Exploring the Spice

I have heard that you should clean-out your spices every year - and so when looking at my spice cupboard I find some very old spices in it - some are still in "Kroger" tins - we do not have a Krogers here and I've lived in Michigan for over 13 years already...sign that I need to do some cleaning (I'm wondering if some of these tins are now considered antiques...lol).

I began by making a list of what I would need to replace and I thought that I would visit my favorite spice shop to do some re-stocking....and this is totally why I love Pezseys as I shared in an earlier post, I bought all these spices for only $26. Can you believe it!!

It was great cooking this weekend with fresh spices - I could really tell the difference! Look at your own spice cupboard - and if you have old spices like I did - make a change - you will be glad you did!

Another Great Idea for Thanksgiving Leftovers

Want another idea to use up your Thanksgiving left-overs?

Have the iconic "Green Bean Casserole" left over? How about some mashed potatoes? I have just the ticket.... I call this Theresa Shepard Pie.

Theresa's Shepard Pie

Left overs of:
Green Bean Casserole
mashed potatoes
raw various veggies (chopped)

1 pound ground beef
1 onion - chopped
1 rib celery - chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook ground beef until cooked through, add onions, celery and raw veggies. Cook until softened. Mix beef, veggies and the left-over green been casserole (if this mixture is too dry - add another can of creamed soup such as mushroom or celery). Turn into a baking dish. Topped with mashed potatoes - spread evenly over mixture. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes (until heated through).

Variation - add shredded cheese to potatoes.

Enjoy!!

Turkey Left-overs

We recently celebrated with the family this wonderful harvest time. It just my favorite time of year to bring out all the comfort foods. On the menu was a turkey along with items I knew everyone would like. We had green-bean casserole for Marjorie, cabbage for Jan, squash for Mom, olives for Jean and I added a small little ham for Bill. To round out the meal, I added smashed potatoes with gravy and dressing. For desert there was apple crisp.

And with a big meal, you have lots of left-overs. One of the recipes I love to make with left-over turkey is Turkey Stew with Dumplings. It's great for an easy meal - ready in about 1 hour.

Turkey Stew with Dumplings

2-3 cups left over Turkey taken off the bone (fully cooked)
2 carrots - sliced
2 stalks celery - chopped
1 onion - chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup white wine
2 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon sage
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoon corn starch
1/4 cup water

Melt butter in dutch oven, add veggies and cook until tender. Add 1 cup white wine. Stir, scrapping bottom of pan. Add Turkey. Add chicken broth and enough water to cover turkey and vegetables (1/2 to 1 cup). Add seasonings. Taste stew, adjust seasoning accordingly. Bring stew to a slow boil. Mix corn starch with water in a separate glass or small bowl. Slowly add corn starch mixture to stew to thicken it.

Dumplings:
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup Milk
1 Tablespoon dried parsley

In a separate bowl, mix together dumpling ingredients. This will be a soft batter. Drop by spoon full into boiling stew. The dumpling will sink, then rise to the top. Once all the dumplings have been added, lower heat, cover and cook stew for 10 minutes, then uncover for 10 minutes. I like to shake a little paprika over the dumplings after they rise to add a little more flavor.

Once the dumplings are set - they should spring back to a light touch - your stew is ready to enjoy.

I'm Back....

Wow, I can not believe how busy my new job has been keeping me...but it's all good. I guess you can still call it new...I've been there 4 months already. Last year this time I was laid off with no opportunities on the horizon, now I'm happy doing work that is right in line with what I went to school to learn. My accounting skills have grown, my management skills have grown and I am definitely better with excel then I ever thought I was. I feel totally blessed.

Now with Christmas quickly sneaking up on us, it's time to start working on all my holiday projects. I've started making my cards...and have plans to do a few sewing and cooking projects. I have a few fun surprises on my list for this year that I think my family and friends will enjoy. Along with some entertaining plans...So keep checking in to see the latest tips, projects and recipes for the holidays.

Not your Mother's Fried Chicken

I was recently talking with some co-workers about cooking fried chicken. We all agreed we just love the taste of deep fried and skillet fried chicken - but we hate all the mess. I shared with them how I like to make oven fried chicken. It is so much simpler and cleaner than the traditional version. When I mix up the breading - I make a lot and put the extra in Tupperware for the next batch.

Oven Fried Chicken

1 stick butter
1 chicken - cut into pieces (using "bone-in" chicken gives it the best flavor)


Breading:
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup corn meal or seasoned bread crumbs - which ever I have in stock in the pantry
2 Tablespoons - dried parsley flakes
1 Tablespoon - paprika - lately I've been using the smoked paprika - but if you do not have the smoked - regular will work fine.
Salt and Pepper to taste
Other spices are fun to use here too - such as rosemary - use your imagination.

Note - if you are using fresh herbs - you will not be able to keep any left over breading - and any breading left in the dipping plate needs to be dumped since it was in contact with raw chicken.

Mix together.

Set the oven at 350 degrees. Melt one stick of butter in a 9x13 pan in the oven.

