Recipe of the Week

CLASSIC PEAR CRISP

This recipe is one of Rich's favorites. Rich and I both grew up in Southern Oregon....famous for Pears. We can several dozen quarts of pears each year. We never seem to have enough to last from season to season. I found this recipe on the side of a Western Family Crisp Rice cereal box. Rich rated it 5-Star.

Pear Mixture

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cans - 15 oz. sliced pears, drained

Topping

1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Crispy Rice cereal.....Rice Krispies
1 1/2 cup quick oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9 x 9 - inch glass Pyrex pan combine the pear mixture ingredients and toss gently until combined. Spread evenly in the pan.

In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the topping. Using your fingers break up the margarine into very smal pieces and blend it into the other ingredients.

Spread the topping mixture evenly over the pear mixture. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.

Serves 4-6.

Miscellaneousfinds4u Giveaway

Check out the Miscellaneousfind4u website!!!!!!!!!! They are a Seattle-based product review team. It's nice to have someone on the West Coast doing reviews.

They not only do reviews.....they have community services, contests and giveaways, discounts and freebies, and freezer cooking.

Right now they are having a giveaway for bloggers. You can win a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate.

Hurry on over and check them out. Giveaway ends 3/30/09.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!

Recipe of the Week

Photo is my home canned Mandarin Oranges. They were on sale for $2.99 for a 5 pound box so I bought 3 boxes. Rich loves them so he took them in his lunch and ate them for snacks. I had canned regular oranges before so I thought I would try my luck with the Mandarins. I used a very light syrup to enhance the sweetness of the Mandarins. They turned out tasty. I'll can more next winter when they are on sale again.

POPPY SEEDED LEMON DROP COOKIES

These are my Dad's favorite cookies. He always looks for them in his Goodie bag that I make for him for his birthday and holidays.

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 t. lemon extract
1 3/4 c. flour
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 T. poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets, or use non-stick sheets.

Beat together the butter and sugar until soft and creamy. Add the egg and lemon extract and blend well. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds; blend into the creamed mixture.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving 2-inches between the drops. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Makes 3 1/2 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies.

The Ultimate Blog Party 2009

Hey Everybody, check out The Ultimate Blog Party 2009. There's lots of friendships and prizes going on out there in Blogland. You'll find the button on the right side of my blog. So, hit the button and start having fun and meet some new friends. Maybe you'll get lucky and win a prize.

A little about me: I'm Shirley. I've been married to Rich for almost 36 years. We have no children.....just a very spoilt furbaby, Misty. Rich and I are both native Oregonians. We live within 80 miles of where we were both born. As you probably already noticed.......I have a passion for wolves. My website is dedicated to my wonderful hubby, Rich and my best friend, Danny who lost his battle with ALS on December 26, 2004. You will find that I blog about a lot of different things. I love to quilt, scrapbook, garden, and cook. You will also notice that I love animals and Mother Nature.

I have recently started back using coupons to stretch my grocery budget. I used to do it years ago. When I went to work full time I stopped using coupons.....in fact we ate out a lot and I didn't prepare meals the way I do now. Rich and I usually worked different shifts and different days off. Now that I'm unable to work and we only have Rich's income I have found my way back to being frugal and using coupons. I basically cook from scratch and buy very little packaged foods.

There are so many cool prizes to be won at this year’s Ultimate Blog Party, but my top three picks would be:

58 Kitchen Aide Artisan Stand Mixer
89 $100 Gift Card to Home Goods
19 $50 Gift Card to Target

And if my top three picks are already chosen, I’d love any of the following (in order of preference):

21, 22, 26, 68, 86, 91, 113, 109, 72, 114, 20, 43, 51, 103, 95, 55, 64, 17, 12, 11, 6, 2, 13, 65, 80 and 85.

New Quilting Blog

You Can Make This is starting a new blog......You Can Quilt This! They are having a drawing for a sewing machine. So, join the fun and maybe you might be a winner!

Request From The Rainbow Bridge

I found this poem today and thought it might be a comfort to my friend, Gina at CaT Paw inN PriMiTiveS that lost her beloved.....Otto Biscuit. My friend, may you find comfort when you read this poem.


