Donut Muffins are Divine!

I'm pretty sure I've shared this recipe before but I couldn't find it, I plan to post it on Instagram, and just in case someone asks for the recipe, it's right here.  This recipe is from All Recipes and has never disappointed since the first time I made them.  Today was the first time in ages that I've baked them, of course, after all that time they do taste divine!

Donut Muffins

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup margarine, melted

3/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup flour

1/4 cup margarine, melted

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease mini muffin cups, I was able to make 18 donut muffins,   I used a small cookie scoop.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup margarine and nutmeg in bowl.  Stir in milk, then mix in the baking powder and flour until just combined.  Fill the greased muffin cups about half full.

Bake in preheated oven until the tops are lightly golden, 15-20 minutes - it was exactly 15 minutes for me.

While muffins are baking, place 1/4 cup of melted margarine in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon.  Remove muffins from their cups, dip each muffin in the melted margarine and then roll in the sugar cinnamon mixture.  

These are more like a mini donut hole than a muffin, they're really tasty, also easy and quick to make - give them a try!!

Naan Pizza - Easy and Tasty!

Homemade pizza is a great quick meal, but if you're like me, you don't always want to make your own crust.  So, I discovered Naan pizza - it's way better, in my mind, than buying a ready made crust.  And, so easy!!

I buy a 5 pack of Santosh Garlic Naan bread - one piece for each of us.  Preheat your oven to 350, sprinkle a few drops of water on your Naan, then place on the rack for 2 minutes.  Remove from the oven,  spread your sauce, and your toppings  - my standard toppings are turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, green pepper and mozzarella.  Return to your oven for 8 minutes - that's it, your pizza is ready to enjoy. Give it a try, I think you'll like it!!

What Bugs You?

What's bugging me?  Shoddy merchandise - clothing, household items - you name it, nothing is "like it used to be."  

On the weekend I purchased two sets of queen size sheets and a comforter set in a bag - well, out of that, one pair of sheets and the set are going back - I bought the comforter set at Home Sense, I was hopeful, but it wasn't to be, the comforter was way too small for the bed and the black pillow sham had a white stitch randomly placed, not another white stitch to be seen on the sham!    So disappointed!!  The sheets I bought at Costco, I had never purchased a pair of sheets there before, but there was a lady  getting a pair, not her first pair as she praised them to the highest - I would be hard pressed to say anything good  about them, they were too tight on the bed, I didn't like the feel of them and worst of all, there was a hole in them!!  It's no sense to buy sheets that are too tight for the bed, I bought a new set in the summer, they just made their way to Value Village - they shrunk up so much, I couldn't even tuck in the sheet.  The one set of sheets that I did keep  are so wrinkly after washing and drying, I will need to iron the pillowcases - that is a step back for sure, I can remember my grandmother doing that!    It's a sad situation - one set of sheets were made in China, another in Bahrain - to tell you the truth, I don't even know where Bahrain is!!!  I think you'd be looking a long time to find things like this made in Canada.

That brings me to clothing, nearly every piece of clothing now has to be hung up to dry, or it will shrink to nothing, clothing doesn't last!!!    My husband had a winter jacket this year, that had to go back, the stuffing started coming out of it, just after normal wear.  I bought a pair of leggings, pulled them on once, a hole!  

And while I'm on a little rant,  here's something that bugs me about blogs and Instagram - people that don't respond to your comments - I always try my best at that.    And, on that note,  I'll close this  post!

Coloured Pencils or Markers?

I started colouring in July, this is what my stash of colouring books looks like now, I was very lucky at Christmas - it was definitely a colouring Christmas!!!

If you're colouring, I'm interested to know your preference in coloured pencils and markers.  I prefer to colour with pencils but some pages just call for markers, really, just about every page in the "Fantastic Cities" page does, as the images are so small.  

I started out with a small box of Hilroy pencils, I quickly knew that would never be enough, I bought a small box of Crayola, then moved on to the big Crayola box.  I was happy with the array or colours but as I coloured more, the leads started to break, sharpening was really doing a number on them.  At this point, I probably would not buy any more Crayola.

