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Saturday, July 31, 2010

7-31-10

I was reading a post on Walgreen Facebook
site about who was getting a flu shot this
year and do you know that about 95% of all
the comments said NO! There was about 439
comments! I am so glad I am not the only
one that thinks flu shots can be unhealthy for
you. That's about like getting the H1N1 shot.
They freaked everyone out about that then it
dropped off the face of the earth and you
heard nothing more. They gave out free
shots for the kids at school. I DID NOT
have my kids get them. How fast did they
make these potions to inject people with
that they did not have very many
guinea pigs lined up to see if they did
work or even prevented the H1N1 virus???
AND do you actually know what kind of
contaminents they are injecting you with???
There was one company that was giving
away $10,000 to someone who could actually
prove that they did work. No one won
that money!!!


Maybe for some the flu shot works. But I
got a flu shot 13 years ago at work
and still ended up with the flu. They say the
flu shot cannot give you the flu.
But they can only guess as to what kind
of flu will be going around that year.
And if they guess wrong you can still
pick up another strain of flu!
I never got another flu shot again
and took my chances. Knock of wood,
I have yet to have the flu for the past
14.5 years!

Just take the ordinary precautions of hand
washing, taking vitamins and things of the
sort.

__________________________________

Well today I woke up and started
cleaning. I clean everyday so it's
nothing new. With kids you could
still clean 24-7 and never get ahead.

Anyway got the living and dining
room tidied up, kitchen cleaned, dishes
washed up and carpet cleaned. Not the
greatest but it looks better than it
did.

Getting ready to head to the store
and to a parts store to get
the suburban on the scanner to
see if we can figure out what it's
problem is.

---------------------------

Back from getting the scanner put on
the truck. It said it was misfiring.
We'll no duh, we knew that it wasn't
running on all 8 cylinders at times.
So what is causing the misfire?
Does that little machine of theirs
say that, heck no!

Have you ever had them put one of
their scanners on your car?
How many times have they told
you oxygen sensors are at fault.
I think about every time we've done
it, it's said that. We know
it's not those sensors because
they are newer.
Wonder how many oxygen sensors
these stores sell in a year's time???

Friday, July 30, 2010

7-30-10

8:30AM

Going to yard sales this morning.
Afterwards will be working on
3 cookie recipes. Contest is open
through tomorrow so time is running
out!

Dewaine is supposed to be coming
home from the hospital today, yeah!
He keeps telling everyone that in
about 5 days he will be back over
here to finish up our fence!
Can you believe that???
I can't, especially after seeing
pictures of him after the accident.
I think he should take it slow
and easy for awhile. I just can't
picture him picking up 40 to 80
pound bags of cement or fence panels
or digging more post holes with
some fractured ribs!!

12:11PM

Just back from yard sales.
It sucked today.

We went to McDonalds for breakfast
and use two buy 1 get 1 free
sandwich coupons.
Then got the $1.00 large soft drinks.
The drinks still have the free
coupons on the for smoothies or frapes!

From yard sales I got:

X Large travel cup with lid .50 cents

women's wallet/change purse .5 cents

Toby Keith CD $1.00

________________________________

2:00PM

Just finished making and
putting my first round of "cookies"
in the oven. Now I'm sitting back
and waiting.

Did get word that Tony's bonus
should be on his next paycheck.
That's good to know so I can
breathe a little easier!

Crap, I gotta go out and take pics
of the Trans Am. Tony's brother
was wanting to see it and says he
was interested in it. Not holding
my breath on this because he's probably
more talk than action.

_____________________________

Yesterday I pushed our bed over to the
wall more and took out my bedside table.
Now I have about 6 inches between the
wall and bed. Last night I was missing
a table to put a remote or my drink
on so came up with this idea.
I had an extra little wooden shelf
that I put about mattress level.
Works perfect for that small space!
The shelf even has a groove in it
where people would prop picture
frames up on it. If I had reading
material I could set it upright
and that groove could keep
my book/magazine from sliding off.



_______________________________

2:30PM

My "cookies"




And since I have already entered the recipe
I can now share it with everyone.

Caramel Apple Empanadas
makes 21 empanadas

1 package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
5 ounces cream cheese
21 ounce can of apple pie filling
1/4 cup caramel syrup
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl add sugar cookie mix. Cut in cream cheese until thoroughly combined.
If preferred you could use a food processor instead to combine
cookie mix and cream cheese.

Take 1 1/2 Tablespoon dough and roll into a ball. Place on lightly floured surface and using palm of hand flatten into a 4 1/2 inch circle. Carefully, using a spatula, move to a cookie sheet.
Do remaining dough the same way.

Spoon 1 teaspoon apple pie filling
into the center of the dough circles.

Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of caramel sauce on top of each one.
Using a pastry brush or fingertips, dip in water, and run along
edges of dough circles. Carefully fold dough over into half circles
and gently press edges together.

In a small bowl whisk together egg and 1 teaspoon of water.
Brush each top of the empanadas with the egg wash.

In another small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon.
Sprinkle over top the egg wash on each empanada.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown.


Provide tips or variation ideas for making this recipe:

You could replace the apple pie filling with other fruit pie fillings.
Instead of the egg wash and cinnamon sugar,
you could glaze them with a combination of 1 cup confectioner's
sugar and 1-2 Tablespoon milk once they are baked. Either way, they
are delicious.
Can serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.


Share your inspiration for this recipe:

My family loves apples. I wanted to create a smaller apple pie type cookie
that wasn't so messy for my kids to eat. They are easier to pack in
lunches, and eat when on the go, when compared to a traditional apple pie.
My kids are hard to please and when they gave my recipe thumbs
up I knew I should enter it in the Betty Crocker Cookie Contest!

________________________________________

6:55PM

Kendra just sent some pics of Dewaine.
This is him leaving the hospital today.




_____________________________

9:30PM

Just finished up the yard.
Got the back yard mowed and Tony
weed whipped everything.
Then we proceeded to the front
yard and I trimmed 11 bushes.
Can't wait to see what the bushes
look like out on the corner since
I was trimming them in the dark, LOL!

Well gonna go and try to get the
feeling back in my arms and hands.
That bush trimmer has numbed everything!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

7-29-10

12:00PM

Well it isn't looking like today will
go as planned. We were planning on having
Tony and his friend work on getting cement
around the posts this evening. Now they
are requiring all employees to have mandatory
overtime today. So who knows.

I am currently working on our bedroom
wiping it out. I am hanging those one
shelves I originally had in the kitchen,
in the bedroom. That way Tony has a place
to put all his car nick knacks.
Not fun at all getting them even
and spaced just right.
Took out a night stand
in there and pushed the bed over more
to give us a little more room
to maneuver around the closet area.
I don't think they designed these bedroom
with a queen or king size bed in mind.
I think a king bed would take up that
whole bedroom!
A lil squishy but tolerable with a queen bed.

12:30PM

Tony and Randy came over to check out the
fence. All I can say is that Dewaine
and myslelf were on the same page.
He understood what I was wanting to do.
I'm about ready to google some do-it-
yourself videos and me and Tony can just
wing it with what Dewaine has told me so far
about fencing. Dewaine probably thought
I was a bother watching him do what he's
done so far but I was learning
as he did it. So maybe between me
and Tony we can do the fence/gate
and posts across the drive way.

1:10PM

Just got done mowing the front and side
yards. Whew it's warming up, but I think
it's just me sweating. I would have mowed
it earlier like I wanted but Tony had
the key on his key chain. Good thing
he stopped by today on his lunch hour
so I could unlock the shed to get the mower.

___________________________________

5:20PM

Working on pulling supper outta
the crock. Put a deer tenderloin,
a can of tomato sauce, 2 packets
of brown gravy and some onion
seasoning in there and have had it
cooking on high for about 5 hours.

Neighbor kids have been in and out
and in the yard most of the day.
Had a teenager kid ask
me if we owned guns because
there is a Rifle Association
sticker on our screen door outback.
My answer was, that's for burglers
to find out. I left the question
up in the air. We have nothing
more than BB guns, baseball bats
and a ferocious dog (LOL) but with a sticker
like that on the door it will make
you wonder. Hey it was a cheap
form of security. I think I got
an advertisement in the mail
wanting us to sign up for the Rifle
Association. Don't know why or how
we got it but inside was a sticker.

__________________________________

I forgot to mention this from yesterday,
We stopped in McDonald's to get a large
pop for a buck. On each cup was a coupon
for a free smoothie or frape!!

__________________________________

Called Kendra at 7PM Dewaine just got
back to his room from recovery.
The novicaine in his face was starting
to wear off and he was feeling
a little pain. But it all sounds
like it went well. Now will start
the healing process. Not sure when
he will be able to come home from OSU.
So far he's been in there 3 days.

__________________________________

GARAGE SALES TOMORROW

Great sale - tons of girls clothing, toys, ceiling fan, paint, household goods and more! Don't miss this one - Friday 8:30-5 and Saturday 8:30-? 241 E.North Broadway, 43214
-----------------

Part of the neighborhood sale at Shadow Wood Farm
Colony and Hempstead, next to Inniswoods Park
Fri and Sat 30 & 31st

Tons of books, games, shoes, baseball and football cleats!!
Wrestling shoes - headgear
Clothes
DVD's
Coca-Cola misc
Antique baby rocker
Lots of cute country decor
Curio cabinet
Much, much more!!!!
------------------

HUGE Multi-Family Garage Sale! This FRIDAY, JULY 30th, 9am-4pm. 175 E. College Ave in Uptown Westerville (just east of State Street.) You can park on the opposite side of the street from the house.
-------------------

5150 Smothers Road
Westerville, OH 43082

--------------------

Neighborhood Garage Sale
Shadow Wood Farm
Colony Drive off Hempstead Road, just south of Inniswood Metro Gardens
Westerville 43081

Friday and Saturday
July 30 and 31
(Some houses will only be participating one of the two days.)
9am-3pm

saturday
North Linden Neighborhood Rummage (behind Northern Lights Shopping Center) Sat. July 31st (raindate Aug. 7th). 8a.m. to 5p.m. Too many items to list. Too many families to mention. Stop by 3493 Kenlawn St. to pick up a map of the streets included in the sale.

----------------

25 83F ERRIS PARK DRIVE SOUTH, OFF FERRIS BETWEEN CLEVEND AND WESTERVILLE ROADS.
JULY 30 AND JULY 31 9 TO 5

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

7-28-10

9:10AM

It's taken me a few, with everything
going on and all, to think of the
perfect recipe for the cookie contest.
Nothing like cramming for a cookie
contest at the last minute.
I got the idea from another past contest
recipe that took third place. So why not
run with the idea and see if it could
do it again in another form.

10:25AM

Just back from Kroger. All I can
say is I'm thankful for 25mph speed
limits. Because Hop Along Cassidy,
I mean the Explorer, was lucky to
do that speed limit! It's going
downhill and I'm not sure I want
to put the money in it to fix it.
I sometimes smell antifreeze which
could mean the heater core is getting
ready to go out and it needs a speed
sensor. When your speedometer needle
bounces all over it has a hard time
figuring out your speed and when it
should shift gears. I'm guessing
we were in about 1st or 2nd gear
on our trip to the store. If I went
any faster it acted as if it threw
itself in neutral.

So you can see how bad I've got it
for getting these recipes made for
the contest that we hobbled along
to the grocery store and back.
I could really, really use $5,000
right about now along with selling
off a few other cars to get me
a good running Explorer.

While at Kroger I found
4 loaves of whole wheat grains wheat
bread for .50 cents a loaf!
And I had a hankerin' for some
tortilla chips and salsa, so got
some of those also. Thanks Kendra,
LOL!, got me all worked up for some
homemade salsa and chips that unfortunately
never made it over here with Dewaine
yesterday.
_______________________________

10:30AM

Why does it take so long for this
Ibuprofen to kick in???
For the past two days I haven't
been getting around too well due
to the muscles in the back of my legs
aching. And when you walk with a limp
it throws everything else outta wack so
now my back and hips hurt. Can't win!

I'm gonna go work on my next recipe
for the contest. Got my fingers
crossed on this one!!
It has exactly 7 ingredients
and should be really easy to make!

______________________________

My horoscope from yesterday:

Confidence and inner harmony prevail.
You can move forward with creative
projects and express yourself more
easily and comfortably now.
Your efforts are well received at
this time.

Hmmmm this sounds like when I wasn't
going to accept being the Downy contest
winner due to not wanting to fly.
But I was able to work it out that
we can drive there instead and still
attend. I was able to get all my paperwork
done yesterday and sent out. It should
be on their desk in their office
right about now!


_______________________________________

We do have a backup person that is coming
over starting tomorrow to help with getting
the rest of our fence up.

I went outside today to soak up some
sun and check out what we have going
with the fence. Our neighbor who lives
directly behind us, and has probably lived
there for many years, thinks he can
do whatever he wants back there.
For starters we have a grass alley
way behind the houses. That is city
property. It does not belong to any
houses around here. It is for any
access to telephone poles that
may be back there. Right after we moved
in the backyard neighbor made himself known.
Not in a friendly way either. I decided
to mow half of the alley way behind our
house. He came out and told me he mows
that, not us. The people before us didn't
mow it. Well, I am not the people before,
I am the people now, so he needs to get
over that! He got tired of people driving
through the alley way and put up a hitching
post, oops I mean fence to block them
from doing so. He did a half assed job
on his fence for starters. Then he put
his fence half way into the alley.
Then where our yard was, decided he would put
down these huge rocks to help
block it even more. He said he was making
a flower bed. Flower bed my ass, it looks
horrible and ain't no flower ever lived
in there. What pisses me off is that
three quarters of these rocks he put down
is in OUR YARD, and the other quarter is
in the alley way, blocking off alley way
access. Then a couple weeks ago I noticed
dead grass around the rocks. He came into
our yard once again and must have sprayed
weed killer and killed the grass around
the rocks. The funny part is that he put
up this half asses fence and boulders
in the yard and people are still
driving through the alley way. Instead of
coming straight up to the road at the end
of the alley, they are now driving up
between his house and his neighbor's house!
LMFAO!! But I am still pissed he
has this crap in our yard and thinks
he can do what he wants outside his
property line!! I'm really considering
rolling these huge rocks into his yard.
Then maybe putting up a half fence to let
him know where he needs to stay out of!!

Here you can plainly see where he
dumped all this crap in OUR yard!!
He did it to keep people from
driving in the alley. The only
problem is that he HAS NO BUSINESS
IN OUR YARD!!
He knew at one time we were gonna
put a fence up. His comment was
that we should attach our fence to his!
I DON'T THINK SO!! So now I fear he
will one day go out and put up
a fence and attach it to ours!!
If that happens then I will call the
township he lives in or the city.
Half the alley to the left is township
and half the alley to the right
is city. But I am not gonna be fined
for blockage of an alley way.
Our fence runs to our property line
unlike his which goes into the alley.

Here is the mess load of large rocks
he dumped on OUR property without
OUR permission. This looks hideous
and does not look like a flower
bed to me as he claims.
You can see the top of the sewer
grate. That runs down the exact
middle of the alley.

Here is a direct view of the alley
way behind the houses. You see
how a section of his fence goes
into the alley. He did not have
permission to do this. This IS NOT
his property!!

Our grass he killed with weed killer.


Here's a picture that I drew on
to show where I would like to put
up a little fence to keep the neighbor
out. Doesn't have to be a privacy
fence but at least some kind
of dividing line to keep him out.



______________________________________

4:10PM

For those who are wondering about
Dewaine who was in the car accident
yesterday, Kendra says she will
send me pictures of the truck
and of Dewaine. I just spoke to her
and he will be having surgery
tomorrow I am assuming on his
face for his nose and cheek
damage.

_____________________________________

9:00PM

Just returned home from Tony's dad's
birthday party. It was pretty humid
outside! Everyone had a nice time.
They had a cookout, lots of food
and cake and ice cream. Everyone's
tummy got full and then some.

Kendra sent me an email and some
photos of Dewaine and his truck
from yesterday.

Here's her email:

To all my family and friends. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. As many of you know my daughter is recovering from surgery on her jaw and then yesterday my husband was in a 4 car accident. He is having surgery Thursday. He has 5 broken ribs, 3 broken bones in nose, his cartilage in his nose is mush, his left eye socket needs rebuilt along the bottom edge of his eye and above his skull is fractured on the left side and had stitches in his nose. He is dam lucky to be alive










Tuesday, July 27, 2010

7-27-10

7:30AM

It's one of those mornings I could
have stayed in bed a few hours more.
Back of my legs are still hurting.
Hoping some Ibuprofen will help.

This afternoon we are going to Lowes
to get some cement for the fence posts.
Then I need to stop in Walmart to
pick up a photo. I guess I got there
too late last night to be able to
get it then.

Gonna start breakfast of strawberry
banana yogurt with some warm chocolate
muffins from the oven.
Then I'm gonna get started on one
of the recipes for the cookie contest.

__________________________________

10AM

Got my cookies in the oven.
Now the wait begins to see if they turn out.

It's not easy coming up with your
own recipe. You have to write down
exact measurements of everything
and the details on how to make it.

You can get ideas from other recipes
but are not allowed to use someone
elses recipe.

I, myself, try to make something completely
different than past winners. I take note
of what has been made. I'm sure everyone
is tired of regular cookies and the
ordinary bar cookies.

10:15AM

I keep sneaking peeks in the oven.
So far it is looking good, and smelling
good :0)
Being a new recipe I have to keep watch
to see how long it cooks for because
I have no idea and have to keep checking.

It gets tricky, you can only use 7
ingredients and one of those 7 has
to be the packet of cookie mix.
I have managed to keep it at 6
and that didn't include a little
water, don't know if they count
water as an ingredient.

____________________________

10:40AM

And here is the end result.
Some dusted with powdered sugar
and some without.




_________________________________

11AM

Just because I have nothing
else better to do at this time.






___________________________________

10PM

I have not had any internet or phone
since 11AM today.

My friend was supposed to of been
here around 1:00 to 1:30PM today
to start cementing our fence posts.
When he hadn't made it by 2:00PM
I knew something was up. He is a very
prompt person and sometimes even shows
up early to work. And I know if he
is running behind he would call me.
At 2PM I called his phone and he didn't
answer. I called his wife telling her
it wasn't like him to not be here.
She hung up and was going to try to
get hold of him. It wasn't 5 minutes
later that someone had called me back
saying he had been in a serious accident
about a mile from my house (was on the
way to my house) and was rushed to OSU.
It's not been a very fun day playing
phone tag with everyone to keep updated
of what his condition was. He was wearing
his seat belt but his S-10 pickup was so
totaled that they had to pull him out
through the back window. If I get this wrong
Kendra, please forgive me, as it's hard
to keep up with everything at the moment.
But here are his problems,
broken cheek bone, badly broken nose
with a nose bleed they cannot get stopped,
they actually found his eye glasses
embedded in the front windshield that
he was wearing, he has 8-9, maybe more
broken ribs, a concussion and something
about air pockets in his forehead, I didn't
understand that part completely. You know
how it is when people are very stressed
and talk fast. Now think about how I feel
considering he was on his way to my house
to do fence work for us when this happened!
So yeah I feel guilty at the moment.
Because if he wasn't doing this for us
he wouldn't be in the condition he is in.
He is a very nice guy and works his ass
off to help others. He didn't deserve this
today at all!!!!!! Now I hear he has to have
surgeries to repair his face and bones.
Kendra is supposed to sometime get pictures
of the truck and of him to show me as I cannot
get down to the hospital to see him.
And I am sure I would only be in the way.
Maybe when he starts to recover somewhat
and gets the attention he needs now.
This person, Dewaine, was the one I showed
the other day that was on Wall-To-Wall
sports on Sunday.

They say bad luck comes in three's
and I believe it.
First an uncle of mine recently
was admitted to the hospital for
blood clots and breathing difficulties,
next Tony's uncle has been in the
hospital for the last couple of
weeks in a coma, and now my friend was
admitted to the hospital from an accident.

---------------------

On the good side of today, I guess you could
call it that after what everyone's been through,
but not as important, I did get my paperwork
sent Fed Ex today to Proctor and Gamble
for the contest. So I guess we will
be going to that when they set a date.
I had never dealt with Fed Ex before.
I called and they came out to my home
to pick up the envelope I had to send.
It should get to them by tomorrow morning
to one of their offices in Nebraska.

