Good Recipe

I thought I'd share this recipe I made the other night. I had made it one time before and I don't remember where it came from. For once I don't think it's from Taste of Home as I tried to look it up on their website but couldn't find it. Probably from the newspaper or a magazine. It was quite tasty but a little time consuming to make. Although once it's done and you do your prep clean up, there's not much to clean up after supper. I forgot to take a picture and there are no left-overs. I doubled it and put it in a 9 x 13 pan.


DEEP DISH MEATBALL PIE

3 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
1 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 eggs, divided
Salt & pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
2 cups water
All-purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup shortening

About 2 hours before serving, boil potatoes with skins until tender. Grate 2 tablespoons onion, chop remaining. Set aside. Mix grated onion, ground beef, bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1/4 cup water, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Brown in hot oil, remove as they brown. In drippings, cook garlic and chopped onion. Return meatballs to pan; add carrots, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, 2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, stirring to loosen brown bits on bottom of pan. Over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until carrots are tender (about 15 minutes). Stirring occasionally. Mix 1 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoons water. Gradually stir into pan, cook and stir until mixture is slightly thick and boils. Spoon mixture and cut potatoes into 2-qt. Casserole.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In medium bowl stir cheddar cheese, 1 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut shortening into above to resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water a tablespoon at a time into flour mixture until just moist enough to hold together. Shape into ball. Roll pastry 1 1/2 inches larger than top of casserole. Cut out 1 inch circle from top of pastry. Cover casserole. Beat remaining egg slightly. Brush on top of pie. Cut slits in crust. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown and mixture bubbles.

Pumpkin Carving Time

We'll Miss You Noisy Needles

Laura closed her doors on Saturday. I ran and bought some baby yarn and a couple books. I hope to make this hat and sweater pattern on the bottom. I also bought the colored cotton yarns to make baby hats. I have a really cute pattern that uses several different colors. I am sad to see Laura close her shop but can understand why she is "taking her knitting home". I did a little knitting before Noisy Needles but thanks to Laura, her shop and some of her customers I have really fallen in love with knitting and am more confident to try trickier patterns.

Jean The Beans

Jeanie started soccer Saturday. She is so excited and loves it! She does a lot of running back and forth but I'm not sure if she made any contact with the ball. Okay, it was the first game of the season. Hopefully she'll learn to go after the ball instead of stepping back for the opponent to kick it.Jeanie and Laura have learned the fine art of posing from their big sisters.
Definately not camera shy!
Jeanie was writing a note on the wipe-off board and asked Gretchen what comes after "back" on "backpack"? Gretchen said, "The same as "back" except you add a "p". (As you can see, she is also learning to write her name in cursive.)

Where's Danny? (Fun with Photography)

A while back my brother Brian would insert Danny in almost every photo he put on our family email. It started to be a "Find Danny" in every picture. We got a few kicks out of it. This last picture Wade replaced Danny with everyone's head in the family picture and it still kind of gives me the "creeps" whenever I see it........

(Did you find Danny in the cupholder on the top picture? How about on the breast pocket in the "Smoking Fish" picture?) (He's wearing a mask for a school play.)

Happy Birthday Matt & Wade!

Today is Matt and Wade's birthday. Matt is 29 and Wade is 21. I remember when I was pregnant for Wade. I think I was due about October 28th. One day we were driving somewhere and Matt said, "Maybe the baby will be born on my birthday". I told him that it could but probably wouldn't. Well, he was right. Wade arrived on the same day Matt did eight years later!

School Picture Rejects

We've been trying to get school pictures taken around here. To tell you the truth, the kids have been taking them themselves the last couple of years. I'm thinking maybe I should make an appointment with their Dad and have him take them all one day. The kids have made several attempts but not too successfully. Molly took about 50 of Kaitlin yesterday. I heard Kaitlin complaining at the computer yesterday about "not having Molly take my pictures". After looking at them today, I see that they are ALL either fuzzy or off-centered. Good thing she's asking for a camera for Christmas. I think she needs a little practice.......

Meal Planning

I went back to meal planning this week. I did it for a couple years and it was the best thing ever. Somehow I got out of it last winter and never got back. It does take a little time but I usually use the grocery ads to plan what meals to have for the week. When I first started I actually was spending "more" instead of less on groceries. That was because since I was taking the time to plan, I was planning big meals for almost every day of the week. Now I plan some easy and cheap meals along with a few bigger one. It makes dinner making so easy as there is no wondering what in the world to make for supper. Then every idea you come up with, you are missing several key ingredients. With the planning you know you have ingredients for seven meals on hand. This is my weeks plan:

Meal One: Tacos
Meal Two: BBQ Chicken, BBQ Red Potatoes, mixed vegetables, homemade flatbread
Meal Three: Homemade Pizza
Meal Four: Chili
Meal Five: French Toast, Sausage
Meal Six: Mac 'N Cheese (Judy T's recipe she posted) baked ring bologna, green beans and homemade bread
Meal Seven: Chinese Take Out

I have a three ring notebook I keep this in. After you do it for awhile you can flip back pages and come up with ideas for meals. We all tend to repeat lots of recipes.

