Tuesday in Texas - A Farewell to Summer!

Not that you would know this by the 104 degree temperatures here in Dallas, but summer, at least as it is known to those of us who are teachers, is winding down.  This is the last week that my husband and I are off together.  He returns to school on Monday for teacher in-service.  His first day with students is the 24th.  I have a little bit more time to ease back into the routine, with a few required appointments at school over the next two weeks, but classes don’t start in earnest until August 31st.

This has been a lovely summer break for us.  We had a good bit of “down” time at home, a fantastic vacation, lots of opportunities to spend time with friends, and we have accomplished many long-neglected household chores.  Though I am not really ready to go back to work, as I face the inevitable start of another school year, at least I can say that I am mentally prepared to return thanks to having twelve weeks off.

Perhaps the most significant revelation that I have had during my summer break is that running a household is a full-time job!  I now realize why so many things at home are left undone between August and June; we simply don’t have the hours in our days and/or the energy in our bodies to get it all done.  You would think that I would have figured this out a long time ago, while I had kids at home.  I guess during those years I didn’t have the time to give the whole scenario that much thought.

Our days have included getting dogs and cats to the vet for annual check-ups and vaccines, auto maintenance, air conditioner servicing, electrical work done, cleaning out the garage, sorting through closets, rearranging to make room for the things that came from my parents’ home, and lots of other smaller tasks.  When I list them here, it doesn’t seem like so much, but somehow, on top of regular stuff like laundry, dishes, dusting and vacuuming, our days have been packed full.  

We joked, well sort of joked, that one of us needs to retire and stay home so that the house would be clean and cared for more than two months out of the year!  I think back to the times when two incomes weren’t necessary and homemaking was respected.  Think about it.  What would life be like if the laundry was done before dinner instead of during?  If you were home to get the packages left by UPS when they were delivered rather than after they’d sat in the rain, heat, or snow for several hours?  If you cleaned up the hairball right after it appeared instead of once it dried on the rug?  If the evenings could be spent enjoying time together doing something other than walking side by side while hauling trash bags to the curb or holding the dust pan while the other sweeps?

My quandary comes from both loving my job and wanting a calm, clean, cared for home.  Yep, I want to have my cake and eat it too!  I know there are many people who work so that they can pay others to do all the things that I just mentioned.  They have “a staff.”  Remember when I said that we are both teachers?  Well, we don’t have a staff.  In fact, we ARE the staff both at home and at work!  Oh well…

I guess I will enjoy my last few weeks of order and cleanliness at home and then, well…call before you come for a visit so I can at least sweep up the big wads of dog hair and put the toilet paper on the roll.  Don’t judge us on the state of our house. Know that we are giving our time and energy to educating your kids!

Food Friday - Simply Salads

from Kris B.

I grew up with a stay-at-home mom who cooked dinner nearly every night, a dinner that most often was meat, potatoes, and vegetables.  Our family meals were like those that restaurants now try to lure you in with by touting their fare as "home cooking."  Of late, both meat and potatoes have gotten a bad rap from various diet gurus.  I have to admit that though we do not eat meat and potato dinners every night, I do like both.  In my cooking now, I live by the motto, "Everything in moderation."  I am always trying new ways to enjoy both of these things while still being conscious of healthy eating habits.

This Grilled Red Potato Salad is a healthier way to enjoy a potato side than is, let's say, a loaded baked potato, french fries, or even those home style mashed potatoes that my mom made.  Potatoes really are not "the enemy."  It is the way we cook and dress them that often pushes their calorie count over the top.  Served atop a fresh green salad with a honey mustard dressing, these grilled potatoes are "just enough" to satisfy that meat and potato kid that still lurks inside me.  This salad is a perfect light, but also filling, side to serve with any kind of grilled meat.  If you are firing up the grill to cook the potatoes, it makes sense to throw some chicken, steak, a pork roast, or even burgers on the grill at the same time.  And then you have a complete meal and you didn't have to heat up your kitchen!

INGREDIENTS

4 large red potatoes 
Non-stick cooking spray
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp honey mustard
Juice from 1 lemon
2 TBS olive oil
2 tsp vinegar
4 Cups any kind of salad greens
1 Cup shredded carrots
1 diced red bell pepper
1 diced red onion

Dice the red pepper, onion, and shred the carrots.  

