Dragonfly

Dragonfly

I haven't been keeping up too well with the 100 Photos challenge - not that I haven't been using my camera - I'm just sort of stuck in a "point and shoot" kind of mode.  I know I can make the photos pop with photo editing - but it feels a little like cheating.  After all, I was supposed to be getting better at the actual taking of the photos!  OK - maybe I have improved a little artistically - choosing a subject and framing it in the viewfinder.  But it's a learning thing with the camera...

Cool new dining spot

Hubby had a nice surprise waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday:

A new patio set!  From Academy of all places and less than $200 with tax and all. I love that it fits perfectly in the space.  It goes so nicely with the bricks of the house and the other things we have out there.

It's an improvement from the old picnic set and more comfy for our fam to sit and have dinner al fresco.

Now maybe to get a big outdoor rug for underneath it, so this week I will keep my eyes open for a deal on that at Lowe's or Home Depot. Nice work, hubby!

Gina

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Sour Cream Banana Cake

I had no business making this cake yesterday - it was blazing hot outside AND I had been to the doctor for my annual appointment and discovered I'd gained 5 pounds.  But I called my mother to chat and she was making a banana cake and I saw two overripe bananas lying on the counter, and the rest is history.

Sour Cream Banana Cake 
(adapted from Cooks.com)
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 stick butter
2 eggs
4 T. sour cream
1 t. baking soda
3/4 c. chopped pecans (optional)
2 ripe bananas, cut into chunks
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and beat lightly.  Mix the baking soda into the sour cream and add to the sugar and butter mixture.  Turn your mixer speed up a bit and add the banana chunks to mash them up well.  Then add the vanilla. And lastly, the flour and salt. Mix well.  At this point the batter should have no lumps.  Pour into a greased 13x9 glass pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 about 45 minutes. (I used a 13x9 glass dish because I didn't want layers - I wanted it to be easy to store.)  When the cake is cooled frost with:

1 stick butter, room temp
1 box powdered sugar
1 block cream cheese
1 t. vanilla

Blend the frosting ingredients together until smooth, spread over cake.  Store leftovers in the fridge.

Gina

Mt. Bonnell

I took my peeps on a mini-field trip yesterday - we spent an hour or two as tourists in our home town visiting a beautiful park that overlooks the lake:

 it's a little over 700 ft to the top where a beautiful view awaits

  

 

This was a nice way to wear out a kid.

Gina

Penne Pasta Casserole

I took some liberties with this recipe that came out of a magazine - but it's so basic you don't really need a recipe, just a method - boil pasta, make sauce, toss with cheese, bake.  Here's the scoop:

(Can you tell I shopped at Wally World this week?)  Diced tomatoes, tomato paste, penne pasta, mozzarella, onion, and Italian seasoned ground turkey. 
To this you could also add parsley, oregano, basil, garlic.

Chop the onion and cook with the turkey.  I added minced garlic, but that's only because I put garlic in everything I cook. Meanwhile, you should be boiling up that pasta.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and 1/2 c. water to the pot, simmer it a few minutes while you finish up boiling and draining the pasta.

I also added fresh parsley - I just happened to have it and it smells really nice!  

Toss the drained pasta into the sauce with 2 cups of the grated mozzarella.  make one big dish, or divide into two dishes so you can freeze one.  Lately, I've had a glut of leftovers, so tonight I divided it  into two dishes. Top with more cheese.   Heat at 350 for 25 minutes while you fix garlic toast and a veggie.

Good leftover, too!

Gina

Goodwill scores

Stopping by Goodwill last week on a whim, here's what I found:

The jar is destined to hold Bubbie's marbles as a bookend - for 99 cents, I consider it a bargain!

 

I think these carved wood thingies are supposed to be trivets.  I'm going to use them as wall plaques.  Don't know yet if I will paint them - it might detract from the detail.  Again, 99 cents each.  But the thing I was most excited about was:

This lamp for $3.  The base is beautiful glazed pottery.  I think it will be perfect for the boy's room.  A $6 stop-over - not bad!

Gina

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Debbie Doo's Garage Sale Link Up Partay

Sopapilla Cheesecake

I wish I had invented this dessert.  

Start with two blocks of cream cheese (here I'm using Neufchatel - same diff), 1 c. sugar, 2 rolls crescent rolls, 1 stick melted butter, 1 T. vanilla, and some cinnamon sugar.

Usually I use my 13x9 deep dish, but it was busy with Coca Cola cake, so I used this square-ish one.  Spread out one of the rolls of crescents on the bottom of the greased dish.   Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect. Who will know? 

Cream the softened cream cheese with the sugar and add the vanilla.

Spread that over your crescent rolls.

Top with the other opened can of crecsent rolls.

Now, pour melted butter over all of it.  Top with a little cinnamon sugar.  Pop it into the oven with dinner so you don't have the oven on twice as long - almost an hour at 350.  Should look like this:

and smell like heaven.

And if there is any left over, my kids will eat it for breakfast!

Gina

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Hubby's new smoker

Hubby got a new toy - but one I think we will all enjoy him playing with!

A smoker that  will feed us good things.

Like brisket which he and Bubbie dream up different rubs for, then seal in foil and smoke 10 hours or more.

All that's missing is the smoke ring and Hubby claims to know how to fix this next time.  Either way, it was fabulous!  Leftover brisket makes for some awesome tacos, sammies, and a "stir in" for beans. This particular brisket will feed us for 3 meals.  Now we can have a backyard BBQ this Fall!

Gina

Summer of learning 2010

Some of the best times the kids and I have is when we're seeing our town through tourist's eyes - and learning along the way.  Today we visited two museums.  The first is the Texas Memorial Museum on the UT campus - free and kid friendly, as museums go.

There are 4 floors and each has a theme - Geology and paleontology, Gems and a giant Pterosaur, Wildlife and Fish of Texas, and a Hall of Diversity/Evolution.

 

Lots of kids filter through this place.  The building is old and the campus is shady with huge trees, and the inside is full of things to explore, and did I mention it's free?  And, air-conditioned.

They don't even realize their brains are working and learning!

On to the next museum - same campus, about a block away:  The only "free to visit" presidential library in the US of A.  The LBJ Library and museum.  This one is really a place older kids can appreciate - it is huge and full of mementos and history from the 60's and early 70's.  All of the papers from LBJ's presidency are housed here and you and I are allowed to view the documents - all we have to do is request it.

 There is a lot to cover here - but since it's free and parking is too, you can come back more than once.  A short movie plays in the theater.  They have a limo that was in the motorcade when Kennedy was shot.  Photos, letters to the president, lots of cultural artifacts. It really makes history come alive.

And the UT campus is so beautiful - you could spend a day there walking around looking at all the statues and buildings - but wear a good pair of walking shoes as it's uphill and downhill and it's still very hot in Austin in the summer!  OK, boys, time to give your brains a rest and go eat lunch!

Gina