Admin Outing - 12/2013

My company has dept. outings and tonight was the admin. dept. outing.  Which was not an outing but just the opposite.  We had what is called Wine & Paint, where this company brings wine, canvases, paints and an instructor and all that attend paint the same painting.  Our company also provided food, beer and wine coolers to go along with the wine brought by the Wine & Paint.  It went about 3 hours, in our training room.  There were about 12 people that painted and some just came for food and beverages and some were not able to be there due to previous engagements.  We had laughs, fun and food with drinks - what more could you ask for?

Okay, so here is my first and probably only time actually painting a picture that could be framed.  It amazes me how we all painted the same picture but how different each one looked but somewhat the same. 

As you can see I even signed it and hope you like what you see.  Actually I think it looks better here than in person, so I may hang it and there needs to be some kind of frame ~ not so bad...  The Wine & Paint company took pictures as we were painting and are supposed to post to their website and when I get that I will update this posting.

I am home safe and sound, had some fun, enjoyed painting with my co-workers and count the blessings of working for a great company and the bunch of people I work with.  God is good.

Thanksgiving - 2013

This year was spent with Amanda and Bryan.  I have to say it was relaxing and yummy and fun!  Amanda baked the turkey breast (from Market Day), it was very moist and came already marinated in a baking bag. There was green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, homemade gravy and salad for sides to the meal - WOW! I had made 2 pumpkins pies (from homemade pumpkin my sister, Sandi and I processed) and a pecan pie.  Below is a picture of Amanda's table before food:

And here are a couple of pictures with the food laden table:

The food was fantastic!  Look at the steam coming from the corn (lower right). There was plenty with a lot leftover. It was so nice to spend time with my daughter and second son.  My son, Grant and his wife Jessica spent Thanksgiving with her sister in TN.

Below is a picture of my Grand-dog, Francie and I really think she actually posed for the picture cause she stood there for a long time and as soon as the flash went off she turned around and walked away - too funny.  It looks like she is smiling/grinning in the picture too!  This dog loves her Grammie!

Afterward we watched Pumpkin Chunkin, Bryan and Amanda tapped it.  Who knew this was such a sport and people spend bunches of money to make their machines to chunk pumpkins.  One contestant who in his normal day life is a dentist went to MIT and took a class about metals to make his release mechanism better, which apparently it did because his 1st pumpkin went over 2300 feet!  LOL - we had some laughs over watching the show.

All in all, it was a great day and thank you Lord for all the many blessings you have bestowed on my family this past year.  Thank you Lord for your Son, He is the biggest reason to be thankful.  Now to move toward Christmas and all that goes with the season.  God bless you.

And we got SNOW

That 4 letter word that some enjoy and some don't.  Not all of my leaves have dropped as you can see in this picture

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow but not during the week!  hahahaha oh boy to be a kid again - NOT!
The first real snow fall of this year.

Cakes in a jar -

My sister, Leah June and I baked some Pistachio cakes in pint jars for her Blue Star Mothers of America group to put in boxes they were shipping to servicemen.  Well we decided to experiment with other cakes and flavors.

Okay the 6 in the back are Lemon cake and the 6 in front are pound cake - and here are what they each look like after being baked.

Lemon is on the right and the pound cake is on the left.  They are moist and very tasty!  I will be making more of these.  Who would have thunk?

Blue Star Moms and Christmas Boxes

This past Saturday I spent with my sister, Leah June and her BSM group filling Christmas boxes for some troops and also packing coming home boxes too.  I took a video of the President of the group and she explained what we were doing this Saturday and this group does this 3 - 4 times a year-

 

Now I have some pictures of the tables that were full of all the stuff we packed into the boxes: small Christmas trees, ornaments, snacks, hand warmers, socks, shampoo, deodorant, hand sanitizers, and a whole lot more - Oh, and of course the jar cakes - yes cakes cooked in pint jars!  

And a Veteran, Cricket lost her dog, Sasha last week - Cricket baked some homemade dog biscuits to be sent to the K-9 units

Here is the group and some of the boxes that were filled, taped, tagged and ready to go!

It feels good to be able to do even something small like packing a box of goodies to be sent to serviceman and praying it brightens their day just a little to know we are thinking of them and thanking them for their service.  God Bless America and those that keep her safe.

