It's official - with a recipe!

The Christmas season is upon us.  The Little One made  the first batch of Christmas cookies today but I doubt that they last the night - when homemade cookies are made they barely have a chance to cool down before they're half gone.

In the meantime, I'm left wondering who will wipe up the dusting of flour that seems to have magically covered the kitchen like a dusting of snow.

From such a simple cookie, there is a mountain of dishes in the sink.  I wonder if Little One will wash them.

Yummy with homemade vanilla sugar

All the left over turkey sitting in the fridge and no one eating it.  I can't stand for food to be wasted.  I mean, I cooked an 18 pound turkey and was asked why I didn't get a bigger one.  So I took it upon myself to not allow the turkey to sit there, all alone, in the fridge just waiting to be eaten.

I call it Cathy's Cassoulet

4 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed well

1 onion chopped

2 large garlic cloves

1/2 cup green pepper

1 handful of dried cherry tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

1 sliced kielbasa

2 cups left over turkey

2 ribs celery

Mix will and cook in crockpot on low 6-8 hours.  Serve over hot rice.

I like mine a little spicier so I topped mine off with a few drops of hot sauce.

Hubby and "his" dog.  I swear this dog get more attention than I do!  It's not fair, I tell you.  Taz just jumps up on the couch and automatically everyone is petting him and playing with him.  Ok, so I don't jump on the couch but I plop down on it - no one pets me.  Not fair at all.

But then again, it's damn hard to compete with something this cute.

Christmas Countdown

Can you feel it?

Can you feel it?  The nip in the air, the random Christmas song running through your head.  It's getting closer.

Thanksgiving is a verb

There's so much more to Thanksgiving than turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce.  I teach my boys that it is the act of giving thanks.  I notified the Dean of Students that if there were any students that would be alone this year, to let them know I would have plenty of food and would welcome them with open arms.


Several Thanksgiving's ago, my parents opened their homes and hearts for the holiday for three students that attended Murray State University.  Each from another country, far from home and family, with traditions of their own came that day.  It was amazing - listening to their stories and watching how their faces lit up when they spoke of home and their own holiday traditions.  I no longer remember their names but I remember their faces and remember how much joy there was that day.  There are pictures floating around somewhere that I can't put my fingers on right this minute.


This year I challenge you to give thanks instead of thanks giving.

Happy Turkey Day!

Took my first buck - picture

Last weekend, hubby took me on a deer hunt.  In the past, he was able to hunt on family property but this year he had to book a hunt over in Logan County, Ky.  Wayne and Sandy at Thomas Hollow took great care of us.

I was only there Saturday and Sunday because I didn't want to miss any classes but hubby was there until Tuesday.  I do have a picture below of the buck I harvested, so if you don't wish to see it, don't scroll down.

I tagged out the first day taking a doe and a buck.  He has 9 points but he is small, but for my first ever, I was thrilled.

We got up at 4 am and Wayne had ham and cheese omelets made.  We ate a big breakfast and headed out the door about 4:30.  We hiked about a mile over to the blind with our guns, cameras, and sandwiches.  Wayne had already stored a small cooler and snacks so we were prepared.  In all, we averaged a little over 12 hours a day in the blind and came back to a delicious home cooked dinner every night.

On day one we saw nearly 30 deer and hundreds of turkeys and a few squirrels.  Day two brought severe wind gusts and we didn't see nearly as much wildlife.  Day 3 was about the same.  Hubby took his buck on the fourth day of his hunt.

My .243

This little guy strutted and pranced and seemed to have no idea he only had half a rack

Lots of wildlife

The turkeys were really fun to watch

My first buck

One of those days

What do you do to get out of "a funk" as my mama used to call it.  I am in a funk and I attribute part of it to a bad case of senior-itis.  3 weeks and finals and I will officially have my Bachelor's of Science in Psychology.  There is a tremendous amount of anxiety that comes with graduating, for me anyway.  The application process for graduate school is enough to make a saint raise his hands to the sky and curse.

Should I go to grad school?  Should I not and jump right into the nearly nonexistent job market in this town?  More school, more student loans . . .

Blehhh

Lots of decisions to be made and anxiety about making them is really stressing me out.

Bragging Rights

Last weekend, we made the leisurely drive to Paducah, Ky so that my youngest could celebrate his birthday.  He wanted to eat at a pizza place there so we met up with family to celebrate!  Afterwards we went over to Noble Park for pictures.

I don't think that's a peace sign, I think it's supposed to be bunny ears!

Maverick loved helping decorate this!

Birthday boy

Big Daddy Dinner

This dish is the boy's current favorite.  It takes on many names, including Sasquatch Surprise, but the name for tonight was Big Daddy Dinner.

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 jar beef gravy
1 large can big chunk veg all
pie crust

Mix first three ingredients and  bake til golden brown!

Halloween may be over, but Cleopatra still reigns

My beautiful grandmother won first place in the costume contest

 "Combat Mario"

"Combat Mario" and "The Ultimate Titan Fan"

Tasty Thursday!

This soup really hit the spot this week, especially since the temperature has started to drop.

1 large onion, chopped and sauteed in oil

to this add one pound ground beef and brown then drain

add one clove chopped, smashed garlic

dried oregano & basil

one can french style green beans, drained

one can corn, drained

half a bag of curly noodles

V8 juice to cover all 

add salt, pepper & freshly grated parmesan

I made this late one night after everyone else had already eaten

one medium onion, sliced in half rings

caramelize in a small amount of oil - 20-25 mins

During the last few minutes, add one tomato, drained, sliced in half rings

Pour over egg noodles and top with salt and parmesan - YUM!

Tonight I made chicken surprise in the crockpot.  Fortunately the family rated it 5 out of 5 stars, unfortunately they ate it so fast, I didn't get a picture.

3/4's of a bag of chicken tenderloin

8 ounces sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp dill weed

salt and pepper

Cooked all day in the crock on low.  Served over no yolk egg noodles.