How Time Flies...

I happened to see my blog when I posted my garden pictures and laughed because the garden doesn't look anything like that anymore. I thought I'd show you the difference.

When I first planted

Now

When I first planted

Now

When I first planted

Now

I have frozen 40 cups of zucchini and have made lots and lots of zucchini bread along with selling & giving away a little bit of zucchini.  Romaine is ready to be harvested. I also harvested spinach today and blanched & froze it.  Not enough to make spinach dip but close.  By the end of the season, I definitely will.  Today I discovered I have two baby cantaloupes.  I'm hoping I have enough time left in the season for those to get ripe.  And tomatoes - I have so many on the vine.  I don't quite have enough ripe to can but hopefully soon.

This is my zucchini & squash patch.  It is a little bit out of control.  The tomato plants look different after cutting them back today.  I only have a couple or so weeks left before out first freeze so I need as many tomatoes to ripen before then.  I cut most of the leaves off so the plants will put it's energy to growing and ripening the tomatoes.  

I Hate to Exercise But Love to Cook

I love being married.  Lots of people say it is hard.  For me it hasn't been.  I think because I got married in my mid thirties, I am more appreciative of Lance and what he is in my life.  As with anything in life, there are always little annoying things you have to put up with.  The little annoying thing in my marriage that I have to put up with is growing.  It is that I have gained weight.  I hate to admit that I have gained 20 lbs since I got married.  So I am working on getting it off.

Recently, my friend Kelly introduced me to My Fitness Pal.  I have used Daily Burn in the past, but wasn't able to put my recipes in it.  And since we rarely eat out or eat premade food, it just didn't work for me.  My Fitness Pal allows me to put in the recipe and then enter the serving size I ate.  When you start your account, they ask you all kinds of questions and determine how many calories you need to eat per day.  They gave me 1200 calories.  Yikes!  Although burning calories gives you more to eat.  Whoo hoo.  And cooking burns calories!  Double whoo hoo.  I hate to exercise but love to cook.

While trying to balance out my calorie intake for the day, I went looking for a smoothie recipe.   I had purchased 32 lbs of strawberries and split with my mother.  I froze 8 lbs to make smoothies with.  So the smoothie recipe had to be strawberry and since I do not like bananas, it could not contain bananas.  I found a smoothie recipe that I added my touch to and now love.  I took 2 recipes and combined them.  I needed something that would tide me over until lunch.  So the ingredient I used from the second recipe was oatmeal. I put the oatmeal in the blender first and blended it so it was more like flour.  Then I added all the other ingredients.  It gives it a little odd texture but is filling.

Strawberry Pineapple Oatmeal Smoothie
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
3 oz milk
3 oz pineapple juice
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 Tbsp sugar
3 ice cubes

Put oatmeal in blender and blend until fine.  Add the rest of the ingredients and chop ice (pulse) until completely chopped.  Then blend for 30 seconds - a minute.  Pour and drink.

I Should Have Tied My Hair Up

I finally got my tomatoes in the ground.  Actually not finally.  I know I am behind most people, but I really don't like to put my plants in the ground until after the 12th of June.  And I know it isn't the 12th yet but we are close.  Why the 12th, you ask?  June 12th is the average last freeze date for Pocatello.  And I don't really like running out a couple times a week at night and covering all my plants.  So I wait.  I usually start most of the vegetables from seed in the house, but this year that didn't really work out for me.  I will be buying plants when they go on sale, and the store just wants to get rid of them.

One of Lance's employees gives me tomato plants so I don't have to worry about those.  I accidently bought one too many tomato cages and so I headed off to the farmer's market today to pick up another tomato plant.  The kind man that gives me tomato plants sold me one more.  While I was there I picked up some strawberry plants and a basil plant.  Let's see if I can keep the basil alive this year.  The wind was so bad today, that's about all the farmer's market I could stand.  I really should have tied my hair up before I went.  I was hoping to get some blueberries from Oregon also, but I didn't see any.


After coming home and tying my hair, I planted the last tomato and the strawberries.  My plan was to get the basil in a pot, but it started hailing.  I had to laugh while being hailed on because my friends will post pictures of large hail.  I think this was the world's smallest hail.  While it continued to hail on my I looked for a pot to put the basil in.  I didn't have an appropriate pot, so I just brought it in.  I will probably just plant it with the tomatoes later.

You may not be able to see but I've ended up with 7 tomato plants and only one is cherry tomatoes.  Come this fall, I'm going to have a lot of tomatoes.  I have a couple of recipes that call for tomatoes and one that Lance and I love.  But I'm going to have to can a bunch and find a lot more recipes.  The recipe that Lance and I love is Baked Ziti.  I currently 2 halves of it in the freezer for when I don't feel like cooking.  But I'm sure we could stand some more.

