Saturday, June 30, 2012

A walk with Scout

Scout and I walked up to Shroeter Park yesterday after dinner.
 
 Just a few blocks away.  Chasing the sunset.
This park is like a desert garden out in the country.  
It has some amazing patches of Agave and Prickly Pear.


 
It's easy to forget you are only a few blocks from home.  


I wore comfy clothes and tennies and came home covered in burrs.  This park is surrounded by a granite gravel track that I used to walk regularly.  
  
  

  

 

 Hurry!  We're almost out of light!


Gina

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Crockpot carmelized onions

I got this idea from my mother, who makes these onions in her crockpot, then enjoys them on cold sandwiches or with her dinner.  She likes to use whole onions, but I decided to slice this batch to make them easier to serve.  Here's what I used:
Start with about 3 pounds of sweet onions.  These are from Central Market and are called Texas Sweet, very similar to Vidalias.
I put about 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted  butter in the bottom of my big crock pot and set the temp to low while I sliced up the onions.  I had to work fast - those onions were powerful!  I always end up looking like something out of a horror flick with red eyes and tears streaming down my cheeks.
This time I sprinkled about a tablespoon of brown sugar over them, but you could skip this step if you are using a variety of sweet onion.  I covered them, and off the boys and I went to do errands and pool all day.  These spent about 9 1/2 hours on low.
Halfway through the cooking time I gave them a stir.  The onion aroma filled the kitchen and people came running to see what was for dinner.  Before bedtime they had turned a nice light caramel color and I ladled them into jars to cool and store in the fridge.
When you slice them its hard to tell this is a jar of onion.  But it will make the most amazing thing to add to a burger.  It makes a great leftover roast sammie, is good in an omelette or quesadilla, and a spoonful of it stirred into beans is great! The cooking time is an estimate - If you want them darker, cook them a little longer; lighter, cook them less.  Eyeball them for color and texture and when they look like what you intend to use them for, stop cooking.  You can't really go wrong if you're an onion lover.  Try 'em and tell me what you think!


Gina

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Mealplan Monday #14 with boys return from camp

For some reason, we don't seem to be able to make a dent in the freezer stockpile.  Maybe because the boys were camping.  In any case, we still have plenty of food in there, and that ought to make the shopping trip easy this week.
Rustown Art

Monday - Cheese quesadillas, guacamole, pico, black beans
Tuesday
- Salmon/chicken (freezer leftovers), mac and cheese, carrots
Wednesday - Brinner: Eggs, monkey biscuits, home fries
Thursday - Pulled pork sammies (freezer item), Queso blanco dip and Fritos
Friday - Freezer leftover Tuscan Chicken, green beans, garlic toast
Saturday - Dad grills
Sunday - Freezer leftover Chicken Rice casserole, salad


Gina

Friday, June 22, 2012

Window seat bed for Sugar

Some of my projects this week were mundane.  One was a pad for my fat kitty to lay on.  Normally she lays where ever she wants.  But she loves windows, so I figure I would make her a cozy place to watch squirrels and birds.
 I started with a torn up old towel and a soft fleece remnant
 marked down to $2.25 at Joann's.
 
I folded the towel to the size of a pad I wanted to make, 
marked the boundaries for my enclosure method, stitched it,  
turned it inside out, then slipped the towel in.  
 This will be handy when I want to wash it someday.
 She found it right away and staked her claim.
  
  
 I think she likes her new cozy spot.


Gina

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Taco Snack Mix

Last week, I got the boys off the computer and into the kitchen to help make some yummy things for the week:  Rolo Cookies and Taco Snack mix.  Go here to read about the Rolo cookies.  This time we used graham crackers and vanilla wafers.  The snack mix disappeared - good thing I made extra for the freezer.
Taco Snack Mix

4 cups Crispix cereal
4 cups oyster crackers
4 cups cheez-its crackers
4 cups mini pretzels
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 boy
Preheat the oven to 275 early in the day so you don't swelter in your Texas kitchen! Pour all of the dry ingredients into a large pan.  I use my roaster for such things. If you have some dibs and dabs of other chips, like Fritos, add them in, too!
Give it a stir.
Mix the oil and the taco seasoning packet well.
Drizzle it over the cereal and cracker mix as you stir.
Set your oven timer for 45 minutes, and stir every 15 minutes.
Spread on newspaper or paper towels to cool and drain.
Store in air tight container.
I like taking a big zip loc bags of snack mix with us when we go to the pool or park.  This recipe got a thumbs up here, and it was fun to have the boys in the kitchen!  I am inspired to keep them even more busy.


Gina

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Monday, June 18, 2012

Mealplan Monday Lucky #13 and a sad cat

This week the boys and Hubby are camping in east Texas, leaving Firstborn and The Girl and me figuring out what we want to eat.  Plus, I have FIVE GLORIOUS DAYS OFF.  I will be ready at the end of the week to welcome them home.  So will Sugar.  She will cry for them during the day, I'm sure.
Methinks a certain kitty wants to be a stowaway!

Monday - Bleu cheese burgers on brioche with carmelized onions (pre-cooked freezer burgers)
Tuesday- Leftover BBQ chicken and ribs from freezer, baked sweet potato
Wednesday- Thai Steak Stir Fry with brown rice (recipe from Everyday Food)
Thursday - Pork chop, creamy corn, salad
Friday- Tilapia with crunchy crumb topping, sauteed fresh veg
Saturday - Dad will order pizza, mom will have salad ready
Sunday- Dad grills




Gina

Friday, June 15, 2012

Fathers Day 2012

Scout helped me photograph he and his siblings for a Father's Day gift for Hubby.  So hard to get them all in one place nowadays!  So we improvised with individual photos.  I printed off large letters and mounted them on cardboard for each kid to pose with.
I literally spent 1 minute on The Girl's picture as she was racing off to work!
We kept the backgrounds fairly simple and shot them in black and white.
And I couldn't resist getting a new one of Scout and I.  
What a sweet kid!

 I love that each one of them shows a distinct personality.  It's something you miss sometimes with group shots. Over the course of 24 hours we got all four done, then headed to Walgreen's with my flash drive to print them.
 
We made several collages and I just pulled out all of the card stock I had to choose a color to make a card.
I ended up making the card with this one that had a burlap background.  
I put the individual pics in some magnetic frames for his office file cabinet.  We also got him a new chef's knife and are planning to take him out to eat,  then home to eat these brownies for dessert.
Hope he likes the photos!


Gina

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