Catching up

Catching up November and December...

We had a small gathering for Thanksgiving (which felt a little strange!).  But all of Julie's family were out of town for Thanksgiving.  We were so glad Betty J. could join us.  We had a lovely time together.

I always look forward to the Christmas-time bell choir concert.  It was wonderful, as always!

Love seeing the church decorated at Christmas-time.

This is amazing!!!!  I purchased this little white plastic contraption when it went on a lightning deal for Black Friday on amazon.  I hoped it would help me consolidate some of my many boxes of tea.  But I had no idea it would hold so much!  It has a total of 12 trays (6 front and 6 back) and each tray holds about 10-12 tea bags.  I was able to empty ALL of those tea bag boxes you see (although none were completely full).  It has made a world of difference in my cupboard storage!  I might have to buy a second one to complete the process (did I mention I have a slight tea problem??)   :D

Shonda invited a few ladies to join her for a luncheon at her house.  She made these two yummy recipes and they are keepers!  (I'll post the recipes very soon so that I can find them easily.)

Crab Toast and Tomato Tortellini Soup

A wonderful group of ladies!
Shonda, Kathy, Lora, Penny, Karla, Laura, Kris

I loved this picture Kerry sent of Hannah and Susanna with their friends Sarah and Korin - all dressed up and ready to go caroling.  :)

Sarah, Hannah, Korin, Susanna

Mama and Daddy at the Governor's Christmas party.

36 Hours

This was all in a 36 hour period in early December.  Crazy weather (but beautiful!)

The snowflakes were HUGE

Yes, those big 'dots' are the snowflakes falling!

It was a beautiful 'postcard' type snow.

the road was a mess...  :)

Mama and Daddy's front yard.

And then it looked like this... just 36 hours later.  :D

No trace of any of that beautiful snow!

Then, as the sun began to set, the soft colors were mesmerizing.

It was so pretty.

Spaghetti in the Instant Pot

I am loving my Instant Pot.  One of the primary benefits is the ability to cook 'real food' in a shorter amount of time.  Most of my tried and true recipes are not necessarily better tasting in the Instant Pot (although it does something amazing to tough cuts of meat!!).  However, on many nights when I can see no good way to get a hot meal put together in time for supper, the Instant Pot literally saves the day.  It can be the only thing standing between me and a bowl of cereal for supper.  :)

I saw this recipe for making spaghetti in the Instant Pot and thought I would give it a try.  It is very good, but if you want regular spaghetti, you probably want to make it the old fashioned way.  This is more like a spaghetti casserole.  Tasty and quick.  A great thing about this version is that it reheats very well and actually tastes better the 2nd day!  

Brown 1 pound of ground beef on Saute until pink.  Add in chopped onion and garlic and brown.  I then added few teaspoons of Italian seasoning.  Break spaghetti noodles in half (I used a little more than 1 full package - so about 16 oz) and lay the dry noodles on top of the ground beef.  Pour a jar of sauce (about 24 oz) over the top of the noodles.  Either fill that jar up with water or use a box of chicken broth and pour that over the top of the sauce.  (I used a 32 oz box of chicken broth since I was using more noodles.)  Do not stir.  Put lid on and be sure pressure release valve is set to closed.  Cook on Manual-High for 6 minutes.  Let it NPR (Natural Pressure Release) for 10 minutes.  Open lid and stir, then serve.  

Note - I would add a bit more seasoning next time.  And I think I might add some cottage cheese as a layer on top of the dry noodles next time - just to change it up a bit.  The beauty of this recipe (and so many more) is that you have one pot cooking (easy clean up) and 'real food' fast!



*Updated to add this tip (below) that I found online... I especially like the rule of thumb to use manual high pressure for ½ the cooking time of whatever pasta you choose to use.  Great way to remember!
Perfect for newbies--Pasta with meat sauce!
*Brown 1 lb ground beef on sauté mode
*Add 1 (28 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
*Add 1 1/2 jars water
*Add 16 oz uncooked pasta (any style)
Manual high pressure for 1/2 of the cooking time listed on pasta package.  Quick release. Sprinkle package of mozzarella and cover for a few minutes until cheese melts.

Standing for Matthew

It was our great honor, filled with sadness, to stand for Matthew Lewellen on the day of his funeral.  Our community came together and lined the streets and highway for many miles between his funeral and the military cemetery.  He was accompanied by the largest contingent of Patriot Guard that I have ever witnessed (they covered more than a mile themselves).  The entire funeral procession took over 7 minutes to drive past us on the highway.  I stood there with my husband and sons, watching with tears streaming down my face, thinking again of Matthew's Mom.  We honor Matthew's service and sacrifice and pray for peace and comfort for his family and loved ones, now and in the days to come.

We stood along the highway south of town a few miles.  There were people all along the route to the cemetery 40 minutes south of town.

Here is a link to a Vimeo video that shows the first part of the funeral procession.  Very touching video.  https://vimeo.com/192410187#t=0s

Music

We have enjoyed several music performances over the last few weeks.  Dear Brianna performed in two of them - the fall Clarinet Choir concert and the Minor Detail Christmas concert.  We sure love attending Brianna's musical events and are so proud of her.

Brianna, 4th from left on front row.

Minor Detail

Love this girl.  :D

Brianna performing with Minor Detail

Shonda was taking their photo from the side balcony.  :D 

Here is Shonda's photo.   :D  

Minor Detail

Visit from Carrie and Kiersten

What a joy it was to get to spend a few hours with these two!  Even though the visits are too many years apart for my liking, we always jump right in where we left off.  The time passed way to quickly, but we certainly enjoyed every minute of our visit together.

Marvin and Jonathan had to leave a bit early so said their good-byes.

Dear Carrie was there the day Jonathan was born.  She was a nursing student then and got herself scheduled to be in the OR with us.  She took good care of me during recovery.  What a blessing that was!  

Kiersten, Jonathan, Carrie, and Marvin

Kiersten, Laura, and Carrie

Jackson, Kiersten, Carrie, and Brianna