Something Yummy for My Colonel's Tummy...

I found this recipe on someone else's blog.

I'm so sorry that I can't remember whose to give her credit!

I made this last Sunday for the Colonel.

He was out in the woods in the pouring rain for 3 days with the cadets

teaching Land Navigation.

I remember when we were down in Ft. Benning, GA many, many 

years ago and he was literally "dropped" in the middle of the woods

and given a map, not like the maps we use, and told he had a certain

amount of time to get back to their base camp.

I prayed all night that he would not get lost.

And he didn't.  

It was a very nerve-wracking few days waiting for him 

to come back and let me know if he passed.

He said it was probably one of the hardest 

courses he had to take at the time.

And that quite a few soldiers DID get lost and had 

to be "rescued."

NOT something you want to happen!

This is something all soldiers need to know how to do, 

find their way out of unfamiliar territory without the help of GPS.

Knowing he had a hard weekend, I thought it would be 

nice to have something YUMMY 

to treat him to when he came home last Sunday night.

And this is YUMMY and EASY!

Mini Boston Cream Pies

1 package of vanilla pudding, 1 cup of cool whip and 1 1/4 cups of milk.

I used sugar free pudding and fat free milk... 

One package of Puff Pastry Sheets.

This is found in the freezer section of your grocery store

and should remain in your freezer until you're ready to start cooking.

The package comes with 2 sheets, I only used one sheet.

Remove the puff pastry from the package and place it on top of

the counter until it has defrosted...

Prepare the pudding mix with the 1 1/4 cups of milk.

Add the 1 cup of cool whip...

Gently stir the cool whip into the pudding...

Completely combined.  This tastes delicious.

Place this in the refrigerator until it has firmed up.

I did this part about an hour before we were ready for dessert...

Once your puff pastry has defrosted, 

 gently unfold  and lay it flat on a cutting board...

Cut the sheet into 9 equal pieces...

Place the separated pieces on a baking dish that you've lightly 

sprayed with cooking spray and bake for

20 minutes at 350 degrees...

Like magic they PUFF up...

Take 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and place in a microwave safe bowl...

Add 1 tablespoon of shortening and place the bowl in the 

microwave to melt the chocolate.

I do mine for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between.

This is after the first 20 seconds...

All melted and looking beautiful...

Take your puff pastry and cut in half...

Place a good size of the pudding/cool whip mixture on top of one half

and cover with the other half...

Add another spoon of cool whip on top

and drizzle your melted chocolate over the entire pastry...

I know, I know!  My flash didn't take!

But I think you can see how delicious this is!

The Colonel was very happy with his dessert and 

forgot all about how miserable he was in the woods 

all weekend.

Thankfully he returned to the university with all his cadets!

Enjoy your weekend!

Please don't forget to visit on Monday when

my sister and I do a special blog post together!

Click HERE for a printable version.

My Sister...

My sister,  Liz, has blog.

She actually started blogging before me, but that's another story.

We're planning on doing something fun on Monday with both of our blogs, 

so please make sure you stop by and see what's going on in both our worlds.

For now, here's the link to her blog, if you care to visit her today!

My Sister's Blog 

Enjoy your day!  

Are You Ready...

For some FOOTBALL?

Our son Michael has joined the high school football team.

Of course this year and next year he's on the JV Team

which means he plays on Monday nights.

He still suits up on Friday nights but will probably 

not play unless something terrible 

happens to all the juniors and seniors on the team.

Here he is last week at their first home game.

#36...

Getting ready for the kick off...

Waiting.

Seems the 9th graders do a lot of this...

He's there in the huddle.

Discussing what play they should do next...

It was a beautiful late afternoon.

The games start at 4:30 with the Junior High School team

followed by the JV team for the high school at around 6:00 ...

The Colonel and I in the stands.

It was quite chilly and windy...

Michael's team won their first home game!

My back made it through the 3rd quarter thanks only to my friend...

Hoping I can make it through the entire game next week or 

MAYBE
I can talk the Colonel into bringing something a little
more comfortable for me to sit in
to the game...

I can dream, can't I?

Enjoy your day!

What's For Dinner Tonight?

I love eating tomatoes fresh from the garden.

Here are TWO of my favorite ways to eat tomatoes...

TOMATO SALAD

Ingredients:

Tomatoes

Red Onion

Mozzarella Cheese

Italian Salad Dressing

I know these tomatoes don't look too pretty,

but trust me, they're delicious!

Cut up your tomatoes into chunks.

Cut the cheese into chunks.

Slice the red onion (add as much or as little as you like)...

Put the tomatoes, cheese and red onion in a bowl.

Add salt and pepper.

Add the Italian Salad Dressing.

I use Good Seasons because, well, it's THE BEST...

Mix everything together and place in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Serve as a side dish to any great meal.

DELICIOUS!

I always try to make enough so we can enjoy this salad for a few days.

Trust me, it stays fabulous in the refrigerator, even getting better.

But what if you have leftovers?

Here's what I do...

Focaccia

You can use either store bought pizza dough or homemade pizza dough.

