We Got Pie!

 Thursday night I got to host my woman's service club at my home for a pie social.

We are always looking for something fun to do as a group.

We have done day trips together, evenings out, and museum trips but sometimes it is nice just to stay in and enjoy each other's company over something sweet.

Besides, it gave me an excuse to break out my grandmother's china.

I love this delicate china.

Not to mention that our club flower is a pink rose.

I had everything set for the gathering.

I even set out some non-sweet snacks for munching on. 

We had a very enjoyable evening laughing, talking, and enjoying some very tasty pies.

We might have to plan something similar to this next year.

Maybe a bring your favorite cake party!

The Ultimate Comfort Food

I have been thinking about a nice pot of bean soup since I purchased a ham before Christmas.

I first rinsed beans (pintos and great northerns this time) and boiled them for about 

30 minutes and then let them sit for a while.

I took all of the nasty bits of the ham and the bone, tossed them in a pot and covered them 

in water and let them simmer for a couple of hours.

What I was left with was a pot full of nasty bits of the ham and the bone 

swimming in the most wonderful ham broth.

Then I combined the broth and beans and simmered until everything looked right 

and my house smelled wonderful.  

Add a piece of freshly made buttermilk cornbread 

and dinner was done!

Oh, and because I love my midwestern husband, I also made his favorite

split pea soup.  

It doesn't appeal much to me but he loves it.  

This was a wonderful, warming comfort dinner for this cold night.  

Any Excuse for a Party!

We here at the Peter's Ranch look for any excuse to throw a party.

This year's Christmas party was an open house - we started early and ended late 

so that folks could come and stay as long as they liked 

and still make their other Christmas obligations.  

Tis the season for holiday parties.

I wanted our guests to bring medications for our upcoming Uganda mission trip 

so I didn't ask anyone to bring goodies to share.  

We had plenty of food.

Plenty!

On the breakfast table we had buffalo chicken dip, artichoke dip, pico de gallo, 

guacamole, bleu cheese tartlets, two different cheeseballs, bacon-wrapped dates 

(oh my goodness, these are good) and ham rolls.

On the dining room table there was veggies and dip, barbeque meatballs, 

relish tray, three kinds of cookies, fudge, pralines, Mom's pumpkin bread 

and fruitcake, fresh apple cake, and cheesecake with sweet cranberry topping.

In the decanter is friend Chantell's fresh-squeezed Presbyterian Punch.

Yep, that's the name.

It is to die for!

(especially with a splash of vodka - Presbyterians don't mind.)

Speaking of adult beverages, we went through many bottles of wine.

Many.  Lots.  I got many new labels and corks from this party.

BTW, this is the family room Christmas tree.  

I love the old fashioned tinsel.  It makes the tree sparkle and it reminds 

me of my childhood Christmas trees.  

And as usual, there were friends congregating in the kitchen.

Friends in the dining room.

Friends in the family room. 

Even friends in the laundry room!  

To be honest, the bar was set up in this room.  

There was a steady flow through this room.  Just saying.  

I also had some Apparent Project jewelry for sale in here.

For those last minute gift needs. 

Hey, I am a full-service party hostess.

All of the girlfriends were under one roof!  

This is quite an accomplishment these days.  

We are all so busy.  

Now we have photographic evidence that this actually happened.

As much fun as the evening was, this was the best part!  

My generous friends brought so much acetaminophen, ibuprophen, 

and Tums, and vitamins for our Uganda trip.  

This was a huge help.  

Partying is always more fun when there is a good cause to support.  

Thanks friends!

Burrito heaven

Bruce has told the kids that there are a few food rules, 

the first and most important is to never eat anything larger than your head.

When we get the opportunity to hit our favorite burrito place, Chipotle, 

this rule can be hard to follow.  

These are some bubba-sized burritos.

 We don't have a Chipotle at home, so when we go out of town I usually fire up 

the iPhone app and find one that is nearby.

Yep, we are that strange and Chipotle is that good.

