Food From Thanksgiving:)

I have some pictures of the food from Thanksgiving. We fried our turkey. This is the White meat.

Dark Meat:)

Potatoes boiling away.....

Green Bean Casserole
(My Favorite!! :o)

Macaroni and Cheese

Burnt Brussel Spouts
This is them midway, I get them a lot crispier

My Dinner Rolls...are you tired of seeing my rolls...LOL

Deviled Eggs

I have some pictures of my kitchen after Thanksgiving dinner...oh, what a happy mess...LOL..then I have an after I cleaned it picture:) I will post those too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight's Dinner:
We had Blackened Tilapia
Baked Potatoes
Roasted Asparagus
Salad
Dinner Rolls

Christmas Tree!

December!

Welcome December!
Are you getting ready for Jesus's Birthday?

Turkey Frier

This is what our turkey frier looks like. It has a metal basket that you put the turkey in and lower it into the grease. Then you put the lid on it and away it fries. 5 minutes per pound:)
Always do it outside!!

*Fred*

Fred says, "I'll see you all next year!"

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Menu:

Fried Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Burnt Brussel Sprouts
Stuffing
Macaroni and Cheese
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Salad
Cranberries
Stuffed Mushrooms
Deviled Eggs
I think that is all...LOL.
Have a wonderful and Blessed Thanksgiving:)

Green Bean Casserole:)

Green Bean Casserole Recipe

One of my favorite side dishes on Thanksgiving is the green bean casserole. You all have probably made it or ate it at one time or another. I can make it homemade with fresh mushrooms, fresh green beans, cream sauce..etc..BUT, I like it the way my grandmother makes it....the Campbell's soup version...LOL:)...YUM!!! :)

Will you be making the Green Bean Casserole this Thanksgiving?

:::Giggles:::

The Holidays don't start until Peter comes home :)

Baked Cinnamon Roll Pancakes!

You have to check this recipe out for BAKED CINNAMON PANCAKES at The Big Red Kitchen's Blog! An absolute perfect Christmas Morning dish:)


The Big Red Kitchen is also such a wonderful blog to visit too:)
I first came across Robin Sue's blog, when I saw her in a commercial promoting a dishwasher soap, and she mentioned her blog on the commercial, so of course I had to look...LOL. She has a really fun blog:)

Happy Friday!

Blogs:)

Hello!

I thought I would post some blogs I adore:) There are sooooooooo many wonderful blogs out there. Here are a few of the ones I enjoy.

Organized Homemaking for Christ

Making A House A Home

Mari's Little Corner of the World

The Pioneer Woman

Wednesday!

My alarm went off this morning and I hit the snooze. I must have been tired because I am usually up before my alarm:)

I got up, made breakfast, fed Tiki, fed the Guineas, pottied the dog...I had some coffee in between there:)

I got Alexis and Taylor(Alexis's best friend) off to school, then I headed to the grocery store. I got my turkeys too, YaY! Albertson's was having a buy one get one free, so I got two. After the store, I went to the bank. Came home, unloaded the groceries and put them away. Sooner did I do all that and then some, it was time to go back to Alexis's school and pick her up. It was parent/teacher conferences this week, and my appointment was at 12:30. School is half days this week and no school on Friday:) The conference went wonderful. Alexis got a glowing report and I am very, very proud of her.

Came home from that, prepped for dinner. We had Tacos. Little Kevin must have really been tired because he asked to go to bed at 6:30. The kitchen is clean, the animals are fed and I cleaned the guineas cage, the bottom of Tiki's perch, made sure my parakeets little feeders were filled and I also gave them a spray millet, which they love...whew:) Axel has his dogfood, but I think he would much rather have had a taco...LOL. Oh, I also cleaned the fish tank...whew again...this has been a wonderfully busy and productive day.



