Ocean Sapphire...

Sarah's friend got a Siamese Fighting Fish(betta) a few weeks ago and she's been bugging us to get one too. I resisted because of the cats, but finally gave in today. He's GORGEOUS!! (click to see larger images)



I wish his irredescence showed up better in the photos. He's a dark blue with slightly lighter fins.


Here he is backlit, showing off his greenishness. You can see a few of my needle-felted balls behind his bowl too, an nice foil for his coloring.


This is the truest picture of his color.


We already had the bowl and red marbles, a perfect habitat for such a beauty. However, we will be looking for a bigger container. They do better in 1-2 gallon tanks, this one is probably a half gallon. Why yes, that is a C3PO standing in the corner!

In other news...

I'm taking time this weekend to go through a newish(acquired last year) old cookbook, Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook by Nancy Albright(published in 1977). Is it ever full of good stuff! Not just recipes but instructions on everything from making yogurt, sprouting sprouts, and even grinding flour from pumpkins! Wowza!!! There are soooo many recipes in it that I'm dying to try out, like Alfalfa Sprout Gazpacho, Avocado Banana Dressing, Grainburgers, Millet Meatloaf, Broccoli Timbales, Yogurt Cheese, Sourdough Rye Bread, and the list goes on and on and on!!! I'm also reading another goodie called Cooking Vegetables the Italian Way by Judith Barrett. Lotsa good stuff there too.

We are supposed to be taking the last bits of wallpaper down from the dining room tomorrow. The paint we've decided on is called Caramel Cream, a rich, bright orange. All the playing I've done at Valspar's online room painting thingie points to this color. I think it will be perfect.


I'm sure it looks garish on your monitor, kinda looks washed out on mine too. Trust me, its really a rich, goldish orange with depth and a nice warmth. In fact, if you'll scroll back up to the third picture of Ocean(his true color pic) and look directly above his tail you can see a felted ball of red, yellow, and orange. The orange in that picture is very close to the wall color. I can't wait to get it painted!!

Guess that's all the goings on for this weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to blog more next week. Having a working teen who is also very social is demanding more of my time than I ever thought possible!!

Inaugural Celebration Chicken With Rice....

A melting pot of spicy flavors...

2 large bone/skinless chicken breasts, in 1-inch cubes
2 bone/skinless chicken thighs, in 1-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
couple glugs of olive oil
1/2-1 teaspoon of each of the following spices, adjust to your taste:
cumin, cayenne(about 1/4tsp of this one), dry mustard, curry, ginger, celery seed, garlic powder, onion powder and salt.
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 14 oz cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes with juice
1 14 oz can pineapple chunks in juice, with juice
1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped fine


Cook chicken and veggies in oil for 15 minutes. Add spices and cook 5 more minutes. Add soy sauce, tomatoes, and pineapple and simmer for 20 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Throw in cilantro and simmer another 10 minutes or so. Serve over hot, buttered rice or grain of your choice.

OBAMAMAMA, this was goooood!!!!

Christmas Party...

I'm sitting here wondering why we haven't done one before!! We had a special time visiting and the kids enjoyed getting to play with things they don't have access to on a regular basis. My friend Brandee suggested we rent out the R.O.C. here in Longview for our party and it didn't disappoint. I'm pretty sure this will be a regular event!

Everyone brought wonderful food and we drank hot cocoa, fresh Guatamalan coffee, and sherbet punch. Mark joined us for a while to shoot baskets with the kids before he got called to a delivery. I sent him with a bag of party mix but he missed these...


(basic recipe at Homesick Texan-do a search for chocolate pie. mine is altered with an extra egg yolk, 2 more tbsp flour, dark instead of regular cocoa, and about 1/4 teaspoon mint powder in filo cups)



(this room has foosball, ping pong, and pool tables)



(they shot hoops and played dodge ball in the gym)



(the cafe area had more than enough room for our group)



(they provide the tables, chairs, trash cans, and access to their full kitchen)



(you can tell we had great food!)