Baked Ziti
1 lb dry ziti pasta (I actually use penne)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use a garlic press)
1 lb ground beef
52 ounces pasta sauce
6 ozs provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounce mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Boil pasta according to package directions for al dente.  Brown ground beef with onions and garlic. Add pasta sauce to meat.  After pasta and meat are done, you will begin layering in a 9 x 13 pan. Layer as follows:
1/2 of the pasta
provolone cheese
sour cream
1/2 of the meat sauce
the other 1/2 of the pasta
mozzarella
the other 1/2 of the meat sauce
parmesan cheese

 Bake for 30 minutes.
Allow to rest for 10 - 15 minutes and serve.

Another Month, Another Plan

I'm running behind this month and it's only the 3rd.  I did some catch up today, and hopefully I can be ahead of the game.  We had a BBQ this weekend and I spent most of the week planning for it.  We hosted about 16 people in our tiny yard all day Saturday.  I was up at 7:30 in the morning setting up and for those of you who know me well or even just a little know that I don't do mornings.  Lance was chosen by Crowdtap to host a McCormick Grill Mates party.  (see my other blog for details about Crowdtap and the party)  I tried two new recipes for the party.  I really liked both, but from the feedback I think the punch was a hit.  Click here for those recipes.

This morning I spent working in the coffee bar at church and finally was able to work on my meal plan for the month this afternoon.  I love the summer months because I grill a lot more and can eat lighter.  Yet I can still throw in a few hearty meals here and there.  So for this month our menu is as follows

June 4 - 8
Tacos (I needed something easy after a big weekend and being late in planning)
BBQ Chicken Salad - I just grill chicken, brush with bbq sauce, shred, and put in a salad.
BLT's
Skillet Lasagna 
Burgers

June 11-15
French Dip Sandwiches
Fresh Take Cheese & Breadcrumb Chicken - this is a Kraft product to bread chicken with.
Skillet Sausage & Rice
Chicken Pasta in Garlic Butter Sauce
Pizza

June 18 - 22
Chicken Fried Steak & Mashed Potatoes
Chicken BLT Taco Salad
Creamy Chicken Bacon Pockets
Tortellini & Alfredo Sauce - I'm just going to buy frozen or refrigerated
Burgers

June 25 - 29
Steak & Sweet Potatoes
Honey Lime Grilled Chicken
Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Lime Sauce
Grilled Chicken Pesto Farfalle
Pizza

BBQ Recipes

Because the other blog seemed long, I'm putting the recipes from our BBQ in this blog.  These were super easy!  And the fruit salad doesn't have to stay cold which is great for an outdoor party.

Pineapple Punch

1 -12 oz can Pineapple juice frozen concentrate

1/2 -12 oz can Limeade frozen concentrate

4 cups water

1 liter lemon lime soda

Optional: Strawberries hulled to float in punch

Mix all together.  (I quadrupled this recipe)

Fruit Salad

1 lb Strawberries, quartered

1 cup blueberries

1 - 20 oz can pineapple tidbits with juice

1 - 5.1oz box vanilla pudding mix

Mix pudding mix and pineapple with juice until pudding is well mixed in.  Fold in strawberries and blueberries. Chill and serve.

It's A Plan

3 months ago I began planning out a month's dinners.  At first I wasn't sure how it was going to work for me.  But I LOVED it.  It gave me such freedom.  I didn't have to try to figure out every night what I was cooking for that night.  Now I just need to make sure I get the meat out to thaw for each day, and I go shopping Monday morning for any items I need for the week.  I have also felt more freedom to try new recipes.  As we find recipes we really like we put them into the rotation.  Last month we discovered we love baked ziti.

I was sharing with a close friend that I had started doing this, and she loved the idea.  But she doesn't really have the time to sit down and plan out a month.  So the next month, I sent her the menu and all the recipes to go with the meals.  She was excited that her month was planned out.  Because her girls don't like everything that Lance and I do, I'm sure she switched up some of the recipes, but she was for the most part planned out for the month.

After reading another friend's blog, I realized I could share my meal planning with all of you.  You may not want  to have all the meals we will be having, but it may give you some ideas to help with your planning.

Before I give you our plan for the last two weeks of May, I want to share with you how I plan the month.  It may also help you plan.  When I began planning, it seemed big and overwhelming, but I realized if I had a plan of attack it would help.  So I decided we would have a beef dish on Mondays, a chicken dish on Tuesdays, fish or pork on Wednesdays, whatever on Thursdays, and pizza or burgers on Fridays.  Saturdays & Sundays are wing it days. For sides, I buy what is on sale that week and split them among the days.  This helps us eat what is in season because the sales usually follow what is in season.

Now for our menu:
May 21 - 25
Monday: Cowboy Casserole (see below for recipe)
Tuesday: Easy Garlic Chicken
Wednesday: Breakfast for Dinner
Thursday: Steak & Potato
Friday: Burgers

May 28 - June 1
Monday:  Steak Quesadillas
Tuesday: Rotisserie Chicken
Wednesday: BLT's
Thursday: Spaghetti & Caesar Salad
Friday: Pizza


Cowboy Casserole
Brown:  1-1 1/2 lbs. ground beef with 1/2 diced onion and optional 1/4 lb. bacon cut up.  While that is browning in a skillet, get a crock pot and add: one can each of Lima beans, butter beans, pork n beans and jalapeno pinto beans (drain all juices except pinto beans). Then add: 1/2 cup each of brown sugar, ketchup, BBQ sauce, 2 TBSP. vinegar, 1 tsp. garlic salt and some salt and pepper.  Drain the meat and add to crock pot.  Stir all together well.  You can serve immediately, or wait a few hours for flavors to meld together.  Serve with cornbread.  Add jalapenos if you like, too.  This can be ready in about 15-20 minutes.  Very hearty meal-sticks to ribs.   (I can't always find the beans that are listed so I find something similar.)