Nerds

There was a road rally last night and the theme was Nerds. You couldn't participate unless you were dressed.

Molly and her friends went to the Terrified Forest last night. Molly didn't make it through. I think she partly stopped to help a friend who was hurt and scared. She said she made it through about 3/4 of it. She was so scared her throat started closing up and she could harldy breath. Christina ran into a wall and the side of her face is all scraped! Somebody else ended up with a fat lip. Sounded like lots of fun.........

Delicious Salsa!

I FINALLY got some salsa made. This took all the ripe tomatoes I had. I have a couple more packages of the dry mix so I will have to buy tomatoes. One package of the Mrs. Wages made these three jars. This is excellent salsa! My sister Sarah told me about this easy way to make salsa. The packages are hard to find. Lisa had ordered a bunch online. Vg's had some but are all out. I'm sure they only carry it in the summer.

Off to Shipshewana today with my local sisters.

Five Sisters

Tricia came for the weekend for a little R 'N R with Ria. We met for breakfast at Gest Omelettes. Delicous omelettes. We all got them with one egg and they were still huge! It was fun to see Tricia again. She is looking great and is a great inspiration to us all. I hope she doesn't mind me posting this but she is down 70+ pounds since January and is working out most days at the gym and is up to running three miles! Our baby sister has sisu!!!! She makes it look so easy! Forget about dieting, she has made huge life-style changes. I am so proud of her!

We're Engaged!

Amanda and Paul are getting married! They showed up this morning about 1:30 AM with grins on their faces and a diamond on her finger! They are planning on March 8th. That sounds good. That gives me three whole weeks before Heidi and Jeff's! :) We are actually very excited and happy for all of them!

Jeanie's Self-Portraits

Jeanie had the camera the other night so I'm assuming she took these herself. I'm sure I'll be corrected if she didn't! (Then again......maybe Molly or Gretchen did.)

Last night Brad and Larissa were here. Danny went upstairs and then told Larissa to come upstairs. "I have to show you something", he said. Brad went up first and Danny ran into his room ahead of him. Then we heard a "Roawwwrrrrr!!!" And heard Brad getting "scared". Then Larissa had to go up. And we heard it all over again. He made a "haunted house". He took blankets and covered a chair, desk and the X-box game and desk. He even took two pillows and stuffed them between the window and screen?! He said he made it for the girls to practice before they go to the haunted house!

Kaitlin, Gretchen and Molly all have plans to go to the Terrified Forest. I'm not too sure about this......Gretchen and Molly are already having nightmares and they haven't even gone yet!

Bull's Eye

I guess he's a pretty confident shot to take practice shots with his bow IN THE HOUSE! Dad, Brad and even Brett have been out hunting. Although Brett said he doesn't really even need to take his bow out there as he hasn't seen anything yet! I don't "get" it but they sure seem to enjoy it, deer or not. Dad was wondering where he should mount his "rack" when he gets it. I'm not too worried.........Molly doesn't "get" it either, "How BORING! They go sit in a tree for hours and don't even see a thing!" I guess Brad has seen a couple and even drew his bow back on one but didn't get a shot. Dad tries to convince me to come out and sit in a tree!! No thanks! I'd rather enjoy my nice comfortable, warm, dry chair with my book or knitting instead!

This 'N That

Emily, this is Cale's hat. It was so fun to make. I would like to make for any of the other grandkids that could use one. Jen? Sara?

I decided to show you the center piece and apron I got from Kim's wedding. She had many different centerpieces on the tables. This is a glass vase covered with fabric. The other vases were different shapes, some round, some square, some rectangle with an assortment of fall fabric. Really cute! I believe Diane made the aprons. They were all different and it would have been fun to see the others. I love this one as it is so vintage looking. Looks like something my mom would've wore when I was a child. The wedding was such a pretty one. Very much the fall theme! Her bridesmaids wore different colors. One brown, one orange, one green. I wish I had a picture to show you. Will post one if I find one from someone.

Keeks and Jeanie

I was searching trying to find a picture to post and came across this one of the girls. Not sure who's it is. They have been trying to take their "school" pictures. I hope we get them all done this week. Brett is suppose to get with Uncle Jeff to get his graduation pictures taken. I told him he has to pick a night and go over there THIS WEEK.

"Can I play hockey?"

Danny comes up from the basement with this get-up on. Asking if he can play hockey. I told him that he would need to learn to skate first.

Today was pasty day. I made 85. I got an early start so I should be taking the last pan out before 3:00. Now I think I'll put my feet up and start knitting a hat with the yarn I picked up yesterday from Noisy Needles. (Or take a nap!)

Happy belated birthday, Emily

Emily, your bag is done. I picked up a box from the post office and will get it out today or tomorrow.

We are having the most beautiful day today. Sunny but breezy. Kim P. will have a beautiful weekend for her wedding. I hope this weather stays through October!

A Hunting We Will Go......

October 1st.....means deer hunting starts. Dad and Brad headed out IN THE RAIN. They came in pretty soaked. BUT Dad did see a pheasant and Brad actually saw a deer. I guess it's kind of like garage saleing. You just never know...........