The boy has no problem snarfing down his burrito. 

Heck, he barely came up for air!

This is normal right?

I like Chipotle so much that I have actually emailed them to tell them 

about our town and see what our chances are for getting one.  

Unfortunately there are no plans to in the near future.  

Oh well, a girl can dream.  

Cheese Quest, Chapter 2

This is not what Mozzarella cheese is supposed to look like. 

But this is what you can make from a failed batch of cheese.  

I bought another gallon of milk that said that is wasn't ultra-pasteurized 

but it certainly acted that way.  

I took a closer look at the label and it is made in Dallas, just like the last gallon.  

I wonder if it is processed at the same mega processor plant 

and a different label got slapped onto the jug.

I will be avoiding milk processed in Dallas.

Instead of pouring the whole mess out I strained out the whey and mixed in 

some fresh made pesto, a little salt and made a pretty decent cheese spread.  

Cheese Quest, Chapter 1

I have wanted to make cheese for years now.  

I know that the aged cheeses take some specialized equipment and time to make 

but there are several fresh cheeses that I have wanted to make. 

Mozzarella in particular.  

I read several cheese sources on the internet.

Ordered the few non-milk ingredients that I would need.

Bought 2% homogenized, pasteurized milk.

Allison and I were all set to make our first batch of 30-minute Mozzarella cheese.

It all started wonderfully.

We gently heated the milk, added the correct potions to the pot at the correct time.

We waited the appropriate amount of time.  

It was looking just like the pictures on the recipe.

And then it started to go all pear-shaped.

My lovely soft curds started to fall apart!

What should have been a custard consistency turned into tiny little shred-like curds!

Dang it!

I looked at the trouble shooting section of the cheese-making website and discovered our problem.

It said that if the curds fell apart that our homogenized milk was probably closer 

to ultra-homogenized milk which will not make curds.  

Dang it. Dang it!

So tomorrow starts the quest to find a milk that will work.

Two steps forward, one step backward.

Craptastic Packer Dinner

Bruce emailed me this morning to let me know that he would take care of dinner tonight. 

If you know anything about Bruce you know that he doesn't cook - at all.  

The man can manage to cook oatmeal with the right proportions of 

oats and water and still manage to make crunchy oatmeal.  

It's a gift.  

He said that in honor of the first Green Bay Packers game of the season he 

wanted to have craptastic snacks for dinner. 

That's what he called it.

Anyway, after picking up the kids from school 

the three of them went shopping for tonight's "dinner".

What they arrived home with would absolutely fall into the "craptastic" category.

 Dr. Craptastic.  

I guess the carrots on the plate are supposed to justify the rest of the assortment.  

Hmmmmm, maybe not.  

But it was tasty.

Pizza Night!

I have been making homemade pizzas forever.  

But until a couple of weeks ago I hadn't make grilled pizza.

Tonight was attempt #2.

Before we begin all the ingredients have to be ready for the grill - once the grilling starts 

things move pretty quickly.

I made several pizzas so that everyone could top their own. 

It is fun to slap the dough onto the grill, close the top, and see how fast things change.  

Big puffy air pockets that get nice and crispy once the crust is flipped.  

Once the crust is flipped the sauce, parmesan cheese and toppings of choice are quickly applied.  

And you can't forget the fresh mozzarella.  That stuff makes for pizza perfection. 

It gets all ooey-gooey as the pizza continues to cook. 

Finally a sprinkling of basil shreds.  

Awesome dinner if I do say so myself.

And there were enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Sweet!

A Chicken in Every Pot

Although "a chicken in every pot" was part of a slogan for Herbert Hoover's presidential campaign in 1928 it is also the situation I have here at home today.

I don't have any thing in particular for dinner planned so I put a chicken on to boil and am hoping that some inspiration comes my way.  

The first thing that comes to mind is chicken and dumplings.  However since it is August 

and HOT I just can't get excited about that today.  

Chicken pot pie - just a fancy version of chicken and dumplings in my book.  

