Remember Those...

who fought and fell to keep us free. My daughter and son in law are both veterans who came home safely...not unharmed, but at least they came home. The History Channel has been running a marathon of WWII shows. They are very descriptive, but they remind you what our fathers and grandfathers went through in the name of freedom.

I have officially become an Old Coot...I turned 61 today and I don't feel a day over 80! Little Man has spent the last two nights with us and he has learned to dance. What a dance it is...he has to hang on to something to keep from falling, but he twists and shakes and digs his toes in 5 different directions. It's hard to say Good Job when you are laughing!

Haven't been outside yet, we had a little rain during the night - but we are loaded down with squash and tomatoes (yea!) and I'm picking strawberries and raspberries as fast as I can go.

Tomorrow is food stamp day...got to go through coupons and get ready...my pantry is looking puny so I guess we'll concentrate on canned stuff.

Stay safe this Memorial Day!

The wisteria that ate Glenpool...

lives in my back yard. We removed a section of fencing it used to grow on, so now it has no place to go except up.

It is home to two bird families and no telling what else...I, personally, hesitate to go under it because those big old wolf spiders sometimes live there too. We live right across the street from a big field and have many, many visitors - some not so nice.

Last year I heard Hubby outside banging and beating in the garage. After about 10 minutes he yelled at me to come outside NOW....

He had been fighting this the entire time and was shaking like a leaf. From all we could find on the internet, it was a cotton mouth with a very nasty disposition. Hope we don't have any more of those this year. I'm a chicken.

Speaking of chicken, that's probably what we'll have for supper tonight. Have to put my thinking cap on.

Have a great, snakeless day.

Ooh, ooh...

I've got  my first raspberry ripening...

the potatoes have gone nuts...

and I'm going to have to pick some parsley. I guess all the rain has really pepped things up.

Kept Little Man and Big Guy yesterday evening...Little Man has learned to dance and can really shake a leg...he has to hang on to the couch to keep from falling. Big Guy is either cutting teeth or has a cholic issue. Poor guy has been really out of sorts but he can still remember to smile.

Hubby down with the summer crud too. I wish I was an antibiotic maker - it's unbelievable what the stuff costs. Dinner at our house lately has been lots of chicken noodle soup. He says that's the only thing that tastes good to him.

I never did get to make my sweet rolls last weekend, but I'm still gonna hang in there and try to find the time. The bathroom is officially painted and floored so I can move on to another project.

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Hot Wings

Throw 'em in a bowl, cover 'em with hot stuff...hubby likes hot sauce, ground red pepper, chicken seasoning salt and anything else he can come up with. Let them sit at least an hour (longer if you have time) then put them on the grill or in the oven.

When they look like this, put on a bib and dive in. Sometimes, at our house, these are not for the faint of heart...Hubby can get them so hot they scorch your lips.

Hobo Dinner

We did have our cheapo chicken last night and fixed "hobo dinners" out of them. Kinda like a dump cake only with meat and veggies. Lay out a piece of tinfoil for each piece of chicken you have...assembly line style.

Place the chicken in the center of the foil and slice green peppers and onions over that.

Divide a can of carrots by how many pieces of chicken you have and scatter on top.

Drizzle the top with barbecue sauce, ketchup, or anything you like...Ranch Dressing might be good.

Slice up a potato and place on top of the pile, season generously with salt, pepper and any kind of seasoning you like.

Fold two of the sides together on top, then fold up each remaining side to make a packet.

Bake in the over at 350 degrees for about an hour or cook on the grill.

No pots and pans to clean, nothing to turn or watch while cooking, and minimal dirty dishes. This is really fun to make, something kids would like to help with, and you can use anything...pork chop, hamburger patty, smoked sausage, any kind of veggies and any kind of seasoning. Hubby and I had a ball last night putting these together. You can make pot luck packets if you have lots of leftovers.

Have a great weekend!

