Cheryl's Cheesecake Recipe ....

... that isn't really cheesecake, but it's a family favorite. When Brian's mom first saw it, she called it Lemon Fluff, that really is a better name for it. I'm guessing it's from the 1960's just by the fact that's how long we have been eating it. Cheryl always made it when she lived at home, then at 20 she eloped and I've been making it ever since. Every Thanksgiving Renee calls for the recipe, and Georgia just asked for it the other day.

So this post is for my sisters!

Cheryl's Cheesecake
Cook---
Mix 2 cups of water and 2 little lemon jello, and cook till it reaches a boil. Cheryl use to put the the pan in the fridge till she needed it, I just put it in the very cold sunroom.

Crust---
While your jello is cooling, make your crust.
4 cups crushed graham crackers
2 sticks melted butter
2 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter, add vanilla and graham crackers
(I usually add just a bit of sugar and cinnamon)

Grease pans and press graham crackers into bottom and about an inch or more up the sides. Save a bit of the graham crackers to put on top.I can make an 9x13 and a 8 in. with this recipe. Also have made some very tall 9 in round, with the pre-made crust from Keebler.

When your crust is all set in the pans.
Blend---
2- 8 oz. room tempeture cream cheese
2 cups of sugar
Add...
2 cans (not the tiny ones, reg. size) evaporated milk or Milnot.

When you have that all mixed slowly add the jello mixture. Then pour into prepared crust, sprinkle with a bit of graham cracker on top and put in fridge till set.
(I looks like this, whoever made this one, I got the pic off the internets, she didnt put enough butter in her crust so it crumbled when she went to cut it.)

Thats it!

The Office

Scotty: I don't think we need to do the office it looks fine.
Michelle: It doesn't look fine, it's gross.

(you can click on these to make them bigger, but this "before" pic is bad enough small)

First Scotty had to cut a hole in a wall to make a better access panel to the hot water heater. I stayed clear it was dusty! Once again you can see the smoke stained walls from where the wall border was. I painted the ceiling earlier in the day.


Back in the summer I bought a used kitchen table and six chairs. The table was a little worse for wear, and too big for the kitchen, so I had this great idea. Cut it in half and make desks! So I painted the office walls a grey/blue, and the white parts of the table a dark midnight blue, almost black. Actually we thought it was black in the store when picking colors.

Once each table half was mounted on the wall with L brackets, Scotty made a hutch for the side that wouldn't have a computer on it.


Added some trim. I painted it like the table legs, and the chair legs and backs.


Then we needed some corner shelves.



And here's The Office...

There's a litte closet behind the louver doors next to the hutch desk, that Scotty bought a $30 shelving unit for and just built it in the closet. I got that little black clamp lamp for $2.37!

I love when I enlarge the pics and see a spot I need to put another coat of paint, like the table!

Some left over black fake leather for a window treatment. I think it's called pleather, but that sounds like a porn movie, so I'll just go with fake leather. And the chair Scotty had to have also made of fake leather, found a new home, and it's in its rightful place in the house.



We needed a picture for over his desk, and he's a WWII plane buff, so I had a digital picture he had made into a print. We couldnt find a frame that was nice and cheap, so he made a nice and cheap frame!



This room is very very small, and it took the longest of any of the rooms, I think we started in November, but the holidays hit, Scotty went back to California for Christmas with his kids. I cant tell you how many coats of paint are on the table legs, black paint ....... what a pain in the doompa! Theres still not a door over the water heater hole yet, but that will be white. :-)

I'm trying to think of how much was spent on the room, but it's a bit hard. The kitchen table was $125 with six chairs. The office only has one chair, the others are scattered throughout the house. The wood and trim for the corner shelves was left over from other projects, and the little window treatment, so that was all free. The wood for the hutch was $25, and the bead board was left over from my kitchen and bath. The "must have" chair was $99, and paint was about $35-40. Picture frame was around 17 for glass and trim. Then Scotty bought some slide rails to make a keyboard tray for the table for 8 bucks. I'm sure I missed some things but for sure it will come under $375 for the whole room even with the access panel/door he has to make.

It's a small room but has a bunch of storage space and it's kinda cool too!

M

Battle of the Brownie Pans!

Okay.... a couple of years ago I got a Baker's Edge Brownie Pan for Christmas. It makes more edges! The edges are my favorite part of the brownie. It was a pricie pan, $34 and shipping.



I usually use a homemade brownie recipe... which is...

1 stick margarine
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
vanilla

I think thats it, Im going from memory, which can be scary.

But lately what I usually make is this...


