Easter 2018

I am so looking forward to Easter - and yet I can hardly believe it is here.  It has been a year of great change for all of us, and great challenges. {and yet we have managed to make it to April!}  Although we do not plan to attend church, we will take time on Sunday to count all of our blessings and be humbled in their grace.  For one day, we will delight in each others' company, spending our time laughing and loving.  Then Monday will dawn, and we will then carry on about the business of life.  
That's just the way of Easter, no?

"The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world.  Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice.  But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice."  ~Henry Knox Sherrill

*****

Onward, 2018

Weekend re-cap - McReynold's, Iron Wolf, and Spicewood Vineyards

Last weekend, Hubby and I agreed we would stick close to home on Saturday and get a number of odds and ends chores done. 

All that raking...then the oaks dropped their pollen buds...

 We went to Whole Foods and enjoyed some oysters and beer, then impulsively decided to run up to Highlands for the night.  The next morning we decided to go exploring!  I don't have a photo of the first place we went - a winery that was apparently up for sale and literally on its last bottle of wine.  

 We traveled next to Spicewood and visited Iron Wolf Ranch Distillery.

 They had a large deck overlooking the hill country, with fire pits and playscapes and seating areas.

And you could do a tasting of their spirits, but they weren't allowed to sell you a bottle on Sunday, so we might as well enjoy a cocktail. 

Both of us had some sort of citrus-y drink with fresh fruit and spiced spirits.  Mine had Hotscotch, which was whiskey with flavors of  butterscotch and peppers, and Hubby's had sweet and spicy whiskey with flavors of cinnamon and pepper.  Both were delish.  We saw someone getting a Bloddy Mary that looked good - with horseradish infused vodka!

Just three miles down the road is a winery - Spicewood Vineyards.  So of course, we had to check it out!  We had a tasting, then bought a bottle of very good tempranillo to enjoy with our picnic lunch.

It's a large winery with loads of covered patio space and a pretty water feature bubbling gently in the background.  I didn't take loads of pictures - it was just so relaxing and the wine was wonderful and we were busy snackin'.

We enjoyed some smoked mackerel, crackers, and cheddar with stout - Hubby's choices from Trader Joe's.  We packed it all in around 4 p.m. and headed home.  And that happy weekend feeling is still with me today!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #186

I can't believe how fast the year seems to be flying by...

Monday - Pulled Pork on buns, chips
Tuesday - Soft tacos with all the fixin's
Wednesday - (freezer meal) Leftover Beef Soup, garlic toast
Thursday - Beefy Pasta, leftover Arkansas Green Beans
Friday - Crockpot Chicken, rice, peas
Saturday - Pizza, salad
Sunday - Easter:  Olive Cheese Spread starter with mini crackers, celery, carrots.   Pork Tenderloin, Brussels sprouts or asparagus,  Cheesy Potato Casserole, rolls, Luby's Lemon Pie with fresh berries, pink and white cookies.

Gina

Mealplan Monday #185

Monday - Turkey and Havarti Sammies, low salt kettle chips
Tuesday - BBQ Beef and Beans*, garlic toast
Wednesday - Parmesan Chicken Whip Up, cabbage and carrots
Thursday - Dr. Martin's Mix, mixed veggies
Friday - Turkey Pesto Meatballs over pasta, zucchini
Saturday - yoyo
Sunday - Orange Chicken, rice, Arkansas Green Beans

******

*This really isn't a recipe, just something I have fixed my family for years.  Cook a few slices of bacon and drain.  Brown a pound of ground beef and drain.  Mix bacon and beef with two cans of pork and beans and 1 can diced tomatoes, both un-drained.  Add a little BBQ sauce, season it up, and let it simmer while you make garlic toast.  When my peeps were small, they gobbled this up - still do, come to think of it.  (:

5 thing Friday - a mixed drink, pretty pot, chicken pot pie, decals, Spring

Hubby and I enjoy a mixed drink now and again.

Last week, we used up the last of some tequila by mixing it with Central Market's Italian Sicilian Lemon soda and half a squeezed lime over lots of ice.  It sure hit the spot.  I'll call it the Sicilian Sombrero!

 Years ago, my Brownie girl decorated this terra cotta pot for me, but I could never get anything to live in it for long.  I finally gave up and purchased a $1 succulent from Dollar Tree.  Now my pretty pot sits in the kitchen reminding me of my sweet girlie.  I think I can keep this one alive.

Chicken pot pie with leftover cubed chicken chunks, cream of poblano soup, leftover veggies, and homemade crust.  Oh, man.

I ordered some giant decals for the new-to-us trailer up at Highlands.  We have the smaller version on our vehicles.  Fun!

Spring is here!  Maybe it's not official, but don't tell that to my fig tree who is budding out.  Once my heel gets all healed (ha!) it will be time to work on the yards and rebuild the back deck at Camp Rustown.  Why does Spring make you want to get busy?  Maybe because nature is, too!

