It's All Apples and Pears to me.......

I got up this morning and made another loaf of the Cinnamon Apple Pie Bread.  It is soooooo good! I think it will probably be a breakfast staple around here this fall.  Mom loves it!!

Frank went out and picked the real last batch of the pears....I was going to leave these on the tree for the deer to eat as they fell but after Frank picked one and ate it he got the ladder out and picked most of them.  They are delicious and sweet as can be.  I took about half of them and set them aside for eating raw but there are way too many so I will have to have another pear canning day this coming week.  My friend Jamie, The Pickle Ninja, gave me a recipe for Pear-Jalapeno Jelly so I think I will try that.

 

Only about a half sink full this time but boy are they nice, crisp and delicious!!!

 

Time for me to got Mom ready for the wedding this afternoon.  Have a wonderful day.

Weekly Menu

Today we have a wedding to attend.  It is for the daughter of my parent's best friends, both of whom are deceased now so it is very important to her that Mom attend.  Mom loves socializing and puts on a very good front.  Everyone she sees she will say "How have you been, it's been a long time, you look good".  Then they walk away and she says to me "Who was that person?"  But she still loves to visit with people, people watch and party so she should have a good day.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day so Amy is going to come and visit with Mom and we are going to take John and Kirsten for a flight and have lunch on Mackinac Island.  It should be a beautiful flight, hopefully the colors are starting up there already.

The rest of the week is just a typical week for us so here is the weekly menu. Make sure you join me each day as I link photos and recipes. Ciao (Chow.....get it.....I crack me up!!)

Saturday
Wedding

Sunday
Flying to Mackinac Island

Meatless Monday
Tomato, Mozzarella and Pesto Panini
Corn on the Cob

Tuesday
Date night

Wednesday
Chicken Tetrazzini
Green Bean and Tomato Salad

Thursday
Stuffed Cabbage
Mashed Potatoes
Glazed Carrots

Fish Friday
Shrimp Stir Fry
Steamed Rice

Friday Funday

This morning we are going to get our new (used) car, drop off the car we are selling for some repairs, take care of transfers at the Secretary of State and then this afternoon Frank is taking Tingting car shopping.  It is a crazy car day!!

In between all that we are going to our friends, the Greens, to pick up some costumes because next weekend we will be attending the Renaissance Festival with all of our dive buddies.....It should be a blast....and the Green's have tons of costumes they have collected over the years.  I put this basket together as a thank you gift.

 

 I found the perfect card that said "A Basketful of Thanks", found a basket I had in the garage, lined it with some leftover material and filled it with some of my homemade goodies.  I am pleased with how it turned out.

I have a 7pm orientation meeting with one of my exchange students this evening so it is going to be a busy day.  Originally we were going to have Fish Friday but we are now going to have Pizza Night.  I will have Frank and Ting pick it up when they are done car shopping.  Hope you all have a wonderful day.

 

Fall is in the Air

I know it is only September 19th, my brother Larry's birthday, but Michigan does not realize that there are a few more days of summer left. I am sitting with my coffee, watching the mist rise off the front pond and can hardly keep from shouting with joy!  Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the cool, crisp, clear days.  The thoughts of falling leaves, bonfires and long hikes in the woods. Trips to the apple orchards and cider mills.  Stews, pot-roasts, lasagna, soups....all those wonderful foods you put away for the summer so that you can grill and lounge in the pool with a margarita are now brought out and enjoyed before s'mores around a bonfire.  I have to admit that this cool weather we have been having has me rushing the season a bit.  We went to the apple orchard this past Sunday and got some Honey Crisp, Gala Supreme and Red Cortland apples.  It was too early for some of my favorites like Macintosh and Jonagolds so you know what that means......another trip to the orchards next month YAY!  I also picked up a recipe compliments of Verellen Orchards for Cinnamon Apple Pie Bread, Print Recipe.  This is in the oven baking as we speak and it smells mighty delicious in this house!!!

 

Delicious, I think this recipe will be a keeper .

 

For dinner tonight before choir we are having Hungarian Kebabs with a Creamy Paprikash Sauce served with Couscous with Peas.  These recipes can be found in Cuisine at Home, Issue #59.  I don't have any plans set in stone for the rest of the day.  After I tend to my animals this morning perhaps I will go for that long hike that my body is yearning for or perhaps I will work on some more Christmas projects but right now I am going to pour myself another cup of coffee and have another slice of that Cinnamon Apple Pie Bread.  Have a wonderful day all.

I'm just stewing here.......

