GARDEN UPDATE

End of June 2012 Garden Update

here are pictures of the garden so far

 green beans

 carrots

 lettuce

 onions

 cabbage

 our surprise broccoli- didn't plant this but we have it 

tomatoes, cucumbers and butternut squash

garden on!

PB&F

Peanut Butter & Fritos- Yep you read it right- holy wow this is an addicting recipe so make only when you plan to take it somewhere so you can't eat it all yourself :)

Ingredients
*1 bag of fritos
*1C creamy peanut butter
*1 C Karo syrup (I use lite)
*1C white sugar (I use 1/3 C-works just the same)

Directions
-get a large cookie sheet or pan with a lid
-lay wax paper in the pan
-lay fritos out on the wax paper/pan and spread evenly
-In a pot mix the pb, syrup and sugar until all melted and smooth(be sure to stir the whole time so it doesn't cook too much)
- as soon as it is melted together and smooth pour over the fritos
-let cool

scarf down :)

PB&F on!

ODIE BEAR

The story of Otis/Odie-

what a giant bear this dog has become!

He made it into our engagement pictures of course in his beloved pool- May 2011not a year old yet

We got Otis late December of 2010 from a family off of craigslist, yes he stole our hearts the first time Lee found him on there.

here he is when we picked him out. only 4 weeks old maybe, such a cuddle bug- his mom(yellow lab- had 10 babies- holy mamma-all survived and were adorable

Otis is a St.Bernard and Yellow Lab mix- and he's hilarious because he's black and white and a lap dog

Otis has a history of no knowing how large he is and that he actually has 4 paws that work - well they don't work together but they work. He is getting better with his coordination, but we love his ignorance of his size- makes him funny and even more lovable!

He quickly had us suckered into his quirks and we couldn't say no when he wanted to come in the house, especially in the winter. So we had plenty of fun playing tug of war and stealing my potatoes and boxes to drag around the house-

 Uh Oh- he likes dew like Lee

 Handsome boy

he is still obsessed with towels

Some where along the line Otis became obsessed with towels, gloves and brooms- WHO KNOWS why but its funny and if it keeps him busy then fine destroy 5 brooms(yep he has demolished 5 shop brooms, handles and all)

This was his favorite broom- he would growl at it and shake it dead

Otis grew so fast that we had to give him vitamins because his hair was falling out- whoops not enough in the food we were giving him- silly boy vitamins are expensive slow down :)- don't worry his hair came back and it is different than the rest which is funny- he reached 80 lbs before he was 1 and at 1 1/2 he is at least 110- its been a few months since the last vet visit-hello large lap doggie

As if I don't sound like the crazy dog lady yet don't worry I'll claim it by the end of this post :) 

Here he is sitting up and angry at his reflection- too cute! 

 The day we brought him home- so funny already

 Tired from the drive- had to nap- He still lays his paw like that when he's sniffing out the ground squirrels at home

The car ride home

Otis made it into our engagement pictures! the bottom picture i have his ball and well he LOVES HIS BALL- it squeaks and he will squeak it all day if you will play with him- LOVES IT! 

These are more recent pictures- May 2012,top one he is "sneaking"-when he crawls on his belly to you - with his ball, and the bottom one is him sitting waiting nicely for Lee to throw the ball

 Being nosey about the hole in the ground

 The wagon was kind of sketchy, but he needed to be with daddy- yes he knows the word daddy and hunts Lee down when I say it- and he will continue to circle the house, truck and yard until he finds him

 THIS DOG IS HILARIOUS- he LOVES drinking water from the well or hose, not the water dish we provide - we will say- are you thirsty and he will walk over and wait for us to turn it on, or do you need a drink?- I hope he stays smart and we can leave him out at some point when he's older.

He was mad about all the construction at the house the other day and barked ALL day I was told :) whoops, he just wants to see everything- Plus all those sketchy guys there- He definitely isn't a fan of new people and vehicles and will always let us know even if its just a bird that entered the yard-

Often he knocks us over because he's so excited so I'm not too concerned about him being able to take care of someone if they came in the yard and we didn't want them to be there- Loud bark and probably a big bite :) we haven't had to find out yet nor do we want to.

ok nutso dog lady title claimed :) he's a funny boy and has more character than we thought possible

dog on! 

