Vacation Flashbacks & Other Craftiness

Template from Write.Click.Scrapbook (thank you!)
Digital scrapbooking paper from Nostalgia by Paislee Press.



Another free template from Write.Click.Scrapbook (thank you for helping me get my trip pictures scrapped so quickly and easily!)

Digital papers from last year's Americana blog train on PolkaDotScraps.blogspot.com.



Free digital template from PinkPaislee.



It's been too long since I started this page ... I can't remember where the elements or template came from.

Offering Hospitality's Recipe Swap ::: Favorite Summer Recipes

I love this fun recipe swap idea from Offering Hospitality ... if you don't have them in your Google Reader (or whatever you use to keep up with blogs, you need to go and bookmark them). I had a guest post up over there a few months ago and love the ideas and encouragement they provide. : )

I'm going to jump in their first recipe swap with one that I have previously posted on the blog. This is a fun summer salad that I LOVE. I have eaten this at countless church events and picnics and it is so good. Enjoy this repost from my archives and let me know if you try it out!

This has been a recent favorite that I've made a couple times in the past few weeks. It is one of those recipes that has shown up at countless church potlucks and brunches and just a few months ago I was finally able to track down who was bringing it so I could get a copy of the recipe. (Nancy Drew sleuthing at its finest!) You can see that the dressing has puddled a little bit under the salad - that is not the norm - this was the last serving from the bowl so all the extra dressing ended up in my plate as well. : )

Broccoli Salad

1 bunch fresh broccoli florets (cut off those stems)

1 C grated mild cheddar cheese

1 red onion thinly sliced

1/2 lb bacon - fried crisp and crumbled

Optional: can add glazed sliced almonds, walnuts or pecans and raisins (I use plain pecans and golden raisins)

Mix these ingredients together and refrigerate.

Dressing:

1/2 C mayo

1/4 C sugar

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Add dressing to salad about 30 min before serving.

Notes: I think you could definitely cut the sugar down a bit in the dressing (or even use Splenda). Also, even when I double the recipe, I don't double the bacon. The bacon gives a great flavor, but you can get by with the same 1/2 pound if you need to.

Another favorite is from the Mitford Cookbook ... which, if you are a fan of the series, there is no doubt in my mind that you will be a fan of the cookbook! : ) With all the fresh summer squash that is around right now, this is a great recipe to have on hand.

Puny’s Squash Casserole

3 T. unsalted butter, more for greasing the baking dish

8 medium yellow squash, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 large eggs, beaten

2 T. minced fresh parsley

1 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese (I’ve left this out before – still good!)

1 t. salt

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 C. crushed potato chips (I’ve used crushed crackers in a pinch)

Preheat the oven to 350*. Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside. Place the squash and onions in a large pot with a small amount of water over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes, then drain into a colander. Place in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. Add the butter and stir until melted. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper and add to the vegetable mixture. Pour into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Top with the crushed potato chips and bake an additional 10 minutes or until the potato chips have browned. Makes 4-6 servings.

Lastly, I'll share a recipe that I had for the first time on our vacation last week, and made for the first time myself as soon as we got home. : ) I made my friend Cheri's version of this recipe (the notes below are her's) and it did not disappoint!

Texas Caviar

2 cans blackeyed peas [drained...if you use black beans...drain and rinse]
1 small can of corn [drained] (or mexicorn...again-your choice)
1 lg tomato (rough chop... in winter you can use a can of rotel tomatoes, drained)
1 can green chilis
1/2 onion ( i prefer to use a red/purple onion)
1 red bell pepper [rough chop]
1 8oz bottle of zesty Itallian dressing
* 1 jalapeno seeded and rough chopped (if you like, and didn't use the blackeyed peas with them added)
salt
pepper
garlic
cilantro

I also add chopped avacado (that has been spritzed with some lime juice for oxidation) if I have some on hand...but not always.

Mix all the ingredients, allow flavors to marry a few hours preferably overnight. Serve with corn chips or tortillia chips.

I Read It! ::: The Hunger Games

I'm always on the hunt for book ideas for my almost 13 year old niece. She has a December birthday coming up, so I decided to read The Hunger Games and see what all the fuss was about. : ) Truthfully, if Amy at Hope is the Word had not given it such a positive review, I wouldn't have picked it up! A book about teens pitted against one another in a battle for survival in a future devastated America? Not really my cup of tea.

