When the cat is away, the mouse will play!

Since Joel was in Dallas, and he hasn't had time to do what I needed/wanted to get done, I put on my big girl pants and did it!

 I have been wanting the outdoor furniture sanded and refinished for the whole summer! We have just been playing too much! I had one last blast of summertime weather here yesterday so… I got busy on that honey-do list!

I have been inspired by a couple of ladies lately.  Bridget, who is a blacksmith  (wow!) and Erika who tackles every job around the house and does it magnificently! So, why can't I attempt a few chores that don't require a vacuum or a mixer? 

I gathered the necessary equipment: a sander, (the. playful mouse)

sandpaper, the color–matches Olympic stain, (thank you Lowe's) the applicator, and yes rubber gloves.

So here is the before and after. What do you think? 

Would you like to come over and sit in the Adirondack chair to roast a marshmallow and have Smore's with me? Afterwords we could sit on the bench swing and watch the sunset!

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!

Delicious acorns as seen on the interwebs. I only made mine with chocolate kisses.

The calendar says it's autumn, but the days feel more like summer! Regardless of temperatures, the plants' photosynthesis is making things change around here. On our daily walks, Tara and I step over the smattering of acorns that litter the trail. She chases random acorns; I often kick them ahead or scrunch them under my feet. But, eat one of those? I don't think so! I don't feel that squirrely and Tara likes the crunch but not the taste! 

I stumbled across someone's Pinterest post about how to make edible acorns. So, being me, I follow the recipe EXACTLY - not!

Nestle peanut butter and milk chocolate morsels

To make my acorns, I used Nestle peanut butter  and milk chocolate morsels from which I had to pick out from this bag just the peanut butter ones because I couldn't find a bag of just peanut butter morsels.

 I used Hershey Kisses and...

An open bag soon becomes an empty bag!

...miniature Nabisco vanilla wafers. "Nobody can eat just one" little mini Nilla wafer; they are as addictive as Lay's potato chips! (No, don't use potato chips to make these acorns, I was just using Lay's catch phrase!) 

I need Tech Support to figure out how to make this photo sit up straight!
You'd think this was Tara not doing what I tell her to do!

I didn't use Royal Icing since I only wanted a smidge of icing not the large quantity the recipe would make! So I stirred up a little bit of powdered sugar and milk to act as the glue.

The rest was a matter of peeling Hershey's kisses without eating all of them, dipping said kisses in the bit of icing, attaching the two together and letting them dry. Then I picked out the peanut butter morsels, dipped them in icing and stuck them to the other side of the mini nilla wafer. Then voila - acorns! 

If you want some of these for your next fun treat, I would be happy to make some and send them to you. As usual, that would require a small fee to cover shipping and handling. Or, you can drop by and we can make some of these because I served the ones pictured here at the last P.E.O. meeting and they have been devoured!

(If you are still reading, please note that I didn't post the picture of just the mini wafer with a peanut butter morsel attached because that looked more like a snack to serve at a baby shower! You'll have to make some of these to see for yourself exactly what I mean!)

Happy fall, y'all!

HOT PEPPER RELISH

We have been so fortunate to have such a relatively cool several days in a row. So, I took advantage of the cool weather to make some hot pepper jam.

Does this photo make you want to taste some pepper jam too? All you need is a jar of my hot pepper jam, some crackers, and maybe cream cheese if you prefer. Maybe you should come visit me? I have all that here! Or, you can make some for yourself!

TASTING!

The peppers were purchased from The Farm Wife's Table; the conditions haven't been right for my garden to produce peppers.  But Angie has the best produce! 

Bells and jalapenos

After removing all the seeds, I used my food processor for the chopping. Of course, I carefully measured, mixed and followed the cooking directions on the insert in the Sure Jell box. The results were tasty! And of course, as always, I followed the recipe exactly...except I did add some green food coloring.

Chopping

I wore rubber gloves when handling the peppers and making this jam. I always wear rubber gloves when I am canning. It helps prevent burns. But I tossed those gloves in the trash when I was finished because I couldn't wash off the hot pepper!

S'MORES!

My favorite things include the people I love (especially my family members), popcorn, and s’mores - to name just a few things!  If I have an excuse to make something for friends and family, I am all over it! This time, my cousin Martin was coming through town and I got the privilege of bringing dessert (thank you Glenn and Estelle for hosting dinner)!  And, you KNOW how I always follow a recipe exactly – NOT! 

I found this recipe online and you can too!
http://cookiesandcups.com/smores-in-a-jar/
 I loved the photos posted there.

This is the recipe I followed - almost exactly.  I filled a dozen jars, used the large box of instant Jell-O pudding, two (2) 7-ounce containers of marshmallow fluff and I put a large marshmallow on top. Patty you were right, the mini marshmallows would have been better on top.  They would have melted thoroughly inside when toasted under the broiler. Joel thinks I should use CoolWhip instead of marshmallow fluff next time and there will be a next time! 

All the ingredients - before I asked Joel to bring home the second container of marshmallow fluff.

