It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a...

...snowmobile on grass?

I was cooking supper and kept hearing this "thing" going

back and forth over our field. I finally looked

and this is what my eyes beheld.

Bye,

Hope

Chicken Marsala

Pan Fried Chicken Smothered in a Creamy, Mushroom Sauce.

(Kiss the diet goodbye for this one)

Start with 5 chicken thighs and dredge them in flour.

Fry chicken in butter, sprinkle one side with seasoned salt

and the other side with salt and pepper.

Cook until golden brown and the juices run clear.

Then remove chicken from skillet, and set aside.

Add 3/4 cup Marsala wine to your pan drippings and reduce

wine to about half on medium heat.

Add 1, 8 oz. box of fresh mushrooms (sliced) along with

a few slices of onion. Cook until tender.

Then add 1 1/2 cups of half and half, and simmer until thickened.

Add 1 tsp. of cornstarch (dissolved in water)

to speed up the thickening process.

Sprinkle in some basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Then add the chicken to your sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serve over a bed of Penne Pasta*

*Cook 2 cups of Penne Pasta until soft, drain then add 1/3 cup of

half and half and a 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle in

some parsley flakes.

Add a few sides and you have a meal!

Blessings,

Hope

Camping At Todd Lake

Campfire food is hard to beat.

Josh and I went camping Thursday night at Todd Lake.

My family came down for the afternoon and evening.

Some friends let us borrow their tent and offered foam mats

for us to sleep on. I demanded that we would be just fine.

Well, that night at 2:00 a.m. we were not just fine.

The ever, unforgiving ground underneath our seemingly thin

sleeping bags was in no way plush. We finally gave in at

5:00 a.m. and slept in the car. I decided next time

we are bringing a mattress or something.

After the night was behind us, we enjoyed our day at the lake.

Sawyer the "Gerber Baby"

Doesn't he look like he should be on a baby food jar?

Campfire cooking, mmm

Cajun Shrimp

Have a wonderful week!

Hope

Wild Cherry-Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls

Rainy days always make good baking days.

We have two wild cherry trees on our property and Josh has been

wanting me to make jelly with them. He set out to pick them yesterday

and came back with about 3 inches of berries in his bucket. He had

been picking them for at least an hour. He suggested I help,

but I didn't take him up on it due to laundry and other obligations.

So they sat on the counter for a day, just taunting me to make something

out of them. Then a light turned on, "I'll cook the juice off of them and

thicken it for cinnamon roll filling." So that's what I did.

Wild cherries- consisting mostly of seeds

The rolled out dough with filling

Raising for the second time

Fresh out of the oven

Ready to eat

Cinnamon Rolls

2 cups warm water

5 Tbsp. yeast

1 Tbsp. sugar

2/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

4 beaten eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. salt

8 cups flour

Soak water, yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in one bowl. Beat butter,

1 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt, then add to yeast mixture.

Add flour and let rise until double. Divide dough in half. Roll out

and spread with fruit filling*. Let rise until double. Bake at 350

for 10-12 minutes. Smother with Carmel icing.

Fruit Filling

 

I simmered the berries for about 20 minutes. Then ran them through a

strainer to get rid of the seeds and skins. I put the juice in a small

saucepan and added sugar to taste and a couple squirts of lemon juice.

Then thickened it with clear jel. (probably about 2-3 rounded tablespoons

dissolved in water, start with 2 and add more as needed.) I didn't like the

"wild sour taste" so I dissolved some raspberry jello in a small amount of water and stirred it in. The sit aside to cool. It was probably 4 cups.

 

Carmel Icing

 

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

4 cups 10X sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

 

Melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar and milk.

Heat just enough so sugar dissolves. Add powdered sugar and

vanilla, whip until smooth. Spread over warm cinnamon rolls.

 

Hope you enjoy!

Hope

Appetizer Party- Emily's Birthday

Good Food + Good Friends = Good Combination

I had a appetizer/suprise birthday party for Emily.

Needless to say, the other guest were not there when the

birthday lady arrived so we waited to break the surprise.

She was still very surprised, so I guess all good things take time.

The table and James' stuffed peppers (on the left)

Made by Emily and Katrina (yes, the birthday lady brought food to her own party)

that way she suspected nothing. p.s. I forget the name of this one.

Lou's stuffed mushrooms

Jessica's pinwheels

John's scallops

Jim's marinated tomatoes

Hope's birthday cakes

Wes and Hope's Iced coffee

Everyone brought an appetizer, which really made having the party easy.

Thanks for having a birthday, Emily, please have one again next year.

Hope

Hope and Ryan- Part 2

Here are some more engagement photos of Hope and Ryan

Happy Monday!

Hope

Country Fried Pork Chops

This is one of Joshua's favorite meats

(what is with men and gravy?)

Dredge pork chops in flour and sprinkle one side with seasoned salt.

Then pan fry in butter, and sprinkle the other side with salt and pepper.

Fry until done and remove from skillet.

Add about a cup of half and half or milk to your pan drippings.

Simmer and add a little flour* or cornstarch* to thicken the gravy.

Taste gravy and add more salt and pepper to taste.

Then put the pork chops back in the skillet with the gravy and

simmer on low for a few minutes.

(*dissolve 2 tsp. in milk and stir while adding to gravy)

Mmmm... tender and smothered in gravy

I needed a quick potato side so I peeled and sliced some potatoes

and cooked them until soft.

Then I fried them in butter in a skillet and added a

handful of mozzarella cheese and a spoonful of sour cream.

I sprinkled in parsley flakes, pepper, garlic powder and salt to taste.

This is a good, quick meal. Add a side of creamed corn and pickles.

The day after I made this Josh texted me and said

he couldn't wait for lunch.

I hope you enjoy!

Hope