cranberry weekend fest

This Saturday is the Stone Lake, Wisconsin Cranberry Fest. For those of you who don't live in this area, Stone Lake is a very small town, so this is a huge event! I on the other hand have never gone and I'm not sure about this weekend! Saturday's are very treasured by me because I work all week, but hey, I need to play sometimes! Also Gordon and I were going to try out the smoker with some racks of ribs(YUM)! If I get to go, I will post some info and photos, otherwise I will post photos of the rib fest here at our house! Blessings!

pumpkin

What's the deal with the pumpkin shortage??? Last year there was a shortage of pumpkin and now the shelves are trying to catch up! Pie filling has been scarce and just this past week there has been pumpkin on the shelves! Did you know that most canned pumpkin in also mixed with squash?? Usually 2/3 squash to 1/3 pumpkin. Some labels say 100% pumpkin, I'm not sure that is true! So, just remember the next time you have no pumpkin, you could use squash, I have and tricked my family! Blessings!

Mom's Hash

My mom made this hash from leftover pot roast, potatoes and onions, sometimes she would throw in green beans and carrots. I loved it with a little dot of ketchup(when I was younger, everything tasted better with ketchup)! So, for tonight's supper, we are having my country style hash made with venison Cajun burger meat, potatoes from the garden, carrots from the farmers market and onions! YUM!!!!! Thanks, MOM! Blessings!

party

Today I hosted a Mary Kay party. It was fun and only one friend showed up, but we laughed and drank coffee as we got dolled up for nothing! We washed, creamed our faces, scrubbed our faces, moisturized our faces, powdered our faces, lined our eyes, glossed up our lips and laughed some more!! It's fun to laugh and be girls! Have a great evening! Blessings!

Saturday

Saturday is demo day at the grocery store! So, if you missed it, I gave out cupcakes! The bakery was featured today with the many choices of their frosting flavors! There is white, chocolate, peanut butter, Oreo, chips ahoy cinnamon crunch, caramel, cookies and cream, strawberry and mint! It was a fun day! So many choices, not enough days to try them all out! Stop by next time and say "HI". Blessings!

meatloaf and not the singer(sorry)

I really love meatloaf! I love the many ways and combinations that some people come up for making a very simple meat dish! Some are very great tasting and some I wouldn't feed to the dog(which we don't have anymore)! I got this latest recipe from thepioneerwoman.com website(I love that site), thanks Ree! I made a few changes as I didn't have everything that she uses on hand, so here is my take: 1 cup of canned milk, 1 cup of bread crumbs, 2 pounds of ground meat(I used venison),1/2 cup of parsley chopped, 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 4 eggs(beaten).Preheat oven to 350. Mix the bread crumbs and milk, add meat, salts, black pepper, cheese and parsley, then add the eggs. Mix well with your hands. Place into pan, I used an iron skillet! Glaze is 1/2 cup of ketchup, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of mustard. Pour this over the meatloaf and bake for 45 minutes at 350. Very pretty and excellent taste! Blessings!

pie

Here is the pie and all her glory!

Paula Deen

I really enjoy Paula Deen, some people don't and that's ok! But I had leftover squash from supper tonight and decided to make a squash pie, then I decided to make Paula Deen's pumpkin pecan pie using squash! Who knew!!!! Anyway, here is her recipe with my twist: 3 eggs, 1 cup of corn syrup, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 cup of squash pureed, 1 cup of pecans and 1 9 inch unbaked pie shell. Preheat oven to 350, using a mixer add eggs, sugar and corn syrup, mix well, then add the squash, butter. Place pie shell in pan and arrange the pecans on the bottom of shell, slowly pour the mixture over the pecans. Bake for 1 hour or until the knife comes out clean, this is very important, PLEASE cool the pie before serving! YUM!!!! Blessings!

dips

I came across a recipe yesterday for apple pie dip. I think that is what I will demo for Friday at the store. It was pretty simple, cream cheese, brown sugar, apple juice, and a cut up apple. It seems to be the season for apples and what you can do with them! Any suggestions, please leave a comment! Blessings!

All alone

This afternoon, I am all alone!YIPPEE!!!!!!!! Oh, I said that out loud!LOL!!! Gordon went with a friend(Bill) to Eau Claire to help load a garage door and shingles! They will have a fun day! For me, I came right home from church and started baking! I made 4 loaves of chocolate zucchini bread, 2 pans of Eggplant Parmesan, and baking a Mother Hubbard squash as I write! I love squash, not so much a pumpkin lover! I realize there isn't much difference in the texture, so it must be the spices! I was reading in Fine Cooking magazine about pumpkins and they had quite a few recipes, so I thought I could use the squash instead of pumpkin! Blessings!

BBQ fest

Well, we went to Luck, WI. today for the BBQ fest! You know your in luck when you're in Luck, that's what the sign says in Luck! No kidding!! Anyway, we got there in time for the chili cook off, but too early for the ribs and chicken! Shucks!! But we talked to several cooks about smoking meats and got some information on how to use the smoker! That was the plan, but the best part was we were together for a fun day! This is a very small fest and I can see the potential of this festival getting bigger! After all, I saw the article in the St. Paul paper, and they said other people had already came through saying the same thing! Then we stopped at the apple orchard on the way home and got apple donuts to eat in the car with coffee, YUM!!!! Blessings!

smoker

Gordon got a smoker from his friend, Tad. They moved back to Texas and didn't want to haul it, so we are so excited to try a smoker! We had one and I didn't like it, everything tasted like ham! Ham is not my favorite meat to start with and then to have chicken and turkey taste like ham, ugh!!!! But we think this will be better, different kind of smoker and maybe we are more willing to take a risk at smoking meats! Tomorrow we are thinking of going to Luck, Wisconsin for a BBQ contest and taste some meats that have been smoked! Blessings!

