Weekend scenes

Sunday has been quiet but our Friday and Saturday were full and fun and busy.  Here are some pictures, but I don't think I posted them in order.......

All 3 grandsons played hard on Friday and I laundered their clothes late Saturday. Aren't these 3 little pairs of jeans cute?  Seeing their sweet little jeans made me wonder how many pairs of jeans I have laundered in my lifetime, I have no idea but it is lots!

4 of our grandchildren in action. The bigger 3 played in the garage while Grandpa and their 2 dads did some vehicle maintenance. Grandpa's rolling stool turned into a very fun riding toy. 

After lots of family time, just us grandparents went to eat Saturday supper at Olive Garden. 

We tried their promotion where you buy an entree to eat there and they send you home with a second chilled entree to eat or share later. 

That is our packaged entrees, in very sturdy trays with lids and instructions.

Lids off - in case you want to see them better. 

Grandpa got smoked mozzarella chicken. Mine is the penne with 5 cheeses. We had them for supper tonight. 

I don't like to heat things in plastic so I transferred the food to our corelle bowls  to heat. 

They reheated great!  I only had half of my penne tonight so if I want, I can have the rest for my lunch tomorrow. 

I also found some time to start tying the rainbow strip quilt.  

I hope you all had a nice weekend too!

Lots of breakfast and lunch pockets

My daughter asked if we could make a bunch of pockets to stock their freezer for quick lunches and breakfasts for her family.  I like to cook and of course I said yes.
So Friday, I loaded up my bread machine with the bread part and just let each batch go through the kneading process.  Then I bagged up each batch of dough in a lightly oiled gallon zip bag and let them chil until we did the baking today.
You can make the dough just before you make the pockets but if the dough is able to chill and rest in the fridge for at least a few hours,  it rolls out so easy.

For the fillings- we made a double batch of the scrambled egg, sausage, potato and cheese ones.  Then with the last batch of dough,  half were filled with diced ham and grated cheddar and the other half were pepperoni, mozzarella and marinara sauce.

We made a total of 47 - each batch of dough makes 16 but I gave grand daughter Elizabeth one ball of dough to roll out.  She spent the whole time rolling out and adding flour to her one ball while we made the other 47.  I've tweaked the original Pinterest recipe a bit and here is how we like them

Breakfast and Lunch Pockets 

Dough
• 2 1/2 t yeast
• 1/2 c warm water 
• 3/4 C milk- heated in the microwave just to steaming
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 egg- well beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 c flour
• you can mix and knead the dough anyway you like but I like to put all the ingredients in my bread machine and let it knead it all to perfection.  
Filling
• 1 lb breakfast sausage
• 1 1/2 c frozen hashbrown potatoes
• 7  well beaten 
• 1 1/2 C cheddar cheese, shredded
• Cook and crumble the sausage until brown and then drain, then add the hashbrowns and heat through,  Add the eggs, stirring the whole time until the eggs are set.  Add some salt and pepper now if you want.  Just when the eggs start to look cooked,  stir in the cheese. 
• Set the filling aside while you move on to rolling out the dough. 

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Punch down the dough and cut into 16 equal pieces.
3. Roll each piece into 7 in circle on a floured surface. Top with 1/3 c filling in the center of each dough circle then fold the ends up, then sides up and then lay on your baking sheets with all the folds on the bottom. This seals in the filling and it is not neccessary to wet the edges or spend lots of time crimping either.  
4.  No need to let rise again and Bake for 15-20 minutes or until brown.  
To freeze:
5. Allow to cool on the baking sheet. Once cooled, place in the freezer until frozen. Store in a zip bag in the freezer for 3-6 months. To reheat, place on a paper towel and microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes.

Mondays bargains

I rarely shop at Walgreens anymore as their deals got really complicated when they introduced their points system along with register rewards and their customer cards. But I earn $1 a month at Walgreens with walking steps counted on my FitBit and had recently got an email that I could redeem $5 there. Yes, walking is good for you but you won't get rich doing it. 

Then I read about this Purex B1G2free with some printable coupons so here is how I did.

6 bags of Purex 18 count laundry detergent - just $4.04 after sale price, coupons and rewards redemption.

CVS

Mitchum was $1.99 and I had $1 coupons on each

Ajax was 88 cents minus the 39 cent coupon I got at the scanner

Razor blades were $10.49 and I had 2 $3 coupons- I needed to spend at least $25 to get a $10 ECB - so I bought 3 even though I did not a coupon for every one. 

I had a $10 ECB from last week and I got a $3.50 ECB at the scanner. 

I always scan my CVS card when I enter the store for the print out coupons and deals.

Total spent $14.44 and I am got back another $10 ECB for my next shopping trip. 

Friday night supper

First we started with a big salad.

