A New Year and A New Out Look On Life!

I have decided it is time for me to get off  my rear end and rejoin life again. Don't get me wrong I have been living life for this past year just not the way I think I should be. Instead of feeling held back and put upon, instead of just sitting in front of the TV moping about what have you, I am going to remove the weight from shoulders and break lose of what ever it is that is holding me back and feel free to fly. 
    I guess you can say I made a resolution for the year 2014. Well I didn't mean to believe me. I never make resolutions not sure why I just never have. Hopefully this one will be easy to keep.
    For Christmas I begged not asked, begged for a camera that was a step or 3 up from a point and shoot allowing me to have a chance at taking better pictures and capturing food and nature at it's finest. If you know me or followed my blog when I was being faithful to it, then you know I am happiest with the camera in my hand. Even with my point and shoot I was taking some beautiful pictures, so to my way of thinking with a better camera I will get even more beautiful photos.  I did a lot of research and price comparing and then set the lap top in Bill's hands and crossed my fingers. When Christmas morning came and no gift was under the tree I didn't even bat an eye because I knew it was coming but thanks to weather and other issues UPS had dropped the ball and my camera would be late.  I will admit Christmas eve when I have my big dinner I was disappointed but as my son pointed out it is what it is and at least I was getting the camera I wanted. 
   Getting the camera wasn't my only gift, my 5 1/2 year old Granddaughter gave me the best gift of all when she asked Santa to get her a real sewing machine not a toy so she could learn to sew with her Grandmama, yes that would be me and yes Santa made a special appearance at my house to drop off a very special gift to Madeline and Grandmama. I beamed she Beamed and told anyone who would listen that Santa had been to see her and with a clap of her hands she would announce to bring her a sewing machine. No matter how many memories we make together sitting at our sewing machines this is a memory that will always stand out the most, My sweet Madeline in her pretty Christmas dress clapping her hands together smiling that perfect little smile of hers telling the world she got a sewing machine. Nope I didn't get a single picture but I will never forget. Never.
   Mom still lives here with us and I need to be home with her more then not, however that does not mean I need to sit in my robe and jammies all day watching TV with her. In talking to friends I have come to realize that over the last year I had lost the drive and discipline it takes to maintain a blog and I have been sorely missing my blog. I have had a running blog in my head all year long I just never seemed to find the time to get it to paper so to speak, and well I really really was not doing anything else. So to get me started on my non resolution I will be bringing my sewing machine down from the attic when I take the Christmas stuff up. I will not be sitting on the couch in front of the TV.I will read rather then watch another movie I have already seen 10 times. I will be taking pictures and a walk every day, bad weather I will walk camera less. I will be writing a blog everyday about something, food, walking, dishing, whatever comes to mind at the time. And last but not least I will be dressed before 11:00 am everyday( I got to have some Jammie time).
  So now I have put my non resolution into writing. It doesn't sound so bad sounds like I am letting a little fun and living back into my life. It also sound like a resolution that is not meant to be broken, and to find out if I am keeping it all you need to do is come by here each day and read about it.
  I have taken just short of 200 photos  with my new Camera and I am very pleased with the results. Even some of my bad shots are better then some of my good ones with a point and shoot. So today I am going to leave you with a few of what I feel are my best so far.

Thanks for stopping by I hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to comment just remember while I read and like your comments I am unable to leave comments in return. Not sure why it is a google thing 

