Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Our Backyard Friends Part 2

These again were all taken out of our kitchen window. I had to zoom in a little more so please ignore the poor quality on a few of them.
We think that this deer was lost. It came in our yard for a two week period and hasn't been back.





Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sending Cards

Photo Credit
I love, love, love getting a card in the mail for my birthday or any occasion for that matter. It is such a joy when you are expecting yet another utility bill and you have a nice pretty envelope addressed to you in the mailbox. So if you like me, love getting a card in the mail I figured I would share how to pass that joy on.


I send cards for numerous reason. Some of them are:



  • to thank a friend or family member for hosting me/us for an overnight visit


  • to thank a friend for the kind words that cheered me up on a not so happy day


  • to thank a friend or family member for a gift (birthday, Christmas or just because)


  • to let someone know that I was thinking of them


  • to let someone know how much they mean to me


  • to thank them for the nice meal and for inviting us over


  • to share a magazine clipping that reminded me of them


  • to say Happy Birthday


  • to say Happy Anniversary


  • to congratulate them on a pregnancy


  • to let them know we are praying for them in a time of need

Normally at the beginning or end of the year I will buy a good amount of kids birthday cards, adult birthday cards, thank you cards and blank cards. I have gotten them from Target, but mainly I get them from Current, Trader Joe's and Lifeway. Current has really good prices and cards, they are not flimsy. The cards can be as low in price as 32 cents. Trader Joe's are 99 cents and very pretty. I like to get thank you cards that are smaller in size from my local Lifeway store for a quick note that I might write out while waiting in line at the bank or killing time in town at the library.


I hope that this post will help you put a little joy into someones life.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Our Backyard Friends Part 1

These photos were all taken out of our kitchen window this spring/summer.
Enjoy!!!



What kind of creatures do you see out your windows?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

A New Go To Recipe

Last week we had some friends over for dinner and I didn't want to make what was on our dinner menu for that night so I sat, one night on the living room floor for about 45 minutes looking through my cookbooks. I have had this meal before but have never made it myself, so I thought why not try out a new recipe when you have company. I do this a lot! It turned out that we loved it so much that we cooked it Thursday for friends and again on Sunday for friends and my poor husband ate it Monday and today (Tuesday). I loved it A LOT but since we had it so much in such a short amount of time I think we will be giving it a break until mid September.

Spaghetti Pie

Pie Crust
6 oz uncooked spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs, beaten
Cook spaghetti; drain (should have 3 cups cooked spaghetti). Stir butter into the hot spaghetti. Stir in Parmesan cheese and eggs. Form spaghetti mixture into a "crust" in a buttered 10-inch pie plate.

Pie Filling
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 (16oz) can tomatoes, stewed
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup parsley
In a skillet cook ground beef and onion until onion is tender and beef is done. Drain off excess fat but don't rinse. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic salt, oregano and parsley. Simmer for about 15 minutes. (FYI: you just made homemade spaghetti sauce) Pour the meat mixture onto the spaghetti crust. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Pie Topping
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake or broil for 5 minutes until melted and slightly browned.
One 10-inch pie dish has served 4 adults and 2 children for us in case you needed to gage how much to make. This would make a very good freezer casserole, just freeze when it is put together. Thaw it out and then bake for 20 minutes.
I hope your family enjoys it as much as we have!