Jennifer!

Dear Jennifer is enjoying her year in Scotland.  We are so proud of her and excited about her adventure.  We had the opportunity to FaceTime with her the other day and we ended up talking for 2 hours!  :)  (Did we mention we really miss her??)

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

We made this for New Years Eve and it was very good and versatile.  Most of us ate it in a tortilla (flour or corn), but it could easily be served over rice or a baked potato.

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

1 pound pork shoulder

1 tsp. cumin

½ tsp. salt to taste

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper to taste

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper to taste

5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in half

2 onions, sliced in half moons

1 lime

Place pork shoulder in your slow cooker with the cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic.  Cook on low for 6-7 hours.  Then smash the cooked garlic cloves to blend them into the juices that have been released by the pork.  Add the onions to the slow cooker, along with the juice of 1 lime.  Continue cooking on low for 1-2 more hours, or until meat is done.  Shred meat with two forks and serve.  

(Note - you can fry the pork in a skillet if you want to make it crispy.  I have never actually had Carnitas in a restaurant so have no idea how they are typically served.  We just ate them straight out of the slow cooker and it was yummy!)

We added any of the following toppings to the pork in the tortilla...

shredded cheese

sour cream

sliced avocado

salsa

We were so busy NYE that I never got a
photo of the meat except in the crockpot.

Ladies soup supper

I enjoyed the opportunity to gather with this great group of women for an evening of soup,  snacks, and fellowship.  Although we all agreed that the cold temperatures and early darkness can make it hard to convince yourself to leave your house for an evening event, we were all thankful that we did!  It was a fun evening and provided a nice pick-me-up for January.  Plus, I got to try some yummy soups!  Will have to work on getting recipes.  :)

Laura and Kris trying out the selfie stick

clockwise from me...   Laura, Jennifer, Angela, Stephanie, Kara, Allison, Susan, Sarah,
Krystal, Sue, Susie, Lora, Shonda, Kris

Stephanie's Taco Soup

Lora's Loaded Baked Potato Soup

whole grain breadsticks

Raspberry bars and peanut butter blossoms

Sue's Red Lentil stew

Shonda's Cheeseburger soup

Jenn's Zuppa Toscana 

Ham and Cabbage Soup

Ham and Cabbage Soup
2 cups diced or shredded ham
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 cups ham or chicken broth
2 pounds of cabbage, cored and roughly diced
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the oil.  Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots and celery are crisp tender.  Add the ham, broth, cabbage, and bay leaves and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cabbage is tender - about 15-20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste (be sure you really need the extra salt!).  Remove bay leaves and serve.

You can make your own ham broth by combining 2 smoked ham hocks, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 onion (quartered), 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. whole peppercorns, and 4 quarts of water in a large stockpot.  Bring to a boil over low heat, reduce to a very gentle simmer, cover and cook until the meat falls off the ham hocks (about 3-4 hours).  Strain the broth and add salt and pepper to taste.  Makes about 3 quarts of broth.

**Beware of making this soup too salty!  Taste test before you season!

Twin cars

Just before Christmas Shonda got a new car.  The best part of her new car is that it is a twin of mine!  We LOVE that!!  When warmer weather comes we are going to have a 'twin' photo taken of both of us with our cars nose to nose.  But, for now, I'll just show you her car.  :)

And yes, we take great pleasure in parking right beside each other whenever possible.  ha!  :D  

There is something about that car that I really like!  :D

Shonda's beautiful red Enclave!!  :D  

I need to see if Truman has a 'Mother-in-law' sticker.  ;)  

Update - this is why we are going to wait a few months to have our 'twin' photo taken.  One of these things is not like the other.  In other words, can you tell who lives on a muddy road in the country?  So sad!   :D

Throwback Thursday

It just seems appropriate to share these in a Throwback Thursday post.   :)

When cleaning out an old file cabinet I ran across these treasures.  :)  So sweet!  Dear Rachel drew this picture for Marvin many years ago.  Bronze Pride was no ordinary horse.  He was the Missouri Fox Trotter World Champion and the sire of our horse, Governor. 

