COOKING IN CAST IRON

I have been cooking in Cast Iron Skillets for years....just no other way to make your food absorb all the flavors and you get a bonus..."iron", yes the food you cook in cast iron does absorb iron which is good for you. I have 2 sets of cast iron skillets, a cast iron fryer (I use when cooking large amount of stir fry), a cast iron dutch oven and some extra cast iron pieces. I would love to have some cast iron pots and a cast iron biscuit pan, maybe I should ask for them for Christmas next year, or maybe my Birthday. I cooked deer tenderloin with brown gravy and fried cornbread the other night in my cast iron, added some left over green beans and a baked potato.....my kind of meal.

This is my favorite gravy stir thingy (had it for years) and can not find another one like it, I just hope it never breaks!

TEAPOT APRON

This apron I made for my mother-in-law, she collects teapots so I thought this would make a great gift for her. I could tell when she opened it she loved it, but she is so appreciative of anything, especially hand-made items. She doesn't get to sew much anymore and I know she misses it dearly, she is such a crafty woman herself. She takes used greeting cards and cuts them down and makes great gift tags from them. Maybe I will get a chance later to post some of them on my blog.

 The pocket is actually divided into 2 pockets just by stitching down the middle.

LOVE THIS FARM!

This is a farm in Benton County, TN, I went with our grandsons class from their local library. We had a blast and I would love to go again next year. There were so many animals to see and the owners were great host. I should mention "all" of the kids were great!

FOR A FRIEND

I made this apron for a good friend of mine for a Christmas gift. She is always giving me great craft ideas and when she finds something at a yard sale she likes, she buys it (real cheap)  and brings it to me to see if I can make it. My friend is the "Queen" of yard sales, no kidding! We get together every once in a while for coffee just to catch up on stuff and talk about what's going on in the neighborhood. She also volunteers at the gift shop one day a week at our hospital, sometimes she gets great ideas from the gift shop for me. She is a dear friend and I am glad I met her a few years ago.

TIC TAC TOE Anyone

I made my two sweet grandsons this Tic Tac Toe game for Christmas. I found this in one of my craft books I have and altered it some. It was a hit!! I used felt for the front and game squares, I cut out the game pieces from felt and I used fabric (that I already had) for the back and the buttons I already had. Let me tell you...I have buttons... I love buttons! If anyone ever wants to give me anything, they can give me "buttons", especially unusual ones. Back to the game...It folds nicely, as you can see in the photo, for storage.

 All laid out with the game pieces, cut from felt.

 Yes, it is made to open to store all the game pieces inside.

 This is so cool how it folds for storage.

Ready to be tucked away until time to play again.

Hand-Made Gifts From the Heart

Shhhhh...this purse I made is for my mom for Christmas....so if you know her please don't tell her, I want her to be surprised. I made the little black flowers out of strips of fabric and covered buttons with coordinating red fabric for the center of the flower. I lined it with black fabric and both sides of  lining have 3 pockets for plenty of storage. The purse is fastened with a heavy duty magnetic snap. I added 4 black buttons to the bottom, one on each corner, to keep it from getting dirty. The large gold heart shape pin is one I have had for a long time. I enjoy crafting and making special gifts for special people in my life. Sometimes I spend lots of hours on one gift, to get it just like I want it. When I feel its right and completed with lots of "Love" then I am happy to give it to that someone special.

 
I will be posting more after Christmas......after everyone has received their gifts. My mom does not have a computer so that is why I am posting her gift now. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES

What are your favorite Christmas movies, or don't you have one? There are not many Christmas movies that I don't like. My all time favorite is "It's A Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart, I watch this every year, it is such a touching movie. I even like some of the kids cartoon Christmas movies/shows, we have one called "Magic Gift of The Snowman", it is a kids musical holiday adventure movie but it has a real story in it. I watched one the other day with our oldest grandson called "Mary, Mother of Jesus", great movie!

"It's A Wonderful Life"

 

 

 

 Leave a comment with your favorite Christmas Movie!