I will be so happy to stay home tomorrow though! I have lots of things I want to get done before Thanksgiving. I want to clean my Living room carpet again, I just need to figure out when I can do it..besides the kitchen it is the most used room in the house:)





I picked this picture out, because it made me giggle...LOL.

Happy Wednesday evening!!
Stay warm tonight!

Tuesday!

Butternut Squash!

I asked my family to taste them, Kevin thought they were sweet potatoes and Alexis thought they tasted like carrots. Little Kevin just ate them...LOL.

They are quite good, and the stores seem to have a bunch of different kinds of squash these days.
I kept it simple, just butter and salt and pepper. You could add some brown sugar, but my husband does not like sweet at dinner time.

~~~~~~

On Tuesday, I am the librarian for my daughter's library class. Well, I get there, turn on the computer, enter the passcode and it locks on me....Oh boy!! No one, and I mean no one knew what to do. So today the children checked out their books the old fashioned way, I used a pen and paper:)

~~~~~~~

How are your plans coming along for Thanksgiving? Have you got your Turkey yet? Menu planned. Are you making the green bean casserole? That is one of my favorites:) Are you cleaning and getting the house ready?

Menu Plans:)

Thanksgiving is almost here. Are you ready? Are you cooking? Turkey?


I thought I would blog a little bit about my menu this week. Over the weekend, I made a pork roast, and I still have a considerable amount left. I planned it that way. I bought the roast knowing It would make two dinners.

I also roasted a bunch of chicken, one for dinner that way and another in a more creative fashion:)



Mondays Dinner:

Pulled Pork with BBQ sauce
Fresh bread to go with the pork
Steamed Broccoli
Mashed Potatoes
Salad

Tuesday's Dinner:

Chicken Bwak Bwak
(Leftover chicken cut up in bite size pieces or pulled apart, whatever works for you, then added to egg noodles with butter:)
Salad
and a steamed veggie


So, those are my first two nights of dinner. Using two leftover dishes, to make two completely different dishes.

The spice/herb rub I put on my chicken was a combination of:

Paprika
Garlic powder
Onion Powder
Poultry seasoning
Thyme
Chili Powder
Cayenne powder
Salt and pepper

I eyeball the mixture, using lots of paprika to a smidge of the cayenne pepper
I mix it all together and rub it all over the chicken with a little bit of veggie oil I get under the skin too. I also learned a new tip, I prick the chicken with a fork to let the flavors seep into the meat:)

I do a lot of experimenting, I have used all different kinds of oils, I have used butter...meat tenderizer. If I use something with a lot of salt, I omit regular salt. It is all what flavors you like.


.

Do you recognize this menu?

Do recognize this Menu...LOL?

Waffle House and Cracker Barrel, nothing says you are in the south then these two restaurants:) I remember the very first time Kevin took me to a Waffle House....and you are sitting in the booth looking out the window at another Waffle House Catty Corner to the one you are at, just as full with people!
It was quite an experience, and a very different experience for this California girl...BUT, I loved it!! I love the South and Kevin and I hope to one day make it our home again. We will be visiting Georgia again real soon:)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How is your cleaning going? Are you almost ready for Thanksgiving?
In my mind I am ready...but I still have a lot to do.
I have not gotten my Turkey yet. Have you? Are you going to make a turkey?

Time for a cup of coffee..I have Peppermint Mocha Creamer :)

Veteran's Day!

Skillet Cornbread:)

One of my favorite things in the kitchen is my cast iron skillet. So last night I made Skillet Cornbread. I got the package from the southern section of the grocery store! So I don't have a "recipe" I just used the directions on the package:) Isn't it cute!

Right now I have butter beans in the crockpot. I soaked them over night, so now they are cooking away in the crockpot, another one of my favorite things in the kitchen.

There is no school tomorrow, so we have a three day weekend.
Looking forward to that:)
I have laundry to do today too. It is supposed to be 75 degrees today and cooling off by tomorrow with rain on Saturday.

Time for another cup of coffee!

Wednesday!

