Soup Can Chick

SOUP CAN CHICK

one soup can spray painted yellow

one orange beak cut out of craft foam and glued on can

acrylic paint to paint eyes and cheeks

piece of ribbon tied around the bottom of can

short piece of yarn to fray and glue inside of can for hair

put Easter grass inside finished can and add wrapped Easter candy

This is a quick and easy craft to give as a small gift at Easter.

Green Beans

The Allen's Canning Company in Siloam Springs, Arkansas has a outlet store by their canning factory. I love to go there and pick up veggies at a discount price. These green beans are my favorite! They taste like real home canned green beans, so I would buy them by the case. The way I really love them cooked is simmered with a strip of bacon.

These beans are so good and the last couple times I was able to stop at the outlet they were completely out of the "shellout" beans. I have looked in all the stores in Western Oklahoma and they do not carry them either!

The thing that makes me laugh about these beans is the label on the can. Italian Bean Shellouts Cut Italian Beans and Dry Shelled Beans....and below that it says Kentucky Wonder Style. So how can they be Kentucky Wonder Style Italian Bean Shellouts???

Well, when you read the back of the label INGREDIENTS: Italian green beans, water, prepared pinto beans, salt, calcium chloride added to help maintain firmness. OK....so they are not really shellouts...they use pinto beans to resemble shellouts.

Young people have no clue what I am blogging about! When people actually grew food to eat in their gardens, we had Kentucky Wonder beans. When beans grow so big there are some that you take out of the shell because the green bean part gets tough. So you end up with beans with shellouts in them. I guess I love these so because they remind me of being younger. LOL

Here's the deal....all of you extra pairs of eyes out there please check your grocery shelves and see if you can find these Allen's Shellout Beans. Let me know where I can get more of them.



Kids Meal "Toy"

Granny's Love is just like any other little boy, and looks forward to getting a toy of some sort when he orders a kids meal. Well, I finally discovered the most worthless kid's meal toy on earth on a recent trip to Arby's. It should have gone straight to the cardboard recycling bin! It was a punch out Fire Truck with those little tiny tabs, that have to be inserted into a tiny little slit, in another part of the truck to eventually get it put together! OMG!!!  OK.....it took nearly an hour and the use of scotch tape to keep it together and repair the parts I tore in the process!!!

Granny's Love could tell I was not a happy camper and told me, "It's ok Granny it is only trash anyway." How sad is that? He knew it was a piece of trash!

The "ladders" never did work right, but here is the put together Fire Truck. The package warns only for 3+years old. Well, it should say only for 3+ and NOT for Granny's to attempt assembly!

On the outside of the Arby's Kids Meal sack it shows an inflatable ax, fireman specs, fireman's badge, fire safety deck, and a hydrant squirter...that could have been in our meal...but oh no we got the paper fire truck!

I do like the message on the bottom of the Kids Meal sack....Dream big and maybe you will grow up to be a firefighter! Firefighters and policemen/women are the bravest people on the planet. The positive in this is that they are attempting to teach fire safety to children.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

1 (9 inch) pie shell

3/4 cup white sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

1 cup pecan halves

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prick pastry shell in several places with a fork and bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, corn syrup, eggs, vanilla, salt and pecans. Mix well, then pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes; if crust is getting too brown, cover edges with aluminum foil. When done the pie will be a little loose in center, but will set as it cools; do not overbake.

(My daughter took photos while her friend did the cooking of my favorite pie!)

I just love pecan pie and I love it even more if it is a Chocolate Pecan Pie. One time I was at a restaurant in Tulsa and ordered the Chocolate Pecan Pie from the menu. It came with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, on top of the ice cream was hot fudge and then it was crowned with a huge swirl of  whipped cream.   Heavenly!!      It was a diabetic coma on a plate!

Act of Kindness!

Last night I was going through the Arby's drive-thru to grab my Granddaughter and Grandson a bite of supper. When I got up to the window the young lady handed me the card below and told me that the person in front of me had paid my ticket. Needless to say I was quite surprised! Since Granny's Love was with me it was also a nice lesson to teach him. This church is about an hour and a half drive from where we live, which was even more surprising. I was very thankful for the Act of Kindness! 

                                                       20388 East Country Road 158

Hwy. 283 & Martha Y

(4 miles north of Wal-Mart) Altus, OK

580.482.3377

info@martharoadbaptist.org

If anyone is ever in Altus, Oklahoma, I would think this would be a really nice group of people and welcoming church to attend. I have to tell you that people in Western Oklahoma in general are good people!