ARE YOU READY?????

It's almost here.....CHRISTMAS!!!!

I love this time of the year, getting with family and friends, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I love the decorating, making everything sparkle with lights, the smell of cinnamon, breads and cookies baking in the oven. I love to make gifts that someone would love and appreciate, I don't spend a lot of money, even though I probably do spend too much on the grand-kids. They are only little once and I love to see them happy and excited. I love sitting around curled up with a blanket with the fireplace going and watching Christmas movies, one of my favorites is It's A Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart.

This is our tree this year and I would love to see your Christmas tree... post a comment with a pic of your tree.

REMEMBER WHEN....

JUST IN TIME!

Remember back in October I posted about my "little" green tomatoes, my organic "lasagna garden" just kept producing these and I could not just throw them out. I wrapped them all up in newspaper and placed them in a dark cool spot hoping they would ripen in time for Thanksgiving. Well these little tomatoes did just that, checked them today and I found red ripe tomatoes! This will be a special surprise for some folks when we sit down to eat our "Turkey" dinner tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a "HAPPY THANKSGIVING" and GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

I NEED YOUR HELP!

LOOKING FOR A GOOD PUMPKIN RECIPE.........

Like cookies, cake or bread........mainly cookies right now. You see our little grandson Caleb (3 yrs old) asked a special friend, Ms. Sandy, to cook his pumpkin that I grew for him and and he brought it to our house last night for me to fix something with it. I think he will eat it if it is baked in cookies, so if you have an easy recipe please send it to me on FB or email or you can leave it in the comment section. Thank You in advance!

BEAUTY FROM HEAVEN!

EARLY MORNING COLOR!

I looked out my windows and saw the most beautiful colors casting down from the Heavens! I grabbed my camera and started shooting, knowing it would only last a few minutes. To me this is one of the great gifts given to us early in the morning by our Heavenly Father! 

The beautiful colors of blues, pinks and oranges from above, high in the sky were casting down such a soft blanket over everything below.

As I was shooting I spotted this deer, she was spooked by the clicking of my camera, I managed to get this shot before she ran into the woods.

 I am so glad to be an early riser to be able to capture this kind of beauty, you never know when this is going to appear. I think God likes to surprise us with his paintings, he knows it puts a smile on our face and lets us preview a "hint" of beauty that will be in our Heavenly Home someday!

A FULL POT

AN ABUNDANCE OF ACORNS!

I went out today to gather acorns to make a project I found on Better Homes & Garden website. I discovered that we have been blessed with an abundance of these nuts this year, I think I know why, the acorns got to produce and mature this year (some of them are huge), because the Squirrels were so busy eating all of our peaches, apples and pears.

Just getting started, they are everywhere, I was stepping all over them, under leaves in the dirt, I mean everywhere.

It was cold and the wind was blowing, for a minute I thought it was raining "Acorns", they were falling all around me. I am very surprised I did not get hit in the head, the wind was blowing them out of the trees so fast, faster than I could pick them up!

 It did not take me long, about 10 minutes, to get a Full Pot. These are going to be used for projects, will be posting them soon so come back to visit!

NEW TO ME!

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS? 

Do you know what this is, have you ever eaten it? It is Chayote (Chah-YOH-teh).....yes it is edible. I have grown several different kinds of squash but never heard of Chayote (Spanish) until the other day. It is native to Mesoamerica where it is a very important ingredient to the diet. A friend gave some to my mom and she passed one onto me, cooked it like I cook yellow squash, it was very good and tasty. I told my husband that it looks like an "old grandpa smiling with no teeth", ha, ha, I don't think he enjoyed the humor too much, since he is a grandpa, but a young grandpa! Anyway Chayote belongs to the plant family of melons, cucumbers, squash and gourds, it has to have lots of room to grow. It can be eaten raw, not for me, and cooked, when cooked like summer squash, it is generally lightly cooked to retain a crisp flavor. Chayote can also be eaten raw, I think I said this already, in salads and salsas, and it is often marinated with lemon or lime juice. Whether you cook it or eat it raw, it is a good source of amino acids and vitamin C.

