Red Cat Ice Cubes!!!

I heard about "Red Cat Slushies" and thought, "What about 'Red Cat Ice Cubes'"?!? Viola!! It worked!! (notice the dark red cubes in the Red Cat wine.)

The biggest challenge was actually finding the ice cubes trays to make the cubes.  Of course, now that I have discovered this wonderful concoction, I love to drink it.  And if you didn't already get the "memo," I am a bit of a wine-o.  

This last week I also discovered that I can actually tolerate some types of beer.  I picked up a six pack of Bud Light with Lime.  I think what sold me was the "lime" addition. Yeah, yeah... I know. It is a highly  wussy beer, but, you have to start somewhere, right?!?  And to make things even better, or maybe I should say worse -- it tastes fantastic with my favorite chips!!  Here's a picture, in case you forgot.

This week I was able to pick my first "real" tomato!! I have picked a few ripe cherry tomatoes, but, they don't really count. 

Since harvesting that prize fruit, I have noticed quite a few are getting orange and on their merry way to red!! Whoohoo!! I will have to get picture for my next blog.

The hubby and I also went to a nifty restaurant and I was highly amused with their restroom sign.

And here are some funny "sayings" that have shown up on the web.....

That's it for now. Till next time!

Avocado Sour Cream Dip

I was in the process of trying to find a recipe to make a chipotle dip of some kind and I found a recipe on the  internet. I was too lazy to drag out a cookbook, but, lo and behold, I only had a couple of said ingredients.  But you know me ---> Well you should, by now ---> No lack of an ingredient will stop me EVAAAA!

I had two avocados in desperate need of attention before going south. And by south I mean ending up in the garbage. I do hate throwing those out, they are so dang expensive!  Anywhoooooo... Back to "my" recipe"

2 avocados, peeled and scooped out into a bowl
1 can (7oz or whatever you have) chopped green chilies
1/2 cup onion (I used white, but, I'm sure red would be amazing!)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbl. lemon juice (I used the stuff in the big green bottle, aka concentrate.)
1-2 tbl fresh cilantro (I got this from my faux garden. Only add as much as you can stand. That stuff is strong.)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Mash together and eat with chips or whatever you desire.

It's much greener, in real. And I should tell that the darling hubby liked it, too.

I should state that I had all of the ingredients mushed together, but, the last one and came to find out I added a teense too much salt. So, being the brainiac that I am, I added some sour cream. And that fixed it up alllll nice.

I think for dinner today or tomorrow I will make wraps with the extra grilled chicken I have and add sauteed veggies and maybe some rice or something and then a glob of this stuff on top of that. That sounds good, right?!? I'm thinking it will taste fine and dandy.

I am also excited to announce that our roof is finished!! Took two days. The guys worked an extra long day on day #2 and finished even with the brief rain storm.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

It is much, much better now....

In the process of having this done, we discovered some imperfections in the last siding/soffit fix.  I had to make calls to get that in gear. And I was waiting around for the shop to call about my car, that apparently needs more work than it's worth. Thankfully the guy in charge, told me as much, so we just drove it home and will drive it until it dies (I had been without a car for a week.) Andddddd... While waiting and making various other phone calls, the camp where C#1 and C#2 are residing this week called.  C#1 came into contact with poison ivy before getting to camp and is now all itchy. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I gave them permission to douse him with Benadryl, chamomile him up and gauze him with the threat of having to come home early. All in one day. And I didn't even mention everything. Good times.  So, I decided to have this for lunch:

My customary coffee and a bowl of peanut butter cup ice cream with melted peanut butter and chocolate hard shell.  It didn't make everything better, but, it sure tasted great.  

Today has been easy peasy in comparison. But, it's still early. I hope I didn't just jinx it. 

Till next time...........

My kind of OCD!!

I had to share!

Tis the Season!

This week I had my first "real" corn on the cob -- grilled!!! Whoohoo!! The local farm put out their stand and it was delicious!!!  I love this time of year!

I also made some chicken with pesto and Swiss cheese. The pesto consisted of fresh basil leaves, olive oil and Parmesan cheese (which I made in a blender.) I didn't add the normal pine nuts, since I didn't want any crunchy in the chicken. I egged then panko breaded one side of the chicken (that I pounded till thin.) Put that in a pan with olive oil. Put glob of pesto on chicken, topped it with Swiss cheese and semi-rolled it up. Fry until done. I had to turn them once -- I used tongs.  It was a winner!

I paired this with a Swiss chard pasta. A recipe I got from a friend. I also added mushrooms, which was a plus.

Now I am "house sitting" while the roof is getting ripped off my house.  I just hope it doesn't rain, even though it would be good to get some rain. 

Till next time...

A Dryer and Swiss Chard!

My dryer has been acting up lately. Making horrible, horrible noises. Banging, clanging, being all monster-y. I babied it for about two weeks. I halved the loads, which means I was doing lots and lots of loads. That worked for a bit -- no hideous banging/clanging. But, then that wasn't cutting it either.

I resorted to hanging the clothes out to dry. I am a big baby and love my dryer-dried clothes. I hate, hate, HATEEEEEEE "crunchy" towels. Who wants to snuggle into that after taking a nice relaxing shower?!? Well, maybe some of you. But NOT me!

Here's a lovely "crunchy" towel. There is a whole stack - Boohoo!  Maybe if I don't take a shower for a few days, everyone else will use them and I won't have to!

