Good 'n easy, yet completely fabulous fall dinner!

5 Bean Soup.

Just brown a pound of grd beef and throw in a crock-pot.  Literally ;)
Add 5 can's of your favorite beans, juices and all.
Add about a cup or so water depending on whether you feel like a stew or more of a soup.  I added about 2-1/2 cups.
Finish w/ a bit under 1/4 C of taco seasoning.  I get the big bottles of this stuff at Costco.
Stir and let cook on low for at least 4 or 5 hours.
Just delicious.




Make these to have with,  and you just might find yourself with some company for dinner.



I am a biscuit snob.  My family has no objections to this particular quirk.
This truly was an exceptional recipe for buttermilk biscuits.  These were really easy and there's no shortening called for,  just unsalted butter that you shave in.  I used a potato peeler.  I then used my pastry blender




to cut the butter into the flour mixture just right.    Make sure the butter is very cold,  just from the refrigerator.
Oh,  and buttermilk is very important.  Buy the best you can find.

I have to wonder, is there really anything better than a delicious buttermilk biscuit, hot from the oven, with butter and honey?  Or, as the hubby likes 'em, butter and blackberry jam.

I could of easily titled this post, "why I run." :)


Recipe can be found in Great Coffee Cakes by Carole Walter

Ooops, I forgot to mention how good a few Frito chips are lightly crushed in the bottom of the bowl before you pour your soup/stew on!

Also, special thanx to Beverly Martinez for the recipe idea!

Is white the only color for the baseboards and trimwork in a home??

I found a wonderful blog.
http://www.colormehappy/

Maria Killman is a delight.  And I'm learning more about blogging etiquette and blogging in general.
Not to mention, color, home design, and decorating.  I am re-thinking everything.  Since I'm not too far in the design phase here, not a bad thing at all.

I do have a problem with a schism I'm seeing between the home decor magazines  and advice I'm viewing via very savvy design blogs.
For example, the 'white baseboards, doors, and trimwork standard that seems so prevalent in decorating magazines of every type.
Nevermind that you very rarely ever see much color on the walls,  just a prevalent use of, excuse me whilst I yawn, very pale and/or white. It's the baseboards and trimwork that I don't get.  I can't recall ever seeing a pic of floor trim that wasn't white.  Hey, I love white.  Especially, in rooms that have the necessary light.
But, I truly love wood.  I've got a house full of nothing but wood floors.  Gorgeous, wood floors.  Oak.  Four inch laid next to two inch with walnut plugs.
All of this floor in the living and dining rooms is trimmed with wood baseboards.  For the walls, I choose Ash, in the Devine series from Miller Paints.  Light/medium beige.  Warm undertones.


I am extremely hesitant and actually loathe the idea of painting this door
and the surrounding trimwork, white.  But I'm working on the idea as I write.
I guess I just can't wrap my head around the idea of all this looking better in white.  Or off white/cream. 

*sigh*

So, I'm putting off the actual decision.
I'm headed next to the bedrooms.  I'll work out colors that will compliment either the wood trim or white trim.  Can that even be done, lol.

Any idea's out there?  What would you do?

White?  Really?  Arrrrg....
Let me know! 

Take 15. You will smile

I can't believe this is a year old! Awesome, no?

My lunch today

Le leftovers from last nights dinner of Quesadilla Casserole from Rachel Ray Magazine.

Excellent, Smithers...excellent.

I served it with the green enchilada sauce called for and added chopped, fresh tomatoes and avocado slices.  Soooo yummy and stored really well. 

I will definitely be making this again and soon.

I like the name, Quesadilla Pie, better though :)


http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipes/dinner-for-10-dollars-or-less-recipes/Quesadilla-Casserole?Login=login

She has over-hang.

And no, she doesn't really care.

Subtitled:  Lets all go to the thrift store!

Ya know, every now and again, in the midst of thrifting, you have a day where ya just seem to hit the jackpot where ever ya go.  Whether it be garage sales, or real thrift stores. 

That was our day, yesterday.

We found a few things on our lists and a few more that should of been on it :D

We found two of these beauties at the Salvation Army.  Price?  A staggering $8.00 each.  They were brand new in the box & they had all hardward included.

A classic, retro cookie jar.  $4.00.  Looks awesome in my kitchen and will be perfect for my big hand gettin' in there to grab a doggy cookie, shhhh...---::we whisper or spell that word around here::--. 

As soon as we get the back-splashes finished, I can show pics of the finished kitchen.

How about a sofa table?  Yep.  Got it at Salvation Army.  $60.  Looks brand spankin' new.  Perfect size.  Love it!

Oh, and the dishes!  I had been thinking it might be time to retire the Homer Laughlin restaurant ware for something different.

I knew these were perfect the moment I saw 'em, 'cause I actually gasped out loud.  Yeah, I did it sorta quietly, like, to myself.  I'm pretty sure.....

There were 8 of the Dinner and, of course, 7 of the Salad plates.  But, whata ya know?  I went on the bay of E, and found another Salad plate.  'Cause, that's what they're there for.

We also found a very cute, clean looking, wing-back chair at Salvation Army. It'll be steam cleaned, arranged in the L room, and I'll snap a pic.

This is the print..

So, now it's back to getting more stuff outta boxes and putting things away and/or  up on the walls.
After 3 or 4 boxes, we usually need to make a run to either a hardware store, or a thrift store!
But hey, that's always fun!