We All Have Our Comfort Foods

In my previous blog, I told you about the time I met Bryan Duncan.  It was then realized that people we see as celebrities are just real people.  He was with his family.  As adults we are aware that celebs are real people, but kids don't always know that.  Seeing Bryan's child in a stroller really stuck with me.  From then on I wasn't so fascinated with celebrities.  I would say about Christian music artists, "We both are going to heaven."

Apparently this attitude is a great one when meeting celebs and volunteering to work concerts.  I have gotten to meet several Christian music artist in the past few years.  While interacting with them, they appreciate being treated like a normal person. (Well at least most of them.)  They also like their privacy.  I wouldn't want all my business put out there for everyone to see.  So why would they.

I am thankful that I am not a celeb.  I am thankful that I get to spend a majority of my time at home with my husband.  I am thankful I get to make dinner at home and don't have to depend on a group of volunteers to feed me.  I'm sure actually positive that most of the time the catering is amazing food, but we all have our preferences on what we eat.  We all have our comfort foods.  A recipe that I have found recently has become one of my new comfort foods is





Chicken & Sweet Potato Chowder
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
28 oz chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced.
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cups shredded chicken
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cups half & half
1/4 cup flour
Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in medium sauce pan, add onion.  Cook over medium heat until onion is tender.  Just before the onion is tender add minced garlic. Cook about 2 minutes more.  Add sweet potatoes, chicken broth, and thyme leave.  Continue cooking until mixture comes to a boil and sweet potatoes are tender.  Stir in chicken and paprika.  Combine half and half and flour in a medium bowl until smooth.  Gradually add half & half mixture to potato mixture, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe comes from Land O Lakes.

They Are Like Flowers

I was walking through the living room and saw that Pandora was playing a song by Duncan somebody.  It made me think of Bryan Duncan.  And that immediately took me back to San Cruz and meeting Bryan Duncan with my cousins.  Those were such good memories.  I would spend part of the summer with my Grandmother in Northern California and she would take me down to San Jose to spend a weekend with my cousins.  My cousins and I (well the girls anyway) would make up dances to songs.  One of the main artists we listened to at the time was Bryan Duncan.  So going to Santa Cruz to the beach boardwalk with them and meeting him was exciting or at least it was for me.

It's funny how some memories stick with you and other stuff is just gone.  And why is the stuff that isn't all that important sticks with you and things you really need to remember have left.  A few other memories I still remember are tips people have passed along to me.  A friend college told me once that when she makes her bed she puts the comforter on so the tag is on the head end of the bed instead of the foot.  That way when she wakes up in the night and the blankets are disheveled she can figure out how to put it back together by the tag. I still use that with the extra blanket on my side of the bed.  Another tip I remember is one I learned in jr. high.  If your pencil has an eraser that is hard and just won't erase anymore, rub it on the carpet until it is soft and erases easily.  The carpet takes off that hard crust that has developed.

These small things I remember aren't important but they make life a little better. They are like flowers.  They aren't that important, but they make life a little better.  I have found while cooking & baking it's those little things that makes the food taste so much better.  My mom's zucchini bread has that small thing that makes it so much better.  I actually don't know what it is, but her recipe tastes so much better than other recipes I've tried.

Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini, squeeze the water out
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325.  Grease 2 loaf pans. Beat eggs till they are light, add oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla.  mix well.  Add remaining ingredients.  Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Due to Popular Demand...

After a bad day, I gave in and made some muffins to lift my spirits.  I had found this recipe years ago.  The recipe was a basic muffin recipe with lots of variations. I printed all of them out and laminated the page.  I made up muffin mix packets and took it all to the beach for a singles beach weekend.  Apparently laminating the page makes you OCD.  My friends teased me about it.  But I have yet to lose it or ruin it.

Making the muffins brings back great memories of trips to the beach.  And makes me long for days spent in the water and grilled fresh off the boat shrimp.

After posting on Facebook that I was making the muffins, several people asked for the recipe. So due to popular demand:

Preheat oven to 375
3 oz semisweet chocolate squares
1/2 cup butter
heat in microwave until melted, stirring frequently

Mix together chocolate mixture
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup Nutella

Spray muffin pan with Pam, pour batter into pan so they are 3/4 full. Before putting into oven drop 1 tsp Nutella on top of each muffin. Bake 25 minutes (I had to bake them for 30). Cool and enjoy.

