Black Bean Pico Dip

This is a very filling dip - it could be lunch with a few tortilla chips, or even served as a side dish.

I started out with black beans from my crock pot - cheaper than canned. 

I added in 1 large diced avocado, some fresh mild pico de gallo (store bought), and about a third cup of Raspberry Chipotle marinade.  Just stir it all together gently.  The marinade was a splurge at around $3.50, but I have most of the bottle left over so I can make this again a few times.  

I "taste tested" it right away and it's wonderful, but chilling it for an hour or two helps the flavors develop.  This will go great with the enchilada dinner we are having tonight to celebrate Scout's Halloween birthday. Cupcakes and Halloween haul for desert.  Thank you for the recipe, Elizabeth!  

Gina

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Sewing nostalgia

I dug this pattern out today from my collection of two patterns.

This ca. 1966 pattern has sentimental value, as I have made it several times.  It belonged to my mother, who also made several of the dogs, and at least one of the mouse. 

My friend is having a boy, and I thought I would make a soft doggie for her sweet baby.  I found the flannel at JoAnn's and had the rest of the supplies at home - soft fuzzy fabric to line the ears,  buttons for the eyes, scraps for the nose and the "bags" of the hound-dog eyes, and a piece of satin ribbon for a collar.

He found a home in a $1 basket from Dollar Tree with a couple of smallish baby toys and of tissue.  I tucked in a sweet card, too.  I hope she loves her baby's new puppy dog!  It was a labor of love and a sweet way to spend an hour or two on a quiet afternoon. 

Gina

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Sugar Bananas! Sweets this week
and

Halloween Decor for free

I wanted to dress up the front door area for Halloween and not spend any money.  I had these items: a straw wreath that had mold on it and had seen better days, an almost used up can of spray paint, some of that mylar garland stuff (what do you call that stuff?) and some decor items from years and years ago...I figured I could re-purpose it all one last time, sooo...

 I spray painted the wreath black - yeah, good-bye mold - and wound the mylar stuff round it.  Then I took the bent up wire hanger off the witch hanging I bought at Tarjay about 15 years ago, and put some florist's wire in it's place so I could attach it to the wreath.

ta da.  
The wreath and the mylar stuff will go into the dumpster on Nov. 1st, but for now, it makes the door a little more Halloween-y.  This will thrill Scout as he is my "Halloween Baby".

 

The other little wire shapes went into the pot by the front door.  I will add a few pumpkins and we will probably string up some cobwebs...and that's about it for the front door area.  Halloween night hubby will stage his yearly scare scene in the driveway.  He usually uses stuff we already have and it always fun - a disco, a restaurant, crime scene - the adults look forward to coming by and gawking at the display.  I plan on making a fun snack mix and Pumpkin Lattes for the neighbors who share their fire pit next door.  And we will have a fun dinner and cupcakes for our new 15 Year Old.

Bring on Halloween - I'm ready!

Fall Honey Butter

Another recipe from a co-worker, this one is from Dani at The Good Life , who found it in her bloggy travels.  We will be slathering this on biscuits, muffins, and bagels this Fall.  I made a double recipe.

Fall Honey Butter

2 sticks butter, at room temp

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 honey (from my mom's bees in Brenham!)

2 t. pumpkin pie spice

 Whip well using whisk attachment in mixer; or just use your muscle!

 I am storing mine in a little lidded container for the fridge.

Most of it is destined for this:

 Pumpkin bread!

I have no idea how long this keeps, but I would guess a couple of weeks.

Gina

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Pumpkin Love

I took the boys to the pumpkin patch at a local church.

They were out of school and we just needed a break from the grind.

I really love all these colors.

I let each of them pick out their own pumpkin to decorate however they want - but usually they just leave them plain on put them on their bedroom dressers. 

It was fun to gather some fall beauty for our home.

Gina

RIP Joe Roborovski

The hamster finally met his maker after suffering (apparently) and lingering in his cage looking ill for about a week.  I really have no concrete diagnosis for his death, other than maybe old age. 

Bubbie hadn't been paying a lot of attention to Joe; I was the one feeding him and cleaning his cage.   Once Joe stopped running around so much, just sleeping all of the time, Sugar didn't even notice the cage anymore.  And now it sits empty, in the garage, listed in the classifieds for sale.

I hate that he suffered; I watched him have a seizure or two at the end.   I also hate that I had to scoop him out and toss him into a grocery sack.  Then clean the cage.  But most of all, that my kid didn't seem to be sad at all.  For some reason, this bums me out.

Gina

Pork Chops and grits

Skim past this now if you are not a fan of grits.  I am.  I found a recipe for adding pumpkin and cheddar cheese into grits and decided to fix it alongside boneless pork chops.

I dredged the little darling things in some Italian bread crumbs and sauteed them in butter.  Yum.

Once I had them all cooked, about 3-5 minutes per chop, I set them aside til they were all done, then added them back into the pan to stay warm and covered while I completed the sides.

For the grits, I made them according to the package directions, but added 1 T. butter, about 1/2 c. canned pumpkin, and 1/2 c. or so of grated cheddar.

 The cheese melts fast and makes it gooey thick.  Just like grits are supposed to be!  I seasoned them up with salt and pepper.  I also had some broccoli and rolls to complete a very delicious plate - enjoyed it on my back patio.  Hence, the plastic plates...and I just realized, we sure eat broccoli a lot!

Wow.  That was good...

Words of welcome

I had a great time shopping the clearance and sale items at Kohl's. Today I found these vinyl signs marked from $30 to $9!  I have been wanting something in vinyl to pretty up a very plain mirror in the dining room.  

This mirror belonged to hubby's mother.  It's leaded glass, very heavy.  I would never in a million years repaint it, but adding a little vinyl to it is just the ticket!

I had to cut the words out and place them on the mirror with tape to get them right where I wanted.  I used a ruler to make sure they were centered on all sides, then off-set them a little.  I wasn't aiming for perfection, but once you put them on, they are on. 

  

It's hard to photograph a mirror.  I think it conveys the message I want for my home, especially for the holidays ahead!

Gina

My dinner companion

My little dinner companion at Rudy's last week; everyone else was either working or camping, so it was just us two!

 He loves soda almost as much as he loves BBQ.

 Zoning out...full of both

 Hello? Bubbie? You still there?  Don't forget, you also have desert!

 

 

You're so funny, I love being out with you!

Gina