This evening we stopped in Big Lots.
Had to find Tony's dad a birthday present
for tomorrow. Found him some solar yard
lights. They were $15 but had a mark
down price of $11 on them.
Not sure why because I checked
the contents of the box and it all seemed
to be there. Then they had
their 30% off lawn and garden items,
so that made it about $7. So I ended
up getting them for half price of
what they originally were.
Also got him a set of moving men type
sliders you put under furniture to
be able to move it around easier,
for $4. Those things are great!
I have 2 sets!!
While there I got the kids
two 10 packs of glue sticks for
a $1.00 each and a double
package of 2 scissors for $1.25.
I splurged and got something.
Feel guilty sometimes getting myself
something but it was something the
whole family and neighbors could enjoy.
I got 2 packages of window flower
box brackets, each $2.50.
I think it would make the house
look nice with a couple window
flower boxes. I have some flower
boxes I am not currently using that
I could use for this project.
I could paint them white to match
the trim on the house.

That's all for now. It's been a loooong day!!

Monday, July 26, 2010

7-26-10

7:40AM

If you ever need to exercise your leg
muscles all you need to do is weed a
garden.
The backs of my legs hurt
so bad this morning.
And I'm sure giving
the dog a bath yesterday didn't help
with squatting over the bathtub sides.

Now if I could figure out how to
get rid of what the kids call either
bat flaps or chicken wings, the skin
that hangs on the underside of your
arms, then I be set.

Christmas in July. I'm gonna scream
if I see one more Christmas thing
on TV. HSN was selling Christmas trees,
they had Christmas cartoons on yesterday
and now they have something Christmas
on the news. Give it a break already.
When I think about Christmas all I see
are dollar signs!

Well I need to make some breakfast
for a hollering kid. Then work
on getting the salmon in the crock.
Will be glad to get that thing
outta the fridge because fish can
get stinky. Will probably stink
up the house while it's cooking.
Think I'll cut up some candles
and throw them in my potpourri
crock to help mask the scent.

_________________________________________

9:55AM

Just got done with my salmon fillets.
I marinated them overnight in some
Italian dressing, a little lemon juice
and soy sauce.
Today I breaded them with Italian bread
crumbs. I placed them on buttered
aluminum foil then topped with orange
zest and dill.
I crumpled up some aluminum foil and
placed it in the bottom of the crock
then added a little water in the bottom.
I then placed the salmon foil
packets on top. The crock is on
medium heat.





___________________________________



Here's an idea I had.
Some stores are starting to have Summer
clearances so that means those lawn
and garden items will start getting
marked down.
I was thinking about trying to find
some cheap solar lights. (should
have gotten some when I saw them at
Dollar Tree but figured they didn't
work too good for a buck).
I can have Tony drill holes into
the center tops of the fence posts
and insert the stake of a simple yard solar
light into them to illuminate
the tops of the fencing in the yard.
To get an actual cap solar light for
a fence post would run about $15 to $20 each!
I know at the moment Big Lots
has solar lights for 30% off.

Oh and if the power ever goes out
you could grab a couple solar lights
to use indoors instead of candles!

Just a thought I had.



________________________________________

10:35AM

What to do, what to do!

Just got a phone call from Proctor & Gamble.

I was actually supposed to of had my paperwork
sent to them last week if I was to go through
with the contest. I didn't turn it it pretty
much for fear of having to fly on a plane.
People with anxiety or panic attacks
would have a hard time with this.
I explained to the lady on the phone that
I won't fly on a plane. And she said
that they would probably cover the expense
of driving if we chose that route. I have
another 2 days extension on my paperwork
if I chose to go.

So driving expense would possibly be paid for.
I think any expense we would have to come up
with would be for meals.

So now I'm sitting here wondering what to
do. I'd have to get a babysitter for the kids
for two days. And I don't have a date
for when the trip would be.
Still need to send them a photo.
Think I'll use the one from Facebook.
They say they need one to use for publicity
all around the WORLD! Oh yeah that makes
me wanna puke! Well at least it would just
be a picture and not my actual self!

Too many thoughts going through my head!!

____________________________________

11:30AM

Today's garden goodies.



___________________________________

11:45AM

Well I woke up not feeling too bad
and in a half way decent mood.
Tony's getting rid of the pager today
so that's a good thing.
Now I don't feel like doing much of
anything! Maybe I'll try to go clean
the bathroom or something not too hard.
Guess it's the place to be when
you feel like crap or made to feel like
crap. In some people's eyes you cannot
seem to say or do anything right!
No it's not anyone in this
household. And here I was all excited
about the contest and possibly going
to do that. Didn't take long for someone
to ruin that moment.


__________________________________

2:30PM

Just discovered that Betty Crocker's
cookie contest
is going on NOW through
July 31st!!! AHHHH when did this happen???

It's only from July 5th to July 31st.
Wowzer the entry time has gotten a
whole lot shorter than what it used
to be.

You would think if you were a member
of their website they would send
you something in your email about it!!

I have ONLY 6 days to enter anything!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_______________________________

4:30PM

Took Salmon out of crock.
I made salmon fillets once awhile
ago and they were horrible.
Not sure how I fixed them or if
I even marinated them.
I'm slowly learning how to make
fresh fish. Tired of the boxed
kind.
I sampled a little today from
the ones made in the crock pot
and I give it thumbs up!!
Very good!




Here it is all put together.
I served it with sweet Italian buns,
cut in half and grilled with butter
and garlic. Melted some velveeta
and sour cream french onion dip in
microwave and spread it on top of bread.
Topped with a Tuscan blend seasoning.

For the pasta I used a box of
parmesan hamburger helper
(just the pasta and mix no hamburger),
boiled the pasta, drained. Then
added butter, a little milk,
parmesan mix from Helper box and a
couple squirts of Italian dressing.

This was not at all from a recipe.
Just something I threw together
as usual with ingredients I have
in the cupboard or fridge.



____________________________________________

Tony has to work late tonight due
to a property inspection tomorrow.
I still need to run to Kroger to
get a few things to start cookie baking.
So much for not using the oven.
At least the humidity level is
not like it was.

I have one, possibly two, recipes
I want to create. Who knows what
to expect with last minute entries.
The one that became a finalist before was
one of the last ones I entered
a couple years ago.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

7-25-10



9:00AM

Yesterday at 8am it was already 84 degrees.
This morning it is 77 and feels like 77.
What a difference when compared to yesterday.
When the sun was setting it seemed like
kids came outside to play. It was still
very hot out. I had junior high age kids
playing basketball here and they were
sweating up a storm. I took out a gallon
of water from the cooler and some cups
for them. My $12 thrift store water cooler
has been the greatest thing this Summer!
We don't buy water for it. Instead we just
refill it with tap water.
Our truck driver neighbor had a little birthday
party for his one girl last night at most
neighborhood kids, including ours, went
and had cake and ice cream. The only problem
I had with it was that he waited all day and
ended up having kids over at 9PM!! I think
that's a tad late to be having a kids party
don't ya think?!