I placed all the filled jars in a 9x13 pan for easy transportation and so I could put them all under the broiler at one time. It only took a couple of minutes to toast the marshmallows and I watched them carefully. I have been known to burn things - like the cheese, right Dayna? When the marshmallows turned a lovely toasty color, I carefully removed them from the oven and then placed one square of a Hershey Chocolate Bar in each. (Since the jars were cold and I placed them under the broiler, I think it is important to point out that I used canning jars which are made to take the heat; not that anything but the marshmallows got warm.)

The marshmallow wasn't quite melted enough to insert the piece of Hershey Bar.
Mini marshmallows would have done the trick!

These are not made for shipping. Let me know when you are coming to visit and I’ll make some for you too! 

(If you are still reading at this point, and you are a member of the Grammar Police, please make any corrections and teach me the errors of my ways!)

Deviled Easter Eggs, an oxymoron?

Who decided to name these tempting treats "deviled" anyway? One of my favorite sayings is "God gave us food, the devil gave recipes!" Maybe they are deviled eggs because they are hard to resist?

At Easter, if you are like me, you will have lots of hard boiled eggs in your house...and I'm talking about the food not the relatives that may be there! 

An easy way to prepare the egg filling is to mix it all in a ziplock bag. Use your favorite recipe or do a search; there are so many variations to choose from on the web!

The amount of mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, pickle relish and other spices you use in your recipe of course depends on how many eggs you have boiled or that have survived the peeling and yolk-scooping process. It's always wise to taste your filling as you go. I can imagine Julia Childs "ohh, that's good" exclamation in this tasting part of the process.  Just keep squishing the bag to mix the ingredients.

When the flavor and consistancy is just right, snip off the corner of the bag and pipe the filling into the eggs. It is so easy to do and then clean up is a snap!

Enjoy!

STIR FRY SHRIMP

Spending time in the kitchen with people I love is one of my favorite things to do!  I am blessed that I often get to spend time with my Dayna Bug since she lives just 5 minutes from here. 

Ever since Magda posted her recipe for Stir Fried Rice I had been craving this meal! This was the first time I'd ever made fried rice, can you believe that? It is so easy and delicious. If you haven't attempted it, here is her recipe:

Thanks for sharing your recipe Magda!

Dayna was eager to help and this was such an easy recipe! Especially since all  I did was cook the rice and took pictures while she did the rest! Easy!

Stirring and frying the shrimp until is it just pink.

First she cleaned and shelled the shrimp. Then she fried and set them aside.

I had a bag of frozen veggies so there was not much prep time involve in chopping.

Notice my iPad propped up on my cookbook stand as she follows the step-by-step directions.

This was a delicious lunch and she is so talented, she even ate with chopsticks! When we are together, you know I'll be cooking this, sans meat, for my vegetarians Joel Jr. and Mary!

I'd love to hear if you try this recipe. Enjoy!

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Cheesy chicken enchiladas

Can you say “Yum!”? This is one of those recipes that I cut out of a magazine thinking, "I might be able to serve this someday". Chicken and Tex-Mex makes me happy!  I sometimes prepare chicken too often according to my sweet hubby, but even he never complains when I am ready to serve these for dinner.

  

The original copy

Velveeta used to be so much cheaper, but even at today’s prices, I always use Velveeta brand vs the store brand of cheese. The Philadelphia cream cheese makes these so creamy and delicious. You can use left-over chicken or you can cut some fresh chicken into cubes and have that cooked up PDQ!

Cooked chicken, spices, cream cheese

As you can see, I mix this up in a skillet on the stove instead of using the microwave. It works great in the microwave if you have left over chicken.

½ cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon oil

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

¼ cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 oz cream cheese, cubed

6 flour tortilla (6 or 8 inch)

¼ pound Velveeta, cubed

2 tablespoons milk

½ cup chopped tomato, divided (I use my salsa instead) 

Microwave onion, garlic and oil in 2-quart microwave-safe casserole on High 2 – 3 minutes or until tender, stirring after 2 minutes.  Stir in chicken, chilies, broth and seasonings.  Microwave on high 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Add cream cheese; stir until cream cheese is melted.  Spoon 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam side down, in 8-inch square microwave-safe baking dish.  Microwave Velveeta, and ¼ cup tomato in medium microwave –safe bowl on high 2 to 3 minutes or until Velveeta is melted, stirring after each minute.  Pour sauce over tortillas; top with remaining tomatoes.  Microwave on high 6 to 8 minutes or until thoroughly heated, turning dish after 3 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Stir until the cream cheese is melted. Then fill and roll the tortilla shells.

I usually double this recipe. I love to make this for family and friends! One other thing I have discovered, if you prepare these ahead of time, like I have done in the past, it will take a bit longer to heat these since they have been in the refrigerator. I bake them at 325 until heated thoroughly. Be careful not to overcook them – been there and done that! Don’t burn the cheese! But do use a meat thermometer to make sure they are fully heated before you serve them.

Enjoy!