Bountiful Basket pickup

  just picked up my first bountiful basket this morning.  It was quite crisp and cool this morning and I didn't get much sleep last night but it was worth going out for!  Here's the haul the week....all for $18.25!!!

(excuse the phone photo)

Veggies:

1 lb. fresh green beans

1 lg head romaine lettuce

2 Mexican zucchini

1 head of cabbage

2 avocados (they were in the veggie bin)

Fruits:

1 lb. strawberries

2 large pomegranate

5 kiwi

6 bananas

5 gala apples

6 Roma tomatoes

about 2 pounds of seedless black grapes

Add ons:

1 large pumpkin

Worth getting up for on Saturday!  

If you want to check out these wonderful co-op program, go to www.bountifulbaskets.org and see if there is a location near you.  The toughest part for me (besides getting up early on Saturday morning) if remembering to order on Monday!!  You have to order after noon on Monday's and they will have them posted for your location until they sell out.

Thanks to my fellow local area blogger Melissa for introducing me to this fabulous find!!!  Check out her blog for lots of fun and mommy madness!

Peace, Love & Bountiful Baskets

My team wins!

I may live in Texas and any other week you'll find me cheering for the Rangers......just not this week! I'm a Cardinals girl at heart!

And this guy.....


Well MVP is well deserved. Way to go Freese!


Peace, love & Cardinals!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

SemiHomeMade Broccoli Cheese Soup

Well Howdy!!  In dreaming and hoping for some cooler weather around here I wanted some soup.  I didn't get the cooler weather but buddy it's coming today!!

I have done so much buying and stocking the pantry that we are attempting to not go to the wallyworld and just supplement some of our freezer/pantry stuffs with my weekly veggie/fruit run to Sprouts.  I've also finally managed to order my first Bountiful Basket and with a  7:45am pickup on Saturday morning I'm hoping it's a goody!!

One of the things that I have several of is these All of Us Old Plantation Soup mixes.  These things are amazingly good and since I have a little trip to First Monday Trade Days planned for November 5th (it's where I buy these) I figured I better use up the ones I have.

This is what you'll need (the chicken is optional but I like to add it)

the soup mix package

water

8 oz of Velveeta cheese

8 oz cheddar cheese (I actually used Colby Jack this time)

1/2 cup milk

1 large can of chicken (rinsed and drained)

Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil, drop in soup and seasoning packets.

Return to a boil then reduce heat and simmer .

Stir gently and often for about 20 minutes.

Soup will thicken.

Toss in the cheeses, chicken and milk

Give it all a good stir and simmer until cheeses are melted and soup is warmed throughout.

Serve it up and enjoy!

We enjoyed a salad (what the weird red stuff on the plate is) and some deeevine Jalapeno Cheddar bread from Central Market.   Hey....I had to go for Moo Mondays  :0)

(explanation: Moo Monday is at the Southlake location and you can buy 3 1/2 gallons of their Organic milk for $6 with a $25 purchase.  If you've been to Central Market you will know that spending $25 happens VERY quickly and easily!!!)

While I was in Central Market I also picked up a vanilla bean so I made this:

Not a cocktail!!  Vanilla extract silly!

However I cannot explain why these photos are blurry. It surely looks like I was sipping on the ingredients but I wasn't...pinky swear promise

Although I surely deserved it because I had been to get the yearly boobie squeezing and then I had to have about 6 vials of blood drawn.  Yeah...mama got some health issues working over here. :0(

Take a vanilla bean and split down the middle and scoop out the middle

Stuff that all in a nice bottle

I used a wine bottle...hey, I had a few around

pour in 1 cup of vodka

cork and shake....every week and in 6 months we'll see how good this turns out!

Hey....if all else fails we can just pour it in a coke and have a vanilla coke and vodka!

Just keeping it real folks!!

Peace, Love & Yummies!!!

                                                          

BBQ crock pot meat (pork for me)

and a few Halloween decorations for the fun of it!

Hi dee hooooo my peeps!!!
well let's start off with a hint of changes coming.   If you don't subscribe to my blog then you may miss out on a few things.  Example, if you just click over from Facebook when I make a post.    Go on.....Subscribe to the old blog.   I've posted a couple of short posts today already, 1 being a high value coupon and another being a gift I want for Christmas. Seriously...you think I won't use this blog for my own benefit!!  bwah hahaha
Anyway...I think I might try shortening the posts and hopefully that will mean more frequent posts.  This may or may not be a good thing in your world but I'm doing it so that hopefully I will be able to up my subscribers, offer more stimulating content and turn this into more than a hobby.  I rather enjoy staying home and not showering until right before hubster arrives home and generally having no schedule other than my own!  You may say that I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one......Name that tune!!

Today's post however will not be short, Fair Warning!

