It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Camp Kreitzer

Our first Christmas with the new front porch gave us extra opportunities for welcoming visitors!

For some reason, I'm not sure why, I have been going all out this year with the decorations. Perhaps it's because I was feeling down in the dumps and grinchy after Thanksgiving and needed to "light"en things up. So every day I've been adding to the decorations.

Serendipity and Follow the Star Cookies

My life is filled with serendipity (the art of happy accidents)! It makes every day an adventure. Here's just one example.

A few of we ladies were planning a cookie swap and one of my favorite cookies is molasses crinkles. Usually I frost them by drizzling a thin confectioner's icing (sugar and water) on them in a swirly pattern. But this time I remembered I had a lot of unwrapped Hershey kisses left over from making peanut butter blossoms with my grandchildren. Hmm...a spice cookie with a chocolate kiss on top? Can't go wrong with that -- spice and chocolate?

Healthy Mind, Healthy Spirit, Healthy Body

My favorite workout because it's easy and I don't have to remember anything. (I used to mess up aerobic dancing all the time! Don't think I could ever have been a Rockette!) So stand up at your computer and take a "walk with Leslie" break.

Advent Traditions: The Jesse Tree and the First week of Advent

 The older I get the faster time flies. We used to put our Christmas tree up on Christmas Eve and felt scandalous if we broke down and put it up a few days earlier. But now, Advent seems over almost before it starts and I've decided that to have the decorations up long enough to fill my cup to the brim, I need to start a lot earlier.

So I've embraced the Jesse Tree tradition with gusto. Putting up the tree in time for the first Sunday of Advent makes perfect sense if you are going to slowly journey through the generations before Christ's birth culminating with the coming of Christ on Christmas.

So the tree is up and during this first week of Advent we are reading the first chapter in Christ's family tree book -- Genesis. We started a few days early because we had visiting grandchildren on Friday. So we put up the tree and the oldest plugged it in as we read the creation story -- "...and God said, 'Let there be light.'" After that we read about the creation of the plants and animals: the birds of the air, the creatures of the sea, and all the land animals including the creepy crawlies. (Of course, we have a bee on the tree in honor of our apiary.) And God gave man dominion over them, the responsibility of being a good steward and caring for them with care.

Crockpot Lasagna for the Busy Mom (or Grandmom)

Leftovers going fast! Glad I made a lot.

I haven't made lasagna in years. Too much trouble. So when I came across a recipe in Slow Cooker Creations, I decided to try it. I tend to fiddle with recipes which I did. I never have tomato paste so I nixed that ingredient and went for spaghetti sauce instead. Even with that, the recipe got too dry as it cooked, so I added more sauce about four hours into the cooking time when the noodles on top appeared to be drying out. I decided the cooking time needed to be seriously reduced and the liquid increased. I mean, really, everything is already cooked before you start so does it really need SEVEN HOURS to finish? I also fiddled with the herbs since I like more oregano. I also added cumin.

Making Memories: A House-Warming Party

We love visiting our children and grandchildren. One of the things I like best is thinking about making memories for the children. On our latest visit to our son in Texas and his family we decided to celebrate their new home, (They moved in July.), with a housewarming party.

Tonight was the big night. I made my son's favorite dinner, also a favorite of the kids, parmesan chicken made with a white wine sauce instead of the traditional tomato-based sauce and served with alfredo noodles. Salad, warm bread, apple sauce, and cottage cheese accompanied the dinner.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention...and also Recipes!

After dinner last night we were looking for a little sweetish something. We had a half gallon of vanilla ice cream in the freezer but no toppings. Since we are both chocolate fans I decided to see about making my own hot fudge and here's what I came up with:

Combine one stick of butter in a saucepan with 1 cup chocolate chips, a quarter cup honey, and 1/2 to one cup half and half or cream depending on thickness desired. Heat gently until hot and pour over ice cream or pound cake.