Handmade Happiness

I received this wonderful swap from Natalie aka Papermuse. Everything in the package was handmade. It is all so nice. My little one wants it so bad. Not this one, mommy is keeping it.

Thanks Natalie for a wonderful package. I love it!

Last day of the month

And it's a beautiful one. Even though I have a afternoon shift at work today. Still trying to plug in things here. Made some brownies and cookies to bring in with me today. Also going to put in some time on my Halloween swap. If not this morning, tonight will have to do. Have a couple of swaps to get in the mail this week. Going to be a busy week ahead.

White Bean, Ham and Tomato Soup

2 cups chopped onion

2 Tbl olive oil

1 - (48 oz) can chicken broth

1 can (28oz) plum tomatoes, drained and sliced

2 (16oz) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup baked ham, diced

1.2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In large pot over medium-high heat, cook onions in oil for approx 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes and ham, heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add beans and cook another 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese when serving.

Sweet N Sour Ribs

3 - 3.5 lbs boneless country style ribs
1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits, undrained
2 cans (8oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1/2 cup green pepper, sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 TBL Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt/pepper to taste

Place ribs in an ungreased slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, pour over the ribs. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until meat is tender. Serve with rice or noodles.

Where is the rain?

Was suppose to have some storms yesterday and last night. Was suppose to be raining this morning. Well, guess what? It's not raining at all. I sure hope we get some. Sure do need it.

The leaves are starting to change color. I noticed on one of the trees out front today. The colors are just going to be popping soon. Cant wait! I'm one for just getting in the car and driving when it does.

Where's Fall?

They say it's going up into the 80's today and 90's tomorrow. I guess summer isn't ready to go yet. It usually stays like this until the middle of October. I remember on Halloween one year, it was in the 80's. We seem to be jumping over Fall and right into winter. Which I'm not ready for.

Tomorrow I go for my postal exam in the morning. Wish me luck. It's time to get back out into the work field. I didn't want to go back behind a desk, in a office. So thought this would be different. I've been out of the work field for over 14 years. Sure, I do have a part time job being a server, but dh doesn't call it a real job. I guess, once I get benefits and paid holidays, then maybe that'll be real to him. I'm kind of looking forward to it. To get a paycheck, that'll be something different!

Happy Fall!

What a beautiful day it is for the first day. Chloe is doing much better. She is moving along fine. Very happy about that. Today I worked on some unfinished projects. Started in the kitchen with some Zucchini Bread. Also baked a chocolate cake. But no icing. So need to make some from scratch. Would love to get a good icing recipe. Havent come across one yet.

Then I pulled out the sewing machine and set up my work area. Pulled out my Halloween stuff and meet Harry. Need to add something, dont know what it is, but will find it. I think I'm going to hang him on a door. I have so much odds and ends with material. I love not having to pay for something.

Then I started pulling out some wood items I had just laying around. Made sure I hade sponge brushes and off I went. Lots of pumpkins, one ghost. I'm going to dot them around the yard. Havent decided weather to just paint some leaves at the stem and shade them. Or put some faces on them. We'll see.

My baby, Chloe

She is 8 mos old. We adopted her from an animal organization. They said they found her in a box, with her siblings. How could we not? She keeps us on our toes. Always into something. And something she got into. She went out this morning. Then came in, got sick. Lots of grass. Then she threw up food. Started crying while laying down, just wasnt herself. Took her to the vet. They took an xray. Said she must have an obstruction. So they pumped her up with fluids and gave her a pain shot. They said watch her for a day or two. We came home and she went to the bathroom, which they said was a good sign. I hope she's well soon. I miss my Chloe.

Friday

Something different to everyone. End of a work week, beginning of a great weekend. Me? Just another day.

Pulled Pork - Slow cooker

1 (3.5lb) boneless pork roast
1 cup water
1 (18oz) bottle barbecue sauce
1.5 tbl brown sugar
1.5 tbl hot sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Trim the fat from around the roast. Place the roast and a cup of water in the crock pot. Cover and cook on high approx 5-6 hours or until tender. Drain pork, discard all liquid. Return pork to cooker and shred. Add bbq sauce, brown sugar, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Reduce temperature to low heat. Cook approx 1 hour.

My little corner...

I finally finished. Had this spot in the corner of the patio. Could never keep grass there, just that one bush. So figured, mulch it all and put some odds and ends in there. We like to sit outside. Every time I would look that way, it was just asking for something. My husband made the walkway out of planking. I did have a vine going up the pole. That was before Chloe decided she would like to chew on it.

