Our tiny gardens our finally starting to produce.
I really wasn't anticipating much from the gardens this year due to such a late start from all the spring rains we had. We got past that and finally got seeds and plants in the ground then we got the exact opposite. Hot..Hot weather and very little rain.
So far the zucchini, squash and cucumbers are doing well. The green beans have finally begun producing and so have the tomatoes but the tomatoes are not growing very big.
Not sure if I will even get enough this year to can spaghetti sauce with but I've got cucumbers galore.
Plenty enough to try my hand at making pickles.
These are dill pickles and the tiny jars contain some blueberry jam that I made this morning.
I'm still waiting to see if the jam thickens up a bit more. I tasted it and it's good but a little on the runny side. I guess if it doesn't set up then we'll have blueberry syrup for pancakes, ice cream topping or whatever else we can think of.
It's been a long day in the kitchen so I'm off to relax a bit in the pool.
Have a great evening!
Hi everyone,
It's Monday again and time for Homemade by You over at Farmchick's.
My submission for today is this cool and creamy fruit salad. It is so easy to throw together and it's very versatile. You can follow my recipe or use your own favorite fruits to make this healthy and yummy dessert. I will tell you that bananas are delicious in this salad but the leftovers don't look very pretty by the next day as the bananas turn brown. (even if dipped in lemon juice first)
Creamy Fruit Salad
15.25 oz. can of fruit cocktail in it's own juice, undrained
15 oz. can of sliced peaches, undrained
15 oz. can of sliced pears, drained
24 oz. can of mandarin oranges, drained
20 oz. pineapple chunks, drained
1 pkg. fresh strawberries, sliced
1 large box sugar free (or regular) vanilla pudding
Combine all fruit and then sprinkle the dry pudding mix over top. Stir gently and refrigerate.
Enjoy!
We finally got a little bit of relief this evening from the hot and muggy weather and thank goodness for that!
I'm not overly fond of all this heat and humidity so after dinner I skipped going outdoors and went to my room to jump on my laptop. Not long after that Katie came and got me saying that it was getting awfully dark outside. Next my Mom and Dad called.
They were out shopping (about 1/2 hour away) and had to pull off the road due to heavy winds, rain and hail.
So I figured I better get out back and get my laundry off the clothesline before the storm got here.
I watched the clouds twist, turn and bubble and then the lightning and thunder could be seen and heard.
The storm wasn't quite here so I grabbed my camera and stood right outside the door trying to capture a picture of lightning. Do you know how hard it is to snap the picture at just the right moment??? Let me tell you it is HARD but I finally caught one. (Click on picture to enlarge.)
Once the rain and wind began I couldn't see a thing out my back windows.
Out front you could see the rain coming down fast and hard in sheets as the wind blew.
Thankfully no damage here at home but lots of trees and power lines down all over town.
Once the worst was over, I headed back outdoors to watch the storm as it traveled southeast.
You could still hear rumbles of thunder in the distance as the sky lit up in shades of purple.
Now the humidity is gone, replaced with some pleasant cool evening air. Wish it would stay around a bit longer but I believe tomorrow is gonna be another hot one.
Enjoy your weekend and stay cool!
Good Morning!
Hope you all are beating this heat and staying cool.
That picture above is what my cooking has consisted of for the past couple of days. It's just too hot to heat the kitchen up but we still gotta eat so I've opted for a few days of crockpot cooking.
Crockpot #1 has peeled red potatoes cooked in chicken broth. I cooked them on high all day, drained them and mashed them up with a bit of butter and milk.
Crockpot #2 was a Spicy Sweet Chicken recipe that I found and had been wanting to try. Everyone had their doubts when they found out the ingredients used in it but once it was cooked they all agreed it was yummy!
Crockpot Spicy Sweet Chicken
3 lbs. chicken breasts
1 tbsp. oil
16 oz. jellied cranberry sauce, divided
1/4 cup Spicy Catalina salad dressing
2 tbsp. dry onion soup mix
1 tbsp. cornstarch
In a skillet, heat oil and brown chicken on both sides.
Place chicken in the bottom of a greased crockpot.
In a large bowl, combine half of the cranberry sauce, all of the Catalina and onion soup mix.
Pour over chicken.
Cover and cook on Low 6 hours or High for 3 hours.
Stir cornstarch into the remaining cranberry sauce.
Add to crockpot and stir to mix it all up.
Turn slow cooker to High, cover and cook for another 45 minutes or until bubbly.
Enjoy!
Oh, before I go I gotta tell you this.
Bad Luck Stikes AGAIN!!
LUCK is just not on my side this year when it comes to appliances.
First my computer crashed and I had to buy a new one.