(I cheat and buy shredded carrots in a bag at the grocery store.)  Place them in a large bowl and toss with the salad greens.

Whisk together the garlic, honey mustard, lemon juice, olive oil and vinegar.to make the dressing.  

This can be done ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

Preheat the grill.  Slice the potatoes about 1/2 inch thick.  

Spray one side with non-stick cooking spray/  Place the sliced potatoes with the sprayed side directly on the grill.  cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are a deep golden color.  Spray the top side and flip the potatoes.  Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

When you are ready to serve, toss the salad and the dressing together in a large salad bowl.  Either layer the potatoes on top, or plate each serving, placing the potatoes on top of the tossed salad.

This recipe serves 4-6.

A few more thoughts:

• Because there are only two of us for most meals at my house, I don't toss the full amounts of salad and dressing at once.  I do it on an "ass needed basis."
• Make the salad your own by adding any other salad fixings that make you happy.  The carrots, red pepper, and red onion add color that makes this a pretty dish when served.
• If you want to make a hearty meal out of this salad, add some diced ham or bacon.
• The grilled potatoes alone are also a tasty side if you sprinkle them with a little garlic pepper after spraying them with the non-stick spray.

Happy eating!


from Tracey G

It's been a busy summer week for sure! The weather has been beautiful and we've been able to enjoy the beach quite a few days this week - nice! But that also means needing easy suppers that can be ready to go when we get home - Harry and I are usually there until at least 6 pm, so planning ahead is a good idea, lol. I try to have things ready to go for when we get home, because if I have to do prep work and cook, it's 7:30  by the time we're actually eating, if not later, because you have to get the car unpacked etc - and that's where this salad can come in handy! I remember the first time my mom made this - I was totally skeptical that this combination of ingredients was going to be weird and a flop, lol. Was I wrong! They go fabulous together, and I was happily surprised ;-)

This salad is pretty much a meal in itself - with the bacon, pasta and olives - you don't need anything else if you don't want to have anything else! But it goes great with anything really, burgers, chicken, pork chops etc. I like to use the high protein pasta - that gives it a little more "oomph" in my opinion. ;-) I think the one I used for this batch was high protein and higher fiber too.

There's really not a whole lot of steps to this one, it's pretty basic and a lot can be adjusted to your tastes, more bacon, less bacon and same thing for the olives - more or less, up to you! I guess that can even be said for the dressing too, lol - go with whatever your tastes dictate! :-)

The ingredients are simple: elbow macaroni (even that can be adjusted to whatever you like or whatever you have on hand), crisply cooked bacon (holds up better after it's mixed in the salad with the salad dressing), sliced salad olives and salad dressing. Mayo works too if that's what you prefer. I've always had it with salad dressing, so that's generally how I make it.

I happened to have some bacon leftover from a breakfast-for-dinner night I had with Harry, it was a 24 oz package of bacon and I normally use 16 oz of cooked bacon in the salad, so after our simple supper there was just enough bacon leftover to make my salad with, which made it even easier to prepare, lol. Usually to get my crispy pieces of bacon, I cut up the raw bacon then fry the bacon until crisp. This particular batch I'd cooked in the oven, my favorite way to prepare bacon these days, lol. Much easier and less mess - although, firing up the oven in the summer can be brutal, lol. But it's about 20 min on a cookie sheet at 

400 ° F, give or take. I start keeping a close eye on it at around the 15 minute mark - doesn't take long to over-do it! LOL My smoke alarms have been proven to work a few times, lol.

So, all you do is cook your pasta according to the package directions, then combine that with a pound of chopped crisply cooked bacon, sliced green salad olives and salad dressing. And that's that, lol.

There's really not a set recipe for this, as sometimes it takes more salad dressing than other days for some reason and so forth, but here's some basic amounts to get you started:

Bacon Green Olive Macaroni Salad

1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions, drained well

1 lb bacon, chopped and crisply cooked

1 large jar of sliced salad olives - that's to taste, I get the largest jar I can generally find as I love green olives!

