Always good to have on hand....

The week is moving right along, and here it is Thursday already!  I hope you have had a good week thus far!

With the weeks that are ahead, I find it very helpful to have some good vegetable soup on hand.  It is low-calorie and reheats easily.

I have been reviewing my recipe file, and this one came to my attention.  It is a newspaper clipping from a number of years ago, though I cannot say exactly when - or which newspaper.

CABBAGE SOUP

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, undrained
1/2 large head of cabbage, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, undrained
28 ounces water (use tomato can for measuring)
2 to 4 bouillon cubes, to taste
Chopped fresh parsley

- Combine all ingredients except parsley in a large stockpot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour.  Garnish with parsley.  Soup can be frozen.  Makes 3 quarts, serves eight.

Cooking time is done!

I listed the recipe as it is printed; however, I discovered I had only crushed tomatoes, so that is what I used rather than the chopped.  Also, I used vegetable broth rather than water and bouillon cubes. 

You can easily tell that this is a good low-calorie recipe, just the thing to have around during this time of year - or anytime!:-)

There are some new followers!  Thank you for coming along.

Thanks to all of you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Time for a recipe....

Good Wednesday morning to you!  How are things looking for you today where you are?  We have a nice, mild November day, with the high temperature predicted to reach the low-seventies!  Of course, this precedes a storm that is expected to arrive overnight.

In these Autumn days, there are a few favorites we enjoy.  One of these has been a simple recipe for baked beans.  It is from the Betty Crocker Dinner For Two from 1971, and I have multiplied the amounts of this recipe through the years, depending on how many were going to be served.

Just out of the oven!

I wish you could have seen them bubbling as I took this picture!  And - the aroma!  Wonderful!

SPEEDY BAKED BEANS

2 strips bacon, diced
1 small onion, minced
1 can (1 lb.) baked beans with pork or pork and beans
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 Tablespoons chili sauce

- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Saute bacon and onion until bacon is crisp and onion yellow.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour into greased 1-qt. baking dish.  Bake uncovered 45 minutes, until the beans are brown and bubbling.  Serve hot.  2 generous servings.

In an effort to not include foods with high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient, it was a challenge to find the ingredients for this favorite.  I finally found Showboat brand of pork and beans at a nearby Ingles Supermarket, and the chili sauce was found in an organic grocery store.  Also, I have used turkey bacon for a number of years in an effort to decrease the fat.

That's all for this time.  There is still more cooking that has been going on here.:-)  Perhaps there is another day of recipes coming - soon!:-)

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Just outside....

Happy Tuesday to everyone!  Do you have a good day planned? 

A week ago, in the afternoon, we were besieged with some kind of flying beetle.  At first we thought they were Ladybugs, then realized they were not the usual kind of Ladybug.  Perhaps they were the kind that has been called "Asian Ladybugs."  However, upon reading a favorite columnist's article in the local newspaper this morning, I have decided they were Kudzu Beetles!  They seemed to like the eastern side of our house, congregating on the white siding.  As our weather turned a bit cooler, they seem to have found somewhere else to go; however, I read that they will reappear during the winter whenever the days become warmer.  As we live in a climate that has mild winters, I expect we will have something else joining the stink bugs in thinking they have an engraved invitation to join us in the house!

Last Thursday, prior to a predicted storm of wind and rain, I took this picture of a tree in a neighboring yard.

Just in case the wind blew off all the leaves.

Well, the leaves remained on the tree and are only falling as they usually fall.

Here are two images from this morning.

Morning sky.

Nandina.

 

 

Can you see that there are red berries on the Nandina?  I always hope they will linger until Thanksgiving as a small clipping from this bush would look good in an arrangement.  Alas!  That doesn't seem to work well.

Are you thinking about Thanksgiving?  Are there special recipes that you rely on in these weeks before that special day?  I have a couple to share with you in the next post.  Until then, have a good day!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

The first week-end of November....

...is now behind us, and we have a new week ahead!  Are you looking forward to anything special this week?

I want to express my appreciation to those of you who sent along birthday wishes for our Boy Munchkin.  He had his tenth birthday on Saturday, and, of course, we helped him celebrate!

It was all about Lord of the Rings this year, and Munchomom baked a wonderful cake.

Isn't it looking great?

All ready for the lighting of the candles!

Boy Munchkin has requested white cake, and that is what was baked!  Do you see Frodo standing at the door to the Hobbit Hole?  Is that Gandolf on the pathway to the door? 

Machoman had outlined a terrific party plan using the Lord of the Rings theme, and other refreshments were bread, cheese, meat, and grapes - just what was eaten by the characters in the book! 

It was a great week-end, and I think Boy Munchkin was very pleased with the celebration!  So were the other seven guests! 

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

Late for Sunday...

As listed in the UMW Prayer Calendar, today's Mission Focus is the Atlantic Street Center in Seattle, Washington.

Our Conference United Methodist Women selected this passage from Galatians 5:22-23 as our current theme.

                  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness,

                         goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law."

Sunday blessings to you!

On this day....

....in 2003, we became grandparents for the first time!  That's right!  Boy Munchkin is ten years old today! 

Just a few hours old!

We were all gathered there in the waiting room that night - aunts and other grandparents!  How excited we were that his arrival was to be soon!  It is hard to believe that it has actually been ten years!

Happy Birthday, Boy Munchkin!  We hope it will be a very memorable one!

One reminder!  This is the night that you are able to make up that hour of sleep you missed in the spring when we jumped the clock ahead an hour.  It is now time to regain that hour, so be sure to set your clock accordingly. 

I hope things are looking like a good week-end for you!  Our Vols travel to Missouri to play football.  It will be televised, so we will probably find ourselves watching a little football.

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.

It's time....

....to give those leftover Halloween goodies a little help out the door!  I remember past  years when I was sure to buy a particular kind of candy to distribute so I would be able to bake a Candy Bar Cake when Halloween was over!  What a temptation!  So, a number of years ago I simply ceased stocking up on candy for Halloween.  Instead, this year's treats were small bags of Annie's bunnies, small bags of tiny pretzels, and only a single chocolate ball.  The leftovers will be "gifted" to the Munchkins.:-)  I'm sure that will make Munchomom very happy.:-)

So, it's time to turn the calendar over to November and focus on all things Thanksgiving!  This is actually my favorite time of the year! 

When I was teaching, we would spend these weeks learning about the Pilgrims and even presenting a play, complete with Thanksgiving feast!  Of course, there were books to read and have available in the classroom.  However, my favorite story isn't one that comes from the Pilgrims of the 1600's.

This is the story of a modern-day Pilgrim.

Molly has come to the United States with her parents from another country, and it is her first  year to be in public school in the United States.  When given the assignment to create a Pilgrim doll, she asks her mother for help.  The interpretation of what it meant to be a "Pilgrim" is quite different to Molly's mother, who sees herself as a Pilgrim, too.  After reading the book, I would follow up by showing the video.  It was excellent for teaching students how to be kind to others, regardless of how different from themselves the "others" may seem. 

Barbara Cohen also wrote a follow-up book Make a Wish, Molly.  Both are excellent.

The week-end is upon us.  I hope you have some good plans for special times.  Take care!

Thank you for reading.  I really appreciate your comments.