That being said thought I share some of the low-fat recipes we’ve been enjoying.

Pork Tender Loin with Italian Herbs

• Pork tender loin sliced into single serving portions (about 1″ thick)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic power
• Onion Powder
• Italian Seasoning
• Thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

1. In a heavy skillet, heat enough olive oil to very thinly cover the bottom.
2.  Place the tenderloin slices into the pre-heated skillet and then sprinkle them with the spices. You can pretty much season to taste – no set amount or spice . . . and, if you don’t like something …. like garlic – don’t use it.
3. Allow the portions to brown and then turn over.
4. Continue cooking until browned on other side; they’re ready to serve or refrigerate for later.

Fettuccine Alfredo – low fat

A really tasty side dish for the pork tenderloin above is Fettuccine Alfredo – low fat.  This is one of my favorite recipes from the Healthy Homestyle Cookbook  … available from Amazon for under $10.00.   This recipe cuts the calories per serving by about 50% and cuts the fat content from 44g (traditional) to 13g (healthy style).

And, if you’re watching your cholesterol, an original recipe would typically have around 139mg of cholesterol,  while this recipe only has 35mg. Best part, it tastes just as good as the ‘richer ingredient’ version.

You’ll need:

• 12 Ounces fettuccine
• 1 Cup evaporated skim milk
• 1/2 Cup half-and-half
• 2 Tablespoons butter (cut these into small pieces)
• 1-1/2 Cups grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives (green onions work well if you don’t have chives)

1. Cook pasta according to directions.
2. In the meantime, in a medium sized saucepan heat the milk, half-and-half and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted and the liquid is hot (not boiling).
3. Gradually stir in 1-1/4 cups of the Parmesan cheese. Continue to cook (and continue stirring) until the cheese has melted.
4. To this mixture add the cooked and drained pasta. Toss until well coated.
5. Serve by sprinkling some of the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top along with some chives to garnish. (Serves 6)

Leftovers

If you have any leftovers, both of these can be used for other meals. I like to use the leftover meat sliced and stir-fried with broccoli, onions and a little soy sauce. It’s extra good if you have a packet of  Chinese stir-fry seasoning to add in – just adds a little more flavor.

The Fettuccini noodles are really good re-heated and served with shrimp that have been sauteed in butter and garlic.

If you like more ‘sauce’ with your shrimp, give this a try. 

Once you’ve cooked the shrimp,  remove them to plate and to the same pan with the garlic/butter, add a little chicken broth (about 1/2 cup)  along with enough corn starch (1-2 teaspoons) to get the thickness you like.   Cook this sauce over medium-low heat, stirring continuously until thickened. 

You can adjust the sauce recipe to make more sauce if you like, but  be careful – if you add in too much chicken broth and corn starch, you’ll loose that nice buttery-garlic flavor. 

This recipe also works well with sliced chicken breast if you don’t like shrimp.

Update. . . . After a week of light scattered rain showers and some un-cooperative equipment, they got the hay baled. Got a good cut this time – and thought you’d like to see how big the rolls are.

And, don’t forget you can calculate the value of your gold jewelry before you sell it using the free online tools at Gold Coins-Silver Bullion.   Don’t do like a lady we heard about and take your jewelry to the pawn shop and get $7.00 for your 14K gold ring!!  That’s criminal.

On to my other project. I actually finished making all the slip covers – eight of them – for the lawn chairs this past weekend. We have a lot of different lawn chairs (the zero gravity ones are the most comfortable) – but the covers are for the regular lawn chairs. You know the metal fold-up kind with the woven, vinyl webbing – but, they are starting to look a little tired. I bought cushions for the seats last year – but that made the backs of the chairs look bad . . . so I knew something had to be done to make them look better. It was a little difficult to find fabric that would – at best – sort of match the 2 sides (floral and plaid). So I opted for stripes. With our limited local shopping – that was the best I could do. Major Sigh…..

It probably took me as long to make the pattern and sew the first cover as it did to stitch the remaining seven. That first cover took a little trial and error to get in the groove. But, once I got started, it was just like an assembly line. I’m pleased with the way they turned out and…. best of all they are washable. Kept the pattern in case I want to stitch up some new ones if I find fabric I like better or if I decide to make some covers for the metal chairs.

