I Made This Yesterday and......

Hi there everyone. Yesterday I made this potato casserole....and there is only one piece left.....guess I will save it for JP's dinner tonight.

This was really good and I will definitely make it again. I typed in "Copycat Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole" and up came lots of recipes. This is the one I chose. Oh so good, but JP ate most of it.

2 lbs hash brown potatoes
1/2 cup margarine, melted (or butter or 1/2 margarine 1/2 butter)
1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup onion, chopped (optional)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan and non-stick cooking spray.

Combine soup, margarine (or butter) salt and pepper and onions. Mix together. Pour over potatoes and mix together into the prepared pan or dish.

Cover with 1 cup of cheese and bake uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes. Enjoy.

Yep this is a keeper for sure.

Have a great evening and keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise

B-E-E-T-S

Hi there everyone.........well another Saturday coming to an end, where DO these days go to. Today was kind of cloudy and there was a bit of rain this morning. Glad it is not raining all day....leaky ceilings make me very frustrated and anxious.

So last night, JP stopped by real quick (between jobs) and gave me a bunch of BEETS!! My first reaction was, "I don't do beets" I have never been a beet fan, probably because I remember seeing my mother spend hours peeling and cutting beets to make borscht for my Ukrainian step-father and his mother and uncle. Uge, I hated beets. Her hands were always beet red when she was finished and I sure did not like borscht!!!! So needless to say I have always shied away from beets. No, I don't like beets!!!

So when JP showed up with beets in his hands, I was not too happy. So, I did what most "good" wives would do....looked up some recipes on the computer to use these beets up REAL QUICK!!!! I found a couple of neat sites, a Ukrainian making borscht, a girl from California, (she was hilarious) and a married couple who made borscht using a blender. That is the one I chose. One of those three "borscht makers" said, "you can use most any vegetable you want, even use meat if you like, as long as there are beets in it, it is a pot of Borscht"

So here I am peeling and slicing potatoes and beets for the borscht.....yes...my hands are beet red as is my cutting board and dish water. I also decided to make pickled beets with the smaller beets, just to see how they would taste and just incase some more beets cross my path, I am ready for the next batch.

Here is my take on the three borscht recipes: 2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced, 4 medium beets, peeled and sliced, salt and pepper to taste. Boil for 1 hour and turn down heat. Add 1 onion chopped, 1 carrot and garlic, fry in oil till cooked and add to beets. Add 1 tablespoon of dill weed.  When cooked and tender use an immersible blender to blend all the vegies together. Dish into a bowl add a dollop of sour cream and top with some dried chives.

The bowl on the left is the Borscht, on the right is the pickled beets. Here is my recipe for the pickled beets. 1 small onion sliced, 1/2 cup red-wine vinegar, 1 packet stevia, 1/2 cinnamon stick, 4 whole peppercorns, 2 whole cloves, 1/2-1 cups steamed sliced beets. Combine onion, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and cloves in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the onion is tender and crisp. Stir in beets, transfer to a large bowl and let marinate, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

So there you have it.....you can't "beet" a Friday night like I had last night. It was fun and who knows, I just might do it again. Have a great rest of the weekend. Hope you can "beet" the heat and enjoy.
Cheers ~ Louise

PS If you would like to see what I am talking about on wordpress here is my address there. http://cards4ubylouise.wordpress.com

A New Month and a Garden Harvest

Hi everyone, how are you all doing this first day of the month??? Wonder how fast this month will go by??? Hard to believe the summer is almost over except for a few more warm days ahead of us and then WINTER is just around the corner.....YIKES!!!!

Well, I thought I would post some vegies from my garden.  I made a tomato garden this year....so in the above picture you see some of my tomatoes. My but they were yummy this year.  BLT's  were absolutely divine!! My cucumbers are doing good this year as I planted the young plants in an old wheel barrel. I have tried planting in other areas but they just did not seem to grow.....the wheel barrel must have had perfect growing conditions this year.

I have onions growing all over the place....but none of the onions seem to get really big....more like small marbles...oh well, guess I will just buy them at the store. The rhubarb did not do good this year, no harvest. Had strawberries growing in the front of the house.....they did well, lots of sun and rain for those berries. Not a good year for beans....planted in two different places....they did not take off...oh well. My oregano and garlic are doing well. Peppers are growing along with the tomatoes. Oh and how did I forget....I planted potatoes in a container....they are still sprouting, so have not received a harvest as yet...that's if the squirrel does not get to them before I do......DARN that squirrel!!!!

We've been given lots of vegies though...tomatoes, peppers, jalapeno peppers, egg plant, cucumbers, cabbage have been bountiful, with more to come, I hope.

In this picture is my green apples..........I am so happy that these babies made it. As of this writing I have 11 containers of cooked up apples in the freezer. Each container will make one apple pie. Oh yum!!

Our Labor Day will consist of JP going out to the tree and getting some more apples off the tree. He is taller then I...so hopefully he'll get higher then I could. I think they are ready now, cause the apples that I cut open today....the seeds were black or almost turning. So I will cut some more apples up tomorrow, cook them and freeze some and make a pie for Labor day. We have company coming from Chicago....so guess what....they are getting some apple pie. Why buy dessert when I can make a pretty good pie here with some whipped cream...........oh my, I can hardly wait!!!!

Well, time to close, it is getting late and I need to get some sleep. Going to be a quiet day around here, we'll get some things done around the house before company comes next weekend. Have a great Labor Day and don't' labor too much......lol!!! Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Wanted to wish all my blog friends a Very Merry Christmas.

Well, the busyness of shopping, making cards and sending them, decorating, making gifts and cookies, (still working on JP's Christmas present) is coming to a climax. Whew, so, so busy. Plus I was dealing with some kind of cold that put me down for a week. Still not feeling that well, but much better then I was.

Tonight for dinner I am making a little steak and shrimp, salad and crispy mashed red potatoes........sure do like this little recipe, here it is:

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

4 ~ 1 1/2 inch red potatoes
olive oil
salt and water
seasoning (your choice) or kosher salt and pepper

Scrub potatoes and in a pan big enough to hold the amount of potatoes you want, add water and some salt. Bring to boil over high heat. Then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes or until "fork tender" or until the fork meets little resistance.

Preheat oven to 450. Add olive oil to a nonstick baking pan with an edge. Use enough to have it "pool" a lit not just coat. Add the potatoes and "smash" to about 1/2 inch thick. I used a potato masher or fork.

Brush top with more olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and anything else you want.
Bake until brown and crisp. About 20-25 minutes. I like extra crispy, so I leave them in a little longer.

Takes about 1 hour to make but very worth the time.

Happy eating and enjoy tonight and tomorrow, Christmas Day. We are going to Jim and Arlene's house for ham dinner at noon. Probably spend a couple of hours with them. Then home and relax.....not sure when we will open gifts between JP and I, maybe when I get his present done????? Gosh, that could be next week.....hahahahaha

Well you all have a great Christmas and enjoy the season, it will go all to fast. Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise