30 Days of Gratitude...Follow Up

Spending the last 30 days being grateful for something every day gave me lots to think about. I didnt want to repeat a "Thankful For" post because I have so much to be grateful for and wanted to make sure I listed them all, I found my self thinking about it everyday and then somedays trying to find something to write about. On those days I had so much to be thankful for, just a bad day where I wanted to scream and yell and cuss.

Now that the days are over, I found my self asking "Why does it have to end?" Just because November will offically come to a close in 2.5 hours doesnt mean I cant do something for the month of December. Hummmm Something to think about! Maybe...I can do the 25 days of Christmas, each day something I love about this time of year and it cant include presents.

We will see....

Pork Chop...Yummm

A wonderful new way to make pork chops


Boneless Pork Chops (cheap ones will work fine)
8oz Tomato Sauce
3/4 Instant Rice -Uncooked
1 pkg Taco Seasoning
1 1/2 Cups of Water
9x13 Pan
Foil
Skillet
Salt & Pepper or your seasoning
Sherredded Cheese


Take your Skillet and brown each side of the pork chops, season each side BEFORE browning. Once Done Set Aside

Turn on Oven to 350

Now in a 9x13 pan mix your rice, water, seasoning and tomato sauce.

Once throughly mixed, place pork chops into mixture. Some may sink and others may stay on top. Cover with foil and place in oven for 30-45 mins.

Once they are done, turn oven off and take off top foil. Sprinkle with Cheese and put back in cooling oven to to melt the cheese.

Then Enjoy!!

It is simply wonderful and should be served with mexican beans and a tossed salad.

Catlina Chicken -Crock Pot Recipe

4-5 Boneless Skinles Chicken breast
(depending on how much your crock pot will hold)
1 Bottle Fat Free Catlina Dressing
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1/2 Cup Chopped Green bell pepper
1 Can diced tomatos, drained

Place chicken in crock pot, cook on low for 4-6 hours

Enjoy!

Meme's Famous CornBread Dressing

My Meme gave me a cook book she made when I got married, its chopped full of old family recipes, ones she made, my dads fav and of course mine. I treasure this more than the most expensive thing in my home. It was made for me, with love with generations of womens traditons written on those pages. Its living history if you ask me. I love and adore each and every one of them and I feel the love and history when i make one. One in particular is Meme's Cornbread Dressing...a simple fav of mine I use to call her "Famous Dressing" at the end of the recipe she wrote
"Carolyn you said I was famous for my dressing - prehaps I was only famous to you, for you loved my dressing"

My meme has Alztimhers now and yes can still remember me, but to her I am a little girl, who always asked for tea cakes and dressing. Thanksgiving hasnt been the same in many years because she isnt there making the dressing. Sure the dressing is still there, by recipe, but not by her.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did

3 cups CornBread Crumbs, make cornbread per box instructions and then crumble up
3 cups Biscuit Crumbs - same as above
5 teaspoons of Sage
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Chicken or Turkey broth

Combine all ingridients using enough broth to make a moist dressing, sorry no exact measurement listed.
Pour into casserole dish and bake at 400 until tick and browned on the sides.

Ribollita Soup & Garlic Sourdough Crutons

Ribollita is Italian for "Remade"
The soup was usually made a day after a big family feast with all the left overs, and on the second day the soup was reheated and additional things were added to make it a meal. Below is the best version I could find that didnt have to be made after a large meal, its yummo, filling and most importantly its one of my hubbys fav dishes. So grab your large stock pot, wooden spoon and prepare to make the best "Stoup" you have ever had.

Incase your wondering "Stoup" is a word I made up for something that was thicker than soup but thinner than stew / chili.

4 Can Northern / Cannellni Beans
1pkg Panchetta or Smoke Bacon cut into little pieces
1pgk of Eckerde Sausage (I use the turkey) cut into small child bite size pieces
1 Cup chopped Onion
1 cup Chopped Celery
3 tbs Minced Garlic / Fresh or Jar is fine
28oz Can of diced tomatos - I use two Cans
4c Chopped Cabbage
6c Chicken Stock
1pkg Frozen Carrots
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Celery Salt
Basil Leaf

In a large stock pot put 2tbs olive oil, panchetta / bacon, onions. Cook on high for 7-10 mins, until panchetta is done and onions are clear. Add Carrots, celery, garlic and seasoning, generally 1tsp of each. Cook over medium until veggies are tender
Once veggies are tender add tomatos, cabbage for 7-10 mins, then add 6 cups of stock for 15 mins let simmer, stiring occassionally. Then add beans with the juice

Let simmer with lid on for 20-30 mins, additional seasoning may be needed.

Garlic Sourdough Crutons

1large boule of Sourdough bread
2tsp oil oil
Garlic Salt

Cut sourdough into small crutons pieces, place in a freezer size ziplock baggie, add oil and salt. Shake bag to coat all pieces (this step maybe done several times to insure all pieces get same mixture), then place on baking sheet put in oven at 350 until hard and crispy.

When soup is served into bowls besure to put small amounts of crutons on soup. The purpose of the crutons is to add flavor, and if the person desires more salt to the soup they simply add more crutons.

Enjoy

House Seasoning

Simple yet flavorable seasoning you can sprinkle on anything

1 Cup Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Garlic Powder
1/2 Cup Onion Powerder

Mix all together and place in a shaker bottle, salt shaker. Honestly I have a Lawyers Garlic Salt (Jumbo Size) container I put it in, works well. I just peeled off the lable once the container was empty and put the house seasoning in.

