Rain Rain GO AWAY!

Well, it seems like it has been raining forever! I'm ready to build an ark for heaven's sake. Oh, and along those lines of thought, I didn't make it to the Rapture, guess I'm not good enough or something, or somehow someone got it wrong, which is what I believe, since only GOD knows when HE will end the world and rapture his people.

Anywhoo, I have my garden in, and the rain threatened to wash it away it seems. The onions seemed to be coming out of the dirt but they have settled and started to grow. My pepper plants are getting big too, no broccoli growth yet, or any evidence of squash or radishes, but it looks like my shallots are coming through.

I ordered 5lbs of alfalfa seeds for sprouting. I just can't seem to get enough of them. I don't think I will be planting anything else in the garden, I am praying my lettuce will come up eventually, my arrugula is looking good, the basil is trying hard, I think it just needs more sun, same with the cilantro, but it's still early.

I never did actually get a zucchini plant or two. I have no clue where I would put one now. I still want to dig a whole somewhere for potatoes that are sprouting in my pantry instead of wasting them.

I haven't even stirred the compost since it hasn't been sunny and it probably hasn't had much opportunity to "cook" but I may add some water to it today, really should go check on it at least. I keep hoping something will be ready soon to put around my veggies and encourage them to produce and grow.

In the meantime, to keep busy, I am still looking for a job, and until then, I am working on DIY projects for our wedding which is 75 days away! I did all the programs yesterday (with a lot of help from Staples!) I ordered a bunch of stuff off of the internet, my champagne flutes and cake knife set that I will decorate with the celtic knot charms I ordered (and adding lace and green ribbon). I got my earings which are celtic heart knots, and I found a great message board on Etsy that will be customized with our name and wedding date. It is made of burlap and will have our name in a script font in black with our date in fuchia. I also found some shamrock petals that will go with the pink rose petals on the table and cake table. If you can't see where I am going with this, my Fiancee is Irish and I am even having our cake decorated with falling shamrocks! He has NO CLUE!

I am getting excited about our future. Wedding, marriage and eventual move to Texas, I can't wait!

In the meantime, in preparation for a move, I have started to declutter and I am tossing stuff left, right and center! I don't need old videos anymore since no one watches them, cookbooks will go to the college Culinary Arts Library, LOTS of stuff is going in the trash, and some stuff will be sent to different re-uzit shops in the area.

Scott and I are already talking about building our house and what things we will want in it. It seems sureal that we will actually be building a home and have land next year. It actually seems like a dream that we are actually getting married in only 75 days. I am so happy and even more blessed to have such an awesome man in my life!

As always, thanks for reading my mindless posts!

Yummy Recipes

Came upon this and tweeked it a bit - I hope you enjoy it!

TURKEY ENCHILADA'S

1LB Ground Turkey (as low fat as you can get it)

1/2 small onion chopped

1pkg Taco Seasoning

2 small cans tomato sauce

(If you like your food spicy, toss in a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies)

Refried Beans*** (see below to make your own from scratch for pennies)

Sour Cream - Light

low fat cheddar or jack cheese

tortillas - plain corn or whole wheat

Saute your turkey with the onion until all the pink is gone

Add Taco Seasoning and stir in

Add the tomato sauce and 1/2 small can of water

Mix well and let this simmer until almost reduced by 1/2 (you don't want it too thick since you need the sauce)

For the beans:

Take 1 cup Pinto Beans and rinse well

put the pinto's in a pot with some water to cover and add a few tablespoons of baking soda to help alleviate the gas after they are cooked.

let them come to a boil and drain.

Put the pinto's in a clean pot and boil the heck out of them until soft.

Drain the pinto's (retaining some cooking water to aid in mashing) and let cool enough to handle.

With a potato masher, mash the beans untiil smoothe and add salt and pepper to taste

Proceed as follows:

In a hot pan (preferably cast iron) heat the tortillas on each side until slightly browned and NOT CRISPY - they must remain pliable

top each tortilla with some bean mixture and then some meat mixture and fold over to close. Place the tortillas in a casserole and top with sauce and cheese.

Bake at 300degrees for about 20 min until heated through, toppingn with the cheddar cheese just before serving. Let sit until the cheese melts.

Serve with sour cream, and if you like, red rice and guacamole.

Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day to all moms

Happy Mother's day to all the mom's out there!

I was surprised with flowers from my sweetie - tomorrow is my Grandfather's birthday, gone 26 years and I still miss him horribly.

Now, with lots of junk coming down on me from my kids behavior, I am even more than ready to move to Texas. I know it seems as though I am running away, and maybe I am, I want to keep my family intact and live a more simple life.
Steps to doing this:
Pay down debt
Get a full time job to save $ for move and needed stuff (appliances, camping equipment, etc. . .)
start de-cluttering and getting rid of stuff I don't need and don't want to transport to our new home.
Keep learning how to make good homemade stuff, bread baking is coming along but not quite perfect yet. I also want to get a sewing machine and some fabric and start making things if I can.

I know what I want for furniture in our new home, so that is something to save for too. Getting rid of as much as possible so we don't have a ton of stuff to pack and move.

I want bicycles and dirt bikes too! :)
Fishing equipment for the guys

All in due time.

Right now I need to find a job! Sooo frustrating when I shouldn't be working weekends but it may have to be a sacrifice I make for our future.

Still looking for land. And we keep talking about the things we want to do in the house we will build, we are definitely on the same page, hardwood floors, tile in the kitchen, my wood stove/oven, haven't brought up the composting toilet yet :) or the need for propane refrigerator (huge expense), but it will all happen in due time.

One year from today we should be on our way (or less!) Now if I can just survive the next 90 days to our wedding! Lots of Drama there!

Take care everyone!

So excited - about compost?

HURRAY! THE COMPOSTER IS SET UP AND FULL TO THE TOP!~I wonder if anyone else ever got this excited about creating dirt? That's what it is really, taking trash and making dirt for my garden. All from stinky food, and grass clippings, leaves, some water etc. . .

I decided to "Help" and tried to put the first compoter together and it cracked so I went back to Lowes and they exchanged it. I also brought home a bunch of plants for the garden. Broccoli, arugula, peppers,(red, yellow and orange), onions, shallots, tomatoes,(grape, roma and big boy) yellow squash, radish seeds and cilantro. I am also considering getting a Jalpeno pepper once the tomatoes start coming up - FRESH SALSA - YUMMY! The only thing I couldn't find was lettuce and zucchini (go figure) so I will plant seeds for those and if they don't come up, I will get just a few plants the next time I go to Lowes- hopefully I will have some food from my garden this summer, even though it will be small and all around my house, I look forward to some sort of harvest. I am even going to try to dig in some potatoes. Who knows?

I can't wait to get on our own land with a tiller to have a 3 season garden. Yummy, fresh veggies most of the year, lots of hard work but oh so rewarding.
The rain started as I put the last of the stuff into the composter and closed the lid. Now to wait for a nice sunny few days so I can stir it! COME ON DIRT!!