(the tree has gorgeous sequined Chrismons on it, wish I'd got a picture by itself)


Now I'm tired! My parents will be here sometime tomorrow so who knows what my blogging will look like until after Christmas. Hopefully I'll get some in. I'm headed to Gilmer tomorrow for soaps and bath salts(shhhh) from my friend Tricia at Herbal Grace. She goes to a few flea markets with her wares so I've got an excuse to shop a bit.

Christmas Foods....

***updated***I moved the pictures to the bottom of this post lest people think we eat Guinea Pigs for Christmas dinner(thanks Aaron!).

Quite possibly my favorite thing about celebrating Christmas, besides the trees and lights, and fun, is the food!

We don't do a lot of parties and such but now and then we'll attend something that requires a dish or snack. My favorite side dishes to take along are Broccoli Rice(or Quinoa) Casserole and Special Dilled Potatoes. I'm actually taking the potatoes to a party tomorrow night!

My new favorite snack is my special recipe Deviled Party Mix. I use a large roaster pan for it because I like having it last all week long. My recipe goes something like this(all amounts are extremely approximate, sometimes I have to adjust as its cooking)...


(Pillsbury image)

Deviled Party Mix

Corn, rice, and wheat Chex cereals(about 3/4 or more of each box)
Quaker Oat(meal?) Squares cereal(I usually use all but a bowl or two of this)
pretzel twists(most of the bag)
salted mixed nuts(larger can)

3/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup(or 1/8th) spicy horseradish mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper(or more)
1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt(remember, this is a large amount of cereals to cover)
1 teaspoon each, garlic and onion powder

Mix the oil, margarine, vinegar and honey together and melt in 225 oven for about 13 minutes. Mix in spices and mustard, adding more oil if it doesn't seem like enough to coat all the cereals.

Add oatmeal squares first, then the rest. Stir well to coat, usually several minutes. Bake at 225 for 15 minutes. Stir well again and continue stirring every 15 minutes for about an hour. Because there is so much it sometimes takes longer to get it all dried out so play it by taste and texture.

Tomorrow we're going to get our tree at Danville Farms. I'm hoping to get it up and ready for lights before we go to the party. Sunday will probably be the big decorating day for us though.


(last year's mantel)


(Shimmer and Stella being Christmas angels)

The goings on...

Amy turned 13 on Saturday so there are two teens in the house now! She had two friends spend the night, two others were unable to make it. They had a pizza pajama party and stayed up well past 1am. We took them all to the mall then next morning to run around. Amy ended up with a pair of teal jeans and two shirts, Ryan and Sarah, who have half-birthdays now, got a shirt apiece. It ended up being a great celebration, everyone had a great time!!

Mark's dad celebrated his 81st birthday on Wednesday so this morning I cooked a big pot of red beans and rice** and baked a chocolate raspberry pie* for his birthday. Mark and I took his parents to see his new office. It happens to be right across the street from their old neighborhood. Now, when I say old, I mean OLD! They moved from there when Mark was a baby. We had a nice visit with them, as nice as you can with someone who has dementia(his mom).

Now I believe I am due a nap!

Next week will be hectic but hopefully I'll be more posty!









* recipe here with modifications of an extra egg yolk and 2 extra tbsps flour, a tiny bit more sugar, dash of cinnamon and a 1/2 tsp raspberry extract. Oh, and I used Special Dark cocoa powder.

** Red Beans and Rice

1.5 pounds dried red beans
3 medium sized ham hocks
3 ribs celery
2 onions
1 green pepper
3 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground savory
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne(or so)
1 pound smoked kielbasa or sausage of your choice, sliced.
6 cups cooked white rice.

Soak beans overnight. Drain and keep in colander. Cook chopped veggies(except garlic) in oil for 5-6 minutes. Add ham hocks, garlic, bay leaves and seasonings, cook for another 5-6 minutes or until veggies are tender. Add beans and about 10 cups of water, or to cover. Simmer, partially covered, over med-low heat for 2-3 hours. Remove ham hocks and add sliced sausage. Simmer over medium heat for another 1-2 hours, uncovered, stirring often to prevent burning. Fish out bay leaves, let stand 10-15 minutes to thicken and cool a bit. Serve over rice with tabasco and salt at the table.

