Two of my FAVORITE & EASY Recipes...

....that we have had SOOO many times in the last number of months.  My husband and I love both because they are both cool and fresh - especially when it's hot outside.  The first recipe (mousse) is one that I came up with kind of accidental like and then refined.  The second one, I found online and tweaked/added to.

Why?? are these in my "favorites" file??

Because:

1. They are YUMMY!

2. They are SO EASY.

Blueberry Mousse

• 4 C (1 lb) blueberries
• 1 large box blueberry Jello
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 -8oz tub cool whip

In a large bowl, make the Jello with 1/2 the water called for (1 c boiling & 1 c cool water instead of 4 total cups).  Then add cool whip (if it hasn't thawed, that's okay-will just take more stirring to melt).  Then add sweetened condensed milk.  Stir/mix all until smooth.  Pour into decorative glasses and leave about an inch at the top.  Divide and add blueberries.  They normally sink somewhat or you can push them down with a butter knife a bit if you want.  Chill for a couple of hours and they're ready!

My kids and husband love this. It is a hit in our home.  I'm going to do strawberries next time... just change the fruit and jello flavor, my guess is it will be just as yummy. 


























Texas Caviar

• 1 can Black Beans (drained/rinsed)
• 1 can Black Eyed Peas (drained)
• 1 can whole kernel Corn (drained)
• 1 can Mild Rotel
• 1 can 'Mexican Cilantro & Lime' Rotel
• 1 can mushrooms stems/pieces (drained)
• 4 oz (1/2 C) Zesty Italian Dressing

(Not my pic, but looks similar)



Mix all thoroughly and ... there you have it!  If you're not a mushroom fan, leave it out.  It's something that I added after 'playing around' with this recipe.  And/or you can do different Rotel flavors to your liking too.

On a chip, cracker, over chips or crackers OR BY ITSELF, this stuff is great!  I must say, by itself is how this is how been eaten quite frequently in our home.  Hey, this is cool zesty eating that is not 'bad' for you.  We absolutely LOVE it.

Hope someone out there in the land of Internet abyss tries and enjoys!

No Van Gogh Here....

...but the subjects are beautiful.

Life Lately ... in no particular order

Yummmm!

GRAND Dames...
Little Handsome...

and again...

and again. What a smile~

A dancing, we are...

and again...

(she slips in our closet while getting ready for bath and repeatedly gets these "wedding shoes").

Little Handsome's daddy, Mr. Handsome (off to a meeting)

A blessing seated ~ aka momma BZ (baby zapper)

How do we spell 'Ahyy-yi-yi'...

How sweet...

And Creative too... took a tank shirt of mine and turned it into a halter dress... and again, those shoes.

My blessings (and sleep stealers)...

Giving a little "nose-nose"...

A wistful gypsy...

Bierocks? ...More Like Manwich Discs

I was reading a blog where it talked about "Bierocks" ...once I saw these food discs looking things, I had to know more. So, I looked them up on one of my favorite recipe sites (AllRecipes.com) and found that they are a German recipe using hamburger and cabbage, etc..

Well, I was so intrigued by these little (well, not so little) discs, I had to make some. They mostly came out sort of, kind of round (nothing pretty like the ones on the site I mentioned, but they used a sandwich press, I didn't)... And, mine, well... uhh, ... well... mine were of a different sort.

They still looked like discs -hey, again, for the most part ...and they were edible. But, they were filled with cooked ground meat and Manwich sauce. THIS way, eating Manwiches wouldn't be so messy. And they weren't!


My husband and I both liked them... even if they weren't the prettiest things!

Thankful Thursday: Candy Thermometers

...which aid in the making of yummy delightful things!

(Italian Penuche Fudge in process below)

It's Not Graffiti ~ It's Washable Barn Chalk Art

...and our daughter knows the difference. We can take a hose to the walls and have brand new looking stall fronts in a matter of how long it takes to dry.

And I cannot tell you how many times I have been able to quickly feed the horses or do this or that while she or she and daddy draws away (or Someone and I draw away, while daddy feeds).

Daddy Hung the Moon

One evening, a bit after our daughter was born, my husband said the following (on the sign below). I liked what he said so well, I had a sign made, with his words on it, for Father's Day.
Now, we've got to find a place for it. It's still looking for a home as we try and decide (along with a few other pictures and prints that have been waiting for a 'home').

Hooome, Home on the Range... Er, uh.. Address Lables

So, I mailed out the annual Christmas letter... actually, this year it was a New Year letter and it went out late. Better late than never, right? Anyway, I used up all my address labels, so I had to peruse the Internet for more. A company called Colorful Images is where I always get my address labels. They have tons. Anyway, despite 'tons', I couldn't find any I liked... that is, until I found that they did photo address labels. Cool! That personal touch!

