Show and Tell

Remember these?

I had several people tell me that they were going to make them.

If you were one of those people, and you actually did make them,

 please let me know if they are any good.

No one in my family will try them.

They're are kind of freaked out by them.

Katie looked at them and said,

"You know you can buy pickles already made in the store, right?"

Brian refuses to look at them at all.

I'm not a huge pickle fan so I wouldn't know if they were any good.

It's like they think I'm trying to poison them.

I keep telling my family that if I decide to kill them I will do it with my own two hands.

What's up with that?

Earlier this week I shared pics of my sister's vacation home in New Mexico.

She also has a vacation home in the Florida Keys.

I thought I would share some of those pics too.

It's unbelievably gorgeous and I was lucky to spend some time with them at the beach house a few years back.

This is my Happy Place.

No, I was not mad. 

I had just finished drinking a large drink made from several different kinds of alcohol that was poured into a coconut carved to look like a monkey's head.

Kelly, what was the name of that drink?

Hot Monkey Love?

Crazy Monkey Love Sex?

Whatever, it was really good.

My sister is a bad influence.

And she holds her liquor much better than I do.

Holly

xxx-ooo

Pickles and Weird Emails

While in New Mexico, my sister and I were discussing recipes. 

I told her I wanted to make pickles and she said she makes quick pickles. 

I forgot to get her recipe so I Googled it. 

 I had acquired some small cucumbers a while back from someone who had an abundance of them and knew I wanted to try this.

We like pickles in these here parts.

Quick Pickles

• 1 cup of distilled white vinegar
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp water
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp dry dill weed
• 2 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cucumbers, cut into thick slices

I doubled this recipe and used 6 small cucumbers.

Begin by adding the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, garlic, and peppers to a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring well to mix in the sugar.  Once boiling, remove from the heat, and add the dill weed. Let the pickling mixture completely cool. Add in the bay leaves.

To a clean mason jar, add the cut cucumbers, arranging them the best you can. Pour in the cooled mixture, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, however overnight is probably best. When you are ready, open and serve. Now you have pickles any day of the week, and is probably much more affordable than getting them at your local market.

These are good in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, then they get pretty soft. They typically do not last that long in the refrigerator though.

I wish I could give credit to the blogger who posted this recipe but I don't remember who it was. 

(Bad Blogger Etiquette)

On a side note, my husband calls cucumbers "Home Wreckers". 

That's funny, unless my father is reading this.

Then, I have no idea what he is referring to.

Here's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.

Remember Mondays with Max?

Well, Dad sent me this email today after reading that post.

Hi Kid: 

"Mondays with Max" reminds me of "Tuesdays with Morrie".  Remember that? 

Morrie was this old guy that was dieing & every Tuesday a young friend visited and wrote down his words of wisdom which turned into a book and made the young man rich. 

This made me wonder if asked, could I come up with any words of wisdom? 

The only thing that comes to mind is "use your turn signals"....Good luck on getting rich.

Love Ya...dad

And my sister always said I was adopted.

If that ain't proof, nothing is.

Holly

xx-oo

Cookbook Sunday with Melynda

Today I am linking up with Melynda at Mom's Sunday Cafe for Cookbook Sunday.

here

The idea is to share your best recipes from your favorite cookbooks.

I feel I'm cheating a little bit because my favorite cookbook happens to be a conglomeration of several cookbooks.

I ordered a Tastebook online.

It's a cookbook that you customize. I sent them my favorite recipes online and they made the cookbook for me.  It's so much nicer than a recipe box and the prices are great.  I love mine.  Check them out if you get a chance.

I'm not sure where the original recipe for this came from but it's in my Tastebook and one of our favorites.

Yes, I took the cookbook outside to get better light,  What, you don't do that?

Blueberry Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel

Makes 10 muffins

Muffin batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 small lemon
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
In a separate bowl mix vegetable oil, the egg and milk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Combine well. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not over mix, the batter will be thick and heavy, almost like cookie dough. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups to the top.
To make the crumb topping by mixing the sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 minutes or until done.

Holly

xxx-ooo

My BFF Paula

You know I love me some Paula.

We're like this.

Only she doesn't know it.  But it's still true.

Oh Come on Paula, show us those beautiful eyes.  She's shy, just like me!

I 've been buying her "Best Dishes Special Collector's Issues" for the past year.  Many times I find recipes in these that you can't find on her website or in any of her cookbooks.  I found this one yesterday.

I was looking through it in the check out lane at the grocery store and saw something I wanted to make right away so I left the check out and picked up a few more things.

Today I started the grill and got these babies going.

My husband loves wings. 

Apparently, they are a fun snack to eat

while watching the Speed Channel.

Or HGTV, in my case.

Fruity Chicken Wings

1/2 cup apricot-pineapple preserves

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 garlic cloves

2 lbs chicken drummettes and wings

I blended the sauce in my bullet.  Love the bullet.  Then I coated the chicken and put them on the grill.  Turn them over frequently so they don't burn.   Baste frequently with the preserves mixture.

