Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!! I absolutely have to go to the market today!! I was not able to go yesterday because my daughter was not feeling well. It started Monday with a sore throat and then Tuesday it was a cold, and now today she has a cough. I have a feeling she will be a lot better tomorrow. My neighbor has a little girl too, that I pick up after school everyday because my neighbor works until 4:00. Well she called me this morning and asked if here daughter can lay on my couch because she was sick too. I told her of course, but I told her I really needed to go to the grocery store for a few things. I really have to go, I am out of so many things now.

I will use that big cart thingy that looks like a car so all the kids can sit down in it while I shop. I am so hoping Little Kevin does not get it. It isn't a bad cold, but I am sure the runny nose and cough are annoying.


Also, if either Alexis or Kevin are sick tomorrow, I will have to cancel taking my Grandmother shopping. She is 90 years old, and can't get sick, it takes her a long time to get well. So we shall see how that works out tomorrow .

I made bread on Monday, with the last of my yeast, so I really need some yeast, because all the bread I made went fast, I have neighbors that I bake bread for too, and I really enjoy it too. We had a lot of chicken this week, so I am hoping the market has a better variety of sales on there meet this week.
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OHHHHH, and one last thing. Someone left a crayon in there pocket, ( I won't name names...LOL)and I didn't catch it, so now my dryer and a load of clothes are all a nice shade of purple. At first I wanted to scream, and then I calmed down and thought to myself, if this is the worst that happens, I am going to be okay:) Have any of you ever washed and dried a crayon?

~~~~~~~

Classic Baked Acorn Squash (Picture courtesy of Google)
Ingredients
1 Acorn squash
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
Dash of Salt
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Using a strong chef's knife, and perhaps a rubber mallet to help, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.

3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.

4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not under cook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.


Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Tuesday's Chit Chat!



A new scent for the home--Autumn Scented , pumpkin spice. I also have an apple and cinnamon spray, and a warm apple pie candle!



Fall leaves trim my home.




Where do I find a GREEN pumpkin??? I want one:) I just think this is the cutest pumpkin.


My fall Taste of Home magazines and Better Homes and Garden. I can't stop reading those, they just put you in the decorating and cooking mood!



My Fallish kitchen towel



I have two of these little fall wreaths on either side of the stairs

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!
(I made these last fall, and they were sooooo yummy. I am going to be making these again in the days to come. I just wanted to re-share the recipe! )
(Picture courtesy of AllRecipes)
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips


DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

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Today is the first day it is supposed to cool off, it is supposed to be in the low 70's. My poor girl is home with a cold and cough. She is laying on the couch right now.

I worked really hard on the laundry yesterday, and must continue today. Tuesday is usually my shopping day, but with my daughter sick, I will have to postpone it. Not sure what dinner will be. I ran out of yeast yesterday, so I won't be baking any bread until tomorrow. There is plenty to do today though:)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Pumpkin Tureen



1 Short, wide pumpkin (about 10 pounds)
Vegetable oil

Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 375'. Trim stem, if necessary, so pumpkin will fit in the oven on bottom rack. Cut a lid from top of pumpkin, slanting blade of knife slightly towards center when cutting the so lid will not slip into shell. remove seeds and fibers. Replace lid. rub exterior of pumpkin with oil. Place pumpkin on jelly roll pan. Bake about 1 14 hours of until flesh is tender but exterior skin is still firm. remove any liquid from inside pumpkin, using a baster. Carefully scrape some pieces of cooked pumpkin loose from shell, leaving in bottom of shell to be spooned up with soup.
(This is not my pumpkin, but this is the only Pumpkin Tureen picture I could find when I googled.)

I usually make Parmesan Pumpkin soup--You can google that, there are tons of awesome soups for the pumpkin tureen. The recipe I use consists of chicken broth, cream, Parm cheese, onions, garlic, pumpkin. Here is a recipe I found close to what I do, except I use more cheese in the recipe and I add cream:)

Friday, September 25, 2009

Thank you!

Thank you all so much for all the fantastic fall menus:) I loved all of them. I am making my lists, and when I make something Fallish, I will post it:)

It has been about 90 to 100 degrees all week, not very fallish...LOL. My A/C is still on. I can't do anything when it is so sweltering hot. I can't remember it being so hot for soooooo long.

Things have been going well here. I took my Grandmother marketing yesterday, I just love the Farmer's Market near her.

I am on laundry duty today. Why oh why do I let it pile up???
On the menu for tonight will be some kind of Chicken dish, not quite sure what yet.

Happy, Happy Friday!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Saturday!


Fall is almost here---YaY!!

What is one of your favorite fall or comfort food recipes?? Share with me, so I can start my fall menu:) You don't have to type out the whole recipe, just the name would be fine, I can google the recipe--HELP!!

I need some new ideas, Thank you.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

My first little pumpkins of the season:)

Okay, last night I tried a new recipe. Here is the recipe card. Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge the recipe and directions


I wanted to make something different, and boy was it different. No one liked it---EXCEPT me, I loved it...LOL. I thought it tasted wonderful. So needless to say I won't be making this again, because I would be the only one eating it. The sauce tasted like Thousand island dressing, and with all that cheese on it, how could it not be good. I really enjoyed it, and my best friend is going to take some home today, because I can not eat it all myself. Well sometimes I make a hit and sometimes I make a miss. I am posting the recipe, because I liked it, and maybe some of you will like it too.




I know I must sound repetitive, but I so enjoy being a wife and mother. I love to stay home, and keep house and take care of my family. I love being a girl and everything that it entails. I have laundry to do, toilets to clean, food to prep, floors to mop, rugs to be vacuumed, and especially spending time with my husband and children and so on, and I would not have it any other way:)

