Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire

Ingredients


1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries

1 orange, peeled and pureed (I used 4 'Mandarins')

1 apple - peeled, cored and diced (I used 'Honeycrisp')

1 pear - peeled, cored and diced (I used an 'Asian' Pear)

1 cup chopped dried mixed fruit

1 cup chopped pecans (I eliminated these)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Use a food processor to chop your fruits (fresh and dried) if you have one. Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker, stir well, cook on 'low' temperature at least 8 hours.
2. Refrigerate to cool, may be divided into smaller portions and frozen.
 
I made this for our Thanksgiving feast this year. It is delicious, but very sweet. A little goes a long way. Perfect with turkey!

Thanksgiving: Just Who Are We Thanking?

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,

we thine unworthy servants

do give thee most humble and hearty thanks

for all thy goodness and loving-kindness

to us and to all men.

We bless thee for our creation, preservation,

and all the blessings of this life;

but above all for thine inestimable love

in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;

for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we beseech thee,

give us that due sense of all thy mercies,

that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful;

and that we show forth thy praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives,

by giving up our selves to thy service,

and by walking before thee

in holiness and righteousness all our days;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit,

be all honor and glory, world without end.
Amen.

Pumpkin Pie-Lets

Just in case you need a new take on an old favorite:

Pumpkin Pie Tartlets

16 (2-1/2 inch) foil baking cups

Nonstick cooking spray

1 c. granulated sugar

1 T. cornstarch

1t. ground cinnamon*

1/2 t. ginger*

*(or 1-1/2 t. Pumpkin Pie Spice)

1/2 t. salt

2 large eggs, beaten well

15 oz. pure pumpkin

1 can (15 oz.) evaporated milk

16 Nabisco brand Gingersnap Cookies

or 2 c. or more graham cracker crumbs

Garnish:

whipped topping

gingersnaps - broken in

1/4 in. - or smaller - pieces

or graham cracker crumbs

Method:

Preheat oven to 350*. Place baking cups on baking sheet with sides. Spray each cup with cooking spray (you may also want to put parchment under the baking cups or at least spray the baking sheet with cooking spray as well). Place 1 Ginger Snap cookie or spoonfull of graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of each baking cup.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon/ginger/pumpkin pie spice (if using) and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Spoon in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixture into prepared baking cup.

Bake for 25-28 minutes or until knife inserted near centers comes out clean. Do not overbake or cookie may over-brown...(but even if it does scorch, it still tastes good, it just won't be as pretty)

Cool on baking sheet for 20 minutes. Refrgerage for at least 1 hour. Carefully remove each pie-let from baking cup. Place on a pretty serving plate and top each with whipped topping and cookie/graham cracker crumbs.

Attractive mini-dessert, great for little hands to manage! Hendrik loved his 'baby' pumpkin pie!

Random Thoughts for a Saturday

After work yesterday we actually went on a date. We watched a matinee showing of 'The Men Who Stare At Goats', it was pretty enjoyable - lots of funny stuff. Afterward, Rick preceptively commented on the casting of Ewan McGregor. I'm the one who usually notices vagaries - this one slipped by me - I must be slipping too!

Funniest sight of the day #1: Flock of pigeons - unofficial state bird - roosting in the top of the giant 'advertising' bucket of KFC up the street. That's what that new recipe is, eh?

Most recent observation on the aging process: No one can 'tell' you what it's like to suffer the infirmities of age - it's something you have to experience in order to fully empathize. You don't really know what it's like to BE old until you ARE old.

Funnier sight of the day: Esther and (willing participant) Hendrik playing 'cow'. Esther put a rope around her brother's waist (thankfully not his neck) and proceeded to run across the back yard at break-neck speed with her prize steer scootching along in the grass behind her. (Note to self: always have the camera along in case unexpected local wildlife appears)

For Want of a Banana, a Purse Was Lost

Every morning I deliver my bank deposit to our 'head' office across town. Most mornings I also get a few errands done before the craziness of the business day begins. Today was an 'Walmart' day. I needed to start some Thanksgiving-feast shopping.

On the way back from Walmart, I delivered my deposit and got my company-gossip fix. The bookkeeper had just finished telling me that a patron at the company-owned car wash had been robbed at gunpoint. She also happened to mention that she'd run out of the house without her morning coffee. Of course I immediately felt sympathetic and offered her a packet of my instant Starbucks from my handbag.

When I went to the car to get it I couldn't find my purse anywhere. My mind immediately jumped to the possibility that it had been stolen from the car, but after looking for it in the office and the car trunk, I realized I needed to rush back to Walmart to see if I could find it there.