Cheesy Gooey Goodness...

(Cheesy Gooey Tex-Mex Casserole, by Molly Sonier)


(Holy cow this was good)


(And it was meatless!)

First I doubled this chili gravy recipe from Homesick Texan(doubled the liquid and seasoning, not the flour and oil). I tweaked it a bit with about 1/2 teaspoon chipolte powder and about a teaspoon red wine vinegar.

Then I layered(in a 9x13 stoneware casserole) the sauce with corn tortillas, about 10 in all, 2 blocks of Cabot's 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated, 1 can fat free refried beans(just glopped by the tablespoon), about 2 cups fresh spinach, 1 cup cilantro leaves(very loosely packed). My layers went like this:

Sauce
Tortillas
Beans
Cheese
Cilantro
Tortillas
Sauce
Beans
Spinach
Cheese
Tortillas
Sauce(I didn't quite use all of it)
Beans
Cilantro
Cheese

Baked it, covered, at 350 for about 40 minutes. Slurped it up with some greek yogurt on top. Died happy(no not really, but I could have). There is just a teeny bit left for tomorrow. I may send it with Mark if he does the dishes tonight.

In other news...

We were looking SO forward to camping this weekend. Based on the events, it seems God may have been telling us "no" but we didn't listen til he stopped us in our tracks.

Mark had a bad feeling about going all week and I couldn't really get into it either. Once we got the stuff together we were excited to be getting away. We decided against taking the canoe because the Suburban was weighted down too much as it was. Due to his busy week Mark didn't get around to making reservations at the state park we wanted to visit. We got about a mile underway and Mark decided he'd better call to see if there were tent site vacancies. There were not. He pulled off the road and called 6 or 7 other state parks. Only one had sites available. We turned around to head to that park and the Suburban just died. Quit working at all. We coasted to an oil top road that lead back home and came to a stop in the woods. Car would NOT start. Mark jogged back home and drove back with jumper cables. It wasn't the battery. Would allllllmost turn over but not quite. So, we loaded all the camping equipment in his work van and drove back home. We decided to call a wrecker service to haul it home for us. Currently it is sitting in the yard near the driveway. We are unsure what we'll do with it. The repairs for this and many other "ailments" will probably run close to $1100 and there are other things wrong with it as well.

Today we went to visit friends and I was handed some leftovers from a garage sale.*G* I got a cast iron skillet, a neat-o purse, and a vintage barbie with a beeeautiful purple crocheted doily dress, and some okra and peppers!! Barbie has a photo shoot sceduled for tomorrow. Then we looked at used trucks and SUVs(we have to have something to pull the boat and haul 3-5 kids, dogs, equipment and so forth). Finally we headed to Trade Days to see what we could find to drag home! I managed to leave with an adorable(and I mean ADORABLE) crocheted mouse with a dark blue dress. She is just too sweet!! Her photo shoot is scheduled around the same time as purple barbie, so I'll have pics sometime tomorrow. The kids and I got sno-cones and we all split a large funnel cake. I don't think I've had one of those in 25 years! I also ran into a very old friend(30 years!) who works for the police department now. We caught each other up on who and what. Then I checked in with my friend who is selling my scarves, she said 3 had sold!! Woot!! I don't know which ones though. She knits the most incredible striped stocking caps to sell. They are about 5 to 6 feet long and are so cute(I need a picture of them). I wish I was a knitter but there ain't no way...

We're expecting rain tomorrow with slightly cooler temps following. It has been a wonderful fall so far with very little rain and short-sleeve weather almost every day.

I'm participating in...


over at Smiling Sally's.



(our tree should look like this again in a few weeks, I hope!)


(my mom gave these antique pretties to me last year for Christmas)


(Mark made this painted box for a Christmas present years ago. I'm not sure if this was for his mom or my mom)


(Amy drew this last year using paint)

In other news...

