Saturday, April 19, 2008

How's Gardening?




The weather is warming up fast here and the urge to get the gardens going full steam is coming on hard.

I was able to get some green house plastic on line and was extremely impressed with the difference of the 6mil material over the 5. I was using regular 5mil plastic that we use for regular construction work and the stuff would not hold up to the weather for more than a year. So anyway, after pulling a gajillion old staples and then painting my green house frame and shelves a nice hunter green I finally installed the plastic and my tomato and pepper plants among a few other vegetables are well on their way. I am figuring a few more weeks though before I put them into the gardens because April isn't a very reliable month here. Anything could happen weather wise.

I had such a bad year last year with pepper plants and I wasn't to happy with the tomatoes either so I did all of my own plants from seed this year. I even have a few early varieties too just so Vero can't tease me cause I am waiting 75-80 days for a dang ripe tomato. Lets just see how close the 4th of July tomatoes actually are ready by the 4th of July.

I am a bit disappointed with the amount of compost I ended up with this year. I compost everything but for some reason after final stage I still don't have enough. But again I never do. I was actually thinking of getting some more from our towns recycling center but hate to do that.What ever chemicals and such people use in their yards usually end up in the compost along with what ever weed seeds and garbage that went into their leaf bags last fall.

The old tiller is working fine this year.That new Carburetor I had put on it a few years ago turned out to be a good investment.
                                                                 

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer by Dr. Elmo




I cannot resist the urge to tease Vero. She is going to be so mad!!!!!

This video does not imply to or state that anyone will or really has been or ever will be (except for me when Vero saddles up her blow up Rudolph) run over by a reindeer or that all grandmas drink eggnog or take medications. No reindeer or grandmas were hurt while copying and pasting the URL...

Monday, December 3, 2007

Ironic Chef #19, Cookie Special

Vic, this one is for you, lol. I want to thank Froggy for the link to this page. I think there is a cookie recipe for everyone here.

