Thursday, February 23, 2012

~~It's Thursday!~~



(TRUE or NOT??)


Outside my window...  Beautiful, blustery, springlike!!

I am thinking... I am thinking about getting those projects started.  I'm going to start with my photo wall.  I need to bring things down from the attic and put them in Aaron's old room.  I need to start using the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on the walls.  I have a pile of stuff for the thrift store and more to add to it.


I am thankful... I am thankful for being able title and register our new truck in our state of record, Oregon and saving over $3500.00 in New Jersey taxes and fees!  Ha!! 



In the kitchen...Grilled chicken tenders, Orzo pasta with cheese a vegetable.

I am wearing...  I am not wearing this today.  This is my puffy hair from the other day.  I have on jeans and bright green 3/4 sleeve tee.  NO fixed hair.


I am praying...  Praying for my newly married children.  My son left for  another Caribbean deployment this morning.  Maggie is in my prayers.  Aaron should hear soon about his standing on the wait list for "A" school and receive a for sure date for that.

Praying for the sale of our van soon.

Praying still for our move.  My husband will be spending ALL DAY tomorrow at the shooting range with his bosses and his potential replacement.  Please pray that something WILL BE DECIDED concerning the replacement and our move date.


I am reading/watching...I am reading Clive Cussler.  We are watching, Bionic Woman, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Planet of the Apes. . .all as time allows.

From the learning rooms...  My student is hard at work.  We had school day at Barnes and Noble with Daddy the other day.  It was a special treat.  We haven't done that for a while now.  This afternoon we will visit the library and see what we find.

Around the house...  My house is really dusty.  It needs dusted thoroughly and the windows need opened for a good airing . . .but not today.

My desk.
 ((Schoolwork.  Vehicle files.  A list of my freezer contents.  Recipe ideas brough home from the magazines at Barnes and Noble.  Mail.))

One of my favorite things...  I'll probably bring home a few cookbooks today.  I love to look at the pictures in cookbooks.  I use them to get inspiration for my menu.

I copy recipes I like on 3X5 cards and stick them in a file such as this.  I wanted to copy recipes for my two nieces while Joy was here.  It something we didn't have time to complete

A few plans for the rest of the week:  My only plan for the weekend is cooking a couple meals.  Bachelor David coming over to share on meal.  Maybe a drive to look at trailers??

Have a wonderful weekend dear friends.


Monday, February 20, 2012

~~It's Monday!~~

 


Outside my window...  The end of the weeks promises to be wonderful.   They are suggesting that temperatures will reach 60 degrees on Friday.  I don't have any in my yard yet, but I spied a whole bunch of blooming Crocus south of here about 50 miles.

I am thinking...  I am thinking about being "pinned" on Pintrest.  I don't subscribe to that fad yet.  I recently saw an article about the 3 MEN who founded Pintrest several years ago.  It is now one of the top 3 social networking sites with almost 12 million hits at the end of January.  Can you say. . . $$$  "happy men"?  $$$

Anyway. . . I was checking my footprints over the last few days.  This is being "Pin"ned. . .


Go figure . . . it's not even a good picture!



November fun 1 009

November fun 1 008

HERE is a link to the page with the recipe for Chocolate Tiramisu Cake.  Happy "Pinning"

I am thankful... I am thankful for answers to prayer.  I am thankful for God's grace and mercy toward me. 
I am thankful I am loved by so many.

In the kitchen...  From the kitchen . . . a menu on Monday!

Monday- Parmesean Baked Cod, onion roasted potato and parsnips, Garlic Broccoli, Pear Salad

Tuesday- Easy Taco's

Wednesday-  Grilled Chicken Tenders, velveeta orzo pasta, garlic green beans, fruit ambrosia salad

Thursday- Salmon Patties, Mashed Potato, stir fry snow peas, chocolate brownies

Friday- Chicken Enchilada Casserole, refried beans

Saturday-  Shrimp and Chicken Gumbo with white Rice, Cornbread

Sunday-  Meatloaf,  Macaroni and Cheese, Brown Sugar Carrots, "MOCK" Pecan Pie

I am wearing... I am not wearing anything exciting today.  I have on jeans and a long sleeve orange tee shirt.  I did dress up on Friday and had Sharon and Anastasia over for lunch.

