Debra's Frog Blog

Testing the Link

Debra — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:34:51 +0000

Just testing the link from my website to my Facebook wall. Would like to post in both at the same time.

Chewy Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

Debra — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:34:10 +0000

I’m always looking for quick and easy recipes that taste like you spent a lot of time on them. This is one of those recipes! You’ll love how simple it is. It’s my husband’s favorite cookie. Enjoy!

Chewy Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Makes 3 dozen, 3″ cookies.

Mix together:
1 Chocolate cake mix of your choice
1/4 C. packed brown sugar

Add the following ingredients and stir until it forms a thick batter
2 Eggs
1/2 C. Melted butter or margarine (melt in microwave)

Fold-in the following ingredients:
1 C. Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C. Chopped walnuts or pecans

Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake at 375 degrees: 10 minutes for chewy cookies or leave in a few minutes longer for crispy cookies. Cool and store in air-tight container.

Date Pudding – Great Holiday Recipe!

Debra — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 17:31:00 +0000

Date Pudding is Craig’s favorite recipe from his late Grandma Alma Henkener. I’ve been making it for my family for more than 30 years. Grandma’s family came from Germany, so we are reasonably sure of it’s origin. Date Pudding is a very different type of dessert. It really has nothing to do with the making of pudding! It is more like crusty nut bread, broken into pieces, and gently folding whipped cream into it. That’s pretty close! Hope you enjoy!

Date Pudding
Set oven rack at middle level and preheat to 325 degrees.
8″ x 8″ ungreased baking pan. (Double this recipe for 9″ x 13″ cake pan.)
Ingredients:

1 C. Granular Sugar
1 C. Walnuts
1 C. Cut Up Dates
1 C. Flour
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 Tbl. Water
Pinch of Salt

Blend well. Bake in slow oven for one hour. Cool completely. Break into small pieces and place into large bowl. Whip 1/2 pint of whipped cream or use 1 – 8 oz. container of Cool Whip. Slowly and gently fold the cream into the broken pieces. Chill for 1/2 hour and serve. Serves 8.

Hunting in South Dakota

Debra — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 17:09:36 +0000

Craig and I just returned from a buffalo hunt in Custer State Park, located south of Rapid City, in South Dakota. We were also there on a vacation last May, when Craig asked a park ranger if hunting was allowed. He got the information, applied for the hunt over the summer, and was drawn in the lottery in August. He was one of about 25 hunters allowed to take particular bulls and cows during herd management hunts, staged in October and November. Craig’s bull was only about two years old but already weighed about 1000 lbs.

Craig & Me (Craig used a 45-70 trap door buffalo rifle) ! It was an exciting hunt with herd master, Chad Kramer (shown with Craig below).

I was the “camera crew” and filmed everything with our new Panasonic digital movie camera, a Canon AE-1, and a Canon digital. The meat was processed at the Black Hills Meat Company in Hot Springs. We packed it in large coolers with dry ice. The head and hide were placed in a chest freezer with dry ice. Yes, Craig’s truck was large enough to accomodate all of this, plus our luggage and hunting gear!

While waiting on the meat, we spent three days sight-seeing. We wanted to revisit Spearfish Canyon (including Roughlock Falls shown above) and Deadwood, where we saw the graves of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane. We also spent time in downtown Rapid City, enjoyed the warm weather outside Seattle’s Best Coffee, and spent the day discovering gift and antique shops. I especially loved the Sioux Trading Post, Prairie Edge Gift & Art Gallery, and the Staple & Spice Store (great organic, bulk food and teas!). Rapid City has a sidewalk sculpture on almost every corner. Some are inspired by the local native American heritage, such as the sculpture below.

An on-going project is all the US presidents. They try to add a new one as their donations allow. George Washington is shown here.

80th Birthday Party

Debra — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 16:59:01 +0000

My mother-in-law, Pat Henkener, turned 80 on September 30 and we threw a surprise birthday party for her at our place (inside Craig’s mancave) on October 3rd. Had all the goodies (including cake and ice cream and pie), decorations, and most of the family. Thought I’d share some photos, especially for the benefit of other family members who could not attend. (And you know who you are!)

L to R Standing: Gene & Arlene Miller, Dawn & Keven Kelly, Tim Kelly Sitting: Pat & George Henkener and Joann Kelly

Pat & George with Great-Grandchildren: Chase Soliday (age 5), Taylor Elshoff (age 17), Gage Henkener (age 8), and Emmitt Henkener (age 5) (Two more...Vincent & Anthony Babu are in Texas!)

Pat & George with their children, L to R: Craig & me and Kim & Melanie Henkener

Pat & George with Grandchildren, L to R: Brian Henkener (Kim & Mel's son), Mike Henkener (our son), and Angie Elshoff (our daughter)

Brian Henkener, Libby Henkener (Mike's wife), Lance & Kris Soliday, and Angie Elshoff.

Perfect Bug Holes

Site Manager — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:55:43 +0000

How the heck do they do that? Have you ever asked yourself that question when you’re trying to figure out how someone painted something? Isn’t it funny that “Bug Holes” could easily qualify as something we really want to learn how to paint! And it’s also funny to realize that an ugly blemish can be the key to enhance, create interest, and make your leaf painting more realistic. And it should help you to know that big holes are really fun to paint! I’m sure there are many different ways to paint them, but I’ve found these steps to be quick and easy:
1. After you have finished painting a leaf and it is dry, use a damp round or ultra-round brush (Loew-Cornell) to remove a small spot of paint. Dab the spot with a dry towel to lighten the area even more. (Try using a small stencil that has tiny leaf shapes or just interesting, natural shapes in it. Lay the stencil on the leaf and use the damp brush to loosen and remove the paint inside the stencil shape. Lift the stencil and dab with a towel.)
2. Pick up a little dark value Burnt Umber and outline the little spot. You can make the spot perfectly round, but I prefer to add a little indentation here and there. (If you use a stencil, your shape might already be irregular, which is good.)
3. Wash out your brush, dab on a towel until the brush is damp, then soften the outside edges of the Burnt Umber. Sometimes I soften all the way around and sometimes I only go half way. It’s up to you. Both ways will look fine.
4. Pick up a little Burnt Umber mixed with Ultramarine Blue (makes black or very dark blue). Add a few touches of this to a couple of areas around the spot. You can soften this a little with a damp brush or leave it sharp. Use your own judgement.

5. I sometimes add little dots around the hole (with Burnt Umber or black) and in other areas of the leaf, to create interest. If these appear too harsh, just dab them with a towel to soften.
6. I also fill the hole in with black occasionally. It becomes a black blemish on the leaf.
7. You can also use the technique above to create a dead edge on a leaf. Or maybe your bug hole is half-moon shaped and located right on an edge. Get your creative juices flowing and experiment! Let me know how your leaves and bug holes turn out!
Next Lesson – Painting with Sponge Bob!