No Blue Mondays Here

Good morning! I don't know about you, but I look forward to Mondays as a fresh week and a fresh chance. Mondays are right at the edge of a blank slate and it's up to you how you're going to fill it up. You can be negative, complaining, and miserable or positive, grateful, and someone who brings joy to those around them. The choice is up to you!

Me? I've decided that this week I am getting serious about taking care of myself. I had a bit of a wake up call during the last chapter of the Beth Moore study of the fruit of the Spirit. The 9th and final trait was self-control...not my strongest trait in some areas. Maybe I'll share more about that later in the week, but for now it's enough to say it comes back to my belief as a Christian that the Holy Spirit lives in those who are saved, thus making the body God's temple. So, the question then is, how am I doing at maintaining it? Am I providing a home worthy of God? Yikes! (Yeah, I'm going to have to elaborate in another post, because this doesn't do the line of thinking any justice at all.)

Anyway, when it comes to Mondays...and TODAY...

don't be this person...

be this person!

Our weekend began with a pizza delivered from Gino's. When we were kids Gino's had this amazing thick-crust pizza and we recently learned that they still do, but you have to special order it and pay a little extra. We thought we'd give it a try. Oh my goodness. It was every bit as good as we remembered. At our ages we probably shouldn't indulge in all that crust all the time, but what a treat! We enjoyed a bit of wine with it and watched a bit of television, but it was an early night for Tim as he had to work on Saturday.

I was just getting ready to head to bed around 11:30 when our daughter called in a panic because she was hearing a lot of banging that sounded like it was in her basement. Her husband works midnight shift so she and the baby were there alone. I woke Tim up and he went to check things out, taking his .45 with him. I paced on our back sidewalk, phone in hand in case I needed to call 911.

It turned out to be the screen door on their cellar door. Megan has been selling things the former owner left behind so they've been going in and out that way a lot. It could be that it just didn't get latched or given that it had gotten pretty windy, the wind may have just caught it right and popped it open. Either way, it was just the door banging open and closed. Thank you, Lord!

I slept in on Saturday for the first time all summer and was enjoying a lazy morning in my pj's when Megan called again. This time wanting to know if I'd watch Colton for 45 minutes or so while she and Cody mowed their lawn. It turned into more like 3 or 4 hours since they also trimmed the shrubs around their house and mowed our yard and my mom's yard.

Colton and I played outside for a while, but he was so tired and cranky. I brought him in and gave him some chocolate milk and something to eat and he sat watching a movie and playing with his cars for quite a while. He wouldn't nap, though. I think he finally did when he went home because he looked pretty bright-eyed in the pictures I saw of him watching a fireworks display that night.

My ankle was throbbing by the time Colton left so I tried to stay off my feet the rest of the day.

Sunday I worked on getting the laundry done and made a crock pot full of stuffed peppers while Tim worked on the sandbox under the jungle gym's platform. Colton is at an age where he'd really enjoy it now...and it would sure help the rest of us keep him busy when we're outside. We did a little work on the gardens, but it kept getting darker and darker and finally we got a good soaking rain. That ended any outside work. So we came in, enjoyed the stuffed peppers while watching TV and later we went for ice cream.

Today I am driving Megan to a job interview at 11:00. Say a prayer, if you would, that she gets it. It isn't far from home, it pays well, and they have a shift that would work around Cody's perfectly. Finding a good job would, I believe, go a long way toward helping her feel better about herself, too, which would be a VERY GOOD thing!

Before I go, I'll leave you with the recipe for the crock pot stuffed peppers. They are the best stuffed peppers I've ever had!

Ingredients

• 6 Large Bell Peppers (Any Color)
• 1½ Pounds Lean Ground Beef
• ½ Cup White Rice, Uncooked (I used brown rice and it was fine)
• 1 Sweet Onion, Finely Diced
• 2 Tsp Garlic, Minced
• 2- 10 ounce Cans Tomatoes with Green Chiles (I used diced tomatoes with peppers and onions instead and left out the fresh diced onion)
• 6 Ounce Can Tomato Paste
• ¼ Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Pepper

Instructions

1. Cut off pepper tops and remove seeds/ribs.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, rice, onion, garlic, salt,and pepper. Stir in one DRAINED can of tomatoes with green chiles. (Reserve the liquid).
3. Evenly stuff peppers and place in slow cooker.
4. In a medium bowl mix reserved liquid, the 2nd can of tomatoes with green chiles, broth,tomato paste, and brown sugar. Pour over peppers.
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.