Around bedtime last night a blustery cold front blew in with a vengence! I've only heard the wind howling like that during a hurricane! Because of our recent room rearranging, our bed is now under the window and the tree is just feet away from us. Needless to say, it took a long time for me to get to sleep. We ended up losing several good-sized limbs and branches. One hit the house and rolled off, its about 15 feet long and as big around as my thigh! Surprisingly, none of the branches that were broken during Ike ended up on the ground. I think they are too tangled up to come loose, for now.

We've been so slammed around here that our staples are low. This almost never happens but our weekend was so hectic that we ran out of cat litter, potatoes, ice, and lunch meat! So, I have GOT to run to the grocery store. I'd much rather stay home and work on my crocheted bags though. They are coming along nicely and I hope to have several ready for Patricia to sell soon. Pictures are coming soon.

One thing we'll definitely do today is make Homesick Texan's Wacky Cake! I've heard of this cake before but I'm not sure I've ever tasted one. I hope its good! We'll doctor ours up with cayenne powder and maybe cinnamon so I'm sure it will be scarfed down.

My mom sent some Christmas ornament kits to the girls so if we have time and if they're in the mood, we may work on those a bit. One is needle-felted ornaments and one is styrafoam balls with sequins to stick on with pins.

Comfort food for everyone...

Several days ago I got hungry for my favorite festive comfort food, Broccoli Rice Casserole. Between trips running hither and yon(we have been sofreakingbusyyouhavenoidea), I managed to get the ingredients for it and had planned to make it Wednesday night. Ok, Thursday night. How 'bout Friday then? Finally! So, about that time, I discovered the absence of rice in my pantry. Grrrr. But, all was not lost...

Quinoa to the rescue! This stuff is wonderfood! Please, if you've never tried it, do so! It is awesome!!!

Broccoli Quinoa Casserole(makes a 9x13 pan)

cooking spray
1 bag frozen chopped broccoli
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
4 ribs celery, sliced
1 onion, sliced
8 oz reduced fat velveeta or cheese whiz

1-1.5 cups dry quinoa, rinsed well
about 3 cups water

Bring water and quinoa to boil, reduce heat and simmer til water is absorbed.

Cook onion and celery in non-stick skillet with cooking spray until transluscent. Add broccoli, soups and cheese product. Stir til well blended. Add quinoa and mix well. Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Serve warm.

If anyone has knowledge of some good-for-you substitutes for the soups and cheese product, please let me know! This tasted a bit chemical-ish and I'm pretty sure its because I used the "diet" stuff. It was still comforting and gone by late this afternoon.



(what it looks like in our living room at 6:15pm)


(the west side of the driveway around the same time of day)

Speaking of the view from the driveway(and comfort foods)...


(berries are just starting to get that blue blush to them)


(we have several large bushes around the driveway)

These lovely plants are Ligustrums, don't know what variety, and are loaded with berries! In a week or so they'll all be a dark blue-purple, just like the Cedar Waxwings like them. Unfortunately, I've found out that they also cause asthma! Guess who has horrible, horrible asthma? Mark!! He is totally fine when he leaves the house in the mornings but within an hour of coming home at night he has trouble breathing. I thought I might take him to the ER several nights ago he was that bad. He's always blamed the pets for his attacks but I'm betting its the ligustrums! Much as I love the Cedar Waxwings, these plants will have to go.

Mark and I had stuff to do this morning that lasted about 3 hours longer than we'd planned. Then we found out Ryan's ride to his church's Fall Picnic had forgotten him. So, we had to run him and a friend waaaay out to Ore City. On our way back we stopped by to pick up this wonderful door from a homeschooling friend. Isn't it just gorgeous? I can't wait to get it finished and installed! Hopefully by Christmas.


(we'll have to sand this off, fix the trim, and repaint it but that's no biggie)


(the gold "leading" probably wouldn't have been my first choice but I do love the glass and it was FREE!)

Tomorrow I plan to spend most of the afternoon making cell phone carriers to sell. My friend with Herbal Grace wants me to let her sell them at some flea markets. Who knows, with the holidays coming up they just might sell! Its worth a try at least. The girls will go home with a friend after church so I'll have a nice window before having to pick them up. I'd better get my lazy butt out of this chair and hunt down my yarn then. Bye!

