Exceedingly Mundane

I made a new recipe last night and we both really liked it. It’s really just a sweet potato casserole, but I really like the addition of the applesauce. I will do anything I can to sneak more fruit into our diets. I love to eat fruit, and often add dried fruit to my oatmeal, but Tim is basically a fruit non-believer. He barely touches it all year long, and he normally won’t eat any foods with fruit as the ingredients. He liked this though, and then informed me “I like applesauce!”. 🙂 Well, I didn’t even know!

This is from the Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook I checked out of the library a few weeks ago. Very simple, but it has a good taste. I followed the recipe exactly (except I used 2 large sweet potatoes for us, not 3), and the only thing I might do differently next time is use a chunky applesauce. I had a plain one open and after baking, it was just a little on the runny side. Not bad and we certainly ate it, but next time I might try a thicker applesauce. Enjoy!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Applesauce-Sweet Potato Bake

Recipe By :Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook, page 100
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Side Dishes Vegetables

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
1 pound dark-orange sweet potatoes (about 3 medium)
1 cup applesauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

In a 3 quart saucepan, place sweet potatoes; add enough water (salted, if desired) to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 30 to 35 minutes or until tender; drain. Remove skins; cut each sweet potato lengthwise in half.

Heat oven to 375º In an ungreased 2 quart casserole or an 8 inch square baking dish, place sweet potatoes, cut side up. Spread applesauce over sweet potatoes.

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon; sprinkle over applesauce. Dot with butter. Cover; bake about 30 minutes or until hot.

NOTE: You can substitute one 17 oz can of vacuum-packed sweet potatoes, cut lengthwise in half, for the fresh sweet potatoes and skip Step 1.

NOTE: For a festive topping, why not try sprinkling the sweet potatoes with one of these toppings – dried cranberries, miniature marshmallows, toasted coconut, toasted pecans or almonds, french fried onion rings or crushed croutons

Stacy’s Notes – Made this November 2006. We really liked it! I used 2 fairly large sweet potatoes and boiled them until tender, then peeled them using a spoon. I used a metal 8×8 pan (so it would fit in my toaster oven), and did everything else the same. Next time, try using a chunky applesauce (as it was a teeny bit runny after cooking). This was good and had a good flavor, a definite keeper. 🙂

I finished a sweet little book last night, called “Christmas Past” by Robert Vaughan. I always like to read a small Christmas type story this time of year, and this one really fit the bill. Light and easy to read, but with a good heart and message. A high-powered man and his wife are so immersed in their careers, that they don’t have time for each other, much less their two children. In a last-ditch attempt to have a nice Christmas for their kids, they sign up to go to an antebellum mansion to celebrate a “Christmas Past”, a recreation of a Victorian era Christmas. What they don’t realize until they get there that they are no longer in the present, but have been magically transported back to a simpler time. When families spent time together, did things for one another, made gifts for one another, and remembered the reason for the season by putting Christ first. This was a really short book, at only 141 pages, but it was a really good one. 🙂

For the record, that makes #67 so far this year, with a total of 23,285 pages read. Up next is the first book in the Abram’s Daughters series by Beverly Lewis, called “The Covenant”. I am really looking forward to it 🙂

OK, I’m sure this is easy and I’m just overlooking it, but I can’t figure out how to do something in Flickr. I have “sets” of my pictures, like groups. I want to choose a different picture to be the “highlight” for my set. It seems to take the first picture that I loaded into that set as the default one to highlight for that set. Is there a way to change it? If there is, please let me know!

Thanks!

Well, it’s a bit late, but we are finally seeing some really pretty fall color around our house. The trees are changing, and very fast. Our bradford pear tree in the back yard, and all of the ones in our neighbor’s yards, are really looking gorgeous. They have a lot of red and yellow on them, but I know it’s not going to last. We’re expecting some rain to move through later today, and the wind is really picking up, and we are losing a lot of leaves today on these trees.

I took this picture a couple of days ago, when the sun was shining on my tree in the backyard. I thought it came out pretty good 🙂

I saw this the other day over at Debi‘s blog, and thought it looked like fun. Thanks for doing it and posting the link Debi!

Happy Birthday today to the most wonderful man I know, my husband Tim! I could go on and on and talk about how special he is, but he wouldn’t be all that happy that I put all that “mushy” stuff in my blog. 🙂 Suffice it to say that he is a great guy, and obviously a very patient one to be married to me.

Tim is quite possibly the most honorable and loyal man that I have ever met and I am constantly amazed at the fact that he loves me and married me. I’m so lucky to have him, and for him to treat me as he does -with love, honor, respect, and kindness. He treats everyone like that though, so I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised. Tim is a wonderful son, son-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, husband, and friend.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart, I hope you have a great day today!! I thank God for every day I have with you. You make my life complete and fill it with joy and happiness. You are the most wonderful man I have ever known and I will love you all the days of my life. Happy Birthday!

