Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 During the summer, our church has several tables set up that people can bring extra produce from their gardens to share.  I've brought in tomatoes and basil, and have brought home things like beans and peppers.
Last week someone brought potatoes and there was still some left when we were leaving so I grabbed some, along with a few peppers.
Then I looked for a recipe that had potatoes and peppers in it and found this one.  It turned out so good, and got a big thumbs up from Bob too.

Balsamic Roasted Sausage, Potatoes and Peppers

1 pound Italian Sausage links, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound potatoes diced (I used my Julienne slicer instead)
1 small sweet onion, sliced thinly
1 red pepper, sliced thinly
1 green pepper, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment or foil.
Mix oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together.  Add  potatoes, peppers and garlic, toss to coat.
Stir in sausage links.
Spread onto baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, then flip with spatula. Bake another 20 minutes until sausage is browned and potatoes and peppers are tender. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and serve.

Wordless Wednesday

 

A little project...

When we were cleaning out my Dad's house and barn, there were 2 old window frames found.  My brother was going to throw them away, but one was in decent condition, and I know how much these things sell for in thrift stores, plus I love old things like this so we took it home.
It sat in the garage for some time while I tried to think about what I could do with it.
Then I had an idea. My friend Kim, over at Exquisitely Unremarkable frequently shows such cute things she does with decals, and I thought this was the perfect time to try using them.

Here's the window. Bob scraped off loose paint and pulled out some random nails.  Then I wiped down the wood frame and washed the glass as best as I could. The glass is very old and had some stains I couldn't get off, but that goes with the old look.

I went to Etsy to find decals I liked that were the right size.

Here's the first decal, lined up where I wanted it and ready to be rubbed on.

One decal on and one to go!  I had flowers to put in the bottom right corner.  That one had much more detail, so was much harder to do, but I got it on.

Here's the finished product!  I really like how it turned out, and it has sentimental value since it came from my Dad's shed.
It's going to be hung by the back door in the garage.
Thanks Kim, for the inspiration!

Random stuff...

 I have a few pics from last week to share with you, just random bits of life!

Do you remember when we cut down the maple tree in the back yard?  Last week, Bob took the main part of the trunk to a friends house to have it cut into boards.  As you can see he got some big boards with live edges and some large pieces that can be turned on the lathe.  Now they have to dry for 1 1/2 to 2 years and then we'll see what Bob does with them.

We are entering a familiar season here - the acorns are falling.  When we sit outside we hear them hitting the driveway.  At night we hear them hit the roof and roll down and off.
Bob was cleaning gutters the other day and this is what he found; acorns. wild cherries and a few leaves. Unfortunately, there are a lot more to fall!

Cassie was over and discovered our Matryoshka dolls.  My sister Cheri and her husband, Mark brought them to us from Russia at 20+ years ago when they adopted our nieces.

She had the best time taking them apart and putting them back together.

She also discovered this chef hat and apron, and had a fun time playing with the play food.

A house that's fairly close to us is for sale.  They got this photo to show the area.  I thought it was so interesting to see from above!  It's a view I've not seen before.
I marked the photo to show you a few things.  There's an arrow (at about 8:00 on the pic) pointing to where our road is, then a circle (at 9:00) where our back yard is.  It's a brown patch right now, because of the drain field we had to replace, so it was easier to find in the photo. There's also a black line at the top of the picture which shows where the Grand River is. Much of the property in the upper left corner is protected State land. 
Now instead of just seeing my street, you have a new view of my neighborhood.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 Since Bob is only working 2 days a week, he's been trying to make a few meals. He's never cooked much; grilling burgers and steaks and making grilled cheese and pancakes has been his mainstays.
So this is a new venture!  I've been keeping my eyes open for things that are easy for him to try out. This is one he did; something a little different and tasty too!

Chicken Club Roll Ups
1 can crescent roll dough
4 chicken tenders, cooked.  You can use Rotisserie chicken, packaged tenders, even breaded ones - whichever you choose
8 slices bacon
4 slices cheese - cheddar, swiss, pepperjack, co-jack. Your choice!
Ranch dressing or BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Open crescent dough.  If you have the type that is just dough, cut it into 4 squares.  If it's the rolls, pinch the triangles together to make 4 rectangles.
Spread about 2 teaspoons of ranch or BBQ sauce on each of the 4 sections.
Add a slice of cheese, torn to fit.
Add 2 slices bacon.
Add chicken over bacon.
Roll up and place seam side down on baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.
May serve with extra ranch or BBQ sauce for dipping.
This make 4 rolls, you may double for a larger family.

* Bob made his with BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese, mine had Ranch and swiss cheese.  Both were good!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Sunflower Farm

Last week, I left for work early one morning last week, so I could stop and wander around the sunflower farm. The sun had risen not long before and it was a somewhat cloudy day.  But, the flowers were gorgeous!

This place has things like this set up for photo opportunities. They also provide clippers and jars, so you can cut your own bouquet.
I was only taking pictures on this morning.