Layer Cake / Sex in a Pan / Robert Redford Cake

Same cake...different names

My friend Sissy gave the below cake for no reason one day, that day my life changed. Ok not really but it did make life much more tasty..at the moment. I have been hooked on the cake since...and everyone who has ever tried it as well.

I will warn you, you can make this cake with " Low Fat, Fat Free" but the cake is best when all fat is left in...trust me. It may taste similar but not the same.


1c. Flour
1 stick Butter - Softned to room temp
1c. Chopped Pecans
1 8oz Pkg Cream Cheese
1c. Powered Sugar
1 Container of Cool Whip
1 Large size pkg of Vanilla & Chocolate Instant Pudding
Milk - For Pudding

Crust:
Take butter, flour and 3/4 of the pecan mix well and press into bottom of 9 x 13 cake pan. Once done bake at 350 for 15 mins

1st Layer:
Blend Cream Cheese, Powerded Sugar, 1c. Cool Whip, until well blended and smooth. Set Aside

2nd Layer:
Mix & Make the Pudding per box instructions, allow to firm up and set aside

Allow Crust to cool completely before adding the layers

Once Crust is cool add the 1st & 2nd Layers
Once Completed add the following final layer

3rd Layer:
Apply remaining Cool Whip to 2nd Layer, once done top sprinkle remaning nuts on top.

Finally: Enjoy and try not to eat it all at once...its hard trust me but you can put down the fork

Funeral Potatos/Cheese Potatos/Pam's Cheezy Taters

They go by many different names but the most common is "Funeral Potato's" I love these taters so much that one day I googled the name to see why they call it that. The best I could find was that it was a old Mormon Tradition and it was bring to family's homes during a wake because it would feed many and could stay out longer than potato salad. So sometime during the late 1890's people coined the name Funeral Potato's....so here it goes

1 Pkg Frozen Hasbrowns in Cubes (cowboy taters, western style)
regular size bag
1 Can of Cream of Chicken
1 16oz Sour Cream
8oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Stick of butter melted

Topping

2 Cups of Post Corn Flakes (or cheap brand)
1 Stick of Butter Melted


Mix Taters, Cream of Chicken, Sour Cream and place into a 9 x 13 pan top with shredded cheese. To make topping mix the flakes and the butter together and place on top.

Bake at 350 for 20 mins


Enjoy!

Can you give me that Recipe please?

A wonderful friend of mine Holly referes to me as Betty Crocker...umm no way am I there yet. LOL

The next couple of days I will be posting receipes that several of my friends ask for. Some are a staple and some are a special occassion. LOL Enjoy

Parting is such sweet sorrow

I miss my friend, simply put.

Is this really goodbye? Or Hello Again?

30 days
No Make up
5 Free Days
4 Used
End Result?

I ABSOLUTLY ADORE REQUIRE NEED MUST HAVE MAKE UP!!! No dought about it!!! I love the way I look in make up, I feel like trash when i dont. IDK why I just do not belive I can be pretty and professional with out, not that I am pretty with it but you know what I mean.

I used 4 days of my 5, all on a goat show weekend. I guess I couldnt bear for them to see me with out it, I did how ever on the last day not wear any. I was simply too tired to try and make the effort.

Did I learn anything? Yes I love makeup, and am addicted to buying it and I guess collecting it. LOL

Did I like what I saw in the mirror any better? No, I still dont like the way I look. I can just bear it more with make up.

So that being said my 30 day sabaticial from makeup with just that, a break...I am so going back....I can actually hear my eye shadow calling me.

Love the Way You Lie

I totally dig this song! I know not my typical type of music; LOL

I am so listening to it on my Ipod while blogging! LOL I had no idea what to blog about so I decided to tell you how much I love this song.

LOL We had an awesome fun weekend, I am sad show season for 2010 is over....COME ON 2011 SHOW SEASON!!!!

Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo - The worlds oldest and largest stock show January 2011
My ABSOLUTLY love FWSSR!!! My all time fav stockshow, if you win here... for that year you are the best in the world. Each state and 5 countries are representated by stock here. IDK why I love this stock show...but Oh do I!!!

On the road again

Two goats
3 adults
1 child
4 bags
feed
hay
water
buckets
medical emergency kit- for goats
portable DVD player
and all the little nessitity stuff that everyone needs
raffel items

all packed into an chevy treverse north east bound for a goat show 150 miles from home!!

Yeehaw!!

We are living the good life!!

30 Days of Gratitude

30 Days of Gratitude can it change your attitude?

Ok I know I am doing 30 days of no makeup but come on, honestly I think at the end of these 30 days I will feel the same way I felt before I started it....I LOVE MAKEUP! LOL Only 12 more days to go!

While doing that my wonderful sis in law Jenifer decided to do 30 days of gratitude on facebeook...well that being said I thought why not here? So here we are!

What am I thankful for?? My Family...I love them all deeply and with out them I would be lost. Chuck my wonderful husband who is my best friend and despite our hardtimes and lows we come though it all stronger than when we entered. Chandler, my baby, my beautiful sweet, smart Chandler. I love you, Shelbie my beautiful, smart and funny stepdaughter, I love you.

Yep thats what I am thankful for