12/21/06 UPDATE: I posted this original entry below back in November. I just completed a new post, where I answered the questions Katrina posted in her blog, at the top of my blog. You can click here to read that one with my answers 🙂

I finished the last book on my list for the Fall Reading Challenge last night. Woo-hoo, it’s nice to reach a goal! I had originally picked 10 fiction books to read, and ended up adding one more that I found at the library, so I have completed all 11 books on my list. Several of these were sitting on my bookshelves, waiting to be read, so this challenge really helped me read books I have bought, and not buy more books. 😀

Last night I finished “Confessions of a Shopaholic” by Sophie Kinsella, which I really enjoyed. I had read most of the other Shopaholic books, but had apparently missed this one, the one that started it all! I found this one at a recent library sale, and picked it up for $1, so I went ahead and read it. I have loved most every Sophie Kinsella book I have read, although I do think I liked her stand-alone books (Undomestic Goddess and Can You Keep a Secret?) better than the Shopaholic ones. But they are all light and easy to read, which fits the bill for me a lot of the time.

For the record, my challenge is complete, and I’ve read 66 books so far this year, with a total of 23,144 pages read. Up next is a very short book I borrowed from my mother-in-law, called “Christmas Past”. After that, I will either head back to the library (haven’t been in a while, I’ve been reading books I own for a change!) or start on the Abram’s Daughters series by Beverly Lewis. Not sure, part of me wants to go back to the library and check out the rest of the Cedar Cove series of books by Debbie Macomber and finish those first!

P.S. Question of the Day: Are you reading a book right now? If so, which one and are you enjoying it? 😀

Debi, over at Caught Between Worlds, tagged me with this great A-Z meme. I loved reading her answers and love the questions, so here’s my answers:

The A-Z of Me Meme

A – Available/Single? Neither, very happily married
B – Best Friend? My husband Tim
C– Cake or Pie? must hedge, Chocolate Cake or Cherry Pie!
D – Drink Of Choice? Peach Tea
E – Essential Item You Use Everyday? Computer and Internet access
F – Favorite Color? Burgundy
G – Gummy Bears Or Worms? Neither!
H – Hometown? Madison, Misssissippi
I – Indulgence? Truffles from Aunt V’s Candies or any drink from Starbucks
J – January Or February? January – it’s all about cleaning up, organizing and cutting back!
K – Kids & Their Names? no human kids, but Beau the wonder dog is my boy 😀
L – Life Is Incomplete Without? Tim
M – Marriage Date? March, 1996
N– Number Of Siblings? 2 sisters
O – Oranges Or Apples? Apples
P – Phobias/Fears? Fear of heights, fear of snakes
Q – Favorite Quote? Ah, that a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for? by Robert Browning
R – Reason to Smile- my boys, Tim and Beau
S – Season? Winter
T – Tag Three People? Stacy, Laura and Susie
U – Unknown Fact About Me? I didn’t get my ears pierced until I was in college
V – Vegetable you don’t like? Beets
W – Worst Habit? apologizing for everything or biting my fingernails
X – X-rays You’ve Had? Dental (sonograms don’t count, right?)
Y – Your Favorite Food? Three way tie – Seafood, Chinese, Italian 😀
Z – Zodiac Sign? Libra, very balanced

Ok, I know I tagged three people, but I would love for anyone else to play along. I could have tagged several other people, and I hope many of you will play along. Have a great day! 😀

It’s that time of the week again, to post our menus and check out the other ones at OrgJunkie ‘s blog. My menu is going to be up in the air yet again this week! Last week it was the Thanksgiving holiday, and now this week, my husband is off on vacation for the whole week. It’s his birthday and he is taking off to play golf and go hunting. I don’t know which day he will do which and be here to eat (he hunts at his family’s land). So, my menu is fairly tentative. 🙂

Here’s the general idea for the week:

Sunday – We had Buffalo wings with this blue cheese dip for lunch, and breakfast burritos for supper.

Monday – Cook’s Night off (hunting for Tim, he’ll eat at his folks, I’ll probably have cereal!)

Tuesday – Herbed Turkey Breast, new recipe for sweet potato dish, veggie

Wednesday – Tim’s birthday – ribeyes, potato, salad, bread

Thursday – Probably another hunting trip – Free Night for me!

