Thursday, March 30, 2006

fun car quiz



I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.


Thursday 13


13 things about me:

1 my kids have to help me blog
2 I have red hair, originally brown
3 I have worn glasses since the 5th grade, can’t handle contacts or surgery
4 I have hairy arms –so feminine!
5 I loove gardening!
6 I'm getting older by the minute! (but aren’t we all)
7 Yellow is my favorite color
8 A day without chocolate is a wasted day, in my opinion
9 I used to be shy, now, not so much
10 Picky about shoes, no I’m not, this is a takeover entry by my 10 yr old daughter WA HA HA
11 WEIRD EYEBROWS LLLL ---- ah , this is the kid who is not going to help me with my blogging!!!!
12 I snore like a buzz saw (sorry, DH)
13 my morning wake up routine includes checking my email and reading the comic strips on line

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Spring?


These crocuses bloomed last Saturday in our yard, then we got three inches of snow on Sunday. I'm sure (almost sure) spring will come soon...........

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

What's for dinner Wednesday?



Wednesday is a full day, this is what we had on Tuesday. 'Popeye' is a thick , square noodle cooked in broth and served over mashed potatoes, which was a family favorite when I was a kid (obviously pre-Atkins!) . It is total comfort food. It may be a Pennsylvania Dutch type recipe, I have not found it in a lot of places, but it is sold in the grocery stores' freezer section in Ohio where I grew up. Much better homemade, though!



Popeye or potpie

2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
2 T shortening, heaping
approx 2 – 6 T water

cooked beef and broth, salted to taste

Stir flour and baking powder together, add eggs and stir together with a fork. Cut in shortening (Crisco), then add in water, and stir and knead briefly until the dough holds together. (it will be thicker than cookie dough, not as thick as bread dough). Divide the dough in half, and roll it out on a floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into squares of about 1 ½ inches, and then repeat with the other half of the dough. Put into the simmering broth, and cover, lowering the temperature so that the broth is still simmering at a low level (as for dumplings) for 20 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Thursday, March 23, 2006


Thirteen Things that would make the world better:

1. no cal chocolate that was delicious!
2. lipstick that looked on the lips like what it looks like in the tube
3. a cheering squad for everyone
4. easy open containers that really were
5. a parrot on every newscaster’s shoulder- ‘awwwk! Partly cloudy! AWWWkkk! Higher deficit!’ This would add some interest and humor to the gloomiest news
6. kids who listened! (although, eventually, they do)
7. the internet without porn
8. more sharing, less hoarding
9. if everyone had their own theme song
10. lower gas prices!
11. more hugs, less snubs
12. more flowers, less weeds
13. finally, magic wands to fix health problems


Links to other Thursday Thirteens! (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


Friday, March 17, 2006

Happy St Paddy's Day, and a joke

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Hope everyone is wearing their green, whether or not you are Irish!

the joke:

How do you kill a blue elephant?

Shoot 'em with a blue elephant gun!

(not pc, obviously)

How do you kill a pink elephant?

Choke him (or her) 'til they turn blue, then use your blue elephant gun....

Thursday, March 16, 2006

***** Thursday 13 *****

13 things my parents used to say (or do) that make sense now:


1. 'I don't care who started the argument, you're all in trouble!'

2. 'stop that fiddle-farting around!!'

3. 'Stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about' (ok, that one still doesn't make any sense)

4. That afternoon nap? Indispensable!

5. 'go outside and play'

6. slooow bike riding instead of 'stand up and pump as fast as you can' bike riding

7. random singing around the house

8. 'I'll tell you when you're older' (heard that one a lot!)

9. 'don't chase the cows'

10. '- - - or the ducks'

11. 'if you don't have anything to do, I'll give you something to do'

12. 'you'll ruin your eyesight reading in the dark like that'

13. 'you'll shoot your eye out' - just kidding, that was Ralphie's folks!

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

What's for Dinner Wednesday !