A frenzy of Faceless Recipes and Friend All Around The USA

This past weekend I participated in what is called a faceless frenzy. What is that you ask? Well it is where you shop, clean, cook,clean, take photos then cook clean and photo some more until you drop or midnight comes. The food you invite a lot of people over to eat it and the photos you add to the recipes you used. Now those recipes have a face and you can relax. Well you would think so but no you can't relax because there are thousands of recipes out there with out a face and for me this is not a hobby but an addiction, so even when there is no frenzy going on I am always on the search for faceless recipes to save. You may ask what is the big deal about a photo on a recipe? Well if your a recipe user you know a photo makes the recipe some much easier to use, not mention giving it a much better curb appeal. I am not alone in my strange addiction there are men and woman all across this country that like me look for the one with out a face. When we do a recipe search we pass by every recipe with a photo looking for just what we need, the right recipe with a blank square in the upper left corner.
   Over 30 people this weekend gathered together on the computer and in a frenzy of cooking cleaning and even a little chatting put a face on well over 300 recipes. Some managed 1 or 2 and some manage an amazing number like 30. It was so much fun to be a part of this. There is no prize, you don't get paid but in the end when all is said and done the smile on your face and the contentment you feel is more then enough.   A frenzy is just as interesting to watch as to participate. The pinterest board filling up fast and furious, sometimes so fast the counter on that site can't keep up.  On Allrecipes
 the photos are just about flying in. 5 an 6 pages of photos at the end of each day of the frenzy. Very impressive. All the more impressive because there is not a bad photo in the bunch. Winners each and everyone of them.
  I am not going to talk about the recipes I made.  Most every recipe I tried was very good, not all of them but most, as I said I am not going to talk about the recipes I faced instead I am going to give you the link to the pinterest board that we pinned all that food to and let you see for yourself all the goodness that went on this weekend. ***** WARNING ******  If you go looking at that board bring a napkin and may be a snack because you will be hungry before your done, as well as impressed.
  I am going to share one photo here that is not on the board but I think it is an important picture in the story of this frenzy.

My kitchen at the end of the frenzy. I am still pulling my kitchen back into order and it is 2 days later.
  Now for the link to the pinterest board. Go and enjoy you will find links to every recipe on that  board and if your a pinner have fun and pin away.
Faceless Frenzy Photos

One More For Johnsonville and Ore Ida

I love the month of October the changing weather, the falling leaves in a rainbow of colors, and lets not forget my wedding anniversary and our little get away weekend to celebrate it. With wedding anniversary's and field trips and Halloween October is a busy month so working with Johnsonville and Ore Ida this month was right on time and helped me to keep on loving October.
  Sunday dinner resumed in my house at the end of September and you never know for sure how many and who will show up on any given Sunday. I just plan big meals that will make good left overs in case no one shows up. So the Sunday after our get away I am still catching up with everything that was left undone while I was away. Boring everyday stuff that just seems to pile up,I just knew in my heart of hearts I would have a house full because I am just so far behind and well you know Murphy's Law and all. I kept thinking to myself what am I going to make for dinner it kept me a wake the night before thinking so hard. Taking a break I sit down turn on my computer and start browsing around to see what my food friends have been cooking up. I do a little food stalking on Facebook nothing inspiring there, off to Allrecipe I go I read a few blogs and get some good ideas but not for Sunday dinner, back to Facebook the heck with it I will play a game and not worry about it. At least that is what I tell myself. First thing I see in my news feed is that one of my friends and fellow allstar has posted her blog. Off I go to read it and yep there in her wonderful pictures, and words of wisdom is my Sunday dinner. Easy if a little time consuming to put together ( even when you cheat and use jarred sauce) but it is a family favorite and everyone loves it. That's right I am talking about lasagna, with so many recipes for it and all of them economy size I knew I couldn't miss.
   I used the Johnsonville recipe on Allrecipes site, just as I suspected easy to put together and the oven does the cooking for you while you sit back and relax and enjoy your company. Or in my case take pictures of them until they yell at you to stop. I put the lasagna together just before noon time without cooking the noodles and put in in the fridge until I was ready to cook it. That gave me even more free time to enjoy and snap pictures. As I said it is time consuming getting everything chopped cooked and ready for the lasagna but well worth it on the long run. 
    I had just finished up my boring chores and put my lasagna in the fridge when my kids showed up and started carving pumpkins. Thanks to Johnsonville , and Baking Nana for highlighting the perfect easy Sunday dinner I got spend my time pumpkin carving ( well taking pictures of it) instead of where I normally am in the kitchen cooking dinner.