Do you have a romance with God?

I was listening to a Christian station on the radio this past weekend.  And the commentator was interviewing Jeff Kinley about a book he wrote "The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook".  It is about a new way to look at sin, grace and salvation and the raging beast within all of us and the author names it "Zombie" or an old word SIN.  Now this caught my attention, but what really got me thinking was a statement he said about having a romance with God.  I got to thinking do I have a romance? Do I get excited about spending time with Him? Excited about spending time with other Christians talking, learning, digging into God's word and His teachings?  Am I the best bride I can be?  Do I try to be better every day?  Am I humble or am I prideful and thinking God will just fill me with what He wants me to be without me working on me too?  I have to say I had a better romance with God when I was going through grief over my parents dying and also at the same time going through a divorce - I think that was because I was hanging on by the knot at the end of the rope so to speak. So why has the romance dwindled?  God has not changed, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  So it must be me that has let the romance wane.  I really need to work on my side of the romance. I know what to do but do not - I struggle all the time. 

Pot Pies, Pizza Sauce & Apples - Oh my...

Another weekend spent cooking, mixing and freezing!  My sister, Leah June and I made pot pies:  She cooked the chicken overnight in a crock-pot.

Then we shredded the chicken and diced carrots, celery and onions and cooked them in butter

We used the Pioneer Woman's Pot Pie recipe which we timed 10 times for the approx.14 cups of chicken, after veggies cooked about 5 minutes or so then we added the chicken and chicken broth.

After this we added the seasonings; which called for a herb called Turmeric - neither one of us had ever used this and found out it is a cousin to ginger and used in Indian and Asian cooking - who knew?  Anyways, we put the pot pie mixture in foil containers with lids - I found these at Good Cents.  We added a bag of frozen peas just before we put the mixture into the containers.

top with a pie crust

and put a lid on them.  We made 24, cooked one that we split - it was very good but for me the next time I make this recipe I will leave out the Thyme - too strong a flavor for my taste buds.

Leah June and I put them in the freezer and tomorrow night I will be vacuum sealing them (I hope) - have to see if the Seal-a-meal crushes them when pulling out the air...will have to use the gentle cycle and not normal one.  I will post how that goes later...

Onto our pizza sauce:

okay, my other sister, Sandi - years and years ago gave us a yeast pizza dough recipe which all of us have used since then to make homemade pizzas. Now we find out she has been holding out on us with a sauce recipe - and it smells so Italian, rich and thick!  I mean this sauce was good enough to eat without the pizza!  Contact me if you want the recipe and I will send it to you but remember my sister Sandi found it first.  We 10 times the amounts and got 10 servings of the sauce - enough for 1 large pizza or 2 individual pizzas with lots of sauce

Oh, and of course smelling so good - we made individual pizzas for ourselves for lunch.

Leah June's has the olives and mine doesn't, and you can see who likes theirs more spicy.

Now onto the apples.  Leah June and I went to an orchard and bought Melrose apples.  We would have picked them ourselves but it was raining and muddy.  These apples are crisp, juicy and a little tart.  We bought 1/2 bushel to get apples into the freezer for pies, applesauce, cakes, etc.  I have a peeler, corer, slicing machine for apples.

it does all 3 things simultaneously...then I would cut it in half and separate the slices

and then we measured out approx. 5 cups of sliced apples to a bag for the freezer and we got 11 bags.

of course we vacuum sealed them too!  I have enough frozen meals to last for a long while and all I will need to add is sides and/or salads.  God has blessed me greatly!  He is good all the time! 

My sister Leah June and I have cooked and frozen numerous amounts of food over the last few months.  Getting together makes doing this fun and not so boring, then to be able to divide our work among ourselves just makes it that much better.  You never know what we will be getting ourselves into next...leave me a message and if you want to be notified of my next posting sign up as a follower.  Until next time I pray God blesses you richly.

Creative Camp - WOW!

