Foodie Friday: Homemade Veggie Soup Kathy style

Happy Friday folks!! So this is week two of Foodie Friday. I tried several recipes this week and most were sweets so I figured I better show you I DO actually eat healthy-ish meals. This soup really has no recipe but this is what works for us. We prefer a tomato type sauce rather than a brothy one. It made a honkan kettle full...so big that we still have some & even put some in the freezer for later meals. Perhaps I should call it never gonna get to the bottom soup!!

4 cans veggie broth (or make your own stock)

1 jar home canned stewed tomatoes (or you can use a store bought one if you wish)

1 jar homemade tomato sauce (or 2 small cans of the store bought stuff)

a bag of broccoli

half bag of cauliflower

bag of green beans from the garden (or store bought)

2 cups of corn (that you were smart enough to cut off and freeze that you bought at the Farmers Market this past summer

1 big honkan onion chopped

a good couple handfuls of carrots cut up

salt & pepper

garlic powder or if you're like me you'll mince some fresh stuff up. A dish without garlic is pretty much a sin in our house.

Put all of these ingredients & any other veggies you need to use up into your large sized crockpot. Let it cook on low for a handful of hours. Once the veggies are cooked add a couple cups of barley & let that cook until it's done. Serve with homemade dinner rolls & that my friends makes one delish meal!!

Until next week...Happy eating

Guess who made our dinner?

Guess who made our dinner tonight? If you guessed Stone's Downtown Deli you'd be right!! We hadn't planned on going there tonight but my brother, Kelly called this afternoon & inquired about it. So we invited ourselves & made it a mini family shin dig. You have to remember I have 20 siblings...

Mike, Kelly, Joe & Laurie ordering their food.

They even have big enough tables for a mini shin dig of Pepin's!

My brother Mike on his way into the dining room.

I got Kelly to stop and pose too

Hold up Joe!! We've gotta take your picture too!!!

And my sis Laurie making her grand entrance

Once again...two happy people...who happen to be full of some scrumptious food =)

Stone's Downtown Deli

These are pics of one of my most favorite places to eat downtown. Stone's Downtown Delicatessen. The building is old (as are all our buildings on our Main Street) What character though!!!

In previous years this building was The Wiffletree. They sold men's fine clothing there & rented suits. Even then the place was filled with character.

I didn't get a picture of the deli part of it but you can sit on either side. This side is where they have gourmet coffees, smoothies & ice cream. Charming huh?

The food is out of this galaxy folks!! I kid you not! We try something new each time we go & we have never had anything that hasn't been anything less than delish!! In fact today was so into his food that he was moaning as he took each bite. He told me that the sandwich he was eating was THE BEST sandwich he has ever eatin'....IN HIS WHOLE LIFE!!!

Clearly a full, happy couple!!

Foodie Friday: Rhubarb Dream Bars

We like to try new recipes & often times I share them. I got word from several people on my facebook and other friends that I should start some sort of recipe sharing group. I gave it some thought & really don't know how it would work as far as allowing others to post their recipes in a fashion that all the members would be able to see them. So, for now I'm gonna do what I'll call "Foody Friday" each Friday on this here blog & see how it goes. Who knows, maybe it'll lead to Sunday's Supper, Meatless Mondays, Tasty Tuesday, What we're making Wednesday, and of course Thirsty Thursday. Without further adieu I give you my very 1st Foody Friday recipe:

Rhubarb Dream Bars

1 cup flour

5Tbsp powdered sugar

1/2 cup oleo

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups rhubarb, cut small

Blend flour, powdered sugar, and oleo. Press into ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Don't let cool.

Beat eggs, sugar and flour and salt. Stir in rhubarb. Spoon over crust. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipe is taken from the "Favorite Recipes of Immanuel Luthern Church, 1988" book. The recipe was submitted by Marlene Ehle. I have no clue who she is or was but thank her from the bottom of my heart/belly.

We had ours while it was still hot over Homemade Vanilla Custard that my dear hubby made. Hence it's messiness & lack of looking anything like a bar. This was delicious!! Thank goodness I had enough smarts to harvest our rhubarb and put some in the freezer. I'm interested as to what you've all got cooking in your homes. Whether it be snacks, breakfast, lunch or dinner. We all need to eat so we might as well share some recipes & make some foody friends along the way.

A sweater set for a lil somebody

I made this lil sweater set awhile ago & just got to taking a picture of it. I have a couple little somebodies in mind for it.

