Fall Supper's

I am not sure what it is about Fall but I love to bake and cook up a storm as soon as the leaves start to change color, the air gets crisp (which is not happening as we are experiencing  tropical storm Nicole....) 

I love to bring home bags of Apples  almost everyday from the market, cook them down and make applesauce in the very same  contraption that was my Grandma's.

 There is just something homey about the Fall. I love being home, having a fire going before supper. I love soups,  strews, pot roasts and apple cakes.

 So anyway this is a recipe that has been in my recipe box for many years. It is well loved and something I only make in the fall and winter. So tonight (even thought it is almost 75 and humid out i turned the air on yesterday b/c of the humidity) I pulled the card from the box and made this very simple yet oh so tasty and satisfying dish. I usually serve it with brown or white rice so it soaks up all the yumminess of the sauce and I double the recipe. Which is perfect for our family of 5. Serve with some sort of Veg  or salad and voila! supper is served. 

CHILI SALSA BEEF

1/2 lbs stew meat (brown this in 1 T of veg oil)

1 Cup Salsa

3 T brown sugar

1 1/2 T soy sauce

1 clove garlic minced

once the meat is browned pour everything else in the pot. Cover and cook over low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Stirring every so often. 

Add 3 T red wine vinegar before serving. 

Enjoy. 

sorry about the crappy picture.....

Cauliflower Soup & other tales of love

While  we were on vacation we went to my  very Favorite restaurant... Mary Ann's. Ahhhh, The best creamed potatoes you have ever had. You could almost die for them.... Well I could. I had never had creamed potatoes before this.... Oh my.  It is like a love affair between me and those potatoes....  best Chicken Wings I have ever tasted. Seriously sometimes I will call and order a batch to go and eat them in the car. (my husband doesn't even know about that) I do have a problem I am sure.
Everyday there is a different special of the day. One day it is Polish food. One day it is Roast beef dinner. One day it is Fresh or Fried Haddock.... YUMM. etc...
She is about 30 miles out of Saratoga, NY. Nothing fancy just good Home Cookin'   She makes amazing soups there as well. So we had this cream of Cauliflower soup while we were there this year.  It was amazing.  On Sunday I had purchased some Cauliflower for dinner and then ended up cooking something... long story short I  suddenly remembered Cauliflower soup.... So I typed it into Google and low and behold... Pioneer Woman had a recipe.

Seriously... I am telling you Cauliflower has never had it so good.  Wow. Delicious. Here it is go ahead and give it a try. Cauliflower Soup You and your family will love it. This big pot only lasted a few days. It was very similar to Mary Ann's. The one thing I did differently was not to use the sour cream she suggested at the end. I tried it and we preferred it without. Believe me I don't think it is exactly health food. What with the stick of butter and 1/2 & 1/2 but it is really yummy.  Enjoy.

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If you have never seen the Missouri Star Quilt Company site, you are going to love it. I have learned so many interesting quilting techniques from them. They have great video tutorials that you can watch. Every day that have a daily deal. It is always something very cool. Beautiful fabric, great tools Yup you are gonna  love it! 

Sucess

I happened to stumble on this today

"Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established." Proverbs 16:3

It got me thinking.... Have I done this in my life enough? Not nearly was the truthful answer. 

Being honest, I always wonder why I am not successful in some important areas of my life. 

I believe that I have found the very simple answer. 

This summer we studied Proverbs.  I need to get into that book every single day. It is full of such little things that will make an enormous difference in my life. 

Hope you had a wondrous revelation today. 

balloons

dahlias and fruit jars

I am so happy when I look at these beauties. I waited all summer for them to pop open. 

& I love all my fruit jars. All lined up in a row. 

                  
                                        Hope you are all having a wonderful fall "like" day.

Hiking in the Adirondack Mountain's

 While on Vacation we spent a day exploring the beauty of the Adirondack Mountains. 

What a place. If you have never been to Upstate New York, then I strongly suggest you go. 

Here are some shots from the day. 

Emily helped Maddie most of the hike.

Crawling through caves.

There I am. (Maddie on my back) Em grabbed my camera. 

Hattie's Fried Chicken

Get a  napkin you may experience drooling....

One can only imagine my excitement when my wonderful husband decided to surprise me, after we had been hiking all day, with taking me to dinner at Hattie's.  It is in Saratoga Springs, NY. I had long ago seen it on  Throwdown with Bobby flay and have wanted to go ever since. (I think it has been 2 years)  As I have said before that my husband knows just the way to my heart... right through my stomach.

So we we lucky enough to get a table on the Patio as soon as we walked in. The dining room was packed and narrow. Just oozing with charm. I knew exactly what I was going to have. The fried Chicken of course. Delicious. Amazingly juicy. Crisp. Just lovely. mmm mmm. I wish I was having a piece at this moment. It came with 2 sides. I had mashed potatoes and their cucumber salad. I also ordered a side of their coleslaw b/c I had to try it.... It had crasins in it and was very good. not mayo based oil and vinegar. YUM. sweet tea to drink and I was almost in heaven.

I call this one  "One out of 4" 

 

I'm back

well, I am back. 

This summer went sooo fast. I can hardly believe that it is over. Today is the first day of school. Emily is a Jr. (oh my how did that happen) and Sara is a 6th grader. WOW. thank goodness I still have a few more years of our Maddie being home. 

We got home from the Adirondack's last night. It was a wonderful time of family and God's amazing creations. I have piles and piles of laundry and unpacking yet to do but it was well worth it. I Love it up there. Can't get enough. I often wonder if I could live up there for more then a week??? Probably not....

Dom treated me to a restaurant that I have been dyeing to go to for years, in Saratoga Springs. Hattties. It was amazing. I loved every mouthful. Fried Chicken & Sweet Tea.... need I say more.  Many pictures to come from that adventure. I have not dug out my camera yet to download the photos. 

So Hopefully now that school has begun I will be back posting more frequently. I have missed it.  

Amy