"Santa's Whisker's" cookies 1-2-3 Cookies 7 Layer Cookies
7 Layer Cookies Almond Crescent Shortbread Almond Pine -Nut Cookies
Amish Sugar Cookies Andies Candies Cookies Angel Crisps
Angenets Applesauce Cookies Ashley's Green Cookies
Aunt Edy's Molasses Crinkles Auntie Linda's Ginger Gems Bakeless Dream Cookies
Banana Drop Cookies Banana Granola Cookies Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World
Best Ever Sugar Cookies Best M&M Cookies Best Texas Christmas Cookies
Biscotti Bite of apple cookies Boiled Chocolate Oatmeal Drop Cookies
Brown Edged Wafers Brown Sugar Icebox Cookies Brown Sugar Shortbread
Brownie Cookies Brownie Delight Brownies
Buried Cherry Cookies Buried Cherry Cookies Butter Cookies
Butter Nut Balls Butter Pecan Turtle Cookies Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars
Butterscotch Haystacks Buttery Pecan Cookies C.O.P. Cookies
Caitlin's Magnificent Snickerdoodles Candy Cane Cookies Candy Cane Biscotti
Candy Cane Cookies Candy Cane Cookies Candy Cane Cookies
Candy Cookies Caramel Shortbread Chcolate Biscuits
Cheesecake Brownies Cherry Buns Cherry Crowns
Cherry Winks Chewies Chewy Noels
Chinese Chews/Haystacks Chinese Christmas Cookies Chocolate Snowdrop
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Chocolate Chip Cookies Chocolate Chip Meltaways
Chocolate Chip Meltaways Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Walnut Cookies Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Christmas Trees Chocolate Cream Cheese Squares Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Chocolate Crinkles Chocolate Kisses Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies
Chocolate Mint Snow-Top Cookies Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats Chocolate Snowball Cookies
Chocolate Streusel Bars Chocolate Sundae Cookies Chocolate Walnut Crumb Bars
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies Choco-Scotch Crunchies Choose A Cookie Dough Recipe
Christmas Bars Christmas Cookie Delight Christmas Crackers
Christmas Crunch Bars Christmas Ginger Snaps Christmas Macaroons
Christmas Mice Christmas Mice Cookies Christmas Shaped Cookies
Christmas Sugar Cookies Church Window Cookies Cliodhna's Jewelled Christmas Tree Cookies
Coconut bars Coconut Cookies Coconut Macaroons
Coconut Macaroons Coconut Snowmen Cookies Congo Squares
Cookie in a Jar Cornflake Christmas Wreaths Cowboy Cookies
Cowboy Oatmeal Cookies Crème De Menthe Chocolate Squares Crème Wafers
Crescent Cookies Crispy Crunchies Crunchy Snowballs
Dad's Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies Danish Cookie Rings Date Nut Balls
Date Nut Pinwheel Cookies Decorative Icing for Gingerbread Houses Diabetic Peanut Butter Cookies
Doodles Double chocolate chip cookies Double Chocolate Crinkles
Eatmore Cookies Eggless Carmel Brownies Eggnog Cookies
Elizabeth's Sugar Cookies Elves Quick Fudge Brownies Emily Dickinson's Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
English Chocolate Brownies (quite easy) E-Z Peanut Butter Cookies Famous Oatmeal Cookies
Festive Filled Bars Firemen Cookies Fluffy Shortbread Cookies
Forgotten Cookies Frosted Peanut Butter Brownies Frosted Spice Cookies
Fruit Cake Cookies Fruitcake Squares Fry Pan Cookies
Gems Ginger Cookies Ginger cookies
Ginger Crinkles Gingerbread Baby Gingerbread Bear Cookies
Gingerbread Boys or Houses Gingerbread Men Gingerbread Men
Ginny's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Glory's Golden Graham Squares Glory's Sugar Cookies
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Golden Coconut Drops Gramma Chapman's Chocolate Coconut Drops
Grandma Elsie's Zimt (Cinnamon) Cookies Grandma J's Butter Cookies Grandma Olson's Parkay Cookies
Great Grandmothers Sugar Cookies Gum Drop Cookies Gumdrop Gems
Haystack Cookies Heavenly Cheesecake Brownies Ho-Ho Bars
Holiday Cereal Snaps Holiday Chocolate Butter Cookies Holiday Raisin Walnut Bars
Holiday Spirit Treats Holly Cookies Homemade Brownies
Homemade Turtles Honey Bee Cookies Ice Box Cookies
Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies Irresistible Peanut Butter Nut Cookies Italian Cookies
Jam Bars Jessica's Famous Brownies Jessie's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jewelled ChristmasTrees Jubilee Jumbles Juliet's Peanut Butter Blossoms
Jul's SnickerDoodles Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies Katelyn's Cocoa Butter Balls
