Chocolate Chipit Bread

Can't you tell by the look of this book that I've been making this recipe for a while?  I've had this book since 1992 and to be truthful, this recipe and the bottom one on the same page might be the only things I've ever tried in it.  I'm sure there are lots more great recipes, it's a cookbook from  Prince Edward Island, good food and good cooks abound there!!

This page looks even worse than the cover!  It's a great recipe for anytime but might be nice for Christmas since it does have some cherries in it.  Just click on the recipe and you'll be able to see what you need!

It's so good!  Just in case you're interested, here's the link to the banana bread recipe that I posted back in April.  Enjoy!!  These are two great loaves!!

I'm linking up with Weekend Potluck today.

It Was a Christmas Thrifting Day!

It was a Christmas thrifting day yesterday, it really was!  That's all I bought, I went to five thrift stores, I spent around $10 for everything!  Not bad - not bad at all!!!  

So, the vintage Christmas is coming out, slowly but it's here!!  Sometimes you have to look really hard though - I didn't buy one thing at the Salvation Army, so hope things pick up there!  I noticed two changes in the displays this year, at one shop, they used to just throw all the ornaments on tables, this year they are bagging them up, which is much better, because there were a lot of broken ornaments on that table!  Another shop has plastic containers with drawers, which is a really good idea!

My main focus is picking up things to make my wreath, I don't know if I'm going to do one with all Shiny Brites, part Shiny Brites and part little decorations or all other decorations, I haven't taken my inventory yet, so I guess it will all depend on what I have packed away. 

Nice Shiny Brites - some of these were made in the United States, some in Japan, the pink ones in the middle were all made in Poland - I have quite a few of the Polish ones from the day that I hit the Shiny Brite jackpot last year - here is that post, if you're interested!

This is soft plastic, I think it would look so cute on a wreath!

These little boots are in perfect shape, Made in Japan.

I already have a vintage angel tree topper for my little tree so I'm going to pick this apart and use the angel - for the wreath!

This was such a hard picture to take - it's not easy to arrange a group like this!  I've never found anything like those little Santa's before, they're sweet!  See those two guys in the front - I already have a set of three of those, that belonged to my grandmother - mine is the only set I've ever seen of those!

I didn't buy this for the lights, I bought it for the box!

This little snowman tray was made in Japan and has the stamp Cameron, with a large "C" on the back.

Alvin, Theodore and Simon look so familiar to me - I'm sure the kids had them, maybe they're packed away in the bottom of a container....  Doesn't just seeing them make you think of the Chipmunk Christmas song??

The sound of Burl Ives singing Christmas songs never gets old...

Some Christmas books for my collection..

Last year I didn't find any pop up books, this is my second one this year.  Of course, I'd buy it  - it's the Peanuts gang!

It's a Hallmark book - pop up Peanuts!!

I bought this I Spy book for SMASHing - the pictures in it are going to be great for that.  I think the kids had this one too and it is still packed away.  I remember having some Dover booklets in the 80's, they're still out but this is an older stencil book, good for SMASHing, I thought.

I picked this up for the same purpose but then I started looking at it when I got home, I'm not cutting it up anymore!  This book came from Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Michigan, we went there four years ago, it is such a magical place, we want to go back.  The book is signed by the author too, so I'm keeping it!

I think I found some neat things, what do you think?  It was a great day and I did some Christmas shopping too - I have to take my wreath inventory real soon and get organized!  Melissa over at Andromeda Vintage made a beautiful one, check it out - if only mine can look half as nice!!!

Today I'm joining in with The Nifty Thrifty, We Call it Olde andVintage Thingie Thursday

Peanut Butter Cookies - A Small Batch!

Do you ever want to make a batch of cookies, but not a huge batch?   Sometimes it's nice to have a big batch so you can freeze them, but some days you just can't be bothered.  This recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies is one of those that doesn't take long and doesn't make a lot of cookies.  

I've had this cookbook for a while, it was published in 2000 - it's a neat book because the recipes were all winners in an online cookie contest back then.

I used my Pyrex Butterfly Gold bowls today, it's not often that you can make a batch of cookies in the 403 bowl, it's usually too small.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 c. soft butter, I used margarine

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together margarine, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg, then vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda.  Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture, in thirds.

Drop teaspoons of dough 2 inches apart on a parchment - lined cookie sheet.  I use my small scoop.  Make a criss cross pattern on each cookie with a floured fork.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden.  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.  Makes about 30 cookies.

Now it's lunch time and I'm going to have one!!  

I'm linking up with Weekend Potluck at the Country Cook

Pickin' and Thiftin'

This week my local little antique and collectible shop advertised 30 boxes of Christmas, I had to get over there and check it out!  What if somebody got  something good before me!  Hah!!  I said I was there to look at the Christmas stuff, he showed me one small shelf, there was definitely nothing there that I was interested in, he took me to another area,   I should have taken a picture to the pile of boxes that he took me to - there were the thirty boxes, he said for me to just go through them!  Imagine that!!  So, there I was down on the floor going through these boxes - this lady apparently loved Christmas, there was Christmas everything - she had a salt and pepper shaker collection of eight hundred shakers - just think of the dusting involved in that!  So, here's what I scrounged out of the boxes - I may not be keeping it all, but some of it will be perfect for my vintage red Christmas shelf.

These are all stamped Made in Japan, that's really all I was looking for and I didn't even take all that was there, they're all salt and peppers from that big collection plus one toothpick holder.