Cookie Jars

My Mom has a few cookie jars as shown in the photos below. I found that the cookie jar can be traced back to 18th centruy England where they originated as biscuit jars. A biscuit was known at that time as a small tea cake or scone which translates in the U.S. as cookie. These jars were used to store the biscuits to keep them fresh. By the turn of the century they had made their way to stores and bakeries in America.

In 1929 the Brush Pottery Company of Zanesville, Ohio introduced what is believed to be the first ceramic cookie jar. Early cookie jars were very simple cylindrical or bean pot shapes with little or no decoration. Marketing departments in various companies decided more attractive jars would sell better. Soon designs were produced featuring figures of people, fruits, vegetables, animals and cartoon characters.

During the years from 1940 to 1070 cookie jar production and sales climed to the roof.

Two giants of the industry were McCoy Potteries and American Bisque of Williamston, West Virginia.

Additional cookie jar manufacturers of the era were Red Wing, Regal China, Brush, California Originals, Metlox, Hall, Abingdon,Treasure Craft, Doranne of California, Robinson-Ransbottom, Hull, Twin Winton and Shawnee Pottery.

Some of the cookie jars in Mom's collection are much older than others.

The Little Red Riding Hood below is my personal favorite.

This rooster would fit in with all the rooster kitchen decor I see around today.

I hope you have enjoyed this little bit of cookie jar history and seeing just a few of the various types of cookie jars. Next time you are at a yard sale, auction, antique store or other stores look at the cookie jar selection! My problem with cookie jars around here is that they would always be empty. When my husband shops he writes L-O-N on his list......that means he is going to buy a package of Lemon creme cookies, Oreos, and Nutter Butter cookies!

Tom's Shoes

Tom's shoes are all the rage with teens today. The tag on the flag says "JOIN THE TOMS ONE FOR ONE MOVEMENT." It instructs the new owner to send photos of them and their TOMS flag and join others from around the world in supporting the One for One movement to: TOMS.com/flags   

Southwestern Oklahoma State University is participating in the "One Day Without Shoes" inviting everyone to go without shoes to bring awareness to children in developing countries who must walk for miles without shoes every day.

On the box lid it says "With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.

At a local store this pair of Black Lace Top TOMS total with tax was $32.83.

The One for One is a good marketing plan allowing people to help people. I recommend that you check out the TOMS line for yourself. My granddaughter loves them!

Jonquils

I wanted to share these photos of one of my favorite flowers. Some people call them daffodils and other people call them jonquils. I have been a life active Member of Epsilon Sigma Alpha, International since the early 70's and the organization's flower is the yellow jonquil.

I took these photos in one of our local parks. They had put wood chips around the flower bed for mulch. When I had theses photos printed the wood chips printed purple instead of brown. I thought it made for an interesting contrast with the yellow flowers in the photos.

This photo still has the purple wood chips, but the leaves of the jonquils have a bluish cast rather than green. It must have been the way the natural light was shining on the flowers.

I love jonquils and I loved the surprise of the purple wood chips in my photos!

Old Arby's Sign

On 36th Street in Oklahoma City I saw this old Arby's sign. It is a much bigger ten-gallon hat version of today's Arby sign. I am sure there are other old Arby's signs around the country, but it made me wonder about the history of Arby's. I also wonder why they did not replace this sign with a newer version unless it is because this is also on Historic Route 66.

Arby's was founded in 1964, but the concept for a roast beef sandwich franchise was rooted many years earlier. Forrest Raffel, and his younger brother Leroy, bought an uncle's restaurant equipment business in the 1950s. The small company rapidly grew to become one of the country's leading foodservice consulting firms. Raffel Brothers, Inc. designed and installed hundreds of foodservice facilities including the flight kitchens at Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, interiors of six Ohio Turnpike restaurants, and foodservice facilities for the Hospitality Inn motel chain of Standard Oil of Ohio.

The Raffel brothers quickly sensed the potential of fast food and decided to develop a franchise operation based on something other than hamburgers. A late-night excursion to a small Boston sandwich shop one rainy Halloween was the inspiration for the Raffels, who joined a damp, but determined huddle of patrons to await the main attraction – a 69-cent roast beef sandwich.

The idea was born. The only kink in the chain's orderly development came with choosing a name. The partners wanted to use the name " Big Tex", but were unsuccessful in negotiating with the Akron businessman who was already using the name. So, they came up with Arby's, which stands for R.B., the initials of Raffel Brothers, although I guess customers might think the initials stand for roast beef."

The first Arby's restaurant opened in Boardman, Ohio, on July 23, 1964, serving only roast beef sandwiches, potato chips, and a beverage. This was the only Arby's restaurant for a year as the brothers refined the operation. One year later, the first Arby's licensee opened a restaurant in Akron, Ohio. Today you can see thousands of Arby's restaurants across the country.

