Yumminess

Sorry about the poor quality of the photo.

Many thanks to one of my favorite blogs Plain Chicken for this fantastic recipe. Of course I tweaked it somewhat to fit my family's taste, so if you want to original recipe, pop over to Plain Chicken to find it plus some other great recipes of all kinds!!!

Here's my version.

• 4 cups chow mein noodles
• 1 cup candied pecans
• 1 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup of your other favorite nuts
• 1 candy bar finely crumbled
• 3/4 cup semisweet white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 to 1 cup peanut butter

 

1. Combine chow mein noodles, nuts and crumbled candy bar together and set aside.
2. Combine sugar and corn syrup in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. This takes about 5 minutes.  Add peanut butter to that and continue to stir another minute or so until peanut butter dissolves. Remove from heat. 
3. Pour melted mixture onto dry mixture.  Gently stir together and pour onto a large greased pan spreading mixture evenly.
4. Allow to cook at least 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
5. Cut into bars and enjoy!!!

This was the second batch I've made in a week so they go fast!!

 

Now onto something awesome, if I do say so myself.

Two of my grandbabies are growing up so fast it blows my mind.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Smoothie, Yummm!

I have a Ninja blender & have been enjoying smoothies as I'm losing weight. This recipe is quick, healthy & delicious. 

Juice of 1 lemon 

Zest of the lemon

1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

1/2 cup orange juice

One 6oz cup of favorite yogurt 

A couple cube of ice

Blend for 30 or so seconds

Enjoy!

Stew from Leftovers

I had lots of different leftover containers in the frig & decided to see if I could get another meal from most of them. The easiest is to make a stew or soup. I combined the tomato & onion soup to English peas, shredded carrots from my veggie bin; I diced up a New York strip steak, added 1/4 cup catsup, 1/2 cup water & sprinkled some bacon bits to add a bit more flavor. All this I heated in a large sauce pan for thirty minutes. Serve with cornbread or garlic toast.

While I was whipping up some lunch Mr. Cowboy was dealing with our wild hog issue.

Exhibit A & B

These two were caught in our hog trap & weren't happy one bit. Cowboy had to load them in the trailer to haul them off to a local guy who, I don't even want to know what he does with them. If you are unfamiliar with the damage these critters can do, they root up fields, yards, crops, etc. They carry disease and are extremely dangerous to people & pets. Mr. Cowboy has caught a dozen these past few weeks but that hasn't even scraped the surface. 

Enough about that. I hope you all have a great & safe Memorial Day weekend.

From My Garden-BOW and Challenge

Cucumber

is the last block of

From My Garden!!

 

 

 

If you are wondering where the photo and designs are.... I don't know why they won't load but I was able to post photos in the previous post this morning. I'll attempt to post the pattern a little later. Please bear with me in this trying process.

 

Of course, I've had fun coming up with blocks and finding tasty recipes.
With the cucumber as the last block I've decided to go a step further.
I'm challenging those of you who have participated or those of you are going to participate in making all the blocks to arrange and make a quilt From My Garden blocks.  There will be a give away
May 1, 2014 for the quilt that has the most votes from the bloggers who visit my blog.
I will have more information during the first couple of months in the new year about the "big" prize for the winner.

Cucumber Salsa

by Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup peeled, diced cucumber
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno
• 1/3 cup diced red onion
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine the mango, cucumber, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice and cilantro leaves and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

From My Garden-BOW

Green Onions are great in a salad.

 

 

Stir-fry Recipe

 

Cube your favorite meat into manageable pieces (chicken, beef, pork or lamb)

Thinly slice the following

 2 carrots

 2 onions

1 red or green bell pepper

 a clove of garlic, (optional, I love garlic so I tend to use it)

Drain one can of pineapple chunks but keep juice handy

1 small pgk. frozen snow peas

Salt/pepper

 

Heat wok or skillet on medium to high heat before adding peanut oil or your favorite oil.

Add meat and salt/pepper.  Stir continually for about 3 to 5 minutes.