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 c salad dressing (or mayo if desired)

Combine all the ingredients, mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve, allowing at least an hour for the flavors to blend.

Enjoy! 

Food Friday - An Apple Today

from Tracey G

Happy 4th of July! I can't believe it's the 4th of July already, today was actually pretty warm - it's been in the 60's for the most part around here, lol. So, it honestly snuck up on me this year. :-)

Kris and I talked about what we'd want to do in honor of Independence Day, so we thought what's more American than apple pie - or some variation on that, lol. Apple recipes I seem to have a few good ones of, but I decided on this one because they're like little mini apple pies and easy as pie to make, lol. And they are super yummy, the batch I made for this week's post got Harry's stamp of approval, lol. And from Mr. Picky, that's saying something, lol.  ;-) 

And for today's post I decided to use my iPad for the photos, with my Hipstamatic app: Loftus lens and DC film.  

There's not a lot involved, so I seem to have ended up with more photos than usual, lol, maybe to make up for the lack of trouble it is to make these, lol. The ingredient list is easy, it's refrigerated crescent roll dough butter, sugar, vanilla, a Granny Smith apple, cinnamon sugar, apple pie spice, and a lemon-lime soda. And of course, I forgot an ingredient in the photo above (big surprise there, lol), the sugar. ;-)

After you get your apple peeled and cut into 8 wedges, it's time for the crescent roll dough...

Get the dough unrolled and separated into the 8 triangles. 

Place your apple wedge on the triangle, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, bring up the corners to the center and pinch to seal, then roll them up. 

This is what your little dumpling should look like :-)

As you get them rolled up, place them in a greased 8x8" square baking pan...

Once you get them rolled up and in the pan, assemble your sugar-butter-vanilla mixture ingredients. Melt the butter...

Stir the sugar, vanilla and melted butter until well mixed. 

Spoon the mixture over the dumplings in the greased baking pan.

Pour the soda slowly around the dumplings - do not stir the soda into the pan. 

Once you get that done, it's time to sprinkle the apple pie spice on the top before baking. I didn't have any apple pie spice laying around, so I just used a combination of 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and it worked just fine. :-)

Bake them at 350° F for 25-30 min or until they're golden brown. You can serve them warm with ice cream as the recipe suggests, or actually mine sat for awhile, lost a bit of crispness, but tasted just as good! :-D

Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings

makes 8

1 8 oz tube refrigerated crescent rolls

1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 8 wedges

cinnamon sugar (I used approximately 2 tbsp or so)

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

6 tbsp lemon-lime soda

1-2 tsp apple pie spice

1) Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 8 triangles. Place an apple wedge on each crescent triangle. Sprinkle apple wedge with cinnamon sugar. Bring up corners of dough to center; pinch edges to seal. Place in a greased 8 inch square baking dish.

2) In a small bowl, combine the sugar, melted butter and vanilla; spoon over rolls. Slowly pour soda around the dumplings (do not stir). Sprinkle with apple pie spice. Bake, uncovered, at 350° F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream if desired.

from Kris B.

When Tracey told me that she was going to do all of her photos for today's post with her phone or iPad, there was a part of me that just wanted to sit down and cry...not having anything to do with Tracey and her photos, but because I have a terrible relationship with my phone camera right now.  In fact, my relationship issues with my phone are the reason that you did not get a Tuesday in Texas post this week.  Let me try to explain that.

I want to love my phone camera.  I want to trust it.  I want to have it by my side at all times.  I want to create beautiful things with it.  Lately that just hasn't been happening.  All of my photos seem unfocused, grant, flat, or all of the above.  Honestly, I don't know what the problem is.  My phone and I are going to seek counseling and hope that we can get back on the right track.  

One of the things that I have done is tried different camera apps to see if that makes any difference.  Earlier in the week, my husband, who subscribes to all of the app gone free websites, sent me a link to an iPhone app called ProShot.  It allows you to set all of your shooting settings just like on your "big" camera.  Since it was free, I downloaded it knowing that I could delete it if it wasn't worthy of the space on my phone.  Upon first glance, I really liked the user interface.  The dials are all easily accessible.  You have a lot of creative control.  It looked like a great app.  I figured I would share this free app with all of you, but I thought that I should include some photos taken with it.  Here comes the problem.  My photos were still terrible and I couldn't make myself post them.  So I baled on the whole post.  Mature, I know.  Like Tracey and I have said many times here, we don't promise much, but we do promise honesty.  So there.  I have come clean.  