LEMON CAKE/BREAD

I love trying new recipes from people, this one is from one of my co-workers and it is delish!

Its a lemon cake but if you cook it in loaf pans you can serve it as bread- either way yummy!

Ingredients
*1 box lemon cake mix
*1box instant lemon pudding
*4 eggs
*1/3 C vegetable or Canola oil
*1 C boiling water

Directions
-preheat oven to 350
-mix all ingredients into a bowl
-mix for 4 minutes!
  that will make it extra soft

-bake in loaf pans or bunt pan like i used for 30 minutes- ish
  it will be a bit squishy (not gross squishy, but squishier than regular cake or bread)
-use a toothpick to poke the inside and see if it comes out clean- if it does- its done
- pull from oven and let set for a few minutes
-place pans upside down to get the cake/bread out and let cool

obviously not the healthiest but it is soooo fast and easy and good!

sprinkle powdered sugar on top if you are taking it somewhere to share or just cut up and inhale if you are keeping it at home :)

lemon on!

PAN TACOS

Tonight I am making something that is great for leftovers so the guys have something to eat while working

pan tacos is a super easy alternative to tacos- and since all the ingredients are all in one bowl you don't have to worry about putting them out to make one taco 

Remember I am making this for 2-4 people, if you want to make it for more just add more of the ingredients to stretch it, or put some side dishes with it

Ingredients

*tortillas (4-6) shredded up into small pieces - bite size

*1lb of hamburger or 3-4 boneless/skinless chicken breast

*1pkg of taco seasoning

*1/2 jar of black bean salsa (medium is my choice, because sometimes the heat cooks out)

*1 can or 1 baggie of frozen corn

*1 can of tomatoes and green chilies

*shredded cheddar cheese- as much as you would like :) 

*sour cream on the side if someone doesn't like it as spicy as you 

Directions

-brown hamburger/cook chicken in a large/deep skillet- drain! 

-add in packet of seasoning as you would normally if making tacos

-add in salsa, corn, tom/chilies

-bring to a simmer

-add in tortillas

-stir everything well

-add cheese on the top and heat until cheese is melty 

serve-with chips and your favorite fruit,

for an alternative leave out tortillas and add in velveeta for a dip

taco on! 

TORTILLA PIZZA

quick and easy pizza- a healthier option instead of all the dough, or incase you don't have any pizza crust.

Ingredients
*tortillas (what ever kind you like-whole wheat, basil tomato, or plain-each tortilla will be a pizza, so however many you want is how ever many you will need- we make 3 for 2 people)
*jar pizza sauce
*any toppings you want- we use fresh mozzarella, pepperoni or hamburger, onions, basil, garlic powder, spinach(on mine)

Directions
-on an un-greased pan place tortillas
-bake the tortillas for 5-10 minutes 350 (just to crisp them up so the sauce doesn't make them soggy)
-take out of oven and place ingredients on the pizzas
-put back in the oven, top rack and broil until the cheese is bubbly- watch carefully they will toast quickly

serve with apples and peanut butter, and maybe some sun chips


pizza on!

DRESSING

Salad dressing- I always thought this was something impossible to make-WRONGO

Tonight I thought. what would happen if i mixed light olive oil, lemon juice and pepper - voila- yumminess~

Ingredients
*basically i used store bought lemon juice- you can use fresh but I'm saving that for later in the week
*cracked black pepper
*extra virgin olive oil

Directions
-squeeze in the lemon juice- about 1/4-1/3 of a cup
-pour in pepper- roughly 1 Tbs- more to taste if you'd like
-drizzle in the olive oil while whisking quickly
 - add in olive oil until the dressing thickens

-tase throughout to make sure it taste ok- add more of any ingredients as needed- this is a rough  start, I'm sure it could use some changes but I'm not worried(I also did not measure anything while I made this, just poured things in so you don't really need to measure if you don't want to :)

dress on !