Add all other ingredients except juice from pineapples, stir continually.

If necessary, add tablespoons of juice. The more you add the sweeter if becomes. I don't add very much.

Serve over a steaming portion of rice.

Enjoy!!

 

 

From My Garden-BOW

Apricots. I sometimes like to show the insides just to add interest.

Enjoy

Adding slices of fresh apricots when baking pork chops lends a slightly sweet flavor. 

Another idea: cubed apricots, onions, frozen peas and 

green bell peppers work well when stir-frying shrimp to serve over rice.

Quick and Easy!

Want a quick pie to make when company comes unexpectedly or for a morning brunch or for that special someone??
Well I have one for you and it's just right for those of us who have a sweet-tooth but don't need a lot of sugar in our diets.

Using your favorite pie pan, spray with Pam or your favorite non stick spray then

place one Pillsbury unbaked crust in the pan. Peel and cube 3 apples of your choice. I use the Delicious Apples but any will do. Spread the cubed apples on crust. Add several pats of softened butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon Vanilla; 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon Allspice; 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar; 1 tablespoon flour;   3 generous tablespoons of strawberry preserves or any type of jam or jelly such as apricot, peach or raspberry. Fold gently to mix. You could mix  all the ingredients in a bowl then pour over crust but it's just as easy and less fuss this way.

Cut long lengths of the second crust and artfully place over top of everything. As you can see, I am not that artful when it comes to pie crust.

Sprinkle a bit of sugar and cinnamon over the crust before baking. This will make the crust come out golden brown.

Bake for about 1 hours at 325 degrees or until the crust is golden brown.

Serve with ice cream or whip cream or coffee or iced tea or.........sorry, as you can see I've eaten this pie with several options.

 

Ayden came for a visit and showed off her Barbie doll. She wished me a very happy birthday, gave me a big hug and threw me a kiss. What more could a GoGo want!!

 

 

 

Agave Anyone??

 

I was surfing the net the other week and saw a video about this wonderful "stuff"

I can't remember who shared the recipe but I do want to give him credit for the refreshing

drink.

You will need.....

 a blender

35 red seedless grapes

35 green seedless grapes {I know this sounds strange but stay with me}

1/2 cup of lime or lemon juice

1/2 cup of Agave Nectar

1 1/2 cups water

6 ice cubes

Blend for several seconds. Strain to catch grape skins and froth. Chill for 30 minutes and enjoy.

This makes a quart or maybe a little more. It's refreshing on a hot summer's day or as a pick me up.

Saturday Dinner

I woke up thinking about today's dinner because yesterday a friend and I visited a natural foods market and decided to purchase an exotic meat, Elk. A friendly stocker-guy  told us how he prepares it and encouraged us to try it. So when I got home the first thing I did was make a marinate and tossed the Elk meat in over night.
Marinate Recipe (this is one I love and there's really not any measuring but I'll try to simplify)

I know you can't really see the Elk but it is ready to grill.

• 3 teaspoons brown sugar
• 3 to 5 teaspoons Balsamic vinegar
• salt/pepper to your liking - at this point I substitute my special mixture of fajita, pepper, Accent, garlic salt and onion salt.
• mix well then pour into a zip-loc bag and add the Elk or any game meat. This marinate also works great on flank steak, pork roast and even a roasting type hen. Marinate overnight or at least a few hours.
• Broil (500 degrees) or place on the grill (medium heat) 10 to 13 minutes each side or to your liking.
• After removed from head, allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing across the grain.

 

The morning is was still young. Looking in the frig, I stumbled upon one of my favorite veggies, so an idea struck.  I'll make an Eggplant casserole (my way, of course).

• 1 Eggplant, sliced
• 2 goose-neck squash, sliced (optional0
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup grated cheese (I use Colby/Monterey Jack but you can use whatever type that you prefer)
• 1 can spaghetti sauce

Layer Eggplant, squash, onion, cheese and sauce in baking dish sprinkling salt/pepper as you go.

Side view.