So, I ordered some labels that have the below pic on it. I cropped it into a rectangular panoramic dimension using their online label-maker ~ very neat. Am excited to get them~ hey remember, it the 'Little Things' in Life!

I liked the sky in this pic, as the clouds were a nice mix of colors. Plus, the angle of the sun really seemed to set off the house.

Can't wait until spring for a pic from this angle. We bit the bullet and had some big trees brought in and moved around on our property using a big tree spade truck. So, the same pic should show quite different this spring.

The Aging Process... Stinks.

As seen before~ young, fresh, smooth, newly carved pumpkins...
Then, it happens~ time passes and things settle, sag, turn wrinkly, spotty and mold appears... then the little one's top caves in... while we sit at the table, eating dinner.

Needless to say, these puppies are going to the burn pile later today.

My First Shutterfly Book

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm working on this book for my daughter. Hence, I have little 'play' time as it is and it's being used on another site. The other site allows people to 'share' the books they have done. It is neat, as it can give one some different ideas.
The first Shutterfly book I did was for my husband (and daughter) for his first Father's Day. You can click on the link below and see it. I would suggest that once you get there, click the "Full-Screen" button and then hit the "Pause" button so you can click the pages when you want to (it goes too fast for me).. also, if the program starts before you are ready, you can click the Pause button and go back to the previous pages manually.
As, I've said before, it's a neat site that can allow one to make memories fabulously forever. Don't forget to look at the front & back cover too!
http://community.shutterfly.com/gallery/post/start.sfly?postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDFg2YOGzNmzcgLRRjBs

Late-night Hungry Post

I have been working on a book for my daughter. Hence, no posts of late... and I am, again, on the computer working on this book right now when I stumbled onto these pics ...and I am so hungry right now.

Alas, I won't eat because it is TOO late (it 'sticks' much more to you the later you eat)... anyway, I saw these pics and my mouth watered. I like to bake and when I bake something that comes out looking nice, I sometimes take a pic. This first one is Strawberry Cheesecake and the other is a "Chocolate Horse Hair Cake"... yes, I named it.

Mmmm... doesn't it look good though, despite the name!

The Creativity in my Little Toe

...that's about as much creativity as I've always said that I have~ enough to fit into my little toe. Well, the other night, I was on the computer, combing through pictures and I came across some of a little john boat I bought as a surprise for my long-legged half. As I looked at the pictures of that boat... I thought, "Heeeeyy, maybe I've been too hard on myself. Maybe I have more creativity than I've previously thought ...I surely have enough to fill my big toe."

Let me back up a bit... a few years back, we were selling an old washer and dryer that we had in the barn. They just weren't being used. I put up a flyer in town and got a call from a lovely older couple that came out and bought them. We all visited on the barn porch for some time and, during the conversation, the gentleman made mention of an old john boat he had. I called him later and asked him if he wanted to sell it. I thought that some day we could use it for whenever we went camping~ we wouldn't have to fish from the shore, but could go out from the bank. Hey, it may be small, but it's better than the bank for fishing.

The man wanted $50 for it, so after calling/researching other similar size john boats, it was a deal~ so I bought it. It was a bit beat up and needed some paint, but I had a friend of a friend that did paint stuff, so for 75 bucks, he fixed one of seats like new, some dents and painted the inside and out. With $125 in it now, the boat was still a good deal.

Okay, what's this got to do with my big toe and how it could be filled with all my wondrous creativity (ha!)... well, I HAD to name the boat. And since I had a feeling that my other half just might see this as the 'dinky little boat' that it is (and not a top-of-the-line fishing cruiser), I thought I would name it for what she was. Hence, my wee bit of creativity.

Here's the boat and she is...






A little bit after I got the boat, we went camping at Inks Lake and took it. Got a little battery trolling motor and we went all over that lake. As you can see, the lake was no small pond either... and my other half had to admit that the little boat was "Bette R. Thann'Duhbanc".

Our Fabulous Windmill

Our old windmill broke. It was old and tired and needed to be replaced ...and it also got hit with the sprayer boom attached to the tractor I was driving.
This is an event quite unlike those usually precipitated by me... I am typically very cautious and exacting (sometimes to a fault). My excuse... it was late, the sun was setting, the pasture was past due for spaying, our daughter needed to be fed, I was in a hurry ~ and the small windmill standing before me (well, to the side) was old and tired and needed to be replaced.
This is not to say that I clipped it on purpose, I guess my care/caution meter was running low.

So, we have a new windmill. While our old windmill's tower was made of narrow metal flat-bar, it had a small head, and was considerably shorter. Our new windmill is much taller, it has a larger head, and it's tower is constructed out of lumber.

Thank you to my vastly talented husband as the possessor of such fine skills for craftsmanship.