I was in the mood for Chex Mix, but do not buy Chex because of additive ingredients I do not want. So I bought Cascadian Farms Multi Grain Squares instead. and went by the normal recipe. For the above photo, I used the cinnamon flavor and added coconut, dried pineapple and dark chocolate m&ms. I only cooked it for the 1st half hour and added the m&ms after it cooled. Yummmm.

Soldier's Silent Night.wmv

25 clever ideas to make life easier

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/blogs/135499623.html

I got this in an email and thought I would pass it on to you. I plan to use some of these ideas!

Cherry Cheese Cake (pie)

This morning, I made a Cherry Cheese Cake (pie). I had been thinking about it for a while and gathering the ingredients. As you know, I use half the amount of sugar when baking, so when I made the filling I used 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup of sugar. While eating it, we realized that I could have gone with 1/8 of a cup of sugar (or none) because the crust has sugar in it and the filling has 3 types of sugar in it!
So .... one day, when our cherry trees start producing, I shall make it with my own cherry pie filling! And try to figure out about the crust because it had partially hydrogenated oil in it. (which I avoid). While I made sure the filling did not by not using the store-bought whip topping and making  my own, I did not think about the crust.

INGREDIENTS:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
10 oz whipping cream
1  (8 inch size) graham cracker pie crusts
1 can pie filling, or other topping as desired
PREPARATION:

In large bowl, beat cream with electric mixer until stiff. Add cream cheese and sugar. Pour into prepared pie shell. Top with cherry pie filling. Chill well.