This is what it looks like before covering with foil and baking in 325 degree oven for one and a half hours.

All finished and ready to eat.....

YUMMY!!

 

What's For Dinner - Friday

 

Okra & Shrimp Gumbo & Cornbread ......yummy!

 

• 1 bag frozen whole okra - I like to thaw them out, chop off the ends...crazy, I know.
• 1 medium onion chopped or diced
• 1 small package cooked shrimp
• 1 can whole kernel corn - drained
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasonings
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Optional - bacon bits

Combine all ingredients in a large cooking pot along with one cup of water. Simmer for an hour or two and serve with hot cornbread. 

• I forgot to mention to also add 2 cans of stewed tomatoes. The tomatoes I added were from by garden from last year.
•  
• Sorry about that!!

What's For Dinner??

What's for dinner, you asked?

Steamed veggies!

There's 1 sliced white onions, 4 large cubed carrots, 1 sliced yellow squash and 1 head of broccoli flowers.

I seasoned all with a dash of sea salt, pepper and paprika.

Seam for 12 to 15 minutes and serve with your favorite bread.

Yummy!! 

Pickled Peppers

 

My wonderful neighbor gave me a bag of bell peppers the other day, and boy did they look delicious. She was talking about freezing her's but I immediately had thoughts of canning mine. So here's the results and the  very quick recipe.

• 2 1/2  to 3 pounds of bell peppers ( I mixed in 1 large red bell pepper for coloring)
• 3 medium onions
• 3 large jalapeno peppers
• 5 cups cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 5 teaspoons canning salt
• 2 tablespoons celery seed
• 4 Tablespoons mustard seed

This is a "cold bath" type of canning method, so read up on the process because it really isn't any cold water involved.... LOL

I used pint jars and one quart jar just because I didn't want to buy more in this late season.

Prepare canning bath (meaning in very large pot boil water to place mason jar content into)

Clean and seed bell peppers and jalapeno peppers. Slice bell peppers into thin strips and jalapenos into rings.

Peel and slice onions into 1/2 inch thick slices to be placed in jar at very bottom and very top.

In a medium sauce pan, pour vinegar, canning salt and water. Bring to a boil.

Mix celery seed and mustard seed together

Make sure that mason jars are clean before packing veggies inside.

My method is:

• onion slice
• bell peppers strips packed tightly
• jalapeno pepper slices
• sprinkle 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of seed mixture
• onion slice
• Pour vinegar mixture over top leaving 1/4 inch at top of jars.

Process in water bath for approximately 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool at room temp. When lids pop.... this is a good thing!! 

Reminder!!

My little Mug Rug Give-away is still in progress. To get in on the action, just leave a comment and mention MUG  RUG  in the comment to be placed in the hat.

What's for Dinner?

Shrimp Noodles!

Sorry about the photo.

I love this quick and very easy recipe.

1 package of cooked shrimp (any size)

1/2 cup raw carrots sliced or diced or slivered

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers

4 pats of butter

Shrimp seasoning or salt & pepper or both

Noodles, pre-cooked (your favorite type) I used some leftovers from a spaghetti dinner

In a large skillet, melt butter. Add raw carrots, onions and bell peppers on low heat for about 5 minutes.  Add shrimp plus seasonings. Cook for another 5 minutes.  Finally, add the noodles and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve with garlic bread and a green salad.

Delish!!!!

Leafing Through The Year - BOM - Block #8 & Announcement

I'm posting Leafing a few days early because the next few days of my life are going to be hectic with family fun and a lot of bar-b-quing, corn on the cob, volleyball, card playing and watching Ayden bounce around (one of my favorite things to do, BTW).  

I'll be starting the Teapot BOM on the 2nd (look for the give-away on that post) and Going Buggy is still in progress, as well.

Here's a quick recipe for 

Broccoli Salad

1 to 2 heads of broccoli, cut into small flowerlets 

3/4 cup bacon bits... if you love bacon, add more

1 red onion, chopped

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Colby cheese or a cheese of your liking

Mix well and set aside

Combine 1 cup real mayonnaise, 5 tablespoons cider vinegar and 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar. Mix well. At this point, you may want to taste this mixture. If it's too tart, add more sugar, if it's too sweet, add more vinegar.

