie crust.

Once you have your pie dough you need to take a rolling pin and prepare the container for you mashed potato mixture. A top and a bottom layer will be needed.

Put the bottom layer in a pie plate. Add the mashed potato mixture. Cover with the top dough layer. Glue the top and bottom layer by pressing them with a fork.

Cook in oven until golden brown.

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If you liked this potato puzzle and recipe post then you might like other similar posts such as these.

pot pourri puzzle
eggroll puzzle

Make an eggroll puzzle

Here's your chance to make an eggroll puzzle while you wait for your homemade fried eggrolls to cool down. The recipe to make these fried chinese food goodies can be found through that link.

Click the image to start puzzle. To return to how I keep busy and this page click on back button.



If you like to make puzzles of food items or of other things that are wholesome, and natural then try making our pot pourri puzzle.

Other similar puzzles can be found by clicking the puzzle tag on the bottom of this make an eggroll puzzle post.

pot pourrie puzzle

Try out this pot pourri puzzle.



What is pot pourri ?

Take a mixture of dried plant materials and combine them together in a jar and basically you have pot pourri. The mixture uses dried flowers and spices such as cinnamon or lavender or any other fragrance. This pot pourri mixture can be put in bowls around the house in order to add fresh scents from nature. Another way to use the aromatic plant mixture is to boil it and to allow the smell to be carried through the house on the steam.

Pioneer Thinking as a good example of how to make Pot pourri ?

Put money in your cake

Aging can't be a totally bad thing. People put money in your cake when you age but this chocolate cake recipe can be profitable for a person celebrating a birthday at any age.


Had she been a gambler, like a poker player, like Texas Hold 'Em, a few 100 dollar chips might have been appropriate but the birthday girl in question was conservative and a few canadian loonies did the trick...

It's a decadent double layered chocalate cake loaded with a few coins....another suggestion might be to add a few ounces of pure gold inside this delightful birthday cake but at 1000 dollars an ounce for a gold bar you might want to go to a 16 dollar silver bar.

Maybe you prefer to stick to pennies or dollars or twonnies or even paper cash wrapped up in wax paper.

The cake tastes great either way. Most people who eat this cake likely don't care about money. It's all just great fun.


How do you make a penny chocolate cake ?

Follow any recipe for chocolate cake and add those tokens in spontaneously.

Don't forget to get insurance just in case someone accidently swallows a gold bar...

lol....the party girl might just be an insurance sales rep.

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It's been a busy few winter months and the creative focus has been on quilting. Let's just say, the howikeepbusy lady has been sewing quilts all winter. Sheessssshhhhh to think she might have a prophetic vibe in her as she usually goes to Texas in the winter months but this year Texas is as cold as a Turkey.....

See some quilts she's been working on...

here... she can't quit quilting

A great cabbage leaf makes a good cabbage roll

How to prepare a cabbage roll.

Look at these pictures and follow the steps to make great tasting cabbage rolls.

For this easy cabbage roll recipe you will need a few foil trays, some measuring cups and spoons, and an oven

Makes about 20 medium sized cabbageRolls

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Always keep a few huge whole frozen cabbages from the garden to use when you need them.

Thaw the cabbage and rinse it in lukewarm water.

You will be cutting off a bit of the hardest part of the leaf close to the core to get a nice tender roll.

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For the meat mixture use the following ingredients

Mix them together in a bowl

1 lb lean ground pork

1 lb lean ground beef

1 medium onion minced

1 tsp ground garlic

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp herb de provence - mix herbs found at grocers

1 tbsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup white rice uncooked

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Insert the meat mixture into the thawed cabbage leaf

Pour a tomato sauce made of the following ingredients on top of the cabbage casserole

2 cups tomato juice or vegetable juice

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper

1 tsp white sugar

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Cover with a layer of foil

Cook these cabbage rolls in an oven preset to 325 Fahrenheit for two hours and serve hot.

A longer cooking time allows the flavour to sponge into the cabbage.

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You can print this recipe here

CabbageRoll Recipe

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If you want great recipes or craft ideas to print or if you want to add some of your own the check our motherEarth interactive wiki.

Bundt banana chocolate cake

How to bake a bundt banana chocolate cake.

If you like bananas and you like chocolate and you like cake for desert then you will love this banana chocolate cake baked in a bundt pan. If you like chocolate better than banana then you can call this one chocolate banana cake.

How to bake this bundt chocolate banana delight.

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You will need mixing bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoons, oven, electric mixer, bundt pan, cooling rack

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Ingredients

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3/4 cup soft butter

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogourt

3 ripe bananas

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 - 3/4 cups white flour

1/2 cup of cocoa

1 tbsp of baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

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Instructions for preparing the banana chocolate bundt cake

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In a large bowl beat sugar and butter with electric mixer until it becomes well blended

Add one egg and beat.