Well Now She Knows

My mom gardened almost all my years of growing up.  She would try to get me to help her plant and weed the garden.  I did not want to.  I usually would after being threatened.  But I hated helping.  We later realized I had a brown thumb.  Nearly everything I planted died.  I once tried to grow beans in a pot and they died.  Probably the easiest thing to grow and it dies.  My little sister, on the other hand, everything she touched grew wonderfully.

I could not find a picture of my mom in the garden.
But both pictures have the garden in the background.

Every year my mom planted tomatoes, peas, and a variety of other vegetables.  I didn't really care about anything but the peas.  I love fresh off the vine sweet peas.  I would go out in the garden and hide behind the wall of pea vines and eat peas.  I always thought my mom knew what I was doing even though I tried to hide.  A couple years ago I told my mom about it.  She said she thought her crop of peas for those years were just bad, and the crop the year I went to college was fantastic.  Well now she knows.

I did have one thing I liked to grow - strawberries.  But weeds were always a problem with strawberries.  I came up with a great idea of how to keep the weeds out of the strawberries.  We had a large tractor tire that we used to use as a sand box.  We filled it with dirt and planted the strawberries.  We never had problems with weeds again.  But we did have problems with the birds eating the strawberries.  I think my mom fixed this problem by draping a screen over the top.  Fresh strawberries are almost as good as the peas.

I now have my own garden.  I live in a rather small upstairs apartment, so a traditional garden won't work for me.  So I have a container garden.  I bought a couple rubber feed pans (for cattle) and planted peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, squash & zucchini.  I also have tomatoes, basil, mint, blueberries and garlic in pots.  With container gardening you don't have to pull weeds.  I love it.  I also love going out the back door to pick fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and mint.  My basil hasn't faired too well.  I think it's getting burnt up.  My blueberry bush will not produce this year.  I hope it will next because that's Lance's favorite fruit.  The eggplant is taking quite some time to produce and get very big.  And of course Lance loves the peppers.  I just wish I could grow limes and avocados.  It's just too cold here.

I recently found a recipe for guacamole that is perfect.  I think I could eat it everyday.  The fresh tomatoes make it even better.

Guacamole
2 Avocados
2 Tbsp chopped tomatoes
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp salt

Mash the avocados and mix in the remaining ingredients.


It's perfect on so many things - tacos, burgers, veggies, chips, your finger...

Bacon & Being Married

After a long hiatus I am back blogging, but it will be rather sporadic.  And I may include stories that are more recent.

In the last year, I got married.  Life is sure full of surprises.  For my husband, Lance, and I, we both had decided we were done dating and happy with being single.  Our friends, on the other hand, were not there with us.  They wanted us to be as happy as they are.  There are so many rabbit trails I can take with that, but I'll stick to the story.  A mutual friend of ours invited us for dinner.  Lance says he knew he would marry me when we met.  I wasn't so sure.  It took me a couple months to know I could marry him.  We got married in April and celebrated with our friends & family in May.

It's hard to believe it has almost been a year that we've been married.  I've always heard the first year is the hardest.  If that's the case, this is going to be so easy.  I'm sure we will have trials and difficulties from time to time, but if how we handled the first year is any indication, we will get through them.

I learned to cook long before I got married.  I have my staple recipes I like to use, but that's not enough for dinner every night.  So I've been trying out new recipes.  But if you know me, I can't leave a recipe alone.  I adjust and make it mine.  Some things Lance has liked and some have been terrible.  My recipe book is bulging at the seams with the new recipes.  Some day soon, I'm going to get organized with them and be able to plan out a month of meals at a time.  But until then, I'll share them with you.

Lance is a bacon lover.  One of the first things my friend Kelly learned about Lance is that he loves bacon.  So I try to find recipes with bacon.  I think his favorite so far is the

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf


1 lb ground beef
1 lb bacon
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup mayo
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 + 2 Tbsp ketchup
1 small can french-fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spray loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.  In a bowl, mix first 9 ingredients plus 1/4 cup ketchup.  (I use my hands)  Place mixture in loaf pan.  Spread 2 Tbsp ketchup over the top.   Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven & spread onions over the top.  Bake for 10 -15 minutes longer.  Internal temp should be 160 F.

No Time For Dilly Dallying

Next week I am going on a road trip with my mom.  We will be driving to Texas to see my sister & her family.  Hopefully by then, she will have had the baby.  All of us are looking forward to meeting the the new baby!

Road trips were always interesting with my dad. He always had a time we were to leave by, but it was rare that left at that time.  He would be upset for a few hours.  But after a while he would get over it.  He was the kind of person who focused the destination, and he was on a mission to get there.  Time should not be wasted.  I remember when we would stop to get gas, he would pump the gas, we would go to the bathroom and get some food.  We would meet back at the car and go.  No time for dilly dallying.

My mom, on the other hand, is all about the journey, and then when we get to the destination, she enjoys that.  She would pack snacks for us.  She had things for us kids to do.  We played games to distract us from the trip being so long.  She tried to make the trip fun.