I've been working in my craft room/office for a few hours daily and progress is certainly being made. I cannot even wait to take pics & post them. I'm rather anal about organizing & even more so after watching the show Hoarders. Man that show gets me going!! By the end of the week I should have it pretty much done. But right now I have some crocheting to do. =)

Happy Wednesday!!

Most Dangerous Cake Recipe In The World

This recipe is also taken from the recipe book my brother & his fiance got us for Christmas. I'm tellin ya...the people in Oshkosh, WI know how to cook!! I'm beginning to think we need to move there & I need to become friends with these fabulous chefs. ;)

"Most Dangerous Cake Recipe In The World"

4Tbsp. flour

4Tbsp. sugar

2Tbsp. cocoa

1 egg

3 Tbsp. milk

3 Tbsp. oil

3 Tbsp. chocolate chips

Small splash of vanilla

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk & oil and mix well. Add the chips & vanilla and mix again.

Put mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little and tip out onto a plate. Garnish with ice cream and caramel or hot fudge sauce if you dare!! LOL

I complimented ours with custard that my dear hubby made and I melted some of the homemade carmels I made and drizzled it all over tha place. =) Totally delish!!

A lazy Sunday afternoon

Just doing a few odds and ends around the house today. Laundry, changing cat litter, baking, and some serious football watching. While we were working this is what our furry kids were doing:


Allison & Brayden all snuggled on the couch. Notice they need pillows to prop their heads up. Nooo, they are not spoiled....

Allison showin off her chubby belly. At least she had the decency to cover her privates with her tail!! What a princess!!

Macey has no care in the World & is happy on the love seat by herself.

Even our cat Betsey joined in on the chillaxin action. Mckenzie & Arizona were in the den with our other cat , Buster. It's not too often the lil Woodbury Zoo is quite this calm.

Chicken Puffs

This recipe is taken from the Winnebago County Cooks for the United Way cookbook we got for Christmas from my lil bro & his fiance.

2c cooked chicken, cubed
1/4c butter, melted
1-4oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 small onion, chopped
Salt and Pepper
1 tube crescent roll dough

Mix cooked chicken, butter, cream cheese, onion and salt & pepper in bowl.

Flatten crescent rolls to form 4 rectangles and pinch seams. Place 1/4 of the chicken mixture in the middle of each rectangle and fold edges around and pinch to seal.


Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 1/2 hour

Some of my notes: (because it's pretty impossible for me to follow a recipe to a T)


1. I used 2 chicken breasts which cam out to about 2.5 cups of meat

2. I sprinkled garlic powder in mixture...can't have a meal without garlic in this house!!

3. Thinking of frying the onions beforehand. But the raw onions were super delish as well.

4. I seasoned the chicken with S&P while cooking and I also used a full block of cream cheese instead of the 4oz


5. My puffs were cooked in 15 minutes...wonder if my oven is off or the recipe is??? So keep your eyes peeled is what I'd suggest.

This meal kicked all sorts of fancy butt. Definitely going to do this again!! I imagine this would be super delish with chopped turkey as well. Or maybe even add a lil cut up broccoli to the mixture...


The possibilities are endless!!

Late night ski

We got home from our road trip for Kens work last night and decided to go cross country skiing.

It has been at least 7yrs since we've been so we just went down to Ludington Park here in Esky. It was pretty darn cold and windy being right by the lake but fantastic at the same time. Neither one of us fell either which is a total plus!!

I was a bit apprehensive as to how I'd do on ski's seeing my balance pretty much sucks so this was a real treat!! Before we know it we'll be back on the trails doing the 8 mile treks!! Well, once we get a bit more snow that is.

Kenster got a new pair of slippers!!

The latest project to come from my hook is a pair of loafer slippers for my handsome hubby. It took awhile to adapt the pattern to the size I needed seeing they leave out the type of yarn and the hook size & gauge. Darn those 1960's!!! After a pair suitable for Sasquatch himself was finished & another that would be suitable for Shaq, I was able to adapt the darn tootan thing into a much more manageable foot size....I give you...Ken's foot Who could resist those pasty white legs??? Not me!!!

The man hates slippers, says his feet get too hot. He seems to fancy these though...even asked if I'd make him another pair!!!

Guess who's taking this pattern and a handful of skeins of yarn on the road? This gal. In the meantime, anybody see Sasquatch or know of a Sasquatch sized and a Shaq sized footed being I can unload the other pairs off on?

