Pizza & Hockey Tonight

Hi there everyone....whomever you may be?!?!?!? How was your Sunday? I missed church today, woke up with a slight sore throat and stuffiness. Decided not to go at the last minute. There is remodeling going on in the church and lots of dust flying around. Didn't care to have itchy eyes on top of not feeling that great.

Jimmy Swaggart Ministries is our Church affiliate, so I can watch the service at home and not miss anything. I sure do wish I could go to a service sometime, but they are down in Baton Rouge, LA and we are up here in Appleton, WI. That's kind of a long way to go to church.

So, today was the beginning of the racing season, Daytona 500 kicks off the season. JP likes racing, as he used to be a stock car racer back in his younger days. He probably could have made  NASCAR but you need lots of $$$ to back you and that was something we had very little of.  Racing ended about 5:30. I walked Kylie, we came home and I put this pizza together. Homemade crust with bacon, peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach and cheese. Oh yum this was a perfect pizza and the crust was perfectly thin and crusty.

So here is the pizza before it was baked.....it came out of the oven just in time for the Hockey game that started at 6:30pm. In this picture you see we are in the 3rd period and the score is 2-2. (this was when I decided to take a picture or two of the game, had to turn off the flash, otherwise there would have been the glare of the flash)

Pizza time....almost forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Gosh, this was a really good pizza....wonder if I will ever be able to duplicate this one?????

Another picture....the Hawks won the game....4-2 in the last couple of minutes of play, PLUS they scored in an open net cause the Blues took their goalie out of the net....sad for them....good for us!!!! The Hawks, so far have won 39 games and lost 23. We still have all of March, plus 4 games in April. Then the Play-offs for the Stanley Cup begin. This season sure is going by fast....before you know it, Baseball will be starting!!!!

Good thing we have sports......takes the mind off politics!!!!! I am not much of a Baseball fan, but I sure did enjoy watching the Cubs win the World Series ~ finally!!!!

For this next week....JP has a Doctor's appointment tomorrow, guess we will be talking about his Prostrate with the Doctor and whether or not he will have surgery.

I still need to finish our income tax and take them into the accountant next Monday. Be glad when that is finished. It's like a black cloud hangs over me till I get that stuff done.

Hospice meeting is next Friday, I have the cards done and now just need to put the inserts in. All doable things that can get done in a few days if I stick to it and get it done.

I have some bills that need to be paid this week, so hopefully the weather will be agreeable too. Well, you all have a great week and keep looking up~~~~better days are here to enjoy, now!!!

Cheers ~ Louise

Carrot Cake, Macaroons, Yummy Potatoes, Steak and Pumpkin Pie

Hi there everyone. Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather. Guess that will change by this weekend.....the snow is coming. I knew this was too good to be true!!! But the early spring sure did feel good, didn't it???

So I started this post the day before Valentine's.....here are a couple of recipes that caught my eye.

Carrot Cake for 2. I am not very good at making cakes for some reason. But, this cake was pretty good, the taste was there but it came out like the leaning tower of Pizza. Carrot cake and cream cheese frosting. JP ate most of it though....I have to watch my sugar intake.

In this picture you see the back side of the carrot cake and chocolate Macaroons. A simple recipe from the package, I just added the chocolate chips and cocoa.

Chocolate Macaroons. 2 2/3 cup coconut, 1/3 cup sugar, 3 Tablespoon flour, 2 egg whites, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix together coconut, sugar, flour and salt. Then mix in egg, and almond extract until blended. Bake on a greased and floured cookie sheet, drop by teaspoonful for 20 minutes at 325 until edges are golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire racks to cool. As I said, in this recipe I added maybe about 1/3 mini chocolate chips and 1 Tablespoon cocoa.

Baked Potatoes - this was delicious!! Oh gosh....I lost this recipe, and not sure where I found it. But I seem to remember the potatoes were peeled and diced. Onions and bacon mixed in, sprinkled with salt and pepper and olive oil. Baked at 350-400 till browned. If I ever run across this recipe, I will be sure to post it again.

Hardcore Carnivore Black Steaks. I leave my steaks on the counter till room temperature. Makes for a more tenderer steak. Fry 3-4 minutes on each side will make for a medium pink steak....yum!!