And then imagine my surprise when Shonda texted me THIS photo one day!  She works at the high school and somehow ran across an old yearbook.  This was 1984; my Sophomore year in high school... the same age that Jonathan is now!  Oh my!  Makes me laugh and cringe all at the same time!  :D

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

1 ½ cups cornstarch

3 eggs, beaten

3 Tbsp. oil

1 can chunk pineapple, juice reserved

1 red pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

½ onion, sliced

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine corn starch, salt and pepper in a ziploc bag.  Cut chicken into small pieces and toss with cornstarch.  

Beat eggs in a small bowl and dip each piece of chicken in the egg.  Preheat oil over medium heat in a skillet and brown the chicken.  (You can skip this step if you like and just brown the chicken tossed in corn starch.)

Combine the pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and soy sauce.  Place chicken in a 9x13 pan.  Slice the peppers and onion over the chicken.  Add the pineapple chunks, then pour the sauce over the top of it all.  Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes.  Stir every 15 minutes or so.  

Random January

I was so happy to attend the Soup and Song concert of our dear friend, Craig,
in early January.  Love his music, his ministry, and his family!  :D  

Mama is about to finish this puzzle, perhaps my favorite of the season.  :)

I love my Wristies!  They keep my hands toasty warm
when I am working on the computer.

I am reading some great stuff this month.  

Made my own trail mix.  Thankful for the ladies of my Daniel Plan small group!

Winter at Willis Creek Ranch

This has been a pretty mild winter so far.  Although we have had cold temperatures and snow, none of it has been extreme.  We have actually had many beautiful days!  I particularly love sky photos and often snap a few pictures with my phone when I am struck by the beauty of the day.  I have done this several times this month and decided to share them all in one post.  What a beautiful world!!

The sun and sky were spectacular on this day when I stopped at Julie's house.

Coming home from town the day after our biggest snow of the season, I was struck by the beauty.  I do love this home of my childhood... where my parents still live.  Such a beautiful place.

Hard to believe we held J&B's wedding reception right here 6 months ago.  :) 

You can see all the birds (plus one squirrel!) under the feeder.
Mama feeds them every single day.

Then I headed on up the drive to my own home.  I thought the green of the tractor stood out in the midst of the snowy scene.

Avocado & White Bean Spread/Dip

Yes, here is another avocado recipe.  :)  This one is so good and versatile.  You can spread it on toast (as pictured below) or use it as a dip with raw veggies or tortilla chips.  I think it would also be tasty as a sandwich spread in place of mayo (particularly on a turkey sandwich!).

Avocado & White Bean Spread/Dip

1 can Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 Avocados, peeled and chunked

onion and garlic (either finely chopped or use powdered versions) to taste

salt and pepper to taste

can add a squirt of lime juice if you like

I put all the ingredients in a sturdy glass bowl that has a lid.  I then used my immersion blender to make it all smooth.  Store leftovers in the refrigerator in the bowl with the lid on.  

Avocado Tuna Salad

I have definitely been on an avocado kick lately!  In part because Aldi keeps having a sale on avocados - only 39 cents each!!!  Wouldn't that make you go on an avocado kick, too??  Yum!!

I whipped this up for a quick lunch but forgot to take a photo.  It was a nice change of pace from 'regular' tuna salad.  

Avocado Tuna Salad

5 oz. can tuna

½ ripe avocado, roughly chopped

½ cup minced celery

¼ cup minced red onion

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

½ tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper

Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl.  Mix with a fork, mashing the avocado and breaking up the chunks of tuna as you go until the ingredients are well combined.  Add more oil, salt, or pepper if necessary.  Serve on your favorite sandwich bread or toast.

Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad

I didn't get a photo of this salad and that is probably just as well.  I have to be honest and say that it looks a little like 'yard'.  The avocados make it delicious, but they also turn the whole thing a pretty weird color.  Oh well.  It is delicious!

Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad

1 pound Roma tomatoes

1 cucumber

½ medium red onion, sliced

2 avocados, diced

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

juice of 1 medium lemon (about 2 Tbsp.)  (I used lime juice)

¼ cup cilantro, chopped (about ½ bunch)

1 tsp. sea salt or ¾ tsp. table salt

⅛ tsp. black pepper

(I added some garlic - a few shakes of powder to taste)

Place chopped tomatoes, sliced cucumber, sliced red onion, diced avocado, and chopped cilantro into a large salad bowl.  Drizzle with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 2 Tbsp. lemon (or lime) juice.  Toss gently to combine.  Before serving, toss with the salt, pepper, and garlic.

