HALLOWEEN and such!

Great HALLOWEEN!!!

Zombie time!!

Yep...getting into character and all that goes with it! Party on, Zombie boy!

Lots of Halloween parties over the last week. All good! Our town hosts trick-r-treat from 4pm until 6pm...followed by cider and donuts and a costume parade for the little ones, downtown. Makes for a perfect Halloween and love that everything begins early in the day...no late night stuff.
So, our family had a nice yummy dinner of Pumpkin Corn Chowder and crackers. It was delicious. I must admit, I was sceptical, but, WOW! This was really a tasty Fall soup recipe.

We had what we call "dinner theater" and ate our dinner and watched the Halloween episode of Psych from last week----and for those of you who follow this series, you will understand our dessert choice----we cut up a fresh pineapple and boy oh boy was that delicious.

Now, these little pumpkin cookies may look like dessert. Not so fast! Ha! I made these pumpkin cookies fairly healthy...whole wheat, oatmeal, ground flax seed,wheat germ, raisins, walnuts, very low sugar...added some dark chopped chocolate for the fun of it. These actually became our appetizer...not intentionally. Just turned out that way as everyone arrived home from work, school, and Halloween doings----nearly starving to death. So, piping hot pumpkin goodness was enjoyed right away.

Hope your Halloween was sensational and that your holiday season, (which has begun here in our household ---even heard Christmas carols on the radio over the weekend and I don't seem to mind--ha!), will be wonderful and full of joy and happiness. I have got Thanksgiving thoughts running through my head. Watch out Olsen's....we will be to your house to celebrate and eat turkey and all the fixing's before you know it. And of course, GO LYONS! XO

Pumpkin Corn Chowder

In a large soup pot (Dutch oven works well), melt 2 T butter. Add in and cook for 5 minutes, 1/2 small yellow onion and 2 cloves minced garlic.

Stir in 1 t Curry Powder and cook for 30 seconds or so.

Add in 2 cups cubed sweet potatoes and 2 cups cubed potatoes.

Next, 1 14 ounce can of chicken stock, 1/4 each salt and pepper.

Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes.

When that is all cooked nicely, add in.....1 14 ounce can pumpkin, 1 14.75 ounce can cream style corn, 1, 10.75 ounce can cream of celery soup, 1 cup milk, 1 t dried thyme, crushed. YUM!

I let this soup sit for about an hour and 1/2 before serving...just like spaghetti sauce...this soup tastes better with a little aging. Can't wait to taste what little soup was leftover for my lunch today. Bet the flavor will be bold and divine.

Can serve with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds, sour cream or crackers.

Pumpkin Cookies

My mom makes excellent cookies. I do remember her making pumpkin cookies and applesauce cookies. These two cookies were always so moist and delicious.

Oven...375 degrees.

Mix 1 regular can of pumpkin, with 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup shortening. ( Can decrease sugar to about 1/4 and add in 1/4 cup applesauce and reduce shortening to 1/4 cup).

Add in....2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 t baking powder, 1 t baking soda, 1 t ground cinnamon, and 1/4 t salt. And, if your care to, here is where I add in a little ground flax seed, and wheat germ. I also use ground oatmeal with the whole wheat flour to equal the 2 cups.

Then, my favorites...add in raisins and chopped walnuts.....as much as you want. So good. Can add in chocolate at this point, as well. Mix and drop by teaspoon full onto greased cookie sheet.

Dough is very soft and fluffy. That is ok. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

SUPER delicious if you can manage to eat these cookies right out of the oven.

XO

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig!

Our daughter is home from serving a mission for our church. She spent the last year and a half in the San Diego, California area...and speaks Spanish!

My son was so happy to see his sister again. See the two different colors of flooring. You can see an officer sitting in a little chair and desk thing-y to the far left of the picture. Above their is a sign that says Do Not Enter. We were perched on the very edge of that grey flooring trying not to run towards Kristen when we saw her round the bend...til we just could not take it anymore. So, we most likely ebbed in 5-10 feet in the "don't get in here" zone.

My husband took over the camera. So glad to get a picture of my other daughter, Alyson, Kristen and me. Happy times.


