Friday Foto

My cousin Greg put this photo on his Facebook...

I about cracked up when I saw it...

I just had to feature it as my Friday Foto!

Birthday Trip to Galveston

 

Today our baby girl is having a birthday...

she is a full time high school Special Education Teacher

is the school sponsor for the Step Team at her high school

and

is currently going to OU to obtain her Master's Degree.

She works all the time and rarely gets a break!

 

We were so proud when her friends talked her into going

to Galveston with them for a weekend.

These are some of the photos she sent us from her trip.

Our "baby girl" is the one in the orange top.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENNDA LYNETTE!!!

 

 

 

Oh yes, she got a really bad sunburn...

and she used sunscreen!

They went on a tour of the historic district...fun was had by all.

 

 

Our "baby girl" then and now...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

 

 

 

 

 

Full Moon

My daughter sent me photos she took in Galveston

and looking at the thumbnail ones on my computer

these looked like photos of the moon!

Since tonight is a FULL MOON,

I thought it would be cool to use her photos.

Well, as I was downloading to this blog post and enlarging them.

I discovered it was not the moon, but the clouds are sure pretty.

You know what they say about the FULL MOON...

it brings out the crazy people.

When you see what this really is you will think I too am crazy.

Ok, so I have never been to Galveston...

Hope this made you laugh as much as it did me!

Sights from Galveston

Photos by my daughter Kennda Miller

SIGHT seeing trip around Galveston, Texas

(she sees the odd things just like her Mother)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She knows I love old signs...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tribute to Oklahoma Oil and Gas

Every time I go to Ardmore, Oklahoma I discover something I had not seen before.

This trip I found this awesome little pocket park on one of the main streets.

This little park is a tribute to our Oklahoma Oil and Gas Industry and is so neat.

 

 

 

 

 

Real Men Make Quiche

My husband makes the best quiches. This is one of my favorite recipes he cooks for me. He takes a store bought deep dish pie crust. Pokes it with a fork and pre-bakes the crust according to package directions. He places aluminum foil around the edges of the pie crust so they will not over cook or burn.

He sautés 2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup chopped onion

3 tablespoons bell pepper

1/2 cup mushrooms

in a small skillet until the onions and pepper are tender.

Then he mixes 3 large eggs

8 ounces of sour cream

5 slices of crisp cooked bacon

 1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

and the sautéed veggies together.

Pours into the pie crust.

Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until set.

The above information is for his regular quiche. But, for the quiche in these photos he used one can of drained spinach instead of the mushrooms and used Mexican cheese instead of Swiss and cheddar. In the past he has used cooked sausage instead of bacon. He has added jalapeno peppers instead of bell peppers. So, the bottom line is you can change the recipe to what you like to eat. This can also be refrigerated and then warmed in the microwave. This is one of the wonderful weekend meals he makes while I am blogging! He is awesome and I am thankful that he loves to cook!!!

Potato Patties Leftover Mashed Potatoes

These are my daughter's favorite. Every time my husband has to work in the city and stays at her house she wants him to make these for her. Yes, she will be 36 in just a few days and is extremely spoiled by her Daddy! She plans ahead when she knows he is coming and has all the things she wants him to cook for her lined out and ready to fix. She is so funny.

Recycle your left over mashed potatoes into potato patties and serve as a side dish with the next meal. They are quick and easy to prepare plus it is a way to use up the left overs.

Add an egg, chopped onion and flour to the left over mashed potatoes. Mix well.

Shape into a pattie and put flour on both sides.

Place in hot oil in a skillet.

Watch around the edges and when they start to brown turn over and brown the other side.

Take out of oil after browning both sides and drain on paper towels.

So easy to make and good to eat.

Friday Foto

If only I had been fast enough to snap a photo of the couple who got out of this!

Pizza without dough...

Pizza without dough...

Gluten Free, Low Carb, Diabetic Friendly

Crust
1 (8 oz) package of full fat cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Topping
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
toppings - pepperoni, ham, sausage, mushrooms, peppers
Garlic powder

source



 Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly spay a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. With a handheld mixer, mix cream cheese, eggs, pepper, garlic powder and parmesan cheese until combined. Spread into baking dish. Bake for 12-15 minutes, our until golden brown. Allow crust to cool for 10 minutes.

Spread pizza sauce on crust. Top with cheese and toppings. Sprinkle pizza with garlic powder. Bake 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

What is a serving?