Daniel Plan small group

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am participating in a Daniel Plan small group.  I am blessed to be spending time with this wonderful group of women as we study God's word and encourage one another on the road to better health.  

Sue, Chris, Jenn, Connie, Leslie, and Susie

We ended our first meeting by concocting some delicious smoothies.  What a fun way to share time together!  :D  

talking about various ingredients to use in smoothies

our smoothie chef, Sue!!  :D  

 It had spinach, yogurt, almond milk, protein powder, chia seeds, and banana.

Yum!  :D

I'm back!

I have had a lot of names for this unwritten blog post.  I have been tossing it around in my head for a long time.  So long, in fact, that the content of the post has completely changed.  :)  For the longest time it was going to be titled "An Obvious Confession".  But, as of this past week, I am titling it "I'm Back!"  (an obvious improvement!)   ;)

I have gained my weight back.  (see the 'obvious' part)  There have been a variety of reasons (and some are even good ones!) but the basic crux of the story is that I am back to being huge.  Not just big... but huge.  Ever since my hysterectomy I have struggled with a variety of physical ailments and injuries including nerve pain, a pulled hamstring, and a mystery pain across the top of my foot which has had me unable to walk (for exercise) for almost 6 months.  Couple those physical issues with the fact that I completely lost my gumption and you have a recipe for disaster.

I have been trying to get myself back on track mentally for awhile now.  That has been a long process, but it had to be.  I am actually a slow burner in a lot of ways.  I know that probably doesn't seem right if you know me in person (I can appear to be a quick decision maker at times).  But, my mind is usually working overtime on the really big issues. And I tend to keep that processing to myself.

Last week I began a new study with a lovely, small group of ladies - The Daniel Plan.  As it turns out, the timing has been perfect.  This study has been the final piece of the process for me... to get my gumption back!  Hallelujah!  I'm back!  :D

After our first meeting I came home and took a look back at my old blog posts from my weight loss journey several years ago.  It was sort of like acknowledging the elephant in the room as I had been studiously ignoring those very posts for the last several months.  I really didn't want to read my own enthusiasm for healthy living.  Nor did I want to be reminded of my 'failed' journey.  But, after reading them last week I was intrigued by how much I have grown since those posts; regardless of my current weight.  While there are many tips and suggestions that I still agree with, I would write those posts differently now.

Sunday afternoon I was able to fully walk 'my loop' around the schools.  That was the first time that I have been able to do that in many months!  It wasn't very pretty and I did have to be very careful with my foot, but I made it!  What a moment!

It sure felt good to be back on 'my walking trail'

Then, on Monday right after my small group, I managed to walk the 1 mile portion of that loop even though it was about 34 degrees and misting rain.  I feel that old gumption again.  Hallelujah!  I'm back!  :D

This journey will undoubtedly be different than my last journey.  For one thing, I have a different mindset and even somewhat different goals.  I also know the pain of letting myself go when I swore I would never do that.  I recognize the need to give myself some grace and to NOT view myself as a failure.  Honestly, the time period of gaining weight was filled with not only physical struggles, but an awful lot of emotional life changes.  It is totally possible to have one of the best years of your life (2015, for me) and yet have it be an emotional roller coaster.  Great joy and beauty is usually intertwined with sorrow and pain.

So, this blog post has changed completely from when I first began thinking about it.  And for that, I am grateful.  I like this one much better.  :)

A tire adventure

Jackson and Brianna left on New Years Day (afternoon) to travel to St. Louis to attend more family celebrations.  About 4:00 pm that afternoon (Friday/New Years Day) my cell phone rang and it was Jackson informing me that his car had a flat tire and that he and Brianna were stuck on the side of the highway about halfway to St. Louis.  The tire had gone from fine to completely flat with 0 pressure in less than a minute.  Although it didn't feel like a blowout (thankfully), there must have been something on the roadway that truly slashed that tire open.  I am wondering about the flooding that has been going on down that way - who knows what kind of debris has been left on the roadways.