I made a few Pumpkin Pies. One for us and one for my friend Betty. I cooked down a pumpkin from Halloween, had it sitting in the kitchen. Baked the pumpkin in the oven, scooped out the meat and froze it in freezer bags. Time to make the pie, defrosted the meat, 2 cups on pumpkin, cup of milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix in a blender and pour into a shell and bake 400 degrees for 15 minutes turn down the oven to 350 for 45 - 50 minutes. Easy Peasy Pie.

Well, I shall close this post for today.....hope you enjoyed the recipes. Have a great night and keep looking up~~~better days are here again. Cheers ~ Louise

Pretty Valentine Flowers

Hi there everyone. I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day. JP gave me $5.00 to spend on some flowers for myself. Whew, I thought, where in the world am I going to find some flowers for $5.00???? Everything I saw was $10, 20, 30 dollars. BUT!!! the day after Valentines I found these flowers at Pic n Save.

The check-out girl said, "they were $28.00 yesterday and today they are $5.00!!!" Yay....I got a good deal!!

I have put them in fresh water with an asprin and cut their stems down.

Hopefully they will last until the week-end...they sure are pretty.

I love the salmon colored roses and the hydrangea's were so pretty. I wish I had a bush....maybe this year.

The yellow roses are starting to weep a bit. I still think I got a good deal though. Maybe before they completely die, I will dry them by turning them upside down.

It's always nice to have some flowers in the house.....feels springy and summery in the middle of winter.

Although, it is starting to feel very much like Spring outside...tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 50's. It's time to sit on the front porch, maybe tomorrow...Kylie is looking for sunny places to sunbath. Next week, the temps will be in the 40's.....I like this kind of weather. Felt like I wanted to start raking the yard and bring out the lawn furniture.

Today I went shopping and actually wore my spring jacket. My winter coat seemed too warm. I saw a man wearing shorts already today....yep, spring is in the air.

I went to Betty's house Wednesday to make some cards....I will take pictures of them and put them up in my next post. We won't be meeting for the next few months....as she had knee surgery on her right knee and on March 6th will have surgery on her left knee. So she will be taking time off to heal.

Had my blood drawn today for the AC1....or is it A1C, I can never get that straight. Here's hoping I get some good numbers. Will find out in the next few days. Probably after I get the results, the Doctor will want to see me for my annual exam....ish!

Well, tomorrow I shall be working on my taxes...I have 2 weeks to get it all together and then take them in for the accountant to finish it off. Also in the next 2 weeks I have to get cards ready for our Hospice meeting March 3rd....I better get cracking. Who said Retirement was boring....I am not bored, have much too much to get done.

Time to close here, have to get a few miles in on my bike, don't know if it is doing any good....but I feel better after it. You all have a great weekend and keep looking up....better days are here again!!!

Cheers ~ Louise

SPRING Where Art Thou???

Hi there everyone! How has your week been? It's been nice here, a few days of cold and a few flurries. Next week it will be in the 30's and low 40's.......Spring, I am looking for you......perhaps it is right around the corner???? 

I have been thinking about what I want to plant when Spring comes....not sure I will go hog wild this year. Maybe just some tomato plants and flowers will do. I can't seem to get onions and zucchini growing, guess there is too much shade in my back yard and the dirt is too hard. Maybe I should try growing things in the front yard in full sun. Course the dirt is no better there either. Well, I still have a few months to ponder this situation.

I do so look forward to Spring and Summer and the beautiful flowers. Not sure where I got this picture, but this rose sure is pretty.

I know where these tulips come from....my front yard, it's a sure sign of spring when the tulips bloom.

Here's a colorful little Spring poem for you to read......

One of my pretty yellow roses in the front yard.

So tomorrow I shall be working on our taxes....I have been putting them off for a week now, for some reason I cannot get myself to tackle that job. But I know once I get to it, I will really get into it. I enjoy organizing, shuffling and filing papers, (must be a throw back from being a secretary or something.)