Kaylie's Christmas Eggnog Cookies Kentucky Colonels Kifflings
Kiss Cookies Klatchkes Lacy Swedish Almond Wafers
Lemon Angel Bar Cookies Lemon Bars Lemon Cake Cookies
Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies Lemon Squares Linzer Tarts
Log Cabin Cookies Low Carb Sweetheart Cookies M&M Cookies
Magic Cookie Bars Melt in Your Mouth Christmas Cookies Melt in Your Mouth Cutout Sugar Cookies
Melting Moments Melting Shortbread Meme's Cream Cheese Cookies
Mexican Wedding Cookies Milk Chocolate Florentine Cookies Mincemeat Cookies
Mincemeat Goodies Mini Kiss Blondie Bars Missy Q's Nutmeg Cookies
Molasses Cookies Molasses Forest Cookies Molasses Sugar Cookies
Mom Mom's Crescent Cookies Mom-Mom's Ginger Cookies Mom's Nutmeg Sugar Cookies
Monster Cookies Moravian Christmas Cookies Mrs. Twiggenbotham's Coconut Cookies
N.M. Cookies Nestlé Crunch Snowball Cookies Nitey Nite Cookies
No Bake Chocolate Cookies No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
No Bake Cookies No Bake Cookies No Bake Cookies
No Bake Cookies No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies No Bake Vanilla Waffer Balls
Norwegian Sugar Cookies Nut Balls Nutty Jumbles
Oat Cookies Oatmeal Coconut Crisps Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Scotchies Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies Old Time Tea Cake
Ooey Gooey Caramel Chocolate Dunk Ooey Gooey Squares Orange Heart Cookies
Orange Slice Cookies Owen's Soy Shortbread Parking Lot Cookies
Peanut Blossoms Peanut Blossoms Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Blossoms Peanut Butter Cereal Cookies Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Peanut Butter Chocolate-Chip Cookies Peanut Butter Cocoa No-Bake Cookies Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies Peanut Butter Cookies Peanut Butter Cookies For Diabetics
Peanut Butter Fingers Peanut Butter Reindeer Peanut Butter Surprises
Peanut Marshmallow Cookies Pecan Sandies Pecan Tassies
Peppermint Cookies Peppermint Snowballs Peppernuts
Persimmon Cookies Persimmon Cookies Petey's Yummy Spicy Almond Thins
Pfeffernuesse Pfeffernusse Crescents Pineapple Filled Cookies
Pinwheel cookies Pizzelles Pizzelles
Potato Chip Cookies Potato Flake Cookies Praline Cookies
Praline Strips Pterodactyl Nests Pumpkin Bars
Pumpkin Bars Pumpkin Chip Cookies Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Cookies Pumpkin Raisin Cookies Puppy Chow
Queen Biscuits Quick Cookies Raised Sugar Cookies
Raisin Filled Oatmeal Bars Raspberry Meringue Bars Reese`s Brownies
Reese's Peanut Butter Bars Reindeer Cookies Renee's Indonesian Spice Biscuits
Rich Flavor Christmas Cookies Ricotta Cheese Cookies Ritz Chocolate Cookies
Royal Almond Christmas Bars Russian Tea Cookies Russian Teacakes
Samantha & Kelsey's Chocolate Chip Cookies Sand Art Brownies Santa Claus Cookie Pops
Santa Claus Cookies Santa's Butterscotch Melts Santa's Reindeer Cookies
Santa's Shorts Santa's Special Squares Scotch Cakes
Scotcharoos Scotcheroos Scottish Shortbread
Seven Layer Cookies Short Bread Cookies Shortbread
Skor Squares Snicker Doodle Cookies Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles Snickerdoodles Snow Balls
Snow Covered Almond Crescents Snow Fairy Magic Cookies. Snowballs
Soft Molasses Cookies Sour Cream Apple Squares Sour Cream Christmas Cookies
Sour Cream Cookies Special K Cookies Spice Cookies
Spiced Christmas Tree Cookies Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Spritz Cookies
Stain Glass Sugar Cookies Stained Glass Window Cookies Stir & Drop Sugar Cookies
Sugar Cookies Sugar Cookies Sugar Cookies
Swedish Pepparkakor (Pepper Cake) Cookies Swedish Sugar Cookies Sweet Marie's
Swiss Treats Taralle (Italian Cookies) Tea Time Tassies
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies The Best Homemade Brownies The Best Shortbread in The World
The Secret Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe Thumb Print Cookies Thumbprint Cookies Thumbprint Cookies
Toffee Squares Traditional Christmas Sugar Cookies Traditional Gingerbread Men Cookies
Triple Chocolate Brownies Triple Chocolate Brownies Triple-Chocolate Chip Cookies
T's Terrifically Tasty Treats Turtle Cookies Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Walnut Butter Cookies Walnut Crumb Bars White Chip Chocolate Cookies
Wild Oatmeal Cookies Will's Famous Apple Jack Cookies World's Best Cookies
Yummy Yummy Peanut Butter Blossoms