I started writing my blog on August 1, 2010 and one of the first things I posted was about serving sizes. I wanted to repost the information because it is good for all of us, plus I keep getting reminded by my doctor to cut back on my serving sizes. He also says to cut out ALL white foods. He can afford to purchase all the "good for you" foods and those of us on a fixed income must work with what we have in our budget. The following is my repost:

In our communities and on the news we are seeing more and more about the increase of diabetes.  This is due in a large part (pardon the pun) to the way we eat, how over weight we are becoming, but mostly to us not paying attention to serving sizes!

I am a Type 2 diabetic which is the kind you can control with medication (in the form of pills), diet and exercise. My doctor said a typical Type 2 diabetic is over weight, has thin/skinny legs, and thick middle. I said you mean like Humpty Dumpty...the doctor thinks I'm crazy...but that is what he meant. Diabetes is also more pronounced in some families. My Granddaughter is a Type 1 Juvenile Diabetic and will be on insulin for the rest of her life. She has a insulin pump, and has to reinsert the needle in her body every three days. Much better than the 5 to 7 shots a day they started her out doing. She also has to watch what she eats, but Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are totally different!

  

In this blog, I would like to share with you some interesting information I received from our local hospital. (Disclaimer: Check with your personal Doctor before using or doing anything shared in this blog.) My understanding is that diabetic guidelines are good for everyone.

I was very surprised when they told me what a serving actually was, and  the everyday objects that we can all use in our home or when we are out to eat to measure our servings. I am going to list the serving size and then how you can estimate the portion.

                                              WHAT IS A SERVING?

1 cup.................................................................................a small fist

1 ounce..............................................................................a thumb to first joint

1 to 2 ounces of snack food.................................................a handful

1 teaspoon.........................................................................a thumb tip

2 Tablespoons of liquid........................................................sits in a cupped hand

3 ounces.............................................................................palm of hand

                                                                                         (no fingers and thumb)

small apple..........................................................................a tennis ball

3 ounces of cooked meat.....................................................a deck of cards

1 ounce of cheese...............................................................4 stacked dice

1/2 cup broccoli, cooked......................................................a household light bulb

1 teaspoon of jam................................................................4 stacked quarters

1 slices of bread..................................................................a cassette tape

1/2 cup side salad................................................................1/2 tennis ball

1 cup scoop of ice cream......................................................a baseball

Do these measurements surprise you? They did me and I was just blown away by how much my regular servings really turned out to be in comparison! I can do pretty good when I am eating at home, but fail miserably when I eat out. I love to eat and I can consume an entire day's servings fairly quickly.     :(

According to the Diabetes Food Pyramid going from the bottom to the top...

We should have.......the following servings daily:

6 or more servings grains, beans and starchy vegetables

          1 ounce of bread product

          1/2 cup of cereal, grain, pasta, or starchy vegetables
                                                       (corn, peas, potato, yams)

          3/4 to 1 ounce of most snack foods (pretzels, chips, etc.)
                                                              less than a handful!!!!

3 to 5 servings vegetables

          1 cup raw leafy vegetables

          1/2 cup cooked (non-starchy) vegetables

          1/2 cup vegetable juice

2 to 4 servings fruits

          fruit or 1 small to medium fresh fruit

          1/2 cup of canned or fresh fruit juice

          1/4 cup dried fruit

2 to 3 servings milk

          1 cup milk

          1 cup yogurt

2 to 3 servings meat and others

          2 to 3 ounces of cooked beef, chicken, fish, pork

          2 to 3 ounces of cheese (high in fat unless fat-free)

          1/2 to 3/4 cup cottage cheese or tuna fish

Fats, sweets, and alcohol the very small tip of the pyramid

          1 tablespoon of regular salad dressing (fat)

          1 teaspoon of regular vegetable oil or margine (fat)

          2 teaspoons of peanut butter (fat)

          1/2 cup ice cream, sherbet (sweet)

          1/8 pie (sweet)      

          2 inch square of cake, unfrosted (sweet)

          12 ounce beer, 4 ounce wine, or 1 ounce liquor (alcohol)

Combination foods

          1/2 cup tuna noodle casserole, lasagna, chili with beans or
                          macaroni and cheese (meat, starch, fat)

          1/8 of a 10 inch pizza (starch, meat, fat)

Learn to read food labels and see what the serving size is and the other nutrition information on the label.