I was hoping for something better for Christmas, I wasn't disappointed.

My husband secretly picked up the box of Sargent pencils the last time we were in the US at Hobby Lobby, I really like these pencils, there are 56 different colours, there are so many extras in this box which is great.  I also received a metallic box of Faber Castell pencils, I like the way these ones colour too.    My son gave me Prismacolor Premier pencils they are beautiful, they glide along the page, the colours are vibrant, I love them!  I might be spoiled!!

My first package of markers came from Dollarama, they're not bad at all, I had one dry up, maybe the cover wasn't on tightly, and one tip break off.  So, I thought I had to have more colours, I bought this box of Maped markers at Staples, not good - I couldn't even finish a flower and the marker was dried up, it happened to me twice, I haven't used them much since - I don't want to ruin another page.    Do you use markers and what kind?

Storing your pencils is another problem - where to put them for easy access.  My husband bought this art box at a yard sale or thrift shop, he made slots for my pencils and now I have a really nice storage box.  It opens up on top too so I can keep extra paper in there to put between the pages.  I love it!!

This page I did with the Prismacolor pencils, in the Animal Kingdom book.

Another page from the  Animal Kingdom book, done with the Sargent pencils.  I really like this book and any book that has thick pages is my favourite!

I'd love to hear what your preferences are...

This is All I Bought

My husband was on a business trip last week, I tagged along, I like when that happens!!!  I poke around  wherever I want - I checked out a few antique markets and a few thrift stores.   I know I don't buy much any more, but really, I expected at least a couple more little things!  I nearly had two Vera scarves, one scarf seemed familiar and it was priced at $5 so I wasn't taking the chance, the other scarf I had lined up to pay, there were about ten people ahead of me and one cashier open - not worth it for one scarf which wasn't even an exceptional one!

My purchases were both made at antique markets, not a thrift store purchase to be had, which is sad.  The vintage merchandise in these stores is just not there now, I am so glad I have what I do and found a lot of it for great prices.   And, there was one less store to shop at as all Ontario Goodwill shops closed last week.    

I am always on the lookout for one of these Prince Edward Island pennants, finally, I have one..

I love vintage Valentines, the copyright on this Valentine book is 1980 so I guess we'll say it's vintage, as you can't buy these books now.    Some pages are punch out, some are to be cut out - it's so cute!  I plan to use some in my Pocket Letters.

I think the days of me having many thrifty find posts are coming to a screeching halt - but like I've said, I really need nothing.  I still like to look though!!

Creamy Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

I love it when I find a new recipe that's easy to make and tastes delicious.  I found this "Creamy Shrimp Alfredo Pasta" today when I was browsing - the original recipewas found on NatashasKitchen.com I thank her for posting this tasty recipe!!

Creamy Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

Fettucine or Penne Pasta

Shrimp - I used 10 large shrimp for the two of us

1 tbsp. oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. butter

1 garlic clove

1/3 cup white wine

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Sprinkle of Paprika

Parsley or basil for garnish

Lightly season shrimp with salt, pepper and paprika.  Preheat large skillet to med/high and add 1 tbsp. oil.  Add shrimp and cook 1-2 minutes per side, do not overcook.  Remove shrimp to a bowl.

I started cooking the fettucine after the first step.  Drain when cooked, do not rinse.

In your same frying pan, over medium/high heat, add 2 tbsp. butter, cook onion, stir in garlic and cook together.  Stir in 1/3 cup white wine and reduce to 25%, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan.

Stir in cream and simmer for 2 minutes.  Sprinkle the top with 1/3 cup parmesan and stir until creamy and smooth.  Add 1/4 tsp. paprika and season with salt and pepper.

Turn off heat and add cooked shrimp and pasta to the frying pan.  Garnish with parsley or basil.

This is a definite winner, I've pinned it for future use!

Pocket Letters

My first post for 2016 and it's going to be about "Pocket Letters" because I love making them, swapping and receiving them in the mail.   I started this craze back in the spring, I haven't made as many as some people, but I still feel like I'm addicted to them!!!  I've met some great ladies through these swaps, some of which I continue to swap with.  Honesty is a big part of it, 95% of the time everything goes smoothly, but there are always those people out there who commit to a swap and then come up with excuse after excuse why you haven't received their letter.  I don't swap with them again!  

