End of Blog

I am going to be getting rid of this blog. But as previously mentioned, I do have a private personal blog. If you need an invite, let me know!

Gardening Blues

I miss my garden.
A lot!
I'm reading for spring.
I think its a little early to be feeling that way.
My garden was the best part of 2011.
And I'm ready for Round 2.

Why I need lists...

Seriously people. One time I brave the grocery store without a list and I BOMB it.

I haven't meal planned in cough cough a while so today on the way home from Sky View, I decided I could throw together Taco Soup easy enough. The only thing I would need at the store was tortilla chips. Well, you guessed it. Instead of paying $1.88 at the Lee's checkout stand, I payed $22.38. Grrrr...

Check out the picture. Its a nice assortment of CRAP food. NOTHING (besides the chips) to help me with a meal.

Here's the break down:
4 Pillsbury cake mixes (on sale at least!)
3 12-packs of pop (also on sale!)
2 bags Santitas tortialla chips
1 gallon of milk
1 jar Chad's raspberry salsa
...and a partridge in a pear tree...

Wait a minute.. Raspberry salsa??? What the huh? Okay, but honestly, they had a sample of this stuff and it is seriously to die for. I lost all ability to reason and HAD to buy the salsa. I'm calling the purchase research for next canning season.

I was also able to justify the pop purchase - next week Flint has finals so I'm calling it a Finals Week Survival Gift. Cuz I'm so nice like that :)

Turkey Trivia Answers

Alright folks, here are the answers. Now go impress someone at your Thanksgiving feast with your amazing knowledge ;)

1. How fast can a wild turkey run?
25 miles per hour
2. A mature turkey has how many feathers?
3500 ...or so... :)
3. How many million pounds of turkey are consumed during Thanksgiving each year?
525 million pounds
4. What state produced the most turkey?
North Carolina
And last of all...
5. Can a turkey fly?
Wild turkeys CAN fly, but only short distances. Domestic turkeys canNOT fly. 

All information came from here:
http://www.baltimoremd.com/content/turkey1.html

Dinner Tonight: Spaghetti

Okay class, its time for the spelling bee.
Can anyone tell me what S-P-A-G-H-E-T-T-I spells?
Spaghetti? Um, nooo. Any other guesses?
Yes, that's right S-P-A-G-H-E-T-T-I spells EASY!
Great job and thank you!

During September I bottled tomatoes one day. It made a huge mess, was exhausting, etc, etc, etc... And then my tomato plants had the nerve to produce MORE tomatoes! How rude of them! Okay, okay, I was actually ecstatic with the abundant production of my four plants. But after making a huge mess one day, I couldn't justify making the mess over and over and over for just a few tomatoes at a time. So.... I froze them! Yep, I froze tomatoes. Have any of you ever tried this? I got the idea from good old Martha but changed the baking temp and time a little. Basically, you halve the tomatoes, arrange them on a oven-safe cooling rack and bake them at a low temperature for a long time to dry them. I am sure you could also just use a food dehydrator. I did mine at 250 degrees for about 2 hours. I also sprinkled them with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning - ready for spaghetti sauce! Once they are dried out (they still remain fairly mushy), throw them in freezer zip-loc bags and into the freezer! It worked out perfect for preserving my small batches of late tomatoes.

I used some of my frozen goodies tonight for dinner. Check it out! (They will take a little longer to cook than regular bottled tomatoes - they are frozen, people!) Add tomato sauce and you have yourself a meal!!! Have I ever mentioned how MUCH I LOVE EASY???

(Here's my un-attended sauce 15 minutes later. Perfectly lovely and easy. All on its own!)

Turkey Trivia

The biggest FOOD holiday of the year is almost here! And to help us out with our Thanksgiving table conversation, here are a few fun facts about the big bird of the day! Actually, here are the questions. Any one know the answers??? Answers coming later this week!

Test your Turkey Knowledge!

1. How fast can a wild turkey run?
2. A mature turkey has how many feathers?
3. How many million pounds of turkey are consumed during Thanksgiving each year?
4. What state produced the most turkey?
And last of all...
5. Can a turkey fly?

Dinner Tonight: Stuffed Beef Round

Its 9:30 in the a.m. and my dinner for tonight is taken care of! Wo-hoo! Oh the wonders of a good crock pot!!!

This recipe is something that my mom makes every once in a while. And after this morning, I understand why. Its fairly labor intensive. So does it fall under the easy category? No. But its really fancy and (hopefully) will be delicious!


Stuffed Beef Round

2 large beef round steaks

Filling:
1 c cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 c chopped onion
3/4 c chopped celery

Back in the Saddle Again

I have been quite the slacker about meal planning over the past few weeks. Subsequently, dinner has not been much to write home about. However, today I rectified the situation and I am now back with the program - two full weeks of meals planned and shopped for! Yesterday I started filling out my 'meal marker board' but only got Monday and Wednesday filled in. Please refer to Exhibit 1.1 to see Flint's contributions to the cause.

Exhibit 1.1: As seen here, Husband would like (undefined) food on Tuesday, strictly dessert (pardon the spelling) on Thursday and tacos on Friday. Very helpful.

 

Oh grief... I love that kid. He is truly hilarious.

PS: No, I am not feeding my husband drugs on Wednesday. "Sweet Pot." would be short for Roasted Sweet Potatoes :)

November

Oh, November!
I love November!
Thanksgiving is everywhere and Christmas is waiting in the wings.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I mean, who could not love all that food??? :) My Thanksgiving favorites include mashed potatoes, coconut cream pie, green beans w/ bacon and french onions, and most of all, honey baked ham. Yum! My mouth is watering....