My son the pumpkin carver, my daughter in law the pumpkin seed cleaner, and my granddaughter the colorer. The bottom photo with Madeline gazing at her dad in such a loving way, a favorite photo for me for sure.

There is the finished pumpkin sitting proudly center stage and as I said I took so many pictures that day you can see my son telling me enough sit down and eat. Doesn't that lasagna look good?

I cut my lasagna to soon while it was to warm still and while it tasted awesome there is no shot of a nice firm slice sitting on a plate just the warm cheese mess you see on my dinner table.
 Through the rest of that week I tried a few more Johnsonville recipes and my hands down favorite going to use again and again, already have it memorized so I don't even have to look it up again  is Sausage,Peppers and Spaghetti Squash. This dish was so good that hubby complained there was no left over squash for his lunch the next day. That was because we all Mom included had seconds.

 As I look back over the past week all my meals were quick and easy and beef less. A real wallet saver there. Ground turkey and ground sausage are both a much better price then ground beef.
  I used one more Johnsonville  recipe and when I found out from reading a blog on Allrecipes that I can make my own hashbrown casserole instead of going to Cracker Barrel for them, one more dinner fell into place and Ore Ida makes its first appearance in my house. We normally don't use frozen potatoes so this was a real treat for me the prep time for this next, well 2 dinners was next to zip. 
 First was Italian Sausage Frittata served with Restaurant Style Hashbrown casserole. A quick and easy meal. The hashbrowns being the favorite of the night. I will be keeping that recipe in my line up.

The 2nd next to no prep easy to fix dinner  was the Hawaiian Turkey Burger and waffle fries with a Garlic Aioli for dipping the fries in. The Aioli is another idea I got from reading a fellow allstars blog. For the frozen potatoes I really needed help with ideas and I certainly got them. while I only tried 2 recipes or dinners using Ore Ida however I saw more then a few recipes and ideas I want to try.

 Dividing up the fries is serious business in my house. Mom and Bill are both fryaholics  and Getty the dog would like the chance to be a fryaholic.

Bill was just all kinds of excited to try the Aioli. He loves loves garlic. He loved loved loved the Aioli. I added extra garlic even though the reviews said it was to overwhelming with garlic. There was a definite kick to it and he could not get enough.
Here are a few of the recipes I tried this past week.
Garlic Aioli
Restaurant Style Hashbrowns
Italian Sausage Frittata
Hawaiian Burger
Sausage , Pepper and Spaghetti Squash
Lasagna

I am a supporting member of Allrecipe.com and a participant of the Allrecipe All Star brand ambassador program.I am not compensated for my work with allrecipe.com. Products received are only used for experience based reviews on my Blog Its All About Life.

Reviews, content and opinions expressed here are mine alone.

 I am sorry no matter what I do or try I can't leave comments on my own blog so I do read your comments and thank you for stopping by.

