Supper Menus
August 31st-September 5th

Monday
invited to friends house for supper, taking m&m cookies and chocolate eclair cake
Tuesday
summer sub sandwich, potato chips, pickles
Wednesday
chicken fajitas, spanish rice, refried beans
Thursday
leftovers
Friday
out for supper
Saturday
beef pot pie, lettuce and tomato salad

Please visit Menu Plan Monday for more menu planning ideas.

Red River

This morning we're...

...starting the weekend off right.
With caramel apple sticky buns! :-)

Another wonderful treat from the Pioneer Woman.
You can find the recipe here!

Have a good weekend! :-)

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"End of Summer" by Sherry Masters

"Just living is not enough.

One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."

~Hans Christian Anderson

The Wonders of Parchment Paper

A few weeks ago, I needed to make six dozen cookies. But not six dozen of one type of cookie. I wanted to make two dozen each of three types of cookies. (It was the only dessert I was serving to company, so I wanted to have a variety.) Also, I needed to bake them very quickly! I accomplished this in less than an hour. From start to finish, making three types of cookie dough and getting six dozen cookies baked, 2 dozen at a time. How'd I do that???

Parchment Paper!

My mom had been using parchment paper for awhile, but I thought it would just be an added expense. Then I noticed that a 30 foot roll was only $1.99. I bought a roll, put it in my kitchen drawer and forgot about it...until the six dozen cookie marathon day. ;-) Wow! It made cookie baking so efficient! I lined two cookies sheets with parchment paper, made the chocolate chip cookie dough and put two dozen in to bake. While they were baking I made the oatmeal cookie dough and got the dough rolled out and placed on more parchment paper on the counter. When the first batch came out I immediately slid the cookies on the parchment paper onto the counter to cool instead of leaving them on the cookie sheets. Then I just slid the prepared oatmeal cookies on parchment paper onto the cookie sheets and popped them in the oven. Did you follow? I did the same thing with the third batch of dough. I was constantly working, never waiting on cookie sheets in the oven or cookie sheets that were cooling. Very speedy! And clean up? With parchment paper there isn't any! ;-) I'm sold!

Have you ever used parchment paper? What did you think?

Change

"The man who looks for security,

even in the mind,

is like a man who would chop off his limbs

in order to have artificial ones

which will give him no pain or trouble."

~Henry Miller

"You can avoid having ulcers by adapting to the situation:

If you fall in the mud puddle,

check your pockets for fish."

~Author Unknown

"Continuity gives us roots;

change gives us branches,

letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights."

~Pauline R. Kezer

"If nothing ever changed,

there'd be no butterflies." :-)

~Author Unknown

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"Seasons Change" by Lanie Loreth

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school for my children.

After homeschooling for the past four years,

they are going to public school.

My daughter is in junior high.

And, my son is starting his last year of elementary school -

which will be his first year of school outside the home.

We might not be "homeschooling" this year

but we will still be learning and schooling at home,

as was evident while I was helping my daughter

with her math homework tonight... ;-)

This year will bring lots of changes,

and we're looking forward to new adventures.

Happy first day of school!

I pray it's a wonderful year for all! :-)

Supper Menus
August 24th-29th

Monday
out for supper
Tuesday
crispy tacos, refried beans, spanish rice, sangria punch
Wednesday
jessica simpsons chicken and dumplings, lettuce and tomato salad
Thursday
bbq beef sandwiches, easy baked beans, potato salad
Friday
super easy super cheesy lasagna, focaccia bread, caesar salad
Saturday
hamburgers, coleslaw, spicy potato wedges

Please visit Menu Plan Monday for more weekly menu plans.

Last Day of Summer

Summer? Where did you ago?

Once again, I blinked and you were gone.

You know what that means ~

my favorite time of year

is just around the corner...

back to school

football games

hunting season

falling leaves

cooler weather

Autumn! :-)

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"Last Days of Summer" by Miak Soileck

What is Success?

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better,

whether by a healthy child, a garden patch

or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed

easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hanging on the wall

at Mr. H.'s aunt and uncle's home

in Montana.:-)

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com

"Sacagawea with Lewis and Clark During Their Expedition 0f 1804-1806"

by Newell Convers Wyeth

Huckleberries!

Huckleberry products were everywhere in Montana!

Huckleberry jams, huckleberry syrups, huckleberry candies,

huckleberry coffees, huckleberry candles and huckleberry lotions.

It was very hard to choose just one to sample.

"Growing amid the Rocky Mountains is a delicacy known to natives as the Wild Huckleberry. It's distinctive flavor makes it the most precious and highly valued wild berry available. They do not withstand transplanting or propagation and are not grown commercially. An abundant harvest, or lack of it, is determined by unpredictable elements such as frosts, adequate amounts of rainfall and sunlight. In late summer the berries are hand picked while they are at their sweetest. Using old family recipes, we at Huckleberry Mountain bring to you the finest most unforgettable taste treats made from nature's ultimate delicacy, the Wild Huckleberry."

I ended up choosing a milk chocolate

wild huckleberry truffle bar

to share with the family on the road.

They seemed to think I made the right choice. ;-)

It was just delicious and definitely rivaled Germany's "Milka" bars!

Heading back through Yellowstone!

"The great United States still has some room,

some great spaces."

~Margaret Murie

Wapiti Wilderness, 1966

"I wish to speak a word for nature,
for absolute freedom
and wildness."

~Henry David Thoreau
Walking, 1862

"Look back with joy

to your wanderings

in the blessed old

Yellowstone Wonderland."

~John Muir

Our National Parks, 1909

Big Fun at Big Creek

nature's legos ;-)