But because my dad's personality was so strong, we kids learned that trip wasn't supposed to be the fun part.  Until I was an adult, I didn't get that you can actually enjoy the trip.  The driving was about making good time and getting there.  I still want to make good time and just get there.  But I am trying to learn to enjoy the journey too.  I would love to take a trip that is just about the journey.  It doesn't really have a destination.  It would have to have a plan though.  I can't get too crazy now.

A great way to make a trip fun is to take games and snacks.  A game we always played was the license plate game.  Before you start the day, everyone guesses how many different state license plates you think will be seen.  Then you begin to call out the states as you see them.  Someone is in charge of writing them down.  At the end of the day, whoever is the closest wins.  We never played for prizes just the satisfaction of being the winner.   A great snack to take along on road trips are Southern Pecan Bars.

Southern Pecan Bars
Crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Filling:
2 eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanila
1 - 2 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 350.   Grease a 9" square pan.  In small bowl stir together flour, powdered sugar.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in pecans.  Press evenly in bottom of pan.  Bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool completely on wire rack.

In medium bowl, whisk eggs until combined.  Whisk in the rest of the ingredients for the filling except for the pecans.  Pour over cooled crust.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.

In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, vanilla & milk.  Drizzle over bars.

Tip:  For easier removal and cutting, line pan with foil & grease foil.

It Was As Familiar To Me As My Own House

I was reminded this week that living in a small town is like living in a fish bowl.  For the last 15 years, I have lived in places that allowed me to be fairly anonymous.  I had gotten used to that.  I liked that.  But with everything, there is a good and bad side.  Living in a place that allows you to be anonymous also has traffic, lots of people, and crime.  I think I am ok with giving up my privacy to have no traffic, being able to get in and out of the grocery store in 5 minutes, and not hearing emergency vehicle sirens for months on end.

Fortunately, this go round of living in a fish bowl isn't near as bad it is was when I was a kid.  Being the pastor's daughter in a small church in a small town is far worse.  Not only do you have everyone knowing your business, you also have everyone criticizing everything you do.  Somehow you were supposed to be perfect.  I finally gave up on that idea.  Some pastor's kids give up on it early and just rebel.  I wasn't that kid.  I waited till my 20's to give up being perfect and by then knew better than to do stupid stuff.

Although I lived in the ultimate fish bowl, for the most part I enjoyed my church family.  We had children's choir, Christmas plays, youth conferences, and church camp.  We always had a great time with all the activities we did.

The church building became a second home.  We spent lots and lots of hours there.  When we first began meeting, we met in the basement of an old church building.  The neighbors to the building didn't like us meeting there so they would flood the basement weekly.  To prevent this, we would spend the night at the building on Saturday nights.  I am sure I slept at church many other times.  But of course not during the service! After we moved to the new building, it was as familiar to me as my own house.  I think Christians should be just as familiar with the throne room. 

Most everyone knows that church and pot lucks go hand in hand.  I attended so many.  One of my favorite things to take to a pot luck is Cornbread Casserole.

Cornbread Casserole
1 can corn, drained
1 can cream style corn
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sour cream
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
6 oz grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients together.  Grease a 2 quart baking dish.  Pour batter into dish and bake for 50 - 60 minutes.

No Matter How Old We Were She Wouldn't Let Us Win

My family has always been a game playing family.  I learned to play a watered down version of poker when I was 5.  Games were what we played when we got together with family.  Games were what we did when friends came over.  Games were what we did instead of going to the movies.  Games are great entertainment.

One of the games we play most often is called Bounce.  It is also called Nertz.  I don't remember when I learned to play.  I've just always played.  I do remember my little sister learning to play.  She was 3.  She played a watered down version of the game, but she played.  As she's gotten older, she has gotten a lot better at the game and a lot less competitive.  Or at least she handles losing better.

My grandma loved to play Gin.  She was good at it too.  No matter how old we were she wouldn't let us win.  It was a great feat to be able to beat her.  I remember sitting at her dining room table playing Gin with her.  I don't think I ever won.  After she moved to Idaho, we would play when I would visit.  I would win occasionally.  But I don't think it was that I was getting better; I think it was that she was loosing her sight.  Even after she could hardly see, we would play.  We used the cards that had the numbers really big. Occasionally she would ask what a card was.


While I lived in Texas, I spent time with a family who also liked to play games.  We didn't play often, but we sure had fun when we did.  I got a lot of recipes from them also.  One of those recipes was Chicken Spaghetti.  I had forgotten about it until the other day when someone asked me if I had it.  I did a little digging and found it.  It is oh so good!


Chicken Spaghetti
4 c. cooked chicken, shredded
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 tbsp. dried parsley
2 cans mushroom soup
2 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 (12 oz.) pkg. spaghetti, cooked
3/4 tbsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. pepper
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
1 sleeve saltine crackers

Preheat oven to 325.  Add all ingredients to medium pan, except chicken and cheese. Simmer about 15 to 20 minutes. Add cheese and simmer until it melts. Add chicken.  Put spaghetti noodles to a 9x13 baking dish. Pour cheese mixture over noodles.  Smash sleeve of saltines before opening.  Spread over the spaghetti.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Freezes great. Makes a large quantity.

