Random

Just a few things that I thought I would share here.  Totally random, actually, but hey.... that seems to fit my week so far.  :)

The first is that I have a new guilty pleasure.  My friend Karen gave me a little bag of magnificent yumminess a couple weeks ago and now I am hooked for good!  Have you ever had a Lindor truffle??  Oh. My. Word.  These things are amazing!!  They have a chocolate outer 'shell' that you bite through to get to the soft 'truffley' center that literally melts in your mouth.  Karen gave me a little mixed bag that had dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate truffles in it.  I loved them all but the white chocolate was so creamy and melt in your mouth wonderful that I knew I would have to buy some more.  Lo and behold, when I went to Columbia I found a bag of white chocolate truffles and also a bag of Stracciatella truffles.  (I admit I didn't have too hard of a search)  I had no idea what that second one was but it looked yummy on the picture on the bag!  (and it WAS!)  Now I see that Lindor truffles come in Dark Chocolate Orange (oh my!) and Coffee (oh my!) and Mint (oh my!) and you can even build your own bag at their website!!  (oh my!)  So, this may be random, but trust me, it is VERY important.  :)  Thanks again, Karen!!

Also random, but important... remember my friend Susan who made the incredible ham and beans for a ladies luncheon?  She also had a salad that had the most fantastic salad dressing.  When I inquired what that dressing was she shared her little 'secret' with me.  It wasn't a homemade dressing; it was a mixture of 3 store bought dressings that tasted homemade!  I have used 2 of the 3 dressings before, but had never thought to mix them together.  Wow!  What a terrific dressing!  She just drizzled all three over the prepared salad and then tossed it all together.  She served it on romaine with pecans, blue cheese and crisp pear slices, but it would go well on a basic salad, too.  

Finally, not something to eat but sort of food related... have any of you been having trouble with your dishwasher not getting your dishes as clean as it used to?  Last fall we noticed that our dishes were coming out with a film on them - almost a white powdery film.  We knew it couldn't be the dishwasher because we had had to replace the dishwasher in July - it was brand new.  We wondered if there was something being added to our water because we hadn't changed dishwashing detergent and assumed that the water was the only variable that could have changed.  We tried everything.  Rinsing the load twice, running the load through on the maximum cycle, using Jet Dry... nothing worked.  Finally, I started looking online and discovered that last summer a law was passed that required phosphates to be removed from dishwashing detergents for environmental reasons.  I also discovered that the phosphates were what was used by many brands to rinse the dishes clean.  Ah ha!  We had always used Cascade and that brand was definitely effected by the phosphate ban.  I had noticed that Cascade had gotten new packaging sometime during the summer and that our troubles did indeed arise when I used up the old dark green box and started using the nice new light green box.  I read that most people were recommending Finish brand so we decided to try that.  First we ran through a cycle with the Finish brand dishwasher cleaner to clean the film out of the dishwasher itself, then we began using the Finish Powerball w/jet dry-Case of 150 Capsules.  We immediately saw a difference.  Back to clean dishes with no white chalky film.  

Anyone want a fairly new jumbo sized box of Cascade??   :)

           

Latte, Latte, Latte!

Several months ago I planned to post about my new 'habit'... making lattes at home.  I even spent time taking step by step photos of the entire process.  Then... my friend Donna showed up at my house with a simple little contraption to make espresso (the first part of a latte) that completely BLEW AWAY my method!  So much for all those photos!!   :)

After ordering my own coffee press (thanks for sharing the link, Donna!!) I have simply been enjoying lattes... not taking any more photos.  I thought it was finally time to rectify that.

But, first a little background information.  Donna and I realized we were becoming 'coffee snobs' several months ago.  :)  Instead of fighting it, we just accepted this new part of our personalities and set out to find the best method to make the perfect cup of coffee.  We compared notes and research then discovered that on the very same day we each bit the bullet and ordered an espresso maker.  (Not the expensive electronic ones... simpler ones that fit our meager budgets.)   :)  We decided to celebrate by having a coffee making day together.  Donna brought all her stuff up to my house and we spent the day making TONS of coffee and trying different methods and recipes.  It became apparent pretty quickly that Donna had the BEST method for making espresso.  Hers produced a strong flavor without any bitterness time after time.  My method was hit or miss... great one time, bitter the next.  I think it might just take practice, actually, but clearly I haven't mastered it.  :)

I had purchased a variety of flavored syrups to use and Donna and I experimented with several recipes.  Among our favorites were Toasted Marshmallow/English Toffee and White Chocolate/Macadamia Nut.  New favorites are Almond Joy Mocha (coconut, almond & chocolate sauce) and Peppermint Mocha (crushed 'Sweet Stripes' mints and chocolate sauce).   :)   We used Weiler's milk which definitely has the upper hand on other kinds of milk available.  Donna was sad at first until she found she could buy Weiler's in Columbia.  (yet another reason for our meet-ups in Columbia!)

