Jenny's Journey

Now that all my homemade gifts are delivered to the lucky 12 people I made them for, I can finally post about them!  Don't they look like a display you would find at a cute little boutique?!  I think I did mention in a post a while back that I was gonna quit my day job and make these for a living.  Well, OK maybe not... but I did enjoy making them and was just as excited to give them to the people I care about most!   I hope they all find them as nice to use as I do.   I seriously love these things and look forward to my showers(even more then I usually do)!  A simple way to do something nice for your body and soul.  Exfoliating (the sugar) and moisturizing (the almond oil) for your skin.  For information on benefits of the essential oil of Bergamot  Click here.    and for Lavender essential oil information Click here. I made the labels on vistaprint.com, and I think they turned out fabulous! I know tha...

If you are anything like myself, you like love chocolate!  Chocolate desserts are a must, right?  There are not many chocolate of anything I have passed up in my life.  O.K.  I do not like chocolate flavored candles or lip gloss(that is just fake and gross...uck!  I also do not like chocolate chip pancakes) ....but the real things can't be passed up!  I made the following hot fudge sauce and brownie recipe for Christmas Eve at the in-laws.  The Triple Brownie Pie is a recipe my Mom has made for us many many times!  Excellent for sure!  Easy too.  I always am wanting to try something new so I attempted to make some hot fudge sauce to top the brownie and ice cream.  It turned out very very good! Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce Makes about 2 cups Ingredients: ¾ cup heavy cream ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa ½ cup light corn syrup 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 3 ounces go...

Oh, the homemade Christmas gifts are all complete!  Can you guess which one you are getting from me?!?! Homemade Hot Fudge? Hand print Snowman ornaments? Epson Salt Snow Jars? Reindeer Soap? Subway art? Cinnamon ornaments? These are a few of the things I have made this Christmas season.  I bet you cant wait to see what I am giving to you!  Or maybe you can?  Ha!

I had seen this quote awhile back and I decided to print it out and frame it.   Since my Dad died back in 2008, and I miss him tremendously, this Eskimo proverb, was so very appropriate.  And what a nice thought it is. Now that my "Better than Geek Squad" (BTGS) brother Jeff, fixed my printer and it DOES work, I can print out bowling stat sheets (I am secretary of the Sunday Funday league..did you know that!) as well as decent looking other "stuff."  I made one a few months back , but just today made it even better.  I am keeping the one for myself and giving the other away for a gift for a cousin-in-law that just lost her Mom.  That is not all I did today.  While "watching" Dora the Explorer this morning, I found this print that I think was for sale on etsy.  But I thought, I can do this!  So I tried.  Maybe its not as nice, but I like how it turned out.  It would look really nice if I took a picture without the gl...

Mmm..frosting fingers!        Hard at work.        Another one hard at work making trees.          All done!       Very Cute         and messy! (and tasty!)

Last night I threw together some salt dough to make ornaments.  I was a bad Mom and did it without the kids because I didn't want to get them involved in cutting out the ornaments but then making them wait 5+ hours to decorate the ornaments.  Figured I would do all the work and they could have all the fun decorating them the next day. The recipe I used worked great!  It was super easy to work with, I thought it felt like actual sugar cookie dough. Salt Dough Ornaments 1/2 salt 1/2 water 1 cup flour Mix all together until comes together like dough, like 5 minutes.  Place on lightly floured surface and using rolling pin, roll out dough to your desired thickness.  Cut with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheet.  I did not use parchment paper and it worked just fine.  Heat oven to 200 and place cookie in oven for 5 hours or until dry. Some of the ornaments stuck slightly to the pan but I just used a spatula to gently get them off....