I Love My Soldiers

Yesterday there was a horrific tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas.  13 people killed and 30 injured.  Because I lived 30 miles from Fort Hood for 7 years, I have many friends stationed there.  When you live that close to the largest military base in the world, you become very aware of what the soldiers sacrifice for us.  I am very thankful for those brave men and women.  Most don't like to be called heroes, but they are.  They do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Protect our freedom.

When you get to know me, you will find that I love my soldiers.  I use the word "my" meaning my friends.  And my soldiers include airmen as well.  Unless we have gone to Iraq or Afghanistan, we will never understand what they go through.  But the basic things of food, shower and sleep, what they experience in those things I would not like to put up with, especially the sleep part.  They deal with so much more beyond those basics.  I know I couldn't do it.  To get a small glimpse of what they do for us gives me great appreciation for them.

I strongly encourage you to find a way to show your appreciation to our troops.  There are many organizations that can help you with that.  You can adopt a soldier for his or her deployment.  You can just send a thank you card.  And there are many organizations you can donate to to help wounded soldiers.
Here are a few that are helping us to show our appreciation: Any Soldier  Wounded Warrior Project Tell Them Thanks Hero Box Yellow Ribbon Fund  There are so many more.  Just google "support our troops" and lots and lots pop up.

This summer, I had an unexpected trip to back to Texas.  While I was there I got to spend a day with 2 of "my" soldiers.  That day is one of my favorite recent memories.  Both guys are officers.  One is currently stationed at Ft. Hood and the other at Ft. Campbell.  The one at Ft. Hood is an excellent cook. He introduced me to crock pot cookies.  Just about anything he makes is excellent.  While I was there he made a sweet bread.  It was some of the best bread I've ever had.  I was able to get that recipe from him.  So I will share it with you.  It is a more difficult recipe.  But well worth it.

Portuguese Sweet Bread with Honey
Makes 2 Round Loaves

Sponge:
1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 packages) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115oF)
1 cup warm milk (105 to 115oF)
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour

Dough:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature cut into small pieces
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3 1/2 to 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour

1. To make the sponge: In a large bowl using a whisk or in the work bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast, water, milk, sugar, and flour and beat until smooth. Scrape down the sides and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature until bubbly, about 1 hour.

2. To make the dough: Stir down the sponge and add the butter, honey, salt, eggs and 1 cup of the flour. Beat hard until creamy about 1 minute. Continue to add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. Switch to a wooden spoon when necessary if making by hand.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until a soft, smooth, and springy dough is formed, dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to prevent sticking.
a. If kneading by machine, switch from the paddle to the dough hook and knead for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the dough is soft, smooth, and springy, and springs back when pressed. If desired, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead briefly by hand.

4. Place the dough in a greased deep container. Turn once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

5. Gently deflate the dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Grease or parchment0line a baking sheet. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Form each portion into a tight, round loaf and place on the baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise at room temperature until puffy, but not quite doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.

6. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375oF. Brush the loaves with the egg glaze. Place the baking sheet ona rack in the center of the oven and bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and the loaves sound hollow when tapped with your finger. Transfer the loaves to a cooling rack. Cool before slicing.

Thank you to all "my soldiers"  Kyle G, Mike, Adam, Nick, Vill, Chad, Jason K, Jason B,  Kyle J, Caleb, Brandon, Brad, Dax, Jon R, James R, Chris and anyone else I can't think of at this moment.  And also to my soldier's wives.

I Learned Quickly Not To Pick Dare

I do not like to exercise.  I am willing to admit that I avoid exercising at all cost.  I have a few friends that encourage me regularly to exercise, but despite their best efforts I don't.  I don't mind the kind of exercise that disguises itself as fun.  Like hiking, biking, swimming, and I recently discovered how much fun the Wii Fit is.

As a kid exercise wasn't really apart of our lives.  At one point one of my dad's doctors told him to walk to improve something.  But that's really the only time exercise was discussed.  Us kids played enough that we didn't need to actually exercise.  I played a lot of sports when I got older so still no extra exercise was needed.  In high school, we were taught the importance of exercise in P.E.  Now as I get older, I see I need some exercise, but just do not like it.

One of the ways I got exercise in high school was snow skiing.  The local ski resort allowed us to come each Friday of January, rent skis and get lessons for a nominal fee.  After a couple years I decided I didn't really like skiing, but I did enjoy the time we spent together on the trip up there and back.  I don't know  about any of my friends, but I liked getting to know them better.  We shared stories and played truth or dare, which really became a game of truth or truth.  We rarely picked dare.  I think I ended up kissing a boy when he picked dare.  I learned quickly not to pick dare.  Not only did we have those times on our way to skiing to get to know each other.  We had sleep overs and other trips.   I miss the times that we spent together.  Although recently, I've been able to spend some quality time with my friends.  I am very thankful for my friends in Idaho and in Texas.