Oh, and I did add about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes to give them a little heat.

Very sticky and delicious!

You may possibly use an entire roll of paper towels when eating these.

I'm joining up at Melynda's Cookbook Sundays!

This is a new, fun way to share recipes and Melynda is lovely, although, she does leave comments on my blog that may, or may not, be true.  Only I know for sure.

Check it out here.

Click on the "here", not on the picture because I have no idea what I'm doing.

On another note, we spent the morning on bee patrol.  You may remember from a previous post that we have had a real problem with bees.  They have been making hives under my husband's workshop.  Back in February, we ended up jacking up the shed and digging the hives out.  Well, some of the pesky critters have been trying to get back under there so this morning, we pulled all the rock from around the shed and filled everything with sand.

Do bees dig?  Can they get through sand?  If so, I give up and I'm moving.

Yes, that is my vacuum out there.  While Brian was using his air compressor to get the rest of the sand out of the back of his truck, I let him blow out my vacuum. I allow him to do this once a month.  Who wants to clean with a dirty vacuum?

One more thing.

Do you see anything growing in here?

Look very closely.

No, you don't see anything?

Neither do I.

How long does it take zinnias to start growing from seeds?

And marigolds?

I'm not so patient.

 Holly

xxx-ooo

My Latest Obsession

Trying to eat healthy has taken it's toll on me.

Oh, how I miss those days of snacking on potato chips and Skittles.

I have found something, however, that I wanted to share with you.

It's been a lifesaver at 10:00 am, when I'm hungry and it's too early for lunch.

Roasted Garlic Melba Snacks

4 pieces =

1.5 g fat

10 g carbs

60 Calories

and

Trader Joes Fresh Bruschetta Sauce

2 TBSP =

2 g fat

1 g carbs

20 Calories

Total-

3.5 g fat

11 carbs

80 Calories

Worth every bite!

Sidenote:  I ate 4 Starbursts yesterday and they were worth it too.

Pasta Craving

I'm linking up with Melynda over at Mom's Sunday Cafe
to join in the Hearth & Soul Blog Hop.

I've been craving pasta lately but thinking that if ignored it, it would go away.

Nope.

I washed some grape tomatoes and Cremini mushrooms (yes, I wash my mushrooms, don't tell Rachel Ray).

I threw them in a bowl with some sliced red onion grated garlic, basil, pepper and the drizzled on the olive oil.  Mixed it up a bit with my hands and put it in a baking dish. 

Roasted everything on 425 degrees for about 9 minutes or until the tomatoes were soft.  Then I crushed them slightly with a fork.

Tossed them with some bow tie pasta and topped with a bit of fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

And the world is a better place because of it.

Holly

xxx-ooo

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today is my husband's birthday.

Yesterday I made a birthday card and took it in to his office for everyone to sign.

That thing at the bottom is a fishing sinker tied with netting.

I also made some Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes for everyone at his office.

These are super easy to make and were a big hit.

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix
ingredients on the boxed mix
1 can (20 oz) pineapple rings or chunks
Juice from canned pineapple
brown sugar
butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray your muffin pan with non stick spray.  Into each cup of a 12-cup muffin pan, add 1/2 tablespoon of unmelted butter, then evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoon of brown sugar over the butter. Place the pan in the oven until the butter melts, about 3 minutes.

Halve each maraschino cherry, then cut the pineapple rings into small pieces. Place a cherry half in the center of each cup and lay pineapple pieces around the cherry. Press the fruit gently down into the butter-sugar mixture, then set the prepared pan aside.


Mix yellow cake according to directions on box with one exception.  Instead of using the full amount of water called for, use 3/4 cup of the pineapple juice from the can and then add enough water for the desired amount.


Pour the batter into the muffin pan and bake the cupcakes until they're lightly browned, dry around the edges, and pulling away from the pan a little, about 22-25 minutes.


Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Use a butter knife to carefully loosen each cupcake from the edges and bottom of the pan, then place a cookie sheet over the top. Invert the pan, turning the cupcakes out onto the cookie sheet, then transfer them back to the rack to cool completely. Serve the cupcakes at room temperature. Makes 18-24 cupcakes.

Today the two of us are going on a picnic to the lake.  Just a nice quiet day.  The temp is supposed to be close to 80 degrees so it should be a nice day.

Happy Birthday Honey.  I love you!

Holly

xxx-ooo

The Incredible Shrinking Pants

We have a problem around here.
Our pants are shrinking.
All of them.
Anyone have a tutorial on how to let out jeans?  No?
Ok then.
This calls for drastic measures.
I found a wonderful new diet that is supposed to really work.  I'm going to tell you about it.  Everyone that has ever tried it, I mean, every single person who has ever done this crazy new diet has lost weight and has become more healthy.  Because I love you, I will share it with you.
Ready?
Stop eating crap and increase your activity!
Crazy, right?  But it's supposed to work.
Let's just see about that.
Here's where we start:

Yes, that says 168!
It's okay, gotta start somewhere right?
(My father is totally freaking out right now because first of all, I weigh 168 and second, I'm posting this for everyone to see.  Breathe Daddy, it's okay.)
Eating healthy takes a lot of preparation.  I don't like preparation. 