Nice Weather...for a while

My iris has started to bloom and it's really pretty. Don't know how it made it through all the wind, but it's just starting to open. The whole clump is pretty big and looks spectacular when it fully opens. We started out with one plant - it must like where we planted it.

This is the patio tomato and you can just about see it grow...those little puppies will be the first to come off. They're about the size of a dime right now and don't have long to go.

Squash is coming along nicely, too. It breaks Hubby's heart to thin out the hills and he grudgingly does it just so I won't fuss.

I got the last of my $1.99 boneless chicken out to thaw so I guess that's what it's going to be tonight. You can certainly tell it's getting to the end of the month by the looks of our freezer. Might be kraut and weenies next week, but we like that, too. I always have meal for cornbread and cornbread makes anything good. There are lots of good sales next week for Memorial Day...it will be a good coupon week.

I'm thinking this will be a good weekend for sweet rolls...I'll share my recipe if I can get them made - it makes 2 pans, one for us and one for the neighbors.

Oh My Goodness

Hubby and I have just discovered, after 17 years in Oklahoma, that we live in the path of every storm that even comes close to the state.

Last night, after having received nearly a full day of rain, the tornado warning sirens went off..not once or twice, but 7 times. The sky turned every color you can imagine, the wind blew in every direction you can imagine and the lightening and thunder sounded like it was in our back yard.

Needless to say, our "safe spot" in our office room is cram packed with blankets and pillows. I think after last night, I'll just leave the stuff in there for a while.

I was cooking supper through a good bit of this and we finally managed to sit down and eat at about 9:00. I think it was pretty good...smothered hamburger steak and mashed potatoes...but we were a little excited and scarfed it down before the sirens could go off again!

I hope nobody got hurt or damage...it was a bad, bad evening for a lot of people.

Yum!

We had a good dinner last night...baked pork chops, home fries and cooked cabbage. If you haven't tried the cabbage, it's really easy and tasty...plus CHEAP.

Cut a medium sized head of cabbage into large chunks, place in a sauce pan, sprinkle with sugar, crushed red pepper, dot with bacon drippings (or add a chunk of ham) and add enough water to cover about an inch on the bottom. Cover and cook until it's tender or crisp-tender, however you prefer. It should have enough sugar to smell sweet and enough crushed red pepper for a little burn. It is really good with a baked sweet potato, but Hubby wanted home fries. Home fries it was.

We found two more tomatoes yesterday and we've got some strawberries turning. The garden is looking good, and (knock on wood) the heavy rains have not seemed to hurt it. Hopefully we'll have some sunshine today.

The squash is coming right along too. This zucchini is a hybrid, it is mottled green instead of solid and it has a very mild flavor. I like to pick it when it's on the small side, slice it and saute in a little olive oil. It's good on the grill, too.

Have a wonderful day!

New Arrival

We would like to announce the birth of our first tomato...weighs in at about .25 ounce...healthy and growing! Hubby found it yesterday during a break from the rain. Now all we need is about three or four hundred more...patience, patience, patience.

We finally got the bathroom finished, now we have to put it back together. Hubby did cook a chicken on the grill, but by the time I could sit down and eat all I wanted was a sandwich. We're going to get scurvy or rickets if we don't get some fruits and veggies soon. I do count the raspberry rhubarb pie as fruit but pie is not at the top of the food pyramid.

Little Man is coming to stay today. He got sick and can't go to "school" so I'm going to see if he will pile up on the couch with Granny and watch tv. I need a Spongebob break.

Anniversary Waltz

Hubby and I celebrated our 21st anniversary yesterday by painting the bathroom and putting up baseboards. We kept Little Man overnight and all in all we had a large time.

It was nice to see the sun shine for a little while yesterday - we went out and checked the crops and saw some of the neighbors.

These are the potatoes Hubby cut up and planted...this picture is about three days old. They are blooming now and with all the rain they have had a growth spurt. Hmmm...potato salad?

