Cooking Thursday

Today's recipe is one I tried for the first time recently. This recipe is perfect for a quick and easy supper.   French Dip sandwiches; roast beef and provolone cheese on biscuits with Au Jus sauce for dipping. You can make these and have them ready to eat in just a little over 30 minutes.  We thought they were very tasty!

Easy French Dip Sandwiches

1 can refrigerated biscuits (16.3 ounces)
1 packet Au Jus Gravy mix
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
8 slices provolone cheese
3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Mix Au Jus gravy mix as directed on package.
Mix one tablespoon of the Au Jus mix with the 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise.
Split the biscuits into 2 layers.  Spread the mayo/au jus mix on the bottom half of each biscuit.
Layer the roast beef and provolone cheese on each biscuit and cover with the top half of the biscuit.
Place on baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Heat the Au Jus mix as directed as biscuits are baking.
Serve biscuits warm with Au Jus gravy for dipping.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Maternity photos

Most of you know our daughter Heather and her husband Andrew, are expecting a baby!  It's a boy and he's due in the beginning of September, but she has Type 1 Diabetes which means she is a high risk pregnancy and will most likely be induced early.  The ultrasound last week said he already weighs over 7 pounds.  Heather has been doing well; her blood sugars are stable and blood pressure is good.
Heather wanted me to take some maternity photos and since it looks like the baby will be coming soon, we thought we better get them done.
We met at a park on Saturday to take the pictures.  Bob came along to help direct Cassie to look at the camera, and then to do a little playing with her while we finished the other pictures.
Here's a few of the finished pics.

When you are dealing with a toddler, it's hard to get a picture of them looking at you - and sometimes the thumb is in the mouth!

Cassie wanted a picture of her with her kitty.

I love the expression on Cassie's face in this one.

Cute little baby boy shoes.

My favorite of Heather and Andrew

And, my favorite of their family.

We had fun, got some good pictures and got one more thing done before this sweet addition to our family arrives.

Beautiful Skies

Last week as I drove in to work, I was enjoying some beautiful skies.  Here's a few photos I took along the way.

How do you like that roof line?

A little further down the road this shell of a barn has a nostalgic beauty with that beautiful sky behind it.

When I left work the skies were blue, but look at these fluffy white clouds!

"The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies
proclaim the works of his hands."
Psalm 19:1

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

It's fresh tomato time!  Fresh tomatoes are so much better than the ones we get shipped to us in the winter.
I have a great recipe for those tomatoes.  I had this the other day for lunch.  It was quick to make and it was a special treat at lunchtime.

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

Tomato
salt and pepper
oregano
grated parmesan cheese (I used shaved because that's what I had)
parsley

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice your tomato and place on paper towel to drain for a few minutes.
Place tomato slices on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Sprinkle tomato slices with salt, pepper and oregano.
Sprinkle parmesan over top. 
Place in oven for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

 

A little Cassie time

Heather and Andrew had a wedding to go to on Saturday afternoon, so Cassie came to spend some time with Grandma.  We had such fun!

She loves playing with our old Marbleworks toy

We went out for a walk and she thought collecting acorns was fun.

Kids find interest in things around them.  She was checking out sticks and leaves here.

Saying hi to the horse.  She didn't want to get too close!

She thought the donkey rolling around was pretty funny.

These guys came right up to greet us.

When we got home, we got to work making a "Squishy".  I had a kit that had envelopes you had to mix to make one.  She was hard at work stirring it.

Once it was all mixed, it went into this mold.  It had to dry for 60 minutes, so while we waited, we went back outside.

She had fun on the trike.

She couldn't wait to come back in and open that mold.  It turned into a pink hippo and it was squishy, just like it was supposed to be. It was a fun craft and she was proud of it.

Bob's week away

Bob spent the last week in Kentucky on a mission trip. Our church has sent a team to this area for several years.  There is a resale store that we send things down to. It helps fund some of the projects our team worked on. Quite a few people from the team helped there, sorting and stocking things.  Some people helped put on a Vacation Bible School, and a lot of people were there to help with construction and home repair.