IT'S ALMOST TURKEY TIME!

TELL ME HOW YOU PREPARE YOUR TURKEY OR ................

whatever you serve for Thanksgiving. In our house it is generally Turkey & Dressing, mashed potatoes, candied yams or sweet potato casserole, you know with all those marshmallows on top, green beans, rolls, purple hull peas, deviled eggs, green onions and of course sliced cranberry sauce. I have to have cranberry sauce when I eat Turkey & Dressing, they go together like.....peanut butter & jelly. And to top it all off, if you have room, dessert, it might be my home-made chocolate pie, my moms home-made pecan pie, my home-made zucchini bread, my mom's home-made banana pudding, or whatever anyone else decides to bring, it might be all of these! The main thing is to be THANKFUL for each and everyday and the many blessings God gives us. 

It makes me hungry just writing about it......leave a comment telling what you are planning to have for Thanksgiving!

ANOTHER GREAT GOOD EARTH PRODUCT

TUSCAN CHICKEN with PENNE PASTA

By now you can tell we like chicken....this is about the third chicken dinner we have tried by GOOD EARTH...and we have loved everyone of them. The best thing about their dinners are that they are all natural and no additives and no artificial flavors and 100% whole grain pasta. The other thing I like about them is they are so simple and quick to fix.

I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE AGAIN!

WITH FRIED PEAR PIES....

It was late last night but I decided to go ahead and make my Fried Pear Pies, I am glad I did, my husband and I taste tested them and they are absolutely positively delicious! I have a whole new perspective about Pears, I did not know they could taste so good. I am so thankful for everyone that has been so generous giving me pears, since the squirrels ate all of mine, the little stinkers. After peeling and slicing, cooking for a pretty long time, adding granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a stick of butter (smart balance), they were ready to cool and be turned into home-made little fried pies. My pie dough is made from self rising flour and buttermilk, buttermilk gives it such a wonderful unique taste. I now prefer Fried Pear Pies over apple, peach or chocolate, I still like the others but the Pears are at the top of the list!

"JUST AROUND THE CORNER"

WHO IS GETTING READY TO DECORATE FOR CHRISTMAS?

ME.......I am planning to start early....getting the trees up this week. I think I am going to let our 2 grandsons help decorate the small tree this weekend when they come down to visit. Christmas is my favorite Holiday, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the music, I love Christmas music. Matter of fact starting today Christmas music will be playing at our house! I love the memories of past Christmas's, oh the joys of playing "Santa". All the Christmas Eve's staying up til 3 AM putting toys together and getting everything under the tree just to see the excitement in our kids on Christmas morning, oh how I miss those days!

This is a pic of my Christmas Tree last year.......

THE GREEN STUFF NO ONE LIKES!

"SPINACH"

I know what you are thinking.....Spinach is yucky......it's all in the way you season it when you cook it. I buy the frozen chopped spinach, it keeps longer and you can cook only the amount you need without wasting. When I cook my spinach I get my water, just enough to cover the spinach, to boiling and then pour in the frozen spinach. I let the spinach cook a few minutes then I add a little sea salt, black pepper, onion powder and a spoon full of extra virgin olive oil. I don't have a certain measurement of ingredients, I usually guess according to how much of spinach I am cooking. 

I found some nutritional information on the web to pass along...Spinach is low in calories and contains high amounts of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and flavonoids. The various flavonoids in spinach protect us against cancer. The antioxidants protect against free radical damage and help prevent degenerative diseases.

Spinach contains high amounts of vitamin K along with calcium and helps build good bones along with magnesium. The high amounts of iron in spinach is good for women, the iron in spinach is called non-heme iron. Sounds good so far!

Spinach contains oxalic acid, also called oxalates, which combines with the iron and inhibits its absorption. Oxalic acid also binds with calcium, creating calcium oxalate and inhibits the absorption of calcium. If there is not enough calcium in the diet, the oxalic acid will combine with the calcium in the kidneys and form kidney stones. Therefore, eating raw spinach on a regular basis increases the risk of kidney stones. *Cooking spinach breaks down the oxalates and prevents the formation of un-absorable mineral complexes in the body.