This is one of my very favorite coffee creamers!!

Love, Love, Love it!!!

Hello, Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday!
When I was in Walmart a few weeks ago, they were putting out their Fall Decor. These cute little turkeys caught my eye. They are little salt and pepper shakers, aren't they cute? The price was even better, in fact it was so good, when I went back to get a couple more the shelf was cleared of them...they were only $2.47......I guess everyone thought they were a great price too:) Have you seen these at your Walmart?

Monday!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend We had a nice one. On Saturday I went to take a load out of the wash and noticed the water had not drained. I tried every cycle and nothing would happen with the water. My husband pulled the washer out and the tube was kinked. I was thinking that my washer was done, but thankfully it was just a kink. Has that ever happened to you?

Here are a few things I have hanging in my kitchen

I just love things that are country-ish..I would love my kitchen to be like Cracker Barrel with all those fun things hanging everywhere:)

My daughter was giving here speech today at school for school president, I snuck in and watched her. She did really well. if she was nervous, I could not tell. Very clear speech:) After the speech, she found me...LOL. I gave her a hug and told her I was very proud of her!

Saturday:)

I can't remember if I shared these before. Aren't they cute. I used to make these when I was a little girl. Now my daughter has made some too. They are cute little pot holders. I hang them in my kitchen.

Outside!

This is what it looks like, looking out Little Kevin's bedroom window:)

Love rainy days!

Happy Friday, 59 degrees~~~BRRRRR

Today
Showers. Thunder possible. High 15C. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Thunder possible. High 59F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%


(that is a picture of the San Clemente Pier when it rains, pretty neat, huh?)
Picture courtesy of Google

How to Clean a toilet:)

Yes, there is even a Video for this:)

Good Morning!

Today, I am staying put...LOL:)
There is no place like home!

I am going to be doing housework today..I am going to start a load of laundry, and then I am going to scrub some toilets.

Let's see what all I can accomplish....especially if the phone doesn't ring...LOL

Busy Last Couple of Days:)

Whew!
These last three days were not the normal days I am used too. Monday was Halloween, Busy day:) Tuesday was ballet after school, and then today was Alexis's dentist appointment. Kevin and Alexis's next dental visit is together on the same day, so I can take them both together all at once. I took Kevin last week and Alexis this week, so in 6 months, I will take them all together :) I don't know how I got them off that, but I did. The good news is, Kevin and Alexis both had NO CAVITIES!! I am super thrilled. I also made many Walmart trips. Alexis is running for student council, so I went and picked up poster board. It was the wrong poster board...LOL. How can poster board be wrong? Anyway, I went back and got the right poster board. Then we worked on the posters and the speech.

Oh, on Friday Alexis's school had a Fall Festival. We all went, and when Little Kevin did the Pumpkin Walk (Cake walk) He landed on number 30, and when the lady picked the number 30.....the look on Little Kevin's face was priceless when he realized he won a big pumpkin, and then when he ran up to get the big pumpkin, it was endearing watching him trying to lift his prize:)

It has been a great and busy week, but I am soooooooooooooooooooo looking forward to tomorrow, being able to stay home and do what I love to do most, keeping my home. I have laundry and toilets and sweeping and scrubbing and cooking and baking....and so many other wonderful things to do. Taking care of my family is the thing I love most:)

I got home about 5 o'clock this evening from the Dentist and then quickly emptied the dish washer and made dinner. We had Blackened Tilapia, steamed rice, lima beans and Cucumbers in vinegar, it was a quick and easy dinner to feed my hungry family. While I was making dinner I made a cup of coffee with peppermint mocha creamer.

Have a wonderful evening and I will see you in the morning:)

Happy November!!!

Happy November!!!
Fall Cleaning for the Holidays:)

Friday!

Thursday!

