House Plant Recovery....

Above is the picture I took in July of my Prayer Plant. This particular one likes to die back in the winter and had a few weeks of growth on it, but still wasn't "happy".
Below is about 1 month later of being outside on the North end of the house -- protected by shade of trees and the house it's flourishing!

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This is my begonia as of July 11.
And again on August 8

Using up leftovers.. what can you make with it?

I made a mock "shepard's pie" and more ham potato soup!

We have leftover baked beans - sooo.. here goes...

1 pound ground meat (beef, white tail, pork, or whatever you have)
1 to 2 cups leftover baked beans
1 small onion
oil or butter

Chop onion and saute in butter or oil. Add ground meat and cook until browned. Add in baked beans and stir until combined.

Now here is where I got creative - I had half of a spaghetti squash that I needed to use up.

1/2 of a small spaghetti squash that has already been baked
1 egg
1/2 cup half and half, cream or milk
1/2 cup or more of shredded cheese (I used colby jack)
Season to taste with onion powder, garlic and salt

Mix all those ingredients together.

In a baking dish - layer meat and bean mixture and then on top gently spread the squash mixture. Bake in the oven about 45 minutes.
Allow to rest a few minutes after removing from the oven. Serve and enjoy!


Ham and potato soup!
We have quite a bit of leftover ham - I already used the bone in soup a few days ago - but no one is eating the ham, so into a soup it goes!

One of the keys in making a good hearty (wheat free) potato soup is the amount of water you use.

so.. here ya go...

3 stalks celery - cleaned and diced
1 medium onion - cleaned and diced
butter or oil or a combination of

In a large stock pot - saute your celery and onion in the butter/oil over medium to low heat until they just start to get tender. While those saute - peel about 7 or 8 potatoes. Dice the potatoes and add them to the pot and then add some water - add just enough to not quite cover the potatoes - a few pieces will be above the water line, but not many. Bring everything back to a simmer. And chop up your ham - add as much or as little as you want. We love ham in soup so I probably added about 1 to 1 1/2 cups. Give everything a good gentle stir. When the potatoes are tender - give them a good mash with a masher and give them another good stir to get everything off the bottom of the pot.

Add to your soup
about 1 cup of shredded cheese (I used colby jack)
and stir until the cheese is melted
Then add
1 to 2 cups half and half - 1/2 cup at a time stirring it until you get the consistency you like.

Let the soup rest off the heat for a few minutes. Give one more stir and then serve!

The mock shepard's pie is new to us but I really like it!

The soup is a favorite here and often I never make enough even if I have two pots FULL!

By the moon light....

I couldn't think of anything to write so I opted to post a recent picture. I tried to get a clear shot of the moon but it was not to be. But I did get this pretty picture on a whim. Check out Pause the Roof Kitty on my photo blog.

3 Bean Soup

3 Bean Soup!
This is a very easy to fix soup and likely can find the canned beans of these varieties easily at most stores.

In the picture shown I did have to sub red kidney beans for the great northern beans. But that just goes to show that this is versatile.


3 Bean Soup
1 (28 oz) canned diced tomatoes
1 (28 oz) canned pinto beans
1 (28 oz) canned black beans
1 (28 oz) canned great northern beans
** Please note these are approximate can sizes -
basically near equal amounts of the beans and diced tomatoes.**

1 onion - finely chopped
1 tbsp or less of olive oil or butter or a combination
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (or to taste - but be mindful the longer its in the liquid the stronger it gets.)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (or to taste)

Saute finely chopped onion in olive oil or butter until translucent. Add juices from canned tomatoes and beans and reduce over medium heat stirring often. Pouring all that extra juice out is a waste of yumminess- trust me. Add tomatoes and all the beans. Gently blend in the seasonings. Simmer over LOW heat, stirring OFTEN (burned tomatoes are nasty and this can easily burn), for about an hour.

That's it.

Enjoy this with crusty bread, crackers or corn bread. Or all by itself.

Errand day....

I have decided that there are just not enough hours in the day to get all of my "first of the month" errands done on one day.

7am - got off work and came home, fed the kinder kid, made his lunch and took him to school.

820am - dressed to the shoes in nice "going out" clothes instead of being in my scrubs all day and headed to Star Bucks to have coffee and biscuits with a friend.

11am - finished with Bank, Bureau, and Walmart. And visited a new store in town - Tuesday Mornings.

12pm - Had lunch with the DH.

1pm - Made my DMV, Insurance, Aaron's, (talked to Vicky about how to handle a collision she was involved in -- she's okay, her truck is not.), and Auto Parts store... and made it home by 3pm.

315pm - pick up the kinder kid and start evening routine...

Whew... am TUCKERED OUT!

The "To Do" and the "Done"

Nothing is ever complete. That's one thing I can count on.... I have a sink full of dishes that need washed, a laundry room with sorted piles that need washed, and a never ending list of things I can get done. And never enough time or energy!

Yesterday:
Cleaned in the bedroom - which included de-cluttering, sorting and folding laundry (forever known as Mt.Washed Already!) and generally picking up and putting away stuff. I washed several loads of laundry and then the boys got to sort it and fold and put away all the clean towels. I put my stuff and kinder kids stuff away. And left a neat stack for Sean to do with his stuff.

Today:
I cleaned the back porch - which meant taking everything off of it and sweeping it thoroughly. Then washed the shelves and all the planters that were out there. Collected all the trash. Cleaned out the fridge (which needs more work, but the old stuff is out.) And generally picked up and put away things throughout the day too.

That's the extent of the "Done" list.

My "To Do" list is as follows:
1. Clean my bedroom - compile a list of movies, and declutter more spots.

2. Clean out the book closet.

3. Clean out the clothing closet.

4. Critter corral (will do this with assistance from 14yo later this week)

5. Do work on the yard - clean up trash, bag it, mow n weed whack. Why is it when you live on a major road that people think yards are their personal trash bins??? grrrrr....

6. Figure out what to do with my MIL's stuff. She passed over a year ago and this stuff needs a new home. Which means working with Sean to figure out how and where to store it.

7. Toys..... that is a work in progress too. And to be done with school IN session.

And IT is TERMINATED!

After 5 years, 11 months and just over 2 weeks of long talks, long walks, and bunches of prayers it is done. My second ex-husband's rights have been officially terminated. And as you can see, by reading this -- that yes, there has been an adoption too.

He has failed (in so many ways) to keep in contact, refused to pay support, to be a part of the child's life that he and I had together.

He will make claims. He will say things now.....

But alas, he is the one that made the choice to keep his silence. He knew, and has always known where to find me. And if he tells you otherwise its just another one of his "dis" honesty traits coming through.

My ex-brother in law is now married and I talk to his wife regularly via text. I only told her limited things for several reasons that her and I have talked about and she said she was "okay" with my reservations.

My ex has refused to tell me where he is. All I ever had was "hearsay". And he's been known to lie to me every single chance he gets. ..........

So, as of today. He no longer has a son. I still get to be a part of Stephen's life as "aunt". And the "other mother".. *giggles. Which is really cute when that little "charm" shows up at opportune times.

Today we celebrate! And give thanks to the Lord!