Spinach also contains goitrogens which interfere with the functioning of the thyroid gland. Therefore, people with thyroid problems should avoid spinach.

1 cup cooked spinach contains:

  155 mg Magnesium............244 mg Calcium.............830 mg Potassium.............6.4 mg Iron

   17 mg Vitamin C.............14700 IU Vitamin A............4.3 gm Fiber..................5.3 gm Protein

The high protein and low carbohydrate content makes it a good food for diabetics.

Cooked spinach goes well with Omeletts, Grilled Meats, Green Salads and also with Vegetarian Lasagna. 

So give it a try, who knows, you might actually like it!

COULD NOT HELP MYSELF!

I MUST BE NUTS..................BUT.......

I could not leave these pears on the tree. Went to visit my daughter and her family and their pear tree was loaded. A neighbor was suppose to have gotten them, but I guess they did not get a chance to, so I brought a bunch home with me. If you are thinking that the pears look over ripe, looks is deceiving, it is what is in the inside that counts. I am going to try to make "pear fried pies", never done this so it is an experiment, but I think they will be delicious. I discovered that the longer the pears are on the tree, if you don't have critters eating them, the sweeter they are. I peeled a couple of these and shared them with my grandsons and let me tell you these are the sweetest and juiciest pears I have ever eaten. I will be posting the results when I am finished and give you the details, wish me luck!

MADE WITH LOVE!

HOME-MADE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES.......

Several of you have been wanting to see the Halloween costumes I was making for my 2 grandsons, well here they are! I made everything except for the Star Wars Yoda mask, my wonderful son-in-law made that, he did a wonderful job! Can you guess what the little went as.....You got it......"Foghorn Leghorn" and I have to say a cute one at that! I know I am bragging a little but you have to admit he is adorable. By the way he would crow for anyone who would ask, you would of had to been there.

Hope everyone had a fun & safe Halloween.....email me a pic of your favorite kids costume, yours or the grand-kids.....can't wait to see them!

You can check out more pics posted on my Facebook!

A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON

CANDY CORN..........YUM YUM!

Candy Corn was created in the 1800's by George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy Company, the 3 colors of the candy mimic the appearance of kernels of corn (I know you already knew this). Each piece is approximately 3 times the size of a whole kernel from a ripe or dried ear (OK, you probably knew this too). Candy corn is made primarily from sugar, corn syrup, artificial coloring and binders. A serving size of 22 pieces (that's a lot) contain 140 calories and NO fat.

Another variation is the "Indian Corn", chocolate brown bottom, orange in the middle and white on the tip.

Originally the candy was made by hand. Manufactures first combined the sugar, corn syrup, and water and cooked them to form a slurry (thickened to a solid). Fondant (a kind of icing-like substance used to decorate pastries) was added for texture and marshmallows were added to provide a soft bite (bet you did not know that). The mixture was then heated and poured into shape molds. These passes, one for each colored section, were required during the pouring process.

The recipe remains basically the same today. The production is called "corn starch molding", like wise remains the same, but today by machines that were invented for the process.

Candy Corn is my favorite Halloween candy.....leave me a comment telling me your favorite Halloween candy.

TIME TO SAY......"GOODBYE"

It is time to let them go......my "little green tomatoes". After picking a crop of green tomatoes to store to ripen, I hope, and picking some to decorate with, it was time to pull them up and put in the compost pile.  I hated to do this because the plants were so green and still full of life, but I knew the freezing temps in a couple of nights would destroy them. I let them grow and produce as long as I could, they still had little blooms on them, boy they sure did like my Lasagna Garden. I am preparing my soil for my Lasagna Garden next year, lots of good stuff to pile to decompose during the Winter months. Rich, Rich, Rich soil is what I want next Spring, want to grow some good veggies!