Hittin the Road

I'm sooo excited!!! Tomorrow I am going on a trucking adventure with my hubby. It's been at least 7 months since I've gone on a long run and boy have I missed it!!! Cheers to a fab week. See ya when we return. Kentucky here I come!!!

Blueberry Cream Pie

So, it's been like a year since I made one of these scrumdiddleeeumptious pies. I figured tonight was the perfect day to bring it back!! I give you....Blueberry Cream Pie!!!!! If you make this pie I bet you will not be able to eat just one piece!! It's fantastic warm or cold. So gather your ingredients and march to your kitchen!!! Your loved ones will thank ya =) P.s. I've also made this with peaches...which =DELISH!!!!

It's taken from the Taste Of Home's Contest Winning Annual Recipe book from 2007.

Blueberries 'n' Cream Pie

1/2 cup plus 1tbsp fat free milk, divided

3tbsb butter, melted

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 package (.8ozs) sugar-free cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix

1tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

1 package (8ozs) reduced-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

TOPPING:

2tsps sugar

1/8 tsp ground cinnamin

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup milk, butter & egg. Combine the fluor, pudding mix, baking powder and salt: stir into egg mixtue just until moistened. Pour into a 9 inch pie plate coated with non sitick cooking spray. Arrange blueberries over batter to within 1/2 inch of edge of plate

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and remaining milk until smooth. Spread over blueberries to within 1 inch of berry edge. For topping, combine sugar & cinnamin: sprinkle over the cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until set. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers (if you have any LOL) Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional facts: 1 piece equals 249 calories, 12 grams fat (7g saturated fat), 60 mg cholesterol, 302 mg sodium, 31g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 6g protein.Diabetic Exchanges: 2 fat, 1-1 1/2 starch, 1/2 fruit

2009 in review

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? touched a dead person
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions...I like to call them aspirations. I was able achieve some of them. I like to have many aspirations
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? nobody really really really close
4. Did anyone close to you die? Ken's Nana passed away June 13th...I lost a part of myself when she passed away.
5. What places did you visit? various states in the semi and we took a lil vaca to Ontonogan, MI for my birthday to do some hiking in the Porcupine Mountains and camped.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? game nights with family and friends, dinner parties, debt free
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 14th...just walked in the door from our camping weekend at camp & we were told of Nana's passing.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? riding my bicycle 10-15 miles per day.
9. What was your biggest failure? staying on budget as I would have liked
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing out of the norm.
11. What was the best thing you bought? The new toilet. The old bugger wasted gajillions of gallons of water per flush!!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? anyone who stood up for what they believe in and worked to make our world a better place
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Not for me to judge
14. Where did most of your money go? diesel fuel for the semi!!!
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Going camping, hiking and riding my bike. I seriously got psyched out for those 15 milke bike rides.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009? She's Country by Jason Aldean
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Sadder...My friend Amy died less than a week ago and another friend Josh died today... b) thinner or fatter? thinner c) richer or poorer? about the same
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? entertaining, writing and reading
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? worrying
20. How did you spend Christmas in 2009? went to Ken's grandparents on Christmas Eve & my family shin dig on Christmas day
21. Did you fall in love in 2009? I fall in love everyday with my hubby
22. What was your favorite TV program? probably Survivor
23. What did you do for your birthday in 2009? We went camping and hiking in Ontonogan, MI area for a week. It was fantastic!!!
24. What was the best book you read? The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
25. What did you want and get? another year with my fab hubby
26. What did you want and not get? debt free
27. What was your favorite film of this year? Not sure that I had one
28. Did you make some new friends this year? yuppers
29.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? less debt
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? I wear what I am comfortable in
31. What kept you sane? a supportive and wonderful husband and my fab friends
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I honestly don't get into the whole celebrity thing
33. What political issue stirred you the most? Gay marriage, healthcare reform
34. Who did you miss? Nana...it was extremely hard losing her
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. To Love me for who I am. I cannot change certain things about myself.

Seriously?

Ugh, you have got to be kidding me!!! Last night while toolin around on Facebook talking among friends I learned that yet another friend passed away. =( Seriously? He was 31, with a loving wife & small children. With all the modern technology and whatnot you'd think we'd have a cure for cancer by now!!!

First it was Amy and now Josh...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mad. Actually I'm downright pissed off. This really tests my faith and beliefs...or what little of it I still have. Some things I will never understand.