We have been enjoying easy homemade lattes ever since.  I even gave my niece this same set-up for Christmas!

Here are a ton of photos... some from the old method just so you can see what I had... but most are of the new (and better) method.

The first method... Bialetti Cappuccino Set

Goodness!  My stovetop was DIRTY!!  ugh.  The water is close to percolating...

Here comes the espresso

This is the new setup!

I like the Lavazza Decaf espresso.  I just used one scoop for one latte this time around.

You pour the hot water in the tube and stir the coffee.  Yes, pour the water right into the coffee!

Use this plunger to press the water through the coffee and the filter (at the bottom) into the cup.

Coffee all pressed through...

This photo is out of order... I zap the milk in the microwave for a minute to heat it up then store it in my frother (from the Bialetti set).

Ingredients for the Almond Joy Latte!

I think I am out of room for photos.  Basically, to finish up the latte I froth up the milk in the frother then pour it all together.  (The syrup and heated chocolate sauce I mix with the hot espresso in the cup).   Then YUMMO!   :)

"A Hallelujah Day"

The big news this week was the go ahead from the Board of Trustees of A.T. Still University to bring a branch of the Arizona dental school to the Kirksville campus.  What a boost to our town this will be!  We attended the press conference Thursday morning to hear the official announcement and be a part of the celebration.  An exciting time, for sure.

You may not know that Osteopathic Medicine was founded here in our little town by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still.  The Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine was the first of its kind and remains the center of the larger A.T. Still University, which has campuses in Mesa, Arizona, as well.  The Mesa location is home to the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, the School of Health Management, the Arizona School of Health Sciences, and the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health.  The new Kirksville Dental School will be a branch of the Arizona school and will follow that same model of instruction, which is community based education.  The mission is very distinct - to bring dental care to areas and people who cannot afford it.  In Arizona, the students work primarily with Indian reservations.  Here in Missouri the students will work with Community Health Centers.  It is a unique model in that it focuses attention and care on those who have the greatest need.  What a blessing for our rural community and our state.

Daddy has worked SO hard on this project and, although this is only the first of several hurdles in bringing the school to fruition, it is arguably the largest hurdle.  There is still much work to be done, but the outpouring of support from our little community has been a wonder to behold and played a big part in the Board of Trustees decision.  Just another reason why I love living here.   :)

You can read the article from our local newspaper here.

Around the ranch

Marvin and Jackson are working on renovating the tack room in the main horse barn.  For years the tack room has been separated only by a half wall from the rest of the barn.  Unfortunately, that means all the tack continually gets covered by a layer of dust and, even worse, bird droppings.  The swallows have increased in population over the years and last summer their nests outnumbered the rafters, just about!  When they moved out a bunch of sparrows moved in and took over their nests.  ugh  Marvin finally had enough and removed as many of the nests as he could get to.  (Swallow nests are protected by law... you can't remove them if there are swallows around and they are in use.  But late winter is a good time to get it done.)

He also finally decided to go the extra step of enclosing the tack room with a full wall and ceiling.... making it a truly separate room.  It will sure be nice when he is finished, but it is a lot of work.  Although, the warmer weather this past week was a welcome visitor.  Jackson has been a tremendous help and is learning a lot as they go along.

View from the inside - cleared out except for the saddles and a few other things.

You can see the ceiling/roof they have built.  That will be a nice loft for more storage.

Jackson was out taking photos of the horses a few weeks ago.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Moonlight Runner sure looks dramatic on a cold winter day.

This picture cracks me up.  He is sleeping (see his eyes closed?) and looks like he is smiling.

Yes, I am talking about you!

Dick and Bob... I love their faces.  Looks like Bob got into some cockleburs!

This and that...

I can hear the thunder booming as I write this post.  Crazy.  A true thunderstorm (complete with lightning) in February.... in MISSOURI!

I have been meaning to post something here all week long and just haven't had a chance.  It has been a busy week with lots of good things (some need their very own posts) but here is a recap of the rest.

Last Saturday, Donna and I went to Columbia to get a little shopping done (ie: to have coffee, and lunch, and visit).   :D  We pinky swore that we would never again meet in Columbia on a Saturday.  Good grief!  I think everyone in mid-Missouri was in Columbia that day!  You could tell we have all been cooped up in snow and cold weather for a very long time.  And as Donna and I observed, some folks were coming out of hibernation sorta cranky.   :/  Donna, ever wise, declared that "Tuesday is the new Saturday".  We will adjust our future meeting plans accordingly.

This view may not adequately show it, but there wasn't a single parking space available at the mall.  We had to drive around for almost 15 minutes to finally snag this one.

I have been working out every day for about 2 weeks now.  Nothing extreme but I have been averaging about 2 miles on the treadmill each day.  I am actually enjoying it since I allow myself to watch HGTV while I do it.  On my good days I walk during the show and run during the commercials.  :)  We shall see....