Tortellini Soup

3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbl butter
480z. chicken broth
19oz package of frozen cheese tortellini
1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach
2 cans (14.5oz) stewed tomatoes undrained, cut into pieces
grated parmesan cheese

In large saucepan over medium high heat, cook garlic in butter. 1-2 minutes. Add broth and tortellini. Heat to a boil, reduce heat and simmer approx 5 minutes. Add spinach and tomatoes, simmer 5 minutes longer. Sprinkle with cheese when serving.

Inspiration........

The sun coming up in the morning. Reading a magazine. The kids running around playing. A trip to the craft store. Colors of the rainbow. Taking a ride through the country.

Where does it come from?

Sunday Morning

What a beautiful morning it is! This is the first morning I had to put on a jacket to go hang up some laundry. The crisp smell of Fall is in the air. Not suppose to get out of the 70's today. Good baking weather! I started this morning with some oatmeal raisin, my favorite. Then I'll go on to some sugar and regular chocolate chip. Also have some pumpkin pies in mind. The kids have been asking for them. MMMM! The kitchen is going to smell wonderful today.

Friday already?

Where do the days go? Sometimes, I feel that they just slip on by. Try to get things done, but seems to never be enough time in the day to do them. Someday, I will catch up. Until then, my "to do list", will keep running over into the next day. Have a long one today, better get to it.

Happy Friday!

Rainy Day

All day, off and on. Coming down in buckets at times. My dad loved rainy days. He would just sit on the porch with his cigar, coffee and newspaper. You would always know where he was. Just follow that cigar smell. He would just sit and tell stories of his family and friends. We would all just sit and listen. Laughing most of the time. I loved rainy days. I still do. I just wish he was sitting on that porch.




*******
(9/11 ~ I will never forget)

Spinach Ricotta Pie

1 frozen deep dish pie crust
15oz container of ricotta cheese
1 pkg fresh spinach (10-15 oz)
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 large eggs, beaten
2 Tbl crushed garlic
1-2 Tbl parsley
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
handful of parmesan cheese
bread crumbs, optional

Prebake pie crust, 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Set aside. Steam spinach and crushed garlic about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. In large bowl mix ricotta, egges, mozzarella, parsley, salt, pepper,garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Add spinach and mix well. Pour into pie shell and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown.

Zucchini Pie

3 c. shredded zucchini
2 tsp dried onions or chopped fresh onion
1 c bisquick baking mix
4 lg eggs
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 c shredded white cheddar
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together and blend with a spoon. Put in lightly greased non-stick dish. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 30 mins. Or until lightly brown.

To My Dad In Heaven

Happy Birthday Dad! I miss you, I love you. I wish you were here!

XXOO

Sweet Dreams

Can you hear it? How quiet it is. The first time the kids have been in bed before 10:00 pm all summer. How I missed this time. This is the time I usually have for myself to do things. Weather it was to scrapbook, crochet, watch my favorite tv program or even read a book. Anything I wanted to do, I could do. In peace and quiet.

Gosh, I really love school!

Just another day.

Got up early this morning. Wanted to get to the market early. Early bird catches the worm. Well, not today. Got some tennis balls for the dogs and a lighted pumpkin for me. That was it. Saw a couple of nice bottles, but thought he wanted to much for them. Would'nt go down in price. So I walked. Funny how some sellers will go down in price. While, some wont budge a dime. I love to always try and chew them down a couple of bucks. Makes me happy.

Then for the rest of the day. Cleaned the garage. I have a flea market myself next weekend. Going to try and sell some of my wares. My little one will go and sell some of his toys. He will be content to sit all day and wait for a sale. My mom comes and sits with us and my brother also will be next to us with his kids. I guess its one of our ways of getting together.

Oh, by the way, I turned 43 today. No party, no decorations, no gifts. Just wishes from friends and family. Which is okay with me. I had a beautiful day today.

Saturday comes and goes

Was up around 5:30, was out the door by 6:00. Had to tend to the ducks and pool. Figured those would take me the most time to do. Was all done with everything by 11:00. Still doing the laundry. Have tons of blankets that I started pulling out. Wanted to get them done before the cool weather sets in. Trying to stay on top of things.

Now its time to start dinner. Have my meat already on sticks. My foil potatoes are all wrapped up. We'll have a late dinner due to hubby working today. Dont mind. Usually have everything done by the time he gets in. Then serve it buffet style, paper plates and all. When its that late at night, who wants to do dishes??

Took a couple of pictures to post, but something is wrong with the computer. Says I need some pc card. Dont know where this came from, been downloading for awhile with no problems. Always something. When I asked the kids. You know what there answer was....wasnt me! How did I know that? Now just something else to add to my to do list.

Apple Crisp

6 cups apples, peeled and sliced
1tsp cinnamon
1 TBL water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup oats
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened

Place apples in ungreased 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon, water and lemon juice. For crumb topping mix flour, butter, oats and sugar. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Also good with peaches and nectarines.