Add the other egg and beat again

Add Yogourt or Sour Cream and beat again

In a small bowl blend mashed bananas with vanilla and milk

In another bowl mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt

Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture 1/3 at a time while mixing with electric mixer. Repeat while adding another 1/3 and again for last 1/3

Add banana mixture in the same way 1/2 and mix, 1/2 and mix

Add chocolate chips

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Empty the full mixture into the bundt pan that you have greased

Cook in oven preheated to 350 Fahrenheit for 50 to 60 minutes

Test by inserting toothpick to check if center comes out dry

Let cake cool in pan then transfer to serving plate

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All you can do at this point is Enjoy your chocolate banana bundt cake  

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You can print this banana chocolate cake recipe here

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If you want great recipes or craft ideas to print or if you want to add some of your own the check our motherEarth interactive wiki.

Frying Eggrolls for 8 people

Great Tasting Eggrolls are easy to make and only take an hour or so to prepare and cook.

There are countless recipes for preparing deep fried egg rolls that taste great. The ingredients for this chinese food recipe are all found in the grocery store or in your garden.

The egg roll dough is commercially made for this particular fried egg roll recipe.

This recipe made 18 large egg rolls or enough to feed 8 people easily.

Serve these alone with plum sauce or as an addition to other chinese foods.

To prepare this recipe you will need a few pots and pans and a deep fryer.

EggRoll Ingredients

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1 pound lean ground beef

3 cups of fresh bean sprouts

1/2 chopped medium onion

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1/2 teaspoon oriental ginger

1/4 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon soya sauce

sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/8 cup green pepper

1/8 cup red pepper

1/4 cup chopped celery

Prepare ground beef by frying in sesame oil in a pan. Cook until brown, then add vegetables and spices and mix together. Allow vegetable mix to simmer while adding soya sauce. Add the sprouts last to keep them from getting soggy. Drain in strainer and add inside eggroll wrappers. Close wraps with water as per instructions on package.

Deep fry eggrolls in very hot vegetable oil or canalo oil.

Place the prepared Ingredients in the Egg roll wraps and fry them until they are golden brown.

This recipe can be printed by clicking this link

Frying Eggrolls for 8 people

Enjoy

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Honey and Cinnamon

Facts on Honey and Cinnamon

These natural remedies made of Honey and Cinnamon came in an e mail and might interest you.

Honey is the only food on the planet that will not spoil or rot. It will do what some call turning to sugar. In reality some honey is always honey. However when left in a cool dark place for a long time it will do what I call "crystallizing". When this happens I loosin the lid, boil some water, and sit the honey container in the hot water, off of the heat and let it liquefy. It is then as good as it ever was.

Never boil honey or put in a microwave as this kills the healing enzymes of the honey.

Facts on Honey and Cinnamon

It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases and it is produced all over the planet by busy bees. Honey doesn't produce any side effects.

A list of conditions and diseases that can be cured or prevented by mixtures of honey and cinnamon. Resource - Weekly World News, January 17, 1995.

• Heart diseases - Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It is believed to help reduce cholesterol build up in the arteries. This honey and cinnamon powder also relieves loss of breath, strengthens the heart beat, revitalizes naturally worn out veins and arteries.
• Arthritis - Take twice daily, morning and night, one cup of a mixture of honey and cinnamon. To one cup of hot water add 2 spoons of honey and one small spoon of cinnamon powder. A study at a Coppenhagen University showed that a daily routine like this one has people suffering from chronic pain due to arthritis feeling much better within a week. The study showed that 73 of the 200 people treated were totally releived of pain within one month.
• Bladder Infection - A daily intake of two tablespoons of cinnamon and one teaspoon of honey added to a glass of lukewarm water will destroy germs in the bladder and reduce the possibility of bladder infection.
• Cholesterol - Follow the Arthritis suggestion but take three times daily. For cholesterol you may even try just a spoonful of pure honey on a daily basis.
• Colds - If you want to clear your sinuses, or cure yourself from a chronic cold condition and the cough that comes with it then take 1/4 spoon of cinnamon powder and 1 tablespoon of lukeworm honey three times daily. Add to this a tea made of licoriceRoot and watch as nature heals your cold symptoms.

Similar uses of honey and cinnamon mixtures help relieve or cure

• gas
• indigestion
• influenza

A tea made of honey and cinnamon may slow down the aging process by keeping the skin soft and fresh. This honey cinnamon is a revitalizer and a natural energy drink. A quarter cup three or four times daily is all it takes.

As a powder paste made from 3 tablespoons of honey and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon it removes pimples from the roots. Apply the paste on the pimple before sleep and wash it off in the AM with warm water. Do this daily for two weeks and watch the magic of natural remedies at work.

The same type of honey cinnamon powder paste can be used to cure skin conditions such as eczema and to rid the body of ringworms.


