menu plan monday ~ october 22, 2012

October 22, 2012 – 3:52 pm

Busy weekend. DH and the three girls saw Les Misérables, which took up most of Saturday. They had a wonderful time. My sister came on Saturday and helped put up Christmas trees. Yes, an early start, but we have to be done by the first weekend of December for our annual open house. And with 22 trees to put up, it means a very early start. I have seven or eight kinds of cookies in the freezer and the ingredients to make more. So things are moving along. Meanwhile, autumn flows by outside. The weather has been beautiful.

geraniums

Virginia Creeper

fallen leaves...so it begins

The menu takes into account the need for some easy meals, the warmer than usual weather we’ll have until Friday and then the cold snap we’re expecting. After a high of 82 expected for Wednesday, we’re supposed to have a high of 53 on Friday. Chicken and Dumpling Soup should hit the spot.

Monday
Chicken Quesadillas
Avocado Sour Cream
Homemade Tortilla Chips

Tuesday
Spicy Shredded Pork Sandwiches
Homemade Buns
Pretzels
Grapes

Wednesday
Grilled Pork Steaks and Chicken Wings
Veggie Packets
Fruit Salad

Thursday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Carrot and Celery Sticks

Friday
Chicken and Dumpling Soup
Rosemary Bread

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Crock Pot Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Corn
Steamed Asparagus
Homemade Rolls
Caesar Salad

You will find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (3)

Christmas trees are going up

October 21, 2012 – 7:57 pm

My sister came down this weekend and we worked on putting up a few trees.

The Three Kings tree sits in the corner of the library. It displays a small collection of gold star ornaments and three wisemen figurines.

Three Kings Tree

One of three gold wisemen

The other tree in the library is the Nativity tree. I was contimplating trading it out for a tree my brother and SIL gave us when they bought a new one, but after taking a look at their tree, I decided against it. After taking a look at it, I decided that tree was too slim and also had white lights. We’ve been using colored lights on the nativity tree. We may use the slim one on the front porch. But this decision meant I had to redo all the lights on the original tree. We had decided to replace them with LED lights because they save so much on electricity.

So here’s the tree…halfway done. I’m going to finish putting the lights on it this evening.

nativity tree...half the lights are on

The Garden tree in the downstairs bath looks great this year. Rose Red remembered it from last year. She was SO excited. She pointed out all the birds she could find. She did a little rearranging on the tree last year. She liked to move the birds next to the bird’s nest.

garden tree in downstairs bath.

Last year we used a green tree in the laundry room to display the vintage ornaments.

vintage ornament tree

This year, we are going to try the aluminum tree. It’s not completed, of course. I want to add some roping or long slim ornaments or icicles or beads…or something. Not sure what. And it needs a colored light and a tree skirt of some kind.

aluminum tree in the laundry room

We also worked on the bubble light tree. DH fixed a couple of broken branch holders with zip ties. We fluffed the tree and Genny worked on the lights. Had some trouble with bulbs burning out, so we are going to get a few new strings and try again. This is what it looked like last year…

bubble light tree

I’m heading to the library to work on the lights on the nativity tree. More updates later this week!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas | Comments (1)

sour cream sugar cookies are headed to the freezer

October 16, 2012 – 11:39 pm

The almond flavored sour cream sugar cookies are a favorite at our Christmas Open House each year. I made the cookie dough Saturday (I think…), popped it in the fridge, and baked the cookies today.

sugar cookies

If you can’t tell, those are wreath cookie cutters. The day before the Christmas Open House, the cookies will be thawed, then decorated.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

I stack them on cookie sheets to keep them neat.

cookies, cookies everywhere

From the cookie sheets, they are placed on serving trays for the party.

cookies

Seventy days until Christmas, but only 48 days until Open House!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, cooking | Comments (1)

menu plan monday ~ october 15, 2012

October 15, 2012 – 2:23 pm

DH and I enjoyed a country drive yesterday afternoon. It was very windy but a beautiful day. The color is wonderful this year. This is sumac.

fall foliage

The hickory trees were in full color.

fall foliage with hickory tree

We drove out to a quiet country cemetery. Does anyone else take “cemetery dates?”

old country cemetery

The ground was covered with hickory nuts. I can remember gathering hickory nuts with my grandmother. She picked them up each fall. She’d crack them open with a hammer, fill the bottom of a roasting pan with them, then pick the nut meats while she listened to the radio.

hickory nuts

We called our son and he and his family came out to gather nuts, too. It was great to be outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and the autumn colors. And it was a great surprise to find the hickory nuts. It brought back a lot of old memories and made some new ones.

twins gathering hickory nuts

Now the week is upon us. I’ve tried to make a menu that takes into account the Christmas decorating we need to get done. One of the girls asked for pizza for supper, so we’re having that tonight. I’ll make the dough soon and it will be ready for supper when DH gets home. It’s one thing they will all eat!