The app is free through July 3...today.  I know.  That gives you no time.  Here is my/our concession.  We are giving away a gift card so that you can add some photograph apps to your phone.  We are extending the time to enter until the middle of next week.  Leave a comment here to be entered into the random drawing.  The winner will receive a $20 gift card for their phone of choice.  

Now for this week's recipe...

During the school year, my husband and I take an apple in our lunches every day.  Somewhere along the line we became firm believers in "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."  Now that school is out, we still eat quite a few apples, but not every day.  On one hand I miss them, and on the other I could use a change.

The 4th of July here in the states is a big day for cooking on the grill and sharing good times with family and friends.  Rather than the traditional picnic dessert fare of cookies or brownies this year, I decided to go with grilled apples.  They are equally as tasty and maybe a tad bit healthier, but I'm not sure.  LOL!

These are not difficult to make, but they use ingredients that you don't usually think about when you are packing your picnic basket so a little forethought is in order.  If you are eating away from home, the ingredients can be prepped before you leave and the apples themselves easily prepared once you get to your destination.  Here's how you makes these:

Preheat your grill to medium.  Obviously I use a gas grill and thus can control the temperature.  You can also make these over a charcoal grill or campfire.  You just want to make sure that the sugar doesn't get super burned.  

Peel and core the apples.  My knife skills are terrible, so I rely on a good ol' potato peeler to peel the apples.  I then cut around the core.  I have found that rather than trying to remove the core from the whole apple, it is easier to cut the apple into rings at this point and punch out the centers of each slice.  This reduces the chance of breaking your apple rings, not that apple pieces are any less yummy, they are just a little more difficult to deal with on the grill.  

Once your apples are sliced, place the rings in a bowl of lemon water.  You want to keep the apples from turning brown.  

Or, if you have leftover lemon-lime soda from making Tracey;s recipe, that will work too.  Any kind of citric acid will do the trick.  

In a small glass container, melt 4 TBS of butter.  Then stir in the spices - 1 TBS brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and some nutmeg.  This ratio is sufficient for two good sized apples that each yield six rings.  

Brush both sides of the apple rings with this mixture and the place them on the preheated grill.  Brush the apples another time or two on each side while they are cooking.  

Cook the apples 5-10 minutes on each side.  They are done when they feel soft when you insert a fork into them.  

The Grilled Cinnamon Apples can be eaten just as the come off the grill, but if you are feeling decadent, serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  It is kind of like apple pie without the crust.

After we had fired up the grill so that I could take these shots, my husband decided it was dinner time and he threw a couple hot dogs on the grill.  (Our 4th of July picnic happened a little early.)   That got me thinking about meals using these apples rather than dessert.  Next time we make the apples, I am going to try throwing one on a grilled cheese sandwich...some buttered Texas toast, some good cheese, a slice or two of apple and toss it on the grill instead of those hot dogs.  What do you think?

To our U.S. friends, we wish you a fun and safe Independence Day celebration; to our Canadian friends, a belated Happy Canada Day; and to those of you in other parts of the world, may your days ahead bring something for you to celebrate!  And don't forget to leave us a comment for a chance to win a gift card for phone apps.

Food Friday - Girls' Lunch

from Kris B.

So the lazy days of summer have truly set in and I am loving it!  This unscheduled and uncomplicated days are much needed and even more appreciated!  These feelings have made me think back to my summers as a kid.  Summer break is way different for me now, as it is also for kids.  How many of you remember disappearing in the morning to go play with your neighborhood friends knowing that at lunch time whomever's house was closest when hungry struck would be where everyone ate lunch?  That lucky mom would make a few simple sandwiches, grab some chips, apple, and maybe a few cookies and happily feed all the neighborhood kids, knowing that tomorrow it would be someone else's turn.  As an aside, we could eat chips and cookies because we were outside playing and burning those calories.  For many reasons, kids today don't have the luxury of this simple life.  They have "play dates" at commercial establishments specifically designed for them.  Kids' lives have to be planned way in advance, phone calls have to made, calendars have to be checked, outfits have to be chosen...it all seems so complicated.