One thing I know...two wonderful, amazing people leave behind families, friends, children and a world that sooo loved them and wasn't ready to see them go. May their family find peace in their passing. RIP Josh...

I'll never go back

Oh, about a year ago I found myself wanting to do my part and "go green" as much as possible. It also had to do with longing to have a simpler way of life and being frugal. Plus, I get my kicks on those little house on the prairie, do what our forefathers did type things. But, whatever I tried had to work and do it's job, or surpass the commercial products job. Well by golly I found one such homemade product that I swear...I'll never go back to buying the name brand crappolla filled with nasty chemicals and formaldehyde!! Yup, formaldehyde!! Instead I make this:



with this:

2 cups Borax
2 cups washing soda
2 cups baking soda
1 bar napatha bar soap grated

Use 2 TBSP per load...and you'll have some fresh, clean laundry in no time at all

All of this costs about $8.00...Each batch lasts me about a month & I get about 4 batches with the 3 boxes of powder. All I have to do is purchase the Napatha bar soap, grate it up & whalaaa I've got another month's supply. Sooo, for 4 months worth of fabulous, natural, fresh smelling, CLEAN, whites are white, colors are colored laundry all I have to spend is about $12!!! That's pretty darn tootan fantastical if you ask me!! Want to know sumthin else? Ken's allergies are sooo much better since I started using this and we are able to clean our eyeglasses on our tshirts without them getting all smudgy from that other crappolla =) There are several other earth friendly cleaners I use in our home. I will totally do a post all about that!!!

Christmas

Christmas trees start going up in our house on November 1st. Yup, I said Trees, meaning plural. Three big trees to be exact and 5-10 table top and various sized trees find their way into every nook and cranny.

The front of the house can be seen from Main street...which is 4 blocks away...

The den tree is adorned with a couple hundred multi colored lights and all the homemade ornaments.

The main living room tree had a few new additions this year. My friend Brandy made two of these ornaments for me back in August in memory of our babies. Ken purchased our angel ornament this year & he also found a fantastic humming bird ornament in memory of his Nana.

We all know we need to have a tree in the bathroom to provide that ambiance as we sit on the throne!!

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a self picture. Not very often you see us razzle dazzled up.

We rent a hall for Christmas seeing there are 32 of us and face it, who's house can accommodate all of us? Here I am with my big sis Laurie. I just realized her shirt matches my scarf...p.s. the scarf was put on AFTER we consumed our fab meal...to hide the bulging belly!!!

This is only one side of our big circle where we play a gift game. Clearly one heckuva fun event!!!

My brother Kelly

Jay & Osten...Jay's my brother Bruce's boy & Osten his his son.

Me with my lil brother JJ

And back to our living room tree

Of course our bedroom needs a tree!!! We took a big honkan bag of pine cones back from Nana's yard Massachusetts back in June when we went for her funeral. I can't think of a better way than to have them on our tree. =)

If you dare to venture up our windy staircase with tiny steps you'll see this at the bottom landing. I guess I don't have pics of the kitchen trees or the one on the upstairs landing. Believe me, those rooms didn't go without yuletide joy!!! My electric meter knows so!!!!

Sleigh Ride

I organized a sleigh ride for my family on New Years Day. Once Jim realized the Casino was not county road 551 & made it to the farm we were on our way. There were only 20 of us...12 were either sick, thought it was too cold or poor Dave & Lindsey were dealing with furnace issues. We originally had 2 sleighs reserved but they were able to fit us all on one. Can we say tight squeeze?

We meandered through the woods & on our way back the owners stop & we have a lil bonfire, roast marshmallows, hotdogs, have cocoa...fun times. This is my brother Bruce's youngest sone Jason & his lovely wife Jen.

trying to get ourselves all sandwiched in & covered up...

My brother Pat & his wife Kim chillin by the fire.

My lil bro JJ took his girlfriend Meghan. My brothers Mike & Kelly are all bundled up & pretty unrecognizable too. It was one heckuva chilly night!!!

We left as the sun was going down. My cousin Julie, sister Laurie & her boyfriend Ernie took part in the fun too.

My oh my...we were packed like sardines in the sleigh!!!

My niece Ellie & lil brother Jesse peeking at me.

And then you have Ken and myself...all bundled up, noses numb, toes tingling in pain but having a BLAST!!!! We'll definately be planning this again!! Maybe in the autumn when the leaves are in full color and it's not so jeepan cold!!