I use homemade pizza dough.

It's so easy and inexpensive to make.

Take a loaf of pizza dough.

Here's my homemade pizza dough after the first rise...

Spread it out into a pan.

Prick the dough with a fork and set aside to rise again, maybe 30 minutes...

Take your "leftover" tomato salad and spread it evenly over the dough.

Try not to use too much of the juices...

Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese...

Bake in a hot oven, 425 degrees until the crust is golden brown 

and your house smells like heaven...

Doesn't that look good?

Don't you want to take a bite?

I made this last week as a "side dish" with some grilled chicken

and a tossed salad.

The Colonel could not get enough.

Let me know if you try the tomato salad and if you do,

you MUST make a focaccia with the leftovers!

Scripture Sunday...

Isaiah 1:18

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: 

though your sins be as scarlet, 

they shall be as white as snow; 

though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

I love the promise of this verse.  

Enjoy your Sunday!

It's Looking Like Fall...

Like many other bloggers, 

Fall is my favorite season.

It's actually the Colonel's favorite season also.

So, the other day I asked the Colonel to please bring

my "orange" boxes up from the storage room.

Felt so good to unpack them.

I didn't unpack them last year.

My Colonel was in Afghanistan last year and

I didn't feel like decorating.

BUT...

Not this year!

I also don't go "crazy" decorating.

Just a few items to make our house look and smell pretty.

My FAVORITE scent by Yankee Candle.

Kitchen table...

An Amish bowl we've had for YEARS.

We found this bowl at a barn sale when Olivia

was a baby for only $1.00!

I love it...

The hutch in our kitchen...

Full view of our hutch.

I love this furniture...

View of our eating area in the kitchen...

Candle arrangement on the coffee table in the living room...

Dining room table...

Leaf candle holders.

I have three and this one is holding a tiny pumpkin candle...

Full view of our dinning room table...

As I said, I don't go overboard on the decorating.

Just enough to make us feel even more 

warm and comfortable 

in our home.

Did you decorate yet?

Leave me a comment and let me know!

I'd love to see what you did in your home!

Enjoy!

Potato Soup...

Tonight I'm preparing one of my favorite soups.

Actually, everyone in my family loves this soup.

Well, almost everyone.

But, HE refuses to even eat mashed potatoes.

Will someone please tell me how a 14 year old boy doesn't love mashed potatoes?

This recipe is so easy.

AND it tastes better than Panera's.

Ingredients:

6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3- 14 oz cans chicken broth

1/4 c butter

2 1/2 t salt

1 1/4 t freshly ground pepper

1 c whipping cream or half and half

1 c shredded SHARP Cheddar cheese

3 T chopped fresh chives (for garnish only if desired)

1 (8 0z.) sour cream (for garnish only if desired)

4 bacon slices cooked and crumbled (for garnish)

1 - 2 Knorr chicken flavored bouillon cubes

NOTE: I eliminate the onions and butter.

Peel 6 large potatoes...

Potatoes all diced and in the pot...

Chicken broth and chicken bouillon cubes added.

Now bring to a boil until the potatoes are fork-tender...

Potatoes are fork-tender...

Mashing potatoes...

Adding one cup of cheddar cheese...

The recipe calls for heavy cream.

I've used heavy cream, half and half, and even fat free half and half.

But I almost always have half and half in my refrigerator, so that's usually what I use.

Adding 1 cup of half and half...

Now, continue to cook until the soup is nice and thick.

NOTE:

Sometimes, when I use the half and half, the soup will not thicken to my liking.

So I make an easy "slurry" of a few tablespoons of flour mixed in a jar of water

and add it to the boiling soup and stir.

The soup thickens up beautifully.

All ready to eat!

It really is easy and so delicious!

Let me know if you try it!

Click HERE for a printable recipe!

A GREAT Weekend...

I hope you all had a nice weekend.

It was great here.

A little chilly, 

but still very nice.

We spent some time outside doing some chores around the house.

I thought I'd share some pictures with you of our home.

In front of the potting shed the Colonel made for me a few years ago.

The kids made the sign for it and gave it to me for Christmas... 

One side of our back porch with my pretty flowers...

A few of the flowers didn't enjoy the cold temperatures

and I had to give them a "burial."  

This one still looks happy...

The other side of our porch.

The brown chest use to be Olivia's bedroom dresser.

The Colonel refinished it YEARS ago and it was a pretty blue with 

off white trim while it was in her room. 

When we purchased her new furniture a few years ago I asked

him to please re-do it again so we could put it on the back porch.

He painted it brown, removed the drawers and added shelves. 

Looks nice...

The back of the house...

Hubby burning trash.

Yes, it's legal here to do this!

This is what we found while wedding the front garden...

We think they're some form of mushrooms...

Here's a close-up.

Does anyone have any clue what they are?

We found the remains of a bird's nest in a tree...

Very nice...

Leaving it alone.

Maybe they'll come back next year...

Our view...

Our house...

My favorite place to be...

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of our weekend.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you did 

this weekend! 

Enjoy your day!