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Pregnant Turkey

I like to post this on Thanksgiving. I am sure many of you have seen it before. It's not my story.

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something from the store. When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven. She removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird.

With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, "Patricia, You've cooked a pregnant bird!"

At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry. It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!

Yep, you got it....

SHE'S BLONDE!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Ironic Chef #18,

I didn't post the featured item in the title this week for a reason. This week I want to have a Thanks Giving Theme and The themed ingredient is questionable. To word this right, is it Stuffing or is it Dressing?
My favorite part of the Thanks Giving meal is just that. Growing up we would have stuffing which came out of the bird but with a family of 9 no bird could hold enough stuffing to please that many mouths or the guest that were always there for the holiday. So on the side we had what to my recollection was called dressing.
The dressing was made like a stuffing but for some reason it had a few eggs mixed into it before it was baked. The eggs in my opinion were used to keep the stuffing together in a cake like form so that when being served it was cut into squares. It was very moist and delicious. I am wondering if anyone else has ever had dressing or a stuffing made in this manner.
I am looking forwards to seeing some of your families favorite stuffing recipes. I know that stove top hasn't ruined home made stuffing making yet. It my be nice for a quick chicken week night dish but no way can it be taking over Thanks Giving Yet.

My In The Bird Stuffing

Ingredients
8 cups of bread crumbs
4 celery sticks diced
2 large onion minced
1 carrot diced
1 stick of salted butter
1 1/2 cups of stock made from giblets and neck
1 teaspoon of bells Poultry seasoning
Lots of pepper and salt to taste

Directions

Really simple, I just saute the vegetables in the butter, add the bread crumbs that have sat on a broiler pan in the oven at 200 degrees until they are dry, add the stock and seasonings and then shove everything into the bird until it wont take any more. Stuff it loosely, no way, lol. The rest I throw into a casserole dish with a beaten egg or two mixed in .

Corn Bread and Cranberry Stuffing

Ingredients

1 loaf of MY CORNBREAD cubed
3 Sticks of celery diced.
1 Onion minced
1 Carrot grated
1 Stick of salted butter
1 bag of cranberries that have been cooked down with 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of orange juice, a pinch of salt and a small handful of crushed walnuts.
1 1/4 cups of turkey stock made with the parts from the goody bag.
1/2 teaspoon of Bells Poultry Seasoning
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions

As with the regular stuffing, saute the vegetables in the butter. Mix the rest of the ingredients with the vegetables and butter. And stuff the bird.

If someone does by chance have a favorite Thanksgiving recipe that they would like to share please do. I would love to see a nice southern sweet potato casserole recipe.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Ironic Chef #17, Cabbage

Recently Bonnie did a blog on a cabbage soup so I figured that cabbage would be a good ingredient to use for this weeks Ironic Chef.
For those of you that are new friends since I have come over to Multiply, The Ironic Chef Weekends are Blogs used for everyone that would like to participate and share recipes on a themed ingredient. We have built a very nice recipe collection this way and if you are looking for some excellent recipes for real home cooking , please just look at the blogs titled Ironic Chef.

Now I am sure that with the name Mac someone out there is thinking, "oh know, here comes a corn beef and cabbage recipe."  Sorry to disappoint anyone but I am not a big fan of corned beef. I don't mind cabbage and potatoes but throwing the two into a pot of water and boiling them up together isn't much of a recipe.

This weekend I am going to share my stuffed cabbage recipe. It's a bit different and takes some time to make but very enjoyable as long as you don't mind a little sour.

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage that has been cored and boiled just until you can pull the leaves off. I usually remove the leaves as it sits in the water and when I get a leaf off it goes into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.
5 medium sized potatoes, Peeled and let them sit in the water used to boil the cabbage that has been removed from the heat while everything else is prepped.
2 cups of a good quality sour kraut.
1 quart sized can of V8 juice, spicy V8 juice is really good for this too.
1 16 oz. can of diced tomatoes.


Filling for cabbages-
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
1/2 cup of long grain white rice not cooked
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and mashed
1 large onion, minced
2 large eggs, mixed
salt and pepper to taste, heavy on the pepper.
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce

Directions

Take one cabbage leaf at a time, with a parring knife try to remove as much of the thick part of the center vein in the leaf. This makes for easier rolling.
Mix the filling together. If it looks a little to wet add up to 1/4 cup of bread crumbs to it. You don't want it to dry.
Add about 1/2 cup of the filling to each cabbage roll. Roll the filling in the leaf as you would a burrito or an egg roll. try to keep it compact and don't worry if it's not a beautiful work of art.
As you fill the cabbages place them into a deep pot that has a lid. Pour a bit of the V8 juice into the bottom and then put a single layer of cabbages.
After the first layer of cabbages are in the  pot it would be a good time to get those potatoes from the water and slice them to about 1/4" slices. Add a single layer of the potato slices over the layer of cabbages. Put about 1 third of the sour Kraut over the potatoes and then 1/3 of the diced tomatoes. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper and then start building another layer starting with the cabbages. Keep building the layers with the cabbages first, then the potatoes and then kraut and then the tomatoes until you have used up your cabbages.  Pour the V8 juice over the cabbages. Bing the cabbages to a simmer over medium heat and then lower the heat to low and cover. Cook for about 2 hours.
I have done this in a crock pot but it has to go on low for at least 8 hours unless you want to cook your rice first.  If you have a roaster pan for your oven that has a lid or want to cover it with tin foil so no moister escapes works well to. Just keep the temperature to about 350.

This stuffed cabbage dish has become a Christmas dish here. I made it one year and brought it for a Christmas dinner to go with a ham at the in-laws and it has been requested every year since. That is about 12 years now. Wow, time flies.

I hope everyone enjoys this recipe and later I will share my egg roll recipe. I am really looking forwards to seeing the recipes for cabbage this week.


Wednesday, November 7, 2007

My $500.00 Truck

I figured a good test drive for the truck was my ride to work Monday. I would say it ran pretty good. I was surely impressed with the mileage it gets to the gallon of fuel. The exhaust sounds good now that I took care of putting a new muffler on it but it still has a few leaks that need to be taken care of on it. So far the truck has a total of 163 Mac miles on it.
Yesterday I went to work and the boss wants me to go back to that cabinet job because the hardware (knobs and handles) had arrived. Cool because I wanted to get more pictures now that the granite had been installed. So I headed towards that job. I was zipping along coming up a bridge going over some rail road tracks, traffic was slowed down a bit and I ended up coming to a stop. A dead stop. No nothing from the engine.
I was close to the top of the hill so I figured that since turning the key wasn't doing it then if I got it to the top of that hill going down the other side I would pop the clutch. So I pushed and I popped and I popped and it would not start. At the bottom of the hill was a major highway but just before the highway was a Mr. Good Wrench chevy dealer ship. I coasted the truck into the driveway with all the impatient drivers honking their horns from behind me. I pushed the truck through the parking lot of nice shiny new cars and trucks to a parking spot by their service bays. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't pouring rain and the speed bumps across the parking lot. I checked for every conceivable problem I could think of and found nothing. I'm thinking I had bought a lemon and had a seized engine or bad timing belt or something major like that.
When the shop finally opened I went in and asked for help. I was told that it would cost 95.00 for a diagnostic. I replied, "if all I need is a jump start, your going to charge me 95.00?" Hearing this they were nice enough to send someone out with a jumper box but it didn't do any good, lol...
They finally had a chance to get it into the shop about 5 hours later. I don't know what their diagnostic consisted of but I was told that the air compressor had seized. A knew one would cost 975.00. What were my other options, a 38.00 belt that didn't go around the compressor pulley. That was my option for a 500.00 truck.
The repair was finished about 25 minutes later. Total bill, 198.00. Ok, I Had just about spent what ever money I have to spare on a 500.00 truck, new exhaust, registration, plates and title. I have like a 150.00 left to my name. I am stranded about 70 miles from home and can't get my truck.
I called my wife to come and get me. The last thing I wanted to do.
The drive to my location was by taking 2 major highways and 1 street. 3 hours later, 6 phone calls to her cell phone, at one point she was so frustrated she literally screamed at me through the phone for a good 5 minutes. I had to take the phone from my ear, everyone in the store could her her screaming at me, lol. I'm standing there saying, "calm down, relax, just turn around and come back the other way. You just drove by the place". "She is screaming I can't turn *********************************************************************************************************
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around." 
We finally made it home last night around 7:00. I did my civic duty and voted. Now I have to figure out how I am going to get my truck back to go to work or do I wait for payday. Hmmmmm, thats tomorrow.