"I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told." -Mark Twain









8.30.2013

Kick-Off Football Season with a Few Great Recipes!!

YAY!!! YAY!!! Football season has officially begun!
Football brings up so many good memories at our house.
Besides the game, one of the best parts about football is
THE FOOD!

I pulled six (earlier published) posts together into one place to share fun football food (English teachers love alliteration). All six recipes would be good for watching TV at home OR for tail-gating with your favorite team. 
The first recipe is a CORN AND FRITO SALAD. This recipe was given to me by our school secretary. It is fast to make and delicious to eat. IF you have leftovers, it can be refreshed with some fresh Fritos. 

 Next we have PIZZA BALLS. I saw this in a recipe book one day I was thumbing through at the store. I did not buy the book, but I did try to remember the recipe to make at home. This is also a quick recipe and a great finger food. These disappear quickly. 
 Who doesn't love MEATBALLS? This recipe makes a massive amount of meatballs. It has a quick little BBQ sauce that goes on the top that actually makes the recipe perfect. These would be easy to make ahead and warm up on game day. 
MEAT PIES AND FRUIT PIES are one of my favorite things to make. I will fully admit that they can be kind of labor intensive, but for an hour of work you get massive amount of great pies. The compliments you get are worth it. These would be super for tailgating. 

 Both the fruit pie and the meat pie recipe can be found on here.

 SAUSAGE BALL appetizers along with LORI'S A DIP DIP can be found on this page. The appetizers make up quickly and the dip is hands down one of my family's favorite dips ever. Go see how it got its name. 
Finally, I included my LASAGNA CROCK POT recipe. It hit me that this would be great to make the night before and be ready in the morning to take tailgating or just to have ready at home. I use a crockpot liner so it makes the cleanup super easy. 

Hopefully one or more of these recipes fits the bill for great football food with family and  friends (more alliteration) at your house. Enjoy! 
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8.29.2013

I'm In A Hurry to Get Things Done.....

 Want a meal that is fast and easy?  Not only that, but tastes delicious? Frankly, this meal is so easy I feel embarrassed sharing it. But just in case anyone needs a quick-meal idea..........
 Start by buying a package (obviously I always get the big family size!) of boneless skinless chicken breast. I use the solid side (pictured below) of a kitchen mallet. I put a couple of the breast in a ziplock bag and pound the heck (yes, the heck) out of it. 
 I then set the pounded-thinner-breasts into a casserole dish. As you can see, I just squeeze them in there. I sprinkle the chicken with (my preferences only---you can do whatever you want) garlic salt, onion salt, and red pepper flakes. Then I generously cover the entire dish with Italian dressing (the kind already made in the bottle). Truth be told, I just buy the cheapest bottle at the store. 

Cover the pan with foil and put in the oven to back at 350. The length of time depends on how much you are cooking and your oven. Just watch them. While the chicken is baking, fry up a package of bacon. You might as well fry it all, because it gets nibbled on the whole time you're cooking. I guarantee that. When your chicken is done, take it from the oven and lay two or three pieces of bacon right on top of each chicken breast. Then cover the bacon/chicken with a slice of some type of cheese. I usually use a good sharp cheddar. Put back into the oven (without foil) only until the cheese melts. This step should not take long. It is really that simple. I guarantee everyone will love it. LOVE it. 



 With the chicken, we frequently serve twice-baked potatoes. I think they intimidate some people and they couldn't be easier. (Mine aren't always pretty, but they are very tasty). I have also discovered that the crock pot is a great place to bake potatoes. Just wrap them like normal and leave them in on low all day. It works great. (Thank you Pinterest). Ok, back to the twice-baked: I cute my potatoes open and scoop the potato out, leaving only the skin.
Put the "inards" of all your potatoes in a bowl. Then I add a stick of butter (cut up), sour cream and shredded cheese. How much you add of those is purely up to you. We like our potatoes thick and tasty, so I add several big "globs" of sour cream and a big handful (and I have big hands!!!!) of shredded cheese. Keep in mind I am usually making at least 8!!


 Moosh (technical cooking term) this all together in your bowl until it is well mixed. Then "refill" your potatoes. There should be plenty for all your 'skins. If you will notice, I have left each skin shell in their own foil. I think it is just easier this way. (And by the way, I have put all the foil/shells on a baking sheet. Sorry I forgot to mention that.) 
 Put them in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. You want all your good goop to be warm and melted together. I know this sounds very vague, but please try it. The amount of what you put in your goop should depend on what YOUR family loves, not what my family loves. I have also been known to put ricotta cheese and crumbled bacon in it as well. Make these what you like. 
At the end, it really is a fast and easy meal. If you have the potatoes baked in a crock pot, you can get the potatoes ready while the chicken is cooking. For our family, we usually have all the staples needed for this meal in our fridge and pantry. That makes it super easy to get a good meal on the table. I hope I have convinced you that both are easy to make and delicious. Let me know if you try this!
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8.27.2013

(more) Fool's Gold

 In my on-going quest to de-summerize my house, I worked on the rest of the living room (after I made the new collage wall). 