Creamy chicken and pasta?

Chicken enchiladas?

White chicken chili?

Chicken salad with sliced tomatoes?

Whatever form dinner takes this evening, if it tastes as good as my home smells right now it will be delicious!

Figs!

One of the nicest things about our nasty hot summers is figs.

Dad gave me a fig tree start from his trees many years ago.

It produces the nicest sweet figs.

They just started ripening this last week. 

 I am getting a double handful every couple of days.  

That is just about the right rate for snacking - since I am the only one in 

my family who likes them.  

I don't mind though - more for me!

Get Along Little Doggies

So, for lunch today my family went out to eat at our favorite TexMex restaurant.

Everything was going along swimmingly and then Ben happened to mention that 

one of the dishes was served with Chihuahua cheese.

This is where the conversation took a big turn.

Chihuahua cheese must be made from Chihuahua milk, right?

There was talk of roving herds of the miniature dogs on free range Chihuahua ranches.  

12 inch high fences made from popsicle sticks.

Branding irons made from paperclips, heated with a Bic lighter.

Hiring children and people with small hands to milk the Chihuahuas.

It got silly really fast.

I love my family and our wacky conversations.

I love to hear my family laugh.

Dinner and a Swim

We joke about the only thing better than having a pool is having friends with pools.

With the hot days we have been having lately it has been quite nice 

to have invitations to swim.

Most especially when it comes with the invitation to come for dinner...

and enjoy their lovely yard. 

We have the best friends!

Thanks Lisa and Charles!

Dinner with Friends

Tonight hubs and I spent our last night sans kiddos with friends.

We were invited the home of Beth and Mark Kershner for dinner and drinks.

Mark and his friend Brian did the cooking,

Beth set a beautiful table, as usual.

Beth really enjoys entertaining and her home always looks lovely.

She has a flair for decorating.

The dinner tonight was Portuguese.

Gazpacho, goat-cheese stuffed peppers, roasted tomato and pepper salad

a fragrant stewed chicken, potatoes, and a tasty spinach and chickpea side dish.

Thanks for inviting us Beth and Mark!

We always have a great time at your home.

BLT

Crusty whole wheat bread.

Crunchy Romaine lettuce.

Bacon ('nuf said!)

Mayo and fresh cracked pepper.

Dad's tomatoes.

Perfection.

On The Road Again

Getting ready to go to Wisconsin to visit the other side of the family. 

Nothing like some love in a ziploc or two to make the reunion a little sweeter.

Scout Camp Prep

Son leaves very early in the morning for a week of scout camp.

He has all of his gear packed and ready to go.

All that is left to do is to make our customary Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

He has taken these just about every year that he has gone to camp.

They are his favorite and a favorite of his troop.

He tells me that he shares.  I want to believe him.

They are very yummy - crispy, buttery, with nuts and chocolate chips.

I am glad that he is taking them all with him.

I have no control around these cookies. 

Haiti Mission Team Reunion

Today most of the Haiti mission team were reunited.

Becca was asked to preach at a local church and as many as could attended.

After church we all came back to my home for lunch.

We had 5 team members, 5 spouses, and 1 teenager, and 8 assorted children.

It was a lively bunch.

We had lots of time to catch up and meet spouses and kids.

This is Karren (aka Karreem) and Becca.

Karreem is our pharmacist extroidinaire and is a very sweet person.

Becca was our math teacher/permetherin application specialist on the trip.

She is the one who preached today - and did a mighty fine job.

Not pictured is Jenny - she was behind the camera today.

Jenny is a physician and she organizes our trips.  Great leader!

Thanks for commandeering the camera Jenny!

Being the one behind the camera, I don't usually appear on my blog.

It figures I would be talking in the one picture that was in focus!

There were fresh pizzas made by yours truly -

and were pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

This is Courtney - one of my new friends from the mission team.

She is a nurse and has become a close friend.

She has a lovely snarky sense of humor - like me!

The team is already talking about out next trip together - probably in September.

I am ready!