The Weekend....

When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers, hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather.
- Helen Hunt Jackson, October's Bright Blue Weather


Friday morning I took the girls grocery shopping with me while Mark and Ryan stayed home. It was a beautiful mid-morning and promised to be a lovely afternoon as well. I had the bright idea that we should spend time outdoors so I called Mark from the store to see if he'd be interested. We decided to wait til Saturday and head north to the Yamboree, a local festival celebrating that wonderful cash crop of the 1930's, the Sweet Potato, which is really not a yam. The Yamboree is one of the oldest folk festivals in Texas just behind the Tyler Rose Festival and the Jacksonville Tomato Festival.

We watched the Queen's Parade, ate some fair food, rode a huge ferris wheel, gawked at the crowds, visited the exhibit halls, the ag barns and all the other things most people do at festivals. Ryan found several of his friends in the ag barns with their livestock so he was busy socializing while the girls, Mark and I petted pigs, goats, calves, and bunnies. I think Sarah would have brought a baby cow home if she could have, or a goat! Then we hit the vendor area but didn't end up finding anything we couldn't live without. One of the exibits we especially enjoyed was the junior art and photography division. There are some very talented young artists in east Texas! Amy and Sarah are wanting to enter the drawing category and maybe photography too for next year.

As you may have noticed, there are no pictures. I decided to take a break from the camera this trip. Its a big, clunky thing and I did not feel like wagging it around all day. You'll have to imagine the dappled sunlight on the courthouse lawn, the chilly breeze, the greasy food smells, laughter, screams from the scary rides, and the sound of fiddles playing. You are off the hook as far as imagining the lovely livestock smells.

On our way to the car, we stopped at the monthly flea market across from the exhibit areas. Patricia, my homeschooling friend had a booth there promoting her business, Herbal Grace. She sells mineral make-up, organic teas, soaps, and much more. I left with a new eye shadow color(nutmeg) and some fantabulous organic seasoned salt. Her soaps are to die for too, LOVE them, and we use several of her other formulas.

We also nabbed a huge bucket of sweet potatoes for $4. Wooo hooo! Could have got a bushel for $13 but I didn't think we'd eat that many. How wrong I was...

Several days ago I came across a blog post featuring sweet potato fries and Hungry Girl had mentioned butternut fries not too long ago as well. I googled to get a good idea of what to do and went for it!

I preheated the oven to 425, sliced up our two largest "yams" into french fry sized pieces, layered them on two baking sheets(it is best if they don't touch and have space between each fry). I sprayed them with butter flavor cooking spray and sprinkled them with the new seasoned salt mixed with cayenne, onion, and garlic powders, and paprika. They went into the oven on the middle and lowest racks for 15 minutes. I stirred well and switched their places on the racks, baking for another 15 minutes. We scarfed them down with ketchup and there were no more. They are woooooonderful!!!! With a texture like a steak fry, creamy and soft on the inside, but not starchy(gritty) like regular fat fries, along side frizzled spiral ham and a spinach salad, these made a wonderful meal.

Today I'm working on our bedroom. We decided to try the bed under our window but I don't know if it'll work with the kitties wanting to be in the sill at night. I've swept and thrown away a whole bagful of garbage. Mark turned off the Cowboys game, too painful to watch. He's washing his car now and Sarah's got Dirty Jobs on.

Later we'll have more ham in some form, maybe a quiche or something. I'm not sure yet. Meanwhile, back to the room for me!

It is SO nice to be wanted...

I can finally post about our mysterious "good news" that I mentioned a few days ago. Mark didn't want it out quite yet. I'm still not going into real specific details yet. Anyway...

The job is something similar to what he did before but for a national company with slightly different responsibilities. It would be better than where he is and a good job for him but probably not a perfect match. He is waiting for word from them after two interviews and he's done the drug/tb tests.

In other news...

I got my hair cut yesterday afternoon! It is stacked in the back and long around my face with bangs. I LOVE it and promise to post pics as soon as the batteries are charged.