They have more than just sunflowers. There are lots of other varieties of flowers to add to your bouquet.

After walking through rows of other flowers, here are the sunflowers!

So many types, big, small, and lots of colors.

Isn't this a pretty color?  I don't know if I've seen one in this shade before.

I am always drawn to the flower buds.  I think they are so intricate and fun to see the different stages.

This one is ready to pop!

Here's a little bee enjoying the flowers too.
What a great way to start a day!  Then it was time to head on in to work.

Reunion!

Last week we had another reunion. This one was with Bob's family. He has 5 siblings, 2 sisters and 3 brothers. His brother Tom has been hosting this for the last 3 years, as he has property with lots of space to hike and play. We had a nice group there, most everyone who lives in the area came.  We even had Bob's Uncle and Aunt there, his moms only living brother, so that was an added treat.

We started off with supper in the garage, grilled hot dogs and brats. There were more people on the other side of the garage.

Cassie was more interested in the stones outside than eating.

Alaina and Ruby enjoyed supper though.

After supper we headed to the back yard.

The kids had fun playing some games, although Cassie may have been messing up this one!  :)

There are hiking trails and a stream down this hill, so lots of people took advantage of those things.

While the older girls were checking out the stream, Laura was playing with Cassie.

One of the boys had to show us the frog he caught.

When the girls came back they were calling for me to take their picture.  This one was an accident, but I thought it was kind of cute.

Here's the picture they were asking me to take.

Soon, everyone gathered around the fire pit.

Kids can find simple ways to have fun!

Most everyone enjoyed some ice cream.

Tom used his drone to get a group picture with Uncle Neal and Aunt Linda sitting in front.

Soon it was getting dark, and it even started to sprinkle.  Time to go home!  This was the sky as we left.
It was a nice evening with family.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

 I had some leftover smoked pork that I needed to use, and in looking for recipes, I came across a few that sounded good.  I used things from both and came up with this chili.  I used 2 jalapeno peppers in mine, but if you don't want the heat, you could use only one, or none.
It was good, and the BBQ sauce adds some great flavor with the pork. I served it with cornbread and it was yummy!

Pulled Pork BBQ Chili

1 tablespoon minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 small can tomato paste
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 large jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can light red kidney beans, drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 pound leftover pulled pork

Stir seasonings, tomato paste, tomato sauce, BBQ Sauce and tomatoes together in large crock pot.  Stir in peppers, pinto beans, kidney beans and pulled pork.
Cook on low for 4 hours.

Wordless Wednesday

 

A Day in my Life

 September is here!  The first day of the month was a very busy one for me, so here's a bunch of photo's to show you how it went.

It was a beautiful morning, only 54 degrees and the sun rising when I left for work.  This field is just around the corner from our house and they had just been haying the day before, so you can see a few hay bales beyond the leaves.

This is about 10 minutes from home, such a pretty street with the sun shining through the trees.

Then these cows I see most every day either going in to work or coming home. There are some little ones out there that I have enjoyed watching grow.

Further along I saw this field of corn.  It's getting its tassels which means it's almost harvest time.

I so enjoy my drive back and forth from work! (except in the winter)
It takes me about 35 minutes, but there are so many pretty sights along the way.

I got to work about 8:15, with time to get all set up to start at 8:30.
See the pink sign?  One of my co-workers put it up because I have things from my Granddaughters tacked up around there.  It says "Welcome to Grandma's corner".   :)

Here's a pic out the window at work. We are next to a golf course and the golfers were out on this day. You can see a golf cart under the tree in the middle of the picture.
We have different things we are assigned to each day.  One person does labs, another does prescriptions, another deals with Dr orders - like getting medical equipment, doing referrals.  My job on this day was taking care of all the faxes from the facilities we cover, things like someone with a fever, a fall, a rash.., notifying the Dr and getting back to the facility with orders. I also had to do a few death certificates.
It was a quieter day than usual, until about 4:50, when things suddenly got crazy.  That meant I got out a little late, at 5:10.

Here's the drive back toward home.  Along the way I saw some hay out to dry.

And a sign of the season - pumpkins and mums for sale.

 

I met Bob and we drove into town for supper.  Look at that blue sky!

We enjoyed our supper, chicken mac and cheese for Bob and Chicken Quesadilla's for me.

We went to the store for a few things and then headed home.

On my way home, I caught the sun going down.

I had a few things to do when I got home. The store had these Rotisserie chickens on sale for $5.99.  I had a coupon for $2 off, so that was a great deal.  I took the meat off the bone and put it in the freezer for a meal later.

I had a few other things to do. We had a family reunion to go to on Saturday so I knew it would be a busy day.  I mixed up this Toffee Apple Dip so it was ready the next day.

I also needed a dessert for the weekend, so I made this frozen ice cream dessert.  It's easy, just needs a little time to freeze between layers.

And that was it for the day.  It was 9pm, time to sit down and do some internet browsing.
It was a good day as they usually are!  I'm blessed!