Just Blabbing 1-12-2020

Thoughts and Quotes: You CAN have too much of a good thing. Me

Recipes are a good thing; as a matter of fact, I think recipes are a wonderful thing. I have so many, I don't even know what I have, as evidenced by my experience this week. 

Friend Audell told me she made Pecan Pie Muffins during the holidays, and everyone loved them. She didn't have the recipe at hand, but said she got it from Pinterest. No problem. I got a recipe from Pinterest and made the muffins. Actually I made spoon muffins, because that's how you'd have to eat them. I had to dig them out of the muffin tin.

I wanted to show the photo, but couldn't find it, so I thought I might have put it in my Muffin photos folder, and when I looked, I found this:

PECAN PIE MUFFINS

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup chopped pecans.

Heat oven to 350°.

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Cream butter and brown sugar.

Beat in eggs.

Gently beat in flour.

Fold in pecans.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 15-17 minutes.

I made these in May, 2018, and the recipe has the very same ingredients; just different measurements and a different mixing method.

So now I'll check my files before I make something new; I might have already made it. Maybe I'm just getting forgetful? In that case, good. I can save more recipes.

Tidying: Cleaning? Heaven forbid! But I did finally take my picture out of the closet and get it reframed so that it's back on the wall where it belongs. Remember I told you that it fell off the wall during the new roof project and landed right on the corner of the frame - couldn't be salvaged. The new frame is different, but Michaels didn't have one like the old one. And have you ever noticed that the 70% off coupons are always for frames that don't work for you?

The picture was a present from my kids and I love it. The photo doesn't do it justice. First of all, my reflection in the glass doesn't help, and the picture is actually 3-D; the items are paper and several cut outs of each, then layered. It feels as if you could walk right up the steps and take a seat and wait for the maid to bring your afternoon tea.

Tasting: Remember the layered 12-Hour Salad from last week? I wondered what I'd do with all that salad after I tossed it.

Good news - it's good the next day and the next. I ate almost all of it.

Tissue Box Cards: I have another side from this box, so might try another. I really like this box.

Trash Cards: I made this card from a picture I cut from a catalog. Junk mail is a good thing at my house. I love going through it to find things I can use. And the tree on the envelope is cut from an obsolete rubber stamp catalog I bought from a scrapbook store. 

Got a little tired of Christmas - these cards are made from wallpaper.

And more Christmas cards for Katie's shut-ins. Slow going so I decided to do some production line cards.

Four snowmen

Three Santas

Three Mrs. Claus

Four Penguins

Tasting: I've heard that a word to the wise is sufficient, so listen up, Wise People. Do not order fish and chips in an Italian restaurant. Stick to what they know best, which is obviously Italian. My fish, shrimp, and calamari were heavily breaded and tasteless. The fries must have been air fried or baked. Not good. And no tartar sauce. The seafood red sauce was okay, but the other was sweet and spicy. Ordinarily I get very good food here, but I order Italian, so I'm hesitant to share the name of the restaurant.

Brother Bill shared my view of the calamari, but said his pasta was okay.

Tasting: National Soup Month, so I tried a recipe I got from Friend Joey. My brother said that it sounds like Bachelor soup, because it's so easy. The original recipe did not have ground beef and onion, but I think it needs more ompf! so I have the ground beef thawing to add today. And I might add a squeeze of lime juice. The photos are from yesterday, with no beef or onions.

SEVEN CAN SOUP

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 can Hormel chili without beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can great northern beans

1 can black beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can Rotel

1 can corn

Cook the ground beef and onions in a large pot. Drain.

Drain the can of corn and add it to the pot.

Do NOT drain all the other cans, and add to the pot.

Mix well and simmer 25-30 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips and grated Monterey Jack cheese.

Time for Soup, for sure: Take a look at this snow, biggest flakes I've seen in a long time.

Thank You: To all my visitors from Russia and Ukraine. I've had more page views from your countries this month than I have from the USA. Welcome and if you have questions, please be sure to leave them in the comments section.

Enough for this week. Here are the National Days coming up.

MONDAY: Eat Peach Melba, Clean Off Your Desk, or Celebrate Stephen Foster (maybe sing Beautiful Dreamer, Swanee River, or My Old Kentucky Home - no wait; save that for Derby Day).

TUESDAY: Eat a Hot Pastrami Sandwich or Shop for Travel

WEDNESDAY: Wear a Hat, Eat Strawberry Ice Cream or a Bagel. It's also Booch Day. I had not a clue what that means, so I looked it up. It stands for Kombucha which in Japanese is Kelp Tea. I'll leave that for my health-conscious daughter.

THURSDAY: Eat Fig Newtons or just veg out. It's also Do Nothing Day.

FRIDAY: Bootlegger's Day and also Hot Buttered Rum Day, so you know where to get your rum, right?

SATURDAY: Lots of choices; Winnie the Pooh, Peking Duck, Thesaurus, Use Your Gift Card and hey! to everyone from Michigan as it's also Michigan Day.

SUNDAY: We can Eat Popcorn, Buttercrunch (that nice crispy lettuce), or Cheese as we Celebrate the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

STAY WARM AND TOASTY

DRINK YOUR TEA

MAKE SOME SOUP

AND SOME SALAD TO GO WITH IT

STICK TO THOSE GOALS

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE

A Happy Start 1-5-2020

Thoughts and Quotes: I fairly sizzle with zeal and enthusiasm and spring forth with a mighty faith to the things that ought to be done by me.        Charles Fillmore, Co-founder of Unity

A perfect description of the way I'm feeling right now. I love the new year with a chance to really accomplish something worth blogging about.