Happy Friday!





Thursday, September 17, 2009

Thursday!

Hi!!! More intriguing posts coming, just been a bit busy~~~~Happy Busy!!!

XO



Lot's to talk about!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Cucumber Salad

Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers
1 large onion
1 green pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 cup vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Slice two cucumbers thinly. Do not peel. (I peeled...LOL) Let this stand in salted water for 1/2 hour. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Dice onion, green pepper and tomatoes. Add one cup vinegar and 1/3 cup olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Before serving, let stand for 15-30 minutes so that vinegar and cooking oil can settle in ingredients.

(I got this recipe from Cooks.Com)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Happy Saturday Chit Chat!


Happy Saturday:)
I am going to light my candle and get to work. I try and do things every day around the house to keep up, but I also like to stop and enjoy my family and play with them. So today while my husband is at work I will do some work too.



Things that went on this week--I scrubbed and shined my stove top and microwave. That sure was a job. It was well worth it though, it looks great. You can see the temperature on the stove, it says 375~~~bread is baking away in there as I took this picture.



I played with my children. Tony wrote three new songs on his guitar, and I was very proud to listen to them. I also babysat the little twins that live on our block one afternoon, little Kevin just loves them. <~~~That was a busy day!



My husband usually washes my car and his truck once a week, but he has been so very busy that he only had enough energy to wash his, he had to wash his because he was having very important people coming to his office and he wanted to drive them in a clean car. So I got out there and washed my own, inside and out. Look how pretty.





Here are my dinner rolls baking away.


We took the two little ones to the dentist this week. This dentist is a pediatric dentist, so Tony being 17 will go to a regular dentist now to get his teeth cleaned. Little Kevin had NO CAVITIES--YAY!!!!! I was worried about that so much, I could not sleep the night before. Alexis did not get off so lucky she has a small cavity that we will get filled. My husband wants the clear filling, so we will get that done very soon.

School is going well. The weather lately has been very humid and sticky. I have been walking my mile everyday now. It was hard to do it during the summer, because Alexis didn't like walking that much, and I couldn't leave her home alone. Sometimes Kevin or Tony would be home and I could do it, but it was not consistent. Now it is.

As you all know, I put Fred out September 1st, now I think I am going to put a few more Fall decorations out so I can enjoy them as long as possible.

As for my Saturday plans, I have lots I want to do. Scrubbing, cleaning and laundry. I want to get a lot done so I can enjoy the week with my family. The more I get done today, the more I can play. I did do the bedding yesterday, so that is done. My kitchen floor is white, so it show every spot on it. I guess that is good, keeps my cleaning it...LOL. Sometimes though, I will mop it in the morning and by the evening it looks dirty again. I need to swish my toilets and such. I will update my Topsy Turvy tomorrow. If you all know about Tomato Hornworms, then you will know what I will be talking about, those worms are icky.


For my dinners so far, we had baked chicken, then with those leftovers we had chicken and gravy over rice. On labor day, Kevin made a Prime Rib Roast and then we had leftovers of that the next day with baked potatoes. We have had pasta too. Today we are going to have Casserole with ground beef and lots of cheese, and tomorrow we are going to have BBQ ribs.

For today's breakfast, it is Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon and fresh fruit.

I am on my second cup of Hazelnut coffee, and I can't wait until all the holiday creamers come out, yummy. I am going to hop off here put on my apron and get to work. I will have to take a picture of my new apron, it is just darling. Anyway, in between all my duties as a homemaker, I will pop on here and visit all of you. Have a great Saturday.


I posted this picture, just because I liked it...LOL.







Thursday, September 10, 2009

First Day of School

Tuesday was the first day of school for Alexis. I forgot to take a picture in the morning, so I took one when we got home. She was stylin....LOL. She loved that shirt because it came with that little scarf to go around her neck:)















Monday, September 07, 2009

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Saturday!


Happy Saturday!!!

Busy day today.

Have any of you delt with the Tomato Hornworm (((Shudders))))

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Happy Thursday!

HI!!I just finished cleaning the kitchen, and now I have the dishwasher running. My girlfriend is coming over to do something on the computer because her Internet is down at the moment. So that will be nice to visit with her. Actually her and her boyfriend came over last night for dinner, it was nice to have company because my husband was not home, so it was nice to have some adult conversation with lots of giggles.

I took out a few fall decorations, not too much. Just a few touches. I am so excited for this time of year, especially since our consolidated debt is nearing its very end. It was supposed to be over last month, but with the interest it keeps dragging. Happy Thursday you all <3

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Todays Dinner!

There is a change in a dinner on my menu. Last week I had made a big pot of white beans and Little Kevin LOVED them!! My whole family loves them, but little Kevin really loves them. I can't make enough of them, they go fast.

I soaked my beans all night, and then I boiled them.

They will go in my crockpot and slow cook all day



I will add bacon this time. This is what I have on hand. Sometimes it is ham or ham hocks, but today it is bacon




Onions will be added

garlic




And some other flavors. I add salt after the beans get soft, because sometimes adding salt too soon, keeps the beans hard.



Happy Wenesday!


Happy September!

Yay!! Look who came out to play:) For those of you who don't know our fall friend, please say *Hello* to FRED:)

Breakfast Today!







We had cheesy grits, assorted fruits and Juicy juice:) What did you have for breakfast?



This is when he really needs to sit in the highchair. Grits are quite messy with him. Popsicles also get him in the highchair:)

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

The Duggars!

I just read on my news screen they are expecting baby number 19~~~~Yay!!! Here is the article I read and it has a video of them talking about it too!

Click Me!