This new Arby's sign is so high in the air my little camera could barely see it!

Yellow Squash - 2 ways

I love yellow squash and my husband fixes it two ways, fried and steamed. It is good either way, but I am pretty sure the steamed is better for us than the fried. It is best to get squash that is not too big, because the smaller ones are more tender and just taste better.

To fry the squash slice as close to the same size as possible. My husband puts flour, salt and pepper in a plastic zip lock bag and then drops the pieces of squash in the bag and shakes it to coat the squash. He puts as little cooking oil in the skillet as possible to fry them. Make sure the oil is hot and then put the squash in a single layer in the oil. Brown each side and they are done. Drain on a paper towel.



Fried Yellow Squash

To steam the squash he slices them and places in a casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper and a few dabs of butter. Put the lid on the dish and microwave until tender. This batch he did for about 8 minutes, but your time will depend on how many squash you are cooking. Squash has its own moisture, so you do not add water to create the steam.

This is what his squash looked like when they were done and ready to eat. You can also do these same cooking methods with other type of squash, but our favorite is the yellow squash.

Do you have a favorite squash recipe?

2nd Car Since May...OMG!

Do you remember my February 28th blog post, about finding our Granddaughter her 2nd car in less than a year? Well, here is what it looks like today! OMG...the 2nd car since May is now all crumbled up like a smashed pop can. I have never seen so many wrinkles in a car before. Cars can be replaced, but Granddaughters can't, and we are thankful that she was not injured more than she was in this awful wreck.

Front of the Grand Am

Driver's side look at the wrinkle in the hood!

Passenger side really bowed up the hood.

Back driver's side even wrinkled from the impact.



Toad in a Hole

My husband loves to eat TOAD IN A HOLE...grilled toast and eggs. First he uses a biscuit cutter and cuts out the center of a piece of bread. He puts the bread with the hole in the middle on a medium hot grill. Then he puts a dab of butter in the center of the hole and allows it to melt. This will toast the bread and cook the egg.

Next he butters the hole piece he cut out of the bread and places it on the grill to toast.

Then he cracks an egg into the center of the hole cut out of the bread. Add a little salt and pepper to taste if desired.

When the egg white starts to cook flip the bread and egg over to cook the other side.

This is what his TOAD IN A HOLE looks like when it is done.

This is a wonderful thing to cook anytime and is especially good to cook when you are camping.  Kids love these because they think it is neat to have the egg in the middle of a piece of toast. The cut out can also be pressed out in other cookie cutter shapes when making TOAD IN A HOLE for children. Scrambled eggs can be used in the middle of the TOAD IN A HOLE if carefully poured.

OSU FAN

This is Deborah the #1 OSU fan. I met Deborah 25 years ago when she was my daughter's Girl Scout leader. Our daughters went to school together and now we are both Grannys!   This young lady has more energy than anyone I know! She worked at the OSU Extension service for years. She is now selling Real Estate...oh yes, she could sell a ice cube in Alaska. Deborah is just awesome. 

Today is her birthday...I will not disclose her age, because you would not believe it anyway. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEBORAH! 

Deborah and the Bikers...Counter Protest - Bixby, Oklahoma

If she believes it she will stand up for it! I was proud to know she was there to stand up against those crazy people who have been protesting at funerals.  Good thing I could see grave markers in the photo of her and the Bikers above, or I would have thought she was just out having too much fun. I promise, you just do not want to tick her off...she is little, but mighty!



Chief Gregory Pyle and Deborah



I just have to share this funny story with you about Deborah. She is the most organized human on the planet and I am pretty anal myself. Deborah was always planning trips and educational outings for our children. She always gave everyone a list of what they needed to bring. She instructed how to wrap soft drinks and how to pack lunches, etc so that everyone could put their stuff in the community ice chest and then find it on the trip.

One time there were a whole bunch of kids going on a trip and needed to take sack lunches. They were leaving real early in the morning so you can imagine the amount of confusion in trying to get everything in the coolers, everything and everyone in the vans to arrive where they were going on time. Deborah ask every child at least twice....is your lunch in the cooler? So everything was loaded and off they went.

They arrived and did a few activities and then it was time for lunch. Deborah handed out everyone's lunch and drinks. My daughter said Deborah had a funny look on her face. Deborah had forgot to pack her lunch. I mentioned earlier that I was anal...I never let my children go anywhere that required a sack lunch without packing enough for two people, just in case there was someone who did not have food. Well low and behold, Deborah needed that extra lunch my daughter had in her sack.

This was the time in my daughter's life that she was on a cheese and ketchup sandwich kick! My daughter shared one of the sandwiches with Deborah, and she still laughs remembering the look on Deborah's face as she took that first bite.