Tuesdays At The Table

Now that I am back to blogging, I just had to get back into this meme. I LOVE it! I have found so many yummy recipes through this. These blogging women certainly know how to cook!
To participate post a recipe or cooking hint on your blog, then head on over to Cole's place All The Small Stuff look for Mr. Linky & post the link to your recipe. Be sure to link up to the TATT post. Then, and this is the most important part, check out all the other links for some great recipes!

Now for my recipe of the week:

Crockpot Potato Soup

2 cans Campbell' Cream of Potato Soup
2 cans Diced Potatoes
1 pint Half & Half
1 tsp pepper
1 cup Whipping Cream

Mix all ingredients in your crockpot & cook on low 4-6 hours.
Serve with cornbread, crackers, bacon bits, green onions, shredded cheese or whatever else you may want.
Talk about yuuummmyyy! Man did it hit the spot yesterday! And best of all, it's easy-peasy, I like easy-peasy.

So, head on over to All the Small Stuff & add your recipe!

Blessed Be

Retirement, House, Pampered Chef

(little thief showed up just as the sun was going down)

Well let's see, where to start?? Been a while since I've been able to get on here & update you about anything and (for the 5 of you that are having Groomer Angie withdrawls) I apologize. *grin*

How about we start with this?-- WE ARE AT THE NEW HOUSE!!!

Notice I said AT not IN. We are here, but are sleeping in the motorhome for now. I love, love, love it, absolutely, no doubt about it, LOVE it! I knew I would, but I didn't have any idea I would love it out here this much!

(we were using the tailgate for grilling since our stove hadn't been hooked up yet)
I am not the only one, the dogs love it as well. All the barking I heard while at the other house has gone down by about 80%! They spend most of the day, sitting or playing in the 10 x 30 kennel we put up for them with their noses in the air & enjoying the sun. They seem to be fascinated with all the birds & I know they can smell the deer that come through here at dusk & at dawn. They do bark when the squirrels show up. They hate the squirrels. There are no bratty, mean children to pick at them anymore, no horns honking, no skateboards or bicycles running all over the place & we are ALL enjoying it. My blood pressure is the best it has ever been! DH says it's beginning to grow on him, he's always been in the city & is having to adjust to country life & all the things that go with it, mainly snakes. He hates them! So we have an agreement, I'll deal with the snakes when they show up, he gets to deal with the spiders. *shudder*


Our kitchen cabinets should be finished this weekend! WOOT! I am so tired of washing dishes in the bathtub. *grin* But I can do without the dishwasher for a bit in exchange for this serenity. We still have things at the other house to get out here, most of the little stuff is here, but we have some of the larger furniture to bring out yet, our bed, the couch, the entertainment center, things like that. It's all coming together, slowly but surely and now that I am retired, I can work on it at my own speed.



(took this at the old house when the dishwasher broke, picture the same thing here with a white tub)
Speaking of my retirement, all the letters went out last month & it is NOT going over very well with my clients. They are not happy, but I don't know what else I can do. I CAN NOT continue doing this, I just can't. My Doctor has been after me for a while now & I had a bad scare last month that made me decide it was time now!

When I ended up at the ER with heart attack/stroke symptoms, it scared me badly. Thankfully, it wasn't a heart attack, but we still haven't gotten to the source of my stroke symptoms. Tests showed that I didn't have one, but my body is saying otherwise. With a history of stroke in my family, I am not taking any chances, so I'm finally obeying my doctor. I am sorry this is making it hard for some of the clients, but I have to think about ME & what is best for ME, not what is best for everyone else.