These could have been made a little simpler so that they just slipped on like a pillow case – no frills – but I wanted them to have at least a little flair. To do this I cut the fabric so they would have a pleat on either side when the two side bows that hold them on were tied. Made the ties out of the same fabric and embroidered the ends so they wouldn’t unravel in the wash. The fabric which is a light weight canvas had a tendency to ravel – badly. After I’d finished them all, I made a major decision to go back and overcast all the inside seams. I knew if I didn’t, my luck would be that they would come apart the first time I washed them.

One more thing I did that was more trouble was to make the back of the cover a little shorter than the front so that it stops at the arm rests. Had I made the back as long as the front, it would have had a loose flap of fabric hanging down. Would not have liked that look. While these certainly wouldn’t win any awards – they serve the purpose and I saved quite a bit of $$$ by doing it myself.

And – finally got a couple of pictures of the deck with the icicle lights on. Much more difficult to get a good night picture than I would have thought – even with the night photo setting turned on. At any rate – you’ll get the idea. It is very pretty out on the deck, but it’s been so hot – even after dark – that we’ve not spent much time out there.

No excuses for being slow with this post – but  in defense, I have to say it has been very busy around here. We did quite a bit of work in the yard over the weekend – replaced the cedar border along the front flowerbed with rocks. Looks much nicer.  Also bought some shredded cedar mulch to fill in and around with while  at the Lowe’s in Palestine, but it’s been raining too much to get it out.

And David finally (oops, did I say finally?) got the icicle lights hung on the deck. You know what they say about people that live out in the country leaving their Christmas lights out all year – well we just joined the club. Seriously, they look very pretty – in fact they’re really quite beautiful - and give off just enough light to enjoy sitting outside on the deck after dark. I’ll put up a picture when I get one. It’s been raining too much to get out there and I’m not quite sure about taking night-time pictures anyway.  Guess, that’ll be something new to learn.

Got the idea for the lights from my brother-in-law who has a wedding venue in Austin – Kali-Kate. It is a beautiful, rustic pavilion in the Hill Country for weddings and other events.  It  has little lights everywhere – around the large support posts, in the trees, literally everywhere – looks just like a fairyland. Since we have quite a few more boxes of lights – may see about having David string some in the huge oak tree out front or wrap some around the support post in the middle of the deck.

I’ve decided that I can pretty much track the months here by the fruit we pick. It’s taken this long for the trees and bushes to mature and produce enough to pick.

We’ve finished with the blackberries and strawberries (they’re first). Next we had plums. Now we’ve got the blueberries ripening. For those that may remember, whenever I’m out there picking I feel just like ‘Juan Valdez’ picking coffee beans. (And, for those that don’t remember, Juan Valdez was in a commercial – many years ago – picking coffee beans for Folger’s…I think … and had to pick each bean individually at ‘just the right moment’) Picking blueberries is like that. You can only pick one ripe berry at a time and it most likely will be nestled in a large clump of ‘green’ berries that you have to be careful not to dislodge. Add  to that the fact that you’re working under bird netting, it becomes quite a challenge. And, after having the large snake caught up in the netting last year – you can bet I’m extra careful to check for critters before I start crawling around looking for berries.

Our blueberries are the big ones – not like the tiny-little kind that come in the blueberry muffiin mix. Having them large can be a challenge – especially when you want to make blueberry pancakes. I find if I make the pancake batter just a little thicker than normal, it will accommodate and hold the larger sized berry. I also like to make adjustments to the pancake recipe so it has a better, less-boxy flavor.  This recipe gives a rich, buttery flavor to the pancake.

My favorite recipe for pancakes is:

• 1 cup pancake mix (we like Aunt Jemima)
• 3/4 cup milk (approximate)
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup melted butter (the real stuff)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla flavor

In a medium size bowl, mix everything together using a whisk. Whisk only until there are no lumps – do not over mix. (You want the batter to look similar to cake batter, but not so thick that it is heavy.  Took me a couple of times to get the texture right.)   Set the batter aside to rest for about 3-4 minutes before you start cooking the pancakes.  This is the ‘secret’ part that makes them really taste good and turn out nice and fluffy.