Truthfully speaking, things are not much different for adults.  Most people don't extend hospitality from their homes as often as once was done.  We meet our friends for coffee, or for a quick burger, or maybe a nice sit-down dinner somewhere every now and then.  I think that one of the reasons that we don't gather in our homes as much anymore is because life has become too competitive - Thoughts like "I'm not as good a cook as so and so, my house is clean enough, my dishes aren't pretty enough, and so on" invade our thinking and we buy into all of that.  All of those things might be true, but are they what really matters?  If I chose my friends based on their culinary skills, I would probably eat a lot less.  If I chose them based on their taste or ability in decorating, I'm not sure how many I'd have.  Thankfully, I don't choose my friends on any of these things.  I choose them rather on things like their levels of compassion, trust,  integrity, sense of humor.  It doesn't matter whether we are eating hot dogs or a fancy multi-course meal, we always enjoy being together, because just being together is what is important.

I wonder what would happen if rather than meeting our friends at Starbuck's or the local burger joint, we invited them over for a sandwich, and chips, and maybe fruit and a cookie?  This week's recipe from me is a simple sandwich that might inspire you to give this a try.  It consists of only four ingredients - deli roast beef (or perhaps leftovers from last night's dinner roast), fresh spinach, tortillas, and prepared garlic and herb cream cheese.

Spread the cream cheese so that it covers the tortilla, layer in some meat and then some spinach.  The amounts are up to you.  Roll it up and cut it in half.  Simple and tasty!  Now enjoy lunch with your friends!

And here is a summer surprise!  Next weekend is the 4th of July. Crazy, right?  But that is not the surprise.  If you read my Tuesday post, you know that I indulged my creative block in a few phone apps.   They are fun; whether they have gotten me out of my slump is yet to be determined.  Because we believe in sharing the fun, next weekend, in honor of Independence Day, we are giving away a $20 gift card for either Apple or Google Play.  If you want to have some summer fun with phone photography, leave us a comment on any or all of the posts here between today and next Friday.  Let us know which type of gift card you would prefer should you be the lucky winner.  And, if you forward this information to a friend and they mention you in the comments, we will give you both an extra entry!  This is a great opportunity to get some of those apps that you have been wanting!



from Tracey G.

It's been a long time since I've made this recipe, and I forgot how much I really like it, lol. Harry loved it - minus the frosting because it has crushed pineapple in it, lol. Go figure, my favorite part is the one he doesn't like - but that's ok because he scrapes it off and gives it to me, lol. It's a win-win ;-)

This is one of those recipes that couldn't be easier, which is a good thing, because things have been crazy it seems, lol. When Kris and I talked about what to make this week, she asked me if I had a sandwich recipe I'd want to use and I said "other than put some salami or turkey on bread, with mustard and eat - nope, I sure don't! But dessert recipes I have more than enough of..." So, she suggested a lunch theme and this was a dessert I thought I'd make for something like that. :-) Although, I'm sure I could find a lot in my recipe book that I'd like to make, this is one of those that jumped out at me because it's light (not light as in low-calorie, although I did swap out a few ingredients to help lighten the calories - like half the oil for some applesauce and Lite Cool Whip for the regular) and cool for a summer day. And honestly, can brighten a winter day as well, lol! :-)

Ingredients are simple, a yellow cake mix, a can of Mandarin oranges, a can of crushed pineapple, eggs, vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 4 oz. applesauce), a package of instant vanilla pudding and 8 oz. container of whipped topping. 

For the cake batter, in a mixer you combine the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil (or applesauce/vegetable oil combo) and the  Mandarin oranges with their juice.

Mix until well blended. 

You then pour the batter into a greased and floured 9x13" pan - I skip the flouring because I use the cake release stuff by Wilton, saves having to do that extra step. Bake at 350° F for about 35 minutes.