-------------------

Sorry Kendra & Dewaine, I ended up falling
asleep last night before Wall to Wall Sports
came on. BUT I did dvr it so I wouldn't miss it.

Oh yeah gotta have some pics of y'all lookin'
like a deer caught in headlights! LOL!
Hey that's better than everyone telling
me I looked like Blair Witch when I was
on 10TV, LMAO!! But hey it was like 20 below
outside and I was having a cap on my head!
They zoomed in so close you could
see the pores on my face, ahhhh!



OK I better be nice, I still have the rest
of my fence to be done, LOL!
Y'all got more guts than I do
to go on tv!







__________________________________

$3:40PM

Just home from Kroger. Tony had to
pick up a prescription.
They had lots of sample ladies there
today :0)
While there I got the following:

2 packages 2 pound chicken breasts
$1.44 each

Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade Cups
.19 cents

Sweet Italian bread
.49 cents

Sweet Italian sub buns
$1.49

4 Mentos gums
$2.00 for 4

2 gallons milk
.99 cents each

Saw regular bread for .39 cents
but didn't get any.

Then we stopped by Speedway on the
way home and got 2 free 40 ounce
slushies.

On the way home the truck started
acting up. Tony thinks it's a
fowled out spark plug.
So there's more money to
spend to buy spark plugs
and hopefully that fixes the
problem. Bought a bottle of
Gumout to put in the tank.
I'm sick of spending money
on stuff. If they made things
they way they used to we
would have to kerplunk money
into things to get them repaired
or replaced!! Now a days things
are made cheaper with a higher
price tag on them!! Years
ago things were made to last.
Not now. They figured out how
they can make money off ya.

Don't know what was going on
around 315 & Henderson Rd today.
Saw the helicopter flying REALLY
low around where the bike path is
and just North of it along
Olentangy River. I thought
it was landing. Normally
you don't see the helicopter
in that area.

I think for awhile I'm gonna cut
back on grocery shopping as long
as money keeps flying out of this
house for one thing or another.
So unless it's dirt cheap or something
we really need, that's when I'll get it.

__________________________________

Today I spent cleaning the dining room
and vacuuming the floor. Then went
out and weeded out the garden.
I was a little behind with that.
But it looks good now and you can
see the veggies now, lol.



Tony putting in $40+ worth
of spark plugs in the truck.
Did not fix the problem of
running rough.





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I will keep this at the bottom of the page
so when you check back be sure to scroll up.

More jar and convenient mixes recipes:

CRISP IN A JAR

Note: I would let the jars thaw some
and come somewhat to room temperature
before putting in a hot oven!




-------------------

Homemade Baking Mix (AKA Bisquick)

Ingredients

5 ½ cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp baking powder
1 cup shortening

Mix all ingredients well until crumbly. Store in an air tight container.

---------------------

Homemade Italian Dressing Seasoning Mix

Ingredients

1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp ground oregano
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp salt (adjust to your own personal preference)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground basil
¼ tsp ground thyme
½ tsp dried celery flakes

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. To prepare the dressing: Mix two tablespoons of the mix with ¼ cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons of water, and ½ to 2/3 cup olive oil or canola oil.

--------------------------

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Ingredients

½ cup cocoa
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
¼ tsp vanilla

Mix the cocoa & the water in a saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve the cocoa. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Boil three minutes. Add the salt & the vanilla. Pour into a sterilized pint jar, and store covered in the refrigerator.

-----------------------

Homemade Pancake Syrup

Ingredients

3 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups water
3 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp butter flavoring
1 tsp maple extract

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Turn off burner, but leave pot on burner until the bubbling stops.

--------------------------

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 ½ cups chicken broth
½ tsp poultry seasoning
¼ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
¼ tsp parsley
Dash of paprika
1 ½ cups milk
¾ cup flour

In a medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, ½ cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining one cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until the mixture boils and thickens.

------------------------

Homemade Rice Seasoning Mix

Ingredients

¾ cup chicken bouillon granules
½ cup dried parsley
1 tbsp. basil
1 tbsp dill weed
2 tbsp, dried onion flakes
1 tsp seasoning salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped (optional)

Mix together and store in an airtight container. When preparing rice, combine 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, and three tablespoons of the seasoning. Bring your water to a boil and add rice & seasoning. Reduce to simmer and cook for eighteen minutes.

--------------------------

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Seasoning Mix (submitted by Marva)

Ingredients

4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Mix well. Store in an airtight container. Use this as a substitute for store bought pumpkin pie spice. Yield: 7 1/2 teaspoons.

---------------------------

Homemade Poultry Seasoning Mix

Ingredients

2 tsp. ground sage
1 ½ tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground marjoram
¾ tsp ground rosemary
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp finely ground black pepper

Mix well. Store in an airtight container. Use this as a substitute for store bought poultry seasoning.

-----------------------

Chicken Rice Mix

* 4 cups uncooked long grain rice
* 1/4 cup dry instant chicken bouillon granules
* 1 tsp. salt
* 2 tsp. dried tarragon leaves
* 2 tsp. dried parsley
* 1/4 tsp. white pepper
* 2 tsp. dried minced onions
* 1/2 tsp. sugar

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until evenly distributed. Put about 1 1/3 cups into three 1-pint containers and label as "Chicken Flavored Rice Mix". Store in a cool, dry place and use within 6 to 8 months. Makes about 4 cups of mix.

To use: Mix 1 1/3 cups Chicken Flavored Rice Mix with 2 cups cold water and 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pan and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. 4 to 6 servings

----------------------------

Sloppy Joe Mix

* 1 cup dried minced onion
* 3 Tbsp. dried green pepper pieces
* 4 tsp. salt
* 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
* 4 tsp. instant minced garlic
* 2 tsp. dry mustard
* 2 tsp. celery seed
* 2 tsp. chili powder

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in airtight container in a cool, dry place. Makes the equivalent of 8 packages purchased Sloppy Joe seasoning mix. 3 Tbsp. Sloppy Joe Mix equals one package purchased mix.

Sloppy Joes

Brown 1 lb. lean ground beef in a large skillet; drain fat. Add 3 Tbsp. Sloppy Joe Mix, 1/2 cup water, and 1 cup ketchup or crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover pan, and simmer 5-10 minutes until thickened.

-------------------------

Convenience Taco Seasoning Mix

1/3 cup instant minced onion
1 tablespoon crushed dried red pepper
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon instant minced garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons oregano

Combine all ingredients. Store in a jar and cover tightly. To use, measure 2 tablespoons to equal a package. Makes 8 packages or 1 cup mix.

Tacos
Brown 1 pound lean hamburger in skillet. Drain excess fat. Add 1 package taco mix and 3/4 cup water; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced. Stir. Place about 2 tablespoons meat mixture into each taco shell. Top the meat with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes and finely shredded lettuce. Makes 8 to 10 tacos

-----------------------------------

Convenience Salt-Free Seasoning Mix

1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dill weed
2 teaspoons paprika

Combine and place in an airtight container; store in a cool place. Use in place of salt to season food.