Good Morning!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. It is quite chilly this morning. Yesterday was
one of those days, where you wake up happy and then things start to go in a different way then what you had planned. I have a problem sometimes with assuming things. I just automatically think that certain people are on the same train of thought I am. Well, I have to learn to stop assuming and be better at communicating. Things turned out for the better yesterday when I cleared up some miscommunications.......The big picture, it doesn't seem that big anymore, but at the time, you sometimes let things get the best of you, and then when you wake up the next morning you wonder why it had you so worried. It was a few things, a combination of things. It had nothing to with my immediate family. I like honesty, and when I am lied too it really hurts, you know what I mean? I talked to my husband about it and he really is a voice of reason, he can really make you see the other side clearly. He always helps me see the other side and gives me advice on what he would do in certain situations...and it does help. I love him and he is not only my husband but my best friend too:) I had Little House on last night and it was the first episode, where Laura says, "Home is the nicest word there is" That always makes me smile. I was thinking, Yes, Home is a pretty nice word.

So, today, I am going to do the things I had planned on doing yesterday. I took out chicken for dinner, but I am not sure how I am going to cook it yet. It will come to me. I know when I work under pressure, I come up with some very creative ideas. When I come home later on Tuesdays from taking Alexis to ballet, I have to cook quick, because everyone is hungry and ready for dinner.

For those of you that have been reading my blog for awhile, you all know we live in Southern California, San Clemente to be exact. My husband is from Georgia and we have moved there twice. My daughter was actually born there, so she considers herself a true southern gal....we miss Georgia a lot. Holidays were always the best there because we have a lot of family there, so parties were always so wonderful. Here in Cali, I have my sister and her family, but she can't always come over for the Holidays, because they have to share there time with her inlaws. My father lives about an hour away and he is now taking care of my grandmother, so it is not easy for him to come and visit, or have get togethers in his home. Hopefully this Thanksgiving works out that my sister can come for Thanksgiving, and my husband is going to try and talk his Mom into coming here for Christmas. I have the best MIL in the world, she really is a neat lady:)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday
Time for some more coffee!
:)

Wednesday!

Today was one of those days, that when it all comes together at the end, you wonder why you were worrying so much in the first place......

Ever have one of "those" days?

Footprints!

I have always Loved, Loved Loved Footprints!!! It gets me every time.

Today was a wonderfully busy day!
Hope you all enjoyed your Tuesday!
I was library Mom for my daughter's class today:)
Ballet this afternoon.
Dinner was Pork chops, Buttered Noodles, Roasted Asparagus and a salad.

I don't have any errands or appointments or anything like that tomorrow, so I am home bound. Catch up on my favorite things, keeping my home.
:)

Monday!

Kevin had his 6 month checkup at the Dentist this morning~~No Cavities, YaY!!! Alexis is next Wednesday. This was early, up at 6, every one fed, washed, brushed and dressed, out the door at 7:30, drop Alexis off, then on the freeway to the dentist, by 8:30.


After the Dentist we went to the Farmers Market, it used to be called Henry's, now they call it Sprouts:) It is right across the street from the dentist, NICE...LOL. They have bins and bins of all kinds of foods; grains, flours, sugars, rice..etc..I found a bin with Roasted Edamame...Ohhh, it is so good. We love Edamame, and this roasted Edamame taste so good.

Dinner will be quite creative tonight, since I have so many veggies to play with:) Have a glorious Monday and always remember: Let Go, Let God!!

Happy Thursday!

This Happens Every October Here!

San Onofre to test sirens alert system today

Up to three-minute-long sirens will sound on Wednesday and are expected to be heard in areas of south Orange County within at least a 10-mile radius of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station as part of a federally-mandated annual drill.

"The sounding of the alarm is meant to alert residents to turn on radio or television for emergency information that their community wants to offer," said Gil Alexander, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, the majority owner and operator of the nuclear plant.

Officials urge people not to call 911 when they hear the sirens between 10 a.m. and noon as part of the drill.

