Peanut Twist Ups

I love collecting vintage Pillsbury Grand National Bake Off cook-booklets. I have a small collection so far of  #2 (1950) thru #7 (1955).  I have gotten most of them for Christmas from PB.  I plan on collecting up to #11 (1959), maybe a few early 60's but nothing past that.

I happened to find the 16th (1964) edition at a thrift store.  It's interesting to me how much the design, colors, and look of the cook booklet is so "70's" to me. I am not going to put the front cover up on this post because I don't like it.  It's all brown and orange and dark blah.  It's also weird to me that the grand prize winning recipe (Peacheesy Pie) didn't get the cover spot but the senior third prize winning recipe for Fudge Ribbon Cake made it. And if you really want to get me started you can't even make Fudge Ribbon Cake anymore because it calls for a defunct convenience product called Nestle's Choco Bake. 

But that isn't the focus of this post.  I was flipping through the cook booklet recently and found this recipe for Peanut Twist-Ups by Junior Winner Connie Maley of Hershey, Pennsylvania.  I happened to have a jar of Apple Butter in my fridge in need of usage (other than my eating it straight!) and the recipe called for so few ingredients so I tried it out.

But hold up!  Before you start dragging out your measuring spoons, I have to report that we didn't care for this recipe.  It was very bland and dry.  BUT I do think the dough could make an excellent pie crust. I have never heard of using cream cheese in a pie crust dough but I do lead a rather sheltered life. Maybe it's common knowledge.  

I plan on trying the pie crust idea out at some point and will give a full report.

Until then, here are a couple of other recipes I have made with excellent results from past Pillsbury Grand Nationals:

$25,000 Orange Kiss Me Cake 1950

Cranberry Coconut Holidainty 1953

Clean Up Time..grab a rake.

Look at this mess!

This is going to take some time to clean up so I will have to catch up with everyone in a week or so.

C'mon Ethel...Wake up.  I got some black coffee on the stove for you...along with a broom and dust pan.

Decennial MHICTY: 10 year Blogiversary GALA!!!

Welcome to
My House Is Cuter Than Yours
Decennial Gala Event!!

Come on in!
I am so glad you were able to make it to the Gala!
Let's head down to the Rumpus Room!

You can place your wrap in here...
Oh... This is Jean.  Don't mind her.
She kinda started the party a few hours ago.
 Just pile your stuff on her. But be warned...any loose change she claims it!

Let's move on!  

I have a few friends I want you to meet! 

Ok... Act cool... Remember those red carpet folks I told you about?

This is Gene and Pat.  They own Red Carpet Rentals Limited of Nebraska!

For all your fancy gala carpet rental needs give them a call!

Since we are friends I got a discount on that red carpet you saw in the entry way!

Man, they are sooo cool!

Hey guys! 

Having a good time? Good! Good! 

See you later for the limbo contest!

Oh...Watch out.

Here comes Big Mouth Bernice....  

I told her I would only let her come to the Gala if she helped out and kept her trap shut.

Grab a libation and some nibbles from her but be quick about it.  She loves to tell folks about her 10 year plan!

Hey there Bernie! Looking good!

 Let's make our way to the buffet!  I had the best food put there anyway!

Help yourself and enjoy!

I went all out!  Every way meat can be manipulated....

potted, sliced, diced, boiled, processed, cubed, jellied and olive laden!

Don't forget to try some delicious sandwich loaf.. olive laden as well!

Lots of lamb and relish delicacies!

Not quite sure what those cubed cream colored chunks are....maybe steer clear off those.

I have an array of sweets for everyone to sample as well!

The creepy clown ice cream dessert with cheez whiz facial hair is for Gladys.

But I am sure she won't mind if you try a bite.

We better get back to the party!

Miriam and Bob are about to perform their crowd pleasing accordion musical numbers!

Polka covers of all the favorites!

Such as: "No Sleep till Brooklyn", "Holiday in Cambodia", "Yes We have No Bananas"....You name it, they know it!

