Family, Freedom and a Future....

This is the year that several of my friend’s oldest childen are moving out of the house and going to college. This is usually considered an opportunity by some for the freedom to pursue the future they have always dreamed of in one form or another.

I spoke with one young woman who is actually opting to live in the dorm while residing in the same town she grew up in so that (in her own words) “I will be close enough to watch and participate in my younger sisters growing up” (she has four younger sisters and her youngest sister is 7).

I couldn’t help but be struck by this as I remember my older sisters looking at going off to college as almost as much of an escape from home and mother as they did the adventure it afforded. I never got the impression they ever looked back, but if they did it was with a sense of relief they were leaving.

I remember being the one left behind………..more than once actually, the perils of being youngest I guess, but as I got older, I was almost as anxious for them to go as they were. You see we were four girls living in the upstairs of a small house and shared two bedrooms. When someone left, everyone sort of spread out, with you eventually getting your own room. That was considered a perk. In a one bathroom house, it was also considered a perk to have one less person to try to fit in front of the mirror in the mornings.

Things have changed so much now a day. Just about the time our kids were old enough to care we moved into a big beautiful new house where they each had their own bathroom—no sharing, no waiting—something their Dad was adamant about when the plans were drawn up (he grew up in a family of 9—one bath).

One of the homeschooling blogs I read has a family of 9 children, one boy, and eight girls. The girls decided that they wanted a home library bad enough that they sacrificed one of the bedrooms for it, turning the one bedroom all the girls now share into something akin to an army barracks with bunks stacked 3 high.

I found all this interesting because obviously the joy found by some at sharing a room, bathroom, and smaller house is different than that of others. Separation is something that is loathed, and decidedly avoided if possible. Perhaps it is the individuals, perhaps it is the parents, perhaps it is the times, or a little of all three.

Whatever it is, it gave me pause at this young woman’s attachment to her younger siblings to the point that she would alter her opportunities (she got a full ride to a university 8 hours away) just to remain close to her siblings and their activities. Somewhere along the line she got the message that you can have it all—family, freedom, and a future.

Good for her!

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!

First,
I need to apologize to those who might actually follow this blog, to my sisters, and many others who at one time expressed an interest in things “homey”.

The past year has been shall we just say—eventful—but now that things have sort of leveled out, many things that would be appropriate to post here have come to mind so I am going to get up and running again.

Prepare yourselves…………………….

Thoughts that return

I've lived back on the farm now for 32 years and we've burned wood every winter in this stove that Gpa. Ira Horack put in the basement when he built the house in 1929.
It does a wonderful job. I grew up hauling wood for this stove when my dad had to cut it down with a hand saw and then into pieces with a buzz saw mounted on the front of the tractor. Any splitting he did was done with wedges and a sledge hammer.
Why this thought has suddenly come into my head after all these years is a mystery.
For the last few months, whenever I get ready to put something in the trash to be burned, I hear Mother saying "Here, Anita, take this down and put it in the furnace". I had forgotten all about it. Back then we had very little plastic, probably only bread sacks, paper and cardboard were burned in the furnace in the winter. Milk came from the barn and was put in glass jugs. There were no boughten cookies, chips, or all that other stuff that is in plastic. Mother used plastic containers to put fruit and vegetables in the freezer but they were all reusable. Meat was wrapped in butcher paper that burned. I have been puzzled why that thought has resurfaced after all this time. But it really doesn't matter. It's a fun memory. Another thought: IF I had $1.00 for every piece of wood I've handled, I'd be a very wealthy person!!

Summer is over..