I cut up the following vegetables:
Red, green, yellow bell peppers
mushrooms
red onion
zucchini
yellow squash
garlic

Threw them in a bowl, added a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread them out on a cookie sheet covered with nonstick foil.  (It would please me if you would use a really old blackened cookie sheet like the one I have.) 

Cook at 450 degrees from about 30 - 40 minutes depending on how well done you like your veggies. 

I also grilled some boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Throw some veggies, the chicken and some salsa in a whole grain tortilla.

It's not Burger King but it will do until my pants stop being so stupid.

I'm also doing this:

Which is equally stupid.

I have no coordination.  I'm going to break a hip.

I have a headache.  From the lack of eating crap, I'm sure.

My husband was being totally supportive while eating his bacon and eggs this morning.

Let's revisit that scale next Monday and see how things are going, shall we?

Holly

xxx-ooo

Eat, Pray, Love...then Eat again.

Yesterday was nice.  I had the house to myself and spent the day cleaning, organizing and baking bread....again.  I've been wanting to try this English Muffin Bread that my friend Kris at Simplify has been talking about.  It was really easy.  You can find the recipe here.  For my machine I set it at 1 1/2 lb loaf and the white bread setting.  When toasted, it's crunchy and chewy just like an English muffin.  A little raspberry jam and I was a happy girl.

Just look at those nooks and crannies!

I really enjoy all of her recipes but this is one of my favorites.

I'd like to ask for prayers for my Daddy.  He's going to be going in for some pretty extensive surgery next week.  If you have followed my blog you will remember my Dad from here and here.  Please remember him in your prayers for a uneventful, safe surgery and a quick recovery.  I just love this man more than you could ever imagine and I want God's mailbox full of prayers for him.  My Daddy loves the Lord and knows that He will be holding his hand on that day.

We are going to a BBQ this weekend and I will be making deviled eggs.  These are a big hit with my husband so I can't make them ahead of time or they tend to disappear. 

Have a Great Day!!

Holly

xxx-ooo

Rainy Days and Ranch Bread

The forecast calls for a rainy cold weekend so all my pretty flowers have been pulled in under cover so I can throw a sheet over them if it gets too cold.

It's been so nice the past week that I was hoping we were finished with the cold spell.  Not that I'm ready for 115 degree weather.

Inside we've been keeping nice and warm.  I used my bread machine to bake a white ranch loaf.  The house was filled with a wonderful aroma.

White Ranch Bread

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup Dry Milk

1 1/2 tsp Salt

1 TBSP powdered Ranch Dressing

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/8 cup water

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Place all ingredients into bread pan, in the order recommended by manufacturer of bread machine.  Insert the pan into bread maker and select "white", desired crust color, rapid or normal baking cycle and loaf size.  Press start.

I love this bread sliced and grilled with a little butter and garlic to go along with steak and potatoes. 
I think next time I'm going to let the bread machine do its thing until it's time to rise and then pull it out, let it rise on the counter and then bake it in the oven.  I don't like the shape or the hole in the bottom of the bread from the paddle.

Have a great weekend!

Holly

xxx-ooo

Show Some Love Casserole and My Favorite Character

This is my "Go-To" dish that I use when I need to take something to a family that needs some extra lovin' and comfort food.  It refrigerates really well and the leftovers are even better.

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients:
8 oz thin spaghetti
1/4 cup butter
1/2 large onion chopped
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups sliced cremini (baby bella) mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups sour cream
pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese + 1/2 cup
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup StoveTop stuffing (uncooked)
(looks like a lot but you probably have most of these things in your house already)

Directions:

Heat Oven to 350.  Grease a 9/13 baking dish.  Boil the spaghetti noodles 3 minutes less than instructed on the package.

Melt the butter in a large skillet.  Cut chicken into bite size pieces and saute just until the outside is done, don't worry about the inside, it will cook in the oven.  Add mushrooms, onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. 

Add broth, soups, sour cream, 1 cup of the cheddar, salt and pepper and mix well. 

Add the spaghetti and toss.

Spoon into the baking dish.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and the remaining cheddar.  Sprinkle the StoveTop over the top and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. 

(My husband loves stuffing and I don't so I make it as a side dish a couple times a month and I love that I can now buy it in a canister so I can just take out whatever I need.)

Makes enough for a family of six.  I halved the recipe above since this dish was just for my husband and myself.



What's your "Go To" recipe for showin' some love?

And now, I just have to show you a video of my favorite character, Dot.   Try to watch the whole thing, it's hilarious.

Holly

xxx-ooo