Get out there on the dance floor!  I'll hold your Pink Squirrel cocktail for you.

Wow!  I didn't know you knew how to do the Mashed Potato!

Speaking of delicious carbohydrates, it's time for some cake!

Don't forget to sing the Happy Blogiversery Song while I blow out the candles!

Gladys...geez..if you don't know the words to the song don't just make them up!

It's not "glad tidings of fried spam"!  It's " glad tidings of jellied ham"!

Oh? What's that you say?

A present?!

 You brought me a hostess gift?  How lovely!

Well let's see what it is!

Oh! I LOVE it!!!! Thank you so much!
I love the prison tattoo star you added on it!

It's really too much!

Oh, keep laughing Millie!

What did you get for me?

Well ooh la la!

This is such a useful item!
It will go so well with my Doll Head toilet paper cozy and toilet seat cover!

I happen to have a little gift for all of you dear guests!

A can opener with an umbrella on it!

(To keep your hand dry when you open cans in the rain!)

Ruth got me a whole box for 1.75....It pays to know people!

Well it's about time to wrap this shindig up. I have to be up early tomorrow to make it out for the Canned Cream Corn Council Convention.  (Free samples to the first 100 attendees!)

Let's end with a toast.
Martha is well known for her excellent send offs!
Everybody raise your paper dixie cups!

"Cheers to many more years

My House Is Cuter Than Yours!

May your floors always shine,

 and the marshmallow fluff salad surprise be divine.

We hope your future adventures to be quirky,

and your crafty doo-dads be perky.

We all wish you thrift scores a-plenty,

and the perfect recipe for Brown Betty!

Now it's time for us to scoot,

We understand you have to give us the boot.

Good luck with the chores,

We think your the ginchiest,

My House Is cuter Than Yours!"

That was beautiful Martha! It's worthy of a tombstone engraving!

Now everyone,

here are some straws and ziplock bags...take those drinks to go!

Move 'em on, Head 'em out!

 Thanks for coming folks! 

Decennial MHICTY: House Tour

Welcome back dear readers!    This is the ninth post celebrating 

My House Is Cuter Than Yours 

10 year blogiversary retrospective and more!

Today we are going to have a bit of a true life house tour.

For MHICTY's first blogiversary in 2006, I threw an online shindig!

 Along with having a wild web party and virtual hor d'oeuvres, I also gave a tour of my favorite room in my actual house, the kitchen.  (for more photos)  

In 2007, to celebrate the second blogiversary, I gave a tour of PB's nursery:

PB's not-up-to-code but super cute crib! He lived...

( See here for more photos)

For the ten year celebration this year, I thought it might be fun to show you some images of the exterior of our house we bought in 2011.  Please don't file these away for stalking purposes.

This is a listing pic of our house and it was looking ultra cute!

Built in 1950.

When I first went to look at the house I thought it was so adorable that it was too good for us and our paltry meager possessions!

Another listing image:

 Well, the cuteness wore off (or flaked off) along with the adorable planter boxes, when we had to have extensive wood rot repair done along with a new paint job. 

Currently our house is looking much better!

A close-up of the aluminum fence detail.

We have a lot of work still to do on the inside and the landscaping needs some additional assistance.
Maybe by the 11th blogiversary I will have some decent interior images to share!

Next up!  Get your best suit pressed because it's the official

My House Is Cuter Than Yours 
10 year Blogiversary Gala

Don't forget to bring your dancing shoes!

Decennial MHICTY: Recipe Card Box

Welcome back to everyone still hanging in there! This is the eighth installment (only 1 more left til the big day!) of

My House Is Cuter Than Yours 10 year blogiversary retrospective and more!

One of my favorite things to do is make vintage, interesting, or party themed food.

For today's offering I scoured the archives of My House Is Cuter Than Yours for all the recipe/food type stuff I have ever posted about and organized it all in one place for mine and your pleasure!