REQUEST FROM THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

Weep not for me though I am gone,
Into that gentle night.
Grieve if you will, but not for long,
Upon my soul's sweet flight.

I am at peace, my soul's at rest,
There is no need for tears.
For with your love I was so blessed
For all those many years.

There is no pain, I suffer not,
The fear now all is gone.
Put now these things out of your thoughts,
In your memory I live on.

Remember not my fight for breath,
Remember not the strife,
Please do not dwell upon my death,
But celebrate my life.

Author Constance Jenkins

Happy Birthday, Bobbie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shirley and Bobbie....1964

Shirley and Bobbie....1964

Bobbie and her future husband, Michael Gray....Prom 1982

Bobbie....Senior Photo 1982

Bobbie and Mike celebrating their 25th anniversary in Maui....2008

Bobbie....2009


Happy, Happy Birthday to my sister, Bobbie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You were a cute little baby and you have grown into a beautiful woman.

Love, Shirley

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It's only fitting that I post today on St. Patrick's Day.....after all my Irish ancestors can be traced back to 16th century Ireland. I get this part of my ancestry from my maternal grandfather........Jack Everett McGuire, Sr.

Grandpa had a sense of humor and he loved to laugh. He loved fishing, gardening, traveling, professional wrestling and most of all his family. Grandpa and Grandma did a lot of traveling during their life. Grandpa always said that nothing made him happier than to have a chunk of cheese, a chunk of bologna and soda pop while traveling. I guess that is where I get my junk food cravings while traveling. Yes, I always have a box of goodies and an ice chest with my cold drinks in the van when we travel.

Grandpa and Grandma always had a huge garden with lots of veggies and flowers. At times gardening was hard for Grandpa because he was disabled and had to use a crutch to get around. He had polio when he was a child and that weakened his legs. Then as a young man his back was injured in a accident. Grandpa and Grandma preserved hundreds of jars of fruit, meat and veggies each year for their family. They had 11 children........2 died in childhood. They had 9 boys and 2 girls. There was always somebody around to help Grandpa with the heavy stuff.

My favorite food that Grandma canned was Green Beans with Tiny New Potatoes. I could eat a quart of them by myself. I've never tasted any as good as Grandma's. I'm going to try canning some myself this year. She also canned Strawberries that could be used on Strawberry Shortcake. Mom said that she just thickened the juice with a little bit of cornstarch......I tried once to can them that way and mine didn't turn out like Grandma's. I found a recipe for canning Strawberries that are not supposed to float. You are supposed to be able to use them for Strawberry Shortcake. I thought I would try one batch and see how they turn out. Now I just have to wait for Strawberries!

Grandpa raised a lot of the meat the family needed. Each fall there would be 1 -2 hogs, 1 - 2 steers and lots of chickens to butcher. Grandpa had a cow or 2 for years. Yep, Grandpa was right out there milking both morning and evening. He would bring the buckets of milk in the house and Grandma would take care of it. She always skimmed off the cream. She used the cream for whipping and most important of all.......butter. I loved it when we got to take home cream to make butter. I used to get in trouble all the time because I would shake the jar of cream on the way home and Mom would have to finish off the butter. She would tell me not to shake it up......and I did it anyway. Oh, how beautiful and tasty that butter was on Mom's biscuits.

All of my grandparents are gone now. I cherish all the memories and the skills I learned from each of them.

To Thong or not to Thong?

On Wednesday Bridgette at The Not-So-Blog Blog posts Wordless Wednesday's. Check out the one for this week at this link

Enough said!!

Recipe of the Week

ONE-STEP POUND CAKE

I thought I would share a easy recipe for pound cake. I use slices of this cake as a base for Strawberry Shortcake.....add sweetened, sliced strawberries and whipped cream. Yummy!!!!!!!! Rich would eat Strawberry Shortcake every day if I would let him. During Strawberry season you will find us busy freezing sliced, slightly sweetened bags of berries to enjoy all year around.