Anyway, we (re)discovered that Jackson's car has a new fangled deal for tires.  NO spare.  Only a pumping system thingy that is absolutely NO good if you are on the side of a highway with a totally flat/slashed tire!  Good grief.  This is one of those instances where 'new and modern' don't really make sense to me.  We knew we might be in for a bit of trouble since it was late Friday afternoon on a holiday and was getting dark.  We started trying to call for tow trucks that were within reach of them and all were busy for several hours.  We surely didn't want them sitting on the road for hours waiting so I put a plea out on Facebook to see if any of my friends had any information on who to call in that area.  Bless Whitney and Kaleb who immediately responded and called with super helpful info, even though they were on vacation in Branson at the time!  Kaleb even called around on our behalf!  (did we mention we miss these fine folks since they no longer live in our town?)  We were able to get a tow truck to come immediately to get Jackson and Brianna. By 6:00 pm they were safely off the road.  

Shonda was working on the St. Louis end and arranged for her dear Aunt Terri to come and pick up the kids (and their dogs and their luggage!) and get them to St. Louis.  (Thank you, Terri!!!!)  There would be no purchasing of a new tire after hours on a Friday/holiday!  That was for sure!  But at least the kids were fine and the car was in a parking lot of a tire shop in another town.  

Unfortunately, Jackson ended up getting pretty sick while down in St. Louis.  Poor guy was feeling pretty rough and we decided we needed to get his car drivable and make a way for them to get home as scheduled.  So, on Sunday Mama, Daddy, Marvin and I loaded up and headed to the town where the car was parked.  We had decided that we would remove the tire and rim, take the rim to a nearby larger town (Hannibal) that had a Walmart tire shop and purchase a new tire.  Then have them mount that tire on the rim, then take it back and put it on the car.  Since it was Sunday we knew that the regular tire shops (including the one where Jackson's car had been towed) would not be open.  

When we got to the car Marvin and Daddy went to work removing the tire.  Let me say that I am thankful that Daddy thought to bring along his hydraulic jack.  The little jack designed to use to remove a tire was flimsy and small!  I can't imagine using it for removing a front tire supporting the engine weight!  Anyway, they used both jacks and safely lifted the car.  But they were having a heck of a time removing the tire from the car.  

Poor tire...   

Daddy and Marvin using two jacks to lift the car.

About that time we heard a truck pull into the parking lot.  Lo and behold it was 'Mike' himself!  The owner of the tire shop!  He was (providentially!) just dropping by his shop to run an errand.  Daddy went over to talk with him and he brought out a sledge hammer to pop that tire off.  (That sure let us know that Daddy and Marvin would have been there a LONG time trying to get that tire off!!)  :)  

He then sold us the tire we were needing and mounted it on the rim for us.  Then he even came out and put that tire on the car for us!  How marvelous!  I have to highly recommend Mike's Tire Shop in Bowling Green, Missouri!!  Great guy!!!

Mike got the tire off for us!

Mike putting the newly purchased tire on the car.

Highly recommend Mike's Tire Service!!

As good as new!

Here are things we have learned from this situation.  Check to be sure your new car has an actual spare tire!  It seems that the new 'thing' is to supply a pump which is really only going to help you if the car is drivable.  Then, make sure you write down what kind of tire is on your vehicle!  When you are in one town and your car is in another town, it can be difficult to determine what tire replacement you are needing!  We even looked it up using the specific VIN number and still were given multiple possibilities.  It took actually driving to the car and looking at the tire for us to know for certain which tire we needed.  Who knew that would be so hard!  :D  We now have a record of specific tire information for every vehicle at Willis Creek Ranch!  We are also getting a real spare tire for Jackson's car.  And hope to get a jack that is worth something.  (for Jackson's car AND for Mama's car that we initially swiped the jack from!)  

After Mike finished helping us with the tire, we let Jackson and Brianna know that the car was ready for them.  Dear Aunt Terri again drove them to Bowling Green so they could load up and head home.  All is well!!  :D