However ... my husband ordered me a copy of The Hunger Games from Amazon. I had planned to take it on our mini-vacation last week and read it on the road and Amazon has the hardbacks on super cheap in anticipation of book three of this series coming out in August. I picked it up one night and had the book finished almost a day later! It was riveting. The main characters were extremely likeable in spite of the fact that they were pitted against one another in a battle for their lives - I was rooting for both of them in this unlikely scenario! And the theme of self-preservation and government control would make great discussion material down the road for the older teen.

I came away from this book dying to read book 2 (and have already - book 1 ends on a cliffhanger) and eagerly awaiting book three in a few weeks. I will say, also, that after reading it, I think it is one that my niece (and my girls) should and can read down the road, however, I probably wouldn't hand it to a 12 or 13 year old. I think a mid-teen (boy or girl) would really enjoy this book because of the action and adventure (and the very mild romance) it contains.

Thank you, Amy, for pre-reading this for me and getting me hooking on this series! : )

This post is linked up with 5 Minutes for Books I Read It! Carnival.

It's Free!

You can learn more, and register for the free event, by visiting http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/summerfun10.php

Glimpses of June

Also known as "see how many pictures I can put in one post." Photo overload ahead!

We went and saw cousin J play softball. My almost 13-year-old niece has a LOT of potential to be a really great athlete. We enjoyed going out to support her in her first team sport and she rocked it as a catcher, outfielder, and a first baseman/basewoman? : ) 

The cousins.

Swimming with friends.

Finding things to do inside because it has been sooooo hot.

Watercolor craft idea from Whatever. See here and here if you want to try it.

Fresh fruit. (I have learned to cut a whole pineapple and I am now invincible.) : )

The results of a busy kindergarten year.

A tea party with special friends.

My new favorite picture of the girls taken before the tea party. They all had to wear a hat to the party and this is what we came up with ... just to explain the odd assortment of headwear. Pluto did not attend the party.

A concert at church. (I really was smiling in the picture - or so I thought. It was 137* outside and I had just come in the building and was burning up. Oh well. Everyone else looks pretty good).

Future rocker. A.k.a. Daddy's girl.

Major catch-up on my Project 365/Project Life album. Woo-hoo!

Playing outside with the sprinkler and hose.

Ballet dance camp for the little girls. Oh. my. word. they were in ballet heaven for a week. Preciousness.

Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge

Hosted by Carrie @ Reading to Know ... I'm participating in this in July! My goals right now (for me and my girls) are as follows:

1. To finish reading The Silver Chair as our current real-aloud chapter book.

2. To listen to The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle on audio book during our family vacation.

Bonus:

3. For me to read through The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle books. I sort-of think that Noelle might want to continue reading the series together, but on the off-chance that she's ready for a break, then I may try and fit them in myself.

We, too, like Carrie, are very excited about the movie of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader coming out this fall! I am hoping that I will be able to take Noelle to see that as a big-girl treat for doing such a great job reading the books with me, but that will remain to be seen until we either preview it or find some reviews on it.  I'm working my way through watching Prince Caspian on DVD ... truthfully, Travis watched it last night, but I completely fell asleep and didn't even it make it past them rescuing Trumpkin at the ruins of Cair Paravel. (Totally blaming pregnancy. : )) I have multiple loads of laundry looming at me currently, so that is going to be my treat during the girls' rest time for the next few days, I can see. : )

Anyway, if you are going to participate in Carrie's challenge, link up over at Reading to Know!

Just as an FYI for those that do comment here, I've had to enable comment moderation due to some icky spam and the fact that I'm going to be away from the computer for several days. If you don't see your comment show up immediately, don't panic. I'll review them as I have time and will get them up. Thanks. : )

I'm still on my break, but...

Worth checking out. : )

Fireflies

Love summer evenings catching fireflies in the backyard.

Stuffed Pasta Shells

1 box of jumbo shells pasta
1 24 oz. container of cottage cheese
2 c. grated cheese
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 jar of spaghetti sauce

Cook pasta according to the box.
Drain and let cool a bit. (Or run under cold water if your dinner is going to be late like mine was). : )
Combine egg, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup grated cheese.
Fill each shell with a large spoonful of cheese mixture.
Place shells in a 9x13 pan.
Pour sauce over pasta. Cover with remaining grated cheese.
Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes.

Yum! Thanks to Megan for sharing this family favorite. It's now one of mine!

Then & Now

More growth. June 5, 2009 and June 5, 2010:

This led to a layout inspired by the June gallery at write.click.scrapbook where they have a whole slew of layouts on this theme. Very cool.