Next I think was my stove which turned into a 6 month nightmare followed by my refrigerator and then my dryer (which thankfully my Dad and son were able to fix). Well yesterday my deep freeze quit working. I went to get a popsicle out of it and quickly realized they were no longer frozen. Just a puddle of sticky goo!
Logan and I unloaded it and put what I could into my frig/freezer and the rest I had to pack up and take to Mom and Dad's freezer. Needless to say we'll be shopping soon for a new one and it won't be at SEARS. (If you're wondering why then read THIS.)
Dare I say what else could go wrong??
I think the only other appliance that we have is the microwave and it's up there in age too so I better not.
Hope you all can find a cool spot until all this heat passes.
Hey everyone,
It's Monday so it's time to link up with Farmchick for Homemade by You ~ Monday.
Today I tried to beat the heat by baking these this morning before it got so hot out. Needless to say the house is still hot and the A/C is working overtime but we've got some homemade sweets for after dinner! *That is, if they last that long*
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
4 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
6 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 (11.5oz.) bags chocolate chips
I'll tell you before you even start that this is a large batch and the dough is very thick. Also, my chocolate chips sunk to the bottom of my batter bowl so the cookies that I scooped from the top of my bowl had far less chips than the ones on the bottom. You'll need to get in there with a big wooden spoon (or your hands) and stir them up good throughout all of the dough.
Mix all ingredients together.
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until browned.
Enjoy!
As for the staying cool part... well I'm trying.
It's hot but the humidity is the killer!
It's a good day to stay indoors and work on this.
Hope you all are staying cool!
Chinese isn't high on my list of favorite foods so I never make it or buy it but as I was browsing through some recipes I stumbled upon this and thought I'd give it a try to see if any of my family liked it.
I served this on a hot day when I didn't really want to cook or eat anything heavy so I just served it with a side of sauteed peppers and squash from the garden and it was pretty tasty.
Pork Lo Mein
1 lb. angel hair pasta
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
4 tbsp. lite soy sauce
2 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. olive oil
4 tsp. cornstarch
2 lbs. pork chops, sliced diagonally into 1/4" strips
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. parsley
Cook pasta, drain and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, 2 tsp. olive oil, and cornstarch and then set aside.
Heat the 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Add pork strips, garlic and pepper. Brown and cook until done.
After pork is cooked thoroughly, add the cooked spaghetti, soy sauce mixture and 2 tsp. parsley.
Stir well and let cook until sauce thickens.
If sauce gets too thick you can add a bit more chicken broth to thin it down.
*I think this would be good to with some added veggies like peas, broccoli, diced carrots and so forth.*
Enjoy!
Hey y'all!
It's been a while since I've been on my computer. Hubby was on vacation last week and the above saying kinda sums up our week.
We didn't do anything special, just stayed home and relaxed in the pool as we tried to stay cool.
I spent most of the week preparing for our big yardsale that we have each summer. This year there were six of us girls and loads and loads of goodies.
Lots to go through, price, organize and sell but we did it and made more money than we ever had before. Woo-hoo!
All good things must come to an end!
So vacation is over and it's back to our daily routines.
I've got lots of catching up to do so I'll be stopping by all of your blogs soon!
Hope you all are staying cool in this hot weather!
Zucchini season is here and even though I only planted a few plants they are doing really well.
I checked on them the other day and found five that were ready to be picked. I sliced a few up and cooked them with a little onion and olive oil and the others got grated to make these yummy cream cheese frosted zucchini bars.
Frosted Zucchini Bars
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup oats ( I ground mine fine in the food processor but you could leave them whole)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix eggs, sugar, butter, applesauce and vanilla in a bowl.
In another bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and then add to the egg mixture.
Stir in zucchini, raisins, walnuts and chocolate chips.
Spread into a greased 11X16 bar pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool and then frost.
Frosting Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Cream together the cream cheese and butter.
Add vanilla and powdered sugar.
Spread on top of cooled bars.
Refrigerate and Enjoy!
Anyone have great plans for the weekend??
Nothing too fancy going on here!
It's supposed to be a hot one so I'm guessing we'll spend a good many hours in the pool.
Hubby is also on vacation this week so that means we've got a lazy week to sleep in and do whatever we want. No alarm clocks ringing in my ear at 5:30.....Yippeee!
A cookout with the family and a few fireworks are all that we have planned.
On the sewing front:
Of course, I still have to sit down and put the last few berries on my stitchery and then decide what to do with it. (frame, pillow,etc.)
I spent some time last night tracing a few more stitcheries that I plan to work on but NOT until I get the first one finished.
(My future projects)
I'm not sure where all the time goes but these summer days just seem to be flying by!
Hope you all have a great holiday weekend!
