Summer Vacation : Smith Mountain Lake, Huddleston Va

Hey Ya'll...
Not much chatter on the porch lately.. I know ya'll are out there living life!  I hope it is treating you well!  We are all packed up and ready for our week long vacation at Smith Mountain Lake in Huddleston, Va! 
It should be a lovely week, i'll take lots of pics and share w/ ya'll when we get back :')

Roasted Turkey Leftover Recipes

I roasted a turkey this weekend.  It sure was yummy!  I used some of it today to make casserole, w/ green beans, cream of mushroom soup and stove top on top.  It was sooooo good.  I ate way to much.
I put a tub of it in the freezer....  someone remind me to get it out in a couple of weeks :')
I still have some in the fridge... thinking of making turkey chili complete w/ green chilies!!  Does anyone out there have a great turkey chili recipe???
thanks!!!!
jo

Pandora Radio

Have I told ya'll about how much I love pandora radio?
Well, if not... I do!
Check it out!
I've created a station based on a band called The Wailin' Jennys...

perdy cool.

Deep dish pizza

Red Dog got a new deep dish pizza pan, so of course we had to try it out. I think this costs more than lasagna by the time we added all the cheese, ham, canadian bacon, and pepperoni. Yummy.

False Alarm Chili

I made some chili from a season kit last week.   Which is really unusual, I always do my own thing... even won a chili cook-off once :')  yes, I'm still gloating, 2 years later....

I used some ground beef that we got from the half quarter that we went in on with some friends.  I did skim off nearly all the grease.  I do not like greasy chili!  lol...

This batch was super  yummy!  I really enjoyed this seasoning kit...  It was a little spicier than I like, Brett wouldn't eat it, but chuckie loved it.

The best part was pulling it out for leftovers tonight!

It is my time of the month, and that sure makes me grumpy and sleepy, so it was nice to make my man a dinner that will satisfy him w/ minimal work :')

Chili and Stew are 'bout the only thing I like about winter!  What do ya'll cook when it's
COLD outside?

homemade natural chapstick

My name is Jo and I've been addicted to Chapstick for as long as I can remember.
I keep going back to this blog post, on Passionate Homemaking about making your own.
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/11/homemade-natural-chapstick.html
It looks so simple and so easy, so I'm thinking I may order some supplies so I'll have a winter project:')

I really get the hankering to make homemade products instead of buying commercial stuff.  I'm still thinking about making my own deoderant...  I need to get on the ball with that one.  I'll find and post a recipe soon.   Also, want to make a new batch of laundry soap, but am out of one ingredient...

I have three rosemary plants, what can i do with those? 

Stew... but it's not beef :')

Good morning!
I pulled out some venison from the freezer and am throwing it in the crock pot for stew.
I had a beef stew season pack, so I'm gonna just use that and add some veggies later:')
Have a bag of stew veggies in the freezer.  Gotta love frozen food and seasoning packs to make prep work a snap on your way out the door before work.

Hopefully it is good, will let ya'll know, tonight.

Leftover Casserole

Mornin' ya'll!
I made a delightful shoulder roast last weekend and needed to use up the last of it, so I made a layered casserole in my freshly scrubbed and oiled cast iron pan (thanks to Candy).
I used full size tortilla shels, pulled pork, leftover sweet potatoes, corn, shredded cheddar and a bit of salsa.  I was able to get three layers in the pan, which was perfect.  Baked for 40 minutes at 350.
Charlie and Brett both liked it very much.  Brett ask for less sweet potatoes next time :')  He's not a huge fan!  lol...

Sausage Rolls

 

I think  I might try this recipe for a Christmas party this year.  Looks easy to make and super yummy....

in this pic, they show it as a breakfast item, but I'm thinking it will make a good appetizer.

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com  http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/sausage-crescent-rolls/Detail.aspx

Dads new grill

We made ribs and pork roast on Dad's new grill. It is half propane and half charcoal which works out really good.

Need a laugh...?

This site hasn't failed me yet. Maybe other people's ridiculous problems help make mine seem more insignificant, or maybe I should just admit to getting a kick out of the stupidity of others...either way, I highly recommend this site for a giggle or two throughout the day. Let me know if anybody orders a T-Shirt (you'll know what I mean when you get there).

www.textsfromlastnight.com

Kath

Green Smoothie, raw diet

I bought a big bag of washed and chopped kale at the food lion yesterday so I could try out a Green Smoothie! I've heard lots of good things about smoothies, but even more good info and health benefits for green smoothies. I didn't exactly follow any of the recipes online, not you expected I would:') I started with one cored apple, one banana, one peeled orange, a couple of handfuls of mixed frozen fruit, blended that up and gave some of that mixture to chuck and brett. I wanted them to have some smoothie w/out subjecting them to my green experiment. Then I added about 3 cups of water and as much of the kale that I could jam into the blender. Zipped it up and voila! Green drink! I actually like it a lot.. Charlie tasted and didn't seem entirely pleased, but he'll come around:')
There is tons of info on the internet about green smoothies, a lot stemming from Dr. Oz's appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show. I did find this neat blog that I like called Happy Foodie. The author has a few other blogs that are interesting. I'd like to eat a more raw diet, so I'm trying to learn some new routines...

salad table, baby spinach

it is so much fun to watch all the salad fixin's growing! Check out the growth on the baby spinach! I just can't wait to eat it up! The leaf lettuce and rocket salad is doing quite well, also.