Thursday

I'm feeling better and going to work today! Do some of you remember that I talked about how excited I was that I hadn't killed my rosemary plant! That I had Rosemary for 2 yrs and I was so happy! Well, she died! I over watered her and she died! Well, new Rosemary is thriving and she doesn't look as pretty as the other one but, I'm happy that she is growing!! Wish me luck in wintering her over! Blessings!

sick

I can't believe that I have managed to catch a cold so early in the season! I was actually hoping that this was a seasonal allergy, but I don't think so! I have no sick days at my job, so I am left to take a vacation day for every sick day, BOOHOO for me! But maybe I will get some extra cleaning done today and laundry(how can 2 people create so much laundry?)! Blessings!

something to talk about!

From time to time, I have something to say and no one around, isn't that just the way it goes! I read about 7 blogs on a daily bases and not all of them update daily! So, I'm challenging myself to say something intelligent daily for you all, even you lurkers!!! We have been blessed with one of the worst gardens in the history of Gordon and his gardening escapades! 45 tomato plants and not even a ice cream bucket full! 12 eggplants and 1 stinkin eggplant! No onions at all and a few peppers! Potatoes are not much this year, maybe 2/5 gallon buckets! But when we have had plenty, we have given away to other people, so, this year it's payback for us! People are so gracious and we have had 4 plastic grocery bags full for us to eat or make salsa! Thank you Mark and Joanne!!!! Just remember the blessing of sharing with others! Blessings!

class

I took a cooking class after work on Saturday for appetizers. It was fun, lots to eat and new recipes! I was thinking about Sample Fest which is held at the grocery store in Dec. whether or not I could incorporate some the recipes for that day! Well, I might be able to do one or two, but for family and friends, yes I can! I will share along the way the recipes and have photos for you! But until then, that's all I got! I'm taking a class next month on using my pressure cooker! I'm so excited about that since I begged for the cooker and have used it once in 7 yrs! Good grief!! Blessings!

morning glory

My son-in-law saved me some seeds from their morning glory that they grew last year! Here are my results from this year! Gorgeous!!!! Thanks Trevor, you are the best and most favorite son-in-law! Blessings!

winner

I love cooking, therefore I love watching the Foodnetwork, reading every food magazine that suits my fancy and blogging about food! So, I was thrilled when the woman I was rooting for on "The Next Foodnetwork Star" won!!!! Aatri is a wonderful chef and blogger! So, I watched her new TV show and made this chocolate pie from last Saturday's show!! All I can say is YUM!!!!! Recipe follows: I made a graham cracker pie crust, but Aarti made a chocolate wafer/gingersnap pie crust for her pie. Filling for pie: 2 cups of whole milk, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of corn starch, 5 oz of bittersweet chocolate, 2 Tablespoons of chopped candied ginger. Make crust using a food processor to crush cookies or crackers, add 3/4 cup of melted butter and pulse together, put in pie pan and bake for 10 minutes at 350. Mix milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in saucepan, then add sugar, corn starch, and chocolate. Bring to boil over medium heat whisking constantly for 1 minute(watch this). Stir in ginger(I omitted the ginger) and pour into pie shell. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours( this is so...............long). Serve with whipped cream! Blessings!

soup

I made soup yesterday for lunch. It was venison bow tie vegetable soup! Very good! Gordon had seconds which doesn't always happen!! We also ate leftover choc. zucchini cake for dessert! Pictures of the soup didn't come out very nice, so I won't post them! This is a photo of the little buck(snot)that is nibbling on my grapes! Maybe he'll be in the soup next year!!! Blessings!

sorrow

Our daughter had a miscarriage today! They were so excited to be pregnant, but God has the bigger plan! We know that God is still faithful and in control, that is all we need to know! Blessings!

friends leaving :(

Our dear friends, Tad and Dana are going home to Texas because of her job! She's a brain(the blond in the photo) and Tad(light shirt) is a tall Texan! So, they take off Thursday and a few other friends are coming here for lunch/brunch tomorrow! We(I) love to entertain, especially small groups of friends, that way you get to talk to everyone! We are thawing out a ham, pickled cucumber salad, chocolate zucchini cake and deviled eggs, that takes care of my part of the lunch! Ruth is bringing her hash brown potatoes, Dana is bringing something from the freezer( I have no clue what it is) and haven't heard from Lori! There will be lots of laughing and a few tears! We know that we will see them sometime, probably when we truly retire and travel to Texas! Blessings!

Fall is here!!!

Fall is in the air in northern Wisconsin! I hate to think on what comes after fall!! Winter is not my favorite season, too cold and too long!! The trees are starting to turn colors! Mums are in the stores, pumpkins are starting to show up also, and the temps are dropping! I think soup is on the menu for the weekend, with maybe some homemade bread! Venison barley soup sounds good to me! Blessings!!

Wednesday

Well, today being Wednesday and I have a new followers(Hi, Stephanie)! I thought I would post a recipe for all of you! Mimi's cheese bread: 1 loaf of Vienna or french bread, 1 onion- chopped, 1 stick of butter, 1/2teaspoon of Lawry's seasoned salt, and muenster cheese. Preheat your oven to 350, melt the butter and chopped onion in the microwave, add salt when melted, take bread and slice, but (here's the tricky part) don't slice all the way through, leave it partially attached on the bottom, slice cheese and put in the between the slices of bread, put foil on baking sheet and place bread/cheese on foil, pour the butter/onion mixture over bread/cheese and wrap foil around the bread/cheese. Bake for 30-45 minutes and enjoy! Blessings! P.S. I took pictures, but it just didn't do the bread justice!!