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 9" fluted tube pan...I usually bake in 9-inch loaf pan. In bowl beat all ingredients except powdered sugar and lemon juice, 3 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake 55-60 minutes, until cake tests done. Cool, 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool. Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice; drizzle over cake. Serves 12.

Check out Craft Critique

Craft Critique is having a awesome Giveaway! Go over and check it out! You won't be disappointed.

Fibromyalgia and Me

Most of you know that I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in February 2005. At first there was a lot of days that I could hardly function. Getting out of bed was even hard at times. I've learned over the years to pace myself so I can accomplish most of my housecleaning, cooking, shopping, etc.

Saturday morning I didn't pace myself and since around noon yesterday I have been paying the price. I had to go to bed around noon yesterday and slept until almost 4pm. When I got up I felt as if a semi-truck had ran over me and then backed up and ran over me again. I could barely move......every inch of my body was in pain. I ended up going back to bed around 5:30pm and spent a very painful night of tossing and turning, moaning and groaning. Poor Rich, I don't know how he got any rest last night.

This morning I tried to get ready to attend church services. I ended up sitting on the side of the bed in tears because I hurt so bad. Rich tried to give me a comforting hug this morning........I screamed out in pain......even him touching my skin today is painful.

I've spent most of the day in bed resting. I just got up a little while ago and thought I would check my emails and post on my blog. Just sitting here in the computer chair is painful for me today.

You are probably wondering what I did yesterday morning to cause all my discomfort. I moved a few books, dusted the headboard of our bed and helped Rich change the sheets on the bed. Rich did most of the heavy cleaning in our bedroom yesterday. I did not feel that I was doing too much until the pain began.

I would not wish Fibromyalgia on my worst enemy!!!!!!!!

Giveaway at Quilting Ranny's

Quilting Ranny is having a fantastic March Spring Giveaway on her site. There will be 3 prizes.......3 winners.

She is giving away a Sewing Machine Caddy, Quarter Yard Spring Tulip fabric and a Set of 4 magnetic grocery shopping lists.

Check out her site and be sure and post on one of your comments that you heard about her contest on my blog. We'll both get extra entries in the giveaway!!!

Good Luck!!

Coupons, Dotte Dolls, Quilt Blocks........Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been busy trying to organize my coupons and make out my shopping list for tomorrow. I stocked my pantry a couple of weeks ago so I don't need much in the line of groceries.........just a few things I forgot. I have all my coupons clipped and organized into a binder and ready for shopping.

I have my list of things I want to purchase at Walgreen's tomorrow. I've only shopped there a couple of times but I'm addicted to their bargains. I'm working on stocking my household products for the pantry. Walgreen's offers some great buys on shampoos, soaps, ect.

I love Dotee Dolls.........I have several in my collection. I mostly swap with other ladies on Swapbot.com I'm signed up for 7 swaps......each swap I will make 1 Dotee doll. I always make 2 of each Dotee Doll that I swap.......Rich insists that I keep 1 for collection. I have my collection of Dotee Dolls hanging between my kitchen/dining area and living area. I have a vaulted ceiling in the living area and there is a small wall above the entrance into the kitchen/dining area. Misty loves to sit and watch the Dotee dolls.....as the sunlight shines on the sparkles, beads and when the window is open or furnace is running they will twirl. Thank Goodness they are hanging up high or she would have them down playing with them.......especially the red ones. She loves to grab my red yarn and take off through the house with it dragging behind her.

I just finished a St. Patty's Day Dotee and a Spring Garden Tea Dotee. They will be leaving here tomorrow for their new homes in Arkansas and Wisconsin. Of course, my 2 Dotee dolls will join their sisters in my collection.

The Spring Garden Tea Dotee was a lot of fun to make. I used a pretty floral with pink roses for the body. I crocheted a light brown straw hat and threaded pink ribbon around the crown and then tied in bow. For the hair I braided a darker brown yarn and tied with matching pink bows. I added pink silk roses across the top of her hair. I found the cutest miniature wooden teapots at Michael's. I glued one to the front of the doll. I added pink and crystal beads for the tail and a gold hanger.