Well it is that time of year when my thoughts turn to inside activites. Fall cleaning, something I do along as we get cooler and cooler while closing up the house for winter; it's a nice feeling.
I have stopped mowing, the lawn furniture is moved in, the flower beds have been put to bed, planters washed and cleaned and put in the garage, and I'm inside now.
This of course gives me more time to cook, quilt, sew and all that other stuff that fills my days........including blogging :)

The other day it was chilly and blustery, some would have called it perfect soup or chili weather but I was in the mood for something a little more substantial, so I made a Chicken Pot Pie.
If you’re thinking EEEUUWWW right now, hear me out. I found this simple recipe for a homemade Chicken Pot Pie in a Real Simple magazine once, tried it, tweaked it, and voi-la! YUM! Serve it with a green salad, follow it with Pumpkin Apple cake glazed with Cream Cheese frosting, and hot coffee, and you will be willing to put your soups and chilies on the back burner for later this winter; to me this is Autumn comfort food.

yes I tore out the whole page, and keep it in my recipe box


Chicken Pot Pie

1- 8 oz bag frozen mixed veggies
2 refrigerated piecrust (remember I have 20 in the freezer :), you can buy them at the store.
1 10 ¾ -oz. can cream of chicken soup
½ c. milk
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey. (If you have left over chicken that is great, but I buy the roasted chickens at the store, take all the meat off the bone, and it is delicious!)
½ t. garlic salt
½ t. black pepper

I also add about ½ c. of diced pickled onions—you find them in the relish dept.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Defrost the vegetables in a microwave for about 3 min.
Line a pie plate with one of the pie crusts.
Chop the chicken, combine with veggies, onions, soup, and milk; add salt and pepper.
Pour mixture into the pie crust, and use egg white around edge of crust, placing other crust on top. Press both crusts together at edge, poke slits in top crust, and bake for 35-45 min. or till crust is nice and brown, and mixture bubbly.

THEN…………

Pumpkin Apple Ring

1 ½ c. cups sugar
½ c butter or margarine
2 eggs
2 med. Apples, pared, cored, and shredded (1 ½ c.)
1 c. canned pumpkin
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cloves
¼ tsp. ginger

In mixer bowl, cream together sugar and butter or margarine. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in apple and pumpkin. Stir together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices. Add to pumpkin mixture, stirring till well combined. Turn into greased and floured 8 in. fluted tube pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 55 min. Cook in pan 10 min; remove from pan and cool on wire rack. You can either sift powdered sugar on top, or drizzle cream cheese frosting over the top.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 stick margarine
2 c. powdered sugar
1/8-1/4 tsp. vanilla

To make it runny so you can drizzle it over the cake, after you mix it up, microwave it, while it is warm, drizzle as much as you want over the cake. You can freeze the rest.

As per request…………..Garlic Beef Enchiladas

This isn't an original recipe, I got it out of an OLD Taste of Home magazine years ago, but it turned out to be one of out absolute favorites. It does, however, make a nice big batch so I don't make it that often since the kids are gone.......but you can sure bet I try to have it everytime they are home which makes them special. Hope you like them too!

1 lb. ground beef (or you can substitute 1 lb. of thinly sliced chicken)
1 med. Onion
2 T. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp garlic powder (NOT SALT!!!)
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp. rubbed sage
1 can (14 ½ oz.) stewed tomatoes (I use the Delmonte brand of Mexican flavored)

In skillet over medium heat, cook meat and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add flour and seasonings; mix well. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce your heat; cover and simmer for 15 min.

MEANWHILE…………………

Sauce-
4-6 garlic buds
1/3 c. butter or margarine
½ c. flour
1 can (14.5 oz.) beef broth
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1-2 T. Chili Powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. sage
½ tsp. salt

Sauté’ garlic in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 min. or until bubble. Stir in tomato sauce and seasonings, heat through. Pour 1 ½ c. sauce into ungreased 13X9 in. baking dish.

Assembly of enchiladas-

10 flour tortillas (7-10 in. depending on how many servings you want)
2 c. shredded Co-Jack cheese

Spread about ¼ c. of meat mixture down the center of each tortilla; top with 1-2 T. cheese, roll up tightly; place seam side down over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over top of enchiladas, cover and bake for 30-35 min. Remove foil, sprinkle the remaining cheese over top, and bake uncovered for an additional 10-15 min. or until the cheese is melted.

