i have to say...

tis the season...

...to can things!

My canning-friend and I made some canning plans yesterday.

We won't really get going for a couple of weeks, but pretty soon we will be up to our ears in tomatoes and onions and all manner of produce.

Part of the fun of canning is the visiting part.

It's a time when you can accomplish something AND solve the world's problems, all on the same day.

Doing stuff like this is better than therapy!

Have a happy day!

47 quarts of pickles

Yes, my friends and I made 47 quarts of pickles yesterday!  

Crazy, I know!

We split the the jars between us so I came home with 20.  It's the perfect number to get our family through the whole year.  I don't actually water-bath mine since we like them crisp (like Claussen), so we have a refrigerator in the garage pretty much devoted to pickles.

The pickle-fridge is now stocked!

This is the first of this year's canning adventures.  Next up is tomato soup, veggie soup and salsa. The soups are especially nice to eat in the middle of winter when fresh produce is in short supply.

I love that fall is coming, but it's sad to say goodbye to summer.  It's been a fun one, but I sure look forward to leaves changing colors and cooler days.  Fresh-picked apples are something to look forward to also!

I wish you the loveliest of days!

 

happenings

...well, I can only call this happenings if you consider making raspberry jam a "happening".  

I do consider it a happening since I love to do it.  Especially with a friend.

Do you ever notice that making things is better when done with someone else?

I love getting together with someone I like to spend time with and doing.  Talking, solving problems and ending up with something to show for it.

Tomorrow I have quilt guild meeting and that is just more of the same.

It's great.

Is anything happening in your world today?

my breakfast crush

My latest breakfast obsession is a mango smoothie,  What's funny is that I generally don't like mangoes!

But I bought a box of Champagne Mangoes because the price was great, and I discovered that I love them!  Lucky me!

Here is my super simple smoothie recipe:

1 cup plain non-fat yogurt, 1 mango chopped, 1/2 frozen banana, small handful of frozen strawberries.  Toss all of this in the blender and whirl around until smooth.

Drink and enjoy!

it's so much easier...

...to eat right when the weather is nice and warm.  Fruits and veggies just sound good when the sun is shining.

I made this lovely salad a couple of days ago, and will be making it frequently this season.  So yummy and good for me!

Here are a couple of recipes that I want to try soon:

***Mediterranean Chicken Kebab Salad

***Skinny Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

***Chopped Salad with Creamy Vinaigrette Dressing

One more thing: Is anyone interested in taking Heather's Online Vegan Workshop?  She has a 2-for-1 special right now and I would love to sign up.  Anyone want to split the tuition with me?

Have a lovely day!

 

things that pinterest me

***My hubs loves these mushrooms and has asked me to make them several times.

***Here is a how-to for homemade chalkboard paint--in any color!

***This little pincushion is so cute!

***I want dishes that look like this!

***I love sunny yellow curtains in a kitchen!

***These gluten-free fruity chocolate protein bars are actually quite tasty!

***This collection of crocheted flowers is so cute!

Have a lovely day!

so, you've always wanted to make taquitos

This may not be the best time to post this recipe since most people are on the "gotta lose some weight" track right now, but I though "what the heck!".  I like to go against the flow, so why stop that now?

This year for Christmas dinner, we made taquitos, rice and beans, with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.  Yum!  It was one of the crunchiest Christmas dinners in our family's history!

Since this is one of our favorites, I thought I would share a little how-to with you.  As usual, it's done in my typical "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" way.  Since my daughter is a vegetarian, we experimented with a no-meat version and had great results.  Everyone liked them!

First up, you need to gather a few ingredients:  one whole chicken (cooked and shredded), one can of black beans (rinsed and drained), one medium baked potato (cubed), about 60 corn tortillas (use half that amount if you only wish to make one kind--chicken or potato), and some vegetable oil.  Also, some basic spices.

To prepare the chicken: I use the meat as is (salt and pepper added during the cooking process), but you can add spice if you like.  Cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and oregano would work well.  Personally I like to get the spice from the guacamole and salsa.

To prepare the bean mixture: Combine the beans and potatoes in a bowl.  Add about 1 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. garlic salt and some pepper.  Mix until combined.

Now you need to prepare the tortillas for frying.  And you do that by frying them.  Yes, these are fried twice.  Do not let that scare you.  These are worth eating!

Add about 1-1/2" of oil to the pan.  All you need to do is to heat up your oil until adding a tortilla to it causes this to happen:

Fry each tortilla for approximately 20 seconds.  All you want is for it to become flimsy.  Do not fry it until it is hard.

***NOTE:  I NEVER LET MY KIDS TOO CLOSE TO THE PAN WHEN I AM FRYING.  IT'S DANGEROUS AS THE OIL WILL POP OCCASIONALLY.

Once the tortillas have all been dipped in the oil, you want to roll them up.  On each tortilla add about 2-3 tablespoons of filling:

And roll them up like so:

Now back to the frying pan.  You will place a few taquitos in the pan for about 3-4 minutes.  You want them to be lightly browned before you remove them from the pan.  Don't let them get too dark since they will continue to cook a little bit after they are removed.

Here is what your pan will look like:

When you are done you will have a lovely pile like this (well, your pile should be much larger--around 60 taquitos!  Freeze some, if you need to.):

Taquitos are great for company and times when you need a lot of food.  They also freeze and reheat well.  Serve them with guacamole, sour cream and salsa.

Enjoy!

***To make your own guacamole, simply mush up a couple of avocadoes and add the juice of one lime, some chopped onion and garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. 

it's so pinteresting!

***This is an adorable way to hang things up.

***Remember to pull those weeds!

***As usual, Rita makes something lovely.

***This is really cool.  Be sure to click on the link.

***Have you ever wanted to make your own extracts?

***Simple and refreshing.

***This makes my coffee yummy in the morning.  Even when I used non-fat condensed milk.

Have a great day!

i really can't believe that i am doing this!

What am I doing?

I am making Kombucha Tea!

My first batch is brewed and jarred and will be ready to drink in about 5 days.

I experimented with adding some fruit to some of the jars.  The taste of the tea is not really my thing, so I am trying to get it to taste better.  Really, I just want to cover up that vinegary taste.

We will see how it works.

The older I get, the more surprised I become at the things I will do to be healthy.  The tea is really for my hubs, but I want to try it out too.  It's just really good for your immune system and general health since it's full of vitamins and minerals.

5 days until I find out if I can drink the stuff. 

We will see...

making chai tea

I made this wonderful chai tea concentrate so that we could have it ready to go for Christmas.  It's always nice to have things on hand that don't require preparation.  More time for family and friends!

Rather than using 1/3 cup of the concentrate, I used 1 part concentrate to 1 part milk.  I made mine with nonfat milk and it tasted great, although I am used to drinking that type of milk anyway.  My hubs used almond milk for his.  Regular types of milk would be great too, I am sure, but I didn't have any on hand to check.

You just need to trust me on this one!