One final Monday thought:

A Souped Up Post & Day 6 of the April Challenge

I stink! 

Or at least I feel like I do. No, it's not that I haven't bathed lately or anything like that. I decided to use up the last of the left over Easter ham today by making ham and bean soup...and I'm trying a new recipe. Said recipe is loaded with onion and garlic that needed to be chopped. So, even though I've washed my hands repeatedly, it still feels like the aroma is clinging to me from the cooking of it. 

I guess I will know if I go back to work and everyone moves away from me.

Oh well, the combination of all the stinky stuff and the rest of the ingredients smells divine. My stomach is growling already!

If you're interested, here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ham bone I leave meat on the bone while it cooks
• 4-5 cups leftover ham
• 2 cups dry navy beans
• 2 cups celery chopped
• 2 cups carrots chopped
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dry
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley or 1 tbsp. dry
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 8-9 cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil for sautéing vegetables

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare dried beans by soaking them in cold water for 8-10 hours, then drain and rinse. (I do this the night before).
2. In large pan heat oil and sauté celery, carrots, onions and garlic until tender.
3. Add chicken stock, ham bone and ham. Transfer to larger pot if necessary.
4. Add beans, parsley, thyme and pepper.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 2-3 hours.
6. Chop up large pieces of ham before serving

All of my ham was already off the bone so I just chopped it up when I added it. I'm simmering it on the stove, but once you get it put together, I don't see why you couldn't put it in the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.

Now on to day 6 of the April Challenge.

Someone who fascinates you and why.

I'm not much of a people watcher or a fan-girl, but I guess if you'd tell me I could sit down over a meal with anyone I would choose: James Earl Jones because I love his voice and could listen to him talk all day (he could read the phone book and make it sound good); Morgan Freeman because I think he'd have some very interesting thoughts to share; Jamie Lee Curtis because I can't think of a woman more comfortable in her own skin (and she's smart!); Keanu Reeves because he's pretty cute when he isn't busy being all scruffy and his personal story is interesting; and the female evangelist/preacher, Beth Moore, to keep us laughing and thinking of deeper things.

Of course, that's off the top of my head. I know there are more admirable folks out there who have done amazing things, but my mind is just not thinking that deep at the moment.

Weekend Wrap: Lottery Tickets, 1985 & Zucchini

Another weekend of my husband working. Both days this time...well, only half a day on Sunday. I hope the day will come when he doesn't feel so driven to work so many hours, but as our various governments (notably state and school district) keep raising taxes and medical/insurance costs keep rising, I don't see that happening any time soon.  Unless we hit the lottery.  I'm beginning to believe the financial and political people who say the middle class is going to be taxed out of existance.

By the way, did anyone win Saturday night's Powerball? I haven't heard and I have two tickets hanging on the refrigerator that I didn't check yet.

We got some time with our youngest grandson on Friday evening while our daughter and her fiance worked on a sign for the wedding shower in Hubby's workshop. Poor little man was kind of cranky, though. He did NOT like his Pappy in his reading glasses (first time he had seen him that way) and was just fussy about everything. I finally just cuddled him up and sang our special song and he went right to sleep. Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby?

Saturday was all about cleaning up the house, doing laundry, and sorting through the boxes of memorabilia my mom gave me.  I lost a big chunk of time reading the May 1, 1985 newspaper that our wedding write up was in....Reagan was president, Gorbachev was the fairly new leader of the Soviet Union (which was still the Soviet Union), Delmonico steaks were only $4.99/lb, a brand new Buick Century sedan could be had for under $10,000, and you could put brand new Goodyear all-season radials (their highest quality ones) on that car for $20 or less per tire.  My husband wanted to know if there was a coupon.  Ha!  Can you imagine showing up at the garage with a 32-year-old coupon?

We got a big surprise Saturday evening when our son called and asked if we were at home. Since we were he said they'd stop by to visit. They had been at a local state park swimming all day. They don't really live that far away from us, but it's far enough that we can't really just pop in on each other.  Visits are always planned.  Anyway, it was good to have them here and then our daughter and her family stopped by, too.  It was great having the whole family here on the spur of the moment.