But more than the food, I love the emphasis on gratitude. I have memories of large family gatherings, where everyone present, even the small child, took a turn expressing what they were most grateful for.

Dinner ...This Week

Well, its been somewhat of a hit-and-miss game.

Monday night: 
Short Ribs with Sweet Tomato Sauce
Made in the crock pot. Took a Pioneer Woman recipe and made it about 10 times easier. Was it as delish as hers? Probably not. But it was still pretty good. And Mondays I am gone until 7:30 at night, so this was about as good as it was gonna get. 

Tuesday night:
Ate dinner at my sister-in-laws house. I brought a measly green salad. Ha! She served steaks, mashed potatoes, brown sugar carrots and chocolate pudding cake. Thanks Cami! 

Life on the Ranch

I have never blogged about our lifestyle. Our meaning Husband and I. We both grew up on ranches. Both in the same extra teeny tiny community. Ironic, I know. Our families both raise cattle. The husband's family also has some sheep.

Ranching cattle is in my blood. And it will definitely be in my children's blood. My dad's family has been ranching cattle in our extra teeny tiny community for over a hundred years. Pretty awesome, if you ask me! I love cows.

I love everything about cows. I love new baby calves in the spring. I love going riding during the summer to move the cows to new feed. I love gathering all the cows and calves up in the fall. And I even love eating beef :)

Dinner Tonight: Beef Enchiladas & Homemade Crustos

Yesterday my mother-in-law was telling me about a new recipe she's going to try: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. Mmm! Sounds enticing! So after hearing about her fun new recipe, the only thing I can think of all day is enchiladas, enchiladas, enchiladas... This is definitely not a go-to-meal in my kitchen, but something I love all the same. I'm out of chicken at the moment and I am a bigger fan of beef anyway, so beef is what's for dinner! Plus a fun, spur-of-the-moment Taco Time knock-off treat!

Easy Beef Enchiladas 

This recipe is a combination of my mom's version, a version from allrecipes.com, and my own adaptations. Its very very very basic. I am a little apprehensive about some enchiladas, so this one is completely tummy-safe!

1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
1 can (store bought) enchilada sauce, because its easier that way
1 can olives, sliced
~1 c shredded cheese
4 flour tortillas

Dinner Tonight: BLT

It has been a fairly busy day and tonight Husband and I are leaving for home. Thus, dinner is low on the priority list. I was busy making a salad for tomorrow (ever tried broccoli salad?) and was smart enough to cook a few extra slices of bacon.

Have I ever mentioned my undying love for bacon?? Oh how I love that greasy goodness...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Where was I? .... Oh! Dinner.... I am taking Easy Street and we are having BLTs. Mine will be in the form of a salad; Flint's will be a sandwich.

Side note: Have you ever considered what an oxymoron a BLT is? I have an idea! Lets take bacon, pretty much the worst food for our hearts, and eat it with tomatoes and lettuce, so that we don't have to feel so guilty about eating it :) But don't worry, I've never felt guilty about eating bacon, even without the LT added!

...I always love an excuse to take it easy - especially when it involves bacon :)

Garden Gone

Saturday we pulled the final tomato plants from the ground and officially called the garden 'quits' for the year. It was definitely a sad day. This garden has brought me so much joy. I don't exaggerate when I say that it was the best part of my summer.

My top five six favorite aspects of the garden (in no particular order) :
- The adorable chicken proof fence
- Deliciously sweet cobs of corn for dinner
- Digging potatoes - can you say treasure hunt?!
- Watering my little plants each day - aka personal mediation time
- Freakin' amazing tomato plants that out-produced my wildest dreams
- Turning a dirty, leave-collecting, abandoned plot into something green, productive and beautiful 

So long, dear garden, til next year!

Dinner Tonight: Stuffed Peppers

Weekends don't count, so technically I'm not behind yet.

Tonight is an oldie but a goody.

Stuffed Peppers

Yum. I'm hungry already!

What's For Dinner Tonight

Its Friday night.
Start of the weekend.
I didn't think about dinner until 6 p.m.

So what did I come up with?
The easiest dinner know to man:
spaghetti

Shantel's Suggestions

One of my college friends, Shantel, gave me some great suggestions to help with the question of "What's for dinner?". She gave me these ideas several months ago and I never shared...

Let me preface by saying that Shantel is pretty much amazing at everything she does. Really! She is a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, owns her own wedding invitation business and still makes her husband dinner at night! Way to go Shantel!!!

Suggestion #1: Make a ten day meal plan. She does this on Saturdays and it is supposed to last from Monday through the next Wednesday. (Then she has a head start in case she doesn't get her next plan done in time!)

What's For Dinner Tonight

I love today.

Why?

I got a phone call from my dad. He's in town. And taking me us to dinner!

Celebrate Good Times! Come On!

:)

What's for Dinner Tonight

A new daily segment. Let's see how long I keep up for - ha!

Baked Sweet Potatoes
Have I ever mentioned how much I love sweet potatoes? Yum Yum Yum! So moist, sweet and delicious. If you are not a fan yet, give these wonderful tubers another try!

• Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Serve with butter, salt and pepper. Truly delish!

BBQ Stew Meat
Another Mom favorite. Stew meat must be boiled in order to get tender. But once boiled... Oh baby oh. I'm talking fork tender and mouth watering.

Corn, Tomatoes, and Furniture?

A few things that never got blogged about (in no particular order...)

I've taken up re-finishing furniture. Does this have anything to do with gardening? Nope. Cooking? Nope. But its fun! (PS: I'm thinking of selling some of the stuff I've been working on and doing commission. But this isn't an advertisement or anything. Cough Cough Cough.)