Cook the pancakes in a pre-heated skillet.  Add a little butter to the bottom of the skillet before cooking each pancake. (Little trick: Before you cook your first pancake,  sprinkle a few drops of water in the skillet to test if it is hot enough.  If the water ‘dances’ around, the skillet is hot enough and your ready to start cooking; if the water  just sits there – let the skillet heat a little longer.  If the water disappears immediately, your skillet may be too hot and you want to reduce the heat.) 

When adding blueberries, place them into each individual pancake in the skillet right after you pour or ladle in the batter. Carefully press them down into the batter with the back of a spoon – you don’t want them ‘floating’ – and cook until you see bubbles rising in the batter.     Turn the pancake and cook until golden brown.    Serve with warmed maple syrup or a sugar-free blueberry syrup makes them even better.

This recipe will make about 6-7 medium sized pancakes. If you happen to have any leftover – separate the leftover pancakes with waxed paper and freeze. They reheat really well.

Oh, and if you’re wondering  about the title of this post – David calls blueberry pancakes his ’3 pan breakfast’ – because whenever I fix them, I always use 3 pans – one for the sausage and 2 for cooking the pancakes – cuts the cooking time in half.

When we got back to the house, did some work around the yard. Specifically, pruning the Juniper bushes. They are so pretty and smell so good but trying to keep them manageable while at the same time keep their free form shape is not an easy chore. We did a little more work on them when we got back from berry picking. In fact as far as I’m concerned – we’re finished with those babies! We had good intentions to get them trimmed much earlier in the year – but it just didn’t happen. They are quite prickly and my arms are covered in a red rash right now – but at least it’s not poison ivy. 

Been pretty busy with doing some computer work for clients last few days – so haven’t had a chance to make my slip covers. The material has migrated to the guest room – not a good sign. But, I have good intentions to get them sewn up this weekend. (If all goes as planned.) They’ll really dress up those old deck chairs.

  Spent a little time outside after lunch – just enjoying the plants, breeze and quiet. For the first year since we’ve been here, the caladium bulbs – along with the other bulbs I planted have survived the moles. My wire basket theory worked!

The daylilies are in full bloom – always a favorite; as are the hydrangeas. Last year I didn’t think the blossoms could be any larger – but they are huge again.     I’m keeping an eye on the plum and peach trees . . . know I can’t save all the fruit from the birds (1 particularly pesky woodpecker loves plums) – but I’m going to give it my best shot. May have to pick a few of them before they are totally ripe – but that’s OK too.

Had a really nice visit over the weekend with Joe and Nancy (cousins). Good fun, conversation and lots of laughs. Fixed steaks with twice baked potatoes. I don’t fix twice baked potatoes very often – no reason why – just don’t. But Nancy asked for the recipe so I’ll post it here for anyone else that might be interested.     It’s very basic and the amounts of added ingredients can be adjusted to individual taste. You may not like as much butter as we do.

Started out by ‘baking’ my potatoes in the microwave. I’ve found that by baking them in the microwave on 50% power for 10-15 minutes they come out fine. I drizzle them with a little olive oil and salt, loosely cover with plastic wrap and then cook. And, don’t forget to prick them in a couple of places before you nuke them.   

Once they are done, cut them in half length ways, carefully scoop out the inside and put that into a large bowl. Set the skins aside. You can add any or all of the following ingredients:

(For 2 baked potatoes, cut in-half, serves 4)

• 1 Tablespoon fresh, finely chopped onion
• 2 Strips crispy bacon, crumbled
• 1 Tablespoon fresh garlic chives (regular chives or green onion tops can be substituted)
• 1/4 Cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/3 Cup Parkay Squeeze Butter
• 2-3 Tablespoons Butter
• Salt & Pepper to Taste
• (Sour cream is optional, if you like it – add about 1/4 Cup)

Mash the potatoes and ingredients together until smooth.   Spoon 1/4 of the mixture into each of the saved potato shells.

Place filled shells into a oven-proof dish, sprinkle a little extra cheese on top and bake for 5-10 minutes at 400 degrees (until cheese is melted and potato is hot).

