How does your garden grown?

I read where you could grow plants from the stalks of produce items we get at the grocery.  On March 21, 2012, I took the picture of a turnip green stalk that I stuck in a cup of water and placed it on our kitchen windowsill just for curiousity.  By the next day, it had started to grow!  It is now the *bigger* plant in the second photo.  Three days ago I stuck a celery stalk bulb in water and as you can see, (smaller plant in picture #2) it is growing already.  Amazing!



I will be experimenting with other plants.....



Our Dinky Sugar...what a curious little soul.

My Little Old House

I have a sweet little old house that Poppa built me several years ago from lumber that was salvaged from and old house and barn (circa 1900) that was on this property when we purchased it.  I love my little old house!  He used old windows, an old door and screen, a mantel and a couple of old cabinets and built me a sweet place to store my handmade dolls, fabric, supplies, stuff, junk and a few antiques.  It looks like a doll shop inside and is complete with an antique cash register from England.  I basically use this sweet building for storage but Pinterest has inspired me to reorganize, redo, and redecorate this space for my enjoyment as a more usable space for creating.

Mother's Tomato Soup...comfort food

This super simple Tomato Soup is great comfort food for those cold, rainy days!

Chop two celery sticks and a medium size onion into bite size pieces.  Sautee in a pan with a lid in a small amount of canola oil.  When veggies are almost tender, add 1 can of chicken stock and about the same amount of water.  Add egg noodles and a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic. You may need more water to cover noodles.  Cook until the noodles are tender and then add one can of diced tomatoes.  Season to taste and enjoy!  It helps if it is served in a homemade bowl, too.  :)

Microwave Those Cream Pies and Puddings

I have never really cared for cream pies and puddings that had to be cooked in a double boiler on top of the stove and stirred constantly.  Recently I tried a Chocolate Cream Pie filling in the microwave.  It turned out so good that I made a Pineapple Coconut Pudding with a Meringue topping.  Same as a pie, just no crust.  It's easy and yummy!

Seperate 3 eggs, yolks in one bowl, whites in another.  Room temperature eggs do better than directly from the fridge.

To a blender, add 3 cups of evaporated milk (2-12oz. cans), 1-1/4 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons flour, 3 egg yolks, 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Blend about 30 seconds until well blended.  Don't worry about the bubbles.

Pour mixture into a glass microwavable bowl.  I have a large 8 cup glass Pyrex measuring bowl that I love to use in the microwave.  Microwave the mixture for 9 minutes 30 seconds (microwaves vary) stirring the mixture with a whisk about half way through cooking and close to the end of cooking.  Mixture will be thick and hot!  Take mixture out of the microwave, add 4 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla along with 1 cup of shredded coconut and 1 cup of drained crushed pineapple.  Mix well.  Pour into dish.  Top with meringue. Cook under broiler until meringue begins to brown.  If you want chocolate filling, just add 6 tablespoons of cocoa and delete the coconut and pineapple.

Meringue:

Beat 3 egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla in a mixer until whites form stiff peaks.  Slowly add 6 Tablespoons of sugar.  Spread meringue on top of pie or pudding.

Bread Crumbs

I am forever needing bread crumbs for something; dressing, meatload just to name a few.

When we have the heels or a slice or two of bread left over, I pinch them into small pieces and store them in a plastic bag in the freezer.  Just reach in and get what I need while cooking. It saves time and money.

For those seasoned bread crumbs, toast the pieces in the oven for a few minutes, blend them in the blender until fine adding McCormick's Italian Seasonings to taste.

A new pan

I bought a new cast iron drop biscuit pan by Lodge.  It's preseasoned and is wonderful for my yeast rolls.  Now they look like biscuits!  This pan will be great for shortcakes for all of those wonderful fruits and berries and also I'm thinking double fudge chocolate brownies will be just the right size baked in this pan.  Yum!



Super Easy Yeast Rolls

2 cups warm water...add

1/4 cup sugar and
1 pkg. of yeast (or 2-1/4 teaspoons dry yeast in jar)
stir to dissolve yeast
add 1 egg and
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
mix to break up egg

Dry ingredients in a bowl:
4 cups self rising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add wet ingredients and mix well until all flour is wet. I use a whisk.