...for these reasons:
1. They are low fat and don't taste low fat.
2. Homemade brownies never get that shiney top. I dont know what makes that shiney top on box brownies... but I like shiney things. Diamonds more so than brownies, but I'm on a brownie budget here.

I got this pan for Christmas this year, it looks like an ice cube tray.



Now there are two type of Brownie people in this world. There's the fudgy brownie people and the cake brownie people. I'm more of a fudgy brownie gal myself, but nothing beats a cake brownie warm with ice cream and hot fudge.

Here's what I have discovered after using both pans with the lite brownie mix.

Baker's Edge...
Lots of edges for sure, but higher tendency to have too much of a crunch edge to get the middle done. You know the type of crunch that is too close to burnt. Sometimes the brownies are too fudgie, almost raw. Which I love brownie batter, but not cooked brownie batter. The dogs seem to get more middle parts when I eat these. Dont worry, not enough to kill them!

Ice cube brownie pan...
I just made a box mix of brownies with this yesterday. I wasnt very hopeful about the results since the pan is very thin, and I didnt think it would cook as well as the thicker "edge" pan. I was wrong!!!!!!

This was the first time I have ever made brownies that got that tall, and were pre-cut with nice straight lines. For some reason I can never cut my brownies w/o them falling apart. These were a bit more cake like, hence why they were taller *grin*, and the only real edges on them were the regular pan edges, they each didnt have four chewey edges on each brownie like I thought they would. These were very pretty too, you could actually bring these brownies on a plate instead of just the whole pan that you cant cut straight. This pan was 19.99.

If I had to choose to have only one pan....

I would say this one! I can put it in the diswasher and I hate doing pans by hand, which is recommend with the "edge" pan, and I felt like I was getting more brownie to eat! Since a brownie is three points on Weight Watchers, size is very important.

Now if I could only remember I have special brownie pans before I toss it into a 9x13 pan!

Mmmmmmmmm Brownies!
M

An Early Chrismas Gift!

On Tuesday afternoon Ian was up and actually dressed and said he was off to the library. About an hour later, he walks in with about 12 inches less of hair!

I screamed, then yelled "Oh my God!" There has been no discussions, no girlfriend telling him it had to go, it was just out of the blue for us. Ian obviously had planned it well in advance.

Here is Ian for the last 5 years...





And on Tuesday.......


I had gotten use to the long hair, clogged drains, and hairs wrapped around the vacuum cleaner belt, but he has such a cute face, I was happy to see it again!

The best gifts of Christmas only cost about 18 bucks at Great Clips!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas to ME! :-)

Have a great one!
M

Merry Christmas!

I know you are all anxiously awaiting my Christmas page, especially since I didn't make one last year. My only regret is that you can't bring into your reading room (bathroom) with you since it's two... two years in one!


http://ivmoores.com/xmas/xmas09.htm

Off to Chicago for a quick overnight. Pick up Ian at Purdue on the way, then off to dinner with my brother and two of my sisters to celebrate Christmas, and then lunch the next day with Brian's parents, then home.

Enjoy the Holidays!
M

....gotta have a picture. How about naked Santa!
Okay you lucked out, I couldnt find where I filed naked Santa, here's an old Christmas Card picture of ours....

I'm Thankful for Collin...

16 years ago today,by planned C-section, Collin got me out of traveling around Chicago visiting for Thanksgiving while I was 9 months pregnant,due any day and feeling like a beached whale. Yes, I purposly planned to have my baby the day before Thanksgiving to get me out either traveling or cooking! It worked too! :-)

And I had the cutest little boy....

I don't know where the time went, but I do know that each year he gives me more to be thankful for!

Happy Birthday Collin!

2 Down - 15689752 To Go!

Finished up 2 projects this week!
(As always just click on the images if you want to see them bigger!)

First was Sandy's website for her Graphic Design business. She's been working out of her home since she had Liam, and is doing really well! Sand and I have been friends since we shared lockers in 7th grade. Sandy was a piggie locker mate, she denys this, her house is immaculate, but her locker was messy! That's what I wish I had a picture of, our messy locker! Oh the website...
She made a logo quite a bit ago,


and I used that for the website. Which is HERE!

Then, while we were at Disney a couple of weeks ago, Scotty watched our dogs and needed a little project to keep him busy while he was here. Ever since we moved into this house I have wanted custom bookshelves on the family room half wall.

Oh lookie!, I found a picture of the half wall from when we first moved into the house. There's Sandy from Stenson Graphix sitting in the chair! LOL


That's Mike trying to cover his ears (not eyes Mike!), and Lego looking stunned (not bored Lego!) while I tell the stories of Sandy's messy locker! Oh the book shelves...

So while we were at Disney, Scotty made the frame. When I got home we attached them to the wall. He didn't want to do it while I was gone because he wanted to make sure I approved. Scotty is a smart man, he was married for 50 years, I think that has something to do with it! :-)


After they were attached to the wall, I picked out trim I wanted at Lowe's, and we attached that. Well, I sort of held the wood while he hammered.


Mostly because I can't hammer very well standing, let alone while laying on the floor.


Once the trim was all up, two coats of primer, and two coats of paint and sanding in between and you have book shelves!


Then today I filled them up!


Just in case you are wondering whats on the top middle shelf?? That would be all those things that are only priceless to a mom, some of the kids school projects through out the years.. A pink ceremic pig mug by Ian. A ceramic Mom mug by Collin. Eagle jar by Collin. Some kind of Blow fish by Collin. And..... "something" by Ian. I don't know what it is.



That's all she wrote!
M

Home is where the heart is.... or in this case better weather is!

In the last two weeks, well since the 21st, I have been to Surrey, BC to host a gathering of net friends in honor of Diana Gabaldon's newest book "An Echo of a Bone". We were entertained by dancing skeletons Gayle and Ginny!

We had a White Elephant Exchange and by the look on my face you know it was Craptacular!


And somehow Scotty always gets the girl!

I will have more on Surrey when I make the web page. Surrey, B.C., is always cloudy and rainy, and a bit chilly. I have been going there every year for about 10 years, and can coun't the few sunny days on one hand. The sun just doesn't shine, I've decided I rather have clear skies and snow instead. Cloudy skies are a bit depressing.

When I got back I had just enough time to do some (the washing machine broke as I was washing) laundry, shop for food for Scotty (he was staying and watching the dogs) and pack for Disney.

Here's Collin and Brian on the Runaway Mine Train... I was good this year and didn't go eat an entire Funnel Cake while they were on the ride. (They line wasn't long enough, they would of come back while I was in the middle of it! :-)

Here's the close-up of them.

Florida was having an October heat wave, it was in the very high 80's and very humid, first day we were there it was 97% humidity. I have never seen my hair so curly or ugly. There is no amount of money that would make me move to Florida, I would never have straight hair again!

I will take the snow and cold, for beautiful falls and springs. Just remind me of that in February will you?

M

Let's see...

Ian came home on Friday for Fall Break. Which means a lot of hair everywhere. Ive never seen someone with so much hair! Its like everywhere too. I thin it everytime I trim it. Even shave off a bit underneath..... and it like multiplies. I'm thinking when he finally decides to cut it, I will make myself a wig!

Brian is in Florida, at a Project Manager's whatever at this hotel. Gaylord something or other Resort.

E'nuf about him!

Sunday, a very cold Sunday, was the Hospice Walk with Fr. Bill. He is 85 years old, and I think Ive been walking this with for 7 years. That means hearing the same stories 7 times! *G* It's like Ground Hog Day only with walking! He actually did 2 miles! Incredible.

Today, I went to stand on Nine One One duty at Scotty's while he crawled under his house putting insulation on water pipes. Brian has a rule he is never on a ladder outside w/o me home, so it's sort of like that for Scotty, a ladder or under the house. Scotty most certainly agrees that he doesnt want to be found dead and stinky under his house. So Brian gave him some of these jumpsuits he use to wear at Bayer when he had to go into rooms that were making drugs. Scotty looked so funny I had to take a picture. It lasts longer you know! *G*



When he came out of the hole an hour and half later, most of that suit was brown!

And Ian went back to school tonight after a Walmart run, where we filled his cart up with apple pie, mac and cheese, and more frozen stuff than his cooler could hold. And... one air freshener! I asked "Who's the stinky one in the apartment?"

I did not get an answer. :-)

M

Table for One...

During the warehouse furniture sale,there was a table for $97 bucks. The delivery men damaged it, and it was unusable. I looked, Scotty looked, and neither of us could find one the right size for a small eat-in kitchen. So I said...Scotty you should make one.

So he figured out what size he wanted it, bought some pine for the top. I bought some table legs off of Ebay cheap. It was just under $100 total. I have this thing for decorative trim.

Like here when I added it on my kitchen cabinets.


and here when I added it to the kitchen island.


I liked the stuff on the kitchen island so much I put it in the bathroom too!


So all that to say....I thought Scottys table needed trim too! Here's the table in the middle of its first coat of stain. I stained thats about it.



And all finished with trim.




As you can see the door still needs to be painted, and the register cover is in the garage waiting for paint. That's another day.

M