---------------------------

Basic Pancake Batter
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup dry milk plus 1-1/4 cups water or
1-1/2 cups fluid milk
3 tablespoons margarine

Thoroughly mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, dry milk (if used) and margarine. Store the mix in a jar or other airtight container. Label with directions. Make only as many batches as you will use within 3 months.

When ready to make a batch of pancakes, empty one batch of mix into bowl. Add an egg and water or milk and combine well. Follow recipe directions for cooking.

It may be simpler to make and store several single batches individually. But it is also possible to multiply the dry ingredients to make a quantity of mix to be stored in a large container. The only difference in using this approach is that you must figure how much mix to measure out when you want a single batch of pancakes. To do this, add together all the cups, all the tablespoons and all the teaspoons to dry ingredients and fat in the original recipe for a single batch and then convert the answer you get into cups of dry mix.

2 cups four + 1/2 cup dry milk = 2-1/2 cups (or 2 cups and 8 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon baking powder + 2 tablespoons sugar + 3 tablespoons fat = 6 tablespoons

1 teaspoon salt = 1 teaspoon

Total = 2 cups + 14 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (or 3 cups minus 2 tablespoons)

As in this recipe, you are likely to come out with a sum that does not make an even 1/4, 1/3 or 1/2 cup. Estimate your figures to the nearest tablespoon. In this case, to make a single batch of pancakes, you would measure out 3 cups of the mix less 2 tablespoons.

------------------------------


Cappuccino Mix

* 1 1/3 cups instant coffee, with or without caffeine
* 1 1/2 cups plain powdered coffee creamer
* 2 cups hot chocolate mix, reg. or sugar-free
* 1 cup sugar or sugar substitute
* 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:

Mix well and store in air-tight container.

To use, mix 3 teaspoons per cup of boiling water

-----------------------------------

Homemade Baking Powder

* 1/4 tsp. baking soda
* 1/4 tsp. cornstarch
* 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

Mix well. This makes one teaspoon of baking powder. Recipe can be doubled or tripled

--------------------------------

Homemade Sugar Free Hot Chocolate Drink Mix

* 2 cups instant non-fat dry milk
* 1/2 cup cocoa, unsweetened
* artificial sweetner to equal 1 cup (sweet n low-24 packets)
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 3 /4 cup dry non-dairy creamer

Directions
Mix all ingredients and store in airtight container. To make cup of hot chocolate, mix 1 /4 cup dry mix with one cup boiling water. You can add some spices like cinnamon or vanilla flavor, etc., if desired.

Note: Adding the non dairy creamer was my idea. The original is copied from a package of instant dry milk powder. Only difference is I add non dairy creamer. They do not. Name of company manufacturer is not available. I got the instant milk from a food pantry. Many times names are not available. Being diabetic, I could not afford to buy the mix in the store.

-----------------------------------

White Sauce, Gravy or Soup Mix

* 4 cups instant dry milk
* 1 cup flour
* 1 cup margarine, softened

Directions
Mix dry milk and flour until thoroughly blended. With pastry blender, cut in margarine until like fine meal. Store in lightly closed container in refrigerator. To make white sauce or gravy: Combine 2/3 cup mix with each cup of water or broth. Heat while stirring until mixture boils. Season as desired. Serve over meat or vegetables. Grated cheese may be added after mixture thickens. Note: Creamed dried beef can be made in a few minutes with this recipe.

---------------------------


Vegetable Dip Mix

* 1 Tbsp dried chives
* 1/2 tsp. dill weed
* 1 tsp. garlic salt
* 1/2 tsp. paprika

Directions
Combine all ingredients mixing well. Place in a ziplock bag. Use within 6 months. Makes 2 Tbsp.
Vegetable Dip
Ingredients

* 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 package vegetable dip mix (recipe above)

Directions
Combine all ingredients. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. Makes 2 cups.

------------------------------

Homemade Chocolate Pudding Mix
Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup powdered milk
* 7/8 cup cornstarch, 1 cup minus 2 Tbsp.
* 1 1/2 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup cocoa powder
* 1/4 tsp. salt, rounded

Directions:

Combine all the dry ingredients and store in an airtight container. The mix fits in a quart jar.
To prepare:

Add 2/3 cup mix to a saucepan. Add 2 cups milk and stir until blended. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer while stirring constantly until thickened. Cool and serve.

Serving Size : 24
Homemade Vanilla Pudding Mix
Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 cups powdered milk
* 1 1/4 cups cornstarch
* 1 5/8 cups sugar
* 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
* 3/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

Combine all the dry ingredients and store in an airtight container. The mix fits in a quart jar.
To prepare:

Add 1/2 cup mix to a saucepan. Add 2 cups milk and stir until blended. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer while stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Cool and serve.

Variations: Leave out the nutmeg and substitute your choice of extract: Almond, Banana, Lemon, Maple or Pineapple or other flavor that you like.

Serving Size : 32

----------------------------

Instant Oatmeal Packets

Check the cereal aisle for more flavor ideas. The possibilities are endless!
Ingredients

* 3 cups Quick-Cooking Oats
* Salt
* 8 Plastic Sandwich Bags

Directions

Put 1/2 cup oats in a blender and whirl at high speed until powdery; reserve in a small bowl and repeat procedure with an additional 1/2 cup oats. If you're using a food processor, powder the 1 cup of oats in one motion. Into each sandwich bag put 1/4 cup un-powdered oats, 2 tablespoons powdered oats, and a scant 1/4 teaspoon salt. Store in a box or airtight container.

To serve: Empty packet into a bowl. Add 3/4 cup boiling water; stir and let stand for 2 minutes. For thicker oatmeal, use less water; for thinner, use more water. (I microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 minutes or until done on high)

Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp. chopped dried apples.

Cinnamon-Spice Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and a scant 1/8 tsp. nutmeg.

Fruit and Cream: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. dry milk and 2 Tbsp. dried fruit or fresh fruit after cooking or jam.

Oatmeal with Raisins and Brown Sugar: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. raisins.

Sweetened Oatmeal: To each packet add 1 Tbsp. sugar

Wheat Germ Oatmeal: To each packet add 2 Tbsp. any kind of wheat germ

----------------------


Make Your Own Cake Mix

* 8 cups all-purpose flour
* 6 cups granulated sugar
* 1/4 cup baking powder
* 1 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 lb. can vegetable shortening (2 1/4 cups)

Directions

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening with 2 knives or pastry blender until the consistency of corn meal. Mix well and put in an airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator, if you have the space. Use within 10 to 12 weeks. Makes about 16 cups
Plain Cake:

* 2 cups cake mix
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 1/2 cup milk

Stir ingredients for plain cake until well blended. Pour into 8-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes. For a 9 x 13-inch pan or layer cakes, double the ingredients.

-----------------------------

Making Mock Condensed Milk (like Eagle Brand)

With the holidays coming sooner than we think, it is time to make those delicious recipes that call for Eagle Brand condensed milk. But it is really expensive to buy. So make your own with this simple recipe. I guarantee it works as well as the real thing!