This was where Bob and several others stayed during the week.  It's set up with several rooms with bunk beds to hold lots of volunteers when they come down.

Here's some of the team, gathering after breakfast where they would have devotions together before starting their day.

This old building which is near the bunk house Bob was in, is being repaired to be used as a Christian academy.

Other things near to them were cows...

barns...

and this beautiful pond.

Bob and his team started here.  An elderly woman who had rented a house for years was left homeless when someone bought that house and evicted her.  The ministry was able to get this for her, but it was an empty shell.

The guys put in walls, rafters and all the basic framing to get this place ready to live in.

(Bob and Ken working in the bathroom)

They spent the second half of the week in another home, a trailer that was in bad shape.  The floors were sagging, the plumbing didn't work well and the lady living here had no way to fix these things.  They replaced a toilet, put in new base flooring and retiled the kitchen and bathroom.  They put in a new ceiling, fixed the counter in the kitchen and repaired the plumbing.

Here's Bob, the 3 men he was working with and the lady that lived here.  He said they were able to get to know her quite well and they all enjoyed that.  He also enjoyed working with the young man on the left.  He's a high schooler from our church, and this was a great way to get to know him better.

There was another group of men putting an addition on to a house, which was something they worked on for 2 weeks, but they got it up and ready to be finished inside.

On Thursday evening, many of the group went to this beautiful waterfall.  Bob didn't go because his knees were very sore from being on them to lay tile all day, but I got these pictures from someone who did go.

They had fun jumping and swimming in this beautiful spot.

One thing I didn't mention was that our worship leader was heading up this team.  However, he ended up in the hospital on Tuesday and was found to have diverticulitis with a perforated bowel.  The rest of the team picked up his duties and things went ok, but they all felt terrible for him.

Most everyone left early Saturday morning and Bob was home shortly after 3pm.  I was happy to see him back after a week away!
Chad, who was in the hospital was discharged Sunday morning and should be back by Sunday evening.

They all said they had a wonderful week. They grew close as a group and really enjoyed meeting the people there and hearing their stories.

Friday Funny

 

(For the hosta lovers out there!)

Cooking Thursday

I made this yummy Queso dip last week.  We had a meal with friends, and they served pork tacos.  I saw this recipe and thought it was perfect to bring along.  It was so easy and was yummy!  I'll be making this one again!

White Queso Dip

1/2 pound White American Cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese
1/2 pound Pepper Jack Cheese
12 ounces evaporated milk

4.5 ounce can green chilies, drained

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Melt cheeses with evaporated milk in saucepan, or place in small crock pot on low for 1-2 hours.
When cheese is melted, stir until smooth.  Stir in the drained green chilies and the ground cumin.
Serve with scoop tortilla chips.

Wordless Wednesday

 

This is celery, growing on a farm I worked on when I was in high school.  I drive by it every time I go to work.
I love seeing the bright green, straight rows as it comes up.

Egress Window

Last week I showed you the hole that was dug to get ready for the egress window to be placed in a downstairs bedroom. We were praying that the weather would stay clear so it could be put in, and it did.
Here's how it went.

Early Wednesday morning several trucks arrived.

One man was downstairs preparing to hang plastic and protect the room while the hole was cut.

Two men were outside getting this cement saw in place to prepare to cut the hole.

Starting the cut

The hole is done

This is the shell that is ready to put into the ground, around the new opening.

And here it is, in place.  There is a grate on top and when done it will also have clear cover to protect it from leaves and small animals getting in.

This lets lots more light into the room.

The window opens completely and there is a ladder, so if there was ever a fire, people could get out safely. The window can also be opened normally to let in fresh air.
Bob will be doing more work down here. The window needs to be trimmed out and then we will be painting the room. 

Here's the finished product outside.  A little more dirt needs to be moved and grass needs to be planted.  After all this, Bob says he's sick of dirt.  :)  
I'm thankful for all the work he did, and am happy to have a safe, legal bedroom downstairs!