Dad and Koda on the new porch

Red Dog has been working hard on getting the bump out finished on the back porch. The sun was shining so pretty today.

Chicken fried

I know I put the chickens on facebook, but I felt the deserved a spot on the blog. The first one I made was the striped one which is really cute, but the one I am really proud of is the rhode island red chicken. I made up my own pattern for the topknot and the beak for this one. They make me almost as happy as pink flamingos make me. I am working on some new projects for the knitting store will post pictures later.

Deoderant, Making Your Own?

I've read several blog posts about ladies who are making home made deodorant.
There are many reasons to do this, it is fun to make stuff, you can save money, but most importantly, it is healthier for your stinkin' ol' pits!!!

I'm seriously thinking about trying this out... check out this blog post:
http://simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com/2010/03/making-your-own-deodorant.html
This is a blog I follow in my google reader... the author, Melinda Briana Epler, also writes for another blog, just click on her name and you can head on over to One Green Generation, which is also full of interesting information!

Have you ever made your own deodorant? Did it work?

Spring Time, Salad Table

I read on a blog that I read often, I can't remember which right now.. but when I do, I'll post a link here for it, about a salad table. We found the plans on Martha Stewart's web site, so we went for it! Charlie and I built the table, loaded it up w/ soil and sowed our seeds. This past Monday, we had germination!!! We planted spinach, rocket salad and leaf lettuce. I'll let ya'll know how we progress w/ the growth!

Great Party Food | Ham and Cheese Rolls

One of my favorite appetizers are these cute little ham and cheese sandwiches w/ a super yummy glaze. They are baked and eaten while still warm... YUMMY.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages small party/dinner rolls
• 1 stick butter
  
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion (optional)
  
• 2 tablespoons poppy seed
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 8 ounces ham slices (deli meat works great!)
  
• 6 ounces shredded Swiss or Cheddar cheese

Melt butter; add mustard, poppy seed, onion, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over low heat until onions are transparent.

Without separating rolls, slice party rolls horizontally. Spread both sides evenly with butter mixture. Fill evenly with ham and cheese. Wrap each package in tightly in foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Bake at 375 ° for about 15 minutes, or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Ok... I never have poppy seeds on hand, so I just skip...
I also skip the onion. I do add some granulated garlic and some brown sugar:')

spring time....

... time for porch sittin'!

Bella

I cant stop thinking about how cute Bella was this weekend. Yes she is smart, active, full of imagination and just pure joy in a little package. We had a great time with Kathy, Crissy, Clayton, and Cara as well. I came home full of the Christmas spirit and I want to thank the kids for that. I love you all.

missed opportunies

Last week one day Tif and I met at Ms. Linda's for lunch. We sat on the front porch because the weather was so pretty and that way Tif could smoke(I am trying to quit AGAIN) Her uncle stopped by the table as he was leaving from his lunch. He started telling the coolest stories about her grandpa and him when they were young. After he had left, Tiffany commented that she found out more family history sitting there than she ever heard from her Grandma. I just thought how true that is that we forget sometimes to tell the old memories and they are special, too. Like how you all have a me who still says cool and doesnt apologize for saying it. I love you all.

new quilts

Been sewing and quilting this week and thought I would show off a little. The top picture is a new quilt top I made this week called Venetian Tiles and the other pictures are from Bryan and Linda's quilt. I got the binding on it this week.

Sleeping with the windows open

At last some decent days and nights for sleeping with the window open and the fresh breeze blowing in, I love it. The weather hear has been perfect since I got home from Franklin. Even the dogs seem more frisky since the weather cooled down a few degrees. Tina was here over the weekend and we had a good time, it just makes me miss her more when she leaves though. I got another quilt on the machine and today I went to Grand Chain to the little hardware store to buy a good extension cord, cause the cord on the machine is short and I kept having to unplug the machine and change plug ins yuck. I want to quilt.

tomatoes

Hi ya'll!!!

Well, I normally post a ton about my summer gardening experiences, but this year has past by.... too much going on... we have gone camping about three times this year.  10 day vacation in England smack in the middle of summer.  Then right into football season.
But I can report on my tomato plants are still producing very nicely.
The rainy hot summer that we have had was perfect for these little red babes. 
I've been able to pick handful on my way into the house each day after work for a nice little snack.

Today, I pruned back the wild vines and picked as many as I could.
Some I cleaned and have been snacking on this afternoon, some of them are on the back porch to ripen.

Up north

Good morning all I am up north with RedDog this week. So far it has rained like crazy and put RD in a bad mood, but I brought my knitting so I have been happy. We watched the Clint Eastwood movie "Gran Torino" and it wasnt a bad movie. Clint Eastwood's character reminded me of RedDog, cause he was grouchy and he called everybody names.LOL.

I made Parmesan Chicken Noodle soup on Sunday, cause I was dreaming about it Saturday night and it turned out yummy. It is Crissy's recipe and it is really good.