Marie Cookpad

  Most of the year I am not much of a hot drink lover.  I know lots of people can't live without their tea or coffee, or hot chocolate, but its just not something I crave every day.  I used to own my own coffee shop when my kids were small,  and I confess . . . . I did drink a lot of coffee back then.   But vanity caused me to stop drinking it about 30 years or so ago.  I didn't like the way it stained the teeth, tea as well, and I couldn't afford to go to the Dentist very often, and so I just stopped drinking it. Then of course I joined the Church of Jesus Christ in the year 1999, and we have a health law called the Word of Wisdom and we don't drink tea or coffee as a part of that anyways.          Latter Day Saints do love their hot chocolate however, but as a person who has never liked chocolate milk or hot chocolate, that doesn't do it for me either!  I have the occasional one, but its not something I go out of my way for. ...

  I wish you could all smell my house right now!  It smells like heaven, all cinnamony and sweet!  That's because I have been busy making a Hostess Gift today!   Whenever we are invited to someones house for a meal I like to bring a Hostess Gift along as a thank you!  We are going to our friend's Tina and Tony's for lunch today and so I thought I would make something special for them to enjoy.    The last time we went I took along a loaf of my Irish Tea Brack.  Oh, I know I could bring some After 8 Mints or some such, but I think a homemade gift is so much more personal!   I was going through my Big Blue Binder and this recipe for Pecan Crunch Snack Mix caught my eye and I happened to have everything in the house to make it.  For those of you who don't know my Big Blue Binder is a recipe binder that I have been collecting recipes in throughout my life, since I was a small girl.   It is bulging with recipes gleaned from magazines, fa...

  I wanted to make something special for the children of our Ministering brothers (father and son, church thing)  for Christmas.  They are always so good at visiting us.  When Todd   had his cancer and was going through treatments, the children came over to us one night and had made him cards and had some cookies they had baked for him along with some cards they had made.    They are a lovely family.  Their dad was coming over yesterday to pick up our tropical fish which we have re-homed with them and so I thought I would make them some goodies to enjoy over the holidays as well.   I had seen melted snowmen bark all over the internet and so decided to make some for them.  It was really simple to make. You just melt white chocolate and spread it out on a prepped pan . . .  I used Dr Oetker white chocolate for bakers, broken into squares. (Melted in the microwave according to the package directions.)   Add halved mini peanut...