Chapter 4

Pies, Tarts, Cobblers, and Crisps.
So goes the title of Chapter four in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.
I'm not sure why this was the first chapter that I baked through, but I can tell you it certainly was a delicious experience!

Plum Oat Crisp

Super easy and, at the same time, utterly divine.  Good, homey, fall comfort food.

Easter Pie

Only mildly ambitious.  If you've worked with pie dough or done a lattice top pie, this would be no problem.  Very tasty and very elegant and it really looks good!

Nectarine Tart.

Maybe slightly more ambitious,  it was just the particular folding of the halved nectarines.  Really good in that the flavor of the nectarines were so prevalent.  Speaking of appearances, with the shiny glaze, this is really pretty, as well. 

Tomato Tart

The ease of this recipe made it fun whip up...Very flavorful.  Very pretty and a nice look when you take off the outer rim of the fluted tart pan.  If you have a bunch of tomatoes, this is an excellent way to use 'em up!  Did I mention that this isn't what you would call a quick recipe?  But, it is worth it.  The aroma alone, will have your mouth watering.

Classic Apple Pie

Classically delicious!!  It's all in the dough here, people.

Speaking of dough, I have found that Martha's Pate Brisee is awesome pie dough.

It's all I use now for any pie and it's what was called for in the Apple pie and for the Tomato Tart.  The other recipes here all included their own crust recipes.  For the Nectarine tart, I substituted the Pate Brisee and it turned out wonderfully.

For the Brisee, you will need a food processor but that's why it so great.   The processor does all the work and so precisely, it's almost fool-proof!  And geez, it's the fastest pie dough you'll ever whip out!

Now that we're getting settled even more here, I may have to delve into another chapter.  Hmmm, I think it may just have to be Chapter 5 - Yeasted Baked Goods or maybe Chapter 3 - Cakes.

Has anyone else made anything from this great cookbook?  I'd so love to hear about it!

Patrick Swayze.

I think this was one of his best.  Ok, Ghost and/or To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar, were  probably his best.   
But this one made young girls in 1987 swoon. 
Yours truly, included.

Dirty dancing final Patrick Swayze
Uploaded by laetitoumi. - Explore more music videos.

And ya can't beat this for the funny.





He was one of the good guys.  My sympathies to his family.

Good food...

Zucchini bake goes in the oven

and comes out...30 min's later

Great for when you have your plethora of the zucchini's!

Just slice zucchini length-ways over your favorite, thicker, meat sauce.  I top with some freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

And then, this:

Poured into this

Gave me this!

Blackberry Ricotta Cornbread

And, boy was it ever good!  Savory and mildly sweet with a fresh burst of blackberry every now & then.  Served warm with some butter, it was a hit.

A big thank-you to Kelly over at eatmakeread.com.

Recipe found here:

http://eatmakeread.com/2009/09/09/blackberry-ricotta-cornbread/#more-2620

I now realize that tomorrow is going to be a run day, for sure, and that's OK!

Morning coffee and a few of my favortie things....

Ok, so as no one probably, is reading this blog yet, I shouldn't be too embarassed about that time over there on my Nike+ widget.  Fact of the matter is, I'm still learning how to figure this gadget out.  I mean, it calibrates 'n everything!  Awesomeness. 

Also remember, I am 50 years old, fer cryin' out loud.  Anyway...this will keep me motivated to get a decent time in over there. 

New counter tops, Kohler black shiny kitchen sink w/a Kohler pull-down faucet to go with it, and a 3/4 hp disposal are all getting installed today.  Wooo weeeeee...Soon after,  the dishwasher will be re-installed after the new floor goes in.

YaY~!  I'll have my kitchen remodel finally finished. 

Still, I wasn't hindered one little bit from making Rachael Ray's Mexican Chicken Lime soup for dinner last night.  This had some heat.  Not completely crazy heat, though....loved the smokiness of the Chipotle peppers.

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipes/mucho-gusto-latin-recipes/Mexican-Chicken-Lime-Soup

Now, for morning coffee and a few of my favorite things.

A dog and her duck.

Because some things are just so right.

Poppit, the little Oranda

Funsize, the little Lionhead

I am so making this!  From Montessori by hand

you can find it here:  http://www.sewliberated.com/patterns.html

Love this white kitchen

and, this one!

Enjoy your day~!

Ok, a couple before & afters...

The area off the kitchen after old wallpaper removal and before new wallpaper installation.

Ok, still a bit messy, I know..but we're getting there.

Yeah, the bathroom needs work, too.

Before:

After:

As you might imagine, I am having a blast!!

You might be able to notice in the first before pic, it's light outside.  That's because the hubby and I started this little wallpaper project at 11:30am.

We finished up at 11:30pm.

This was my first attempt at using wallpaper. 

No more putting it off....

Well, I just up and did it. Started the blog. I didn't realize I was really going to do this today, but hey, no time like the present, right? I saw this property after it had been listed on the market for about 3 days. I hadn't even seen the bedrooms, just the kitchen, dining & living rooms. I had to head out the patio door to see what all the green was about out there. As soon as I saw this property, I knew I was home. Well, I should say, as soon as I saw this backyard, I knew.

Boy, was I glad the hubby like it just as much as I did.

Well, there will be a lot of before and after shots in the very near future.

I just finished wallpaper off the kitchen.

And the kitchen is awaiting new counter tops, a sink, and disposal. Pic's to follow.

Oh, and the carpet was pulled up in the living & dining rooms to reveal a gorgeous oak flooring.

It's been sanded, sealed, and re-varnished.

Airing out even as I write this. Again, pics to follow~!