Turkey Tuesday Has Begun

That is right I said Turkey Tuesday.I along with a few other Allstars have been challenged with making Turkey on Tuesdays in the Month of September using Butterball products. Then to share our experience with you our friends and family and anyone else that happens to read our blogs. Well it sounded like fun to me. Writing blogs I enjoy that, trying new recipes I love that, and I grew up with the name Butterball, so I took the challenge with real enthusiasm 
and eagerness. 
  So yesterday I picked my recipes for the month and the one I wanted for last night and off to the store I go. Keep in mind I don't do the food shopping in my house so I am impressed with myself that I even thought to look at labels walk around and compare, I did however look at the labels and that is when for a moment the wind was knocked out of my sails and I was wondering how was I going to do this challenge.
 You see the first recipe I wanted to try was a turkey burger that sounded beyond good. The recipe called for Butterball Frozen seasoned Turkey burgers. I found the product easy enough and with the aid of my glasses and knowledge learned from Baking Nana I found every thing I needed to know on the label.
Butterball burger info
  After reading that label I was torn and disappointed and not exactly sure what to do. First and foremost to help mom stay out of the hospital she is on a strict diet and everything on that label was pretty much bad for her, Bill is also on a low fat low salt diet(well he tries to be) so it was with a heavy heart I put the package in my cart. I then went off to see what the other products that I picked for this month would be like. I was dragging my feet pretty sure that I had challenged myself into a corner and that I was going to be making 2 different dinners on Tuesdays. Lucky for me not so. Where the turkey burgers were the highest sodium and fat of all the brands my store carries that did not hold true else where. The sausage products while high in sodium were still the lowest of all brands available, lunch meat as well the lowest of all brands available. The fresh ground meat offered in both all white meat a recognized heart healthy meat, and a mix of white and dark meat. Both low fat and low sodium.
  When I found the ground meat I put the frozen burgers back with a smile on my face because I felt like I was going to have my cake and eat it too.
  I will share the recipe and my photo shortly but first I want to tell you just how good the burger was. I photoed before we ate knowing while I was putting this dinner together there would be no leftovers.

 Yep that is what I am talking about! This is a must try recipe. The Chili mayo and the pineapple put this sandwich over the top in flavor and pizzazz. I did not do this but for you bacon lovers out there I am thinking it would be the perfect combo. Turkey bacon would keep it healthy even.
 I couldn't find a straight up chili sauce but I found this Chipotle sauce and well that is a chili right? It was smokey with just the lightest kick to it. I loved it enough to eat it by the spoonful. Sorry for the blurry picture I am about to post but I liked this sauce so much I wanted to share it with you. So I quick like a bunny took the picture just now.

 Now for the link to this amazing Turkey Burger.
Hawaiian Turkey Burger
 As dinner for the family, or as an addition to your BBQ I promise you this burger will be the hit of the parade.
 If you would like to play along and enjoy Turkey Tuesdays with me here are a few other recipes I am going to try this month.
Sausage Mac&Cheese
This salad looks pretty good. I am not a fan of olives even still this looks like something my family will enjoy.
Turkey Salad
You just cant have a month of turkey without making a "Turkey Dinner"
Maple basted Turkey
And maybe this one only using hot sausage from butter ball.
Sausage Frittata
 So here's hoping you all have a gobbling good week!

Goya & Beef a perfect match!

This month well the month of August was a busy happy month for me. For those of you that know me you already know I spent a week lazing about on a hill in the middle of a hay field in Schwenksville  Pa. Best week of the year for me. The Philadelphia Folk Fest one of the best vacation destination I know. Not only did I have that to look forward to I also had Augusts activities which were some of my favorite foods to prepare and eat. Beef "its what for dinner" & Goya. I am sure the pairing of products was somewhat random and unplanned but in my opinion it is a perfect pairing. I love Rice and Beans with a good grilled steak and I had the best Steak dinner that I have had in a good long while using recipes from Goya and the Cattleman's Association. I found the recipes on 
Allrecipes
 At first I thought I may have pushed the limits as I prepared this dinner but in the end the combination of Greek and Latin worked out very very well.
  I made my own Greek seasoning and then went back and made more to store making a simple steak recipe even simpler. After I made the seasoning I added in the lemon zest and rubbed it evenly on my steak and let it set at room temperature for about 30 minutes before grilling. There were no leftovers and there was complete gnawing on the bone happening. I am saying you need to try this recipe. I am drooling as I type.
Grilled Greek Steak

  Pretty looking plate isn't it? Well it gets prettier when I add this recipe for rice and beans to the table. Again no leftovers and I saw a few people lick their plates.
Rice & Beans