While the butter is melting, sprinkle some of the breading in a light layer on a plate. Dip the chicken pieces into the breading, making sure the chicken has a nice coating. Once the butter is melted and your pan is hot, remove the pan from the oven and arrange the chicken in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove covering, turn chicken and return to the oven uncovered for another 15 minutes or until the chicken reaches 180 degrees on a meat thermometer.

Your chicken will have a nice crunchy coating while still being moist in the middle - and you do not have all the grease splatters to clean up.

Where did time go?

Wow - I can not believe that summer is almost over and it's been a while since my last post. Time has simply flew by me. I've had a very interesting summer! We hosted a fun surprise birthday party for Bill's mom - she turns 80 this fall and we really wanted to surprise her - so on July 3rd - over 50 of our friends and relatives joined us in our back yard. Mom was truly suprised and everyone had a marvelous time! Check out the pictures. I started a new job at Hope Network, continued working part-time at Stepping Stones Montessori School until they hired a new business manager and went to Dallas for a week of celebration and learning with Mary Kay.

This weekend my very best friend Vanessa came up from Ohio for a little R&R from her working and studying. We had a fantastic time shopping, eating, saw a movie and went to a theatre performance - what more could a girl ask for. One of our stops during shopping was Fustini's oils and vinegars in Holland, MI - I must say I was so supervised at how delicious flavored vinegars and oils can taste. I purchased their Asian Blackberry Balsamic Vinegar and can not wait to try it out - I will keep you posted on my results.


We also went to see the "The Marvelous Wonderettes" at the Mason Street Warehouse in Saugatuck, Michigan. If you have not visited the playhouse before - I highly recommend you put it on your list. I just discovered this fun theatre this summer - and am looking forward to seeing them again next year. They offered 4 different shows this past summer - I made it to the next to last one. Vanessa and I could not have been happier with the performance.

Well, time to get back in the groove - the heat seems to have finally broken - at least for today.

Enjoy the day!!

Mary Kay Saphire Seminar

Dallas Texas in July! You could not think it could get any hotter! But get 10,000 of your closes friends together - and you have one HOT party!!

I enjoyed almost a week in Dallas for the Mary Kay Seminar - went a day early for shopping - spent a day touring -- you will see below pics of the MK headquarters and I stayed over one extra day to save on my flight home. What a fun time! It's like going to the Academy Awards! We start out with training and end with an evening of show stopping entertainment and awards for the top achievements.

Opening Session

Awards Night!

Linda and I at the Mary Kay headquaters.

Outside of the convension hall.

Dinner out our first night in Dallas.

It's a Super Secret Birthday Suprise

The gods were definitely smiling on us this day...during one of the hottest summers, we lucked out finding a perfect day to celebrate Mom's 80th birthday surprise. Her birthday is not actually until September - but we wanted to surprise her - in a BIG way! And we did it! On July 3rd over 50 family and friends gathered at our home for a back-yard celebration.

The weather was perfect - comfortable with a slight breeze. We grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and brats - the brats were the hit of the meat dishes. We asked everyone to bring a dish to share - which brought in wonderful salads, relishes and deserts - I am working to gather some of the recipes - and will share them when I do.

And the best part was enjoying the laughter of those we love -- I know, that sounds pretty corny - but it's true. :-)

At the Garden Gate

A garden gate can be a very magical entrance - calling for garden fairies and magical creatures to dance around encouraging the garden to grow. The gate leads into a new world of plants and flowers, where bunnies are not welcome.

I am soooo excited to have my new gate up on my garden. Cousin Dan (not sure why we refer to him as "Cousin Dan"...it's not like we have any other Dan's in the family...but I continue on the tradition...lol) came over a couple of Fridays ago, and while Bill worked on Dan's computer, my gate was built. We made it wide enough for the wheel barrel to go through. It is now so easy for me to enter into my garden without tripping.

Garden Update

It FINALLY stopped raining long enough for the garden to dry out so I could get into it to plant my green beans without getting up to my ankles in mud. I would wager that there was at least 1 -2 inches of standing water all around my raised beds with all the heavy rains we have had over the last two weeks. It really proved why I was changing the entire garden over to the raised beds.

My onions and beets are growing like crazy and I started to thin the beets today. I have blooms on my squash and peppers. I also have my first pepper - it currently is the size of my small finger - but it is there and earlier than last year. The bugs have been working on my cabbage so I gave them a good spray of some pest control. I know...for you hard core natural gardeners...there are natural ways I could attach the pests...but what can I say...it is so easy to give them a little squirt...lol.

On my "to do" list is to finish the garden fencing around the new area and bring in a ton of mulch to put around all the raised beds. Then I can relax and enjoy the view...watch Bill mow the yard.

Talking about the view reminds me...I was noticing how the boarder around our back yard is just green...not that green is bad...but I'm a girl who likes color. The yard looked lovely this spring with all the spring colors, but now the color is all gone. I have a huge snowball bush that is just exploding with blooms and will bring a big splash of white - but I need to work in other areas around the yard. Making lists for next year planting - I know I can add Day Lillies - they are not my most favorite, but they grow well here and are good bloomers all summer long. Now, I need to do some research to find what else I want.

Happy Gardening!
Theresa