With all the construction work going on around here we have been eating leftovers and I personally am ready for a meal! Baked chicken with vegetables sounds good to me but Hubby may have another idea. He and Little Man are sleeping in this morning, it's foggy and cloudy and cool, perfect sleeping weather.

What Can I Say

Raspberry rhubarb...that kind of says it all. Hubby is having burgers tonight but I'm really thinking about a bucket of CoolWhip and this pie. Wish me luck!

Thankful

We are so thankful this morning...hubby went to town and called me...he said there was some terrible damage in our little town...that apparently started on the next block down from our house. We heard the wind and the power went out a 5 a.m. When we got up this morning the only thing we could see wrong was our tomato plants were droopy.

This picture is where the damage started one block away.

The rest of the pictures are in our neighborhood.

This is our neighbor on the corner, the trampoline flew over her roof, took out the turbine vent and landed in her neighbor's yard.

There is a car under this limb.

The roof from the gas station across the highway was lifted off and set down about 50 feet away right next to the highway. I know the damage could have been a lot worse, but our neighborhood looks like a war zone, roof damage, tree damage, broken windows, fences knocked down and car damage. Some trees were completely uprooted. Our prayers to all those who were not as fortunate as we were.

Well, Ho Hum

Okay. It's too wet to plow, I ran out of floor to lay, so I started painting. If it doesn't move, it gets painted. I think I have too much time on my hands.

Hubby found some hostas on sale and got some for the front bed...they really look nice, but he used the mulch he anchored the tarp on the truck down with the other dark and stormy night. Hope we don't have another storm come up before he can get some more.

This is Rodney Rooster...he guards the hostas against bears. Works, too. We haven't seen a bear since he's been outside.

We had some of our cheapo chicken legs and thighs last night...with a big pan of cream gravy. (Sorry Rodney). The chicken was less than $2 and there was enough to have for lunch today. I'm still working on my Mother's Day cake.

Gonna have Italian tonight...the last batch of sauce and I've got cheese sticks in the freezer. Have a superb evening!

Hold Her Newt...She's Headed for the Pea Patch

Boy! What some storms came through late yesterday afternoon! Thankfully we didn't have any hail or damage but some were not so lucky. We stood outside and watched it boil in - I took my usual precautions and gathered all the essentials - a Zip Lock bag with our medicine in it and a carton of cigarettes.

Hubby was prepared for hail with a tarp and two bags of mulch. In case you haven't noticed, we have a lot of Clampett in us. We have to laugh...our neighbors have a storm shelter but our dogs are not invited, so we decided a long time ago that we would ride out whatever came through. I am a tad claustrophobic and can't go underground, so I gather pillows and blankets like a maniac and pile all our "essentials" in the hallway.

The forecast today...More Rain!

Stuffed

Whew! We had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday...good company, good food, and nice cool weather. I felt truly blessed when my family walked in the door. Little Man had spent the night with us and had some pretty roses to give to his Mom when she came in. Big Guy was all smiles and did a lot of cooing to keep us entertained.

The kids had given us 3 slabs of ribs and we had the standard cookout fare, scalloped potatoes, baked beans and deviled eggs. Plus that big cake (that I'm seriously thinking about going to the kitchen and bringing the whole thing in here with a fork).

The baked beans were declared a hit...I used plain old pork and beans, added wine, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, molasses, chopped onion, and pepper. After mixing and putting in the pan, I put maple flavored bacon on top and baked at 325 degrees for a long, long time, until the sauce had thickened and been absorbed.

The scalloped potatoes were good (I put the recipe in the recipe section) and  the ribs were wonderful...Hubby dry seasoned them and wrapped them in plastic wrap and refrigerated them over night then put them on the grill about 11 a.m. He got a "rib rack" at Lowe's and it turned out to be a nice item to have. The ribs cook evenly all around, browned nicely, and were easy to handle.

The cake had raspberry and chocolate filling and a generous amount of buttercream that I love...real butter and smooth as silk.

When the kids when home, they had been gone about 5 minutes and the sky opened up. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. These nice rains are nectar for the garden...and the plants are showing their gratitude. Everything has come up and is blooming. We have tiny strawberries that are growing by leaps and bounds.

I went to the kitchen Thursday and there were 2 ripe strawberries on the counter. I asked Hubby if he wanted them sliced and sugared or dipped in whipped cream. Maybe one day soon we'll have enough to do that.

Have a wonderful day!

Almost Mother's Day

And I got presents early. Hubby brought me a red rose in a pretty vase, and my daughter made me a cake at culinary school. Their project was to completely decorate a cake, which was to be presented to their respective mothers.

It's a white cake with raspberry and chocolate chip filling...buttercream icing and probably a bazillion calories. Tomorrow we're cooking ribs for everybody and will cut the cake then.

Our neighbor had a death in the family last week and we fixed dinner for them last night. Hubby cooked two spatchcock chickens on the grill and I made a big pan of scalloped potatoes and green bean casserole. Sure did look good and I'm sorry I didn't get a picture.

My green bean casserole is a little unusual but it is very good. It is supposed to be called green bean bundles but I am too lazy to make those tiny bundles. The original recipe calls for 2 or 3 cans of whole green beans. Drain the beans and wrap a bundle of 4 or 5 beans in a half piece of raw bacon. Make as many bundles as you want or need. Place each bundle in a baking dish and spoon a can of Golden Mushroom soup (very important...not Cream of Mushroom) over the bundles. Drizzle the top with any red salad dressing, Ott's, Catalina, Russian, whatever you like. Bake at 325 degrees until the bacon is cooked. It holds and reheats very well, or you can put them in a crock pot to keep warm.

Instead of making all those bundles, I simply empty 4 cans of drained, cut green beans in a baking dish. Spoon the soup over the beans, then dice raw bacon and sprinkle over the top. Drizzle with the red salad dressing and bake as above. The taste is the same, it's just not as tedious.

The laundry fairy didn't come to my house yesterday, so I've got to wash today. Maybe there will be a good movie on I can watch while I'm folding. I like those goofy Syfy movies where the woman always turns her ankle and falls and gets grabbed by the monster while she's trying to get away.

Mama Mia!

The spaghetti was really good...2 lbs. of ground beef $3.98. 4 cans stewed and crushed tomatoes $1, onion (priced at the current gold rate), fresh garlic, my dried garden herbs, Worcestershire sauce, and fresh mushrooms @ $1.19. French bread, $.50, topped with oleo, garlic powder, dried parsley and sprinkled with cheapo cheese and a shot of wine. The pasta was $1.19.

We have enough left to make another meal, plus enough to freeze. That comes out to $2.62 per meal. Not too shabby.

The allergy fairy visited us last night...we sounded like the snort sisters and finally got out the old Vicks jar so we could breathe. We won't turn on our air conditioner for a while, but when we do that may help.

Have a wonderful day!

I see jelly on the hoof

My blackberries are still blooming, but this is just one plant on the inside of our fence and it is loaded with berries. Looks like the raspberries are going to be plentiful too. Knock on wood, if the hail will leave them alone we'll be okay. The tomatoes are starting to bloom too. Yea!!!

When we went shopping the other day, we got 20 lbs. of potatoes. I have a big basket we keep them in so they won't rot in the plastic bag. Hubby went outside after Little Man went home and found that he (Little Man) was in a gardening mood along with the rest of us. He had "planted" 8 potatoes in our raised beds. I never saw him getting the potatoes but I knew he was awfully busy outside.

I finally ran out of flooring...think I'll take a break for a while. My rear end is numb and my fingernails look snaggledy. Gonna play housewife for a while instead of flooring installer. Spaghetti for supper tonight!

Two for one...

supper last night and breakfast this morning. We cooked the Boston butt on the grill yesterday afternoon and had pulled pork sandwiches for supper. I went ahead and pulled the entire roast and had plenty of leftovers. This morning, I fixed a six egg omelet, warmed the pulled pork and filled the omelet with the pork and shredded cheese.

I had some frozen French toast sticks, browned them in butter, melted some blackberry jam for dipping and breakfast was delicious. Little Man spent the night with us and declared his breakfast Num, Num, Num. That means good in Little Man speak.

There was plenty for the three of us and we didn't waste one ounce of the small pork roast. Hubby and I had our homemade salsa with ours.

We got some bonus plants for the garden...some tomatoes and a squash plant came up from seed from last year's garden. The blackberries are loaded with berries and there are quite a few on the new raspberry plants. I found some tiny blueberries coming on, but from the looks of it we probably won't have too many of those. The blackberries are putting out new shoots from the roots...we decided to leave them alone and increase the size of the berry crop in the future. Little Man also discovered that when he walks on the newly sprouting okra his Pawpaw gets a little testy. If we only had an acre!

May groceries!

We didn't do too bad...I got $157.24 worth of groceries from Country Mart and Warehouse foods for $103.75...a savings of $53.49. I had $18.50 worth of coupons and by using my Country Mart card I saved an additional $31.19. We also had $3.80 worth of "Magic Coins".

We used almost all the in store coupons at Country Mart and got free Oscar Mayer Jumbo Franks, Velveeta, Miracle Whip, Kraft Ranch dressing, 2 bottles of barbecue sauce, 10 lbs of 80/20 ground beef for $1.99 a lb., packaged into 5 packs of 2, 1 lb pieces, bacon for $1.79 a pound, 3 pkgs. boneless skinless chicken breast @ $1.99 lb, 1 pkg. chicken leg quarters @ $5.90, and a whole chicken.

At Warehouse Market we got Best Choice stewed tomatoes for $.25 each (I got 8 cans), and 2 bottles of vegetable oil for $1.29 each using the coins, a large pkg. of pork steak, a boston butt roast, assorted chops, 2 pounds of breakfast sausage, 20 lbs. potatoes for $4.99 (that comes out to $.25 cents a pound), fresh mushrooms for $1.19 a pkg., and lots of other food items for which I had coupons.

All in all, we ended up with plenty of ground beef, chicken and pork to last a good while - our freezer is full.
I also got the stuff to make MORE CAKE BALLS! Onions are still outrageous...I think there's been an onion blight. And as I sit here typing would you believe I forgot to get eggs. Oh, well, as Scarlett says, "tomorrow is another day."

More Super Savers

I found another super savings site you might want to check out...it's http://www.couponchief.com/ and it's huge! They have coupons for 15,000 stores of every kind and a search feature. Some of the coupons are shared by readers, some are direct store coupons. You can search by store name or by item or by coupon code, http://www.couponchief.com/coupons/ . While I am mostly into cheap food and gardening, there are tons of coupons that offer free shipping or percentages off internet purchases. That's a pretty good deal when you shop at home on the computer. All of the stores I tried were featured. Sears, Lowe's, Burpee, KMart, Park Seed, WalMart, Home Depot and on and on. I especially like the free shipping coupons, you get your cheapo item without having to add the extra cost of shipping. My favorites are www.couponchief.com/gardeners , a gardening supply store, and www.couponchief.com/cafepress, where you can find EVERYTHING...custom designed tee shirts, books, calendars, novelty items. You might want to have a look see!

Today is grocery day - hooray! I got all my coupons clipped and sorted and I'm ready to go. Hopefully I can do as well this month as I did last. I'll try to have my breakdown listed today. (If we don't get blown away...the clouds in the south are looking BAD!!!) I had to quit working on my floor for a little while...I got a crick in my neck from looking up to talk to Hubby. Have a good day!