Food!!!!

I dislike the term "stealing" when it comes to these things. Lets just say I am "borrowing" this from Anna and leave it at that.

How do you like your eggs?
I rarely eat breakfast out. I have never found any restaurant eggs that I liked at all. At home I eat eggs 2-3 times a week. Usually over-easy and runny, cooked in real butter, but sometimes I scramble them. I eat them with ciabatta or an English muffin.

How do you take your coffee/tea?
Being a Texan and a Southerner you'd think I would drink sweet iced tea but I don't. I drink UNsweet iced tea, decaf only.

Favorite breakfast food?
Cold pizza hands down. Or, if you mean "real" breakfast food, then biscuits and ham gravy(although I rarely make this meal). I love reading about breakfasts from other cultures because they are mostly all about the savory and spicy. Sweet stuff that early in the day makes me sick to my stomach.

Peanut butter: Smooth or crunchy?
Extra crunchy! I have to have something in it to chew or I'll gag.

What kind of dressing on your salad?
I love ranch but don't eat it often. Mostly I make my own from olive oil and raspberry balsamic vinegar with seasonings. If I have a lemon it is that much better!

Coke or Pepsi?
Here in Texas its all "coke" to us! Just like asking for a Kleenex will get you anything from a Puffs Plus to a napkin from Dairy Queen dug out from the bottom of someone's purse or glove box. You have to specify what KIND of coke you want, Pepsi, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Mr. Pibb, or Mountain Dew. I'd prefer Dr. Pepper please, but I'll drink whatever we have. I'd rather have my tea though and tend to take it with me when I'm out(but not to restaurants).

You're feeling lazy, what do you make?
Our lazy meals are usually baked potatoes with butter, cheese and sour cream(and scallions if we have them) or easy tostadas with canned refried beans, cheese, and salsa.

You're feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
We don't order pizza but occasionally will get a pepperoni from Little Caesar's. I really love homemade but rarely remember to start dough.

You feel like cooking. What do you make?
Enchiladas, spaghetti, stir fry, a casserole or skillet dish. I love to cook but don't have as much time to do so as when the kids were little(we are in the car too often these days). I don't really follow recipes, mainly just get inspiration from them and do things my own way.

Do any foods bring back good memories?
I used to eat Cheetos with a friend of mine in elementary school, pretty much til the bag was gone. I remember my grandmother's big family lunches with fried okra and squash, fried chicken, green beans, fresh tomatoes and rolls. Oh my. And tacos at home, I would start the meat cooking before my parents got home from work.

Do any foods bring back bad memories?
No, not really.

Is there a food you refuse to eat?
I am not sure. It isn't like I'm confronted with weird stuff to eat. I can't think of anything I really don't like.

What was your favorite food as a child?
Kraft mac and cheese! I still love it.

Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like?
As a small child I didn't like tomatoes but love them now.

Favorite junk food?
Potato chips

Do you have any weird food habits?
My normal is some other person's weird and vice versa. I don't like syrup on my pancakes, is that weird?

Favorite dessert?
Oh gosh, I really don't love sweets all that much. I'd probably have to say birthday cake or brownies with ice cream appeal to me more than cheesecake or pudding or pies, usually anyway.

I has a food blog

I post recipes on my facebook occasionally and have many on my previous blog(not so much here though). In the interest of saving them for my kiddos, not to mention finding them myself, I have decided to post them all in the same place.

Please visit me sometime at...

Comfort Food...

Today we took the boat out to Gilmer Lake for a test run to see how the motor would be. We had a not-so-great day fishing(we didn't catch anything, sunburn, lost lures, fought winds, and had so-so luck with the motor-but it could have been worse). Plus Mark has come down with the nasty sore throat I had a few weeks ago and tomorrow is his birthday. When we came home I was scrounging for some dinner that wasn't a frozen burrito or eggroll or leftover spaghetti. I spied the half-eaten bag of Doritos we took on the boat and had an instant craving for Dorito Casserole.