Pour mayonnaise mixture over broccoli mixture and blend well. Chill before serving.

Enjoy!

Block #8's Link is here and on my Sidebar.

Chit Chat & A Give Away

Let me tell you about my weekend!
First I had a little visitor......yep, you guessed it, Ayden came for a visit showing off her new hat that she picked out all by herself.
After some vigorous playing, on Ayden's part, as GoGo sat watching from a safe distance......that little girl has too much energy.....I wonder if she'd be willing to share.......LOL.  This was followed by a nice chicken salad, fruit and crackers lunch then Ayden and parents headed out for home.

 
Which brings me to the fresh figs I got my hands on. Five pounds of them. I plunged in, cutting off the stems, cut them in half, poured sugar over them and began the one hour process of cooking and canning. OMG, the smells were heavenly. I wound up with 5 half pint and 4 pint jars of fig jelly. There was about a fourth of a cup of juices left so I saved that in the frig to pour over a pork roast that I'll be cooking in a couple of days. I throw nothing away......LOL

Recipe:

5 lbs. figs

4 lbs. sugar

Remove stems; cut figs in half; pour into large pot, figs and sugar. 

Cook over low heat stirring constantly until figs are tender and there is plenty of juice. (about 30 to 40 minutes)

Pour into hot mason jars, seal and place in hot water bath for 15 minutes.

Now, for the give away.  

Let's see if any one else resembles this...

I often go to quilt shows, love just about everything I see and wind up purchasing designs and patterns that, at the time, I just know that I'll get around to making very soon. Needless to say, it "never" happens and I'm left with these wonderful patterns, not able to throw them away but they are taking up space that fabric could be using.

Anybody out there have that problem?

So, I'll be giving away these types of things for a bit. If you want a chance at this first one just leave a comment on this post and you are in the "HAT"

I'll pull a name in a few days, get the winner's addy and rest a little easier.

In the coming months, I'll be doing some other give aways that are slightly more complicated because more items will be involved but that's another story....LOL

Blanch, My Way

Blanche Devereaux

Rue McClanahan from the Golden Girls

I'm sorry, not that kind of BLANCH, I'm talking smaller than a bread box.

Specifically squash..... you knew it cause I have loads of the wonderful little yellow goodies from just 7 plants. OMG it's amazing.... they seem to just pop up over night.
So here's the procedure for blanching squash before freezing them.

• In a large cooking pot, fill with water and bring to a boil.
• Slice 15 to 20 medium squash, thinly (do not slice before water is boiling. This allows the starch to remain and not seep out).  We wouldn't want all those great vitamins and other goodies to escape.
• Place sliced squash or whatever veggies you have into boiling water. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes.
• In another large pot, have iced water ready for dunk veggies into to cool.
• Scoop hot veggies into iced water for stand for 3 to 5 minutes then scoop into freezer bags.
• I like to add water in my freezer bags to do away with freezer burn....... just sayin'

Bugged Out - Part 2A and Carrot Recipe

Well, as you can see, I haven't gotten very far.  Mom's minimal back surgery went well and I've been watching over her so very little time for sewing these days.
I did get to stitch around two critters.  I used stitches that looked prickly and generally would make your skin crawl...... LOL.... I know, what am I thinking.

Fresh Carrot Recipe  

  If you love carrots then this is a great recipe for you.