One of my friends has asked for more soup recipes.  I was afraid that I was giving you too many, but the cold weather has made up want soup.  This recipe I got while I was in Colorado.  It has a few steps to it, but it is well worth it.  It is SO good.

Roasted Red Pepper Bisque

6 Roasted Red Peppers

To roast peppers – wash, rub with oil, salt & pepper. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 500º till skins are roasted. Place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam skin – this makes peeling them easier. Peel after 15 minutes.

1 onion (small dice)
3 stalks celery (thinly sliced)
2 carrots (thinly sliced)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup white wine
4 cups heavy cream
4 cups chicken stock
Salt & Pepper to taste

Sauté onion, celery, and carrots in oil for about 5 minutes or until soft and onions are translucent. Add wine and reduce liquid by half. Add chopped roasted red peppers, chicken stock and cream. Slow boil soup for at least ½ hour, longer is better. Put soup in a blender and puree, put it through a fine sieve. Adjust your seasonings. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

He Loved His Grandchildren

Today is the second day of Day of the Dead.  Another day of remembering loved ones gone on before us. It is good for us to remember people we love.  Especially, to remember the good things about the person.

My grandfather passed away when I was 5 or 6.  So I don't remember a whole lot about him.  I know what I've been told about him and have seen pictures of him.  My memories of him are very vague.  What I do remember is that he used to sing 2 songs to us.  Well maybe only part of those songs, or at least I only remember part of them.  The first was I Like Bananas.  The only lyrics I know are "I like bananas because they have no bones."  I googled the song and apparently it is a very long song.  One verse is

I don’t like your peaches
They are full of stones
But I like bananas
Because they have no bones

The other song he sang to us was Lazy Bones. The part that I know is "Lazy bones sleepin in the sun, how do you ever spect to get a day work done, sleepin in the noon day's sun."  Apparently Harry Connick Jr has redone the song. There's a lot more to that song also.

What I also know about my grandfather is that he loved to watch baseball. He would have 2 games on 2 different tv's and one on the radio. He would turn up the volume on the game that had something exciting happening. And he never turned the volume back down. So by the end of the games, it was pretty loud in the house. I also know he had an array of delivery jobs. Newspapers, milk and dry ice (for ice boxes). He loved his grand children.  I remember my grandpa being a good grandpa.

In thinking through writing this blog, I figured a banana recipe would be appropriate.  Except I don't really like bananas so much.  However, this summer I found a way to eat them that I like.  I call them Banana Pops.  I know it's a little on the cold side for frozen bananas, but they are still good.

Banana Pops
4 medium bananas
8 wooden popsicle sticks
16 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Candy sprinkles or nuts

With the peel still on, cut the bananas in half.  On the cut end, stick the popsicle stick in.  Peel the bananas place on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  Place in the freezer for an hour.  In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and vegetable oil together.  Once bananas are frozen, dip in chocolate until coated and sprinkle with candy sprinkles or nuts.  Place back on baking sheet  and put back into the freezer to harden the chocolate.  Once hardened serve.  Best served on the day made.

He Knew How To Flush Your Radiator

Going to a Christian school, we didn't celebrate Halloween, but we did celebrate All Saints Day.  Or at least we did one year.  It must have been 5th grade.  The building we had school in had an unfinished part of the basement.  Our teacher took us down there to teach us about All Saints Day.  I don't remember the significance of being in the dirt and dark, but we sat down there for her to tell us about the holiday.

I don't recall what she told us about the holiday.  What I do know is that I've learned a few things over the years about Day of the Dead.  Day of the Dead is actually 2 or 3 days depending on who you ask.  I'm gonna stick with 2 days for now.  November 1 & 2.  November 1st being All Saints Day and November 2nd All Souls Day.  Both days are meant to remember people we loved and have passed on.  Memorials are set up to remember those people and food is offered.  Some of the things they do seems a bit creepy, but I think the idea of the holiday is a good one.  To remember and honor people we love who have passed away.

Today I spent the day with friends I've had for a long long time.  And while my mind was not on All Saints Day all, I was brought back to remembering my dad.  And what an honor it was to him for a friend to say that she and her husband respected my dad and always appreciated his wisdom.  My dad was a quiet man, but he was wise.  My dad was the person I called when I had a question.  He knew where to find just about anything in the Bible.  He knew how to flush your radiator.  It was rare for him to not know the answer to one of my questions.

He was also a man with great faith.  We moved to Idaho to start a church.  That is not a high paying job.  Well monetarily speaking.  My dad always believe that God would provide for us.  And He always did.  We didn't live a life of luxury, but we had what we needed.  My dad also always trusted that God would guide him in leading a church.  Even though that's not something that's as easily measured, I think He did.

Not only was my dad wise, he was also funny and loved sports.  He was a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  I once made dinner that had no meat.  He acted like I was crazy.  I always made sure to serve some kind of meat after that.  Since the days of making dinner for my family, I have gone through phases of what I like to eat.  Actually, I have gone through phases my whole life.  I didn't eat much meat for a while.  Now I eat some but not a ton.  And because of that, I don't have a lot of recipes with meat in it.  I can cook a mean ribeye or burger.  But those don't really call for recipes.  So I had to dig deep for this recipe.