Friday – our football team’s conference championship is on TV – Taco Soup or we’ll order pizza 😉

Saturday – out of town for hunting/family stuff

Sunday – Game Day food – probably burgers this week 😀

We spent all day Friday at my in-laws, and Tim went hunting with his dad and my dad. No deer, though. My mother-in-law and I put out most of her Christmas decorations, which was fun. So, on Saturday, I hood-winked Tim into staying away from the golf course (he was not happy about that), and helping me get out all of our Christmas tree, lights and decorations.

He started unpacking the tree (yes, we have an artificial tree) and the first branch he pulled down, broke and fell off the tree. Well. He said he could try to fix it. Since it was a plastic piece that broke and not a metal one that was welded, he said the only thing he could do was *duct tape* it back to the frame. Um, how about we go shopping for a new tree ?! Actually, it was his idea, and even though I hated to spend the money, I agreed. What I realized later on was that he had an ulterior motive – he wanted to buy a pre-lit tree so that he could get out of his yearly duty of stringing the lights on the Christmas tree!!! See, I have always thought it would be “fun” and “sweet” and “memorable” for both of us to decorate our tree together. Tim, on the other hand, thinks it is not any of those things and has absolutely no interest in it. So, shortly after we got married, we arrived at a compromise – he’d put the tree together and put on the lights and I would do the ornaments and decorations. Now, with the pre-lit tree, he has just shirked all of his Christmas duties.

We looked at a couple of stores and finally found one we both liked at Target – a 7 1/2 foot prelit tree with white lights and a fragrance module. The fragrance thing is scented oil that really does smell just like a fresh cut tree. I love it but it is strong and Tim says it is too overpowering. So, right now, I plug it in for about an hour a day, then he makes me unplug it and put it in the garage! 🙄

Tim and Beau put up the outdoor lights yesterday, then we got the tree up last night, and also watched our alma mater win their final regular-season game on TV. They will now play for the conference championship, and if they win, they’ll go to the Liberty Bowl. Woot-Woot!

I’m finishing the rest of the decorations this afternoon, including my Snow Village. In the mean time, here’s the tree:

Regular “Auto” mode on my camera:

And one in “Candlelight” mode on my camera:

Lastly, how about a Question of the Day:

Do you have a real or artificial tree at your house? Is it already up or when will you put it up?

P.S. I seem to be having trouble figuring out the best way to take a photo of this thing lit up! Leave me a comment and let me know what settings you put your camera on to take the best picture of a lit Christmas tree. What mode or settings or … whatever! Thanks!!!!

If there’s one thing I love, it’s books. Books and cooking, as Dianne talks about in her blog, Unfinished Work. And here she is, posting this great set of questions that you know I just have to answer! Thanks Dianne!

1. Where do you most often buy your books? Online? Secondhand stores? Big name bookstores? Various places – online at usually Amazon.com and locally at library sales and bookstores. I have a Borders Reward card, so I like to buy there, but I’ve also been known not to leave Barnes and Noble empty handed! I prefer to get books as gifts and get them from the library though, being the frugal person that I am 🙂

2. If you buy online, which do you prefer – B&N or Amazon.com? Ebay? Christianbook.com? or elsewhere? Oops, answered that above. Usually Amazon.com. Love their wish list feature and I also like reading the reviews there.

3. Do you put your name in your books? If so, are you a bookplate or stamp person? I only put my name in books if I loan them out, or if they are gifts from someone. I write in the inside cover or inside front page who gave it to me and what holiday and year. I have never used a bookplate or stamp, just my own handwriting.

4. How do you feel about loaning books to others? I am a bit possessive of my books and prefer to only loan them to family or friends, when I know I will get them back. I don’t like loaning them out and losing them. That’s happened once before, years ago, with a book that I loved, a first edition of an author I like to read, and I never got it back. Once bitten, twice shy.

5. Do you highlight or mark your books as you read? Nope, I don’t mark in my books in any way.

6. How often do you visit your local library? Regularly. Usually every couple of weeks.

7. Do you collect any certain kind of book? No, I mostly read women’s fiction and Christian fiction, and I do like to get books by certain authors I know and like. But I don’t really collect any, per se.

8. What do you do when you’re done with a book and no longer want it? Usually hang on to it! As I said, I’m a bit possessive about my books. If they are paperback or I didn’t really enjoy them, I will put them in a garage sale or donate them somewhere. My hardbacks and paperbacks by authors I really enjoy stay with me in my bookshelves. 🙂

9. Do you keep a list of or catalog the books you own? No, but I want to do this. We have a system like this for our DVD collection and I’ve been *meaning* to do this for my books. One of those projects on my never-ending to-do list.

10. Any other weird book habits you’d like to share? Hmm, that I don’t mar my books in any way. I don’t write in them or turn down the corners. It’s only bookmarks for me! I don’t like to bend the spine too much, I don’t like to bend the paper jacket/cover over to mark a page, etc. I’m a little particular about how I care for my books!