Tablescapes: Not book material, but I did use some dishes you haven't seen (except Katie Sue) for our New Year's lunch. We wanted to go to Paris but could only pretend.

Of course, the menu was the same old rice for health, black-eyed peas for luck, collard greens for money, ham and cornbread because they go well with everything else.

Trips: Remember, trips are just for the day - travel is when you stay overnight or longer. 

Bill and I went to Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas to see the Crystals in Art exhibit. Bill hadn't been there before, so we toured the permanent collection as well. There's always something new, as they rotate all the items.

There is one remaining Chihuly piece inside and two outside from the exhibit in 2017. We didn't go outside (cold), but we saw this one inside.

This was new to me. Completely made of dog tags.

And this guy.

I don't know how the artist does this; I'm amazed. Saw this last time, but not on display right now. Same artist.

You can see photos of the entire Dale Chihuly exhibit by going to the archives on the right above, click on 2017, then July, then week 83 and scroll down. 

Also new to me, because I'd never gone to this area, a great way to see the entire layout of the building in miniature.

In photos, you can only see the parts.

I didn't remember ever seeing these.

 I had to visit my favorite painting, of course.

Brother Bill taking a selfie with Pinocchio.

And does this look familiar?

It's similar to another of Gilbert Stuart's portraits which was used for the picture on the one-dollar bill.

Also new to me - I loved the colors.

But we came for the crystal exhibit.

This was fascinating, but I frown on ruining books.

I didn't get this one at all.

This is made up of glass balls on a wall; my photo doesn't do it justice, and I should have moved back to show the size. It's really big.

If you looked into these -

it was like looking into infinity.

The grand finale.

Another photo worth mentioning - look at the man at the very bottom. I don't mean the guy looking at the photo, but the guy in the photo - only a silhouette.

This cave is huge and so are the crystals.

Here's a link to see more. Click HERE. It's like another world. There was lots more to the exhibit, but this will give you an idea. And if you'd like to know more about Crystal Bridges Museum, click HERE.

Tasting: This is a salad from long, long ago - 1950's or 60's I believe. I hadn't made it in years, but wanted an overnight salad and found it in my salad notebook.

12-HOUR SALAD

8 cups torn salad greens

1-1/2 cups chopped celery

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 10-oz. pkg frozen peas, thawed

1 cup mayonnaise

1 8-oz carton sour cream

3 Tbs. sugar

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

Put the salad greens in the bottom of a 3-qt. bowl.

Add layers in the order – celery, green pepper, onion, peas. Do not toss.

Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, and sugar and “frost” the top of the salad.

Sprinkle with cheese and bacon.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. Toss to serve.

Note: I like to make the salad in a see-through bowl and toss it at the table.

Tasting again: Nephew Ron and I were emailing about macaroni and cheese, so when I had leftover ham from New Year's Day, I decided that's how I'd use it. This is not the same Macaroni and Cheese already on the drop downs. A different approach.

MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH HAM

2 cups elbow macaroni

4 Tbs butter

4 Tbs flour

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt

2 cups diced cooked ham

1-3/4 cups grated Cheddar cheese, sharp or mild

1 Tbs grated onion

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (Panko is best)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Fill a large pot with water and a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and slowly add the macaroni. Cook for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Heat the oven to 375°.

Melt the 4 Tbs butter in a small saucepan; then add the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is fully incorporated.

Add the milk all at once and whisk until the sauce thickens. Add the salt and simmer over very low heat for two minutes.

Pour the sauce into a large mixing bowl and add the macaroni, ham, onion, and 1-1/2 cups of the cheese.

Pour into a buttered 13 X 9 baking dish. Mix the butter, bread crumbs and other 1/4 cup cheese and sprinkle over the top.

Bake 30-40 minutes or until top is light brown.

Or if you like a quick version, try this recipe.

HAM MACARONI BAKE

8 oz. elbow macaroni

1/4 lb cheddar cheese, cubed

1 can cream of celery soup

1 small onion, quartered

1/4 cup milk

2 cups cooked ham, diced

Heat oven to 350°.

Grease a 2 qt casserole dish.

Cook and drain macaroni.

Chop half of the cheese in the blender and set aside.

Put soup, milk, onion, balance of cheese in blender; cover and “blend” until smooth.

Mix with ham and macaroni and put in casserole dish.

Top with saved cheese.

Cover and bake 30 minutes.

Time for Others: I found time to make three more cards for Katie Sue's shut-ins, and five cards for my soldier boxes (the one I showed you last week).

The National Days for this Week:

MONDAY

Eat some beans or cuddle up.

TUESDAY

Bobblehead Day - what are we supposed to do?

WEDNESDAY

Take a bubble bath or celebrate Elvis Presley's birthday (maybe eat a peanut butter and jelly and banana sandwich).

THURSDAY

Law enforcement appreciation day. Drop some donuts off at the police station?

FRIDAY

Cut your energy costs day (put on a sweater and turn down the heat) or talk to your plants because it's also National Houseplant Appreciation Day.

SATURDAY

Choices - Girl Hug Boy Day, drink some milk or a hot toddy.

SUNDAY

Pharmacist or Youth Day. No offense, but I prefer to stay away from pharmacists, so guess I'll look around for some kids.

AND it's National Hot Tea Month and Soup Month - works for me; it's getting cold.

Don't forget to make a wish on the Full Wolf Moon on Friday, the 10th - named the Wolf Moon because in the old days, the hungry wolves were howling outside the villages.

STICK TO THOSE RESOLUTIONS

MAKE SOME SOUP - IF IT'S GOOD, SEND ME THE RECIPE

AN APPLE A DAY

AND SOME GREENS

STAY HYDRATED

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE