Creamed Brocolli Soup

Homemade Creamed Broccoli Soup

it never seems to amaze me how a food processor will grind down veggies so that you can't tell without tasting or smelling what a soup is really made of !!  I said I was going to take it easy today, but  I must have been dreaming of taking it easy...sometimes it's a hard thing to do, ask    http://annieskitchengarden.blogspot.com/  she can't sit down either :o) I should be looking at seeds or getting Cecil to get the garden ready..but it's still cold and dreary here and we are under a tornado weather warning for today..always something..
I decided today was a good day to get my Broccoli soup made..I've been wanting some for more than a week ..and today I'm not being pushed with laundry or etc. It turned out pretty good, I always start it off with chopped onions, garlic, celery, Jalapeno pepper and carrots this time I just cooked them in Olive oil (no meat) then I added some Broccoli florets and homemade chicken broth (there's the meat :o) I cooked it down until everything was nice and tender, put it into the food processor and grounded it all down to a thick liquid.. I didn't have any half and half or cream, so I cut a couple of chunks of my homemade cheese, added some canned milk and heated it all up again!..Sat in my "Chair Bed" with a bowl and some crackers and Thanked God for how good it was, and made out of nothing,and a little time he gave me. I've got enough for two more meals, Cecil isn't in love with it..besides he still has some Chicken and Dumplings I made especially for him yesterday..

I'm becoming a Great GrandMother again today :o)

Today has and is a busy day for me...I'm in the midst of canning  some potatoes and chicken for chicken salad...and the phone rings announcing that  the Great Grandson is on his way to making his debut (within the next 24 hours)! He will Be Cecil the 4th. Everyone is excited even thought we all knew it was a boy!..Hard to realize that your kids are becoming grandparents...Jeeze! I never thought I'd live this long, but it's a welcome blessing.


I won't bore you with the peeling of all these potatoes :o), thank goodness for the new gadgets that you only have to give a quick scrape. Potatoes french cut waiting to be sprayed and put into the oven, cooled and "Penny" will seal them and I'll put them into

The freezer..the quartered potatoes will go into the canning jars so I can use them  for mashed or just boiled :o)...that will be good for those lazy days or when potatoes cost too much I can snub my nose at them :o)

With so much chicken to clean up I decided to give it a taste and fry up a couple of legs for dinner ..and whatever else leftover is in the fridge , I can't do everything..The chicken had a good taste and I only like to get the fresh chickens when they are on sale..seems the bone explodes if they have been frozen and un thawed! So these will be just fine..These are only two legs with backs and that's more than enough of a meal for us.

I used the fat pulled from the chicken and being taught not to waste! I decided I'd try that little trick my mother used to do when she made liver umm?  anyway You add the fat into a pan and on a low fire the fat melts and becomes a "crackling" (good in cornbread like bacon:o) and the fat is used in that liver dish ( I can't remember just now.) anyway it will be on hand when I'm ready.

it's pathetic to  work a pot as many hours as I did this one to get some pure chicken fat and you can see I only just about got a cup, and the cracklings weren't too bad for the time..oh well/!

The potatoes came out pretty good I think!
I put some vinegar in the water to keep them from turning brown while I waited this morning to rinse them and get them jarred..Not bad if I say so myself.


The chicken gave me a little start , I heard a pop and I thought one of the jars had cracked..and I thought "nothing I can do about it now until they are finished ...well thank goodness it was nothing that I could see..maybe I was just tired..anyway, maybe I could have bought some chicken for salad, but it's not the same and I like dark meat because it's moist , less mayo. 
I think I did a good day's work, I'm tired

now and I think that's it for this old girl today..
That's not the end of my excitement...Our "Daisy" sent me the "Onion Bloomer" today..I read the instruction's real quick but I think I need a degree to work it :o) but I'm going to try it...and soon..I've seen them and they make a lovely presentation.
Thanks Daisy, are you sure you not a Rose  :o) your mighty sweet.

Sweets made easy with Biscuits :o)

I tell you I'm getting pretty good at finding some bargains these days :o)  I went to Lowe's the other day and they had the Pillsbury Grands on sale for $1. can /8 biscuits
so I got the bright idea of getting a few and after opening them, use a few and freeze the rest...You have to be careful that they don't sit on top of each other because you can't pry them apart :o(...Anyway I got the bright idea to make some quick sweets out of them instead of always biscuits for supper...So I opened a can, rolled out about 3 at a time, spread some butter on them, added some brown sugar, raisins, walnuts  Cinnamon, and then cut them into rounds :o), baked them on 350 for about 15 minutes and wham! They filled the bill :o) They are tasty little treats like Rugala without all the fuss...I tell you, I'm getting too darn smart in my old age :o)...They are delicious ,tomorrow they will be breakfast , mine with a cup of tea and Cecil with coffee,I'm on  a roll over here :o) Do I have to tell you that the Persimmon Cake is gone?