OK, I have to tell you about some AWESOME pizza I have had recently.  I only get it while at work because Wisconsin locations for this pizza chain are only in West Allis and Little Chute.  They have locations throughout the US, mostly Midwestern states and some southern states.  I may have to think of starting a new location in Oconomowoc.  Hey, there is an empty Little Caesars for sale...hmmm......I may have to think about this. Anyways, have any of you had JETS pizza?  Oh my, is it good!  Turbo Crust, Deep Dish.....  If you ever get a chance I am serious, give it a try.  I don't think you will be disappointed! www.jetspizza.com

I saw this recipe in my most recent copy of Taste of Home and thought it looked delish.  It was very good, but I thought it tasted very much like the filling of my Eclair Torte, so I tweaked the recipe for you to be even easier and if you ask me just as tastey!  Dont get me wrong, the original recipe has cream cheese ( which I believe makes everything better) and 1/2 c sweetened condensed milk (what do I do with the rest of the can?!)  So this version is actually much heathier and easier. Oh, and I just bought a pound cake instead of making it. Next time I make this recipe I am going to follow my tweaked recipe below.  With raspberries, so my entire family will like it ( I have a household of 2 banana haters)  Warning this recipe is originally for a 9x13 pan so I had a large bowl of pudding mixture left over...that part my banana haters LOVED!  It is a really good pudding (aka Eclair torte filling).  We didnt mind having this leftover, now everyone i...

I found this recipe in the newspaper the other day and thought it sounded pretty tasty.  I even made it on Election Night!  We have determined that this recipe is a keeper.  Keeper recipes have very high standards...not often is a recipe dubbed a keeper without mush tweaking.  I only changed the original recipe to make less, an 8x8 pan instead of 9x13. I don't like leftovers that much.  Our leftovers of this went completely! (and not down the garbage disposer like they usually do)  Even if you were not happy with the election results I think you will like the outcome of this recipe.  Election Night Pasta with Spicy Tomato and Sausage Sauce Serves 4-6 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage - I used mild so my kids would be able to eat it. a couple of fresh mushrooms, chopped (I added these too because I had some to use up) 1/2 onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 (26-ounce) jar favorite marinara sauce  freshly ground black p...

In a way I don't like that its getting to be so cold and gloomy outside, but in another way it is perfect soup weather.  I made a big ole 1/2 ham the other day and it was very good, but I have tons and tons of ham left over. I decided it was bean soup time.  I disliked bean soup as a kid but have really taken a liking to it as I have gotten older.  And it is pretty darn easy too.  Normally I would by navy beans or something like that...plain boring...the old standby bean, but I was drawn to the 16 bean soup bag.  It was like a rainbow of beans!  I just had to try it!  (I was turned off at first by what looked like massive Lima beans, but it was all good in the end!) Here is the recipe I made tonight...and we ALL loved it.  By that I mean my kids even ate it!  (Not to mention James had 3 bowls!) 16 BEAN SOUR CREAM SOUP INGREDIENTS: 1 (16 ounce) package 16 bean soup mix 1 onion, chopped ½ cup diced celery 1 pound chopped ham,...

Who knew I would ever...ever like to run!  But I do!  If I would have known all it would have taken was an  Ipod, I would have bought one years ago!  I started doing this 5K training program but really don't find the time to be able to run every other day like I should according to the program.  The time is hard for me to find(cause I cant just leave my young children alone...well I could but that would be bad) but also lately its been the weather.  Until today.  I was driving home from picking up Jenna from daycare and drove by a girl running and thought, "dang, it would be a good day to go for a run when I get home" and it worked because James called me to tell me he was already home.  Sweet!  So I got all geared up to go,stepped outside and it was misting.  I went anyways.  I think it was meant to be...why?  Because turning the corner to head up the hill during my warm up appeared a beautiful rainbow!...

OMG!  You have to try these!  WOW!  I am not kidding you when I say these are SOOOO GOOD!  Perfect for this time of year, plus I think the base batter is so tastey it would be perfect to swap out the cranberries for chocolate chips and top with a chocolate frosting.  The possiblities are endless and yummy! 'Bestest' Cranberry Bars originally from the Milwaukee Journal JSonline.com   - I changed nothing! ½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature 1 ½ cups sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ½ cups flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 cups whole fresh cranberries ½ cup chopped pecans Frosting (see recipe) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13-by-9-inch baking pan. In bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, salt, baking powder, cranberries and nuts. Pour batter into pan. Bake in preheated oven 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Spread with frosting and...