First off....see my Halloween mantle...try to control yourselves, I know this is thrilling stuff!

 This is behind the sofa in the den.  Help me help me says the little blue bird in the cage that big ole' scary spider is trying to eat me!!

yeah...I might spend a bit too much time home alone. maybe

This is in the dining room and those lovely little figures are McDonalds toys and one day I will probably have to bequeath those to the Abogg.  I think he loves them as much as I do. Technically speaking they probably are already his...I'm sure they came from his Happy Meals many moons ago.

Now that mumbo jumbo is over...let's cook

This is a new BBQ pork recipe and I TEE TOTALLY Loved it!!

First up slap a big hunk o' meat in the crock pot

Mine's pork and it's frozen; you may choose your meat

gather up these items to dump over the top

1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces of beer
32 ounces of barbeque sauce ( I actually only used 1 bottle)

see just dump it all in there

set the crock pot on low for 8 hours

while away your time on Pinterest or Facebook or what have you!

Serve on a bun with some pickles and cole slaw

*this is hubsters plate...my sandwich has the coleslaw on it

I'm from Kentucky and that's how we eat it there!

left on my own for days at a time when hubsters out of town

I can make a serious mess of the house but I have wine!

I put some fresh green beans in the crock pot one day and then I baked up a Broccoli, Rice, Cheese casserole from the ole' costco 

freezer meals for us and the kiddos

just for the record....I don't think that broccoli, rice, cheese dish is very healthy

it sure enough was tasty!!!

See you later gators & remember......

Peace, Love & Yummies!!!

                                                             

if anyone wants to buy me.....

a REALLY nice Christmas present.
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE this little jewel!!

Silhouette CAMEO™

The Silhouette CAMEO™ is an electronic cutting tool for personal use. Like a home printer, it plugs into your PC or Mac® with a simple USB cable. However, instead of printing it uses a small blade to cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric and more up to 12" wide and 10 feet long. The machine also boasts a quiet motor and the ability to register and cut printed materials.

IN THE BOX The Silhouette CAMEO™ ships with the following important items: Silhouette electronic cutting tool Silhouette Studio® software for Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac® OS X 10.5.8 and higher 51 exclusive cuttable designs Power cable, USB cable 12" cutting mat Cutting blade $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store Basic Instruction Guide Just sayin'!!

A great coupon offer

Hey if you would like a great offer on Vicks Nature Fusion just click here.  
The $4 coupon will arrive by mail.   I've already ordered mine and this new product is anything like the other Vicks products.... I'll be thrilled!!!

Cowboy Quesadillas

Hey there....well I gotta tell you I've started this very post about 4 times this week and every single time something happens and I never get it finished.  I've been home alone most of this week, hubster is in New Jersey for work so I've eaten nothing but my fingernails watching the Rangers and Cardinals battle it out in the world series!!  Let's clarify my stance....hey, this is important.   My son and I attended so many Cardinals games, we had fun and spent so much time together, got to watch Mark McGwire and created a lifetime a memories at that ballpark.  We now live in Texas and go to a Rangers game whenever I can beg the hubster.  My son now is a huge Josh Hamilton and David Murphy fan but..........we are cheering on the home team of the St.Louis Cardinals.   Don't hate me...it's called fan loyalty, I mean when you've been  
a Dallas Cowboy fan since the 5th grade, you seriously learn how to be loyal fan!  :0)  

Soooo....this recipe has an odd history.  I received a message from one of the survey companies I do things for and it was to make a recipe that was emailed to me.  Well, I got the email and printed the recipe and remembered that I had to make it by a certain date.  So I did.  But I accidentally deleted the email thinking of course that the survey company would send me a link to the site where I complete the information about my assigned recipe. They didn't.  Bottom line.... I seriously have no stinkin' clue for whom I was supposed to complete a survey for this recipe.  It's ok because we loved it!  I mean yeah it's quesadillas and we all make them because they are so easy and simple. But there was just a little something about these that made us fans (can you say Velveeta).  Let's make 'em!

Cowboy Quesedillas

Cast of Characters

1/2 lb of Velveeta (cut into cubes)

10 oz. can of Ro*tel diced tomatoes, drained

4 cups shredded chopped chicken ( I used 1 really big can from Costco)

4 green onions, thinly sliced  (I just used a small red onion)

Flour tortillas

First up since I bailed on the green onions in favor of some red onion (it's what I had on hand) I sauteed  

those up in a little olive oil.  Just get them a little tender.

Next I just tossed that chicken in the pan with the onions.

Broke it up and warmed it up.

see, just get it warmed up and broken up

Now toss in those Ro*Tel tomatoes

and then toss in that Velveeta

Yeah...everything is better with Velveeta!!