My dearest hubby was going to fix it, but, I have no patience and wasn't sure how long that endeavor was going to take. ANDDDD I was going out AND the store I was going to purchase it from was having a 10% off sale AND they have free delivery and pick up. SCORE!

Here is my new one!  I did some research (very little) and made sure to purchase one that had sensor dry or something like that on it. It just means it will stop running when everything is dry and not run on and on and on even if everything is done.  It is definitely an upgrade from my last one. We bought that one many, many years ago, after the one that was left at our house stopped heating right.  And we bought the cheapest one we could.  This one works great and dries everything and doesn't sound like it's breaking down the house and going to explode. All good, in my opinion.

Enough about that.  I was trying to figure out what to eat for lunch. After breaking open a bag of Kettle: Salt and Vinegar chips and downing 1/4 of the bag, I decided to get something freshly picked. I planted a large pot of swiss chard, but, the leaves are not that big and don't amount to much once cooked. So I decided to put some beet greens with the chard. I only have about four of those, but, the leaves on those babies are fairly large.  I cooked them up and they were delicious. Sadly it was only a teeny tiny amount, but, that is all right. I will survive.

Sigh....  I can't be too greedy though. The hubby and C#2 have both decided they like them a lot, too.

Here are some updated pictures of my "garden."  

The tomatoes in this grow box are going bonkers. The other ones are doing okay, too. But this one is ridiculous!

Remember when I said I don't space things out to plant?! Well this is what you get. Big clump of lettuce.

And there is one lone tomato actually getting red!!!

And here is an itty bitty cucumber from my lone ranger cucumber plant. It's doing pretty good, since I have it stuck in a pot.

C#1 and C#2 are both home today. After doing many, many chores (they have been very neglectful in the last week) we decided to watch a movie to hide from the heat.

We went to the theater to see it the first time. But, it is such a great movie!  Once the movie started playing I knew immediately who did the soundtrack. And we had, had a discussion about movie music just recently and I asked C#1 if he could identify the composer. I'm so proud that he could.

Anyway, that's it for today. Until next time...

Popsicles of Yore

I was trying to think of something "cool" to make to combat the heat. But, I wanted something semi-healthy. Then I remembered the popsicles my Mom and Grandma used to make for us to eat made out of orange juice.  And thennnnnnnn, completely by accident I found these:

There was definitely some divine intervention or divine assistance or something. The timing was impeccable!! I had resorted to making juice ice cubes.

They taste the same, but, definitely not as easy to eat. I resorted to adding them to mixed drinks. That was a stroke of genius I might add. Frozen drinks with an icy juice "pop"! But, that's just an aside.

I found the Tupperware popsicle making set at a thrift store and got it for a steal! I made the first batch using the cranberry/grape juice and they were a hit with C#1 and C#2.

They were delicious!

About a year ago, my Grandma gave me a quilt that was finished by my Great - Grandma, but, started by a "Many Greats" Grandma who was born in the 1800's. I finally found the perfect display for it and a safe spot.  It matches the colors in our "sunny room" perfectly, too.  It is definitely something that I will cherish!

That's it for now. Till next time...

Creamy Asparagus Soup

I know you're probably asking why are you making soup in July?!  Well, asparagus is in season at the store and I bought too much. I had a good amount to use and I will eat soup whenever. Cold, warm or hot.  I looked in my Taste of Home: Soups cookbook and found "Creamy Asparagus Soup."  Here is the recipe with my changes in bold.

2 green onions, chopped (I used half an onion, chopped)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon butter (I also added olive oil)
2 cans chicken broth (I used 5 chicken bouillon cubes and 4-5 cups water)
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 thyme (didn't use, because I couldn't find any)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf (I didn't use, because I couldn't find them)
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp grated lemon peel (I used a little bit of lemon juice)


In a large saucepan, saute onions and garlic in butter. Add broth, asparagus, salt, thyme, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Drain asparagus, reserving liquid. Discard bay leaf.

In food processor (I used a blender) combine asparagus and 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Process until smooth. Return pureed asparagus and remaining liquid to pan.

Combine the flour and water until smooth (I used some of the cooking liquid for the water.) Stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Garnish with sour cream and lemon peel.

It looks like split pea --- but, it very much isn't.

I did it in a crock pot, thinking I would let it cook for a while. That didn't happen. I was too hungry

The sour cream tasted really good in the soup!

Funny story (and what I mean is it wasn't that funny.) As I was dumping most of the soup into the blender I forgot to check the spigot. Lo and behold it was open and the asparagus soup water was pouring out.... AND into one of the drawers with silverware in it. Yeap! I dirtied 1/4 of the drawer with soup. Duhhhhh!! That was sooooooooooooooooooooooo annoying. Of course, if I had been a smart cookie, I would have shut the drawer instead of leaving it wide open. Double duhhhhhhhhhh!

Anyway, it was a successful soup, so it all turned out fine.

This last weekend was a busy one, too. We visited some local"ish" sites (3+ hours away.)  We went to an old fort and then we explored a couple Navy ships and a submarine. I think we (the hubby and I) were more impressed than C#1 and C#2.  But, at least they can cross it off their "bucket list."

The Fort hosting a large re-enactment of the French and Indian War. There were tons of re-enactors at this event.  And it was boiling hot that day. I felt really, really bad for them.

That's it for now. Till next time...