whatever

sorry....cake...and SWAG

craig played some games with the kids tonight....this one ended half way through.
sometimes games are just too hard to get through with kids of different ages.



 
i made the cake.
thumbs up from all the duerksen kids!  (and mr. duerksen too)
YUM.

enjoying my headband from daisysanddots....one of the craft weekend sponsors.

:)

speaking of craft weekend sponsors....

 
these are just a few....
 
CLICK OVER HERE to see the all of the SWAG sent by our WONDERFUL sponsors!!!

we think they are super RAD.

happy weekend!

 

quick...make these

before you make your new year's resolution to lose weight....

make these and start your diet the next day.
:)

 

i have made these since we have been married.
it's a tradition.
any special day HAS to have these cheesy potatoes.
period.
HAS to.
it's non negotiable. 

all the good stuff. sour cream...cheese...butter....potatoes

mix all of the ingredients together except 1/4 c. of butter and the cereal.
 
 
press it into a 9x13 pan.

then....smash up the cereal in a ziploc bag.
the cereal is....frosted flakes.
seriously.


 
then pour the 1/4 c. melted butter into the bag.

i know i know....i told you....start your diet tomorrow....it will be worth postponing it one more day.


 
pour the buttery cereal on your potatoes and smoosh it down.



now i have two kids in my house that don't like the crunchy stuff on their potatoes so this is how i handle that.
i leave a small portion un-crunched. 

then you cover it with foil and bake it for an hour at 350.

this will be the HIT of any meal.
it's the yummiest homey sidedish of comfort food there is.
if you walk into any church potluck in the midwest on a sunday afternoon....these potatoes will be on the table i can promise you that.  

i hope you LOVE them.
we had them on christmas day.
my mom had them at her christmas dinner too.

enjoy!

 

the recipe is in the AWESOME RECIPES link on the right.  

 

pumpkin muffins

my mom has made these muffins my whole life.
they have always been a favorite.
and my kids love them as much as i did.

the last time that pumpkin disappeared from the grocery store....i had some anxiety.
so when it came back....i bought 12 cans.
(do you even know what i am talking about?? our stores here in town had NO pumpkin for a long time... yikes) 

i didn't ever want to run out.


 
the recipe is simple enough.

and i have to say...it IS better than the quick bread pumpkin mix you can buy next to the cake mixes.
but i buy those too.

it's all about how much time and energy you have for the day isn't it?

i use the big scoop from pampered chef for my muffins....do you?

it's the only thing i use it for.
do you have one?
what do you use it for in your kitchen?
for me....it's called a muffin scoop.

bake them for 20-25 minutes and cool.

then i make some glaze.
my mom always made the glaze really thin so that it was pretty much opaque.
like this....

but i make it thicker like a runny frosting instead.
i like to SEE the frosting.
it makes me happy.

it's the same reason i want the pink donut at starbucks...it looks happy.

the recipe is the in the Awesome Recipes rainbow square to the right.

have you clicked through those rainbow square categories?
i clicked through the 365 one last night and boo hoo...my kids are so much bigger already!
it was 365 from 2009.

enjoy the pumpkin muffins!

your house is about to smell amaaaaa-zing.  

(imagine me saying that out loud...like Oprah...amAAAAAA-zing!)

my lunch...3 or 4 times a week.

every week.

it's simple.
i made it up.
i am sure others have thought of it....but when i say i made it up i mean that one day i was craving some spice
so i looked through our cupboard.
i had these ingredients and i threw them all together and ate it with chips.
yum.


 
rice...rotel...black beans....cheese...tabasco....chicken...chips.

i make one cup of rice in the microwave.
it takes five minutes.
my friend shana said "you make rice in the microwave?!"  and i asked surprisingly  "is there another way?"
neither of us had ever tried a different way from what we'd learned.
i learned how to make rice on my own...by reading the totally generic brand box microwave directions.
in our apartment...16 years ago.
i have never even looked to see if there was another set of directions on the box!
i am dorky like that. 


 
when it's ready then i pour everything in the rice bowl.
except i only use HALF the black beans.
i just put the other half of the can in the fridge for my second batch later in the week.

i use like...three? shakes of tabasco...maybe four.
 
and a hand full of cheese. 

sometimes i warm it up for another two minutes.
but sometimes i don't.

ONCE i had left over corn with cream cheese from the night before...i threw that in...oh yeah....it was delish.


 
i grab a bowl of chips and i eat till i am full  :)

and that is it.
it's good.

and easy.

and not THAT bad for you....i think....maybe the chips?

i am hungry.

i think i will go make some now.

also....i have wrapped it up in tortillas and eaten it that way.

and my friend would like to add LOTS of cilantro in hers...it is probably yummy...but i NEVER have cilantro...
so i can't prove it.

enjoy. 

make this.

it's so good.

it's the perfect appetizer for a party at christmas!

or new years.

or any party all year round!


i left the mayonnaise (miracle whip) out last time and used more sour cream....and it was still yummy.
there are no rules that i am going to enforce on your dip.

you have my promise.


 
drain the artichokes and then choke them up into small pieces.  
(HA!  that was a typo but i had to leave it because it made me laugh....don't choke...just chop...HA HA HA)

then toss that into a bowl with the parmesan cheese and thawed chopped spinach.

until i made this i did not know there was chopped spinach in the freezer section.
or anywhere actually.
i had never once in my life thought "where is spinach in this grocery store?"
until i was looking for it.
and sure enough....it is a real thing.

i think the only spinach i ever have had a thought about was popeye....and squeezing cans of it into his mouth?



mix up those three ingredients until they are combined.
then add in the rest from the list....sour cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese and garlic....mmmmm.



spread it into a 9x13 pan and bake it at 350 for 25-30 minutes.


i serve it with chips.
it would be good with crackers too.

it's YUMMY.  

and easy.

you will be happy you made it.

the recipe is in the side bar under AWESOME RECIPES.   

lynette's dinner

i have a loooong history with my friend Lynette.
i first met her when i was a freshman in high school.
she was the youth pastor's wife at the church youth group i had just started  atending.
i was stuck like glue to her.
i needed her during those hard teenage years from all the drama i created around me.
she was easy to talk to and i loved being around her....and her family too.

                  

then i got married on her birthday!
and made her wear that floral print dress with the lace doily ON HER BIRTHDAY!

years later when i was visiting her with a bunch of my little kids....she served us dinner at her house.
i think talby was a newborn!
we have been making Lynette's dinner ever since.
Sean even had it for his birthday dinner this year!

this is what you will need:

(this is not a meal for watching your weight...which means it's yummy)

mix all the ingredients except 1/2 c. milk, cornstarch and ham.



when it's all combined in a saucepan....add the ham.



after 15 - 20 minutes add the cornstarch to the milk until it's dissolved.  
add the milk to the sauce to thicken it.

serve it hot over spaghetti or egg noodles.



my kids love this.
me too.

happy birthday lynette!
thank you for being so special to me for 20 years.
(can you believe that?!?)

oh and it's still my anniversary too.
all these years later.
sixteen years.

to celebrate we are going to light 24 candles that sparkle like stars.

ha.

we have the weekend all alone.....no kids.
it's going to ROCK!

recipe is in the awesome recipes section on the right.