All of us were so excited to see Kristen again. And, we are feeling very lucky that more of our family will be traveling from out west to join us in celebrating Kristen coming home safe and sound, after serving a very wonderful mission.

And, so, there was cooking. Just have to learn these great recipes from Kristen's Spanish speaking mission area. Yummy.
Recipe..... corn taco's, stuffed with-------get ready, shredded chicken and mashed potato's, fried in canola oil. Get everything nice and hot in the inside and a bit crisp on the outside.

And, the toppings. I do love a good hot sauce and this combination of toppings were so divine...shredded lettuce, tomato's, diced onion, salsa verde, hot sauce, lime and sour cream. Oh--the drink. It is a fun one, for sure. It is called Horchata. It is a skim milk, cinnamon and rice flavored drink. It was tasty and more like a little cup of dessert. We found it in our International Section of our grocery store...along with Jumex, guava nector. Super good to drink.

So, all in all, we are relishing in having our girl home. How we missed her and how we are enjoying hearing about all her adventures. She is a gem. We are so excited for her to see our Olsen family and friends and our traveling family members. What a blessing and what great times for us all.

Life is good!!!xo

Food and Blooms

Prepare yourself! This is a healthy recipe. Shall we just say this mac and cheese takes on a modern tone and taste. All you need for this dish is seen below. Super easy...good hot or cold.

Cook your pasta and either microwave or stove prepare your light-cheese sauced broccoli. I have never used a vegetable that had a prepared sauce along with it. So, I was really curious about how this would all taste. Add together with 3 wedges of the Light, Laughing Cow cheese.
Warm until cheese is that gooey, yummy texture.

Add a little salt and pepper and their you have it. I really liked this dish. It was so quick, so easy, and low in calories. Really a great twist on an old standby. And, thinking of adding chicken to this dish, next time round.


And, please try this recipe. You won't be sorry. Thanks to my blogging friend, Julie (http://www.circlecliffviews.blogspot.com/), who has some of the best recipes ever! This is one of the really, really, really great one's. My family loved these. And, yes! Carrots. Carrot fries. Lot's and lots of carrots. I used about 6-7 large carrots and chopped them into french fry type pieces. Put them in a bowl and add in 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp cornstarch and a Ranch Dressing packet. Shake and mix until all carrots are coated. Bake at 400 degree's on a sprayed or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes. YUM!

And, we ate the carrot fries cold, along side our spring salad and slice of focaccia the next day. Carrots...still tasted great.

Now that we have had our fill of food, let's take a little walk in the yard and enjoy all the beauty of spring.

Glad to get my wind chimes hung for the season. Oh, and loved getting the humingbird feeders ready and cannot count how many times I am refilling bird feeders. All great fun and such beautiful birds fill our yard. Wish you could smell the fragrance of all these blossoms.

We gutted out our flower boxes in our backyard and have begun to refill them with wonderful perennial greenery and blooms. Wow do they ever smell so good.

I do love hostas and the baby blue forget-me nots! I love blue flowers.

So petite and so sweet.

The tree's off the front porch are all "popcorned" out! You can hear the bee's a buzzing, doing their work. And, you can spot a golden oriole or two, ever so often.

Love sitting on my front porch.

Preparing a new rose bed for new roses....we have a few Blue Girl Tea Roses, a few Sunny Delight (yellow) Tea Roses and a few Arizona Roses....which are yellow, orange, cream and pink.

And, we are revamping an area for raspberries and grapes. Much to do.

Ooh..heavenly!

Meadow view on a rainy day. Trying to be thankful for the bounteous rain we have had this spring. It has been more rain than I have ever seen in a single spring season. Loving all the greenery.

How are things cooking and whats blooming/growing in your yard? We are still waiting for our garden spot to dry out enough to rototill and plant. My seedlings are bursting at the seams to get out in the garden. Yipes. xo

Twas A Lovely Weekend!

The weekend started like this......brrrrrrrr!

My passenger window in the car! Cold, but somewhat beautiful! We headed to our high school where our boys percussion trio qualified (last February) for State Solo and Ensemble Competition. Here the boys are listening to the judge who said he was... "totally blown away and did not know what to say". Yep, a proud moment for us parents. The boys took "blue" and best trio in our region of State competition. They now have been asked to record their drumming piece to be sent for an overall State-wide competition. Very exciting!