Today is homeschool park day and Sarah wants to take Buddy. Should be fun. It was 48 degrees when I got up this morning so we'll be a bit chilly.

We're having some kind of sausage and kale dinner tonight. I'll have to find the recipe I posted a few weeks ago.

A post in which I ramble on about our weekend...

We hosted the first Teen Thing(a tailgate party) for the homeschool group we're in. There were 4 girls and 4 boys, including 2 sets of siblings. The kids had a blast but the movie ended up being too slow for them to stay with so the boys went out front to play football in the road with Mark. Of course the girls had to follow and turned into complete giggleboxes running in and out of the house. It was good times for sure! Next month's Teen Thing to be a trip to the Yamboree, a local festival, where they can run around riding rides and acting cool. I've never been even though I have lived just down the road from this town most of my life. Can't wait to see what I've been missing! There is even a STREET DANCE!! Woot!





Saturday morning Mark and I got up and moved old fencing and deck boards over to his parents land. His dad will use some of the decking to make a bridge over a creek bed. All that heavy lifting tired me out so to I had to find neat things to photograph while Mark huffed the remaining 90% of the pile to the back of the Suburban.







Ryan and his (homeschooled) buddies pulled some stupid teenage tricks Saturday morning that resulted in a squad car bringing them home from down the street where they'd egged a house. It darn near landed one of them in jail(not Ryan) because of an illegal knife. This has resulted in his loss of communication with the offender probably permanently. We've had issues with this particular boy off and on for a few years so this isn't a rash decision.

Then, just hours later, we learned that the brother of one of Ryan's other(public schooled) friends had been in possession of illegal drugs while Ryan was there. So, he's basically lost ALL of his friends in one fell swoop. It was well past time to nip that one in the bud for a number of reasons. We had actually already decided last week to keep Ryan away from that household due to ongoing(and worsening) "domestic problems" with the mom and her babydaddy. Lovely huh? Now we've had to ban him from his church youth group because these kids are a part of it. I'd like to talk to the youth pastor sometime about this. For now its better to cut it off cold turkey than to have to plan some intricate dance for every single interaction. Sigh.

We took Ryan's spend-the-night friends home later in the afternoon, then Sarah and I took Amy to stay with a new friend.

This morning we(minus Amy) went to my favorite walking trail for some exercise, then to BAM for coffee and free magazines. I found many cool decorating and cooking mags and will be going back later in the week for more ideas! Amy came home after church with her friend. We ate turkey and swiss cheese on foccacia sandwiches for lunch, very yummy. Mark took Ryan and Sarah to the mall for shoelaces(for his dress shoes or something). I messed around with glitter while Amy took a bath.


(I'm not finished my Autumn decorating by any means. None of these folks are relations)


(If you look closely at the ghost you can see that he's made from a Club cracker box. The only white paint I had was a metallic and it didn't cover well. Luckily it doesn't show unless hit with the right light)

We had a great dinner, Sausage, Kale and White Bean Pasta, and everyone is now resting their tummies. This is another of my "what's in the pantry" dinners.

1 pound lean turkey breakfast sausage(or Italian if you want)
2 cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes with juice
1 (8oz) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 bunch kale, coursely chopped, large stems removed
garlic and onions to taste(powder or actual veggies)
dash of cayenne pepper(this makes it, in my opinion)
1 teaspoon savory spice
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 box rotini pasta
handfuls of cheddar cheese, grated

Brown sausage well. Add tomato stuff, spices, and kale. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring now and then. Add beans to sausage and kale, continue simmering for another 15-20 minutes or so. Start pasta cooking. When the pasta is almost done, drain it well and add to sausage mixture. Stir well, cover and cook about 10 more minutes til pasta is tender. Serve in bowls with cheese. Yum!

Go, run, fast, and...

Make these Biscuits NOW!!!!!

Too good not to share tonight!

Which means you'll need to scroll down to see my other two posts for today.

Couscous with Spinach and Chickpeas





2 servings plain couscous prepared with 1 spoonful of butter(or olive oil, we use Promise Light) and a reduced sodium chicken broth cube(or veggie, your choice).

3 big handfuls spinach, rinsed well

1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 teaspoon each
Cumin
Garam Marsala

teeny sprinkle of
Cayenne Pepper(I would say a good pinch)
Black Pepper
Salt

Start the couscous. Rinse the spinach but don't shake the water off. Put in saucepan and heat, covered, over medium-high heat, stirring often, just til wilted enough to make room. Add chickpeas, and spices, cover and cook til the spinach is wilted to your liking.

I divided the couscous 4 ways because the girls like theirs plain with butter and salt. Mark and I split the other serving topped with the spinach mixture. Oh. My. Stars. It. Was. Yum. If there had been more it would have been consumed. Next time I'll know better.

So now you know what a freakishly boring life we lead on a Friday night. Woohoo!

Santa Fe Rice and Beans...

Lean Cuisine makes a frozen dinner by this name, very tasty I might add. Its one of Mark's favorites but we rarely get frozen dinners due to cost and the unhealthy sodium in them. Tonight I believe I've perfected the taste, quite by accident. It was a pantry surfing night and this was what came out of it!

Molly's Santa Fe Rice and Beans

1 onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
1 cup brown rice

Brown onion and pepper in small amount of olive oil. Add rice and stir around for a minute or two.

1 can each, pinto beans and canneli beans, rinsed well and drained
1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 reduced sodium chicken broth cube
2 cans of water

1-1.5 teaspoons each of: (yall know I'm notorious for NOT measuring, if you want to start with smaller amounts that would be fine)

garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
oregano
cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder(this is key to the smokey flavor, don't leave it out!)

About 2/3 cup steel cut oats

Mix everything together in skillet, cover tightly and simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Add water if needed but try not to make it too runny. Test the rice for tenderness and serve when its soft. I let it sit, off the heat, for about 10 minutes to cool and thicken.

We had ours in bowls with grated cheese(75% lower fat Cabot's Light), light sour cream, and sliced olives. YUM!

Summer Salad

My inspiration was THIS.



Of course, having looked at it several hours before shopping, I did get a few things wrong. Mine has cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, califlower, sunflower seeds, and a bit of soy sauce in the dressing. I also used horseradish mustard. It is YUMMMM!

The post in which I give yall the bestest coffee recipe evah...

I had this quote ready to go:

When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.
(some judge, 1925, wish I had copied the whole thing)

I was all prepared to give my opinions about mandatory school uniforms, as if you can't guess how I feel about them. But, in the interest of trying not to be negative during the countdown to a fabulous weekend...


I've decided(um, I mean, I remembered finally) to give you a little frozen coffee goodness in time for the warm weather. Mark and I used to make something similar years and years ago(before we had more than one child actually) but haven't had them since. The girls discovered frozen cappuchino at Joe Muggs(inside Books-a-Million) and were hooked. Our version is MUCH better though because we use chocolate ice cream. We all love it!

Frozen Chocolate Coffee

2-3 cups leftover coffee(I pour into a tall glass when we're done in the mornings, cover with foil and refridgerate til needed)
2-3 cups chocolate ice cream
1 teaspoon vanilla(or 1/4 tsp cinnamon, your choice)
1 cup milk
2-3 cups crushed ice
1/2 cup sugar(to be added after tasting, the coldness can keep it from being flavorful)
1 cup whipped cream or cool whip

Combine everything but the ice cubes in a blender. Whirl until mixed. Add ice and blend til they are destroyed. Taste and add sugar if you need to, whirling again to mix. You can either top with the cool whip or add it to the whirling, it is good both ways. Makes about 4 servings.

Bake a Cake....

Susan over at Blackberry Creek asked me to share the brown rice pudding recipe that I mentioned in my last post. I had been inspired by Alicia Paulson's Rice Pudding recipe but didn't have some of the ingredients. Because I only had brown rice, I went in search of a pudding recipe that used it(there are lots out there). It was mediocre at best, next time I'm definitely going to try Alicia's. I will make the brown rice version again though, but as a savory dish with some chopped veggies in with it because the texture wasn't bad. It just wasn't a creamy-dreamy desserty pudding. So I'm ditching it for something WAY better, trust me on this Susan!



