I’d like to redo the beds behind the house. They are such a mess. And they are what we see every time we step outside. This picture was taken in June of last year. Things look fine in the photo, but in real life…not so much.

That peony bed in the foreground has to be moved. The peonies are in too much shade. I’m perusing my books and pondering the possibilities.

~~Rhonda

This week looks like a fairly quite one, as far as the calendar is concerned. I didn’t have to plan the menu around any major events, which is nice for a change.

Monday
Hearty Ham Casserole
Crock Pot Apples
Steamed Asparagus

Tuesday
Chicken and Noodle Soup
Toasted Homemade Bread

Wednesday
Chicken Ceasar Wraps

Thursday
Cheese Tortellini with Walnut Pesto
Italian Bread
Italian Chopped Salad

Friday
Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Corn
Green Salad

Saturday
Fridge Food for Lunch
Pizza for Supper

Sunday
Baked Salmon with Honey and Dijon
Stir Fry Zucchini and Yellow Squash
Corn
Rice

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

An easy recipe. Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet separately, then mix both together. Add the poppy seeds when the other ingredients are mixed.

The batter was thicker than I thought it should be, so I added an extra tablespoon of water to the batter.

I used a small scoop to fill the mini muffin tins.

While they were still warm, I dipped the tops into a mixture of powdered sugar and lemon juice.

So good. We’re having company this weekend, so I am going to put some of the muffins in the freezer (to keep them from drying out) and serve them Sunday morning at breakfast.

~~Rhonda

What you don’t see is a picture of me smiling, but rest assured…I am!

Visit other gardens and their gardeners at Tootsie Time’s Fertilizer Friday.

~~Rhonda

I basically followed the recipe, but added some basil and celery seed and changed the amounts a bit. Here’s my version.

Tomato, Bacon, and Bean Soup

1/4 pound bacon, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. dry onion (or 1 onion, diced)
2 c. potatoes, peeled and diced
2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
2 15-oz. cans white beans, undrained
32 oz. chicken broth
1 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp. celery seed
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

I like to dice the bacon before cooking so I don’t have to crumble it later. I eye-balled the pound of bacon, cut off 1/4 of it, and diced that.

I like a one pan method, so I started with the stock pot.

Brown the diced bacon (and the onion, if using fresh) in the stock pot until the bacon is crisp. Drain off the grease. I remove the pot from the heat, tip it to pool the grease, scrape the bacon to one side, and use a wad of three or four paper towels to soak up the grease. If I had four arms, I’d have taken a picture for you, but I was cooking alone. So no picture of grease sopping.

Add the minced garlic and stir well. Don’t cook the garlic too long or it will leave a bitter flavor.

While the bacon cooked, I peeled and diced the potatoes.

Add the remaining ingredients, except the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Salt and pepper to taste. I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Next time, I think I’ll add a little less.

The original recipe called for blending a portion of the soup and returning that to the pot. I skipped that step. I like chunky soup. And it’s just one more thing to wash…

Delicious with crunchy toasted homemade bread. DD practically inhaled her bowl of soup.

~~Rhonda

Here’s the menu for the week.

Monday
Tomato Soup with White Beans and Bacon
Toasted Cheese Sandwiches

Tuesday
Tacos

Wednesday
Hamburgers on homemade buns
Roasted Green Cabbage Wedges
Corn
Red Grapes

Thursday
Rosemary Ranch Chicken
Quick and Easy Home Fries

Friday
Scalloped Pork Chop / Potato Casserole
Corn
Sugar Snap Peas
Green Salad

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday / Church Dinner
Potato Sausage Casserole in the Crock Pot
Steamed Green Beans
Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

Cheeseburger Soup

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced (use more if you like) [I used Yukon Gold.]
3/4 c. carrots, sliced
3/4 c. celery, diced
2 T. dry onion flakes (or 3/4 c. chopped onion)
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp. dry parsley
2 pounds ground round, browned [I don't like fattier beef, but use what you prefer.]
32 oz. chicken broth
2 c. cubed American cheese
1-2 c. milk or a combo of milk, half ‘n half, and/or cream
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 T. flour + water [I put the flour in a mug, added water, and stirred with a fork till well blended / no lumps.]
8 oz. sour cream (light sour cream is fine)

To begin, heat about 2″ of water in the stock pot. While the water is heating, prepare the veggies.

Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, basil and parsley to the water and bring back to a boil. Check pot to be sure there is enough water to just cover the veggies. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, till veggies are soft. Do not drain the veggies.

While the veggies cook, brown the ground beef. If needed, drain well to remove grease.

Add the remaining ingredients to the simmering veggies, except the sour cream. Stir well, bring back to a simmer and cook until cheese is melted.

Stir the flour and water together until well blended. Add to the soup, stirring well and cook for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until soup has thickened.

Remove from heat, add sour cream, stir well and serve.

If you want to, you can first saute the veggies in a skillet, using a tablespoon of butter or oil, then add them to the stock pot after the potatoes are cooked through. I didn’t bother with that step. Takes more time, which I didn’t want to invest.

Soup recipes like this one can be totally revised to your liking. More meat, less meat. More veggies, fewer veggies. Other spices/herbs. More salt. Whatever. Another delicious additive would be 8 oz. of French onion dip instead of the sour cream. Prairie Farms is my preferred brand. You can also add chopped lettuce and tomatoes to the soup, if you like. Depends on what you like on your cheeseburger.

My recipe made a lot, which is good for us, because it makes plenty of leftovers for a quick supper or a nice lunch. The soup was delicious. DD loved it and we’ll be making it again soon.

~~Rhonda

I made the menu last week, but changed a few things before posting to make it work for what the week actually holds.

Monday
Cheeseburger Soup I’ll use this recipe, but leave out the pepper for my family’s taste.

Tuesday
Eat Out

Wednesday
Chicken Piccata
Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans
Corn

Thursday
Hearty Lentil Soup
Homemade Bread

Friday
Shrimp With Capers and Dill
Rice
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Corn

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Pork Tenderloin in the Slow Cooker
Mashed Potatoes
Corn / Peas
Green Salad

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

It looks rather barren until you look more closely.

There are daffodils coming up all over the yard.

Even in the few patches of snow that are left in the shadier areas, there are green shoots poking through the ground.

The wild garlic is greening up.

Soon, no more snow. And then I’ll be happy.

~~Rhonda

The bread requires an overnight soaking of the cornmeal which I’ve never done for a bread recipe before. It also asks for 4 oz. light molasses. All I had on hand was dark molasses, so I used 2 oz. molasses and 2 oz. light corn syrup. There was no molasses taste in the bread, at all.

You can find the recipe at Apple Pie, Patis, & Pate .

Great texture to this bread and it does make wonderful toast.

~~Rhonda

PS, have I ever told you homemade bread is better than store bought?