If you follow me on Instagram,  you've already seen this picture, aren't these shakers just the sweetest?  It's another set of Made in Japan ones.  Oh, and if you don't follow me on Instagram, you should - right here! 

A Santa bank, another item from Japan and still with the Giftcraft sticker on it.

I'm really hoping I have enough Shiny Brites or other ornaments to make a wreath this year - this is what all these little bits and pieces are for.  

I also found these two old catalogues in the boxes, one is Army & Navy from Regina, Saskatchewan, 1958, the other is a French catalogue from 1957, the Dupuis Company from Montreal.  I think I'll be using these for SMASHing.  Does anybody remember the Rawleigh salesman, I do and that's why I picked up that little booklet.

There's some wild looking toys in the Army & Navy book, that is one creepy looking monkey down in the right corner!

That's it from the pickin', now on to the thriftin' 

I had these cute pixies on Instagram too - they were 50 cents each.

I rescued this little bag of vintage Christmas birds, the clips are all missing and the tail feathers need some attaching - but for 50 cents, well, I had to take them, they might be nice for the wreath too.

Someone had dropped off some vintage cards at the Salvation Army, I found seven that I liked and they cost me 20 cents.  Some of the cards are old Hallmark ones. 

I did find one Vera this week and it cost me 99 cents.  It's just amazing to me how many patterns there are out there and I very seldom ever find a duplicate.

My last item I am quite excited about, this is nice little find at Value Village, an item that was probably priced incorrectly because I paid next to nothing for it.  I plan to list it and hope I can make a nice little profit from it.  It's a Holt Howard mayonnaise jar, stamped 1959, I've never seen one of these before, it's cute but not cute enough to keep!!!

So, that's it for this week, the Christmas sections are pretty well up and running in the thrifts but there's a lot of junk, I had to look hard for what I did find!!  

Today I'm linking up with Junkin Joe, Thrifty Things Friday , Thrifter Share and Thriftasaurus - stop by these blogs and see what everyone is sharing today.

It's Old But It's New to Us

We went to an auction on Sunday, we had no intention to buy anything big,  look what we bid on and won....

This beautiful antique cherry wood double headboard and footboard cost us $35 - yes, that's right, $35, one other person was bidding against us and he dropped out, we couldn't believe our luck!!  We were willing to pay way more than we did!!  It was made in Kitchener, Ontario by Burns Furniture, I've searched but can't find a thing on the company.   The bed is  in perfect shape, not a scratch on it and it's so sturdy - a bed like that would cost a pretty penny to buy now!  

I had been wanting to find something just like this for some time - it looks just perfect - now when the kids come home, they'll be sleeping in luxury!!

Linking up with We Call it Olde and Thriftasaurus

Crab Corn Chowder - SO GOOD!

Last night we steamed up some snow crab and had plenty of leftovers, I wanted to try something different from the usual crab sandwiches, they're good but I wanted to branch out!!  Hah!!  I took out this cookbook - if you live in Canada, I'm sure you've heard of Chef Michael Smith - his Chef at Home tv show is broadcast on HGTV Canada, it's also shown in the United States and many countries throughout the world.  And, he lives just a couple of doors down from my late mother-in-laws house in Prince Edward Island - we always would look in to his place when we'd pass by, it was always a behive of activity there!!  I guess the locals are used to him by now, but the day that he went strolling down the road, we were running to the window!!!

The cookbook does not disappoint - the recipe I chose was Crab Corn Chowder with Bacon and Thyme.  It was just so good!!

6 slices of bacon, sliced crosswise into narrow strips

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, diced

2 baking potatoes, diced

2 cups of fresh corn kernels

2 cups of chicken broth

2 cups of whipping cream

8 ounces of fresh crabmeat, carefully picked over for any stray bits of shell

1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme

A sprinkle or two of salt and lots of freshly ground pepper

Toss the bacon into your favourite soup pot over medium heat and cook it until lightly browned and crisp.  Transfer to a few folded paper towels to drain.  Pour off all but a tablespoon or two of the bacon fat.  Add the onions and celery to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until they're tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the potatoes, corn, chicken broth and cream and bring to a simmer.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, another 10 minutes or so.

Just before serving, stir in the crab, parsley and thyme. Simmer just long enough to heat everything through, another few minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to your taste.  Ladle the chowder into bowls and top with the reserved bacon.  I also added some of the bacon to the chowder pot.

This is a great recipe, I'll definitely make it next time we have leftover crab!!  Click on the pictures to see all that goodness!

 

More Comfort Food - Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie is not a dish that my Mom ever made, I started making it a couple of years ago and loved it the first time I made it!  This recipe comes for a local charity PEI cookbook - it's an easy recipe and tastes so good - it was our Halloween supper!   Did you know that food just tastes better in Pyrex?   It's true, it really does!   I used a piece of Woodland this time.  Click on the picture to see it real close up.

I'm linking this recipe to the From the Farm Blog Hop and Weekend Potluck 

6 medium potatoes

1 onion, chopped

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

14 oz. can creamed corn

1/2 cup milk

Cook potatoes, drain and mash.  If you like you can add a little milk and butter to the potatoes.  In frying pan, brown beef and onion; drain off excess fat.  Place meat and onion in a 2 1/2 quart baking dish.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, cream corn and milk.  Stir.  Cover meat mixture with mashed potatoes.  Sprinkle top with pepper.  Bake 40 minutes in 375 oven or until hot and bubbly.

ENJOY!