Then we had a no meat meal of

Corn bread sticks 
and

copycat  Ranch Style Beans 

the links to these recipes go  through my Pinterest account and my notes are there too.  

Pinterest 5 in 5 - Day 5. Hot chocolate mix and Pumpkin Pie Sugar Scrub

I did 2 very simple Pinterest recipes today. I spent maybe 10 minutes in the kitchen and had both done and the counters wiped off and the ingredients put away.

Hot chocolate mix is in the big jar. It calls for
2 cups nonfat dry milk
 1 C sugar 
1/2 C unsweetened baking cocoa - mine was kind of lumpy so I sifted it first
 1/2 C dry non-dairy creamer
dash of salt 
 Combine all ingredients and stir well to mix. Store in a jar with a good lid. 
To serve, add 1/4 cup of mix to 8 ounces of hot water


And

Pumpkin Pie Sugar Scrub
I just made a half recipe for the first time to see if I like it
I used 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, spices and just enough coconut oil to get the right consistency.  The original recipe calls for a lot of spice but I cut them back by about 2/3s.
I used 1 t cinnamon and about 1/2 t of ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
I like the idea of a light scent, I don't really want people 10 feet away from me to wonder why they smell Pie.

I have not taken a shower with it but it did use just a dab after I washed my hands and it felt great. My hands still fell soft and that was hours ago. 

Homemade sugar scrubs will save me $$$. Every winter, I buy several jars from Bath and Body Works and theirs is priced at $20. I think the homemade is just as good and truly costs only a tiny fraction of the retail kind. 

Pinterest 5 in 5 challenge- day 4 -corn dogs from scratch

Corn dogs from scratch

There were 7 adults and 3 little eaters here for supper tonight.I have never made corn dogs from scratch but it sounded like a fun supper. So, after looking at a few recipes online, I settled on this one. 

They are not something I will cook often but they were really good. So good, I don't think any other batter recipe would be better. 

For sides, we had a big green salad and homemade cole slaw. 

My version of corn dogs from scratch

Batter

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

8 t baking powder

2 cups milk

2 eggs- beaten a little

Stir together the dry ingredients. Then whisk in milk and eggs. Batter will be thick. 

Heat oil to about 360 degrees- I used almost a gallon of vegetable oil in our countertop fryer. I bought the fryer 2 years ago and I think this was the 3rd time we've used it. 

We used 17 Hebrew National kosher beef hot dogs. I cut them in thirds and dried them on paper towels.

For the sticks, I found a pack of 75 flat wood skewers in the craft department of Super Walmart. 

Put a stick in each dry hot dog, then roll in a little plain flour to help the batter stick. Then roll each hot dog in the batter until they are coated. 

Now, deep fry each dipped corn dog. I could do 5 at a time and they took about 3 minutes each.

Drain after cooking- I use paper towels. 

I do not suggest these are for a regular menu plan but for a special family meal or a party, they are yummy. 

Pinterest 5 in 5 -days 2 and 3 ( just a week late)

I tried 2 Pinterest recipes tonight.

As my husband prefers, we started the meal with a big salad. And I was very happy to be able to chew again. 

Supper was an oven meal. These 3 dishes all cooked at the same time and same temperature, the honey oat bread finished up about 15 minutes before the chicken and potatoes.  Whenever I plan a meal that can all cook at one time,  I feel very efficient. but it doesn't always go this smoothly. 
Paprika Roasted Chicken
Scalloped Red Potatoes with Rosemary
Honey Oat Bread  the bread is not a new recipe. I've made it quite a few times and I think it will always be a family favorite

Both recipes are very good. Not sure I will make the potatoes again as my husband and son both prefer cheese with their potatoes. I really liked the sauce so maybe I will just add some cheddar next time. 

Hopefully I can finish up this Pinterest 5 in 5 tomorrow and the next day.  

Anyone else playing along? It's AOK if you are pokey like me :) 

Very happy night for a wonderful couple

I can't believe I have not blogged in a whole week but we have just been busy here. We have company and I've been slowed down with some painful sores that interfere with chewing and talking.

We have had lots of fun this past week and the highlight was the wedding reception for our son Bobby and his bride Sheena. They were married in the summer in a "just them" private ceremony.   This weekend, they had a huge party to celebrate with all their friends and family.

This is a professional photo of the happy couple. There were 2 photographers there from OkiePhoto. One of them was running around them in circles with a sparkler while the other took these fireworks pictures. 

Really cool, isn't it? It really suits their fun personalities too.  

The party was just amazing and they had so many fun things to celebrate from a mountain of food and a   bounce house for the children. 

I really enjoyed the fireworks show, which the bride arranged and kept it a secret surprise for the groom. 

The flying lanterns were really cool too. They had a hundred of them and it was quite a sight to see them floating off in the night sky. 