Easy Oven Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
2 - 15oz cans marinara sauce
1 - 10oz pkg lasagna noodles
1 cup ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
12 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced or grated
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup water
1 tsp salt

Brown ground beef, drain.  Add water, marinara sauce and salt, bring to a boil.  In 2 t. baking dish, layer hot cause, uncooked lasagna, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.  Repeat layers, ending with sauce.  5 layers with 6 noodles each later.  Garnish with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 375 for 1 hour.  Let stand 5 -10 minutes before cutting into squares.  Serves 8.  Decrease temperature 25 degrees last 1/2 hour in black pan.

I'm Sure They Have Fun Doing It Though

It's Halloween.  A holiday that has become a day for kids to dress up and get candy.  Whether they are trick or treating, going to a harvest party, or have a party of their own, it's all about the candy.  It is fun to get dressed up too.  You can dress as something you could become or something that you will never be except for this night.  The big thing lately to dress up as celebrities.  Yesterday I saw lots of people dressed as celebrities.  Miley Cyrus, Rachel Zoe, Bobby Bones, and so many others.

Here in American Falls, there aren't a lot of things for the teenagers to do on Halloween.  We have a spook alley, but once you've been through that what are you going to do?  Over the years, they have taken a liking to smashing pumpkins.  We've had display our pumpkins through the window, or we would find them in the street the next morning.  I'm sure they have fun doing it, though.

I did not do any pumpkin smashing.  For a couple reasons, one, if I was caught I would have been in so much trouble and secondly, I was volunteered to help at the nursing home.  Even though I was volunteered to help and didn't actually volunteer myself, I enjoyed helping out at the nursing home.  A friend of ours was the activities director at the nursing home.  She did a great job getting the residents involved and helped make you comfortable around them.

Volunteering at the nursing home and other places has helped me to see holidays aren't all about what we get, but also what we can give.  And Halloween isn't all about candy, it's about candy and desserts.  A great dessert and a better way to use pumpkin than smashing it in the street is Pumpkin Slices.  Enjoy!


Pumpkin Slices
1 yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 - 30 oz can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients and pour into a jelly roll pan,  Bake for 30 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Frosting
1 cup butter
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp milk
4 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients.  Spread on Pumpkin Slices when cool.  Cut into squares and serve.

I Think Back and Wonder Were They Crazy?

This morning I went upstairs to get coffee and it was 56 degrees! in the house!  Well, it might be a little warmer than that because the thermometer is on an exterior wall.  So my mom says it's a few degrees warmer than what it says.  Still that's cold for inside.  I like to keep my house between 70 and 72.  I've already told you how I loved to hang out in front of the space heater.

Yesterday, my mom and I ran to town.  As we walked out of Walmart, I was struck by the cold air.  I really should start wearing a coat.  The cold air reminded me of being a kid and walking to the bus stop in the cold.  It was uncool to wear a scarf back then, but I really should have.  Too many mornings, the inside of my nose would freeze.  When I was in elementary school, there wasn't a temperature too cold to go to school.  Now I believe the rule is -25 degrees and school is canceled.  Fortunately when I was a kid if it was below 0, we didn't go outside for recess.  We got to watch movies.  I remember watching Star Wars.  I think we had a week of below 0, so we would watch a part of it at each recess and at lunch.  I now wonder if Star Wars was appropriate for 1st - 4th graders.  What is that movie rated anyway?

In 5th grade, I started going to the Christian school in town.  Girls had to wear dresses every day. And we had to go outside for recess.  We would wear shorts under our dresses so we weren't so cold.  I think back and wonder were they crazy?  A few years later they started letting us wear slacks every day but Wednesday.  That helped a lot.

As I was preparing to write this blog, I googled "how cold is too cold to go to school."  One person said 7 degrees is too cold.  Other people responded to her saying 7 degrees is a walk in the park.  Some people were talking about school being let out at 30 below.  I would imagine kids in Alaska go to school with a temperature less than that.  Cold is relative to where you live.  After living in Texas for 7 years, it has taken me a little while to get used to the cold again.  I would much rather deal with cold than with heat.  You can always put on more clothes.

We tend to eat more when it's cold and we tend to eat soup.  Hot chocolate is a good warm up when you've been outside for a while.  I feel like I've given you enough soup recipes for now, and I don't have a good hot chocolate recipe.  So you are going to get my Apple Crisp recipe that I've had since I was in elementary school.  It is such a good comforting warm dessert.

Apple Crisp
4 cups apples* (any kind except red delicious)
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375.  In a mixing bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, oatmeal & nutmeg.  Cut in butter with a pasty blender.  Core and slice apples, and place in 8" x 8" pan.  Pour mixture over apples.  Bake for 30 minutes.

*I use fried apples so the apples are more tender.

Fried Apples
3 medium apples
1 Tbsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp sugar
water to cover

Core and slice apples.  Place all ingredients in a sauce pan or a deep skillet.  Cover and simmer until apples are transparent.