Then, our friends came for a visit. Divine! I cannot say enough about this family. They are the dearest of friends. We met at our favorite Chinese Restaurant, as they pulled into town from Indiana.

Look at this little beauty! She is a marvel and makes being 6 magical. Never a dull moment. Loving her snuggie! I think that is what it is called.

And, man oh man! The piano got a good workout. Reminded me of when Jenna would play and play and play, when she lived at home. He is quite good and just made me smile hearing him play.

My hubby was heading to the garage to cut basement ceiling tiles. But, stopped to play a few games before heading to the workshop.

A few hours later....ha! Still playing and having a blast! Work can wait! Time to play and enjoy being together.

Loved cooking bigger meals for us all. I loved the Fajitas on Saturday. My friend, Suzy, tipped me off to a fast and easy way to make Fajitas. Bought baked chickens from the store, shredded the meat into my big pan, and added a McCormick Chicken Fajita Seasoning packet. Easy-pie!

It was good to sit down and eat together. Even made some jello which I have most likely not made in a few years. Made for fun. No picture, but, it was delightful to sit and have a nice crowd for an after church Sunday meal. We ate lasagna. Hit the spot. So fun to eat and visit.

Love this family. Aren't they fantastic? Hated to see them go, but, they will be back in May. What a treat. Made saying good-bye not so sad this time round. And, if you ever need a true-blue friend, Kareena is it! Not only did she visit, stay with us and bright up our weekend, she took time to go to her old neighborhood and visit, care for, help and listen to her neighbor who was in a terrible accident this past Thanksgiving and is still in recovery mode. Talk about bringing joy and happiness and a little boost to a friend in need. She did not go just once, or twice, but three times to support and cheer this friend. Now, that is amazing and just how Kareena is!

So, see ya in May. And, thanks for such a great visit. It was a lovely weekend!

What did all of you like best about your weekend? Do tell!

p.s. Genevieve...missed you this weekend. Let's look forward to a time we can all get together. Would love it!

Lovely February!

There is just something magical about icicles. And, the cold really makes me want to eat yummy soup and garlic bread. So delicious and done in a snap.....I just added some cooked hamburger, and fresh chopped potatoes, carrots and onions, to my cooking pot. Then, I added a little salt and pepper and a can of beef broth and water to cover everything. Cook until veg's are done. If you care to thicken your soup, just take a cup of your hot beef broth out of your pot. Add a tablespoon or two of flour to the hot broth. Mix well and add back into your soup pot and stir. That should do it!

I have loved going for winter walks. Here's a picture as I head back into our driveway and towards our garage. Our house actually sits on the hill to the left. I just love the blue, blue, blue sky! And, we have had another snowstorm since I took this picture, so, add in another 4 or so inches of white fluff.

BINGO! I saw these little neon delights in our market and knew they belonged to me...ha! They have added a very bright touch to our home. Makes me think about looking through seed catalog's and dreaming of all that I would like to grow in our garden and in the flower beds in our yard. But, truthfully, for the moment, I am enjoying the quiet hush of "all things growing" as the earth rests under our blanket of snow.

Loving my new Valentine dish towels. I kept thinking I would cut them up and make sweet hot pads. Then, I thought about making them into aprons. Finally, I decided to just let them be....at least for now. They are just so beautiful. And, I made some oatmeal, dark chocolate chip, dried cranberry cookies this morning. Just followed the recipe off the oatmeal container. This recipe has never failed me. Give it a try for a quick and delicious little cookie. Makes a good breakfast cookie, as well.

And, what would February be with out some Sweethearts! These little candies have a significant meaning in my family. When I was 5 years old, my mom and dad brought home my brand new baby sister, Kelli. She came home on Valentines Day. My mom gave me and my other sister's Sweetheart candies....a little box for each of us. Every Valentines Day since, my mom and dad have given or sent Sweethearts....Conversation Hearts, to my sister's and our families. This is such a highlight each and every February.

Came across some little Valentines. I do love Valentines...homemade or store bought.
They are so cheerful and make me smile.