Pouffy hair IS NOT DEAD!!

I am creating... The on going, ever present list.  Things to do and get done.

I am going... I am hopefully going to sell the van this week.  We had a call last Wednesday that a buyer was excited to purchase it.  He wanted until the weekend to come up with the funds.  We showed him the van Saturday (a 100 mile round trip!) and he said he needed until today, Monday. . .and a holiday. . . to come up with all the funds.


Please PRAY for it to sell.  Everything else is gone. . .the little truck several weeks ago . . . and the camp trailer left on Saturday morning.

I am reading/watching...  I am reading Clive Cussler. 

We'll be watching The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones this week.  We have a  few more episodes left to finish that series.


I am praying...  I am praying fervently for an early transfer for my husband.  His bosses are refusing to make any kind of decision on his replacement.  It's frustrating for my husband.  I'd LOVE to leave April 1st, but my husband tells me that to change orders, it has to have Headquarters approval etc. . .  I know GOD will make it happen when it should. . . May 1st is my second date for departure.  

Praying for far away family.  Praying for my husband.  Praying for me.

James 5:16   "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. "


From the learning rooms...It's back to a regular school schedule this week.  My student is very disappointed.  I'll do some focusing on spelling again with extra work in that area the next few weeks.  We are sooo behind schedule.  May I admit. . . week 11?  Not sure that I can do anything to remedy that. . .

Around the house...  Clean.  I'm going to go burn a candle and put on soothing music soon.

One of my favorite things...

A few plans for the rest of the week:  I have a lunch date Wednesday with the wife of one of my husbands co workers.  Her daughter takes piano lessons at the same studio as we do.  She is an extremely nice woman . . . I have a lot in common with her.  She is Catholic/ Episcopalian and as far as I know, unsaved.  I pray I am a good witness!  I'll try to take pictures.

Bachelor David will come over for food on the weekend. 

Something to Share. . .Recipes!


Mock Pecan Pie

Ingredients

    Filling
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1-1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 3/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Deep Dish Pie Shell, unbaked

  • Topping
  • 1-1/2 cups crushed pretzels
  • 3 T butter, melted
  • 2 T sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. For Filling:Place first five ingredients in large mixing bowl and mix with wire whisk until well combined.
  3. Pour into pie shell.
  4. Combine all topping ingredients in medium bowl and stir well with a spoon to coat pretzels.
  5. Sprinkle topping evenly over pie.
  6. Bake in 350 oven for 1 hour, covering with foil after 30 minutes to prevent over browning.
  7. Allow to cool completely before serving. Can be made a day or two ahead of time and stored in refrigerator.
Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 whole chicken fryer
1 - 12 oz package spaghetti noodles
1 - 16 oz (1 lb) package Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 - 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 - 14 oz can chicken broth or 2 cups reserved broth
1 - stick margarine (1/2 Cup)
1 - 8oz package shredded mild or sharp cheddar cheese
1 - small onion, chopped
3-4 celery ribs, chopped
1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped

Fill a big stock pot with water. Clean and rinse whole fryer or chicken pieces. Add chicken, I like to add a little seasoning salt, pepper and poultry seasoning while the chicken cooks. Wash hands after handling chicken. Let chicken come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer chicken until done. Cook whole fryers about 2 hours and chicken breasts or pieces 45-50 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and place on a plate to cool. Drain the broth through a strainer and reserve. Cook the spaghetti per package directions. Instead of cooking the spaghetti in water, we are going to use the reserved chicken broth.

Add spaghetti and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer noodles until al dente. While spaghetti noodles are cooking start de boning the chicken (make sure it is cool enough to handle) or break chicken breasts to smaller pieces. Chop up all the vegetables and set aside. Melt margarine in a small skillet and add the vegetables. Sauté’ vegetables until they are tender and translucent in color. When noodles are done drain and set aside.

If you are not using canned chicken broth, reserve 2 cups of the cooked broth. In a large bowl combine Velveeta cheese, chicken broth and cream of chicken soup. Place in microwave and cook on low for 5-7 minutes or until mixture is smooth and cheese is melted. (You can also use the defrost setting).