Pumpkin Bundt Cake:

1 box yellow cake mix(or white, or spice, or even orange if you'd like)
1 15-oz can pumpkin(not pie mix)
dashes and dots of ground ginger, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg(about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of most, maybe a whole teaspoon of the cinnamon and ginger)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds(optional)
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1/2-2/3 cup olive oil(I didn't measure)
1/3 cup water(or more if it looks too dry)
1 teaspoon vanilla or coconut extract

Mix dry stuff, mix wet stuff, mix all together and beat with an electic mixer til light. Spoon into a greased and sugared bundt pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes at 350(watch time because I am NOT sure how much I did this for because "someone" came along and screwed with the microwave timer when they baked a potato).

Let cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes, turn out onto platter and let cool completely(this is the hardest part for me)

I frosted this with a cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar frosting but a drizzly icing would be good too, as would nuts in the cake batter. It is soooo velvety good!

Oh Yum. Oh Yum Yum.

A REAL Breakfast!....

We had one this morning! I made ham, scrambled eggs, and biscuits using Homesick Texan's recipe and they are wooooonderful!!! A bit of work but oh so worth it, I ate FIVE of them(they were small, I used a 2-inch cutter)! I used half whole wheat and half regular flour and made my buttermilk with our raw milk and vinegar but I don't think these changes skewed the outcome one bit! Amy proclaimed them to be delish!

We had a little storm last night, hail and 80mph winds to the northeast and southwest of us but just rain, loud thunder, and lightning here. It scuttled Mark's softball practice for this morning for sure when it started up again at 4am. It is after 9 and still raining hard. We haven't had these kind of rains in years! Our yard is a lake. Guess this is a sign that we have "inside" work to do. Like cleaning our bedroom. I also want to work on my hexagon quilt and gather fabrics for a few quilts I have planned. Sometime this week I have to get a new cutting ruler because Amy stepped on mine and broke it.

We still don't have baby piggies yet. The longer she goes means she is more likely to have 1 or 2 babies instead of a handful. This is a good thing. It has been 20 days since I felt the first movements, typically they deliver 14-21 days after that. I haven't checked her dilation yet this morning but last night she was almost 1/2 an inch so things are progressing, just verrrry slllowwwwly. Sigh.

This is a big birthday week at our house. Tomorrow Rainbow and Moonshine turn 1 year old! They are Basil and Luna's babies but we lost Luna to a birth complication a week after they were born. Ruby and Rosie, our Oklahoma kitties, will turn 4 on April 1st, then Mark on the 5th and Magic Panda on the 6th. Busy week!


(Sarah with Rainbow and Moonshine)


(Panda-in front-, Moonshine and Rainbow)

I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

My Name Means....

Kinda scary how accurate(mostly) this one is. I don't typically knock people down but I do get my way 99% of the time. Because, as my XSIL once said, I'm "Always Right Molly", little did she know! I also don't put much pressure on myself, that I'm aware of. Anyway, the rest of it is pretty much dead on.

What Molly Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are kind hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

In other news...

We took Daisy and Buddy to the park/walking trail today. They both did very well, in fact the girls took turns walking Buddy and had no trouble at all with him. I was especially excited about how Daisy behaved!! She didn't pull much at all, was VERY happy to be there and didn't bark or act aggressively toward anyone(except a Hispanic teenage boy we passed while we were still in the car). She had a super time sniffing and watching for squirrels. We'll probably end up getting another pinch collar so we can take all three of them at one time.

Tonight I'm making homemade pizza for dinner, I've got a blog post with my recipe somewhere on here...found it! Go HERE to check it out.

Tomorrow Mark has softball practice and we've got to visit Sam's Club for tea bags, toilet paper and granola bars. We also have to make another guinea pig cage. I've decided to divide the girls up and put three of them in the boys' cage(not with the boys, just in the cage they're in now), two of them in a new cage, and the boys will go where all five girls are.

(new baby piggie, Sundae- a chocolate, red and white Crested Satin)