Optional baking method: Place dish with filled potato skins in the microwave and cook for 5 minutes at 50% power or until cheese is melted.

These can be made ahead and warmed just before serving.

There’s the yard to mow, garden to weed, blackberries to pick plus the usual everyday stuff. We had a huge rain Monday night and my garden is going to need some refurbishing. With 3 inches of rain coming down in less than an hour – there are numerous mole tunnels that were exposed and will need to be filled in.   Fortunately, I only lost a couple of bean bushes to the cave-ins. Could have been a lot worse.

Somewhere in all the stuff we have around here, David found a couple of rectangle-shaped wooden frames about 3′ x 4′ and 8″ tall. Think I’m going to turn them into an herb garden. There’s some room next to the deck kitchen (it’s a mess right now) and I think that would be a good place. I’ll get started on that this weekend. I’ve got to dig out all the Bahia grass, level the area and see how I can work around the existing hydrangea plant. Went out to take a picture to show you how bad it looks and the air was full of Jasmine. The Star Jasmine by the walk is blooming and the whole backyard smells wonderful.

If I end up working in the yard as planned, bet I’ll be pulling out and heating up some of those frozen dinners I’ve stashed. May even make and freeze some breakfast burritos tomorrow so I can get an earlier start Saturday without having to cook breakfast.

Luckily, David loves sandwiches and wrap-ups. The breakfast burritos I make are usually made with leftovers – sausage, bell pepper bits and potato pieces. They’re quick to make, and if you’re so inclined they freeze and reheat well. I’ve not ever made a really large batch of them but they’re just like the ones you buy at the store – only without all the added salt, fat and preservatives. 

If you think your significant other would like them, here’s how I make them with leftovers that might other wise go begging.

What you’ll need to make 2 wraps (just double, triple, etc. the recipe for more burittos).   And, use the leftovers in the amount you have. I’ve given amounts as a ‘go-by’, but the recipe is certainly not written in stone.

• 1 Egg (beaten)
• 1/4 Medium sized potato cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 2 Teaspoons finely chopped bell pepper
• Cooked meat of choice cut into small bite-sized pieces (sausage is our favorite but bacon or ham works well)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Flour tortillas
• Salt, Pepper to taste

In a small skillet, melt the butter. Then add in the potato, onions, and bell pepper. Saute over medium heat until veggies are slightly soft and potatoes are a little browned.  To the veggie mix add the meat and stir around until mixed in. To this add the 1 beaten egg and seasonings. Scramble until the egg is done, remove from heat and set aside.

I like to spritz the tortillas first with some no-calorie spray butter . . .  then in the middle of each tortilla place 1/2 of the egg scramble mixture.  Fold the 2 edges over to the center. Place the burritos on a micro-wave safe plate, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 25 seconds at 50-60% power. You may need to adjust the time to fit your microwave. You want to warm them just enough to make the tortillas soft – you don’t want to nuke them long enough so that the tortilla gets hard. Serve immediately with some taco sauce – or not.

If you plan on freezing them for later use, skip the microwave part. Once you have the egg mixture in the tortilla, wrap each buritto individually in plastic wrap, place in a zip-freezer bag and freeze. Warm them up on 50% power for about a minute (each). Again, you’ll may need to adjust time and temp for your oven.

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…..

Things have been extraordinarily busy around here. Spent Saturday working in the yard and garden – perfect weather. I’ve got all my vegetable plants set out and David had some old coffee cans stashed in the red barn so we cut the bottoms out and pressed them into the dirt around the plants mole barriers. Luckily so far the moles have only gotten two of my black-eyed pea plants and those were not ‘protected’. I’m hoping if the moles run into the sides of the can – they’ll detour right out of the garden.

While I was out in the garden on Saturday, David finished up on the extension of the bedroom closet taking in the unused length of the bathroom along the same wall (they had an adjoining door) . . . in effect doubling my closet space. How wonderful! For the first time I feel like I’ve got enough closet space for everything!! He even went so far as to build in shelving over the clothes poles so we can store ‘stuff’. Haven’t decided what kink of stuff we’ll put in there but I’m sure we’ll find something.  

