Thursday, October 16, 2008

Bits and Pieces

It was Amber's 16th birthday a few days ago! She wanted to have stir-fry for dinner, so I made it for her.



I tried to make the presentation pretty for her, so I put the rice on a steamed cabbage leaf. I should have added more color to the stir-fry, but didn't think about that in advance. :-( She liked it anyway and wanted to take a picture of it.

She told me in advance that she is sick of cake, so we had cheesecake instead:



I can't believe that she is 16! Why I was 16 just a couple of years ago, wasn't I? It seems like only yesterday.

The kids are out of school for the deer hunt, but since we don't hunt, we are staying home and CLEANING! We have been fall cleaning for most of the day, and Amber impresses me so much! She is a person who can really take charge of a situation, and she has been a tremendous help in getting things deep clean, preserving food (she helped with a ton of zucchini!), and getting the younger kids to do what they needed to. She has also been great company. I am so lucky she is part of my family! I love you Am!

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The first frost hit the other night, killing off my tomato, cucumber, melons, and zucchini plants. I had Jared go out today and pull out all of the plants. Here is my garden now:



I had him harvest the rest of the produce a couple of days ago, and he arranged it "just-so" so that I could take a picture of it. What a great guy!



I'll leave the pumpkins in our pumpkin patch for a little while longer to harden them just a bit.



Today he picked apples from our apple tree. Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow?

Thanks for your help in the garden, Jared! You have been a lifesaver!

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Emily & Matt worked hard today too, feeding the animals the left-over zucchini pieces, helping Jared pick the apples off of our tree, and scrubbing walls, baseboards and cupboard doors.

I do believe I have the best kids in the world!

I'm off to the kitchen to cook dinner and make some caramel popcorn from April's recipe that she posted today. See you tomorrow!

4 comments:

  1. Cajun Soup

    INGREDIENTS:
    1 tablespoon butter
    1/2 cup chopped green bell
    pepper
    1/4 cup sliced green onions
    1 clove garlic, minced
    3 cups tomato-vegetable juice
    cocktail
    1 (8 ounce) bottle clam juice
    1 can corn
    1/2 cup water
    1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

    1/4 teaspoon dried basil
    1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
    1 bay leaf
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 cup uncooked long-grain
    white rice
    3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled
    and deveined
    scallops(optional)
    hot pepper sauce to taste
    DIRECTIONS:
    1.Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute green bell pepper, onions, and garlic until tender. Stir in corn, vegetable juice, clam juice, and water. Season with thyme, basil, red pepper, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice. Reduce heat, and cover. Simmer 15 minutes, until rice is tender.
    2.Stir in shrimp & scallops, and cook 5 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. Remove the bay leaf, and season with hot sauce.

    here is one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Taco Bean Soup

    1 can black beans, undrained
    1 can pinto beans, undrained
    1 can northern beans, undrained
    1 can kidney beans, undrained
    1 can (large)crushed tomatoes
    1 can rotel
    1 can whole corn
    1 pack taco seasoning

    a few shakes of garlic powder and onion powder

    Add all ingredients. Bring to boil then simmer for an hour. Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheese, sour cream and/or salsa. . . whatever your family prefers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have those SAME plates! :P

    Oh and I have a soup/stew recipe for you, but it's at home... Posole...

    It's a HUGE hit at my house!!

    ReplyDelete