A Simple Country Mouse

AHHHHHHHH!!! It's that wonderful time of year again when pumpkin spice is back! I love, love, love my pumpkin spice yumminess! How did this come about you ask? I finally hit the grocery store for the first time in...a month...month and a half? I lost track. Suffice to say a long time. But that's ok, because it was all made better by finding the pumpkin spice creamer for my coffee!!! Yay!!!! I love pumpkin spice!!!! So much so that a friend of mine bought me a shirt that even says "But first pumpkin spice". I wore it to my parents house. My dad read it and became very confused. Apparently he missed the memo on pumpkin spice lattes being one of my favorite things about fall. My mom on the other hand walked in, read it, and chuckled. She got it. My dad, still confused, asked mom what it meant. She made me laugh with her reply of "it means first she's got to have her pumpkin spice latte, duh." Still profoundly confused my dad shrugged it off. It still made m...

You know many, many times over the years I've been asked what my life's passion is. And if I'm entirely honest, it's food. I love to cook for people. I love to watch their faces when they take that first bite of something delicious. I love tinkering with the recipes I find, or creating something entirely new. Like I did tonight. I was trying to find something for dinner when I stumbled on a recipe for manicotti. I thought to myself, "hmmm, self, what would happen if we did the stuffing of manicotti with a twist on top of chicken. Make a rice pilaf with garlic green beans and I've got dinner. Then there's last night's brownies for dessert. Perfect!" So that's what I set about doing. And yes, it turned out very good. A perfect dinner if you are trying to impress someone. That being said here's the recipe. Manicotti Style Chicken Boneless chicken breasts Greek oregano Italian seasoning Salt Pepper Olive oil Chili powder Garlic Ric...

Good grief, I wish the weather would make up it's mind. The days are long and hot, but rapidly cooling off, and shortening too. It won't be long before scarves, hats, and gloves are going to be back in style. That being said my cooking has been running on the trying to not cook to many hot dishes. Lots of one pot dishes kinda deal. Tonight for example is taco casserole. Not sure how it's going to turn out. I'll let you know how it goes. In other news, poor Sam is teething her last couple of teeth, and Josh and Clayton both have summer colds. Me? Just lots of allergies and exhausted as usual. Josh let me sleep in late today which was lovely. Though I'm still tired. How? I have no idea. Sam is as of right this moment curled up into my back snuggling in for comfort. Clayton is all tucked in next to Josh with his puffy red eyes, and runny nose. Josh is just getting over his sore throat and a bit of a cough. He's got a stuffy nose too. My poor babies. So between th...

I know many if not all of you have heard of the goings on in Charlottesville. And as much as I rarely get into politics, I think perhaps this would be a good time to step up and say a little something. I know this will offend someone somewhere because anymore it seems like you can't so much as sniffle without someone throwing a temper tantrum in the form of a riot, but here goes anyways. What is slavery? Webster's dictionary defines slavery as: the state of being a slave, the practice or system of owning slaves, a condition compared to that of a slave in respect of exhausting labor or restricted freedoms. So then what is a slave? Again according to Webster a slave is: a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them, a person who works very hard without remuneration or appreciation, a person who is excessively dependent on or controlled by something. Now that we have that out of the way, let take a look at the why of this whole kerfuffle. Antifa and ...

As for some reason I can't think of much to blog about today, I thought instead I'd post a recipe that is quite yummy and perfect for appetizers. Bite me lasagna. It's exactly what you think. Bite sized lasagna bites. So, here we go. Bite Me Lasagna-by Hale Maiden 1 pkg lasagna noodles 1 lb ground beef 1/2 lb jimmy dean's sage sausage 1 tub ricotta cheese 1 pkg parmesan cheese 1 pkg mozzarella cheese 1 jar of Newman's own Marinara sauce 1 Tbsp garlic 1 tsp oregano 2 tsp Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper Now to work. Brown the ground beef and the sage sausage in a pan and leave in the grease. Once it's browned, add in the sauce, garlic, oregano, Italian seasoning, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and heat through. It should be pretty meaty. While you've got that going boil the noodles to the box's directions making sure they are a little al dente. Mix the parmesan cheese and the mozzarella cheese i...

So I realized today that I thought I had posted a week ago only to realize that it was never actually posted and just a draft. Sorry...I am setting a reminder on my phone for every Tuesday to start posting. Hopefully that will help remind me with everything else going on. It's definitely been busy here that's for sure. Let's see, we had a family day of build a bear and movies, drove to Olympia and Seattle, got stuck at a bridge fire one night until crazy late, had Neemaw (Nana) over for a visit, have a funeral this coming weekend, have to pick up a car, Auntie Lizard the following weekend, and then a formal wedding after that. During the week we try to go to yoga, and swimming lessons, keep the house clean, do laundry, and are in the midst of the worst terrible twos yet. So you know, your average American family. Oh, Author's birthday was last week, and Josh's mother is next week. Then my dad, his dad, and my mom are shortly after. My parents are going to try to co...