If you are anything like me you have a recipe that calls for some strange ingredient, so you buy it and are left with lots of that ingredient you don't normally use that often.  Well that happened to me recently when I decided to make a pancake recipe that called for whole wheat flour (I think it only called for 1/2 cup).  Now I have what looks like 10 cups of whole wheat flour to use up.  I had noticed a recipe on the back of the Gold Medal Flour bag that I thought I might try.  Well I did not forget about it and on Wednesday I had some extra energy to blow so I baked!  To my surprise these dang cookies are very good.  I didn't tell people what the secret ingredient was until they ate one and they all thought it was oatmeal.  These cookies do taste different, but in a good way.  I figure these cookies even have fiber in them! Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup butter or margar...

For the 1st Packers game of the 2012-13 season my husband and I  decided we needed some good eats to help cheer on our team. If we splurge and get an appetizer when eating out, one of our favorites is Chili's Skillet Queso.  It is so very good.  Well I found a recipe for a copycat version and we both agree that it tastes EXACTLY like Chili's. Try it next time the Packers play (this would be this coming Thursday!) or any time you want a very tasty appetizer! (you could eat it for a meal too...why not?!?)   I am sure you will not be disappointed! Chili's Skillet Queso 16-ounce box Velveeta Cheese 1 C. milk 2 teaspoons paprika ½ tsp. ground cayenne pepper 15-ounce can Hormel Chili (No Beans) 4 tsp. chili powder 1 tablespoon lime juice ½ tsp. ground cumin GO PACK GO!

I recently came across a blog : Green Plate Rule To put it simply its a site about eating better, healthier, cleaner. I have always wanted to be one of "those"people.  Making yummy healthy treats for their kids (kids that very rarely get sweets) Really...I want to be like that, mostly because I want to like  - no love veggies and stuff like these people do. I want to eat healthier and I want my family to too!  The writer of the blog knows alot about different kinds of proteins, quinoa(I cooked it once long ago and we didn't like it, but I am gonna give it another chance- its great for you I guess), things called chia seeds, gluten free stuff and smoothies.  There is so much out there that I know so little about, but am always interested in it.  In an attempt to eat better I liked her idea of "Sunday Night Prep to eat Clean all week" concept.  Something I know and have done before but tend to get lazy about.  Basically shop and...

I have made this recipe before, but tonight when I went to make it the usual thing happened to me AGAIN!  I think I have an ingredient and I don't!  I swear planning a meal for me lately has become quite the adventure - by either finding a substitute or going without.   After I attempted (and I don't know why) to see if the little market in Ixonia had Hoisin sauce, I thought I would find a substitute if there was one.  I was thrilled when I found a Hoisin sauce substitute or actually a recipe to make your own, and believe it or not I had everything the recipe called for!  And it tasted and smelled like I remembered it should! Sweet!  Dinner wasn't a disaster after all. Homemade Hoisin Sauce 4 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons  peanut butter 1 tablespoon honey 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 2 teaspoons sesame oil 10 drops hot sauce 1/8 teaspoon black pepper Wisk all ingredients together. * I only made...

I don't know about you, but I have always wanted to make cinnamon rolls.  Haven't you too???  No? Well the other day my Mom sent me an email with a recipe that was supposed to be as good as a certain cinnamon roll maker we all have seen in at the mall, and most of us, I am guessing have tried at least once before.  I mentioned to her that I had always wanted to try making cinnamon rolls, but it seemed like a daunting task.  One I was not sure I was up to tackling.  (at least by myself...my kids don't count...they usually make anything I want to do in the kitchen a little bit harder...but still I like to include them anytime I bake - Jadyn is an egg-cellant egg cracker!)  I collected all of the ingredients I needed for the recipe and the 4 of us made cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting!  Let me tell you - they were delish and pretty darn easy - for cinnamon rolls.  How could that be, you ask?  Well the dough is made using a bread make...