The Community Alert Siren System is a network of 50 sirens located within the plant's Emergency Planning Zone to notify people in the event of any emergency.

The zone is the area surrounding the plant and includes Dana Point, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, unincorporated parts of Orange County south of Ortega Highway, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California state parks, and parts of Northern San Diego County.




This article is from the Orange County register:)

I thought this might be interesting for those of you not familiar with this little tidbit that happens every year in October around San Clemente:)

Happy Tuesday!

Monday!

Monday is here:)

I love Mondays. In fact, I love all days. Each day is a special gift. What is that saying?....Yesterday is past, Tomorrow is yet to come, but today is a gift..that is why it is called a present...something like that:)

I am enjoying a cup of Peppermint Mocha coffee, and yes I conquered my laundry...

Over the weekend we got another Guinea Pig, Alexis was very adamant on her Guinea pig needing a friend. So we looked into it and decided a friend would be good. The new guinea is so cute, and so much smaller then Luna. Luna was so happy when she met her new friend, she Popcorned quite a bit. I think she may think it is her baby.

I was at Alexis's school this morning, she got an award for Responsibility. As soon as I get the pictures downloaded on the comp I will post one. I used Alexis's iPod touch to take pictures, because my camera takes them too dark. I am not familiar on how to download those to my computer, so Alexis will sow me how when she gets home.

I got a pumpkin at Walamart, this weekend, they are $3.88~~~~~> Great price!
It looks so nice sitting next to Fred outside my door.

Have a super Monday!

Friday!

Good Morning!
Yes, I did it....I let my laundry pile up this week.

I have lots of laundry to do.
I separate my laundry, into quite a few different piles.
Darks, Lights, Whites, Bath Towels, Kitchen towels, Bedding and Jeans. I always wash my kitchen towels separate because sometimes a towel will have that greasy smell and it is so hard to get out, and it then makes make the other clothes have that greasy smell, so those are always washed separate and soaked for awhile.

I am also having a cup of coffee with the Holiday Creamer, Pepperment Mocha:)

Happy Friday!

Thursday:)

Good Morning!
I am having a cup of coffee with pumpkin spice creamer!
I am going to make some Dinner Rolls right now:)
Have a wonderful fall day!

Guinea Pig!

This is our sweet little Guinea Pig:) Alexis named her Luna. She has grown so much in the time we have had her. Remember when I told you she had to go to the Vet's. She was so tiny back then. She is so sweet and cute. Her personality will make you giggle. She knows I am the one with the food....and she lets me know when she wants to eat...LOL.

Everybody Eats!

This is what goes on in my backyard...LOL. I have a humming bird feeder above them so the humming birds are there too...LOL.

Hi:)

(photo courtesy of Taste of Home)

Hello!
I can not believe my last post was October 1st. Are you ever doing something and think, this is something I want to blog about, but never get the chance to do it. I do this all the time..LOL. I really need to start jotting things down, so I can remember certain things I wanted to blog about at that moment.

It has been a super busy week. It has calmed down now, which I love. I don't mind running errands going to appointments etc..but nothing makes me happier then being able to just stay home and putter:)

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL day. It was rainy and cold and the perfect hot chocolate kind of day. I opened all the blinds downstairs so I could watch the rain come down as I was doing housework. I didn't want to miss it. It doesn't rain a whole lot here, so I try and enjoy it as much as possible. Today is another chilly day, no rain, just cold. I am wearing my Ugg boots today, BRRRRRRRRRRR...LOL.

Also, to go along with this chilly weather, I am making Chicken and Dumplings! I love, love, love Chicken and Dumplings. I use the recipe in my Betty Crocker Cookbook.

Have a beautiful fall day:)

Saturday!

Just got back home:)
We had a wonderful time celebrating my Dad's Birthday:)
This is the Turkey my sister made..Beautiful. She did a great job.

Do you see my rolls in the back...LOL.

My sister took a few pictures of all of us, so when she emails them to me, I will share them.