Tuesday

It's cloudy and cool here today! We need rain so bad! If I didn't work, I would have baked all day and cleaned house! I love baking on the cooler days, it's so fun and relaxing for me! What do you do when the weather cools off??? The recipes for this week are kinda fun! The first one is a take off on a appetizer my sister made a long time ago. You need a 8 oz. package of cream, crab meat from a can and cocktail sauce. It's a dump and pour recipe. Put the cream cheese on a plate, cover with cocktail sauce and then the crab meat, YUM!!!! But for the public, I will mix the soften cream cheese and cocktail sauce together, it's a safety issue! Have a wonderful evening!! Blessings!

Summer

Man, summer is flying by! It's hard to believe that summer is half over! We are going over to Kate and Kurt's on Saturday and bringing home 2 grandchildren! It will be the oldest and the youngest this time! Alex is 11 and will go fishing with Grandpa(please Alex, take Grandpa fishing). Kora is 3 1/2 and will hang out with me. We may go to a friends house and make soap! Kora has never been here without parents, so it will be interesting! We love having the grandkids, it gives everyone a break and gives us time with them, so we are able to see personalities and have some sort of input into their lives! Do you have any favorite stories of visiting grandparents?? I do and someday will share! As you can see by the photos, the kids were smaller when they were taken, about 2 years ago.

soup's on

Today I'm making Italian wedding soup. Never made it before, so I hope it's a winner! It's a take-off on Ina Garten's recipe, so it should be good! I've got frozen homemade meatballs (made from venison) that need to be used, so that's what inspired me today. The basic recipe is: 1 onion, chopped, 1 large carrot, chopped, 5 cups of chicken broth, meatballs, small pasta like orzo, and add spinach at the end! Pretty easy and simple, I like simple! I decided to make this in the crockpot while at church, so we'll have it later! I love the crockpot, I use it alot especially when I'm working, dinner's ready when I get home, how neat!! Today it's cooler weather, so soup will be nice and light, served with a salad! Do you make a favorite soup? Do you use your crockpot? Any recipes to share?? Have a blessed day in Christ!

Dog

Here's our newest member of the family! We love dogs and have had 4, this is number 5. His name is Diesel and he is 15 months old! Such a baby, makes me laugh most of the time! Gordon has a shadow and companion, trying his patience on training for hunting, but what funny guy(dog)! Do you have a dog or cat?? What funny antics do they pull?? Let me know! Have a great day and God bless your homes!

Farmer's market

I love spring, but when summer arrives, I know it is farmer's market time! We have a garden and a pretty large one! Gordon is the gardener, I'm just the canner, preserver, freezer person! Tomorrow is Saturday, I go to the local farmer's market with $20 and see how far I can stretch it! I usually stay in that budget, but as summer progresses I sometimes go overboard! Right now, there's radishes, snap peas, beets, onions, lettuce, spinach, new potatoes, beautiful flowers, cilantro, and strawberries! I think I named everything, I just know it's alot of produce and I LOVE it!! My head starts spinning on what I can make for the week ahead with all the goodies! I hope you come to the farmer's market, meet the farmers and enjoy the company of other shoppers! If you see me, let's walk around together and maybe later go for coffee downtown!

cookbooks

How many cookbooks should one person have?? I think that's a question for the ages! About 5 years ago I got rid of 25 cookbooks that I didn't use or intend to use, now isn't that a shame! One person bought all of them, so what does that say? I marked them too cheap!!! I have to admit, I'm a cookbook junkie! My husband said he wasn't buying anymore and then brought home a cookbook from a local church where he had repaired their furnace! How many do you have?? And now I've started to collect printed copies of recipes I have found online, man, it's too much!! Now, I have to organize them! Some of the best recipes I have found recently are from 2 websites: 1. smittenkitchen.com. Deb doesn't update as quickly as I would like, but hey, that's me. 2. thepioneerwoman.com Ree has many recipes I have used in the last 3 months. The best ever sheet cake is probably the best sheet cake I have ever had, her lasagna is very good( I have made it 5 times) and I don't do lasagna as it's too putsy,but I've made hers!I did change a few things with her recipe, not so much meat and grated cheese as compared to her sliced cheese! Her cinnamon rolls are ok, mine are better! Her friend, Hyacinth's cookies with apricots are very good.
I'm still hoping some of you friends and family members will quit lurking around this blog and actually jump in and send me some recipes! Talk to you later!

Rodeo

Rodeo time is here! It's a big deal for little Spooner, Wisconsin! People come from all over to see this rodeo! So in honor of the cowboys and cowgirls, we will be doing a bean salad on Friday!
Best -of -the-west Bean Salad: 1 cup of salsa, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 large green pepper, diced, 1 medium red onion, 1 can(15oz,) kidney beans(rinsed and drained), 1 can(15 oz.) pinto beans, rinsed and drained. Mix all to gether and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally, garnish with cilantro. YIPPEE!!! If you make this, let me know what you think of it! Happy trails to you!!!