 It was basically as simple as replacing the red and blue vintage books with warmer colors. I had taken down the antique bunting weeks ago. (Although I failed to get a picture of the toned-down version before I changed it this past weekend.)
 You have to look very closely, but this is really a collection of three old frames. They are all ornate and all shades of gold. When I got the two square ones in the front as a present, I just brought them into the house and propped them on the fireplace
 It was going to be temporary, but there they have sat all summer. I do have plans to take at least two, if not all three of them down soon though. But it involves me getting all three of my sons at home at one time. It also involves some heavy lifting for those boys. No, it is not the frames that are heavy, but some furniture I need them to move around. Once the furniture moves around, then I can move the frames. 
 My mother still does not get my big old empty frames. That's okay though. She asks me about them every time she comes over and I try to explain "the look" every time. She'll be surprised soon with their rearrangement....if I can get my sons here! 
 One thing she does "get" though is my love of books. Old books, new books, ebooks, treasured books. She is the one that passed that love of books on to me. I never have a problem with decorating with old books of any color. As people have passed away in our family, I have become "the keeper of the books". That's a good thing! 
 The old sconces on the fireplace lend their beauty to my love of gold. The best part of their position on the fireplace is how they reflect in the mirror, not only when they are turned on, but the crystals reflect as well.
 Although the mirror is (in my opinion) too big, I do like how it reflects everything we put on the fireplace. For instance, we get to see the binding of the books, and the mellowed old pages. In this picture you can see the three different frames as well. 
 Even though this antique horse (previously weather vane in his old life) is bronze, his patina now is almost an old gold. 
 I have had that horse for almost 35 years and I have found a place for him in every home. For some reason he always seems to be galloping away in his present position. I never notice it until I have taken a dozen or more pictures
 Of course we can't forget my brass table from Egypt. It too is no longer "shiny", but has aged gracefully and even has a little "turquoise" peaking through in places. Perfect. 
So while it is still very hot outside, it is starting to feel warm and cozy inside. It's the time of year when we slow down and appreciate all the little beauty around us. Obviously, it's something we should do everyday, but God's paintbrush is a very vivid reminder as these days slowly turn to fall. 
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8.26.2013

Gold Diggin'




I titled this post "Gold Diggin'", but it should actually read that "I'm digging gold". I put this mini wall collage together this weekend, and I think it's "as good as gold".
 It all started because I found this pretty little watercolor (pictured below), when the Hubs and I cleaned out the garage. My 3rd grade teacher painted it and gave it to me 35 years ago, after I wrote a story about her remarkable teaching career for the newspaper. As you can see, the painting was still wonderful, but the frame and mat were in poor condition and outdated. So I decided to clean it up and change a few things.
 Then I was looking around for somewhere to hang it. It is just a small watercolor, so it could easily get lost with our 12 foot ceilings. I could not find a more updated picture, but (below) is basically how this area looked up until Saturday. I did have that cute little brown table (from the first pic) under this piece of antique ceiling tin, but other than that, it was like this.
So I was walking around with the updated and cleaned up watercolor when it hit me that I could put the painting right by the piece of tin, under the light switch and right above the table.

 And it was actually cute like that. So I kept it that way. For about 15 minutes. 
 I had used the yellow mat and just painted over it with some gray paint I had. Then I used a bottle of "old gold" Rub and Buff on the frame. As my husband pointed out, it took me less than 15 minutes to have a completely "new" watercolor. 
 Well I loved the gold tin with the (faux) gold frame. But while I was sitting there on the sofa I saw the glass number tray. I had already (E6000) glued a hook to the back of it ages ago, but had never hung it up. So I hung it up. Then there seemed to be a little space on the side. So I got the mini glass letter tray out of the closet. It too had already been "hooked" a while ago. 
 And I was happy with the way it looked. For about 10 minutes. 
 So I took the little wooden frame I had found in a drawer this summer when cleaning. I had even left it out after finding it because I knew I wanted to do something with it. I loved it's small size and I thought it would be cute with an antique broach or something. But before hanging it in it's new spot, I put a small layer of old gold around the inside rim. 
 And I hung it up. I was happy. For about 5 minutes. Well, it did look cute just sitting there in its emptiness, but why be empty when you can be full? (And I knew I could never explain it to my mother. She questions by big empty frames each time she comes over!!! ha!!)
So I pulled my gold 5 off of the bookshelf it sat on. (I collect 5's because of my 5 children.)
 And I loved it. More than I even dreamed I would. So I was happy. For about 2.5 minutes. 
 But that empty space beside the (ugly) light switches just kept taunting me. Over and over. And I kept thinking of what I could possibly put there. 
 Then as I went to get a new lightbulb for the lamp, I saw the small gold "L" also sitting on a shelf. Ding. Ding. Ding. Perfect. 
 So I hung the "L" and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was perfect. Almost. I realized that my silver lamp was oh-so-not-good with all the old gold. So I took the lamp out to the garage. 
 I gave it a quick coat of ORB (oil-rubbed-bronze) paint. Then I highlighted a few spots with the old gold Rub and Buff. 
 And I sat back and LOVED it. Yes, I did. Yes, indeedy!!  
 I wish I could sit here and tell you that I planned for all that old gold to be together. And that I searched high and low for those glass plates-turned-wall-hangings because I wanted them to match the shade from the bronze and gold lamp. I could lie and say that I had planned all along to put a gold L and a gold 5 up to also tie in with the typography from the plates and lampshade. But it would be just that. A big lie. It all just came together without any planning. Because I found that pretty little watercolor from one of my all-time-favorite-teachers. 
 But then as I sat there reveling in my not-planned-and-not-one-thing-bought-mini-collage-wall I saw this (above) out of the corner of my eye. A blank wall with only an old World War II mortar basket sitting there. 
 It taunts me. It wants to look like it's twin on the other side. Hmmmm. Hmmm. 
 And of course that ugly light switch needs something not so plasticy. Not to mention the actual switches need to be switched out to all white. And is that a blank spot above? Like perhaps it should all be a little more equal in height? What do I have I could put up there? Hmmm. Let me think! 
But for now, I'm digging all this gold. All because one little watercolor deserved a place of honor. What have you "found" lately that caused you to change things around? 
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