Gina

Mealplan Monday #184

Monday - Meatloaf Sammie on Texas Garlic Toast with muenster, curly fries
Tuesday - Chicken and Veggie Pot Pie
Wednesday - Hamburger Helper*, Salad
Thursday - Crockpot Chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, rice
Friday - Beef Lo Mein
Saturday and Sunday are TBD

I don't know why I feel like its a cop-out to serve Hamburger Helper - there is never a scrap of it left.  No apologies for having this on my menus!

Gina

Aztec quiche

I've had this particular quiche recipe for years - given to me by a sweet work friend.  I remember she was pretty jazzed about a cookbook written by someone who advocating making several meals at once, to freeze for later.  What a concept!  That was 1986, shortly after I began working with her.  She was kind enough to share the recipes with me.  It's funny how the make-ahead meal prep is all over Pinterest and blogs now!

 

Aztec Quiche
1 1/2 c. shredded monterrey jack cheese
1 c .mild grated cheddar (didn't have any cheddar this time around)
1 package chorizo (optional)
9" pie shell (I used one of my freezer crusts since I just made a new batch)
4 oz. can chopped mild green chilies
1 c. half and half
3 eggs
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. cumin

I peeled the chorizo (they are encased in clear plastic) and fried them up in a skillet on medium heat.  I guess it took 5 minutes or so.  Meanwhile, I parboiled some small potatoes to make skillet potatoes as a side.  You will need to drain the chorizo well - it makes a LOT of grease.  Set aside to cool.  Pre-heat oven to 325.

I love that I have those frozen crusts - I thawed this one, rolled it out on a floured section of counter, then patted it into my favorite quiche dish. 

Then I put the grated cheese into the crust and set it into the fridge while I got the rest ready.  I find that if I leave the excess flour on the counter and grate the cheese there, the flour helps me get every scrap of cheese easily off the counter without it sticking.

Combine the eggs, half and half, cooked and cooled chorizo, chilies, and seasonings and stir gently, then pour into crust.

 Bake for 40-50 minutes or until set.  While that was happening, I cut up the potatoes and cooked in a little fat with chopped onion and red bell pepper, until all were nicely browned and cooked through.

Then I cooled that and put it into the fridge for my peeps to heat up later.  (I prep it, they heat it up)  And I went on my merry way to work.

It was a super delish dinner and there were no leftovers!
Thank you, Bunni.  I still think of you each time I make this for my family!

Gina

Fun winery and patio

On Sunday, Hubby and I hit the road to visit this winery.  We had a very reasonably priced tasting (5 for $5) and settled on a bottle of a red blend to enjoy on the patio.  I told the som it reminded me of a red we enjoyed here.  And wouldn't you know it, the owners of both wineries are brothers and the wineries are at opposite ends of a large vineyard that they share.

That's when we had an aha moment and remembered the other winery telling us the same thing, about a year ago!  Ha!  We had forgotten they were just across the way.  We sat out on their horse pen turned patio and enjoyed a snack of seasoned goldfish.

And though the patio was in sort of a winter mess, we thought the design of it was fun.  She told us that in the summer, they let folks walk through the vineyard to visit the other winery.

That thing in the middle is a wood-fired pizza oven.  Wouldn't this structure be fun up at Highlands?  Plenty of space to shelter from rain or blazing sun, an open roof to admire the stars.  Wood burning chimineas all around.  I think this one is creative and fun! 

Gina

Mealplan Monday #183

Waiting on bluebonnets at Highlands like:

Monday - Roast Chicken and Gouda sammies, chips, pickles
Tuesday - Pork tacos, shredded cabbage, monterrey jack cheese, pico de gallo
Wednesday - Aztec Quiche*, southwestern chopped salad
Thursday - Aunt Rosie Deaton's All-American Slum-Gullion (this is from the White Trash Cooking cookbook), garlic toast
Friday - Parmesan Chicken, small baked potato, veggie (tentative)
Saturday and Sunday might be work days at Highlands!
*will post recipe for this soon!

Gina

5 thing Friday - phone shield, powder shaker, eggs, antlers, paint color

Have you ever tried Zagg?  They make phone shields, among other things.  I bought one of their shields when I first got my G4 phone and they have replaced it free of charge at least four times, due to my fumbling clumsiness.

They don't make the particular one I have gotten in the past, so they substituted the new and improved version, shipped it for free, and extended my warranty.  NICE.

I had about 30 minutes to shop at my favorite little thrift store over by work last week and found this pretty glass bottle with shaker top that I will keep in the closet full of foot powder for my work shoes.  I spent a whole $1.50 on it.  Found some books and fabric, too.  I need to stop in there more often.

My mother says that her chickens have been laying 5 to 7 eggs a day and most of them are jumbo sized.  Even the chickens love Brenham (name that commercial), and people at my house love eggs! {p.s. my mother turned 88 yesterday - Happy Birthday to her!}

I found another set of deer antlers at Highlands to add to my collection on the barn.  I was thinking I might make a wreath for the barn, just across from the Texas flag art, and add the antlers in.  Maybe add silk bluebonnets, too.

I think I have found the front door color to use - Naval Blue by Sherwin Williams.  Now if I could just find the time to get it done.  Spring will be here any minute now and there are lovely painting days ahead.

Gina