On Sunday I mostly relaxed, but I dealt with another pile of zucchini.  I shredded all of it. I made two loaves of pineapple-blueberry-zucchini bread (recipe here) and froze the rest for later use.  I also pulled some weeds and the plants that were done producing from the raised beds then fertilized what was left. I'm trying to cure my tomato rot problem by supplying more calcium and a LOT more water. Hubby worked then mowed our yard and my mom's.  I made beef stew in the slow cooker for supper and we spent the evening watching TV.

I'm just playing around on the internet this morning, not doing much of anything, and this afternoon I'm babysitting our youngest grandson for a while.

When There's No Hodgepodge, You Wing It

Gosh, but I hate these days when the regularly scheduled, no-brainer post can't be done, but everyone deserves a holiday and Joyce @ From This Side of the Pond is no exception.  She creates and hosts the Wednesday Hodgepodge week after week and does a great job.

So......what to write about today?

My Bible study group met last night and I guess it's proof that we are growing. We had at least 4 people missing due to vacations, college visits, and other commitments.  Not so long ago that would have meant we'd have cancelled out of wanting the majority of the group to get the benefits of what we were discussing.  Last night we still filled the tables and enjoyed great discussion.

I got an added boost from class last night...more than one person noticed I was losing weight.  Yes!!!  It's starting to show!  My hubby even mentioned it the other day.

As for today, I have to run to the store at some point to pick up a few things that my hubby left hints about...like the empty milk jug on the counter.  I also need to deal with more zucchini.  I think I'm going to make pineapple/blueberry/zucchini bread.  YUM!

Pineapple-Blue Berry-Zucchini Bread

3 eggs. 

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar. 

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 cup oil. 

1 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Vanilla. 

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 cup drained, crushed pineapple 

2 cups grated zucchini 

1-2 cups blueberries (to your liking)

Mix all ingredients. 

Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Makes 2 loaves. Freezes well also.

Tonight I'm meeting up with a few "girls" from high school at Rizzo's, a local Italian place for dinner and to hear another classmate...a guy we all crushed on back in the day...play his music.  Should be a fun time!

Hope you all have a blessed day!

Best Ever Ribs Recipe

All this spring-like weather has my mind turning to outdoor activities.  And chores...I have to admit that the yard, which got torn up last summer when we took the pool out, looks pretty bad.  Hubby plans to get a load (or two) of topsoil in once spring is here for good and straighten things out.  Me, I'm thinking of where new flower beds or raised-bed gardens can go.

Another thing taking root in my mind is warm weather foods and what kind of food says warm weather more than barbecue?  I came across a recipe for barbecue ribs in Mary Kay Andrews's book The Fixer Upper.  We had a bit of a warm-ish spell a few weeks back so I gave it a try and they met with rave reviews.  They were simple to make, though they do take a lot of time. Anyway, with a few more warm days yet to come and spring not that far off, I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Jimmy Maynard's Beer-braised Barbecued Ribs

2 racks of ribs

Your favorite dry rub for steak or pork (I used McCormick's steak rub)

2 onions, sliced thin

1 bottle of dark beer

Line a 9 x 12 baking pan with aluminum foil. (I found that to be too small for the racks of ribs I had....just use any size that fits them.)

Let ribs reach room temperature - approximately 2 hours.  Apply generous amounts of dry rub.  Let stand for an hour to absorb spices.

Line bottom of pan with sliced onions and set ribs atop onions.

Pour beer over meat.  (I used a large can of Guinness, but I'm sure there are cheaper dark beers out there if you don't want to pay that much.)

Cover pan tightly with foil.  Bake at 250 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until tender.

This is how they look after slow roasting.

Remove from pan, and finish on grill over white coals.  (We have a gas grill so did them on medium heat.)  Cook to desired color, 6 to 8 minutes on each side.

May brush with your favorite barbecue sauce immediately before removing ribs. (I used original Sweet Baby Ray's.)

Then get your bib on and enjoy because these things go fast.  My family had them all cut and divvied up before I got a picture.  This was what was left!

You really need all day to prepare them, but they are so easy and they smelled heavenly.  My family is already asking when I'm going to make them again.

Some of Ms. Andrews's books contain recipes for dishes mentioned in the book, but I've found she has an actual cookbook, The Beach House Cookbook, that I'm going to have to get my hands on.