"LITTLE GREEN TOMATOES"

A LITTLE OUTDOORS BROUGHT INSIDE!

I thought what could I do with my "little green tomatoes", too small to wrap up and put away to ripen, so I threw this center piece together. I went out and gathered up a bunch of Hickory Nuts and put them in a large glass bowl with my "little green tomatoes".  OK, It's not fancy but I just could not throw those "little green tomatoes" away!

GREEN TOMATOES

GREEN........RED........MAYBE!

Yes I picked these green tomatoes from my tomato vines yesterday, there were more but too small. I wrapped them individually in newspaper, put them in boxes, single layer. Hoping to have a few red tomatoes by Thanksgiving, we will wait and see.  I have never tried this but have read about it and decided to give it a try, the least I could end up with is a bunch of rotten tomatoes, if so they will go in my compost pile. I will get to use them in some way or another. Keep checking back I will keep you posted on how they are coming along.

DELICIOUS!

Another wonderful and tasty dish from "Good Earth". Mediterranean Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta, I found this one at Wal Mart over the weekend. It was so simple to make and the seasonings that are included are absolutely wonderful. Like I had mentioned in my other post, there is No Artificial Flavors, No Artificial Preservatives and 100% Whole Grain Pasta. Add the chicken and you will have a wonderful dish! Go to their website at http://www.goodearthathome.com and print a coupon for $1.00 off, can't beat that!

 

PEAR BUTTER

JUST SCRUMPTIOUS!

Keep making those home-made buttermilk biscuits because my Pear Butter has been taste tested, approved and sealed.....boy is it good. If you have ever eaten Apple Butter then you will like Pear Butter. I used to eat Apple Butter growing up but never had Pear Butter until this year, I will definitely continue making it year after year as long as I can get pears. Since the squirrels ate all but "3" pears on our tree this year I went and picked pears at a relatives house. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Last year we had the best crop of pears that we have ever had, we even had "Papples", don't know what that is, they are cross-pollinated pears and apples. You see the birds and the bees were so generous to travel back and forth from our apple tree to our pear tree and that produced us the best tasting "Papples" I have ever eaten. Now you have another chance to win , just leave a comment below to register for this jar of wonderful Pear Butter to be given away soon. After you leave your comment please scroll to the bottom click name and type in your name and then click publish so it will get posted. Thank you & good luck!

Be sure and leave a comment below!

SPICES

A LITTLE TIP FOR TODAY.........

I know we all cook with spices and even more during the Holidays. As I was reading in my October issue of Better Homes and Garden magazine I came across this little bit of information about spices and wanted to share it......When you open a new spice, write its expiration date on the bottle--one year for ground, two for whole. This is something I will do in the future when I purchase new spices, especially ones I don't use real often.

MEMORIES BROUGHT BACK

I love my screened front door that my husband and I installed this year. I could hardly wait to use it when Fall approached, well let me tell you I am really enjoying it. By day, especially the early morning hours, the nice breeze and sounds of the birds are wonderful! By night the stillness and cool breeze is so nice, but I love sitting and listening to the cows, not far away, and the crickets singing to us. You may think I am crazy but I love the sound of a screen door slamming shut so gently, it reminds me of my childhood going in and out of the house and the screen door slamming behind me. Oh, such long ago, I am glad they still make screen doors today!

YUM! YUM!

This is a great dish and easy to make! I admit I did not discover this one by myself, my brother recommended it to me, I am glad he did. It was a hit with my hubby too....I will be buying more of this in the future. Good Earth makes products with No Artificial Flavors, No Artificial Preservatives and this recipe has 100% Whole Grain Brown Rice. Good Earth has several different recipes to choose from, I chose Herb Crusted Chicken with Mushroom Risotto. Also included 100% whole grain brown rice, wine sauce, seasoned panko crumbs and mushroom risotto seasoning. All you do add is chicken and follow the directions on the box. I found Good Earth products at Kroger Grocery Store here in Jackson, you can go to their site to see more about Good Earth at http://www.goodearthathome.com.