Well tonite I attempted yet another recipe I recently pinned from Pinterest.  When my husband heard we were having salad for dinner, he wasn't too impressed. Though once I made it he said "looks nothing like I thought it would" and "looks good!"  It was good.  Lots of ingredients I thought, but the fact that I worked today, went grocery shopping after work (all by myself!!!) and then came home to cook dinner may be reasons why it seemed like a lot of work.  Really it wasn't. Lots of chopping.  I had the chicken already cooked and frozen so that helped out a bit.  In the end we all like it.  Even the girls.  James even tried it on a soft tortilla and said it made a good filling for a wrap.  It turned out to be a nice meal for a hot summer day Southwest Chopped Chicken Salad adapted from : Laurenslatest Ingredients: 2 cups diced chicken 1 red pepper, diced 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 can sw...

Being that it is June in Wisconsin, it is also Dairy month! I did not know until recently that farms throughout Wisconsin did this, but they host a breakfast and then have farms tours and other fun things. I visited http://www.dairydaysofsummer.com/ and was surprised to see that a farm, I am not kidding you, 1 house down the country road(so like 1/4 mile) from my in laws was chosen to host the Dodge County Dairy Day on June 24th! Too cool! We had to check it out. I am glad we did. The eggs and pancakes were actually very good! Tractor ride to tour the farms Inside the barn that holds 185 cows! Jadyn got to milk a goat! Cute kitty at the petting zoo. We were there for about 2 1/2 hours and the weather was nice.  I am glad we checked it out and I will have to remember to go again next year. They had lots of recipes and such promoting dairy products.  Of course, I like new to try new recipes, I took a bunch of them home.  I to...

This past Sunday I ventured out with my girls to Kirschbaum's Strawberry's in Beaver Dam.  I had wanted to go to Jelli's Market, which is basically down the road, in country terms, but they were closed because they needed a day or two to let the berries ripen.  Due to the strange spring we had they lost much of their berries to frost. After about a 45 min drive, we found Kirschbaum's.(I only stopped once at a Kwik Trip for directions!)  On our way to the strawberry fields! Let the picking begin! Back in the day I would imagine this is how all Moms worked! It was hot and sunny but well worth it because the strawberries were so sweet!  I believe they taste 100x better then any berries bought in the store.  Sure ours were smaller,  but right off the vine with that hot summer sun, they were oh so good! The girls and I ended up picking 10 lbs of strawberries!  I could have picked more, but I had to remember...

Well it is official!  I have a 2nd grader in my house.  Jadyn did a great job in 1st grade and brought home an excellent report card with many many nice things to say about her! I was amazed to see that see was only sick 2 times the entire school year!  Wow, that is impressive. Jadyn came home from school today and said she would miss her teacher; Mrs Timm.  I will too. Jadyn excelled in reading but struggled a bit in math (just like her Mom....memories of my Dad and me came back to me whenever Jadyn started crying over Math homework!)  We worked on it daily...money, telling time, adding.  And she did improve! Yeah! To keep Jadyn up on her excellent reading (she is reading at a K level...I know you don't know what that means but it is good) and keep her up on her math I made a deal with her.  For every day that she does both a math worksheet and reads, I will give a $1.  At the end of summer we plan on going to Chicago to visit American Gi...

  June 1, 2002 It is hard to believe that James and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary.  It’s amazing how fast the time has gone and we both agree that its been a good time had by both.  We are proud of these last 10 years (15 if you count the years we dated) and think we have made a pretty nice life for the 2 (or 4) of us.  We have had our share of ups and downs but we agreed that 90% of these last 10 years has been very enjoyable. We have been through a lot together, and I was looking thru old photos to add them to this post but I had a hard time narrowing the pictures down.  We have experienced so much together.  College graduation, building our house, vacations, the births of our 2 beautiful daughters – the list could go on and on.  We have fun together, laugh alot together (mostly at me) and don't take life to seriously.   So Happy Anniversary to my husband. I have had a wonderful time with you these past 10 y...