For Mother’s Day we went to Crockett for a double celebration – Mother’s Day and my Aunt Rose’s 102nd birthday – it was quite the celebration.  [ While there I couldn't resist taking some pictures of  these pretty flowers blooming in Nancy's yard.   ]    Everyone was there – and per ususal there was lots of good food to be eaten. Nancy fixed her special chicken and dressing along with a delicious ham and all the trimmings. Of course, there were lots of desserts to choose from – pineapple upside down cake (best I’ve ever eaten), cheesecake, apricot salad, and chocolate covered strawberries. Everyone had a really good time – and as I’ve said before, spending time with Aunt Rose is always a treat.

Started the week off picking berries Monday morning – dew berries or black berries – never sure which it is. There are lots of them this year and we will enjoy them. Forgot to mention, spent part of Saturday making some fried pies. Have you noticed that the things you remember as a child are never quite the same as an adult.

Such was David’s memory of dried apricots. Saw them at the grocery store and remembered loving them as a child – so we bought some. But wait… guess what? They’re not the same! So, what do you do with 2 pounds of dried apricots. (Yes, men always have to have the biggest bag available ) For a month I shuffled  that bag of apricots around in the fridge, until I had a bit of a brainstorm Saturday. I had bought a couple of pears at the store and thought that apricots and pears sounded pretty good together. So I whipped up a fruit concoction of apricots, pears and raisins – stuffed the filling into some pie dough and fried them up. They were delicious – in fact I think they are my favorite fried pie ever. I made them sugar free so didn’t mind having David eat one with a little ice cream. If you do not have any apricots around, these fried pies make it worth buying a bag (small one ladies) just to try this recipe.

What you’ll need:

• 1 cup dried apricots
• 1 medium size pear (peeled, cored and sliced)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Splenda
• 1/4-1/3 cup water
• 1 recipe of pie dough (makes 4 fried pies)

Put the first 6 ingredients in a small sauce pan and cook over a low heat stirring occasionally. Add a little extra water as needed to keep the fruit from sticking and burning. Cook until the dried apricots and pears are soft.   You do not want to have any excess water.  Remove from heat and cool.

Roll out the pie dough (I like using Pillsbury pie dough-no added work) and cut into 4 sections. Place one-fourth of the fruit mixture on each piece of dough, fold and crimp the edges with a fork dipped in water. Fry the pies in pre-heated oil (medium heat) until golden brown.

When done, carefully remove the pies and place on paper towels to drain. That’s it. If you can have sugar, use regular sugar in the recipe – I think it always makes things taste better.

For example, we enjoy eating the Hillshire Farms Deli-slice meats. They come in a nifty little container that looks just like some of the ones you’d buy at the store for a couple of bucks or so. I’ve found unlimited uses for these little jewels – as has David.   There great for freezing, storing left-overs, stashing craft supplies, holding nails and screws, and just about anything else. They stack really well and the clear bottom lets me see whats in side.

This weekend David laid piping for well water to the other side of the yard while I weeded and trimmed around the flower beds. The beds in the back are edged with borders David made out of the tops of boards.

When we were building the deck we had a stack of wood cuts about 6-8 inches long that were too good to throw out – but what do you do with them????

David came up with the idea of ‘dog earring’ one end and then stapling heavy plastic line on the back so as to hold about 5 or 6 of them together in a section. He then stained them with a Cape Cod Gray color to help preserve them. Once they had dried, I could use them for a flower bed border.   The line kept them from falling over and the stain gave them a quaint, country look.

One of my favorite things to recycle is food – if you can call it that. I like to take the little portions that are leftover and make something new out of them. The Penne Pasta Casserole is a favorite make from leftover spaghetti sauce; another is to take left over chicken and dumplin’s (sans dumplings) and add shrimp, a little white wine, couple of chopped garlic cloves and serve over fettuccine. Really good.

One meal where we never have any leftovers is Orange Chicken. It’s a quick dish to make and if you have company it makes a nice colorful presentation.