I went out today, to the Salvation Army to get some bread, mail the mortgage at the Post Office. Get some gas and coffee. Cookies and chocolate donut for JP's lunch. Oh and a corn dog. We shared that. That was the extent of my outing and I almost had enough. Gosh people are crazy drivers on Friday....they have gone wild!!! Payday and they want to get the weekend started......"get out of my way, you move too slow old lady." Gosh, if I didn't have to go to the store and run a few errands, I would be content to stay at home, I have become a home-body for sure!!!!

Well, time to close here before I bore you to death!!! You all take care and keep looking up cause better days are here again....if only the "left" would let it happen!!!! Cheers ~ Louise

February is Slipping by Fast!!!

Hi there everyone!!! February is slipping by fast....oh yes it is!!! Here it is....the 7th already. A truism, my mother always said to me, "don't wish your life away, Louise....it will come fast enough." I never knew what she meant by that, now I know. There is a scripture I like, it's on my facebook, "I was young, and now I am old yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." Psalm 37:25

So today I want to tell you about this great and tasty seasoning. The following picture is from Hardcore, check out their site. There's one blog I like to visit just about every day and she has talked about this seasoning for months now. Biz,  is a diabetic AND a terrific cook. She also is on WW and has lost weight using the point system. I give her lots of credit, she is very well-rounded, exercise, diet and still manages to enjoy life to the fullest!!!

Doesn't this steak look d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s I can hardly wait to cook a good steak on the grill this summer.....there I go again, wishing my life away. So anyways, Biz has been talking about this seasoning and then she would put pictures up of the steaks....mmmmmm....I could almost taste the steak through the pictures.(she takes great pictures too.) Finally I gave in and bought the seasoning going straight to their site. I also left a comment to Biz on her blog and said.....OKAY....you sold me, I am going to buy this seasoning......so I did!!!

In this picture is my Hardcore jars in the seasoning cabinet....yes they have Hardcore red which is for pork and chicken and maybe even fish. The Hardcore black is for steaks and hamburgers. Jess Pryles, the maker of these seasonings sends recipes every now and then....shall have to try them for sure. So far, I have used Hardcore Black for steak and hamburgers oh and I did use the Red for chicken wings.....oh yum!!!

So here is the steak all covered with the Hardcore Black, I did let the steak sit out for about an hour (as per Biz)with the seasoning on it.....made for a very tender piece of meat......yes it did!!! I fried the steak in an oiled hot pan with some mushrooms and peppers....2-4 minutes on each side. The steak was on sale at Pic n Save, an $8 piece of meat for $4.50....affordable. I think I will do this again for Valentine's Day.

This is what the plate looked like all cooked up....yes I did enjoy this meal. Steak, mushrooms and peppers, cottage fries and sour cream and asparagus.....yep it was delicious!!! And NO, I did not make this for JP - this was for "Louise only" sometimes a girl just needs to "treat" herself.....hahahhahha. Had more steak the next day for breakfast....yep, steak and eggs and again, did not share. Maybe for Valentines I will make him his own steak....we'll see.

He did give me $5.00 to buy some flowers....have not invested yet....there is still time for that. I am not sure steak and flowers are an even trade....can't eat flowers!!!! Course there are no calories in flowers, but then not much in steak either. Maybe it's just a Win-win situation. We are both happy in the end!!!

Still have not taken a picture of me with make-up on and a new do with my eyes all healed. My niece has sent me some sample Roden and Fields eye cream, lip cream, face cream and mask.....I have tried it and really like it and have seen a difference...gosh that stuff is great, I just wish I had the $$$ to buy from her. Actually my two nieces are selling it....I do believe they will do really great in this field. Maybe one day when my ship comes in, I can invest in Roden and Fields....but I have a feeling my ship sank in the Bermuda Triangle never to rise again!!

Well, time to close here....nothing much is coming up till next week. I have a Doctor's appointment for my A1C....sure do hope it is controlled and better this time around.

Cards are in the making......working on Hospice cards again....next meeting is March 3rd. They keep me busy, otherwise I would be doing nothing but sitting on my thumbs. Looking forward to Spring coming, maybe this year I will have the motivation to get outside and do something. Last summer I had lots of ideas but no motivation to do it. Hope that phase is over and out!!!

You all take care and keep looking up~~~better days are here again!!!  Cheers ~ Louise