That's all the letters that have arrived at my house - I really need to get bigger binders.  I received 21 Christmas letters, which I placed all in the bulging binder at the top.   In total there are 62 pocket letters in those binders.

After being away over Christmas, I made my first letter yesterday, to replace one that didn't reach it's destination, mine didn't make it to her either, that's so strange!   She requested a winter one.   Today, all the Christmas and winter things will be packed away, next up - Valentine Pocket Letters or just what ever I want!    

Here's a couple of Christmas letters I made...

And a couple of regular ones that I made a while back...

 I look forward to lots more fun swaps this year!!

 

Recipes Only for Christmas

I've been doing some baking this week but since we are going away for Christmas, I don't have to do as much and what I do make, has to travel well!

Last year I discovered "Cuban Lunch" on Instagram - we loved these and quickly became one of our favourites.  People have said this was a chocolate bar, I had never heard of it - it really was, it was mostly a Western Canadian bar, made in Winnipeg by Paulin's or so I've read.    This recipe was the first one I googled, so I chose that, there are other variations, I won't be changing, we like this one!

Cuban Lunch

2 c. peanut butter chips

2 c. butterscotch chips

2 c. chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. crushed ripple potato chips

1 1/2 c. peanuts (salted or unsalted)

Melt together the peanut butter, butterscotch & chocolate chips in top of double boiler (I used the microwave)

Add crushed potato chips and peanuts.

Mix together with melted chips.

Spoon into mini cupcake  paper cups.

Keep in refrigerator.

This next recipe is one of my daugther's favourites - they're easy and they're good - they're Peppermint Meltaways!

Peppermint Meltaways

1 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. icing sugar

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. cornstarch

In small bowl, cream butter & icing sugar until light and fluffly.  Beat in extract.  Combine flour & cornstarch, gradually add to creamed mixture, mix well.

Shape into 1 inch balls.  Place 2 inches part on ungreased pan ( I use parchment).  Bake 350 - 10-12 minutes.

Frosting - 

2 tbsp. butter, softened

1 1/2 c. icing sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

2-3 drops of food colouring.  I use very little as I want them to be a very light pink.

In small bowl, beat butter until fluffy.  Add icing sugar, milk, extract and food colouring.  Beat until smooth.

Delicious - both of them!!!

A Christmas Story & The Leg Lamp

I love this movie!!!  But, I never discovered it until a couple of years ago, hard to believe because it was first shown in 1983 - my children missed the experience of this great movie!  But, now they know about it!!!!

I found a little Hallmark tree ornament in the shape of the "leg lamp" from the movie, I was content with that until I was away this past weekend and saw a 20 inch lamp, I loved it but I thought it was too expensive, that was on Friday night, I thought about it all weekend, I went back on Sunday afternoon, gone - every one!!  I was so disappointed - really disappointed!!!

I started searching the internet and found where I could order here in Canada, I ordered Sunday night, I had my leg lamp yesterday.  Lesson learned there though, I ended up paying more but it's worth it,   it's everything I had hoped for!!

If you've watched the movie, you know all about the leg lamp - how Ralphie's father won the full size lamp - "It's a Major Award", Fra-gee-lay - It must be Italian, Isn't it Glorious - and, my lamp if glorious!

When we were in Cleveland last year visiting the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame, we stopped at The Christmas Story House but it was too late in the day, it was closed.   But, I did see the lamp in the window - the film was shot in Cleveland and Toronto - here's an article about the Toronto locations that were used in the film.  I want to go back to Cleveland again so I can tour the house and visit the gift shop across the street!!  

This is my very favourite Christmas movie!!  Do you like it?

New Old Christmas

I actually found a few vintage kitschy Christmas items in the past few days, all bought at different shops,  costing me less than $2 for the three items - my kind of price!

A knee hugger on gold - pure kitsch!!  25 cents!!