My mom's sister Donna introduced us to this awesome, tasty dish when I was a little girl. It had Rotel tomatoes, cream of mushroom and chicken soups, ground beef, and lots of cheese. My mom made it very occasionally and I've made it a few times now and then(like every 2-3 years). It is sooooo good and sooooo bad for you at the same time, the perfect comfort food! Once you get a craving for something like this, nothing else will do though so I was disappointed to think I couldn't make this tonight... or so I thought.

There was a new block of extra sharp cheddar in the fridge along with a couple leftover chicken leg quarters I'd baked on Thursday, some sour cream, and a jar of green chili salsa. In the pantry was a jar of roasted red pepper alfredo sauce. Oh my gooosh this was good!!!! It didn't make much but it was just enough for the four of us to have one serving(Ryan is camping with friends and missed out- bummer).

Southern Comfort Chicken Dorito Casserole

(all measurements very approximate)

3/4 cup sour cream
1 jar roasted red pepper alfredo sauce(use 3/4 of it)
3 cups Doritos(not crushed), I used spicy salsa flavor
3 cups cut up chicken(cooked)
2/3 cup green chili salsa, I used Herdez brand
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder(or cook up an onion if you have time)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a greased 8x8 casserole dish or 9x5x3 loaf pan(I used my Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan). Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350. Serve hot with cut up veggies such as baby carrots and cucumbers. This will serve 2 very hungry people or 4 very tired people who need something to eat.

Something new...

but first...


(Jasper with his darling pink nose being his cutie-pie self)

And now...

Several days ago an idea popped into my head. No idea where it came from but I knew I had to act immediately to put it in motion. These are my latest creations.... beaded crocheted necklaces and bracelets! They go together in minutes(about 15 total) and are super easy. I make them big enough to slip over the head so I don't have to put in a hook or closure but I plan to make some chokers too.



(pics taken with Amy's camera phone and not edited at all- sorry so blurry and washed out)




So far I've made 20 necklaces and 2 bracelets out of white, teal, red and black threads but plan to add a rainbow multi, marigold, and pink(among other colors) this weekend. My mom is going to send me a few handfuls of beads since I can't find what I'm looking for at our local Hobby Lobby or Michael's. They used to carry tubes that were color-themed but varied in shape and size. Now all I can find is assorted(very muted) colors in the tubes. Luckily I had a pretty decent stash to plow through because these them!

In other news...

I've been sick for over a week with a NASTY sore throat and sinus problems. Ugh! It is better today but definitely not gone. Last night Sparkle and Tallulah slept on either side of me, I think they knew I didn't feel good.

I've got to put my beans on to soak tonight! Homesick Texan's Ranch Style Beans are on my mind, been wanting to make them for a week now but haven't felt like it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be icky and rainy so it will be perfect weather for beading and bean eating. Mark has another 5K race. He won his age group last weekend and was 14th over all out of 200+. His friend, who is running because of Mark's encouragement, won his age group too(30somethings) and was 3rd over all!!! Hopefully they'll do well this time out too.

If I feel well enough we'll texture the walls on Sunday. I'm SO ready to paint!!!
If I feel up to it we'll texture the dining room walls on Sunday. I hope I do because I'm S

random stuff...

It has been seriously hard to blog without my own computer! Hopefully it will be fixed soon and I can get on with sharing pictures and so forth. Right now I'm sharing with Amy so I only have access to her pictures(and her camera broke so she's down to her cell phone). Here are some recent ones...


sunset over our back fence



the triplets


what really goes on in the girls' room


running with tiger at Long Park

In other news...

We were finally able to take a load of stuff to the local thrift store! Of course it barely made a dent; I'm still in the process of clearing out dresser drawers and closets! Maybe after another 3-4 loads we'll be to a manageable state. It would be nice to be able to get the last of the carpeting out of everyone's closet floors soon.

We've chosen one of the three paints for our kitchen/dining area so far; a nice super saturated olivey green for the dining area. I want to put orange in the kitchen area and a peacock blue or plum on the soffits to connect the two. Last week the kids helped peel wall paper but we still have a few small sections to go. Maybe today...(to see the paint sample go to http://www.valspar.com/explore-colors/choose-a-color.html; scroll down a bit and click on Creative Ideas for Color. Then click on Kids & Fun. Our oolor is the second green right above the word Kids; called Gecko). This is the color I've had in my mind's eye forever but for some reason I never came across the paint card(I think they just added the Kids & Fun line to our Lowe's store). It looks SO good with our warm wood stained cabinets and wainscoting.