Orange Chicken Ingredients

• 1 large chicken breast cut in strips
• 2 tablespoons of butter (use the real stuff)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup water*
• 1 teaspoon chicken bullion base*
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 green onion chopped

* Water and chicken bullion base can be replaced with canned chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a large skillet place the olive oil and butter. When the butter is melted put in the chicken strips and cook over medium heat until lightly browned.
2. Remove chicken to a plate. Pour the water into the buttery-oil and add in the bullion base (or broth). Add in the corn starch and use a whisk to stir. (Using a whisk will eliminate any lumps.)
3. Add in the orange marmalade and stir until well mixed and lightly boiling.
4. (Taste the sauce, if you want it sweeter add in a little more orange marmalade)
5. Add chicken to the sauce.
6. Reduce the heat and continue to cook for about another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Serve with a side dish of wild rice mix and a green vegetable. Sprinkle the chopped green onions over the chicken before serving. Enjoy. (This recipe serves 2-3)

I took dessert(s) – Strawberry Trifle and almost everybody’s favorite – chocolate chip cookies (cheated on these – baked up a batch of the Pillsbury cookies from the refrigerator section at the store). To me they are really as good as homemade – as long as you don’t overbake them . . . which is easy to do because by the time they look ‘done’ – they’re totally over-baked and dry out quickly. So against my better judgement whenever I’m baking these, I always take them out when they look not quite baked – they’ve always turn out done and moist. Haven’t had to ‘re-bake’ any yet.

The strawberry trifle I took was a 50% no-sugar-added dessert – but it can be made totally no-sugar-added or if you’re not watching sugar content – use regular ingredients for making this tasty dessert. I’m thinking it would be really good with other berries or fruit added. I had thought of adding in bananas with the strawberries (always a good combo) ….. or making one layer strawberry and another blueberry – sounds like a good Fourth of July dessert to me! But ended up taking the 1 fruit variety. The only problem I may run into if using the blueberries will be finding the Marzetti’s blueberry glaze. For some reason they have stopped selling it in our area.   It can be ordered online – BUT you have to buy the equivalent of a case (8 tubs) which if you don’t need that much is quite a lot to keep on hand.

Linda, this is for you. This dessert is pretty and so easy to make. All you need is a trifle pedestal bowl . . . and if you don’t have one – don’t go buy one – any large clear glass bowl will work, and the following ingredients.

(I’m giving the recipe for no-sugar-added but feel free to adjust according to your likes.)

Ingredients:

• 1 Quart, cleaned, washed and sliced fresh strawberries  (Hint: Retain 2 strawberries for garnish)
• 1 Container Marzetti’s ‘sugar-free’ strawberry glaze
• 1 Container whipped topping (16 oz) defrosted  (Hint: If you don’t like a lot of whipped topping – an 8 oz. container will probably be enough)
• 1 – 1.5 oz package sugar-free vanilla pudding (instant is quickest)  (Hint: I add in about 1/4 teaspoon vanilla to the pudding before mixing)
• 2-3/4 cup milk (2% if you’re watching fat content)
• Angle Food Cake (sugar-free) – 1/2 – 2/3 of a round cake cut into bite-sized cubes

Directions:

• Cut the cake into bite-sized cubes and set aside.
• Mix the cleaned/sliced strawberries into the glaze and set aside
• Prepare the pudding according to box directions for ‘pie’

Assembly:

• Layer 1: In the trifle bow (or bowl of choice) place 1/2 of the cubed angle food cake.
• Layer 2: Add 1/2 of the pudding mixture
• Layer 3: Add 1/2 of the strawberries and glaze
• Layer 4: Add enough of whipped topping to completely cover
• Repeat the layering process using up the remaining ingredients.

Put the whole strawberries on top (you can cut in half or quarters to make a design if you like).

Cover and chill. Let this dessert sit for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.

I had enough of the cake and whipped topping leftover to add with some fresh strawberries and pudding to make a mini-trifle today for David’s birthday today – Happy Birthday Sweetie!!

