Wonderful Things of Summertime...

backyard swimming pools
flip flops
watermelon
vine ripe tomatoes
fireworks
swing sets
bar-b-q
sundresses
kitchen curtains dancing in the breeze
lightening bugs
cook outs
beach towels
suntans
good books
ankle bracelets
homemade ice cream
summer movies
daisies in a mason jar
parades
swimming holes
cicadas 
cherry pie
floppy hats
popsicles
shell jewelry
picnics
sunflowers
the library
tubing
honeysuckle
hammocks
sun tea

peaches
black-eyed susans
butterflies
camping
farmers markets
grilled corn on the cob
hot pink toenail polish
rope swings
the beach!

dewberries
4th of July
porch swings
wildflowers
aloe vera gel
farmer’s markets
snow cones
the lake
tire swings
sleeping porches
shade trees 
ladybugs
sand castles
moonlit walks
road trips
bare feet
straw purses
sunshine
ripe strawberries
fresh squeezed lemonade
drive-ins
afternoon thunderstorms
homemade pickles
s'mores
carefree children


Linked to Farm Girl Friday Blog Hop #111

First Day of Summer!

Our traditional first-day-of-summer breakfast - out for doughnuts. A trip to Hobby Lobby for new craft activities and a visit to the library to load up on books. Welcome summer! :-)

Basket Carnival

I am participating in the-basket-carnival at orgjunkie. I am sharing how I organize some of my bathroom cabinets. This tall cabinet is not very deep. I feel it wouldn't be a wise use of space to store linens in it. I also do not have a traditional medicine cabinet in my bathroom. So, I use recycled baby wipe containers, labeled with my label maker, to store my cosmetics, medicines and toiletries. Be sure and stop by the-basket-carnival for lots of great ideas to use baskets, containers, and totes for organizing!

Chocolate Marble Cheesecake Pie

Chocolate Marble Cheesecake Pie
8 servings

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 square semisweet baking chocolate, melted
1 chocolate graham pie crust

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla; mix well. Add egg and blend. Combine 3 tablespoons of pie mixture with melted chocolate. Pour pie mixture into pie crust. Drop chocolate mixture by spoonfuls into pie and marble with knife. Bake at 325° for 35 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!

Easy Baked Beans

Easy Baked Beans
16 servings

6 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
2 (16 ounce) cans baked beans
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine ingredients and bake uncovered at 350° for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars

18 servings

for crust -
2 cups flour
2/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
for topping –
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
confectioners' sugar

Combine flour, butter and confectioners' sugar; pat into a rectangular baking dish. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Combine sugar, eggs, flour, lemon juice, extract, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until frothy; pour over crust. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until light golden brown. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into serving bars and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Apple Pie

Apple Pie
8 servings

1 recipe double pie crust
6 granny smith apples

½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
extra sugar and cinnamon for topping

Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Mix apples, sugar, cinnamon, flour and half of the butter. Fill pie crust and dot with remaining butter. Place top crust on, seal, and vent, or prepare lattice crust. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes. Enjoy!

Linked to Gooseberry Patch Recipe Roundup - Just for Dad, Gooseberry Patch Recipe Roundup - Potluck Favorites.

Memorial Day

"Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations, that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of a free and undivided Republic."
~John A. Logan

"And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me."
~Lee Greenwood

Casablanca

Supper Menus
May 26th-31st

Monday
Memorial Day cookout with friends
Tuesday
creamy chicken enchiladas, spanish rice
Wednesday
fettuccine alfredo, garlic bread sticks, caesar salad
Thursday
kung pao chicken, rice
Friday
garden fresh taco salad
Saturday
grilled chicken, steak, and pepper kabobs, long grain and wild rice, roasted corn on the cob, lettuce and tomato salad, cherry pie

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies
4 dozen

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Blend in flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix well. Add oats and mix. Roll into balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Linked to Gooseberry Patch Recipe Roundup.

Flowers for my Sister

asters

Black Bean Enchiladas with Tomato Salsa4 servings

for enchiladas -
1 cup dried black beans
4 cups water
2 teaspoons oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 can corn kernels
1/2 jalapeno chili, seeded and diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 flour tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese

for salsa -
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Pick, rinse and soak beans. Combine beans and water; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours; adding water if needed. Saute onion and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin and saute for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, corn, jalapeno, salt and pepper; simmer for 1 minute. Combine the cooked beans and sour cream. Add the beans to the sauteed vegetables; cook until warmed through. Divide the bean mixture among the tortillas. Roll and place seam side down in a greased 13in. x 9in. baking dish and top with cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. For salsa, combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Stir to mix well. Top each baked enchilada with tomato salsa and serve. Enjoy!