Many years ago there was a movie out called "Fargo" it was a very dark comedy.  You either loved it or hated it.  "The Family" is very much the same...I personally thought it was a very weird movie, Frank thought it was better than I did.

I got up early this morning and put stew into the crockpot for dinner tonight using this recipe, except that I use 1 lb. beef and 1 lb. pork, I don't use potatoes or corn, I add celery and fresh green beans or frozen peas or both.  It is my week to work the food pantry at church and I will be gone from 2-6 pm so a crockpot meal is perfect.  I just need to call Frank when I am heading home so that he can throw the biscuits in the oven.

I went to see my friend and hairdresser, Karen, today for a badly needed cut and color.  The gray seems to creep in faster and faster each day!  Successful afternoon at the food pantry, delicious dinner and now it is shower time for Mom.  See you all tomorrow.

Friends, Framing and "The Family"

Mom is feeling well enough to go to Dawn's tonight so date night is on!!!!!!  Now to decide what we would like to do LOL.

Spent the day with my friend, Cathy, who is downstate for a few days.  When Cathy and Bob retired they moved to Houghton Lake, a beautiful area in our State, so we don't get to see them as often as we would like.  On the upside, it is a great flight destination so several times a year we will fly up and meet them for lunch and we try to get together whenever they are downstate.  We went to Hobby Lobby while we were out so I could get my latest painting framed.  Going to craft stores is one of our favorite things to do together.  Cathy is an avid card maker and knitter and of course I can't go into Hobby Lobby without buying fabric. That would be a sin, wouldn't it?

 

Stairway to Heaven in honor of my Pops.

 

 

We have decided to go see "The Family" tonight starring Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones.  I will let you know what we thought of it tomorrow.  Have a good night all.

Just another Manic Monday

Good news.  Mom slept peacefully throughout the night.  I think maybe this cold is licked  Yay!!!

I have been sitting here with my coffee watching a blue heron fish my front pond.  Doesn't sound very manic,  maybe today will be a Mellow Monday.

This morning I am going to meet with my niece, Amanda, and gift her the car that Tingting has been using since Chuck joined the navy.  Tingting is working now and is buying a new car and my niece needs one badly.  My brother, her father, took his life this past December (thinking about him makes it a Mournful Monday).  It has been a very hard time for all of us in our family but it has been especially hard for his children of whom Amanda is the youngest.  Amanda has stepped up to the plate, gotten a job and is taking care of her mother and one of her brothers both of whom are disabled.  This is a big responsibility for a 21 year old and we are very proud of her.  I am sure that her father is smiling down upon her.  I am very pleased that I can help out a little bit.

My CSA has been giving me tons of eggplant so for dinner tonight we will be having Eggplant Parmesan with Pasta Marinara.  After all it is Meatless Monday. There are just all kinds of M words to go along with Monday!!  It is also Yoga night here so I guess we could say it is Mantra Monday.  I host it here in our house and Kim does a wonderful job instructing us.

I slice 2 med eggplant into approx. 1/4" rounds.

Place them in a colander, sprinkle with salt and place in sink for 15 min. or so.

Meanwhile set up your dredging station.  First bowl has flour seasoned with salt and pepper, middle bowl has 2 eggs, beaten, and last bowl has Italian flavored bread crumbs combined with 1 T. melted butter.  The butter helps the crust to brown nicely in the oven without having to fry the eggplant.

Dredge rounds first in flour, dip rounds into egg covering both sides and then dredge in crumbs. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake until brown and tender.

Enjoy....it is an Mmmmm, Mmmmm Good Monday!

Eggplant Parmesan

2 medium eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/4" rounds

1 c. flour

2 eggs

1 c. Italian flavored bread crumbs

1 T. butter

1 large ball fresh Mozzarella or 1 bag shredded Mozzarella

Place eggplant rounds in colander and sprinkle with salt.  Leave set for 15 min. then rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.

Place flour seasoned with salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.

Place eggs, beaten with a fork, in a shallow bowl.

Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl, melt 1 T. butter and pour over crumbs, combine with a fork until all crumbs are moistened.

Dredge eggplant rounds in the flour on both sides, then dip in egg on both sides and lastly dredge in crumbs covering both sides.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a 350* oven for 20-30 min, until eggplant is tender. 

Cover each round with Mozzarella cheese and place under broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Note: If you are not serving the eggplant with Pasta in Marinara you may want to remove the eggplant from the baking sheet once it is browned (approx. 15 min.) and transfer it to a 9x13 pan in which you have poured a cup of Marinara on the bottom.  You will then top the eggplant with another cup of Marinara and the cheese and continue baking until tender.  Print Recipe