I have given everyone a great recommendation. I know she will take care of the dogs in the same way I do & as far as her grooming skills, well, since I am the one who taught her to groom, I am confident that she knows what she is doing. So, I have to find some way to deal with the clients that are continuing to call me & beg me to keep grooming their dog. I have to try to find a way to make them understand that yes, I have chosen to stop grooming dogs just as I chose to start grooming all those 30 years ago. Difference being, 30 years ago, it was a choice, now it's not a choice, I HAVE to choose retirement, for my sake. So....how do I make them understand?? I welcome any & all suggestions since I really don't want to have to change my phone number, I've had the same number forever. I'm starting to think getting a new number is the only way I will get any peace though. To tell the truth, I expected some fussing about me retiring, but not this much fussing. I have to admit too, it hurts my feelings a bit to hear them carry on about them & what are they going to do, while not even hearing me tell them that I Physically! Can't! Do! This! Anymore! or I will end up in the hospital! (to those clients of mine that are reading this, please try to understand it has nothing whatsoever to do with you or your little dog or me not liking you, it has to do with me & the fact that I want to be able to enjoy life, which is something I have not been able to do in a long, long time because of the pain I'm in & my health steadily going downhill)

OK, enough of that, now on with what I have been doing.

Two words--Pampered Chef! I absolutely adore the stuff! It's like Kick Off at the Redskins' season opener, Fireworks on the 4th of July, Winning Best of Variety at a dog show, Mardi Gras & Christmas all rolled up together! Ok, well maybe that's a bit ridiculous, overboard, exaggerated, but I mean to tell you their products are awesome! My aunt had a Pampered Chef Cooking Show at her house & I went, oh sweet mercy did we eat some gooooood food, all fixed in the microwave no less! So I booked a show of my own (held in my aunt's downstairs kitchen since mine is still not together yet, hers was held in her upstairs kitchen), we planned Baked Chicken, Mexican Layer Salad, & Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, all made in the microwave!!

Yes, that chicken was made in the microwave! 20 mins & it was done!! The cake was made in the microwave too! The center has those mini Reese Cups in it!!

It was pouring rain that day, I mean a real frog strangler & the only ones that showed up were me (of course), my sister Linda (on the left), my aunt Frances (middle) & Jane our consultant. I was a little disappointed with that, but I figured as much when the rain didn't let up. We didn't care, we all ate good & had a wonderful fellowship with each other that day. I'm seriously thinking about becoming a consultant for Pampered Chef, I could make a little extra money AND would be able to get all kinds of Pampered Chef stuff! :)

I'm also still working on my stained glass & loving it as well, so don't worry about me in my retirement, I'm doing lots of things I enjoy. As I close this longer than I intended it to be post, look what I found at Wal-Mart.......

You know I just had to have them! teehee




Be blessed everyone,

Tuesdays at the Table

Can you believe it's Tuesday again? Time for Andrea's Tuesdays at the Table! I have found so many recipes that make me hungry just reading them since she started this! Join the fun, post a recipe or food tip then head over to Andrea's place, My Chihuahua Bites, link up your food post with Mister Linky and go see what everyone else has posted. I warn you, these ladies are posting some awesome recipes, so get ready to have your mouth watering!

Today, I'm posting another really easy recipe (I told you, I like EASY) that is a favorite around my house, not to mention, yummy!

Pepper Steak with Soy Sauce

1 lb. beef round steak or sirloin, cut into strips

2 T. shortening or oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cup water, divided

2 med. onions, cut into strips

2 bell peppers, cut into strips

2 T. cornstarch

cooked rice

Brown meat in shortening or oil until tender. Add soy sauce and 1 1/4 cups of the water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add onions; simmer for 5 minutes. Add peppers; cook until peppers are tender. Mix remaining 1/4 cup water with cornstarch and stir until no lumps remain; add to beef mixture. Allow beef to continue simmering until sauce thickens. Serve over a warm bed of rice.

I'm telling you this is good stuff, we never have leftovers no matter if I double the recipe or not!

Now get on over to My Chihuahua Bites and join in the fun!

Tuesdays at the Table~Week 3

It's that time again~Tuesdays at the Table hosted by Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites. I am loving this party! I've found so many great looking recipes so far and can't wait to try them. Join the party and head over to Andrea's place to get in on it.