A few days later Beef and Goya came together again to give us another plate licking good dinner. I have to say the recipes I chose to use were so easy and made me look like a chef in my own kitchen. Even picky eaters enjoyed the recipes I made in August. This time the recipe was Chili simple good and so filled with flavor.
Simply Sensational Chili

That is not all I gave a try this past month. This next recipe was real good and worked well with all fresh veggies instead of frozen ones. Also this recipe is very versatile you can change up the veggies with what ever is fresh at that time and it will be just as good, maybe better you never know. This is a good dish for warm weather or even camping chips, as well as fitting into many different diets.
Inside-Out Grilled steak

 I paired this with some Asian tofu dumplings and a sesame dipping sauce. We were happy happy campers that night.

I tried one more Goya recipe but it was gone before I could photo it. No worries I will make it again. An easy and quick bean soup that packs a walloping good taste. I put together my own Sazon seasoning and made a little extra for future use. I know just what I am using it for. SOUP.
Black Bean Soup
Sorry no picture next time for sure.
 I only did one faceless recipe during August but for me it was a big one and it turned out excellently making it a huge achievement for me. This year I have been teaching myself to can. I had tried Jam that came out so good. I came across a Bread and Butter pickle recipe with no picture and I gave it a whirl.
Bread and Butter Pickles

   We are more then happy with the results and now that September has come and it is harvest time I am itching to get started on even more new recipes and filling up my pantry with all my canned goodies.

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Day 2 A Visit to Valley Forge

   Monday was a rainy day and everyone stayed in and relaxed. Tuesday dawned bright and sunny and promised to be a beautiful day. Bill had the day off work so we all piled in the car and headed to Valley Forge PA. The hour long ride can always be eventful because you have to use the Skukill ( I spelled as we pronounce it ) expressway. It is the scariest ride ever. At least that is what I think. Along the  Schuylkill expressway you do get a nice view of the Schuylkill river, boat house row, the Art Museum, as well as some old and very interesting factories and buildings, but with the amount of traffic converging together and the speed you must travel not to be killed even the passengers in the car only catch a quick glance before it is behind us and the ride smooths out and becomes much less scary, unless the truck in front of you blows out a back tire with an ear splitting BANG that can stop your heart for a minute or two. Even with all that we arrive safe and sound at our destination and the fun begins.
    Some day I would like to walk the entire trail in the the Valley Forge State Park, and believe me that would be a big undertaking and would take the better part of a day. On this day however we are doing the driving tour and stopping at all the points of interest. If you have never been and you are in this area you should go. Walking or driving it is a wonderful tour. You can also take the guided trolley tour, it looked fun but well we like moving at our own pace. We saw so much and had a great time. There were lessons on the different trees we were seeing from Bill. Always interesting stuff. His vast knowledge of trees never ceases to amaze me .

 There was a lot of nature going on around us as well as statues and monuments. We saw deer as well as butterflies and lucky me we also saw an Oriole and a Brown Headed Cow bird both birds I had never seen before. For me the birds were the highlight of the trip but not the only enjoyable part of the day. That park is just beautiful and you can't help but be in awe of it. No matter where you stand the views are breath taking and majestic. In some areas it is so green you would swear that someone had taken a paint brush to it. We absolutely enjoyed our time spent driving around Valley Forge. It is a beautiful park rich with history and pride, you leave there feeling good with just an inkling of an idea of the sacrifice that was made in an effort to build this country.  

The Brown Headed Cow Bird. A cool looking fellow and not to terribly shy either. 

I think this is one of the coolest monuments it has some very neat carving and stone working for sure.

George Washington in uniform but without his sword. Look at the view behind him.

Have you ever seen so much green? and it goes on for what seems like forever.

This lovely creature was enjoying natures green carpet as well.

Everyone enjoyed this tour very much. Even mom felt the need to step out and enjoy the view.