I made a new dish last night and everyone scarfed it up! Its from Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook(1977 edition) and is called Dutch Kale with Sausage and Potatoes(or something like that). I simmered 4 medium sized potatoes(cubed) with a large bunch of curly kale(torn into small pieces) until both were tender. Meanwhile I fried a pkg of beef smoked sausage and an onion in a bit of butter then added a cup of milk. The kale and potatoes were drained and added to the sausage mixture along with a shake of cayenne pepper; some garlic powder; and black pepper. Simmer for a few minutes stirring to break up the potatoes a bit. This was YUMMY and all the kids ate it. We had no leftovers!! Tonight we're having chicken leg quarters; green salad; and parsnip patties(from the same cookbook).

We are planning an early spring camping trip out west to celebrate Mark's 44th birthday. Our destination is the Caprock Canyon State Park (you'll have to copy and paste this because Amy's comma button doesn't work so I can't make it a clickable link) http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/videos/state_park/panhandle_plains/caprock_canyon.phtml (video of the canyon worth watching!!).

And some sad news...

Our beloved guinea pig; Basil Ferdinand; died last night. He was old for a piggie and we noticed he'd been slowing down/losing weight over the last month. We'll miss his sweetness.

Now I must get busy doing something; I hear the girls stirring.

A recipe and a crochet pattern....

Some call it dinner and some call it supper. I've always used both words for the same meal but this time its definitely a supper kind of night.

Here is (sort of) what I'm cooking tonight. I've got it simmering on the stove now and its not even noon! It may end up being lunch as well, it smells soooo good!

Of course I made changes, I always do. Since I'm not a big fan of cooked carrots, I left them out along with the tomato sauce. Because we love spicy, I added a big handful of chopped cilantro, cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, oregano, chili powder, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and beef broth(better than boullion paste). Also, I only put in two celery stalks, added an extra potato, used a whole red pepper, and subbed a can of salt free diced tomatoes for the whole tomato. My 5 quart stock pot is about 3/4 full so I'll have some to freeze for this weekend too. It is so nice to find recipes like these that can be customized to individual tastes. Woman's Day cookbook has one similar that uses mint for flavoring and it is awesome!

This is our second meatless meal in a row. Last night I had no clue what we would be eating until about 45 minutes before we actually ate. Colcannon was on my mind all day but I didn't have cabbage and my kale had already turned yellow. Sigh. Anyway, I did have some other veggies so I threw them all in the skillet with olive oil and boiled some rotini pasta. Here's the deal:

1 red pepper, chopped
7-8 large brown mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
red pepper flakes to taste

Cook in olive oil til tender, serve over noodles with lots of parmesan cheese! YUM!!

Amy accidentally messed up their camera and my computer is in need of doctoring so I can't post any pictures! Its driving me crazy because I'm making the CUTEST little 6-petal crochet flowers. I'll share the pattern with you though. Now this is something I came up with all on my own so YMMV(your mileage may vary). I used I Love this Cotton from Hobby Lobby(similar to Peaches and Cream but softer) with a size I(9 or 5.5mm) hook.

I don't know how to write out a pattern in crochet language so bear with me!

Chain 3. Make 12 double crochet stitches in the first chain loop(chain will count as 13th). Join with a slip stitch in the top of the ch 3(this is the tricky part for me because I can't really tell which one I'm sl in so make sure there are 12 loops around the outside of the circle including the the sl st). Chain 5, skipping next stitch, slip stitch in next stitch. Repeat 5 times from ch 5, ending sl st will be in the back of the starting sl st. If for "some reason" you come to the last flower petal and have two stitches to skip before the final sl st, chain 6 instead of 5 and do the sl st in the normal place. This has happened to me on a few of them(see above) but isn't devastating. Fasten off. These are super cute and super fast! I've made about 20 in a really nice taupe novelty yarn that has a gold thread, slubby things and "foof", hopefully they will be a scarf or part of a scarf, I can't decide how to use them. Maybe I can get Mark to take a picture or two with his phone.

coming out of a whirlwind...