Okay, so let’s hear it from you other book lovers!

I won’t tag anyone in particular, but I’d love if you would play along, and thanks again to Dianne for this great meme!

Gobble, Gobble, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

We went to eat lunch with my husband’s extended family earlier today and had a really good time. My dad came along, as both of my sisters had other plans and were not in town. We tried to talk him into coming to our house to stay, but he is happier at his own home (and when you get to be in your 80’s, you get to do what you want!) and didn’t want to come spend the night. We’re trying to get him to go hunting with Tim, over the weekend. Tim is going, and Beau the wonder dog and I will probably tag along. I will do anything to avoid getting out at a store on Friday morning 😀 A family friend shot a 15 point deer on their family land today (where Tim deer hunts), so he’s a bit fired up about going hunting. That, and golf. He went to the driving range this afternoon when we got home from the family shindig. Can you say… obsession?! I think he’s obsessed with golf to go play on Thanksgiving Day. 🙄

Anyhoo, we had a good Thanksgiving, and are going to settle in and watch our CBS shows tonight (Survivor, CSI and Shark). We’d watch the nighttime NFL game, but alas, we do not get the NFL Network. Bummer.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I know it’s a day early, but I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to blog for the next day or so. So, I wanted to be sure to wish everyone a very joyous, and safe, holiday.

We’re going to one of my husband’s aunt’s house, and will see a ton of family. We usually spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family, but both of my sisters had other plans this year, so we’ll go to Tim’s mom’s extended family. There are often anywhere from 50 to 80 people there, and it will be nice to see everyone, and there will be a ton of food. I honestly don’t know what all they will have, but I’m hoping for some turkey or ham! They often do chicken, since there’s so many people to feed, and one of his aunts makes the best chicken and dumplings. But, something inside of me just really wants turkey for Thanksgiving! My side of the family always has a turkey, with dressing (we don’t call it stuffing around here!), cranberry sauce, veggies and my Broccoli casserole, which I will make later today to take to Tim’s family’s house.

So, that brings us to today’s Question of the Day:

Do you eat turkey on Thanksgiving? Or maybe ham or is it something altogether different? What’s your favorite dish to eat on Thanksgiving?

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

I was cruising one of my favorite message boards the other day, Scrapbook Addict, and saw a great poll that someone had started. It is about your favorite jammies! Now, this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart this time of year! I posted the other day about changing my sheets out to warmer ones (read more about that here, and lodge your comment if you haven’t already!) and switching out to warmer, thicker, cozier pajamas this time of year is a big thing for me.

I have a ton more winter pj’s than I do summer ones. It’s something about the more comfy ones that are thicker and softer and more snuggly that really appeals to me. I have several pair of winter ones, but I have one pair that I just love. I snapped a quick picture this morning, but it doesn’t do them justice 😆

These are so warm and snuggly, and I have some big thick purple socks that I wear with them.

OK, so, I’ve come clean about my love of comfy pj’s in the fall and winter. That brings us to today’s Question of the Day:

Do you have a favorite pair of pajamas? Do you have a snuggly pair you like to wear this time of year to warm you up or just be more comfortable in? Do you just wear an old t-shirt and bottoms or maybe a gown or maybe you go all out with silk pj’s? Or something else? Leave me a comment and let me know!

I was in the kitchen a lot on Monday, and will be again on Wednesday. I hope to stay out of it some today! 🙂

Monday, I made a new recipe for a crockpot Butternut Squash soup. It received mixed reviews at our house. (BTW, I’ll post the recipe on the extended entry, in case you are interested.) 🙂 It was a really good soup, but it was just a pureed soup that I served with a salad and bread. I had a feeling that wouldn’t be enough for Tim, and I was right. He commented that the soup was good, but “it needs some kind of meat” 😀 He had to have a really big salad, with lots of “crunchies” in it, to offset the pureed soup. He kept telling me that the soup was good, and he was really glad I tried new things, but that it was a “texture” thing for him. I really liked the soup, and that was enough for me with bread. It had a really good, rich flavor, I’m assuming from the butternut squash. This was my first time to ever buy and use butternut squash, much less taste it. The only thing I would do differently is maybe use a little less cream cheese, as it was a really rich and thick soup.

Here’s what mine looked like, I toasted some walnuts to serve on top:

If I was a really ambitious cook, I might make this again, and then have it as a first course to a “regular” meal that includes meat, for Tim. But, unfortunately, I’m not that kind of cook. I make soups and stews this time of year as the main course, the entree, not as a starter. Too much work for me for just one course!

If you want to check out the recipe (it really is a good soup!), it’s on the extended page. Just click to see…

Read the rest of this entry »