We focused on Ben Franklin this week both in history and in science.  It was great timing!  For Physical Science taught by my brilliant brother we spent some time at this website and then did the home experiment based on Franklin's Bells.  The boys had a great time with that one.  

Monday night is Physical Science class so Jackson joined in online with Kerry, Susanna and her friends.  The topic was magnetism and electricity.  Jackson discovered he truly does have a magnetic personality!  ;)

Moving the iron filings around the paper using a magnet underneath the table.

We reached 71 degrees on Thursday!!!  Amazing and wonderful!  We threw open the windows and enjoyed hours outside.  Finally, after a week of temperatures above freezing, all of our snow melted away.  Of course we are left with a lot of mud, but I will take it.  

the snow is GONE!

Thursday afternoon Jackson went out searching anew for his buddy, Aaron's new iPod Touch that had been lost in the front field on Jackson's birthday.  It was SO sad the day it happened... and the whole crew of us had spent quite a bit of time searching for it that afternoon (in all the snow).  Then Aaron and his Dad came back the next day with a metal detector, but still no luck.  When the blizzard began a few days later we all thought of Aaron's iPod Touch out there somewhere in the field and knew it was a goner.

So, on Thursday, I couldn't believe that Jackson located it and that it... a) hadn't been run over by the tractor, b) hadn't been trampled by a horse, and c) hadn't been buried deep in the muddy ground following all the snow melting away.  But, the biggest surprise of all was that Jackson brought it in and plugged it into his charger and IT WORKED!  Can you imagine??  The sound works, the touch screen works, the apps work, it got online... everything!  Of course, it did say that the date was Dec. 31, 1960.  :)  But hey, who cares?  We told Aaron he needs to let apple know of his experience.  Talk about a commercial for the iPod Touch!

It was a great thing to take Aaron a 'belated birthday present'.  :)  Very fun.

The thing that gets me the most about this photo is how MUCH each boy looks like their Dad!!  

More to come, but I will start a new post.  :)

Baked Ham & Ham and Beans

Goodness... I am ready to make this again!!  We eat ham fairly often around here.  It is part of a 'family favorite' meal that we often prepare for large gatherings.  But, usually, I just bake the ham without any sauce.  That is still yummy.... BUT, if I plan to make Ham and Beans the next day I will for SURE make the Baked Ham with this sauce from now on!

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
8 Tablespoons honey
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
(you can also add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup bourbon if you like)

Baked ham served with sweet potatoes and peas

My friend, Susan, served her Ham and Beans for a ladies lunch one day and it was truly the best ham and beans I have ever had... including my own!  I asked her what her secret was and she said it was the sauce she baked her original ham in.  I couldn't wait to try it at home!  Sure enough... best ham and beans I have ever made.  :)  I can't wait to make these again!

Ham and Beans
1 bag dry navy beans*
liquid to cover the beans  (I used the leftover liquid from baking the ham the day before then added a few cups of water)
garlic  (I crushed a few garlic cloves and added them)
onion  (I chopped up about half an onion)
salt and pepper to taste
add as much chopped up ham as you like

Let it all simmer on the stove for several hours stirring periodically.  Yum!!

*I do rinse the dry beans first and sort out any bad pieces, but I don't soak them overnight.

Incredible Chicken

Well, maybe not "Incredible" chicken, but it was pretty good, anyway.  :)  I found this recipe at allrecipes.com and thought it looked like one to file away for a busy night.  Sure enough, it came in handy this past week.  Quick, easy and fairly good. We will have it again.
Here is the original link to the recipe.

Incredible Chicken
1 pound chicken, cut into pieces (I used 4 chicken breasts)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place chicken in lightly greased baking dish.  Season with garlic salt to taste then sprinkle with brown sugar and bake in the oven for 45 - 50 minutes.  I covered with foil for the first 30 minutes or so then let it finish cooking uncovered.  We served it with mashed potatoes (which I forgot to put on the plate below before taking the photo!!), sauteed cabbage, steamed peas and crescent rounds.

Chicken Fajita Quesadilla

Another food post...  :)

We love quesadillas around here - made just about any way.  Here is one of our favorites.

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
Cut up chicken breasts into strips and cook in hot oil in skillet.  When chicken is almost (but not quite) done toss in the green peppers, red peppers and onions.  For seasoning I either use my homemade fajita seasoning or, if I don't have any of that on hand, I use Pampered Chef Southwestern seasoning.  Sprinkle seasoning on liberally and finish cooking meat and veggies.  Remove all from skillet and wipe skillet clean with a paper towel.

Lightly butter one side of a flour tortilla and place butter side down in hot skillet.  Quickly cover with the fajita mixture and sprinkle with a little Mexican blend shredded cheese.

Then cover with another buttered flour tortilla - butter side up.  Cover skillet with lid for a minute to allow cheese to melt a bit, then carefully flip the quesadilla over.  Let brown then remove from skillet.  Let sit for a few minutes then cut and serve.