Monday
Homemade Pizza

Tuesday
Chicken in the Crock Pot
Rice
Roasted Fennel, Brussels Sprouts, and Potatoes

Wednesday
Mongolian Beef with Broccoli
Rice

Thursday
Pan Seared Tilapia
Baby Baked Potatoes
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Garden Salad

Friday
Cheesy Potato-Sausage Soup

Saturday
Spicy Shredded Pork
I follow the pork recipe’s ingredient list, but I don’t blend them. I put the roast in the crock pot and throw everything in on top. I know it’s not the same as roasting it, so it’s different than the meat the original recipe would produce, but it’s still delicious! And easier.
Homemade Buns
Refrigerator Pickles
Red Grapes
Veggies and Ranch Dip

Sunday
Ham or Turkey Sandwiches
Homemade Buns
Refrigerator Pickles
Pretzels
Grapes

You will find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (1)

blue and silver tree

October 11, 2012 – 11:27 pm

Well, DH brought the tree down from the attic for the downstairs bedroom. This is what it looked like last year.

blue and silver tree in the guest room

Not bad, huh?

The tree was old when I first painted it silver in 2008. Painting it rejuvenated it. I got a lot of compliments on how pretty that old tree was. But the years have taken a toll. Many of the plastic parts that hold the branches were broken. And some of the branches had to be twisted together to make the tree hold together. Couldn’t tell that though, could you?

But when DH brought the tree down yesterday, it was a jumbled mess. Here’s what it looked like while DH tried to fix the branches…he’s down there on the lower left.

getting started

Too many of the branches had fallen out. Those pesky plastic pieces… And the needles were shedding. So I pulled all the beads, lights and branches off the tree. I can use the branches for decorating. We opted to get a new tree this year. It should be here on Monday. And yes, we do store the tree with the beads and lights on it. Having a very large attic is an asset when you have a lot of Christmas to store.

I’m trying to decide which tree we should bring down next…

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas | Comments (1)

more Christmas goodies

October 9, 2012 – 4:50 pm

Recipes 6 and 7 are done and ready to put in the freezer. I made the centers for the Chocolate Creams. I’ll wait to dip them in white chocolate until after they are thawed for the Open House in December. The recipe makes about 100 – 110…depending on how large the centers are made.

Chocolate Creams centers

The Elfin Bites are done. Tiny 3/4″ square shortbread cookies. Very cute on the cookie tray. And they freeze so well.

Elfin Bites

Later this week…sugar cookies…trees and wreaths and bells and stars…are you feeling it yet??

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, cooking | Comments (5)

menu plan monday ~ october 8, 2012

October 8, 2012 – 2:00 pm

I baked a lot this weekend. Made five recipes for the Christmas Open House. They are safely stored in the freezer. Two kinds of Biscotti…Christmas Biscotti (with dried apricots, Craisins, and pistachios) and Toffee Bar Crunch Biscotti (which seems to be everyone’s absolute favorite).

Christmas Biscotti Toffee Bar Crunch Biscotti

I’ll post the Christmas Biscotti recipe soon.

I also made Date Balls and Nutmeg Logs.

Date Balls Nutmeg Logs

And Daniel’s Cookie Bar Bites…cut and frozen. I’ll dip them in chocolate after thawing for the Open House.

Daniel's Cookie Bar Bites

This week, I’ll make the Sour Cream Sugar Cookies and the Chocolate Creams. At least. I want to get as many recipes as possible in the freezer before the big rush to decorate.

Here’s the menu for the week. I had a few requests, so those are included. It’s always nice to have some input. It makes the planning easier.

Monday
Roasted Chicken
Roasted Fennel and Carrots – I’m adding Brussels Sprouts to that mix, too.
Mashed Potatoes
Corn

Tuesday
Chicken Caesar Wraps

Wednesday
Beef Stew in the Crock Pot (using leftover beef we made in the crock pot on Saturday)

Thursday
Pan Seared Tilapia
Baby Baked Potatoes
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

Friday
Tacoritos
Oven Baked Tortilla Chips
Avocado Sour Cream

Saturday
Mongolian Beef with Broccoli
Rice

Sunday
Spaghetti
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Rosemary Bread
Corn
Steamed Green Beans

You will find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday. Check them out for great ideas and a lot of inspiration! Laura is also hosting a giveaway for a Taste of Home crock pot recipe book. You don’t have to be a regular to comment for a chance to win the cookbook. Check out the link for more info.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (3)

pumpkin streusel swirled cream cheese pound cake

October 5, 2012 – 12:19 am

The recipe for this Pumpkin Streusel Swirled Cream Cheese Pound Cake has been on my Pinterest board “Autumn Goodies” for some time. I made it this week when our daughter-in-law’s mother visited from out of state. It was delicious and a good choice for coffee and chat over a yummy dessert.

pumpkin streusel swirled cream cheese poundcake

I’ll let you visit the above link for the recipe, but here are some small changes I made:

The recipe called for putting a measuring cup of water in the oven while the cake baked, but I forgot to do that. The cake was still wonderfully moist and dense. Even better the next day. This would be a great recipe for a cake to take to a church dinner or family reunion. It could be made a day or two ahead of time and would only get better with time.

