Heels Packin Heat

CALENDARS ARE IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Go to Heels Packin Heat to get the details!!!!!!

Here's me.  I'm June. . . .

Do you take water for granted? 

What would happen if it was dirty? 

Well, we've been dealing with that today.  106 degrees and we have no clean water.  :(  Thankfully I had a gallon of water left over from an event where I had to make coffee off site!  And that's what I've been drinking.  We took showers in water that is a little muddy but a lot better than no shower at all! 

After the plumber came out and charged $65 for a 3 minute service call to tell us he couldn't do anything but we'd have to pull the well and cut the bottom off, the case had probably caved a bit at the bottom. . .   I called a neighbor to ask if he knew anyone who pulled wells and he said he'd help J do it (J has no plumbing experience at all and didn't have a clue what to do)!  Sweet!  So, J came home early from work and they got busy.  C suggested we let it settle for several hours before using it to make sure it's good. . .  A big giant huge thanks to our awesome neighbor C for helping John work on our water well!  We will hopefully have clean water again tomorrow.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Several months back I was challenged to make a red velvet cheesecake with no further instruction than that. . . Here's what I came up with.  P.S. if you are on a diet please skip this post. . . P.S.S. I hardly ever use a real recipe so please bear with me as I try getting this down.

First you start out with 2 red velvet cakes.  I made them square because I have 4 of the same size pans.  This time I used a homemade recipe but will not do it again because it was expensive and about the same taste wise as a *box* cake mix.  But I'll include the recipe just in case someone wants to try it.

Red Velvet Cake

(This is the recipe exactly how I got it from one of my sales guys mom)

1/2 cup shortening (I use butter flavored Crisco)

1 -1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 oz. red food coloring

2 tablespoons cocoa

2-1/4 cup plain flour (I use a good a good cake flour)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk   

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tsp. butter flavoring (if desired)

Cream shortening, sugar and eggs.Beat until well mixed.

Add coloring and cocoa

Add salt, flour and buttermilk alternating flour & milk, beat after each.

Add vanilla

Alternately add soda and vinegar but  do not beat just blend well after the soda & vinegar.

Bake for 30 min. at 350 degrees
(This is the note she included with it. . .)

SECRET: IF DON'T WANT TO GO TO ALL THE TROUBLE TO MIX, DUNCAN HINDS SELLS A RED VELVET CAKE MIX AND YOU CAN HARDLY TELL THE DIFFERENCE. I HAVE USED IT SEVERAL TIMES.

JUST FOLLOW DIRECTIONS ON BOX.

I separated this equally into 2 square cake pans by using a kitchen scale and then baked it until done.  I also lined the pans with parchment paper so they would release easier.  I froze them in the pans after they were done so they were easier to handle and cut the tops off to level them after they were frozen (if they needed it)

For the cheesecake here's what I do. . . 
4 packages softened cream cheese
Sugar, um maybe about 2 cups.  I just dump until I like it and taste as I do.
about a teaspoon of vanilla
pinch salt
4 tablespoons sour cream
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 eggs
Beat the cream cheese until fluffy, add the sugar, vanilla, salt, sour cream, and all purpose flour and beat untill all incorporated.  Then add the eggs one at a time and beat just until they are incorporated, do not over beat at this point. 
I always line my pans with parchment paper so that the cheesecake is easy to come out.  I do not use a crust with this cake. 
Bake the cheesecakes in a hot water bath at 300 for about an hour or until they are no longer jiggly in the middle. 
After the cake is completely cooled freeze them in the pan for a few hours so they are easier to handle.

Here are a few "helpful" hints in baking a cheesecake that I've been taught and learned by trial and error along the way. . .
Always line the bottom of the pan (at least) with parchment paper, it makes the cake release so much better!  I hardly ever use a *real* cheesecake pan, I've made them all shapes and just using the parchment paper helps make them easier to handle!
Don't over beat the eggs
Bake in hot water bath!!!  I think this helps keep them from cracking. . .
Don't bake too hot or to long, it will also cause cracking.  If you are worried about it cooking to long just turn the oven off when you think it's close to being done and leave the door shut, the heat left will help cook them the last bit.  Actually, I do that most of the time. . . 
Always let them cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 pk. 8oz cream cheese

1 stick butter

1-2 bags powder sugar. . . 

Blend together cream cheese and butter. Add powder sugar and beat until you get the consistency to spread well. I never measure my sugar just add and beat until it gets like I want it.  It normally takes about one bag but I like to always have extra on hand. . . And as always please please please use real butter in this recipe and every other one you make, it's not worth cooking if you're going to use fake stuff!


OK, now you have all the key ingridents now you just have to layer. . . First start with a layer of red velvet cake, top that with a layer of cheesecake, top that with the last layer of red velvet, and top that with the last layer of cheesecake. . . 

Now dump on the icing!  Spread it all over to cover ever little spot.  I will normally swirl mine a little because I'm not good at "smooth". 

Refrigerate this concoction for a few hours and then EAT.  But if you let it refrigerate 8 or so hours it gets better!  I actually think it's best the 3rd day, it gives very thing a chance to meld together.