Mock Condensed Milk

Mix together in your blender: 2 1/4 cups Milk Powder, 1/4 cup warm water, and 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Pour into covered container and refrigerate until cold and thick. This amount is equal to 1 can Eagle Brand.

----------------------------

Creamsicle Drink Mix

1 part orange-flavored instant drink mix (Tang)
1 part powdered milk
2 parts instant vanilla pudding

To use, stir 2 tablespoons of Creamsicle Drink Mix into 1 cup of cold water.

-----------------------

Gatorade Sport Drink Mixes

10 tbs. sugar (5/8 cups or 120 grams)
3/4 tsp Morton Lite salt (4.2 grams)
1 package of unsweetened Coolade mix for flavor (ie ... Koolaid or similar store brand)
Water to make 2 liters

The recipe will give a total of 124 grams of solute which in 2 liters water gives a total of 6.2% concentration. For an 8 oz serving this gives:
14.2 grams carbohydrate (6%)
53 calories
103 mg Sodium
121 mg Potassium

You'll notice that the amount of potassium is quite a bit higher than Gatorade, but the rest is pretty close. If you wanted to reduce the potassium, another option would be to use 1/2 tsp. each of regular salt and the Morton Lite Salt. This would change it to:
104mg sodium
40mg potassium

------------------

Brown Sugar

2 tablespoon molasses
1 cup granulated sugar

Add molasses to sugar and stir with a fork. Store brown sugar in an airtight container to keep it soft.

----------------------

Ketchup
Yield: 2 1/2 cups

1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon mustard

Combine ingredients and store in refrigerator.

---------------------------

Heinz Ketchup

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth. When mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove pan from heat and cover until cool. Chill and store in a covered container.

------------------------------

Confectioners' Sugar

1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Blend sugar on highest speed of blender for two minutes. Add cornstarch to keep from packing. Store in an airtight container.

------------------------

HOMEMADE PICKLING SPICE

2 tb Mustard seed
1 tb Whole allspice
2 ts Coriander seeds
2 Whole cloves
1 ts Ground ginger
1 ts Dried red pepper flakes
1 Bay leaf, crumbled
1 Cinnamon stick (2 inches)

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight jar or container. Use in favorite pickle recipes. Yield: 1/3 Cup

------------------------------

Homemade tortilla chips

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut each tortilla you want to bake into 8 triangles. Spread the triangles on a foil-covered baking tray, making sure none of the triangles touch or overlap with each other. Spray the triangles lightly with olive or vegetable oil, then salt to taste. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the pan once half-way through baking, then let sit for 5 minutes so the chips can harden before serving.

Two tortillas make 16 chips, or one serving. You can bake your homemade tortilla chips fresh, or do a large batch at once, and store them in an airtight container. If you bake chips as you go, be sure to store unused tortillas in an airtight container as well. The homemade tortilla chips will keep for 4-5 days.

Doing the math

For families who are used to buying one bag of tortilla chips weekly, switching from that $4 bag to this simple $1 recipe can save them up to $156 a year on their grocery bills. Plus, your homemade tortilla chips are healthier for you, without all the added preservatives that keep chips fresh on the grocery shelf. And there's hardly any broken chips to contend with!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

7-24-10

8:00AM

84 degrees out already.
The heat index today is supposed
to be somewhere between 100 to 110.

My internet and home phone is not working
or runs REALLY slow. Don't know what
the problem is. I don't know if it
is the cable company or the modems.

I think I will work on getting my
one wooden shelf hung in the kitchen
today. With Tony having the pager
on call and them running the guys
at work like crazy working over some,
it has been delayed.
Might get some laundry done also.
It should take no time today to dry
clothes on the line.
But first I have to wait for some
ibuprofen to kick in as my back
is stiff this morning again.
Need to have time to work out the kinks.

I've got the air condition set on
76-77. You would think that wouldn't
feel nice in here but once you step
outside in what feels like 100+,
then step back inside, it feels great!

I might make some zucchini bread sometime
soon in the crock. I still have a lot
leftover of the huge zucchini that my friend
gave me. Don't want to waste it!

Well I'm off here to get the kitchen tidied
up and go tear wires and modems apart
to see if I can figure out why we don't
have internet or phone. I have no clue
when it comes to this stuff so ain't
looking forward to it!!

Kitchen, slowly but surely coming
together.

Remember what it looked like before?
This has got to make my life
easier having more shelves!






________________________________________

12:00PM

According to the weather channel it
is 90 degrees out and feel like 100!!!
It's only noon so we'll see how hot
it will get this afternoon. Whew!

Tucked inside a darkened house today
to stay cool. Told the kids not to
go outside today and play. Jonathan
thought he would just go outside
and play in the shade. Let's just say
that didn't last too long!

___________________________________

With my internet being down and
getting behind with posts
I wanted to show pics of the car
coming home yesterday.

This is a project car and is in
no way perfect. I think the first
thing we will work on is getting
a wiring harness and try to rewire
the whole electrical system.
Doesn't that sound like fun???
It looks like someone rewired something
and many wires are running everywhere
under the hood. Some connected and some
not. I'd feel safer if we put in all
new!

Me and Jonathan gave it a bath soon
after it's arrival. Needed to get
the grime off the paint. One step
in helping preserve it. The other
is having a roof over it. Keeps out
most weather and sun which can cause
dry rot.

This car will be a project the whole
family can come together and do.
This teaches the kids how to
work together. They learn to work
on cars in the process and how to take
care of them. Then one day it can
belong to them and is something
they can look forward to if they help
take care of it.













____________________________________

2:00PM

Just returned from Tony's work.
All I got to say is that it is FREAKIN'
hot out there!! Tony asked if I wanted
to stop at a few yard sales on the way
back home. I said just keep going home!
I don't know why it is, but it seems like
there is more yard sales the hotter it is.

Weather channel says 92 degrees
but the heat index is 102!!!!!

________________________________________

3:00PM

Pulled some things out of the freezer
to start thawing out. Here's a few
things I will be making in the next
couple of days:

1. Cheeseburger Potato Soup
* I don't have sour cream or onions but
I do have French Onion dip that I will
use in place of those two things.

Here's a tip for picky eaters that I found in
it's reviews:

I use my food process to chop the onions, carrots and celery small to hide them from picky eaters. I don't thicken with the butter and flour, I just use instant potato flakes which uses less fat and is easier. Flavor is the same.

It's a great recipe for freezing

2. Chicken Cordon Bleu
Not sure how I am making this.
I have swiss cheese, bacon
and chicken leg quarters.

3. Maple Crock Pot Salmon

INGREDIENTS

* 4 Fresh Atlantic Salmon portions
* 1/4 cup maple syrup
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
* 1/8 tsp. ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the maple syrup, garlic, garlic salt, and pepper.
2. Place salmon portions in a shallow dish, and coat with the maple syrup mixture. Cover the dish, and marinate salmon portions in the refrigerator 30 minutes, turning over at 15 minutes.
3. Drain the salmon steaks and discard used marinade.
4. Wrap in tin foil packets
5. Put into crock pot.
See recipe from yesterday for Crock Pot Fish

_______________________________________

4:40PM

Supper in the making for
tomorrow.