I like to serve this with a green salad that has those tiny bell peppers, avocadoes, tomatoes and little green onions with that Ranch Salsa dressing. It’s ALWAYS a hit believe me.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie

If you are looking for a new summer dessert that is cold, and fruity, yet creamy and yummy, look no further. This Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie is awesome, and everyone who has had it will attest. It is also super easy, and doesn’t take a lot of prep time. You can use any kind of pie filling, but I like blueberries; plus that was the original recipe.
I take no credit for this; got it off a blog I follow. If you want to see pictures you can go to her blog at coffeenut.blogspot.com
I made this while Audrey was home this last week, and we were going to take a picture, but um……………..

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
(Makes 2 pies – serves 12-16)

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (or can use Neufchatel – 1/3 less fat)
1 pint of heavy whipping cream (or you can use a large container of Cool Whip)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 can blueberry pie filling
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecans, ground
2 unbaked pie crusts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle ground pecans evenly in both pie crusts and bake for 8 minutes. Remove and cool completely before filling. You’re done with the oven.

(If you remember, one of the earlier posts on this blog was for the recipe that makes 20 pie crusts at once. I pulled two of these out of the freezer, thawed the discs, rolled them out, and was ready to go).

Soften cream cheese and add powdered sugar. Add cream (or Cool Whip) and beat briskly until soft peaks form. Add vanilla. Divide cream mixture evenly into pie crusts. Refrigerate for several hours. Spoon blueberry filling over tops of pies, dividing evenly (I leave a ring of white around the edge. Serve.

More on Memorial Day

Andrea as written about our Grandma Horack taking us to the cemetery and telling us family history. I didn't realize it at the time but she was also helping us not to be afraid of death. The people in the graves became very real to us as she told us their stories and their connection to her and us. Then seeing pictures of them with her or our Dad made them even more real. Other people have remarked that they won't go to funerals, they hate cemeteries, they're spooky, etc. We girls had a great time at the cemetery. We weren't disrespectful or anything but we had no qualms about walking across graves or being there with Grandma. Anytime spent with Grandma was great fun. What I remember most about Memorial Day was Grandma saving peonies for weeks ahead to take out. When she'd open her refrigerator door, her frig was full of peonies. Everybody now either buys artificial or orders from the florist or buys pots from somewhere. Since my peonies are always done blooming by Memorial Day, last year I decided to try what Grandma did. I thought it would be neat to put peonies on her grave as she always did on everyone elses. Two years ago I cut them just as they started to open and put them in vases of water in the frig downstairs. I noticed the florist kept them in vases in a cooler so thought that would be the best way. I took them out the day before going to the cemetery and they opened beautifully. This year I called the florist in town to see if she had an opinion on the best way to store them. She said the old timers said to wrap them in dry newspaper like a diaper and put them in the frig. So I did that this year. By the day before Memorial Day they were looking pretty droopy and sad. I didn't have very high hopes for their rejuvenation. I took them out the day before, put them in vases of water and by the next day, they had opened up beautifully. So I had peonies to put on Gma and Gpa Horack, A. Pauline and U. Wayne, and Mother and Daddy. I also took artificial flowers for my Grandma's parents, the aunt that raised her, her grandmother and her uncle. I trimmed the dead heads off the peonies that still live on GG Grandmother Katherine's grave and GG Uncle Jim's. I do this not because I have to but out of love and respect for my Grandma Horack and for the others who came before.
I noticed that one row over from Mother and Daddy there was a very old rose bush that was planted on a grave that hadn't been cared for for a very long time. I was blooming and trying it's best. So on Tuesday when I went to pick up the vases, I took the truck and loppers and trimmed all the dead out. No one had visited it or done anything for Memorial Day so I didn't figure anyone would care. I'm sure the bush feels much better, too.