Author Archives: ~~Rhonda

Living in a small town, I share my life with my husband Russell (married in 1977), five children (one still at home), and six cats (one indoors, the others outside).

I teach an online class called “The Christmas Notebook” which is about all things holiday prep. The many facets of celebrating Christmas comprises one of my favorite hobbies. Other favorite things include gardening, reading, cooking, and scrapbooking.

spring walked into my garden today

My oldest daughter took this picture today…our first daffodil to open this season. This is a ‘Von Sion’ daffodil. Often found in old/vintage gardens. Our starts for this vintage flower came from the farmstead my husband grew up on. And where our older son and his family now live. We are happy to have it […]

menu plan monday ~ february 24, 2013

We weathered the ice storm from last week. Not too bad as we were on the southern edge of the system. We got some ice but it melted away the next day. All the kitties stayed indoors and enjoyed warm and cozy places to keep an eye on us. This is Zilli. She stays in […]

easy, quick spaghetti sauce

This is a basic bare-bones tomato sauce that can be used for pasta, pizza, or added to soup if you have leftovers. I put this recipe together when my children were much younger. When the house was full of littles, I needed a fast and easy sauce recipe. I’ve used it for years and continue […]

menu plan monday ~ february 18, 2013

Last week I made granola. It did not turn out very well. We fed it to the birds. They were happy to have it. I was happy to see it gone. This week I am going to try Alton Brown’s granola recipe. Looking at the list of ingredients, I see I will be changing it […]

menu plan monday ~ february 11, 2013

The crocus popped up last week. Such a welcome sign of spring! This week I’m trying a new recipe for granola. Anyone have a favorite recipe you would like to share? What do you like to add to granola? I’ll let you know how this one comes out. Here’s our menu for this week. Monday […]

menu plan monday ~ february 4, 2013

The twins were thrilled with the aprons I made for them. Now they are ready to help Pa make pancakes. Someone has a birthday this week. Monday / Birthday Dinner for our youngest daughter Veggie Lasagna Soft Garlic Bread Sticks Steamed Sugar Snap Peas Corn Sliced Cucumbers Chocolate Cake Ice Cream Tuesday Baked Salmon Rice […]

barbeque shrimp

Our middle daughter was in “the big city” today and brought home two pounds of nice, large, fresh shrimp. I found this recipe for Barbecue Shrimp and gave it a try. DEEE-li-cious! And very easy and quick to make. Of course, I tweaked the recipe a bit. Following are the ingredients as I used them. […]

trying new recipes for fish and rice

I like trying new recipes and had several on the menu this week. They’ve all been good. This evening we had Super-Crisp Oven Baked Fish and Parmesan Rice Pilaf. I had planned to try a different recipe for the fish, but when I took a look at it, it required frying the fish, then finishing […]

menu plan monday ~ january 28, 2013

Yesterday DH made rye bread for the first time. It’s delicious! Really wonderful bread. It took a longer time to rise than our usual bread recipe, but it was worth the wait. Monday Mushroom Stroganoff Garden Salad Tuesday Crispy Oven-Fried Cod Fish Steamed Asparagus Corn Fruit Salad Wednesday Broccoli Cheese Soup Thursday Toasted Ham and […]

baking rosemary bread

Yesterday the day was chilly and grey. I spent the afternoon in the kitchen, making turkey soup and Rosemary Bread. Seemed a good way to spend a chilly afternoon. The bread is an old favorite, but the soup was a new recipe for me. Very good and we’ll be making it again. Rosemary bread is […]