My son took this photo. Little Elizabeth was so excited with the lanterns as her mom and dad light one. That is my dad, holding his great grandson JJ watching in the background. 

I did not take a camera to the party so none of these photos are my own, thankfully I could borrow them from Facebook.  OkiePhoto does amazing work and I am looking forward to seeing the rest of their great photos. 

Prayers and hopes for Bobby and Sheena, for a very long and happy married life together! 

Breakfast pockets - day 1 of Pinterest 5 in 5 challenge

Breakfast pockets

if you want to see the recipe,  it is on Pinterest and my changes are there too

I started the dough this morning and let it chill all afternoon. Then I made the filling and baked the breakfast pockets after supper. 

We are not hungry after eating supper so I can't tell you yet how they taste but they smell amazing! 

Thank you Carlye for the idea for this challenge!

Pinterest 5 in 5 days challenge and some other doings

Happy Fall Y'all!  I knew fall would be here soon but I don't look at the calendar much and was happy to read on Betsy's blog that fall had for sure arrived.
I bought a couple of mums and a couple of pumpkin type things.  Baby JJ and I found the green things,  I think they are horse apples maybe, growing on a tree behind the pond in our addition our morning walk.
I really like their apple green color and free always makes me happy.
That tonka truck belonged to my sons when they were little and now my grandsons like it just as much as their uncles and dad did.

Carlye Jo is having a Pinterest challenge on her blog,  to make 5 Pinterest pins in 5 days this week.  I love to do stuff and my first one will be some breakfast pockets.  The dough is mixing up in the bread machine as I blog.  The pockets should be quick breakfasts to keep in the freezer.  There is plenty of time to join in with us too.

Speaking of freezers,  I defrosted ours this morning.  The frost on the sides was starting to build up and pushing up on the baskets making it hard to get the door closed all the way.

I also put away some clean laundry that was air drying and straightened up the garage.
I don't usually get so much done when baby JJ is here but he is especially sleepy today.  He must of had a great weekend with his parents and big sister.

JJ likes to hold things while he sleeps and at my house,  he likes a bird potholder.  

Hope you all have a good Monday- whether you like to do stuff like me, or nap like sweet JJ.  

feeling a little nostalgic about beef stew

I am making Beef Stew this morning for Sunday lunch.  I am not feeling sad but I am remembering how I made beef stew so many times for other Sunday lunches when our children were younger and living at home.
I would get up early to cook the meat and some onions. Back then it was usually hamburger as it was much cheaper than stew meat.  Then I would put it in our big crockpot.  I would peel and dice so many carrots and potatoes,  enough to fill the crock pot as full as I could get it and then top it off with tomato sauce and some beef boullion.
It would simmer all morning and would be ready when we got home from church.  Sides were usually a box of saltine crackers and some sliced cheddar.
Our children and any friends they brought  home to spend the afternoon all liked that crockpot stew.  Rarely were there any leftovers.

Today,  it will just be husband and me and maybe the one bachelor son.  That is fine.  I am glad my children have grown up to be productive adults with sweet families of their own to raise.

Beef stew is not my favorite thing to eat but I sure have fond memories of it!



I know young parents don't always like hearing this but the days when your children are young and dependent on you just might be days you remember as the best of your life.
The days may seem really long but the years go by so fast!  

Pumpkin chevron dresses

My daughter in law showed me a chevron print peasant dress with pumpkin applique from Pinterest.  Of course it was expensive and she asked if I could sew something similar. Peasant dresses are quick and easy so I said yes.  And since I was making one little dress,  I also made a second one for our other grand daughter.  

the dresses are brown and white chevron with machine appliqued pumpkins

I used Mccalls 6530 for both dresses. The larger one is like the long sleeve version but I just cut the dress part longer and did not add a ruffle to the bottom.
The smaller one has no hem ruffle either and I did not add the chest elastic. Also, the smaller dress has elastic at the wrist of the sleeves.

The brown and white chevron fabric was bought on EBay. I was very happy with its quality, reasonable price and the fast shipping. The seller was FantasticsTreasures4U.

If these dresses get handed down to other little girls,  I put a size tag in the back of each one.  I used a small piece of seam tape and hand wrote the size with an ink pen.  

Home tour part 6- living room

This plaque hangs in the living room and is one of my favorite poems. Mine is painted on glass and was bought on EBay. Years ago, my mom made a big cross stitched sampler with this poem for her sister, my Aunt Bernice.  I keep looking for a cross stitched one for my own but have not found one yet

My husband built this little shelf and it holds some of my Longaberger baskets. I would like to put doilies under them, but any doilies in reach of my grands get grabbed and wadded up by them. The grands don't bother everything but they sure go for doilies. 

The living room - looking in from the front of the house. This room was redone before Christmas when we bought the new couches and chairs and that giant TV that my husband picked out and our son hung over the fireplace for us.

The couches have recliners on each end. We wanted this room to be comfortable for us and our guests.

I did not realize I liked golds and dark reds and greens so much until this room came together and most of the accessory pieces were things we already had.

Looking into the living room from the back of the house.

The green vase was a gift from brother and was handmade in Oklahoma from Oklahoma clay. I did not get flowers put in it right away so on my brothers next visit here, he filled it with it with silk roses. And spent an hour or more arranging them.

I got this old treadle sewing machine from my parents. It works but I prefer to sew with electricity :) I do like all the details on it and drawers are great storage for little things.

I sewed the curtains in the living room and in the kitchen-breakfast room all from the same fabric- roses on a gold background. I got the whole bolt of fabric for $19.95 at the antique mall in our town. It was a very good deal! 

Below- the toile pillows and table cloth are from a yard sale on the fancier side of town. The pillows are even filled with down. 

The faux Tiffany lamp is from a clearance sale at Lowes.

Yes, there is a loveseat in front of the gas fireplace.  We don't use the gas fireplace and would only use it if the electricity was off and we needed neat.
We do need lots of seating all our children and grandchildren are here.  So,  we have a comfy loveseat in front of the fireplace.  

That's our living room- thanks for dropping by. 

Coupon and thrift store shopping this week

The bulk of our groceries are now being purchased at the new local Aldi.

They don't accept coupons and I have not used many food coupons in the last few years anyway,

But I do still save coupons and save money with them by purchasing sale health and beauty items at CVS and also on a few things at Walmart. 

CVS had their own store coupons for $3.50 on Huggies and there was a printable manufacturer coupon for $2.50 on Huggies. So, I got the Huggies, that were $9.49 minus $6 in coupons on each one. I thought I could get another discount on them with my just downloaded Ibotta app but when I do the refund, the Huggies offer was gone.  Yes, couponing is complicated. 

I saw the CVS dish soap for 2/$3 and the bottles are big, seems like a good value. 

Walmart - used a newspaper B2G1F coupon on the Mr Clean erasers.

$3 newspaper coupons on the hair color that were $4.42

Thrift store shopping - and these pictures are not great

I just did some organizing and noticed we had just a handful of baby toys. I know we used to have a lot more but maybe the older grands were hard on them or took some home or they just got lost. 

I was ver happy to buy a bedspread bag full of nice baby toys for just $3. One is a mirror to attach the headrest in front of a rear facing car seat. Another is a string of action toys that can be attached to a car seat or stroller. 

I also got a batch of little boy clothes for the 2 youngest grands- lots jeans and shirts, 2 sleepers, a cute Nike one piece suit. The thrift stores in my town sell children's things for 50 cents up to $2. Most of the ones I got today were 50 cents or $1 each,

No pictures but I also bought 5, all like new, tops for me.

 3 are button up blouses (a red one, a light blue one and a dark denim one) with 3/4 sleeves, my favorite style, all from Dress Barn. 

1 is an aqua v neck sweater from Dress Barn and the last one is a brown short sleeve pullover, Chaps brand. 

I did not spend a lot of time shopping but the deals I got were things we need and use, the time spent was more than worth it. 

Home tour part 5 - Kitchen

Hello readers, this is my kitchen. I cook a lot and my kitchen is set up now to be convenient for cooking, whether it is just for myself and my husband and also for when there may be a dozen of us here.

Welcome!

 This shows one side of the kitchen. 

We still are enjoying the coffee bar we added when we moved over the fridge.

The other side of the kitchen.  Dishes, glasses and cups are in the top cabinets, Tupperware is in the bottom cabinets.  One drawer is for silverware and the other is a bit of junk drawer.

This kitchen sink is funny to me how it sits on angle, like the dining room. The kitchen is right beside our living room. I can't really look out a window while I do dishes but I can watch my husbands giant tv. Can you see it mounted over the fireplace?

I have quite a bit of vintage Pyrex. I have this upper cabinet full of pieces I use regularly.

More is displayed on the tops of the upper cabinet. I swap them around every so often.

This kitchen has TWO pantries, and it is one of the features that sold me on this house. One pantry hols mostly food.

The other holds appliances, cleaners, bottled drinks, and a little junk.

This room is actually the breakfast room but I've turned it into more kitchen space, it holds a smaller 2nd fridge, a chest freezer, a little armoire that holds cookbooks inside  with the bread machine and toaster oven on top.

My grandmother in law had this desk in her farm house kitchen and now it is in my kitchen. One drawer holds my planning spiral notebook, where I write out my to do list, budget plans, menus, etc. Another drawer holds coupon supplements. 

Thank you for stopping by today

coming up- the living room and the last bedroom