The Buttercreme Baker

The Apple Dumpling Gang

For those of you who have yet to buy that special someone something special for Valentine's…

Yardscapes & Gifts are having a sale. I'll probably drop by soon-I need to schedule a topiary trimming.

On the menu last night: Apple Dumplings. After looking over the recipe, I must admit that I was pretty skeptical. I thought, "How can something with so few ingredients be as good as everyone is exclaiming?" Well…I soon found out.

Although, they were a bit too sweet for my taste, I will absolutely make them again. I'll just have to experiment with the sugar content next time.

Before tasting them, I was sure that they would taste like dressed-up apples enveloped in crescent roll dough but boy, was I wrong. The butter, caramel syrup and 7Up™ (yes, that's right) gave the pastry really substantial flavor. These were not exactly homemade but, they were a very good substitute.

Apple Dumplings (adapted from a recipe submitted to Allrecipes)

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

2(10oz) cans crescent roll dough

1C butter

¾ C brown sugar

¾ C granulated sugar

1 t cinnamon

1 t vanilla extract

1 (12oz) can 7Up™

    Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease a 9x13" baking dish.

Cut each apple into 8 wedges, set aside. Separate dough into individual triangles. Roll each apple wedge with the dough beginning at the widest end. Pinch to seal and place in the prepared dish.

Melt butter in a small saucepan, stir in sugars, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour mixture over the dumplings. Pour 7Up™ over dumplings.

Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Bare Naked Lady

One day earlier this week, John and I noticed a bright red cluster of something growing in our yard. Upon further inspection, we saw that it was some sort of flower that apparently just appeared over night. It is unlike any flower that we have ever seen before. Having only been in our house two years, we thought we were pretty familiar with the landscape of our yard…until now.

It's less showy than a few days ago but bizarre nonetheless.

Fascinated by this new find, I remembered that I was due to meet Ginger & Morgan to discuss the replacement for the third, or fourth topiary-gosh, it's been so many I've lost track. So, I decided to snap some quick photos of this beauty, and a few others of neighboring plants I have yet to identify. Surely the kind ladies at Yardscapes & Gifts can rescue me.

Of course they can.

I told Morgan my plight, showed her my pics and she told me that the bush above is called Abelia and it is fairly easy to care for. When I began sharing my strange red flower story, she too had a strange red flower story to tell. Turns out, we were both talking about the same flower. She talked to Ginger a few days before about it and found out it's often called a Naked Lady.

Always thirsty for knowledge, I simply had to find out more about this bulb. After spending a few minutes googling it common name, I learned that it's also called a Spider Lily. It originated in China and it is an heirloom variety that pops up when conditions are just right.

I may turn my black thumb green sooner than anticipated.

 

Under The Weather

I overdid it this weekend and boy am I paying for it today. John and I made a lot of progress with the carriage house; the pathway is complete I'm happy to announce. So, with that out of the way, we started work clearing out the entry doors and scrap wood that were left by the previous owner.

We decided to go with the pea gravel to stay true to the English garden theme. Still haven't arranged the shale rock the way I really want it though- this layout is a bit of a rough draft. Stay tuned…this isn't over.

I've been looking through Whiteflower Farm's catalog trying to decide what bulbs I want to plant for the border. I really want some hyacinths and maybe some crocuses.

We enjoyed this hearty meal after our labor intensive weekend

Hamburger Steak with Onions

1 lb ground beef

1 egg

¼ C bread crumbs

1/8 t ground black pepper

½ t seasoned salt

½ t onion powder

½ t garlic powder

1 t Worcestershire sauce

1 T vegetable oil

1 C thinly sliced onions

1 clove of minced garlic

2 T all-purpose flour

1 C beef broth

1 T cooking sherry or orange juice

½ t seasoned salt

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and Worcestershire. Form into 4-5 football-shaped, flattened patties.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the patties until nicely browned, about 4 min. per side. Remove the patties to a plate and keep warm.
3. Add onions and garlic to the skillet and sauté until softened, about 1 min. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and drippings. Stir with a wooden spoon scraping browned bits off the bottom as you stir. Gradually stir in the broth and sherry or juice. Season to taste with seasoned salt. Simmer and stir over medium heat for 5 min. or until thickened. Turn the heat to low, add patties back to the gravy cover and simmer another 20-25 min. Serve hot over rice.

Happy Birthday to my sister, Alison who turns a whopping 26 today. Love ya, sis!

New Camera

John got a new camera for the hotel, the Canon Rebel XTi and it is awesome! Seriously, it is idiot proof, it is almost impossible to take a bad photo with it. Recently, I've been debating whether or not to get a new camera; I have a Fuji Finepix A101. The Fuji is a dinosaur compared to this one at seven years old but, I absolutely love it. However, the Rebel is pure perfection.

I was so excited; I started shooting pictures randomly around the house.

Still honing my photog skills

Forgive me for this one-I was trying to figure out the zoom lens

There, all better

John made a lot of progress with the pathway this afternoon.

Madelyn…such a good helper.

Hopefully, we will be finished in the next couple of weeks. Boy, this is harder than I realized.

Sales Meeting

Today we had our bi-weekly sales meeting at the office today. As always it was good to see everyone and chat about our triumphs and successes. We have gotten a lot of new listings since the last meeting and some of us have sold houses. Good job, guys!

Remember this…well, I cannot put it down. I'll probably be finished by the end of the week-and I read at a snail's pace (no time).

The pathway project has been derailed. John and I were having trouble getting it level so, we dug it up and we're back at square one.

This recipe is in heavy rotation at the Farrar house. It came from a boxed recipe collection called Grandma's Kitchen.

Creamed Chicken & Biscuits

½ large onion

1 ½ t butter

4 C chopped, cooked chicken

1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 C sour cream

½ C milk

½ C chopped pimiento (optional)

1 C shredded mild Cheddar, divided

6 frozen or refrigerated biscuits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of an 11x7" baking dish.
2. Chop the onion. Heat butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Stir in onion. Saute until tender.
3. Combine onion, chicken, soup, sour cream, milk and pimiento in a medium bowl and mix well. Spoon mixture into prepared dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
4. Sprinkle baked layer with ¾ C of cheddar. Arrange biscuits in single layer over top. Sprinkle with remaining Cheddar.
5. Bake until biscuits are golden brown and the sauce is bubbly, about 20 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

    

Weekend Project

It has been an ongoing quest to get my hubby to actually help me complete some of the many outdoor projects I have in mind. Well, today we started work on a pathway for the carriage house out back. The previous owners left behind a plethora of a sort of shale rock that I thought would be perfect for the area.

It may not look like a lot of work was done but, this took about two and a half hours; we aren't even halfway finished…oy.

This was taken in the fall of last year. Our landscaping is an English free-flowing style with lots and lots of hundred year old boxwoods, something we have yet to identify with red berries (shown in the pic), English ivy, heirloom daylilies, etc.

The main entrance of the carriage house

This was taken after I cut back most of the shrubs and tamed the ivy

We took a much needed break after working on the path and took a trip to Brookneal for…The Chicken. The Golden Skillet in this tiny town has the best fried chicken we've had since our trip to Chester Fried in Strasburg. If you're ever in Brookneal, the establishment, Burgers, Shakes and Cream is also a great place for a deliciously simple vanilla cone.