6 to 8 medium fresh carrots diced

1 Tablespoon maple syrup or your favorite syrup

1 Tablespoon butter/margarine/your bland

salt/pepper to taste

1/4 cup water

In a sauce pan, place diced carrots, water and all over ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Cool until carrots are fairly tender.  Serves 4

3 Onion Soup

Does it seem as if I'm more interested in food than sewing lately?  It's possible.
The other day, in a moment of weakness and very cold weather....I had a hankering (great need) for soup.  I thought long and hard......did I want veggie soup, beef or chicken soup, maybe a chowder??????? What to make........I stomach was starting to make demands. I spied croutons in the cupboard and inspiration took hold.  Here's the recipe for my 3 Onion Soup:

• 1 each of red onion, yellow onion and white onion - chopped or sliced thinly
• 2 small cans of condensed milk (Pet milk)
• 1/2 stick butter or 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup flour
• salt/pepper to taste
• garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup grated cheese of your choice
• Croutons
• 1 tablespoon parsley

In skillet, saute onions and garlic in butter until tender
Add flour stirring constantly
To that, add milk slowly, stirring constantly
Pour into a sauce pan to simmer.
Add salt/pepper
As onion mixture thickens, add parsley
Serve hot - sprinkle cheese over top along with croutons 
Total prep to serving 30 to 40 minutes
Note:  I'm a taste as I go sort of girl, so I'm always tasting and adjusting the ingredients to all of my recipes.  In other words, if you need to add more pepper or salt or even an ingredient that's not in my recipe, please do so. Make this recipe your own!

GoGo's Scrumptious Bread Pudding

My grandma used to make bread pudding all the time when I was little. Of course I didn't know why, I just knew it tasted great.  She was obviously using the stale bread leftovers.  Who would guess that stale bread or days old bread could be turned into something so tasty.
I just recently decided to make bread pudding for the holidays.....can't believe that I hadn't done this before.
This is a very easy and quick recipe and if I can make it.....you can make it.
You will need 5 slices of buttered bread. Go ahead and cut the bread into small squares after buttering or do as I do, tear into small pieces.
1/2 cup of sugar. I use the "raw sugar" but the refined sugar is just as good.
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Allspice
An 8 X 8 inch pan
Preheat over to 300 degrees

In a medium sized bowl beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk together.  In the pan place the bread pieces over the bottom. Sprinkle the spices over the bread using your judgment.  I use more Cinnamon than the other spices because I love the taste.  Pour the ingredients of the bowl evenly over the bread.  At this point you can sprinkle more spices over the top or not.  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until set.
Slice into squares and serve warm or refrigerate and eat anytime. It's great with coffee or with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.

Company & Tuna

So, I was sitting around this morning enjoying my day......thinking about what I wanted to sew on this time, picking out thread colors, tone on tones, even cleaning my machine.....when the phone rang.....it was at this point that the little devil on my left shoulder whispered....don't answer it.....yes that sounded like a plan........but that silly phone just kept on ringing........the good angel on my right shoulder whispered.....what if it's your mom or the boys....they could need your help..........evil angel chimed in with........but this is your day to do whatever you want.....remember???.....

What a dilemma.....to answer or not to answer, that is the question.

Unfortunately, I answered the darn thing to the following conversation.....Mom..."Uh, we're going to have company in a few minutes, do you have anything 'they' can eat".......Me....dead silence...followed by a bumping noise where I'm knocking my head against the nearest wall.........Mom...."Are you there?"........Me...bad angel whispers.....made some static noise and hang up....followed by good angel....she'll know..........!#~$%^&*(}~......Me...."Yes mother, I'm here"......unfortunately whispered under my breath...........

Long story...short......mom brought some cousins up to my house to visit (mom doesn't cook for herself very much these days...that's my jog..which I really don't mind) because they hadn't seem me since I was a baby.....boy have they been out of touch......anyway, I made Tuna Salad.....

Yummy & Quick Tuna Salad

chop half an onion

chop one Delicious Apple ...2 if you really love them

boil and chop 2 eggs

chop one jalapeno pepper (optional)

chop one half bell pepper

2 large cans Tuna in water, drained

mayonnaise

1/2 cup chopped pecans 

Mix everything except mayo, well in a large bowl.

Add several tablespoons of mayo....I really can't tell you how much. It's as desired.

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Serve as sandwiches with chips or over thickly sliced tomato...Yum!

I would show you the end results but the cousins ate it all up.

OMG!  Enough said.