I don't wanna make ya jealous but......

I am going to see Jeff Bates tonight!!! He is part of the Honky Tonk Tailgate Party and we are gonna have a blast!!! Just wanted to let you know and I will be thinkin of you all!!! Like I said I really don't WANT to make you jealous but.....

Writer's Workshop - How will I enjoy my last days of freedom (aka summer)?

How will I enjoy my last days of freedom (aka summer)? Well... I was absolutely pumped and thought that I wouldn't go back to college until August 24th. Then I got a phone call - I was told that a class that I was going to have on Tuesday nights was moved to Thursday nights. "Not a big deal, I will go to my Monday class and then to my Thursday night class", I thought. Nope, now way, no how. The college that I go to starts classes on Thursday August 20th so I will actually have to start a couple days earlier and then finals week I will be there later. Bummer of a deal but oh well! That being said I had a couple a days cut off of my summer so my plans are changing. I am working on a quilt for Christmas for my mother-in-law. She has no idea and I am almost done. I have a friend who is going to have a baby in December and she just found out that it is a GIRL so i just ordered a quilt to make for her. And I am so blessed that I get to help my friend out and paint the room for the baby this weekend. It is going to be yellow I am told. This Friday I am going to watch Jeff Bates, Trent Willmon and Mark Willis. Then I will just be finishing everything up and getting ready to start back to school on August 20th. I will be cooking and freezing alot to have food where Matt doesn't have to fix anything if he doesn't want to and so I can have a healthy dinner quick before or on the way to school. (The girls at work really worry about me driving and eating at the same time and apparently there was a survey that showed the insurance companies don't like this habit that we have picked up of eating or drinking in the car.) I will also be trying to wrap doctors appointments up and having a birthday dinner for the dad of the earlier mentioned Baby GIRL in which we are having fried perch, fried potatoes (sweet and russet), cornbread and for dessert we will have real whipped cream with strawberries and homemade shortcake!!!! Let's hope I can get all this done and shop for school supplies!!!

chicken bundles

This is one of the most amazing recipes that I have ever made. Doesn't it look yummy? I am sure that there are ways to make it lower in fat but measuring out skim milk, using margarine (which will work fine), and using fat free cream cheese but I was wanting the ooey gooey goodness of everything last night! This is an amazingly easy recipe and everything flows. It will take a total of 20 - 25 minutes to make and I was so focused that I forgot to fry squash to put with it last night. Matt doesn't ask for certain things to be made too much but this is one that he asks for. I also figure that you could use tuna or turkey. The turkey would really need to be pulled and moisture added to make it taste right. Here we go with the recipe!!!

Chicken Bundles
1 can of cresent rolls 3 oz cream cheese
3 Tbs butter
1 can chicken breast, drained
2 cups Minute Rice
Slightly less than 2 cups of water
Salt to taste
1 tsp butter
1 can Cream of chicken soup
1 can milk

Roll-ups
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Put cream cheese and the 3 Tbs of butter in the microwave for 15 seconds. (If not soft enough to blend microwave in 1 second increments until they are able to be blended – not melted). Blend together. Add the drained chicken and mix. Unroll the crescent rolls and put 1/8 of mixture on each roll. Bring the corners of roll together. They won’t all come together and there will still be mixture showing. This is fine, it won’t affect the bundle. Put in the oven on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly brown.

Rice
While bundles are cooking, add the salt and the 1 tsp of butter to the water and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the rice. Stir and take off the heat, covering with a lid. Let the rice sit at least five minutes.

Sauce
Mix soup and milk together with a wire whisk. Cook over medium high heat until just starts to boil, stirring constantly.

Put the rice in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Put the cook bundles on top and then cover with sauce.

I always let this sit for approximately 5 minutes to let it mix and "mari" and cool off!

*This is enough that Matt and I eat half and save the other half for the next day. It does heat up well and tastes just as good the next day!

Correction to What's the big dill

I just wanted to make a big note that I forgot left off the measurement for the vinegar on the dill pickles!!! It is 2 1/2 Tablespoons of vinegar. I know it doesn't sound like much big it does the trick!!!

What's the big dill????

