Notes From Mémère

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday - Baby Back Ribs!

2012-02-07T15:24:00.001-07:00

On one of my favorite cooking blogs I found a recipe for baby back ribs and it is a keeper for sure. You can see the original recipe here: http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/06/fall-off-bone-ribs.html

I used our favorite KC barbeque sauce but used the rub recipe from Plain Chicken. Oh, they were so delish! Tender, juicy and fall of the bone good!

For the rub I mixed together:

2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
1tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin

This rub made enough to generously coat one rack of ribs.

Looking forward to fixing these when we go to Kentucky and see our kids. I think this will make for some good Kentucky eating!

Linking up today with Lisa at Blessed With Grace

Monday Memo: Just My Speed

2012-02-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home

2012-02-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a week visiting family in California. We had a delightful time but there truly is no place like home!

It is good to get back to our routines. Back to our familiar comfy bed and waking to the smell of our first cup of coffee in the morning.

Yes, home sweet home.

Betty Crocker and Silverware

2012-01-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

Giving my children some more family history today.

When I was a girl Betty Crocker had coupons on their products worth points that could be redeemed for silverware. My mother had a shoe box full of these coupons and my grandmother came over to babysit us while my mother and father were away one weekend.

Grandma decided she was going to count points and order silverware for my hope chest. According to grandma, "Your mother will never do anything with these so we are going to get you some silverware." I always thought that was cute.

Today some 50 years later I set my table with Betty Crocker's My Rose Onieda silverware and I smile thinking of my precious little grandmother who ordered it for me.

So kids, now you know where the silverware I set the table with daily came from and why it is so special to me.

Love Is . . .

2012-01-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

Visiting my mom in California and having fun checking out the local Sally Ann's and antique stores. Wahoo!

Poor Posture?

2012-01-16T12:58:00.002-07:00

I hope you can zoom in to read the cartoon better. The mother pictured here believes she is being a good mother and giving her son good advice but is she? Our negative attitude and critical spirit as wives and mothers most certainly does make for poor posture in our loved one.

The words we choose to speak to our children and to our husbands are very important. Are we building them up or tearing them down? Do they grow from our words of advice or do they feel condemned? Are they better individuals for our words or worse?

Listen today to the words you speak to your husband and your children. Choose your words carefully so your loved ones can stand tall in life.

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10:24

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

My Sentiment Exactly!

2012-01-14T12:36:00.003-07:00

Mary Engelbreit art

Take time today to count your blessings! It is amazing how good God is and how we take life for granted at times. At Thanksgiving I wrote the words, "Thankful Be" on my kitchen chalk board. I have not erased the words because they are daily inspiration for this Mémère.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday - Coconut Cake

2012-01-03T06:34:00.000-07:00

Found this recipe about a year ago when a friend wanted Coconut Cake for his birthday. This recipe is made to order for these reasons:

simple ingredients

quick and easy to make
can be made ahead
leftovers freeze well

This is a great recipe to file under hospitlaity because of its ease and the fact you can make it ahead of time - two factors that make it a keeper in my opinion.

Coconut Freezer Cake
{from Gooseberry Patch~ so yummy!}

18-1/4 oz. pkg. white cake mix
14-oz. pkg. sweetened flaked coconut
16-oz. container sour cream
2 c. sugar
8-oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Prepare cake according to package directions dividing batter evenly among three, 9" round cake pans. Bake according to package directions. Let cool. In a large bowl, combine coconut, sour cream and sugar; set aside one cup of mixture. Place one cake on a cake stand and top with half the coconut mixture. Add second cake and spread remaining coconut mixture on top. Place third layer on; set aside. Combine reserved coconut mixture with whipped topping; frost top and sides of cake. Place in freezer. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Makes 12 to 18 servings.

Monday Memo: Dear Family

2012-01-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

Source: etsy.com via Judy on

Shopping My Shelves

2011-12-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

I will leave the Christmas trees up till New Years but today I began putting away all the other decorations.

I love to shop from my own shelves when decorating. It is so fun to rethink or repurpose an object that I already have. So when I removed the Christmas decorations from my dining room table I went shopping and what you see here is what I came up with. First the tray and tea set but there was no height so I added the crystal candle holder. Still not enough height to suit me so I put the whole tray on a heavy upside down cut glass bowl. Ahh - I like it. Something totally different and new to me without spending a penny. My idea of fun.

Monday Memo: Get Busy

2011-12-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Now to get busy cleaning up the aftermath!

Ten Ways

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Every Time . . .

2011-12-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

"Christmas, my child, is love in action . . .

When you love someone, you give to them, as God gives to us.

The greatest gift He ever gave was the person of His Son, sent to us . . .

so that we might know what God the Father is really like!

Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas."

Dale Evans Rogers

Unfailing Love!

2011-12-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Psalms 90:14

Psalm 91

¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
³ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,¹⁰ no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;¹² they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
¹⁴ “Because he^[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Monday's Memo: Praise and Joy

2011-11-14T12:00:00.001-07:00

"Praise is the soil in which joy comes alive."

--author unknown

Note to self, "I need to get busy tilling my soil."

Was Goldilocks Here?

2011-11-01T14:13:00.001-07:00

I went in today to straighten up the Green Room after my grandchildren spent some time with us. I had to smile so big when I noticed the welcoming words of Scrabble tiles. It is supposed to say, "Please make yourself at home." Today it said, "Tyler". Yes, 5 year old Tyler TLC#2 left his mark in the bedroom and left me with no doubt as to who had slept in this bed(room). Tyler started kindergarten this year and he has really blossomed because of it. He loves school and even though I did not know if the school would possibly be ready for Tyler he has proven me wrong and is quite the model student.

All the pieces put back into order awaiting another visit from ~~Goldilocks~~ Tyler.