Store in air tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

You can use this dough right away after mixed. No waiting for it to rise. Spoon into a greased muffin pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown at preheated 350 degrees. Yummy!

It must be September - First Day of Autumn!

Thank you Lord!

September ushers in a wonderful supply of pears waiting to be made into delicious pear preserves. Making pear preserves is an annual event in our household. It is time consuming but worth the effort.  You can't buy pear preserves at the grocery in our part of the country.  Are they available in your area?

The supplies are gathered.  Wide mouth pint canning jars.

Aren't these just the cutest half pint squatty canning jars?  I can see them filled with all kinds of goodies other than food.  Beads and buttons come to mind.

To make the tedious job of peeling and slicing interesting, I always try to peel each pear in one big long peeling.  It's fun to see if I can do it!  Once peeled, the pears are sliced in thin slices.

Sugar is then added and mixed well.  I usually do 8 cups of sliced pears and 2 cups of sugar.

Start cooking, bring to a nice slow boil and cook for a couple of hours or until pears just begin to turn pink and translucent.  You have to stir frequently during the cooking process or these sweet morsels will burn.  This is not a time to multi-task!  They need a constant watchful eye. Ask me how I know...

Have your supplies on hand and ready for the canning process.  Steralize your jars BEFORE the pears are ready to can.  You will need a ladel, a funnel, a magnetic thingy to get the jar lids/rims out of the hot boiling water, your jars and lids/rings.  THIS STUFF IS HOT SO BE CAREFUL!  Ladel the pears and syrup into the jar, make sure the rim of the jar is clean.  Put on the hot jar lid and then the ring.  Just barely tighten the ring.

When you are finished with all of the pears, place a cover over the jars and let them cool naturally.  Such good eating with hot buttered biscuits and sausage on cool Autumn/Winter mornings.  They are also delicious in the Spring/Summer if you have any left by then.  Enjoy!

Did your jars seal after they cooled?
You can feel the top of the lid.  If it makes a noise when you gently press on the lid, it did not seal well.  If your jar did not seal, these preserves need to be refrigerated and eaten before opening the sealed jars.  I have heard they will last in the fridge for several weeks but ours don't last that long so I can't say for sure.

Bake that cake at 300 degrees...

For a moist cake, bake it at 300 degrees until it is set in the middle.  You can test by sticking a knife in the center.  If it comes out clean, it's done.  Also, oh so yummy if baked in a cast iron skillet.  This baked in one hour in my seasoned skillet that was sitting in an Air Bake jellyroll pan which keeps things from burning on the bottom.

Shown:  Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake with Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting.

A Work of Art...

Recent health issues made us rethink getting rid of our old fiberglas tub and installing an easy access custom made cultured marble shower. This cultured marble is made from Texas limestone and is a work of art from the hands of the folks at THE MARBLE SHOP in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Owner Larry Layton and his crew did a beautiful job and created a masterpiece of simplistic elegance.

Here are before and after pictures of the project.  Our new shower is much more spacious and we love it!

This is our old fiberglas one piece tub, circa 1980's

Removing the tub and leaving studs and plumbing exposed

All marked up and ready for the plumber to move the drain.

Inspection time by Sassy, who by the way kept picking up every thing that was not nailed down.  She is a good housekeeper!

 The drain was moved to the center of the shower and the new plumbing was installed.

 Next, the moisture barrier sheet rock went up along with some cultured marble backing around where the shower floor goes.  I love this non slip shower floor that's waiting for a drain cover

 And finally after much hand fitting, we have a beautiful shower masterpiece!

This show is so much bigger than our bathtub and it will be much easier to give the dogs a bath.  No more bending over a tub and having to pick up our thirty pound Toby to put him in the tub.  Sassy likes to swin in the pond but won't get in the shower for a bath...yet...but we see little dirty foot prints in there when we are finished so we know she is curious.  It's just a matter of time. A new diverter is coming for our new hand held shower that will finish this project.

Not your average Meat Loaf...

We love this easy cook on top of the stove one dish meal.  I don't measure but just add ingredients so I can't really tell you how much of each item.  Just add to your taste. 