Crock #1
Got chicken leg quarters skinned then
wrapped in bacon put in the crock pot.
I used little round tins saved from
pot pies in the bottom of the crock
pot to put the chicken on.



Crock #2
Got a chocolate zucchini bread
in another crock.



____________________________________________

From: Examiner.com

Almost KFC Coleslaw

This is the best coleslaw we have ever had. The flavors blend and intensify with time, so if possible, make this the day before you plan on eating it.

Ingredients:

8 cups very finely chopped green cabbage (1 head)
1/4 cup shredded carrot (1 medium carrot)
1/2 cup mayonnaise OR 1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk*
2-1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1-1/2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Be sure that the cabbage and carrots are chopped up into very fine pieces. Place in a large bowl.
In a mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise or sour cream, sugar, milk, buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper; beat until smooth. Pour over cabbage mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Rachael's Recipe Notes:
For a buttermilk substitution, mix 1/2 tsp. white vinegar and enough milk to make 1/4 cup. Let stand for 5 minutes before using. I use a commercial slaw mixture instead of cutting up cabbage and carrots myself. It saved me a bit of time, but feel free to start from scratch. Also, I replaced the salt with celery salt.

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Almost KFC chicken

Ingredients:

16 pieces of chicken (4 legs, 4 thighs, 4 wings, 4 breasts), skin on, bone in (I prefer 8 chicken breast halves, boneless & skinless)
2 envelopes Italian Salad Dressing Mix , divided
2 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce (like Frank's)
1-1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
3-1/2 to 4 cups oil, divided

Directions:

Place chicken in shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. of the salad dressing mix and hot pepper sauce; turn to coat. Cover. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to marinate. Mix flour and remaining salad dressing mix in plastic bag. Shake 1 chicken piece at a time to coat. Heat 2 cups of oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add 8 pieces of chicken; brown on all sides. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes, turning occasionally, until cooked through. Drain on paper towels. Repeat from oil step through cooking step with remaining chicken.
YIELD: 16 pieces (depending on appetites 4 to 8 servings)

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It's been several months since my family and I have been to KFC (formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken). The last time we went we spent close to $50 for 4 people for dinner. OUCH! $50 for chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes, gravy and coleslaw? $50 is about half my grocery budget for one week. I vowed never again! Not only did it cost us an outrageous amount of money, but none of us felt very well after wards.

If only I had just taken a little extra time in my menu planning that week, we could have had our own version (aka Copycat version) of KFC for about $10, and not felt poorly (or poor!) afterward.

Round out your at home KFC experience with Almost KFC coleslaw and Almost KFC chicken.

Almost KFC Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:

3 cups self-rising***
2 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 cup buttermilk****
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F.
In a large bowl blend together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening using two knives or a pastry tool. Add milk and mix well.
Turn out onto a floured surface (mix a bit of baking powder with the flour). Knead a bit to pick up the flour until dough is slightly stiff. Roll or pat out into a 9x5 rectangle and use a 3-inch round cookie cutter (or water glass) to cut biscuits out.
Place in an 8x8-inch round cake pan or 8x8-inch square baking dish (the biscuits will touch) that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
Makes about 12

Rachael's Recipe Notes:

***If you don't have self-rising flour, use all-purpose flour with an extra 1 Tbsp. of baking powder and an extra 1 tsp. of baking soda.
****You can use 3/4 cup regular milk with 1 Tbsp. of white vinegar in place of the buttermilk.

_______________________________________

Just got notice that my friends will
be on Wall To Wall Sports tonight
so be sure to check it out!!
This is their second time on there!

Join Dom Tiberi and Dan Fronczak
for Wall to Wall Sports,
Saturdays and Sundays at 11:35 p.m. only on 10TV.

Would you like to sign up to be on
Wall to Wall Sports?

Wall To Wall Sports audience sign-up

___________________________________________

With the temps being so hot out I have
spent my afternoon/evening cleaning
my kitchen top to bottom. Doesn't
look like my same kitchen.
I'm sure you would agree Kendra/Dewaine,
I know you saw what it looked like
when I had it wiped out the other
day weeding and wiping it out, LOL!
You couldn't see the floor or countertops.
But that's how I clean. It gets
messy before it gets a total cleaning.




________________________________________

I tried some of my crock pot chicken,
YUMMY! It does taste a little like
a rotisserie chicken.

To make it Cordon Bleu I melted some
swiss cheese on top then poured
a lil bacon ranch dressing on top.
Everyone loved it! Jonathan said,
Man this stuff is GOOOOD!"
This recipe will be a keeper for sure!
Normally Cordon Bleu is chicken breast
stuffed with swiss cheese and bacon.
Can't afford chicken breast around here
so used chicken leg quarters instead.
Tasted just as good!



And here's my Chocolate Zucchini Bread
I didn't have oil so used some cinnamon
applesauce in it's place. I didn't add
sugar and instead used a large box
of sugar-free pudding. I sprinkled
some brown sugar on top along with some
semi- sweet chocolate chips. I did all
this to reduce sugar and fat.

Both kids ate it and liked it.
I did not dare tell them it
had zucchini in it or they probably
wouldn't have touched it with
a 10 foot pole.

I almost screwed up and asked them
if they tried the zucchini bread.
Christopher was like, IT HAS ZUCCHINI
IN IT! I said, I meant to say
chocolate pudding cake not zucchini bread.
LOL




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I ran across this website for a book
called DINNER IS IN THE JAR.
Of course I don't have money to buy the book
and I cannot locate it at the library.
But it is an idea to think about doing.
I'm sure I could google something
and find some jar mixes.
If I do I'll be sure to keep a list
of recipe that I find :0)

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Side Dish Mixes


MYO Copycat Stove Top Stuffing Mix



Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix


Homemade Hamburger Help

Friendship Soup Mix in a Jar

Potato Soup Mix


Noodle Mixes & Bean Mixes

Texas Two Step Soup

Shake N Bake Mix

Herbed Rice Mix

Tortilla Soup

Chili in a Jar

Chicken Soup With Noodles

Beef Barley Soup

Boston Baked Beans

Almost Hamburger Helper Mix in a Jar

Red Beans and Rice

Rice Pilaf Mix

Onion Soup Mix

About Me

My photo
My name is Sherry, 39yrs old, from Columbus, Ohio. I am married, a SAHM, and have 3 children ages 9, 10 and 20. I have been frugal/thrifty all my life. I would like to share on this blog how we get by day to day on one income with a family of 5 with a dog and a cat. You will also hear about my everyday gripes about daily life and the cost of living. Hubby says my favorite saying is, "and that is another thing that pisses me off!"

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