Barbie's and Arby's: Use Your Words

 

Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. All of the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s  participating knows who got their words and in what direction the recipient will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.
I'm using:  Arby's ~ Beef-n-Cheddar ~ coin jar ~ $170 ~ deodorant
They were submitted by Sarah of What TF Sarah.

 

 Confession time: I don't like Arby's roast beef, and have never tried the Beef-n-Cheddar. My kids did like the chicken fingers there, so over time I found that their turkey and Swiss sandwich is really good (and huge), and I love their specialty dinner salads (not to mention the Jamoca shakes). But on the rare occasion we go for fast food, Arby's rarely comes to mind, I haven't been there since the boys were little.

So today, as I work on a new recipe I have rolling around in my head ('tis the season so it's a Halloween themed recipe including pumpkin), I'm using my words in a short story. About going to Arby's. But not on purpose.

 

 

Pumpkin Pecan Crostata

(Halloween decorated or not)

Emily was almost ready to leave the house when she looked up at the clock and saw that she was running late. She was so looking forward to lunch with her friend, she hadn't seen Barbie since she and her husband had moved to the Cape. She grabbed the gift she'd bought for Barbie's newborn, smiling as she thought of holding her friend's baby daughter for the first time. 

She was just to her front door when her cell rang. Tempted to ignore it, she glanced and when she saw that it was her grandma calling, immediately answered it. When Grandma asked her plans, Emily explained where she was going for lunch.

Grandma: You know, dear, I just saw a commercial for that Arby's Beef-n-Cheddar sandwich and I'd love to try one.

Emily: I can bring you one, Grandma, but it may be a while. 

Grandma: That's not a problem, dear.

Emily: If you don't mind waiting, I'm going to have lunch, then I have a few quick errands that won't wait.

Grandma: What else are you doing? 

Emily: Well, I'm doing the world a favor and stopping to grab some deodorant. And since my coin jar is overstuffed and the drug store is next door to the bank, I'm going to turn my coins in for dollars.

Grandma: Oh, those are quick errands. If you don't mind grabbing me the sandwich, I'd appreciate that. And the opportunity to spend a little time with you. You'll stay and visit, won't you?
Emily: Of course.

Later:

 

Finishing up a lovely lunch that Barbie had made, kissing that sleeping baby on the cheek, hugging her friend and promising to be back soon, Emily went on to do her errands. Not far from Barbie's new house was a drug store with a branch of Emily's bank right next door. She ran into the drug store for her deodorant, pocketed the deposit slip for the whopping $170 she'd deposited into her account from all that change, then started the drive from the Cape towards home. An hour and a half later she'd stopped for the food and was walking into Grandma's house.

Grandma: Oh Emily, I'm so glad you're here. I was worried about you, you were gone so long. I even tried to call you but your phone went right to voicemail.

Emily: I'm so sorry, Grandma, I put it on silent so I wouldn't bother the sleeping baby. I must not have turned the ringer back on.

Grandma: Baby? There was a sleeping baby at Arby's?

Emily: No, at Barbie's. You know she and Tom just had a little girl.

Grandma: At Barbie's? I thought you were having lunch at Arby's.

Emily: I didn't say I was going to Arby's, I said I was going to Barbie's.

Grandma: Down on the Cape? Well that certainly explains a lot.

Moral of the story: if going to Barbie's gives you the tardies, you must stop at Arby's and give Grandma the farties make Grandma's day.

 

Here are links to all the other Use Your Words posts:

On the Border 

Wandering Web Designer 

Climaxed

What TF Sarah  

Part-time Working Hockey Mom

 

Pumpkin Pecan Crostata 

(Halloween decorated or not)

                                               ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 refrigerator pie crust

1/4 cup honey pecan cream cheese

3 TBSP pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup chopped pecans

 

OPT (to decorate for Halloween):

2 pecan halves

1 nonpareil 

6 thin pretzel sticks 

small piece of red candy

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

*Unroll the pie crust onto the parchment paper and, using a rolling pin, roll out to about 1 inch longer in diameter.

*Whisk together the cream cheese, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Spread carefully onto the pie crust leaving about a 3/4 inch edge all the way around. 

*Roll the edges in all the way around to where the filling starts. Sprinkle the chopped pecans around the edges. NOTE: If you're not decorating this for Halloween, you can sprinkle the chopped pecans over the entire filling instead of just around the edges.

*Viewing the entire crostata as a face, place 2 pecan halves, angled up, where the eyes would be.

*Bake for 35 minutes. To continue decorating, place a nonpareil where the nose would be, the pretzel sticks as whiskers on either side of the nose, and the red candy below as a mouth.