I subscribe to the Diabetic Gourmet newsletter and receive a daily recipe in my e-mail. Some of them are sooooo good it is hard to believe that they are actually good for you. I am adding their sites to the bottom of this blog. Check them out and I think you will love them! Next time you are putting food on your plate THINK............WHAT IS A SERVING?

Diabetic Gourmet Magazine: http://diabeticgourmet.com/
Want recipes? Visit http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes
Swap/share recipes at http://diabeticcommunity.com/
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/diabeticgourmet
Diabetic Gourmet Cookbook: http://DiabeticGourmetCookbook.com

McLish Avenue Church of Christ - Ardmore, Oklahoma

This church building in Ardmore, Oklahoma was just across the street from the St. Phillips Episcopal Church (blog post 8-7-13). Actually in about a four block area there are at least four churches. This building does not have as many of the architectural features as some of the other churches, but it just seems like a stately old building. It will have a place in my collection of church buildings photos.

 

 

First United Methodist Church - Ardmore, Oklahoma

The First United Methodist Church in Ardmore, Oklahoma is located and busy main street. I snapped it from across the street, because by this time it was begging to get really hot and I was ready to get back under the air in the van. This building certainly looks like it has command of its corner with the big front columns. The arched windows in the front and down the side are really beautiful. It looks much more like a courthouse or an old bank building than it does a church to me. Once again this is a building I would love to see on the inside.

 

 

Learning to Can Pickled Beets from Mom

A couple months ago my brother called and said that since Mom was not able to can her family tradition pickled beets that he would like for us to learn how to can them. I told him I would come to Arkansas when the beets were ready. We all gathered at my nephew's house on Saturday morning to learn how to can pickled beets! Thanks Blake and Becca for letting us use your house. This is a step-by-step beet canning lesson.

First, Mom told us to sort the beets by size so when they were in the pot they would cook uniformly. In the photo is Mom, our adopted sister Pat, my brother Wayne and my nephew Blake. All the red cups on the table are Blake's tree seed project.

My brother brought his turkey fryer to heat water in so we could put hot water on the beets and it would not take so long to cook them, if the water was hot to start them.

Wayne put the first batch of beets on the stove to cook.

Blake added more water, because Mom said they had to be covered and boil.

Wayne and Pat are setting up the clean jars to get ready for the canning.

Wayne is getting more instructions from Mom.

She said use equal parts of sugar, apple cider vinegar and water

in the pickling solution. Add pickling spice and bring the mixture to a boil.

When the beets are done the skins will slip off and then you cut the ends off.

This is the first round of beets getting processed at the sink.

I am pretty sure Blake and Becca are still wiping beet juice off stuff in their kitchen.

After the beets are peeled,

put the jar flats in a little bit of boiling water to soften the rubber seal.

Pour the pickling solution over the beets in the jar.

Carefully wipe the jar top with a wet rag,

 to remove any solution you might have got on it.

Fish the jar flat out of the hot water and place on top of the jar.

Screw the jar ring on the jar and hold the jar flat firmly in place for a good seal.



Wayne and Mom with the FIRST JAR!



Thank you Mom for teaching us how to can your pickled beets!

 

My brother decided there HAD TO BE a faster way to cook the beets.

He took the pan out and placed it directly on the turkey fryer base!

When the beets were cooked Wayne sprayed them with cold water.

We gathered around the wash tub and peeled the beets.

Put them in a big bowl and then into the house.

We were able to process them twice as fast!

In the fall when we do this again, we are using Mom's recipe

and Wayne's cooking method using additional turkey fryers!

Becca comes home from work to find us at her house.

24 quarts and 1 pint later we were done!

The best part of this day was getting to spend so much time with family.

 

Pansy's Pickled Beets

Equal parts of Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar and Water

we started with 4 cups each

to that we added 1.8 ounces of pickling spice

which is a whole jar

Bring to a rolling boil and make sure it is stirred well.

 

Sort beets by size

Put in a pan covered with water and boil until skins slip off

keep turning the bottom beets up to the top of the pan.

Pour the water off the beets and peel cut off top and bottom

Place jar flats in small amount of boiling water to soften the rubber seal

Place  beets in canning jars.

Pour pickling solution in jar on top of beets

Wipe off the top of the jar with a wet rag

Place jar flat on top of jar and screw jar ring on jar

hold jar flat firmly in place while screwing on lid.