I have always had a link to the Recipes Folder on Flickr for the entire 10 years of this blog. But I have not been able to update it for over a year because (yet again) they are being dicks about me logging in. I have the password and username so what's the problem!? They want to send me a verification message to an email that I don't have access to and haven't for 8 years. I am done with it and had to start looking at other options.  I have always felt weird about pinning my own pins on Pinterest but it is time to just do it.  It is far easier than Flickr photo loading and simpler for me to maintain.

Grab your apron and measuring spoons, here it is!



My House Is Cuter Than Yours ~Recipe Card Box~

Decennial MHICTY: Themes!

My House Is Cuter Than Yours
10 year Blogiversary Retrospective and more!
Here we are at the seventh post...only 2 more left til the big gala event on June 23!

Let's get all matchy matchy!

Something that I love more than polka dots is having themes...for parties, weddings, anniversaries, funerals, holidays, vacations, graduations....

I have had far too many themed deals/set ups/ hullabaloos to collect together all the links in this post...it would be much easier to just rummage around the deep freezer, (don't eat my blueberry pie crumble ice cream!) because most of it is all themed leftovers.   I am going to highlight some of my favorite themes for this retrospective post though!  And the winners are.....


My Favorite Fam Party Theme
Atomic Town!
May 5, 1955
The fam and I had a mini party (just us three) in 2014 celebrating the 59th anniversary for atomic testing on an entire town...of mannequins!  We took reenactment photos, had a cake shaped like a mushroom cloud, ate MREs fallout shelter style, had a Miss Atomic Testing beauty contest, watched civil defense public service announcements, and also went to a museum showing of atomic age materials, toys, and artifacts.  It was truly a blast!

Here are the radioactive past posts for your viewing pleasure:

Having A Blast
Fallout Frosting And Canned Water
Miss Atomic Blast
Duck And Cover
National Atomic Testing Museum
Ka-boom!
Atomic Age Stuff


My Favorite PB Birthday Party Theme
 Vintage Comic Book Party
2014
As I have commented in the "about me" section on the right top corner of this blog, PB's birthday parties are really my "event of the year".  I spend several months planning, researching, sourcing, and making for them.  He has an awesome theme every year but I think my favorite was Vintage Comic Books.  The invitations were reproductions of 1950's Superman membership fan club packets which included an official letter, membership card, button, and secret decoder.  For activities the super heroes made capes, walked through a radioactive chamber to get their powers, saved citizens in peril, fought spider-man's villains with their own spidey powers, smashed through brick walls just like the Hulk, and deactivated kyrptonite!  We turned our dining room onto the Bat Cave and PB drew his own comic on his birthday cake.  All the super heroes went home with comic book mail order inspired items such as Kyrptonite Rocks, X-Ray Vision glasses, and Atomic Rings!

Here are the action packed links!
Pow! Zap! Vintage Comic Book Birthday Invitations
Vintage Comic Cupcakes
Zap! Pow! Vintage Comic Book Party Decor
Pow! Bam! Vintage Comic Book Birthday Party Activities
Pop! Pow! Snacks and Cake
Boom! Pow! Vintage Comic Book Birthday Party Mail Order Goodies



My Favorite Christmas Tree Theme
Creature From The Black Lagoon
2006
We love coming up with themes every year for our Christmas tree.  This is something that my mom and I have been doing since I was in high school.  PB was only a wee tyke and came up with 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' as the theme in 2006. He loved it so much he requested the tree to stay up for about 6 months after Christmas, which it did. During the years 2006-2008 we had the creature as our tree theme and never tried of it.  It is a classic!

We eventually started coming up with new themes every year and some years we even had two themes/trees! Some include but are not limited to: vintage metal robots, goth bands, spiders and bats, the simpsons, and cigarettes!  Here are the glad tidings links:

Deck the Halls With Buddy Holly
Light Up the Holidays
Joy Division to The World
Simpsons Tree
It's A Wonderful Life Christmas Tree
Andy Griffith Christmas Tree
Robots Attack Christmas
Wishing You Bleak and Horrid Holiday
Creature From the Black Lagoon Christmas Tree
Felty Santa Tree


Next up...Wear your buffet pants with the elastic waist band!