Heritage Schoolhouse - closed for summer!

There's a time in each year that we always hold dear,
Good old summertime!
With the birds and the trees and sweet scented breezes,
Good old summertime!

When your day's work is over, then you are in clover,
And life is one beautiful rhyme,
No trouble annoying, each one is enjoying,
The good old summertime!

Those are days full of pleasure we now fondly treasure
When we never thought it a crime
To go stealing cherries with face brown as berries
In the good old summer time!

~from "The Good Old Summertime"
composed by George Evans, lyrics by Ren Shields

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com
"Red Schoolhouse" by Marianne Caroselli

Day Well Spent

"If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That eased the heart of him who heard -
One glance most kind,
That fell like sunshine where it went -
Then you may count that day well spent."

~George Elliot

illustration courtesy of www.allposters.com
"Evening Sun" by M. Dipnall

Focaccia Bread

Focaccia Bread
1 loaf

1 tablespoon honey
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 cups flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly chopped rosemary
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve honey in warm water; sprinkle yeast over top and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 5 cups of flour until dough comes together. Knead on a well floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes. Place dough onto oiled baking sheet, and flatten to cover the whole sheet. Use the tips of your fingers to make indentations all over the dough spaced about 1 inch apart. Drizzle the focaccia with 3 tablespoons olive oil; sprinkle with rosemary, parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon salt. Let rise for 10 minutes. Bake at 415 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

I've never made this before and have always called it, "that good Italian bread that I can't pronounce and it starts with an F." ;-) So I looked it up! If I'm going to bake it, I need to know how to say it. :-)

Focaccia (pronounced foe-CAT-cha) is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, which may be topped with onions, herbs or other foodstuffs, related to pizza.

Linked to Gooseberry Patch Recipe Round Up.

To Stay at Home is Best

Stay, stay at home, my heart and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.

Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.

Then stay at home, my heart and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest,
Over all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

illustration courtsey of www.allposters.com
"The Road Home" by Ray Hendershot

Cashew Chicken

Cashew Chicken
6 servings

2 cups chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bag frozen oriental stir fry vegetables
1 1/2 cups cashews
hot cooked rice

In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of broth. Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch, soy sauce, ginger, cayenne pepper and remaining broth until smooth; set aside. Add chicken to the skillet; stir-fry over medium heat until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Add garlic and vegetables to skillet; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Stir broth mixture; add to the skillet with the chicken. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in cashews. Serve over rice.

I am participating in "The Simple Woman's Daybook" -

please visit The Simple Woman Blogspot to join in the fun!

~ for today ~

Monday, May 19th 2008

Outside my window...

I see sunshine and a cloudless, beautiful blue sky.

I am thinking...

about summer!

I am thankful for...

my family.

From the kitchen...

it will be bagel pizzas for lunch.

I am wearing...

capris and a baby doll top.

I am creating...

our last two weeks of lesson plans.

I am going...

to my son's end-of-season soccer party this evening.

I am reading...

Where Two Ways Met by Grace Livingston Hill.

I am hoping...

to go for a walk this afternoon.

I am hearing...

the birds outside, the dryer and the children's voices.

Around the house...

I am doing Monday's laundry, homeschooling,

and tidying the house after a busy weekend.

One of my favorite things...

to do is to plan and host a party.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

finishing up last lessons in school books, having company on Wednesday evening, planning Memorial Day activities, planning my daughter's birthday party, taking a trip to the library.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

of my sweet little Daisy girl.

Supper Menus
May 19th-24th

Monday
soccer party - out to eat burgers
Tuesday
cashew chicken, rice
Wednesday
angel hair pasta with spaghetti sauce, focaccia bread, green salad
Thursday
crispy chicken cutlets, crescent dinner rolls, long grain and wild rice, lettuce and tomato salad
Friday
black bean enchiladas, tomato salsa, green chili rice
Saturday
'lil cheddar meatloaves, make ahead potatoes, green salad

Welcome to all those stopping by from Organizing Junkie's "Menu Plan Monday". Please come back later in the week - I post recipes and pictures each evening. Thanks for visiting!