When the cake is completely cooled, make the frosting - combine the crushed pineapple with the juice, vanilla pudding and cool whip and stir until well mixed. Spread over the cooled cake. Serve! :-)

Mandarin Orange Cake

1 18.25 oz. yellow cake mix (I had a 15.25 oz cake mix and it worked out just fine)

4 eggs

1 11 oz. can Mandarin oranges - undrained

1 c vegetable oil

1 8 oz. container whipped topping

1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple - undrained

1 3.4 oz. box instant vanilla pudding

1) Mix together the cake mix, eggs, oranges with juice and oil. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13" pan.

2) Bake at 350° F for 35 minutes. Cool completely.

3) Beat together whipped topping, pineapple with juice and pudding mix until well mixed. Spread on cake.

And in case you missed it above, here's the giveaway information one more time!  

And here is a summer surprise!  Next weekend is the 4th of July. Crazy, right?  But that is not the surprise.  If you read my Tuesday post, you know that I indulged my creative block in a few phone apps.   They are fun; whether they have gotten me out of my slump is yet to be determined.  Because we believe in sharing the fun, next weekend, in honor of Independence Day, we are giving away a $20 gift card for either Apple or Google Play.  If you want to have some summer fun with phone photography, leave us a comment on any or all of the posts here between today and next Friday.  Let us know which type of gift card you would prefer should you be the lucky winner.  And, if you forward this information to a friend and they mention you in the comments, we will give you both an extra entry!  This is a great opportunity to get some of those apps that you have been wanting!

Tuesday in Texas - $5 Funk Buster...I Hope

It finally feels like summer around here...not necessarily temperature-wise as it is not yet super hot, but spirit-wise.  We are finally easing into those lazy days of summer.  Multiple cups of coffee in the morning before getting dressed, working the Sudoku puzzle in the paper, and just enjoying the start of the new day without rushing around are all true gifts.  We are also catching up on chores like cleaning out closets and the garage.  I can't say that doing these things is fun, but it sure feels good once they are accomplished!

This afternoon my husband and I went down the street and enjoyed "cheap Mexican food" as I call it, for lunch.  Street tacos are the best!  We sat out on the covered patio and enjoyed our meal together without being worried about schedules; we had a clear calendar this afternoon so there was time to savor every bite of those tacos.  Our biggest concern was thinking about what we want to do when we go on our actual vacation in a few weeks.

We have all of the important stuff under control - plane tickets, a place to stay, a rental car, but we have not done a day by day itinerary for once we get there.  I think that defeats the purpose of a vacation!  I am ready for a little less calendar and a little more serendipity.  We looked at a few things that we might like to do, but ultimately decided to wait until we get there to make any absolute commitments.  The only thing that I know for sure that I want to do is take pictures someplace different!

I have been in a serious creative slump and photo funk lately.  There is not much that seems interesting to me to photograph.  I know that the problem is my perception of things, but I can't seem to shake it.  I am counting on a change of scenery to get me out of the slump.  Just in case that is not enough, I decided that maybe I "need" a new lens to take with me on vacation.  But which one do I need?  I poked around on the Internet for awhile, read some reviews and articles and came to the conclusion that I really don't know what I need, which probably means that I need nothing.  Yeah, there are a couple of lenses that I would like to have, but in all honesty, I have a fairly well equipped camera bag.  And we all know that a new lens is not going to get me out of my photo funk.  So I talked myself out of continuing to look for a new lens and saved $1000 in the process.  Well, that's not exactly true...

I saved $995 because this evening I downloaded $5 worth of HipstaPaks on my phone.  I have a love-hate relationship with my phone camera.  I don't mind using it, but lately my photos have been disappointing; they seem much fuzzier than I think they should be.  This has not helped my general feeling about my photography.  In an effort to figure out what is going on, I read about a few things that may help me with my phone photography and I decided that $5 on HipstaPaks was a much more reasonable solution to "needing" something new than was buying an expensive lens that I know that I don't need at all.  Perhaps I just need to commit to a week or two of only phone photos for something new.

We'll see how things go.  Hopefully something will give here soon and the world through my lens will look a little more interesting to me.  Until then, I'll live vicariously through the beautiful photos of all my friends!

Happy snapping!