Why didn't I head to the Christmas section as soon as I got to this shop - there was a man browsing and he picked up three boxes of old ornaments, I got my hands on these right quick.  He says - "they don't make them like this anymore"  REALLY??  I kept watching him in the hopes he would put them down but no such luck.    I paid 25 cents for them so I shouldn't complain!!!  Hoping to collect up enough to make another wreath for next year!

I bought the two mini cups, my first two tiny ones - love those Santa cups!!  $1

Vintage Christmas has been scarce so far and I'm more selective than I was - I have a lot!!

Christmas Colouring

I jumped on the colouring bandwagon in the summer and I'm still on it!  The summer meant colouring flowers, now it means Christmas -and I found just the perfect book.

This book by Mary Tanana has the most beautiful images, it was the last one on the shelf the day I found it, I didn't hesitate paying full price because it has just the type of pictures that I like.  I posted this book on Instagram when I bought it, Mary Tanana herself commented!!!

It's a busy time of the year, I'd like to be colouring more, here are a few that I've done..

It's very hard to photograph colouring pages and get them cropped without cutting off some of the picture, especially the double pages.

I so enjoy colouring!  Have you joined in yet on the colouring craze?

We Went to an Auction

We went to an auction yesterday, there were lots of goodies and lots of people!  I had my eye on only one thing, I really never expected to get it, but I did and for only $15

It's a Napco "Miss Cutie Pie" cookie jar - how cute is that?  The only other bidder was the lady in front of me - she stopped bidding, yay, for me!!  I can't believe I was lucky enough to get it - I know these are worth a whole lot more.

I have this Lefton "Miss Dainty" piece that I found in the US a couple of years ago,  I like it a lot even if it doesn't have a lid.  Do you have any of these cute pieces?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

It seems I make the same kinds of muffins and nothing else - bran, banana chocolate chip and blueberry, the other day I branched out and made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, oh, my, are they good!!  

The recipe came from All Recipes but here it is anyway!

3/4 c. white sugar

1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 c. canned pumpkin

1/4 c. water

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 c. chocolate chips (I added more)

Preheat over to 400.  Grease and flour muffin pan or use liners

Mix sugar, oil, eggs.  Add pumpkin and water.  In separate bowl, mix together flour, b. soda, b. powder, spices and salt.  Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.

Fill  muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.  Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

I could have made a double batch and froze them, but I wanted to try them first, so I'll definitely be using up more from the big can of pumpkin!!  

Bulbs and Trees!!

 

If you read my post yesterday,  you know that I was on the hunt for stars for my ceramic trees, well, look at what I was given and I only had to walk across the road - stars, bulbs, bird bulbs, butterfly bulbs - what an array!   I have a very kind neighbour!    And, that's not all - now I have four trees - she gave me another tree!!  It's the one on the right!  Love it!!!

I am so grateful, thanks, Debbie!

Ceramic Christmas Trees

Yes, I have three ceramic Christmas trees!!  But, I didn't know it and that is a bad sign, a sign that I buy more Christmas stuff that I don't know I already have!!  The one on the right I've had for a couple of years, it's a pretty big one.  I bought the one on the left last week at Value Village, it was a really nice tree, look at that base!!  So, this morning, I thought I'd look at the the big tree and lo and behold, there's another one which I must have bought last year but I don't have a clue where!!  

But, I have no stars for the two smaller ones - I've seen them when I've been in the US before but I have never seen them here in Canada.  I've also checked on Ebay and Etsy, I think purchasing on there might be a thing of the past, the postage is ridiculous - for one little star - over $10 - I think not! I wrote to the seller, she wouldn't budge on the postage!  Too bad!!   Are there any Canadians out there who have seen them?  Or anyone who has extra stars hanging around?  

I don't think I better buy any more ceramic trees!!!  I sure do like them though!

Thrifted!

These three items cost me $2.00 total - that's my kind of thrift shopping!!

I have been wanting a Santa boot for a while, now I havea pair and they are marked officially, Santa's Boot - you could get a lot of candy in these!!  I paid 25 cents for each boot - I think that's a crazy price - in a good way!

I wonder if this is an indication I will find some great old ornaments this season - purchased two boxes for $1.50 - the ornaments in one box are all from Poland, the other box from Japan.  I hope I can find enough to make another wreath - last year the pickins' were slim!!  