The St. Patty's Dotee turned out cute. I used St. Patty's Day fabric for the body, Dark Green yarn for the hair, crocheted a light brown straw hat and threaded green ribbon around the crown and tied in bow. I glued Dark Green buttons to the front of the dress. I used green and crystal beads for the tail and a gold hanger.

I will post a photo this weekend of the Dotee Dolls.......need new batteries....which are on sale at Walgreen's......for my camera.

I'm a member of the Quilt N' Friends Yahoo group. Each month we have a Block of the Month swap. There are 6 ladies in each group and we exchange 1 quilt block. This month we have 3 choices for blocks.......Shoofly, Sarah's Choice, Spinner. They are all pretty! I haven't decided which one that I will make for the ladies in my groups.......yes, I'm in 2 different groups. That means that I will be making 10 blocks for the ladies and 2 blocks for myself. Good thing that Joann's is having a big sale soon on quilting fabric. I'm getting low on some of my colors and need to replenish. I believe that they are going to have quilting fabric for $1.99 yard. I'll have to double check my new flyer that I just got yesterday.

So, as you can see I'm always busy doing something around the house.

Did I mention that soon it will be time to start working out in the garden. According to my Irish Grandfather.........potatoes need to be planted on March 17th. I better get shopping for my potato seed soon!!!!!!!!!!!

Recipe of the Week

VEGETARIAN ENCHILADAS***

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups frozen ground beef substitute crumbles
10 ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
4 ounce can chopped green chilies, undrained
10 ounce can enchilada sauce
8 ounce can tomato sauce
10 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Cojack cheese

In large skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add beef crumbles, soup, milk, and chilies. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes.

Spray 9x13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. In medium bowl, combine enchilada sauce and tomato sauce. Pour 1 cup of this sauce into bottom of prepared pan. Soften corn tortillas by wrapping them in foil and placing in a 350 degree oven for 5-8 minutes.

Fill corn tortillas with crumbles mixture and roll up. Place on top of sauce in pan. Pour remaining sauce over filled enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 309-35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5-10 minutes longer, until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. Serves 6.

*** You can substitute 2 cups of cooked, crumbled ground beef instead of using the vegetarian ground beef. I have made this recipe both ways and it is very tasty.

March........already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seems like March has arrived before I knew it! Soon it will be time to plant potatoes......according to my Irish heritage!!!!!! March is also time to celebrate St. Patty's Day. But the most important happening to me in the month of March is my sister, Bobbie's birthday on March 18th.

Some of you know that I was an only child until I was almost 12 years old. I was shocked to say the least when my mother told me that I was going to be getting a little brother or sister in March. I had always wanted a sibling or two. I was so envious when my friends would talk about their brothers and sisters. I never thought I would ever get a brother or sister of my own.

We was living in Fort Dick, CA just outside Crescent City, CA at the time that Bobbie was born. She was born at the hospital in Crescent City. The hospital sat right next to the Pacific Ocean. I could see the seals playing in the ocean from the waiting room. Bobbie was born on March 18th and we got to bring her and Mom home 2 days before the 1964 Tidal Wave hit Crescent City. Several floors of the hospital was flooded. The maternity ward and nursery were located in the basement and they ended up totally under the water.

Bobbie was a good baby......she only cryed when she was hungry, thirsty, sleepy, wet or messy diapers or when she wanted attention. After a while I was beginning to think that maybe we should take her back and bring home one of the seals..........after all they were cute and didn't seem to require too much care.

Finally I got used to not being the center of attention and I started helping with Bobbie's daily care........giving her a bath was a lot of fun......not sure who had more water on them.......Bobbie or me!!!!!!!!!!

Hard to believe that my little sister is all grown up with a family of her own. She and Mike celebrated their 25th anniversary last year and they have a beautiful daughter who is in college.

Bobbie, is one of my best friends and I love her dearly. I wish that we lived closer so we could get together more often. We both love photography, cooking, sewing, scrapbooking, flowers and all kinds of crafts.

Well, I better get going and finish my list of seeds and plants for the garden that I have been working on this morning.