Meat Loaf

About 1-1/2 pound ground beef
chopped onion

chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup oats

1 egg

ketchup (maybe 1/2 cup)

salt & pepper to taste
mix well and

form into about 3 large patties

brown on top of the stove on both sides
in a small amount of vegetable oil.

When brown on both sides, add
cut up bite size unpeeled red or yucon gold potatoes
onion slices
carrots
1 can tomato soup mixed with 1 can water
more salt and pepper

Put the lid on and cook on top of the stove
for about an hour and a half until meat
is well done and vegetables are tender.

Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

Good eating!

Steamed Sweet Potatoes and Cobbler

Sweet potatoes are really nutricious and we love them fixed in the steamer.  Just wash them and cut them in hunks, put in the steamer and cook for 30 minutes.  Yummy hot drizzled with honey!

At one time I had a neighbor that said her husband would kill for a sweet potato cobbler.  We had never eaten a sweet potato cobbler until today.  I needed to do something with our left over steamed sweet potatoes so I used my favorite easy Fruit Cobbler recipe and I'm hear to tell you that this cobbler is delicious and fit for company!!!

Sweet Potato Cobbler

Remove skin from cooked sweet potatoes and cut into bite size pieces.  Add just enough water to cover and sprinkle in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar.  Let sit while mixing other ingredients.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a dish with a lid.  I use Corelle 3 qt. casserole with lid.

In another bowl mix:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt
slight sprinkle of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk.....mix well 
Pour this batter into the dish with the melted butter.  DO NOT MIX; just pour in the batter.

Next, pour the sweet potato mixture in on top of the batter.  DO NOT MIX; just pour in the sweet potatoes.

Add the lid and bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour.  Enjoy!

Looks like a little mouse has already been into the cobbler!



You can substitute any kind of fruit for the sweet potatoes and depending on the fruit, you may want to leave out the cinnamon.  This is a delicious and easy cobbler.  It makes it's own topping! Prop your feet up and pretend you are company and enjoy!

Curtain Mode #2

I never have been much of a curtain person. Put'um up, leave them forever until they need to be cleaned, clean them and put'um back up. I never changed curtains with the seasons. Well now, I have decided I want spring/summer curtains and fall/winter curtains. I just put these sweet black and tan check tab curtains up last September when I redid our bedroom. Now I'm going up with solid white twill tab curtains for spring/summer. If I were a bling type of person, I would add some crystal pendants to the tabs. But, I love the simplicity of the solid white.

Before with black and tan:
After with the solid white:






I have the same white curtains to put up in the living room and the dining area so I will be in the curtain mode for a few more days.

What to do with all of that left over ham?...

We have a lot of ham left over from Easter. Here are just a few ideas.

Freeze it for later
Ham & Cabbage
Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
Ham & Eggs
Ham & Cheese Puff Pastry
Ham & Scallop Potatoes
Chef Salad with Ham
Ham & Large Butter Beans

How about a nice Ham Salad?


Chopped ham, chopped celery, chopped eggs, pimento, salad dressing or mayo and add any or all of the following; dill or sweet relish, dijon mustard, onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, shredded cheese. I had left over hot dog buns so they got used. Yum it was good for lunch!

Curtain Mode...

A couple of years ago, we put up 2" blinds. I loved my windows with no curtains so I stored the insulated curtains that had been over the windows. Last summer we had to have all of our wonderful pine trees cut down due to winter storm damage. We miss our shade and the temperatures have increased drastically on the front of our house. Now I'm putting the original insulated curtains back up from before, but with a new twist this time.

Several years ago Poppa put me up some very industrial looking (cheap) curtain rods in my little old house and also on our sunporch/my nest/my studio. I love these curtain rods made from 3/4" conduit pipe and L shaped brackets that Poppa bent to hold the rods in place. Now I am attaching 1" metal rings to the top of the curtains so they will slide much easier. The metal rings are ring binders from the office supply store, sewn in place with 6 ply shipping twine, the same twine that I use to attach arms and legs to my dolls. All 70 rings have been attached on 7 pair of curtains and we are enjoying our insulated curtains once again. Cooler is better on us and our electric bill.