One hospital stay for chest pains and crazy high blood pressure(175/115), CHECK.
I'm now on meds for anxiety and reflux. Nothing is wrong with my heart at all, thank God. I'll be seeing my doctor in a few weeks to follow up. AND starting my yoga back up!!!



One family delayed by snow storm, CHECK.
My parents got about 17 inches of snow the weekend before they were to travel to our place! It was amazing to look at but had them unable to get down their driveway for several days.


(the horrid cat who loves nobody but his mama)

One nasty unprovoked cat bite, CHECK.
Tibert bit the crap out of my dad. He also bit Aaron a few times. I think he was very out of sorts with all the company, a new puppy-sister, Christmas goings on and so forth. He's never met my family and isn't used to so much activity.


Several crazy shopping days scoring lots of great thrift store goodies, CHECK.
I got some Christmas junk and two gorgeous vintage eelskin purses(pink doctor's bag for spring and a maroonish brown for fall), and some wool.(pics later when I find my new card reader again)


(girls ready to open presents)


(Sarah's Snuggi-wrap, she LOVES it despite her expression)

Many nice gifties for everyone, CHECK.
We did family gifts this year and got a nice rug for our concrete living room floor and a convection-toaster oven. The kids cleaned up with electronics, Mark and Ryan got cologne, and the girls got lots of clothes and such.

Crochet lessons for my mom, CHECK.
She is learning, slowly but surely. Being left-handed makes it difficult for me to coach her along though.

Delish tortilla soup, CHECK.
3 ckn breasts(boneless/skinless), cute in 3/4 inch cubes
1 bell pepper
1 onion
2 cans pinto beans, drained and well rinsed
1 can no-salt tomatoes(diced)
1 tsp cumin, chili powder, garlic powder
1/4 tsp chipotle powder
3/4 cup brown rice
8-10 cups of water

Brown veggies and ckn til pink is gone, add water, spices, beans, rice, and tomatoes. Cook over med-low heat for about 45 minutes. Serve with cheese and sour cream over tortilla chips.

Two huge batches of my special Honey Mustard/Deviled Party Mix, CHECK.
I make a large roaster pan full of this, using almost all of each box of cereal, plus nuts and pretzel twists. Mine has Quaker Oat Squares too. I used 2/3 stick of butter, about 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, generous sprinkles of garlic and onion powder, 1/4 cup honey, several good squirts of mustard(spicy if you've got it), and a dash of cayenne. It was inhaled.

Dozens of snuggles with a cute puppy, CHECK.


(Aaron and Sparkle, she was a huge hit!)

It was a crazy, hectic but fun Christmas celebration this year at the Sonier Casa and I wish my family didn't have to leave so soon!!

I'm HUNGRY!!!

And of course none of these is made for dinner yet. We'll have leftover spaghetti I guess. Sigh. It isn't bad but I'd rather have the pizza tonight.

spicy soup and goings on....

Molly's Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 large bone/skinless chicken breasts, cubed in 1-inch pieces
1-2 red bell peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
1.5 cups frozen corn
1 can pinto or black beans, undrained(or not, you decide)
1 can no-salt diced tomatoes
1T olive oil
2 broth cubes
8 cups water
2T chili powder
1.5tsp cumin
1T garlic powder
1tsp file gumbo
1tsp oregano
dash cayenne pepper
(all spice measurements are approximate, I pour straight from the jar, no spoons involved!)

Cook chicken, onions and peppers in olive oil over medium-high heat until veggies are soft and meat is about half done. Add broth cubes, water and spices. Cover and
cook on med-low for about an hour. Serve soup ladled over a handful of crushed tortilla chips and about 2T grated cheese. Sour cream on top is optional but does make it ooooh so good!


In other news...

The kids and I pulled up most of the carpet in the living room yesterday!!!! We have a section about 10x6 left but Mark will have to help us move some large furniture first. We'll continue scraping glue today. I am excited about how this will end up looking but nervous about my glass dishes. Sarah drops things like nobody I've ever seen! We may have to invest in some good plastic cups.