Just let that simmer until the cheese melts and it's nice and creamy

Now just warm up those tortillas a little then fill 'em and toast 'em

The first one I filled half and flipped the tortilla over then I figured hey girly goo...just put down one tortilla, filling all over the top and add another tortilla.  MUCH easier.

Slice them up

and serve them up around a big bowl of salsa.

we were all romantic and stuff and shared a plate.

Yeah...right, I was just too lazy to fix plates and we shared a plate between our two laptops since we were getting some work done before heading out of town.   Just keeping it real here folks!

Candy corn + peanuts =

Halloween Crack

Seriously you HAVE to try this.  It's addicting and tastes amazing.

Trust me!

Do you have any tips to make the seemingly hum drum foods like quesadillas more exciting, fresh and new??  Tell me your secrets!

Peace, Love & Yummies!!!

                                                          

who turned down the thermostat!!

 Now I know you've all heard us crazy folks in Texas complaining about the hot weather and no rain....but  SERIOUSLY!!!  It was 91 freakin' degrees yesterday and today.....65 degrees!!  I mean was it too much to ask for a little fall after that harsh summer we endured!!!

Anyway...I did make a lovely little dish last night for dinner but I haven't uploaded the photos yet so today, you're gonna get to see my Dining Room.  Yeah, try to control the excitement!

On a side note....as I was digging through photos on my laptop it occurs to me, if I die and someone is going through all the photos they are gonna wonder what kind of freak I was.  I mean seriously who takes pictures of their food???   So if I die could you readers PLEASE tell the person going through my photos that I didn't have some weirdo obsession with food.  Thank you in advance!

On a secondary side note....I had my annual "well woman" check up today.  Why do they call it that?? Seriously....well woman as opposed to crazy woman!!!  Anyway, I'm having a few problems and during the course of chatting about various health related topics I'm told that I should not run but walk briskly on the treadmill and that I needed to do yoga.  Yes ladies, the yoga builds a different kind of core strength that is necessary for us post baby pre-menopause girls.  OK so that's all fine and good but the next suggestion...WHOA NELLIE stopped me in my tracks.  Seems it is suggested that I go to an "ahem" adult store and purchase a particular item to help strengthen my pelvic floor muscles.  WELL HELLLOOOOOOOO and just how am I supposed to do that without someone seeing my car parked out in front of one of those "stores".  Geesh...thank goodness Al Gore invented the internet so I can order those things discreetly from the comforts of my own home.   (btw...my doctors office really did suggest this and Al Gore did NOT invent the internet...I'm a little sarcastic today).   Now that we've covered the TMI topics for the day....let's move on to curtains.  A much less embarrassing topic.


Remember that sweet Gloria came over to sew curtains after I finished recovering the dining room chairs? And then I got all crazy and decided to refinish this footstool that hubster brought back from his moms house in North Carolina.   It wasn't in pretty shape but I loved it...so I cleaned it up and tried out some fun new paint.

Let's recap this project shall we??

 Dining Room chairs before

Dining Room chairs after

While I forgot to photograph the stool before I pulled back some of the new fabric so you could see what I was covering up.     Not so pretty...now the funny thing is if that you knew Hubsters mom, you'd wonder how on earth they got this fabric because it looked like nothing in her house.  She had gorgeous antique furniture and everything was very traditional in style, not the mauvey southwest pattern here.

This was the base of the stool.....see VERY pretty and traditional although a little weathered.

So I took her outside and gave her a few coats of the new Martha Stewart Living Precious Metals Paint in Silver Leaf.   Stuff's not cheap but a little goes a long way!!   I painted the stool out and then I did a black glaze by mixing black paint with water and wiping quickly and lightly over the silver.  I did a little edge sanding too.   

And here she is....all recovered and back in place
















I really rather like the whole look and now she doesn't just blend in with the wood floors.  She stands out and has that gorgeous fabric on top.

Now....I just need to paint the entry a new color...that beige is a little too bland for me!  :0)








                                                                                                   
                                   
And here is a nice reminder of what was waiting for Sweet Gloria when she arrived to "help" me sew new curtains.
           

         

 And here are those new curtains up on the wall and looking awesome!!!    Sweet Gloria did an amazing job on them and now I have enough fabric to make a cornice board covering for the window in the formal living room.   Oh yeah.....I'm slowly working my way through the downstairs windows. The Goal.....Curtains on every window by March.  It's a lofty goal considering we've lived here almost three years and these are the only windows downstairs with curtain.  The upstairs is all done but the downstairs, just the mini blinds so far.    Oh well here's to one window at a time and a final last closeup of that gorgeous fabric I happened across purely by accident!!

Peace, Love & Yummies (even if it's window yummies)!!

Tomorrow...we cook!!!