I told my friend what had happened and sped off, praying all the way. If I lost my purse it was my fault for being negligent, but 'Lord, would you please help me get my purse back!'

Arriving at Walmart I checked my shopping basket, which was still sitting where I'd left it. My recollection of the chain of events was fuzzy. I paid for the groceries, so I knew I had the purse at the check-out counter. However, when I got to the car, I was ravenously hungry and tore into the closest bag for a snack. Nothing else was clearly in focus until my blood sugar raised a little bit.

Having determined the purse was no longer in the  basket, I rushed inside to Customer Service. I asked an employee if I was in the right line for 'Lost and Found'. He asked me if I'd lost a purse and I said, 'Yes'. He said a customer found it and brought it inside. My spirits soared and I began to feel hopeful. The woman behind the counter took my name and went into the back room, returning a few minutes later with MY purse. 'It was just like this when it was brought in,' she said.

 I pawed through it. 'Cash? Check. Credit cards? Check. Cell phones? Check. Keys? Check!!'

 Praise God, everything was there and intact!

My low blood sugar had clouded my judgement as well as my thinking processes, but our faithful and loving Father was in control - as He always is! I had little cash, but replacing the credit cards, ID, cell phones, etc. would have been a major hassle. 'Thank you, Lord, for once again giving me what I didn't merit or deserve!'

On my way out of the store, I stopped to pick up a freshly-brewed coffee for my friend - who is also a believer - and when I delivered it and recounted my adventure, she could rejoice in more than a caffiene rush.

Sometimes it's GOOD news!

Christ at the Center: Dr. Horton Interviewed by CT

Christ at the Center: Dr. Horton Interviewed by CT

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Show-Offs

Esther, Hendrik and Pancho help Charity show off her new cap

Esther and Hendrik show off their considerable 'hanging' skills

Rick and Judi show off progress at Discount Storage

Potty Training: Extreme Measures

Pardon Our Dust!

The first expansion phase at Discount Self Storage is now underway. Seems like yesterday we were nearly overwhelmed with the prospect of filling 385 vacancies...today we're 98% occupied and the expansion will add 282 additional units.

That Used to Be Me

After work today, Rick and I were shopping at Sam's Club, and we ran into some friends from church. After greetings, one of the group told us she just lost her job. She'd had it less than a year, but when she accepted it,  she was hopeful the position would provide job security and retirement benefits. Her position has been entirely eliminated, so she has neither at this time. My friend is a single gal - intelligent, capable and a consummate professional. She has lots more potential - humanly speaking - than I did when the same thing happened to me nearly six years ago. But, nonetheless, she's feeling pretty devastated, I'm sure.

I won't tell the story entire story again, but my experience was devastating to me as well. At the time, I was bringing home 2/3 of the family income, and we were in major financial difficulties too. The new job I was so hopeful about - and so sure were we of God's Hand in the employment when it was first offered - turned out to be a major nightmare.

And I had prayed for deliverance. When it came in the form of 'termination', I wasn't really shocked or surprised. A chain of events was put into motion - like carefully placed dominoes when they begin to fall, 'Click, click, click'. God insulated me and gave me grace to endure. He took my hand in His and led me through the valley of the shadow, and it was a dark, dark time in my life.

That was six years ago. And sometimes I'm still in the valley of the shadow, but much of the time the skies are bright, and sometimes I'm journeying in full-on sunshine. The constant is the faithful Shepherd who continues to lead.

I'm praying with good confidence for my friend, He's her Shepherd too.

Kindermusik Day with the Aggie Pride Band

Too 'yowd', he's not covering his ears, but it's what he's thinking...

Junior Color Guard, Esther

Great stuff!

Not so much...

Not Quite Facebook

Quite suddenly - mostly on a whim - I decided to go Facebook 'free'. I've deleted my FB profile and am trying to get back to blogging. I've really enjoyed keeping in touch with family and old friends through this particular social utility - I still love (most of) you :-) and I'd still love to hear from you, but my expectations aren't very high.

Facebook makes it SO easy to find out what 'friends' are up to and how they're feeling about what they're up to. Our culture seems to live moment to moment, and if you can't tell me in a few words 'how you are' and what you're doing I'd just as soon not be bothered. In fact, I've had the experience of writing a newsy-but-lengthy e-mail to a loved one only to find out it hadn't been read because it was 'too long'!

I've heard from my still-Facebooking daughter that some have asked for me...I love hearing that I'm missed. I didn't quit Facebook because I want more attention (although I DO). I just DID it...and now that it's DONE, I'll be hanging out here instead, so surprise me - stop by...or send me a long e-mail...or (shock, horror) call me on the phone..

BTW, I got new glasses this week