I'm going this morning to get milk for our co-op and hoping the farmer has brought some butternut squash to the dairy for sale. The last two were wonderful but I didn't get much out of the watermelons and cantelopes we bought from him.

Caturday Cont....

After spending the early afternoon at the Pritchett OkraFest, we had to leave empty-handed okra-wise. Mark decided to head north to see if we could find any farmer's markets still open. We ended up near Pittsburg at Efurd Orchards. It was the perfect addition to the rest of our day and I highly recommend it to my east Texas peeps.

(click to biggify any picture)

(we lucked into a shady parking spot)


(right across from this awesome truck)


(and this, one of several, antique tractor)


(inside was warm but there were fans to keep us cool)


(lots of preserves)


(and fresh veggies)


(and peaches, which I'm regretting passing up)


(and moonshine syrup)


(Mark and Amy taking an ice cream break, peach and strawberry soft serve with fresh fruit)


(there were lots of rocking chairs for resting)


(Sarah and Ryan opted for real Dublin Dr. Peppers)


(love the color of this old ice cream freezer)


(would love this in my kitchen)

We ended up coming home with green beans, new potatoes, and several beautiful ripe tomatoes(of which we have less than half left). YUM!

In other news...

We still haven't got our pool swim-ready yet. Its not green but its very cloudy. Mark is going to try flocking it and see if the stuff will sink to the bottom. I'm not optimistic. It would be really nice to be able to swim a few times before the season is over. Hopefully we can get it resolved and the rains will hold off a few more weeks.

Caturday and the OkraFest...

Started out as a normal Saturday. Took the cats outside for their morning playtime...

(click to biggify)








Then we headed north to the tiny town of Pritchett, Texas for their First Annual Okra Festival. We had a BLAST!!!

This family was serving up free samples of fried okra(3 ways) and a delicious gumbo. My favorite way was whole, dipped in Louisiana Fish Fry batter and deep fried til golden. He had homemade ranch dressing to squeeze on them too. HEAVEN. What was missing(but most assuredly NOT missed) from this festival, which was put together hastily, were the typical food vendors with funnel cakes and overpriced crappy carnival food. I know they would have made money from vendor fees but it was nice not having to smell that cooking oil smell.


(check out his hat)

My friend Tricia(in my blogroll) shared a booth with a jelly lady. Tricia sells soaps and knitted hand towels and such.







She took us around the corner to see her family's new horses. They are just gorgeous!! We got Gypsy and Jasper from her, she's also a cat person.*G*



It was hot when we got back to the festival grounds so we headed inside for more FREE food, what was left from the cooking contest. They had run out of hamburgers and hotdogs(which weren't on the free menu) so we got gumbo, a large assortment of desserts(including a delicious blackberry cobbler and sour cream bundt cake), homemade ice cream and iced tea. They took donations too so we didn't feel guilty about the free food.


(love this)


(my lunch, I was too busy stuffing my face with dessert to take its picture)


(they had the quilting put aside to keep it clean, wish I'd taken a close-up or three of the flowers in between the blocks, they are 3-dementional)


(cooking burgers when we first arrived)

They had an animal rescue petting zoo with donkeys and a goat. Horse and pony rides too but the girls didn't want to.



Proceeds and donations will benefit the community center and the fire department. Unfortunately the farmers ran out of okra for sale so I came home empty-handed except for my soap and jellies.



I'll tell ya about THIS place tomorrow!!!...

A Peach of a Day...

Chocolate's okay, but I prefer a really intense fruit taste. You know when a peach is absolutely perfect... it's sublime. I'd like to capture that and then use it in a dessert. ~Kathy Mattea

I usually go for the chocolate but today I wanted a peach. Not a plain peach though, I dolled mine up just a little bit.



Then I was thirsty and craving salty, crunchy somethings so I made this.



Peach Water for One:

1/2 large peach or 1 small
1 cup water
1 cup ice cubes
sugar, honey, or stevia to taste(I used about 5 drops liquid stevia)

Blend in an ice-crushing blender til well blended. Serve with a spoon.



My other favorite peach: