Trick-Or-Treat by George L Ehrman

Witches and ghosts and goblins and elves

And all of them almost afraid of themselves,

Sneaking about in the oldest of places

And all of them wearing the scariest faces!

Where do they come from?

Who can they be?

Why every year do they come visit me?

But when the refreshments are gone from the scene,

They soon all depart until next Halloween!

Blueberry Waffle Strusel

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

¼ cup chopped pecans

1 T butter, softened

½ t ground cinnamon

1 package frozen blueberry waffles

1 (10 oz) package frozen blueberries, thawed and drained

vanilla ice cream if desired

In a small bowl, combine sugar, pecans, butter and cinnamon; set aside.

Place waffles on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Top with drained blueberries. Sprinkle with streusel mixture.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Presenting: Vanilla Zen Silky Botanical Body Lotion by Essensu

Essensu has done it again. Just when I started to think that I couldn't find a better scent than her Lilac Bloom; along comes Vanilla Zen.

Here's what Tami of Essensu has to say about her Vanilla Zen skin-loving body lotion:

Our Vanilla Zen Silky Botanical Body Lotion is packed with moisturizing plant butters and oils which, soak right into thirsty skin. We include shea, soy and cocoa butters, and nourishing apricot oil to assure moisture is restored to your skin.

❥ Our Vanilla Zen is our own custom blend of a selection of the best smelling vanillas available, and is comprised of scent blends of: French vanilla, African vanilla, fresh, crisp vanilla beans, together with rich, buttery vanilla on a dry down of a sweet vanilla flower, with only a hint of musk.

❥ Further enhanced with botanical extracts such as aloe leaf, fennel and sage, in addition to wheat protein and vitamin E, assures your skin will be left soft, smooth and replenished.

❥ Vegan friendly.

❥ Long lasting moisture retention formula.

❥ No phthalate fragrance oil.

And here is what I have to say about it. Vanilla Zen is a very luxurious lotion. It glides on and doesn't leave a tacky feeling like some lotions can as it soaks into your skin. It leaves your skin silky smooth and smelling heavenly with a very relaxing vanilla scent. Anyone who loves Vanilla will be quite pleased with Essensu's Vanilla Zen scent. 

If your a luxury lotion, vanilla scent lover... then Vanilla Zen body lotion is a match made in heaven for you. I highly recommend this product and if you happen to be surrounded by others either at work or at the gym or at home or at a co-op or workshop or open house who happen to think Vanilla is a superb scent and love silky smooth hydrated skin...Make sure you buy more than one of this item... I'm serious. Learn from my lesson below.

I went to the annual open house for this years workshop to learn something new, for fellowship and to meet new friends. There's usually a light lunch and snacks served at various points throughout the day. I always help out with the clean up after this event and I always leave with my hands seriously dried out from the dish soap used. Not to mention the disinfecting stuff. So this time I came prepared with my bottle of Vanilla Zen. It worked like magic on my hands. The scent was intriguing to those around me. All the ones that like Vanilla were impressed with the long lasting, pleasant scent. Several insisted that I share the name of my perfume and wouldn't believe me when I said it wasn't perfume but my body lotion. Can you see where this is going? Well I showed the two who doubted me the bottle of Vanilla Zen body lotion. I even allowed them to try some to prove that it really was a lotion and not a perfume. Yep, that was the beginning of my misfortune. They loved it. And so they told their friends and pretty soon, I lost track of my bottle cause they just had to show so and so this amazing product. While I couldn't be sure where my bottle was exactly located, I could definitely tell from the wonderful smell of Vanilla Zen that started to waft through the air that others were enjoying it, too. By the time I tracked it down, it was nearly empty. I had just enough to use on my son's dry, itchy back from his having gone swimming earlier in the day. And this my dear friends and readers is why I encourage you to get yourself two. Then you'll always have a back up should others happen to want to take a sample of your luxurious Vanilla Zen body lotion so that they can have a Zen moment, too.

Magic Pumpkin Pie

Magic Pumpkin Pie

1 unbaked 9” pastry shell

2 cups (16 oz can) canned pumpkin

1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

½ t salt

½ t nutmeg

½ t ginger

¾ t cinnamon

In a large bowl, blend together all ingredients. Turn into shell. Bake in moderate 375°F oven 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

1 lb ground meat

1 cup chopped onion

3 cups spaghetti sauce

1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese (optional)

3 cups shredded cheeses – use any kind or use 1 cup of 3 different kinds (mozzarella, cheddar, or commodity)

1 (8 oz) package of lasagna noodles, uncooked

Brown meat, drain and rinse off any fat. Return meat to pan and add onion and spaghetti sauce. Mix well.
Spoon layer of meat mixture on bottom of slow cooker, about 1/3 cup. Add a double layer of broken noodles (3 noodles) on top of meat. Cover noodles with one cup of meat sauce, 1/3 cup of cottage/ricotta cheese and one cup of shredded cheese.

Add second layer of borken noodles (3 noodles) one cup of meat sauce, 1/3 cup cottage/ricotta cheese, and one cup shredded cheese.

Add a third layer using the rest of the noodles, meat sauce and cheeses.

Make sure to cover all noodles by using a spoon to spread sauce and cheese over them.

Pour one cup of water over the top of lasagna and cover with a tight fitting lid. If your lid is not tight enough, cover with tin foil and then put on lid.

Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 or until the noodles are tender.

Yield 8 servings – serving: about 2 cups

per serving: calories 525, fat 31 g, protein 29 g, carbohydrate 31 g, fiber 2 g

TIP: slow cooker lasagna does not cut into squares as traditional lasagna but is spooned out like a casserole. Serve with fresh bread spread lightly with butter or oil and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and placed in the oven for about 2 minutes at 400°F or until cheese is melted.

Mocha Magic Chocolate French Fudge

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened condensed milk

Pinch Salt

1½ Tablespoons instant coffee, dry form

½ cup ground nut meats, optional

In top of double boiler, melt chocolate over hot water; stir occasionally. Remove from heat. Add sweetened condensed milk, salt, vanilla extract and nut meats, if used. Stir only until smooth. Turn into waxed paper lined 8” square pan; spread mixture evenly and smooth surface. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm. Turn candy out onto cutting board. Peel off paper. With a sharp knife, cut fudge into serving size pieces. Store in airtight container.

Makes about 1¾ pounds

Pom-Orange Granita

1 (32 oz) bottle of Pomegranate juice

1 cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

In large bowl, combine pomegranate juice, orange juice and sugar. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture into 13x9” baking pan; cover with plastic wrap. Place in freezer and freeze overnight or a minimum of 6-8 hours. To serve, scrap a large spoon across surface to create large ice particles. Spoon granita into chilled glasses.

Magic Chocolate French Fudge

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened condensed milk

Pinch Salt

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup ground nut meats, optional

In top of double boiler, melt chocolate over hot water; stir occasionally. Remove from heat. Add sweetened condensed milk, salt, vanilla extract and nut meats, if used. Stir only until smooth. Turn into waxed paper lined 8” square pan; spread mixture evenly and smooth surface. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm. Turn candy out onto cutting board. Peel off paper. With a sharp knife, cut fudge into serving size pieces. Store in airtight container. 

Makes about 1¾ pounds

Luscious Lime Chiffon Pie

1 baked 9” pastry shell, cooled

3 eggs, separated

1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk

Green food coloring

½ cup lime juice

2 t grated lime rind, optional

¼ t cream of tartar

1 cup (½ pint) heavy cream, chilled

1 T sugar

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Continue to beat gradually add sweetened condensed milk. Add food coloring. Beat until well blended. Add lime juice and 1 teaspoon of the grated rind. Beat well. Beat together cream of tartar and egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into lime mixture. Pour into baked shell. Refrigerate 5 hours, or until set. At serving time, whip cream until stiff, Fold in sugar. Garnish chilled pie with whipped cream and sprinkle remaining grated rind over top.