It was too cold and windy to do anything outside Sunday afternoon – like I had planned – so all the bulbs I bought Friday will have to wait . . . probably until this coming weekend. I usually wait to the last minute to buy bulbs and as such there’s usually not a good selection left – but not this time! I bought several bags of iris, daylilies and star gazer lillies – they’re the ones that have that deliciously sweet smell. Now I just have to devise a way to plant them so that the moles (and gophers) don’t gobble them up before they have a chance to grow. I do have a game plan. Bought about 15 wire baskets at the Dollar Store last year – my plan is to sink the baskets in the ground and then plant the bulbs inside the ‘wire cages’ filling them with dirt. I’m hoping this will work. I’ve tried everything else suggested to me over the years to keep the bulbs from being eaten up – including placing Juicy Fruit gum around them, broken glass in the hole (sounded dangerous to me – figured I’d forget where the glass was and end up slicing up my fingers), cayenne pepper in the hole, those solar spike beepers you put around about (the noise is supposed to keep them away) and traditional mole traps. None of these have worked. I have high hopes for my basket theory.

Forgot to mention also bought several packages of seeds – flowers, herbs and veggies. Typically I don’t have too much luck with seeds but for twenty-cents a package – thought I’d give ‘em a try – they all looked so inviting. One in particular – Canterbury Bells – I’ve not seen and it looks like it would be pretty. And, it’s also time to feed the fruit trees. We use the spikes that you pound into the ground. Put some around the peach and plum trees. Ground was still soft from all the rain so that was an easy chore. Did have to take time to fence in the raspberry plants. It looks like the deer got to the few little leaves they had. So David put up a wire fence about 6 foot tall around the bed to keep them from eating what’ left down to the ground. I’ll keep my fingers crossed they survive.

Overall was pretty lazy this weekend. Did not do much cooking – ate out a lot which is not the norm around here. I have to say I did enjoy it though – thanks, David! It’s nice not to have dishes or a kitchen to clean up once in a while. I’m back to full speed today, cooking, laundry and computer work .   (Check out today’s blog Power to Earn Money  for some ideas on how to generate income from home.  If it isn’t there – it’s coming.) 

Had the ‘Cat Lady’ Mexican casserole  for lunch. It was one I had frozen a while back and it heated up really well. Since my stash is getting low think I’ll have to find time this weekend to prepare some freezer foods – Penne casserole, ‘Cat Lady’ casserole and a batch of salmon croquettes.

My croquettes are pretty easy to make and since I bake them, they’re low in fat and of course high in Omega 3.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of salmon (remove bones but retain liquid)
• 1 egg
• Black pepper (dash)
• 10-12 Club crackers (or Saltines) crushed

Mix this all together…you may need to add a little water if the mixture seems too dry. You want it moist enough to hold together but not so moist it falls apart. Wet your hands and form the mixture into patties (you should have about 6 medium sized patties).

Place patties on a lightly greased cookie sheet. I sprinkle the tops with about 1 teaspoon (more or less) of Panko bread crumbs and then spritz with no-calorie ‘butter’ spray – and a dash of Old Bay Spice. This gives them a little more flavor and a nice crunch.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve or cool and freeze to enjoy later.

I like to keep my mixes and crumbs in screw-top jars with the label on the front.  For me – especially out here in the country –  it helps keep things fresher, keeps the buggies out and I can still see the original box label taped on for easy recognition.

David is a real photo-hound and must have taken about 20 or so pictures before we’d even gotten off the property. And while he does enjoy taking pictures – I have to admit he is very good at it and has taken some beautiful pictures over the years. The pics here are either of our property or the surrounding area. My two favorites are the ones of the mother cow and her calf – looks so typically Texas, and the pond with the ‘square’ cloud.

If you click once on the each picture it will enlarge, click twice to return it to smaller size.

By the time we got back home the power was back on so we sat down in front of the fireplace to steaming mugs of our version of Irish Cream Coffee. It’s a favorite and we enjoy it at night as well – but with decaff! If you’d like to try it here’s our recipe:

• 1 Cup brewed coffee (in over-sized cup)
• Sweeten to taste
• 2 teaspoons of chocolate syrup
• 3 teaspoons of Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur
• Enough whipped cream to fill to top
• Stir and enjoy!

They say each snowflake is unique – hard to imagine when you see so many of them – but I saw some photos the other day taken of snowflakes and will try to get those posted a little later this week – depending on when we do grocery shopping.    The pictures are absolutely amazing!