I also left out the nuts. I was serving biscotti with nuts, so wanted to have the cake without the pecans.

I added 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree to the batter just because I had the can of pumpkin open and wanted to use some of the extra. Made it a very pretty golden color.

I don’t buy brown sugar, so I used the same amount of white sugar called for in the streusel and the glaze, adding a teaspoon or more of molasses for the brown sugar flavor. I didn’t measure…just dolloped a little bit in.

The maple glaze was delicious, too, but does set up quickly. I used 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. Next time I will make it a bit thinner so it will pour more readily.

The blog writer said her cake took longer than the recommended one hour and ten minutes to bake. Mine was perfect at an hour and ten. I let it rest ten minutes after baking and it slid right out of the bundt pan when inverted onto a plate. I didn’t have to run a knife around the cake pan as suggested. No problem.

While I appreciate the blog writer’s desire to include a lot of direction, I thought the cake was easier to make than the long recipe was to read. Don’t be afraid to give it a try, though! I copied and pasted the recipe into a Word document and then edited it to make it easier for me to follow, leaving out the instructions I didn’t need.

Do pay attention to the amount of time recommended for creaming and fluffing the batter, and to how the eggs are added. It’s important to the outcome of the pound cake.

The cake is delicious and everyone gave it high compliments. We’ll be having this again. My thanks to Willow Bird Baking for sharing the recipe!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Recipes | Comments (0)

brownie biscotti…sooo good!

October 2, 2012 – 7:46 pm

Today I made Toffee Bar Crunch Biscotti and Brownie Biscotti. We have company coming this evening and other company stopping by Saturday. I’ll be serving these both times. The leftovers will be frozen for Christmas.

Brownie Biscotti

Brownie Biscotti (Recipe is from Taste of Home, though I modified it slightly.)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unblanched slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

4 oz. almond bark or white chocolate for drizzling over the biscotti when done.

Directions:

Toast the almonds in a frying pan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring now and then to prevent burning. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, eggs and vanilla until well blended.

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture just until combined (dough will be crumbly).

Add the cooled almonds and the chocolate chips. Mix just until combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and flour it lightly. Turn dough onto the baking sheet. Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a long thin log, leaving 3 in. between the logs. Mine were about 13-14″ long and a couple of inches wide.

Brownie Biscotti

Before baking:

Brownie Biscotti

Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes or until set and tops are cracked. Cool for 15 minutes.

After baking:

Brownie Biscotti

After cooled for 15 minutes, leave on the baking sheet; cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 1/2-in. slices. Turn them with cut sides down.

Brownie Biscotti

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until firm and dry. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Brownie Biscotti

For a drizzle, melt almond bark in the microwave at 50% power for 1 minute; stir. If needed, microwave an additional 10-20 seconds, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over biscotti. Yield: 3 dozen.

Freezes very well. If freezing, I don’t drizzle it until I’ve taken it out of the freezer and it has thawed. Biscotti makes a great gift. So good with coffee!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cooking | Comments (1)

menu plan monday ~ october 1, 2012

October 1, 2012 – 3:57 pm

Another busy weekend. DH spent time getting our son’s house ready for its sale. The new owners move in on Thursday. Wondering if we’ll get a quiet weekend any time soon. At this point, perhaps not until January. This is a busy time of year for us. We have less than nine weeks to make the house ready for our annual Christmas open house the first Sunday in December. That time will fly by!

The twins made pancakes with Pa for lunch on Sunday.

making pancakes with Pa

Sunday afternoon, we looked for signs of autumn in the yard. Finding more of them every day.

golden rod and sumac

Butterflies and bees and flies and other insects are all over the sedums and the asters.

Admiral butterfly on sedum

With the cooler weather, I had planned a tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for supper, but decided we need to eat the leftovers first. Here’s the menu for the week.

Monday
Fridge Food…lots of leftovers…

Tuesday
Chicken Tamale Pie
Home-baked Tortilla Chips
Avocado Sour Cream

Wednesday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Salt and Vinegar Oven Fries
Refrigerator Pickles

Thursday
Pork Chops with Fennel and Carrots
Garden Salad
Spiced Applesauce
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

Friday
Roasted Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Corn
Brussels Sprouts

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Maple Dijon Chicken
Arugula Salad
Glazed Ginger Orange Carrots
Steamed Broccoli

You will find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu, Uncategorized | Comments (1)