Today, I'm posting Chess Bars. I like easy. I like good and this one fits both bills. My niece, Tori gave this to me a long time ago and I make it quite often.

Chess Bars

1 stick butter or margarine, softened

1 box yellow or chocolate cake mix

1 egg

Mix together and press into a greased 13x9x2 cake pan.

1 8oz cream cheese, softened

1 pound box powdered sugar (yeah I know 1 pound!)

2 eggs

Mix these together and pour over first mixture. Bake at 325 for 50-55 minutes.

This is awesome, but as you can see, not for those looking to cut back on calories!

Now get over to My Chihuahua Bites and add your recipe!

Tuesdays at the Table

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in a week! But it's time once again for "Tuesdays at the Table" hosted by Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites. Last week there were some pretty awesome looking recipes posted. Join in, you'll have fun! Post a recipe, then head over to Andrea's place and put a link to your recipe post on Mister Linky, then be sure to check out all the other recipes.

Today I'm posting Cola Chicken. Ok, don't start curling your nose and yelling "eeewww" as strange as it sounds, it really is a yummy recipe. I found it on AllRecipes and I tweaked it a bit. I use Dr. Pepper instead of Coke and I've added the green peppers. Trust me, it's mmmmmm goooood!!

Dr. Pepper Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breast halves

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup cola, regular or diet, or Dr. Pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Arrange chicken breast halves in crockpot. Combine ketchup, cola, onion, and green pepper; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours. Serve chicken with sauce over rice.

Serves 4 to 6.

Now give it a shot and check out what everyone else has posted this week.

Tuesdays at the Table

I love, love, love to try new recipes and Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites Blog has come up with a good one! Tuesdays at the Table! Check out her blog and find some great recipes. I think this is going to become a favorite of mine! :)

I've told you before how I got my Grandmother to call out her recipes to me so I could write them all down before she passed away. I cherish those recipes and fix them every chance I get. My favorite is her Peanut Butter Pie as you can tell from that previous post.

Today for Andrea's Mister Linky, I'm posting my Grandmother's Peanut Butter Candy. (Can you tell Granny liked peanut butter?)

Peanut Butter Candy
1 cup evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups smooth peanut butter
1/4 teas. salt
1/2 pint marshmallow creme

Boil milk, sugar and salt for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and marshmallow creme, blend together until smooth.
Pour into pan and let set. Cut into squares.

I've made this before, and I do remember it taking a bit to get it all mixed up good. Granny wasn't the best as all the 'recipe embellishments, most of her quotes included "add about" or "or so" and such. So, with alot of her recipes I had to figure out the best way to do it.

Good luck and don't forget to visit Andrea and find more recipes and good things to eat. And by the way, I don't think her Chihuahua really bites, but since I have Chihuahuas, I know they will bite if they take the notion. :)

Blessings,

My Grandmother's Peanut Butter Pie

(*I changed the title of this post because feedjit was showing a bunch of visitors from google searching for things I would rather not have my blog associated with. Maybe the title change will stop the perverts)
Today I have a craving for my grandmother's peanut butter pie. I am so glad I got her to sit down with me all those years ago and call her recipes off to me so I could write them down. Granny rarely wrote any of her recipes down, she always went by sight when it came to making anything. If I tried doing that, the dogs probably wouldn't even eat it and they will eat anything! She passed away in Nov. 1982 and I cherish my collection of her recipes. Here is my favorite. Be warned, if you make this, you will be asked to make it over and over again, AND it is very, and I do mean very rich.

Granny Whittaker's Peanut Butter Pie
Stir together:
2 cups peanut butter
1 8oz pkg softened cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 tbls melted butter
Add to mixture:
1 cup Cool Whip
1 tbls vanilla

Mix together well and pour into graham cracker crust (you can use Oreo crusts as well) Chill at least 6-8 hours, but overnight works even better.

ENJOY!