Slow-Cooker "Ugly Duckling"

Dear Lissy,
I've been busy this morning getting the house back together after Sunday. Yesterday was a little taste of Heaven -- wonderful singing and preaching, a Junior Church pizza party, and then a drop in visit from the W's before we returned to church for more singing and preaching -- my heart is full!
I often use either a Crock-Pot or a low oven to have dinner ready as soon as we get home from church. As a bonus, most of the clean up is done ahead of time, too. Ugly Duckling  is one of our favorite meals.  The sauce is reminiscent of the duck sauce served de rigeur with chicken fingers from Chinese restaurants in New England, and everything in this casserole is kid friendly:  chicken chunks, pineapple, cherries, and water chestnuts.  It does live up to it's name, though...keep this recipe for family or close friends!

Yes, it is that ugly...the slow cooker is much more photogenic!

Home Management Un-Binder

Dear Lissy,
Many moms in their pursuit of organizational nirvana create The Household Binder.  It goes by a variety of names -- Control Journal, Home Management Binder, Family Notebook-- but has a single purpose:  a centralized location to store information, menus, schedules, and lists.

Every time I saw one, I wanted one.  I could spend days on a project this compelling.

Most homemakers considered it the end of their struggles with keeping all the details of life contained, but I encountered some fundamental weaknesses of this notebook system every time I tried to use it :

Chocolate Toffee "Crack"

Dear Lissy,
The beauty of early spring is upon us, and we are spending hours outdoors in the gardens and on the trails.  We still love a sweet treat, but I don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.  Enter "crack", a nut bedecked chocolate and toffee candy on a cracker base.  The whole recipe goes together in 20 minutes and makes 35 - 40 treats.

This luscious photo is from Once Upon A Chef
She makes her "crack" on Matzo bread

What's in My Purse?

Hey Fliss,
Time to lighten things up a little! One of my favorite past times as a little girl (and usually during a church sermon) was looking through Grammy's purse.  I thought it would be great fun for you 20 years from now to see what I carried for a purse and in my purse.