I am learning to cook with fresh herbs it has been fun to do. I am going to plant a herb garden next year. A friend of mine was talking about foods we like and she mentioned pickles and we were talking about how much we both loved pickles. She found a recipe for sun cooked pickles. I am going to share it with you today and hopefully you will love it!!! Here is my contraption that I am using to keep raccoons out of mine while it is cooking. I am going to give you other tips to help too! This is a kennel for pets and it is keeping them pickles safe while they cook!!!

Sun Cooked Pickles

(measurements are for 1 quart jar)

1 tsp of sugar

1 1/2 Tbls salt

2 1/2 Tbls vinegar

1 dill head with seeds

cucumbers that are between 6-9 inches long

(this is one of the hints) Combine the sugar, salt and vinegar with boiling water. My first batch I followed the directions and put the cucumbers first and then everything else but it didn't mix well so do it backwards. After you have added the boiling water and made sure that it has basically dissolved start adding the cucumbers. This is your brine. The recipe that I had said to split the cumbers in half but I split mine in quarters to make spears. add the dill at the end and put the lid on. I used canning jars and it needs to be tightened one turn. I have it tight enough that I could have the lid "holding" but not totally screwed on. It needs to be loose for the brine to be able to bubble out a bit. Sit the jar outside in the sun and let it "cook". It takes 3 to 4 days to cook. The brine will start to get cloudy and the cucumbers will look more like pickles. After they are done bring them in and refrigerate them.

Hints

-Like I said before combining the ingredients put the sugar, salt and vinegar in and let them dissolve makes it easier.

-If you can't put the jars in something to keep the animals out of them they need to be taken in at night. I found that the cage works great.

-The pickles will not be bright green like you see in the store. They will be a nice green color.

-The sun may bleach the cucumbers. This is okay and doesn't effect the taste.

-Be careful carrying the jars, the brine makes them slippery.

-Make sure and have tons of cucumbers because everyone is going to love them!!!!

This is my 3 quart jar that will be done tomorrow (Wednesday). We have already gone through 3 quarts!!! This is a new favorite of ours!

garden and outdoor fun

First off this is one of my newest groups of friends. He is sitting on the right side of the feeder. It was hard to get a picture with the speed that they move. We had a friend who had a hummingbird feeder and I love watching them so I got one and love it so I got another. I am looking forward to getting another one next year!!! Just wanted to share with you guys!

I have been getting a good amount of cherry tomatoes out of the garden and have been getting tons of cucumbers but not a single of my beefsteak tomatoes had turned. FINALLY I had one turn!!! It should be ready to pick tomorrow and I am going to eat it then!!!

musings...

We have been really busy in our neck of the woods and it isn't the kind of busy we want to be. The back story of all this is when Matt and I started dating he had 4 great-grandparents living. That was not grandparents, it was GREAT grandparents. I didn't have any grandparents living and my mom was gone too.... It was neat to get close to these people and get to know them. Granny Tommie was an amazing woman who could make pottery like you couldn't believe. He had a set of great grandparents, Mimi Linn and Papa Burb who took care of him after school. Mimi would make him mush and Papa was always good for a laugh. Mimi passed away 8 years ago and Papa has been gone 5 years now.

He now has one living great grandparent left and we love his Mema Mier. This woman weights maybe 90 pounds and took care of his great grandfather for years after he had a stroke. She wanted him to be where he wanted to so she got nurses to come in and take care of him during the day and she took care of him at night. Those nurses were only there to help her so she could go to work and help support them. She is now 93 and isn't doing the best. Matt has been living with her to help her be able to live at home still but last year it became too much. We had been putting off getting remarried so that she could live in her home still. I won't go into the dirty details but it hasn't been pretty. There are some family members who have shown their true colors and she isn't even gone yet. In the last week and a half family members have decided to step in and make changes. These are changes that should have been made over a year ago but it took her falling and laying there for an extended amount of time for these changes to be made.

I just that my point is, although she is older she still has a will. She has been moved to a town that she doesn't like, away from her home, and away from those who spent the time with her. I am hoping that these family members will step up and take the responsibility instead of running from it. Just please always think when decisions are made and think how they will affect everyone, not just yourself. Although there will be sacrifices, they will be worth it in the end and they can enrich the life of the person they are made for. Although we will be driving 30 minutes at least twice a week the time spent with Mema will be wonderful and the time in the car can be a good thing for Matt and myself to get to talk. I guess we will be killing two birds with one stone! Please sent up some prayers for peace and that she will know when it is time to let go.