Day 1 for the Visitors

It rained yesterday. At times so hard you could not see across the street. The weather was so nasty you really didn't want to go out side even for a ride. So my house was the tour destination of the day. A quick trip to Walmart later in the afternoon will be the highlight of the day. 
    House bound doesn't mean bored, there's lots to  talk about and laugh about so the day passed quickly and before you knew it it was dinner time. It was fun fixing dinner with Julie, dinner was ready in no time flat and it was Gooood . Chicken legs breaded in oatmeal and baked with corn on the cob, baked beans, and a nice tossed salad. There was very little talking going on at that table. It is kind of hard to hold a conversation around forks full of food.

After some more conversation and Mom modeling her new dress we called it a night. Joe and Julie made there way back to there hotel after lots of hugs and kisses and the wish for better weather and a plan to visit Valley Forge the next day rain or shine.

Today has dawned with the sun shinning and the birds singing, it is looking like a good day to take a ride.

Redo

As you see I am re working this blog. As much as I enjoy cooking and recipe hunting I wanted a little freedom to write about other things without having to go to the other blogs I have. In life I am trying to condense and be more compact making it easier to locate and reach what ever I may be looking for and in my blog I want to do the same thing. Sort of like one stop shopping only you don't know what your are going to get.

   I really don't know what I want to write about all I know is that I want to write. I paid a whole dollar for a book called the writing craft. It has some interesting little things in it about how to get started writing it is a little wordy for my taste but I will just skim over what I already know and what bores me. The book gives assignments to do and the first one is to write about a special moment in your life, what shaped your life, after sleeping on it all night and thinking about it I drew a blank so I thought well heck when I wrote about food I didn't plan it out and think about it I just started writing and the words came. So just start writing I tell myself only to realize now as I am writing I always had a subject at least to get me started, today I have no subject and only the inkling of an idea to get me started, but I have written 2 paragraphs about nothing and it just feels so good to write something.

  Last weekend we had the pleasure of Madeline's company. She attended the first ever annual New Jersey/East Coast Allrecipeeps round up on the beach in Cape May. She was the official photographer and she did an awesome job.

 This is a sample of her work, the beach was stone not sand and stones are her absolute favorite so she felt inclined to take a picture of it. All that see this agree it is a framer for sure. We also picked strawberries out back in the sun shine, and we ended the weekend BBQing with my kids.

  Every sunny day last week I was out back weeding the garden and picking Strawberries. I would pick them bring them in clean them slice them and then freeze them. My freezer was getting full and I still had more to pick and to be honest I was getting bored with freezing the berries so I decided it was time to step out of my boring comfort zone and try something I said I was going to do this year. Canning! So I made jam. I am pretty sure that is considered canning? Anyway the results were great and I am all pumped to do some more. How ever the strawberries are slowing down and I needed to wait a day for what is left on the plants to ripen up the rest of the way. I figured they would be ready to pick today and I am sure they are only it is raining so hard now you need a boat to get out back.

With a little luck the rain will stop soon and the sun will come back out to play. Then watch out berries here I come.

   This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending a very special friends wedding. It was as beautiful as she is. The words China Doll escaped my husbands lips as the Bride made her way to her groom. The doorway they stood in front of to say their vows was made by the groom and adorned with vases and wash tubs filled with flowers all loving done by the brides mother. We drank, we ate, we danced,& laughed but most of all we wish the handsome couple a long life of love and happiness.

This week begins with rain and tourist. My Brother Joe and his Wife Julie are here for the week. With any luck at all this rainy Monday will be the only rain they see this week. 

This is an experiment, I have been looking all over for a new home for blogging because I have not been able to up load photos here. I have how ever missed this place. A link to a recipe brought me back to my favorite blog spot and after a little test it seems I can once again do this

So as long as I can continue to upload photos I am once again home and back in the habit of writing a daily blog. What it will be about I have not a single idea, however that doesn't matter all that matters is that I am home. 

Find this blog and recipe at

Tastes like a memory blog and recipe

This is where you will find my blog and recipe link for the Lobster Mac and Cheese.