Persimmon Cake with Walnuts and Raisons

This was Sunday's dessert, I don't think it will make it to the end of the week.

I was looking for something to make as a weekend dessert and thought about the Persimmon Pulp I had in the Freezer  from my own Persimmon tree and I thought this was the perfect time to try a recipe that called for just  1/2 cup of sugar  (see I'm watching my intake :o) of sweets...even though it has nuts and raisins...I had to find something good to make from the Persimmons after I just about died and had hissy fits to get the tree ...I just can't seem to wait for the fruit to really ripen and I start eating it up too fast "testing" :o( Any way I managed to get 5 cups of pulp in the freezer before they were all gone..and I wanted to use it before it gets too old, in the freezer..
As you can see the cake is being enjoyed, I doubt if it will last until the end of this week (unless I make another :o)
Surprising enough, with 1/2 cup sugar it is really sweet enough especially with the raisin's and walnuts.. It has a nice flavor, puts you in the mind of Gingerbread  :o)  I'm happy with my Persimmon Cake,next is Persimmon pudding.

Today I was really a busy bee!

Today I had to find some energy! I needed to make more laundry soap and I decided to make the liquid this time...the 5 gallon bucket has been waiting for me..and today was the day...the powder was enough for today's laundry...and I had the time! It was  a quick and easy thing to do...and I feel so proud of how it's turned out...Tomorrow I intend to do the bedding...not expecting any company and I need Cecil's help with it. So I'll be able to see how the new liquid soap works, within a couple of hours it was beginning to gel, and I added a little lavender oil to it before it started ...that should make the laundry smell pretty fresh...The five gallon bucket is half full, and should last for quite a few washes since the recipe only calls for one half cup per wash..I might add 3/4 cup :o) it's cheap enough :o) UPDATE: The soap works fine, although I didn't smell any lavender ( I don't think I used enough essence, next time)
Then I decided to make some Lasagna, it took a while to do all the
dicing etc. but the meal turned out to be worth the effort, I've made enough for more than one meal..with Spring on it's way I'll be glad to pull it out of the freezer.  After all that guess what I forgot! the Darn mushrooms ugh!  At least I can say I added my own homemade cheese :o) it was delicious...Cecil had seconds  (so what else is new).

Another way of cooking Ribs

Today I was watching Paula Deen's show and she was making ribs with sauerkraut...I've been meaning to make that dish for the longest time..My son used to speak of it quite often..but we never tried it...(sounded a bit foreign to me, always being used to sauerkraut on a hot dog kind of girl). Well today it just looked so inviting and I had everything in house as to what I needed..So I figured to give it a try...Well,

If I were trying to Hook Cecil in! This was the dish to do it with :o).... What your looking at are potatoes covered with sauerkraut and all covering Spareribs that had been sauteed put aside while you browned some onions ,garlic and one Jalapeno pepper  (Paula's recipe didn't call for Jalapeno or garlic, I added it for us). Then I added the Spare ribs back into the pot and the rest of the goodies, Well the next picture tells the rest of the story :o)  There is enough left for another meal, it was delicious and Cecil had seconds and raved for an hour about it...
The meat litterly fell off the bones it was so tender...I put mine in the oven on 350 for almost two hours, and it was good and done..

Thanks to Ladydi, this scale tells all

Thanks Ladydi for this site..the scale looks pretty good and it's nice to give you grams to ounces..that ought to make it easier for a lot of us...


http://www.scalesonline.com/pdfs/Cibo63N.pdf


Last night I made the last of my cheese and this one I put into the freezer...
I used part of the Jalapeno and garlic to cream  with my Grav lox... and it was a good taste and I'll be doing it again this week, I just need a nice bagel :o).. and this time a nice cup of hot tea!.. I'm going to try some Rosemary tea ( one of the recipes I found on the Internet.)
Other wise I've been taking it easy here lately..there is still much to do..but i need the rest now more. 
Here is a shawl I've started and now I'm up to the short rows, which is pretty easy to do, ( when you remember how :o(   I did them all the time with socks, trying to rush this to make another has set me back...so I'll just take my  time until it clicks again...Remember if you don't use it, you will lose it :o(


                                        "Happy Valentines Day"

Need to convert grams to ounces and to cups here are two charts

Often times come when you need to convert grams to Ounces and etc. here is a chart I found and thought others would like to have it. So I copied this link to post so others  to have when  needed.  Ohiofarmgirl, this is especially for you to have :o)
http://www.metric-conversions.org/cgi-bin/util/conversion-table.cgi?type=5&from=3&to=15
There is also This one to convert Ounces to cups
http://www.lemelange.com/conversion_chart.htm
This is my blog for today, I'm still tired and resting  (yet I creamed my cheese with the Jalapeno peppers and garlic mixed and it's delicious :o)  had some with my Prickly Pear Jelly...I'm on a roll :o) I can't wait for Spring...

What's for Dinner?

Restless night last night! That didn't mean Laundry could be skipped :o(   Like to get it done on Friday nights, but I needed to just skip it ..until today...
Well it's evening, Laundry is done and put away... Dinner has come and gone :o) 


Dinner was light! One Pork Chop each marinated in wine and spices for an hour, while finishing up the laundry...and a package of my homemade pre-cooked $2.00 potatoes, seasoned up with  lots of spices and topped with butter so they wouldn't dry out! ( I even sprinkled some Rosemary from my garden on them...They were delicious and we both enjoyed them..not bad for a Saturday quick dinner...I'll make up with the veggies tomorrow .

Thought I was being funny showing you the bones left from the chop Hehehe..That's how good it was :o)   By the way, the plate you see if one I like to sit in my "Chair Bed" and watch TV while I eat...it goes good for most everything except soup :o)...      

Still working with the Two Gallons of Milk, clabber , and cheese

cheese waiting for spices

It's been pretty busy around here for somebody who is supposed to be "Resting".
This morning Cecil and I were "Tasting"...Do any of you know what "Clabber Milk" is :o)
It's those clumps of cheese like substance that has formed when it separates from the Whey!  (That's the best I can explain it, and since some of you don't know any better, I'm almost the smartest cookie :o)  Anyway, in the old days it was served with a nice slice of 
hot buttered cornbread or a homemade biscuit. Cecil was served a piece of Raisin bread with it and he was glad to get it :o)...I pamper him enough, that he can go lacking sometimes. In fact he was darn right happy that I served him some Clabber, he hasn't had it in 50 years ( so he says, it's probably more ) I haven't had it since I was! Heck , I don't remember when either .. Anyway, we both enjoyed the quick little taste of childhood memories, and I'm back to getting this done.. There are it seems zillions of steps before I'm done, that's because I'm already tired.. But the B/S was very good this morning  (heck, l only had a puny bowl of chicken noodle soup last night for dinner, at least it was homemade and not from a box.)

Jalapeno and garlic spices added to cheese

This cheese has been separated from it's whey and I have it wrapped in a cloth in a strainer to drain more whey off of it..and I have added a Jalapeno pepper and smashed cloves of garlic to it's mix.. after it drains a little more  I will put it into one of my containers and try to mold it into a shape :o).. I don't have any "Cheese making equipment" neither did my grandma :o) She used what she had and that's what I'm going to do... I still have a pot on the stove that contained Whey only ...I'm trying some instructions I found on the Internet, maybe it will be okay and I've learned something or else it will be a flop  (not exactly, I'll make a pan of biscuits with it and it's not a waste).

Today I was supposed to just rest (yeah right)

Cecil went to the store for one thing and I sent him back for two more :o) Can you believe it they had One Gallon of milk for $.97 :o) There was a mad rush on them and within an hour they were all gone.. they were also up to date. Usually the first of the month there aren't many bargains.. So I decided today I'd make some Cheese :o)...and save some to make some Lasange at a later day. Today I used a different recipe, instead of the rennet for the over night bit...I tried the quick way..heating the milk just before it starts to boil and adding 1/4 cup vinegar..in lt stir till you see the clumps; it worked pretty good!  One gallon of milk only yields  one pound of cheese which I've already put in a container...The consistency is pretty good I took a spoonful to give it a taste..yep! will make a pretty good tasting Lansange (just need to add and mix a egg to it)...

 Below I still have another gallon of milk getting  to room temp.  When it does I'll add the rennet and in the morning see what happens.. In the meantime I'll try and think of something else to make with the cheese it will make, any suggestions of what I can do with all that Whey except for making bread and feeding acid loving plants? 

What's for Dinner? Pizza!

Someday's are just stressful!, and today this one was for me. First thing is taking care of the Monthy bills (Robbing Paul to Pay Peter). I was already tired and didn't feel like being bothered , but I'm the Bookkeeper and If I want it done right I'd better do it myself or Cecil will write all over the page and you won't know what the heck he has done. Besides I'm better at stretching than he is ( most times we women are)... Then there is the trip to the Heart Doctor...sometimes you don't need to tell them anything seems they can tell right away where your at, and take the steps to "check you out".  Then by the time they see you and blood work is done and follow ups are scheduled your wiped out...I still have that large Roast Beef , but I have already gorged on it..So maybe tomorrow sandwiches for lunch or into the freezer for another day.
What can I fix that I don't have to fix, and Pizza comes to mind, especially when I can eat it at home in my chair bed while I rest up from all the activities.