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These are only suggestion and should not be used to replace the treatment of suggestions of professionally trained medical experts. But then again no sane medical expert would drug you if there was a more natural way of healing you.

The best of both approaches is the best approach always.


You can print a copy of these facts on honey and cinnamon here.
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If you want great recipes or craft ideas to print or if you want to add some of your own the check our motherEarth interactive wiki.

make gum drop cake

gummy good drops

Kids love those little sweet chewy gum drop candies. Put them in a cake and the adults in your house will be eating them up quicker than the kids can.

Follow these simple instructions to make a gumdrop cake.

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You will need pans, oven, mixing bowls, measuring cups and measuring spoons.

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Ingredients

1 cup margarine

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup apple sauce

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup dried raisins

2 cups of baking gumdrops

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup walnuts - optional

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Instructions for preparing your gum drop dough

Mix well all of those ingredients adding them one by one in the order the are given. Beat the eggs before putting them in.

Put mixture in greased loaf pans. To avoid sticking sprinkle a bit of flour on the greased pan.

Cook in oven preheated at 350 degree Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes or until golden in color.

That's it......you now know how to bake a gum drop cake.

The same dough recipe can be used to make gumdrop cookies.

To print this gum drop cake recipe click here.
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If you want great recipes or craft ideas to print or if you want to add some of your own the check our motherEarth interactive wiki.

Great meat pie with flaky crust

Why buy your meat pies when you can make them yourself. With this meat pie recipe you will have half a dozen pies that will have your family and friends praising your cooking skills.

The pie crust secret is no longer secret.

Check it out. Print it. Pass it on...

Meat pie recipe.

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If you want great recipes or craft ideas to print or if you want to add some of your own the check our motherEarth interactive wiki.

Recipe for Insomnia Drops

Having problems sleeping.

Get yourself a diffuser and make your own Insomnia Drops essential oil.

Get the recipe here.

Insomnia Drops essential oil.

a bear in my yard

 
 What's This!!!!!Can it be a bear in my yard? I woke up early this morning and brewed up some good coffee and moved over to my new favorite spot in the backyard which is the shed. Isn't it great how these wireless internet things work. So i'm looking over my favorite sites and suddenly i look out the window and....well what do you know....There's a bear in my yard....it must be the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. Or maybe that chicken started laying eggs. Luckily i have the camera and i'm able to catch a few quick pictures of this bear in my yard.

Back to reality....

These yard ornaments are easy to make and can keep you busy for hours. All it takes is a little wood, some simple tools like a jigsaw and a pattern that can be made if you are artistic or purchased if you are not. Then you paint it and you too can be telling people about having a bear in my yard.

If you prefer to have a moose well that's fine. The selection of lawn ornaments that you can adorn you backyard with is limited only by your imagination.

These hand made ornaments are great for special occasions like hollaween or christmas or easter.

But i swear that there was a bear in my yard this morning. I even have the pictures to proove it.

early spring white clusters

Not quite sure what the name of these tiny white clusters are. But they are enjoying the space between the rocks in the small rock garden.

They may be babies breath but i don't think so.

Well what shows up when you need to know? She out of the living room and not overly covered with paint and she has with her the package of seeds that she planted last year and they are babies breath.

Gypsophila to be more precise.

Souffle d'enfant in francais.

That's it for now.....

Go back to the first picture in this early spring in the backyard stuff.

Early Spring Crocuses in Ontario

I'm almost sure that these beautiful early spring blooms are called Crocuses. There was a big clump of these Crocuses blooming in a secluded spot so she transplanted them in three different spots in the backyard.
After a few days and a little water they seem to be taking to the soil.

Those are more of those early spring pesky birds in the backyard.

No eggs yet from the chicken but we are hopeful.

Here's another crocus picture

See the nice white blooms.

early bird

It's the early bird that gets the worm so they say and it is no different in our early spring back yard. It seems that the only thing my other bird feeders is attracting is black bird. These little gems don't eat as much so they are welcome to stay for awhile. At least until those nice little yellow birds start coming around.

I found a few new early blooms.

Leave the early bird alone and have a look at my yellow Daffodil.

Early Spring Birdhouse

I took a paintbrush the other day and put a few dabs of paint on the roof of this hand crafted birdhouse which was purchased a few years ago.

In the winter it is protected from the snow with a plastic bag covering but it never hurts to protect it with a little extra paint.

Click here to see the activity around the early spring birdhouse.

Early Spring Backyard

Sorry but the craft lady is busy painting her living room today so the son is taking pictures in the backyard.

These two fishing buddies always seem to get lucky at this time of year. Today was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and there was a nice light breeze blowing wind through the yard and over the fishing pond.

The early spring backyard wouldn't be complete without a visit to the bird house.

Click on that link to see the bird house.

First daffodil

the first daffodil of 2009


This yellow daffodil was blooming under the lilac tree so i took a picture.

There was also a crocus so i took another picture.

See the purple crocus.