Decennial MHICTY: The Lost Episode

Welcome again guests! 

 For today's special My House Is Cuter Than Yours 10 year blogiversary series, I am sharing a "lost episode" of a post I did in 2006.

I have many partial draft posts sitting on the shelves getting dusty because they are crappy.  But this post is different because it was complete and decent.  I just never posted it because I thought Sarah and I would post them the same day together but somehow we just never did.  I think it has to do with my cookies being ugly and she didn't want me to live with that embarrassment!

It's a Cookie Exchange!

Sarah and I have several of the same vintage cookbooks and decided to do a cookie exchange. We each picked out a recipe from Good Housekeeping's Book of Cookies (1951) to make for the other and look at this:

Hers for me

(l-r: Crinkles and Walnut Clusters):

Mine for her
(middle:Prickly Butter Balls, outer circle: Mocha Jumbles)

Not only did we both do two recipes, but the cookies we picked out for each other look very similar! Creepy! Ha ha! As you can see, her cookies are much more beautiful than mine... I have cookie envy! I don't understand how she got the sugar on the top of hers to look so nice and mine looks all half assed. Also understand that the reason her plate of cookies looks bare is because that's all of the dang things I had left! Too many got eaten up before I realized I didn't have a picture of them!

In the "packaging up your cookies" area of the cookbooklet I saw the image below and thought "What the....!?" Are those cotton balls? and are they gluing them on a coffee tin ...for decoration? Hell yeah!

So I made my own cotton ball adorned container to ship Sarah's cookies in. I knew she would appreciate it and it's dorkiness!

Here are the recipes for the two sets of cookies I made and her recipes can be found here (2015 update note: a link for "here" was what I was waiting for). Of all the cookies, I have to say that the Crinkles she made are really really good and I recommend them highly.

*********************************************************

The Recipes:

Read all instructions first!

(The above is a basic recipe, to make the prickly butter balls apply the edit below to it:)

***********************************************************

(The dough for this one needs to refrigerated for a day before cookies are made)

***********************************************************

I can now sleep at night knowing that the world has the option to whip up their very own batch of prickly butter balls along with having the knowledge about storing them in a hand crafted cotton ball adorned old coffee tin.

Next Up...polka dots and Geiger counters.

Decennial MHICTY: 15 Minutes of Fame

Autographs...Well if I must.

Hello there friends!  Welcome to the fifth installment of the Decennial My House Is Cuter Than Yours 10 year blogiversary retrospective and more! A series of my favorite rewinds and such...all leading to a big Gala event!

This post is about my couple of brushes with international fame.

The first was being a craft tutorial contributor for a 2007 released UK published book called The Crafter Culture Handbook.  It's a hefty sized book of about 300 pages and 50 projects.  There are several decent crafters represented within the contributors.  I am not a name dropper though... 

I came up with a scrap craft that involved turning the front and back of a super cute Jiffy box into a memo pad.

Retro Crafty Memo Pad

You can still buy the book on Amazon...used for .36 cents! That's quite a bargain!

But as my gift to you, just click the memo pad link for my tute online for zero cents.

The next brush of fame I had was within the same month in 2007.  I was featured in a new and now defunct magazine called Creative TECHniques.  A really neat magazine on how to mesh digital and hands-on crafting together.  

The article was about Craft Culture and where to find the best ideas, material, inspiration. 

I was listed in the blog area as:

"A snappy retro celebration of housewifery.  Old school crafting with new school attitude!  This blog is hosted by groovy-keen Mary, a hipster chick who rocks her cat eye specs and punk aprons with style."

My photo was featured of me wearing my Smock Apron which was my submission for the May 2006 Tie On One Apron challenge.  I made it out of a vintage pillow case.

As I said earlier, this magazine is not being made anymore so you will have to pick up back issues at a yard sale.

Next up....My House Is Cuter Than Yours...The Lost Episode!