Green Beans with Hamburger


1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ cups water
3 T soy sauce
1 T dark molasses
1 can (15 oz) green beans, drained
3 T cornstarch
¼ c cold water

3 – 4 cups cooked rice


Cook and stir ground beef in large skillet until browned, draining off excess fat. Sauté onion and garlic with ground beef, then add 1 ½ cups water, soy sauce and molasses; heat to boiling. Add green beans and heat to boiling. Reduce heat.

Blend cornstarch and ¼ c water; stir gradually into meat mixture, Cook and stir until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Serve over rice.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Kitchen questions

1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?
almost all of our dinners, we don't eat out much, there are 3 of us
2. How many cookbooks do you own?
less than ten
3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?
rarely
4. Do you collect recipes from other sources? If so, what are some of your favorite sources (relatives, friends, magazines, advertisements, packages, the internet, etc)
yep, sure do! have piles of potentially delicious recipes in my dining room hutch , someday I will organize them???! I get them off of the internet, newspaper, magazines, ladies at church
5. How do you store those recipes?
already confessed to my 'pile' method
6. When you cook, do you follow the recipe pretty closely, or do you use recipes primarily to give you ideas? what fun would that be???
I like to add my own ideas as I go along
7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking? If so, what is it? maybe mexican, mostly just basic homecooking
8. What’s your favorite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation?
also least favorite, deciding what to cook!
9. What’s your least favorite part?
already said.........
10. Do you plan menus before you shop?
not usually
11. What are your three favorite kitchen tools or appliances?
my little mini-chopper ( $2 at Wal-mart), my mixer, ?
12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money was no object, and space not an issue, what would you most like to have?
does a new countertop and cabinets count?
13. Since money and space probably are objects, what are you most likely to buy next? 'whatever I want, gosh!'
14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?
yes I do
15. Grocery shop alone or with others?
blissfully alone!
16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week?
typically, none!
17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it? Favorite kitchen colors?
gray/ mint green (s'posed to be sage) no other theme, unless you can call 'slob' a theme
18. What’s the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?
delicious, nutritious hamburger gravy, ?
maybe 12, oh , and snickerdoodle cookies!
19. How did you learn to cook?
Mom, and my Aunt Opal taught me, and I learned a lot in 4-H 20. Tag two other people to play-
Sarah!!!!!!! and ? whoever else wants to...

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Thursday Thirteen!

I am thinking today of two good friends, Vickie and Dona, who showed me the power of gratitude - so today I am grateful for :

1. my health
2. my husband's love and hard work for our family
3.my children and the amazing things they are doing
4. my grandkids!!!
5.the freedom we enjoy in the United States of America
6. Christ and His Atonement for my sake and for all
7. flowers!!! I love the color, the smell, plants are something I can't get enough of
8. chocolate, dark, of course!
9. email!
10. family photos, old and new
11. the great example of family and friends who are kind, generous, wise, fun...
12. spring - it's almost here, 50 degrees today
13. my part time job - fun and fulfilling, great people to work for and with!!!

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

What's for Dinner Wednesday !

This is a change, I made 'spiced pork chops with peaches' last week, so I'll try it with chicken this week:

Spiced Chicken & Peaches

2 T brown sugar
2 T plus 1/3 cup orange juice
2 T soy sauce
½ t curry
1/8 t freshly ground pepper
4 chicken breasts, deboned
2 t extra-virgin olive oil
3 c sliced peaches

Stir sugar, 2 T of juice, soy sauce, curry and pepper in a shallow glass dish together. Lay chicken in the marinade, turning to coat. Let marinate for 10 – 15 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Shake off excess marinade and place the chicken in the pan. Cook until the chicken is browned. Meanwhile, add peaches to the reserved marinade and stir to coat.
Add the remaining 1/3-cup of juice to the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring. Reduce heat, and simmer, turning occasionally.
Add the peaches and marinade to the pan; increase the heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid is reduced to a light sauce, 2 – 3 minutes.
To serve, spoon the sauce and peaches over the chicken.