Hope you are enjoying this "lovely" month of February. Just heard on the radio that today and tonight will be good for cuddling.....we will reach a high of 15 this afternoon and a low of 1 tonight.

That's my kind of weather. xo

A Challenge: Part I and II

I've FINALLY! decided on my theme for this year..One big theme for the year, and a "focus" for each month. (You might recall the focuses I tried out last year) This year's theme is:

"Every day an Adventure"

This includes but is not limited to one adventure per day. It's time to shake it up! So I will be posting each day...ok every other day...ok as often as possible on the adventures of that day. Let's begin!

Day 1

Adventure challenge: Become a French baker by baking the perfect loaf of French bread.

With the assistance of Sisterscafe.com for recipe and following pics


Goal:


Soundtrack: Edith Pilaf -La Vie en Rose, La Foule etc..
Garou- Les Cloches
Lara Fabien Je t aime
Notre Dame de Paris (Garou...) or Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack
Vanessa Paradis

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast
2 tsp. sugar
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt

In a small bowl mix the warm water with the yeast and sugar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes - foam should form on the top.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt. Gradually add the yeast mixture. Mix until the dough becomes a smooth ball and knead for 5 minutes. ( Kitchen Aid with the dough hook)

Cut in half and then shape into 2 baguettes. To make them smooth and pretty, roll each half of dough into rectangle and roll up lengthwise. Pinch the edges to seal and place on lightly greased cookie sheet (or silpat) with seam down. Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With a very sharp knife gently make a slash down the length of each baguette. This will give it that authentic look. Pour water in a cookie sheet and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Half way through, brush the bread with melted butter.


Results: Instead of gourmet French bread, I ended up with Italian flatbread sans herbs...

On the right, I folded the loaf over to add some 'omph'
and body..you can tell it had about as much body as a limp noodle.

I guess I should confess that I also forgot the pan of steaming water underneath. I've tried this before with the pan and the results were not much better than this:

I purposefully stacked them to give them some height ::snickers:: I also used wheat flour in mine although that doesn't account for the pasty white sunless look my loaves artfully achieved.

Flavor: 9/10. If you're a Salty Dog you'll love how much salt this packs in but for the rest of us, I'd use less salt since the butter also adds some.

Overall, I still think I will be saving up for a bread machine. Ha! I will continue to admire the recipes on Sisters Cafe as it is one of my favorites, and keep working on this flatbread-I mean baguette!

Start With Onions!!

Onions cooking on the stove....a prelude to something delicious! This is one small onion in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Soon as the onions get that nice translucent look, add in about 16 ounces of fresh mushrooms, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. And, as you wait for the mushrooms to slowly cook and become a little brown....
...it might be time for a little pre-dinner "pick-me-up"! I do love fruit. Ever wonder why fruit tastes so much better and near festive when eaten out of a wonderful dish or glass? Love it!

Let onions and mushrooms cool. And while they are cooling, chop very finely, 3/4 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup parsley.

In a food processor or blender, blend one regular can of kidney beans with the parsley and walnuts. Then, add in the mushrooms and onions.
Honestly, my blender could not handle this...the thickness. So, a food processor would be best. But, truth be told, i do not have a food processor and so I resorted to my trusty hand held electric beaters. What's a girl to do? And, it did work out aok.

Sort of looks like the beginnings of meatloaf? Maybe? But, with beans. Well, it is NOT meatloaf.

Add in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs.

Well, here is what I made...a first for me...meatless meatballs. After mixing the above ingredients, put it into the fridge for about an hour. Roll into small balls and broil for 10 minutes, rotating balls once. They turned out nice and crusty on the outside and softer on the inside. Just right.

I looked back at the recipe to see if their was a sauce or how to serve, but, did not find anything.
Maybe over rice? Hubby and son loved these. I think kids might gobble these up if dipped in ketchup? We did try ketchup and it was good.

And, it was what was for school and work lunches the next day.

A few tips...I think this would make a wonderful spread on tortilla's, or on a sturdy whole wheat cracker. Just mix the ingredients and spread.

Have a great Friday. Maybe give this new recipe a try this weekend. It was fun to make and fun to eat! What's cooking at your house this weekend? xo