This past weekend my sister, Sandi and I with some friends went to Creative Camp at a 4-H camp in Mineral Wells, WV. (Almost Heaven country) that is put on every year at this time.  I had gone with my Mom 3 or 4 times in the past, but have not been since she passed away in 2006.  It was so enjoyable to go again!  To be around so many crafty and creative people for a couple of days.  Sandi taught a Primitive Angel class made from a stair banister:

this was the corner of the upstairs that we made our angels...

this is the back of my angel with the head and wings on, we embellished with moss for hair, a vine halo, put a face on and as you can see I put buttons and a scarf on my angel:

Here she is finished, now all I have to decide is where to put her.  Sandi did very well for instructing her first class at Creative Camp 2013!

This is an attempt to make a pine needle basket...the instructor did or would not explain very well how to make the sides come up, so everyone in the class made coasters.

Sandi made a stool with a reed seat...it was very hard and her fingers were still hurting her the next day.  I bought a kit - tried to get the instructor to buy it back, but she said no.  So one of these days I will have to buckle down and make it.

Sandi and I made chalkboard message boards from picture frames with the glass painted with chalkboard paint (by the instructors husband).  Mine is on the left and Sandi's is on the right.  I want to make another one but put lined paper behind the glass and make it a dry erase board.

I made a knotted necklace - this was real easy and fun!  So many beads to choose from...may have to get some beads and waxed thread to make another and maybe a bracelet or two.

This is a corner organizer basket for a bathroom vanity or dresser...it is so cute and about 6" x 6" x 3".  Getting the stakes in the base to weave was another story...but got it done.

Here is my paint by number rooster - not really, but almost.  I started with a picture of a grist mill with trees, stream, foot bridge and bushes...too much to paint. Found this rooster and thought multi-colors.  I still have to paint "WELCOME" across the top and seal it.  This is on slate.  I am going to keep my eye open for something to paint next year.

I had so much fun packed in 2 days - What a blessing to be able to spend time crafting with my sister and friends, old and new ones.  Am already looking forward to next year.

Cooking and Freezing for later

My sister, Leah June and I cooked this past Saturday: Venison Quinoa Veggie Soup, Zuppa Toscana, Meatloaf and Layered Cabbage Roll Casserole.  We made the soups in a roaster and big soup pot, mixed the meat loafs and baked them in mini sized, and made the casserole in small containers and then had 1 for supper Saturday evening - YUM YUM!

This is the Zuppa Toscana soup minus the Kale, we figured we would add the fresh Kale when we reheated the soup.  We doubled the recipe and used 1 pound mild Italian sausage and 1 pound hot Italian sausage, 8 potatoes cubed and 8 strips of bacon - fried and then crumbled into the soup.  You can get the recipe off of AllRecipes.com.  After cooling we skimmed the grease off the top.

This is the Venison Quinoa (Barley) Vegetable soup with Progresso Beef Onion Soup with low salt beef broth, a bag of mixed vegetables about 1/2 cup Quinoa instead of Barley.  The soups we let cool down and then bagged in quart size Ziploc freezer bags and ones frozen we are going to vacuum seal them individually.

This is for the Cabbage Roll casserole.  I have to tell you, I love cabbage rolls but really do not like the intensive labor involved - not for me.  This recipe is amazing.  My sister found it at Barefeetinthekitchen blog.  AMAZING and a recipe I will be making more often. This is the 1 pound of beef, 1 pound of ground turkey and 1 med. onion cooked together then drained. Then spices added and the rice.

1 medium head of cabbage, cored and cut in half and then thinly sliced.

Can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, brown sugar, & vinegar - mix together. We then added the wet ingredients to the meat mixer - although the recipe says to layer the cabbage then the meat then the tomato mixer - my sister and I thought why do it that way?  See below:

So now you layer, cabbage first (we divided it into 5 separate pans) recipe said to use 1-9x13 pan or 2 smaller pans.  Since is only us that we are cooking for we went for smaller portions.

We did not bake these before freezing thinking the cabbage would get soggy, but we did cook 1 pan and I have to say it had a very, very good flavor.

We vacuum sealed the meat loafs, cabbage casseroles:

 while everything was cooking or baking we would go outside to enjoy the beautiful day - blue skies with clouds and sunshine

Even our dogs were feeling the beautiful day!

This is Peaches trying to get Megan to play, but Megan just tries to ignore Peaches when she get rambunctious.  I hope you have enjoyed my blogging today about our cooking marathon and I count my many blessings and Praise the Lord for them.