To the cheese mixture add cooked vegetables with butter, spaghetti noodles and chicken pieces. Stir to combine. Spray a 9x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and add combined mixture. Top finished casserole with 8oz of shredded cheddar cheese. Place casserole in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and casserole is bubbly. Remove from oven let cool and serve.



Spaghetti O' s Casserole

3 cans regular spaghetti o's (or 1 large can + 1 small)
1 - lb ground beef
1/4 cup onion, chopped
Paula Deens house seasoning, Emeril's essence or just salt/pepper (to your taste)
2 ups mozzarella cheese
1/4 up Parmesan or Romano cheese

Cook ground beef with onion until browned. drain off grease and add seasoning. Add the ground beef to the bottom a 9x13 size casserole dish. Add Parmesan cheese on top of the meat. Then add all three cans of spaghetti o's and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 30 minutes until casserole is nice and bubbly. Serve with french bread, Texas garlic toast and a salad.

I'm going to try these recipes.  How about you?

Have a great week friends!





Monday, February 13, 2012

Good Monday Morning



(Chocolate Tiramisu Cake that we are eating.)

Good Monday Morning!

Enjoying the last few days with our niece, Joy. 

Saturday we had Bachelor David over for food and we watched the original "Planet of the Apes" with Charlton Heston.




Sunday we drove to Pennsylvania for brunch. 




We did some window shopping. 


(This leather jacket was $1299.00)

(This jacket with fur collar was $1999.00)

(He said he wanted this jacket when he applied for his Native American Tribal Card)

(He really liked this jacket on me.  It's only $299.99)

On the drive home we looked at several trailers.



Today is laundry, packing and piano lesson.

Have a great week friends!!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

~~It's Thursday!~~



Outside my window...  It's sunny and clear today.  Cold.  We had a dusting of snow last night.  Got the grass white but didn't stick to the roads or sidewalks.  Feels like spring here.  What about at your place?

I am thinking...  I'm always thinking.  Got lots to think about.

I am thankful...Thankful for the grace of God.  I love this quote that April @victoriantomboy posted today . . .
"Only the Gospel can save us from being consumed with having our needs met by people or things of this world. Only the Gospel reminds us that we have all been given mercy and grace we do not deserve. Indeed, it is only when Jesus Christ is the all satisfying enjoyment of our soul that our relationship with others can truly be healthy and satisfying. "  Psalms 107:9   For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." Psalms 107:9

In the kitchen...  Hawaiian Chicken, Rice A Roni, garlic snow peas, Green Salad, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread


I am wearing... My niece Joy, and I, took our own Glamour shot photos today.  This is what I wore . . .












I am creating...  I am creating lists.  Also thinking about spring cleaning.  I should order picture prints and start working on photo albums and my picture wall.

I am going...  Thinking about going places and seeing people.  I have no special plans.

I am reading/watching...  We started season 2 of the original Bionic Woman.  It's been good. 
I am starting a new book tonight.  I think it's one that I bought at the thrift store.

I am praying...  I am always praying for the desires of my heart.  Praying for my husband to have peace. Praying for my health.   Praying for the Lord to 'prepare' the way for our move. Praying for the sale of our van for no less than $4200.00.   I saw another cute place.  Not sure if it has a garage.
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I am looking forward to...   I am looking forward to Sunday morning.  I am taking my niece Joy and #2 son out to brunch to honor Joy's visit.  I can't wait.

From the learning room...  We finished our Washington D.C. reports this week.  That's about all besides music practice.  I'm going to dig into some courses next week too.

Around the house...  #2 son became the great helper this morning when he vacuumed the ENTIRE house for me.  He did the rugs and then used the hose for those pesky dust bunnies.  He had a BLAST!!

 
One of my favorite things...Thinking about him today. 

It is almost the 23rd anniversary of the day we met. 
((Big Sigh...))

A few plans for the rest of the week:  We sold the tent trailer and the family comes to pick it up Saturday  morning.  Saturday afternoon, probably a meal with bachelor David.  Not sure what else is in the works.

Something to Share... Joy and I spent the WHOLE DAY in the big apple yesterday.  We are exhausted today.  We rode the train/subway, shopped in Time Square, enjoyed the Broadway production of WICKED, had dinner at Olive Garden, and walked, and walked, and walked!








Hopefully back to a regular blog posting schedule next week.

Have a great weekend dear friends.