I felt like it was just like the old days - I found three Vera scarves, I've paid as much as $2 for a scarf at this shop before, today they were 25 cents for the three, yes, 25 cents total!!  I love the nautical one and the Verasheer one is a ladybug one, this was a great find for me!

It makes it so much more fun when you go into these places and find something you want - did you find anything good this week?

I Saw Ringo Starr!!

Yes, I saw Ringo Starr in concert!!  We've had  tickets since March to see Ringo and his All Starr Band in Toronto on October 20 - this concert definitely ranked in the top five of concerts that we've seen.  The concert was at Massey Hall, a smaller venue which was a perfect spot for a concert like this - no screens needed there and the sound was outstanding!

Can you believe Ringo is 75 years old?  How can that be?  He doesn't look it, he doesn't act it, his concert was 25 songs with no intermission - the songs were great, he interacted with the audience - hey, I guess he's had a lot of experience at it by now!

Ringo has been touring with an All Starr band since 1989, this particular group has been together since 2012 - it's unique because many of these guys had hits in their own right - Steve Lukather from Toto - remember Rosanna and Africa - Richard Page from Mr. Mister - Broken Wings, Kyrie - Gregg Rolie from Santana & Journey - Black Magic Woman - Todd Rundgren who performed as a solo artist and with the group Utopia - Love is the Answer, Bang the Drum All Day - these songs were all performed and of course, Ringo's great songs - It Don't Come Easy, You're Sixteen, Photograph and a few Beatles songs - Yellow Submarine, I don't think there was a person there that wasn't singing along with that one,  With a Little Help From My Friends and Give Peace a Chance - the encore song!    That's just a few of the songs - it was just the best night!!  

Like I said, it was definitely one of the best concerts - I was thinking back to the past year, we've been so lucky to see some great ones - Fleetwood Mac, John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynrd - have you seen any memorable ones lately?

CBC's Peter Mansbridge interviewed Ringo, it's quite interesting,  give it a listen!

I still have my 45  - better give it a spin!  Now I've seen Ringo perform this song live - so fun!!!

Two posts in a week - I'm proud of myself!!

As Ringo says - Peace and Love!!!  Have a great day, my friends!!

I Have a Blog Post!!

The last blog post I wrote was in July, oh, my - where has the time gone...  I really am going to try to make an effort and write a little more often.  

So, this post will be back to my original type of post - things I've bought at thrift stores over the last while.   I don't buy that much anymore, so it has to be something cheap or something that really catches my eye.

A small Halloween treat bucket, 1980 is stamped on the bottom, bought at a thrift in New Brunswick.

I used to read Jack and Jill, I thought it was so great, a magazine with my name on it!!  I bought this at a yard sale in Prince Edward Island.

I really can't leave a little Santa cup behind, especially when it's 99 cents.

I was in quite a few antique warehouses over the last week, I saw so many vintage Christmas ornaments just like this, the prices are crazy, I found this box at a thrift for $2. I am so lucky I have all these old decorations that I do, because I hardly ever see them like this anymore, for my kind of price!!!

These bowls reminded me so much of my Delphite Pyrex pieces, they were priced at 2 for $1.99 - a great price, I think.  The only markings on them are 20 & 21 - that's it!!  They're like a Fire King splash proof bowl - have you ever seen these?

I bought this enamel pot at an antique warehouse, I've always loved the enamel pots with the designs, I don't imagine I'll ever have one of those, so this will be good enough.  It was probably the most reasonable priced thing in the shop!

When summer began, I told myself I would have 300 Vera scarves in my collection, it never happened, I used to see them nearly every time I went out, that never happens now!! So, after finding these two last week, I now have 300 Vera scarves.  Yay!!

It's not very often you find anything so ridiculously priced at the thrift store, not on the cheap end of things anyway, I bought this unused Bath & Body Works 3 wick candle plus holder for $3 - we all know how much those candles cost - what a deal!!!!

This didn't take as long to write up as I imagined - I'm really going to try to post more often.  Thanks for reading this post!!!