This is where I've Been. . .

Spent Thrusday, Friday, and Saturday at church cooking for VBS kids, today we had a conceal carry class.  I'm worn out and ready for normalness!  I'll post all the details about VBS when I get rested up.  But it was a good time and I enjoyed it!

Chocolate Gravy!

I woke up this morning thinking about my Granma Carolyn and her chocolate gravy!  She would make me either homemade biscuits, ham, and chocolate gravy *or* homemade waffles when I stayed the night with her and grandpa, which was OFTEN!  I miss her but am so glad for the memories!  So, I decided on breakfast this morning of homemade biscuits, ham, chocolate gravy, and an omelet for J (he isn't a big gravy fan).  She would always fry eggs for Grandpa Bill and also make white gravy. . .

This is how it'd done folks!  Open the biscuits and put a chunk of *real* butter on each piece and pour on the gravy!  Serve it with some ham steak and chow down!  I even served breakfast this morning on my Granma's dishes!  These are the only dishes in my cabinets that I am 100% attached to and I have at least 15 sets of dishes!  I love serving food on them that Granma use to make!  I just wish some of it was as good as I remember hers being!  I miss you Granma but I will see you again one day!

Happy Independence Day!!!

Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

Our preacher read this part of the letter John Adams wrote to his wife yesterday in church and the part about guns caught my attention because something John and I always try to do is shoot guns on Independence Day!  So I *love* this letter and will remember it for a long time that the founding fathers always intended for us to have guns and enjoy them!

So, what did my wonderful husband get me for Independence Day?  Single Action 357s that are consecutive serial numbers!  HECK YEAH!!!!!!!  Spoiled?  Yep you could say that!

They are a blast to shoot!

It will take some figuring out to be able to shoot them both at the same time.  My thumbs are a little bit to short to reach the hammers easily. . . But I will get it figured out.  Dry fire will help.  And I'll probably have to have a different set of holsters if I'm going to quick draw, these aren't very slick.  But one step at a time.  I need to find out what else J needs for reloading and get him started! 

Praying for God's protecion, love, and rain on your Independence Day!  

Well, I was going to make this for the celebration that I'm going to tonight for my Uncle and his new wife. . . 

 

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/devile28099s-food-cake-with-chocolate-hazelnut-frosting/

But instead we got a phone call about a calf out on our place 45 miles away.  :(  UGH, should be a quick trip down, put him back in, fix fence where it is messed up and head home.  30 minutes worth of work.  Well, that didn't happen!!!  Instead the steer was bull headed and didn't want to go back into our pasture and we probably spent half an hour trying to lure him in.  Finally the heifers figured out we were there and came over and we got them to "leading" him and he finally crossed the fence where J had cut a hole for him.  I sat on the tail gate of the pickup and fed cubes to calves while J fixed fence back.

They are a little spoiled!  I had a ton of slobber on me from them licking my jeans and arms trying to get more!
We figured out where the little guy *probably* got out and ended up having to call the kid who fixed the rest of the fence to come help.  J didn't take a t-post driver and he didn't have that much wire.  So Brady came to the rescue!  While that was happening J decided he needed to cut a couple trees the beavers had been eating on so they didn't fall on the fence when the wind starts blowing out of the north again.  All was good until the post he had the tree tied off to fell the wrong way, onto the just fixed section of the fence.  :(  UGH.

So, after cutting the tree off the fence and throwing limbs back on our place and getting it all cleaned up he proceeded to cut the other tree.  This time we tied it off to the front of the Toyota.  Toyota pickups are great, you can *not* kill one, they may break for a bit but you can always get it back up and going!
So, I climbed in while J sawed and pulled the tension off the fence side.  Well unfortunately I pulled it right on top of me!  UGH!

Yeah, I was sittin in the drivers seat!

Oops!

 Poor J assessing the situation!

 It was suppose to go right not left!

 Yes he's a goof ball sometimes but I love him anyway!

 Just for kicks.  J rocking the fashion boat!

Well the dumb pics are making me mad so they are a little out of order.  The top one is what was on top of the pickup and the next one is the old faithful Toyota with some tree on it!

 Lets throw another problem at J & M this morning!  When I pulled out from under the trees I broke the valve stem and we had to go to town get a jack & four way and take it off and B ran the tire back to town and got a valve stem put in for us.  Thankfully town is only about 4 miles away and thankfully my uncle owns a pawn shop with jacks and stuff like that I could borrow!

There is the only damage the pickup suffered, I think if I wiped the dirt off you'd never know!  I love my Toyota!  One of these days look up Top Gear's take on the Toyota.  The do all kinds of crazy stuff to it, from running it into a tree, dropping a camper or something of the likes on top of it, and blowing up a building with the Yoter on top.  A few tools and it was back up and running every time, it was awesome!
So, after that whole ordeal we finally got to come home and I HAD to get pickles canned, put up 9 quarts.  By then there was no time to make anything for the celebration.  I did something I've never done before, I took paper plates for dessert to be served on.  That's it, nothing else.  WOW crazy!