My Grama's Soul

I am always doing something around here to spruce up our little place.  Since I seem to have accumulated a lot of little cans of paint, I decided I would paint a wall mural.  Now mind you......I AM NOT ANY KIND OF ARTIST....but it is always fun to see what I can come up with.   This is still early days on this project but I do enjoy working on this kind of thing. It started out being something completely different...in fact I was going to do a large face...but that went "south" in no time at all.....LOL LOL.....  So I decided to fill this spot with flowers and birds and foliage.   I decided to paint on this wall as you can see it when you come into our lovely little spot.  We also have a wonderful piece of art that I plan on hanging here when I am finished.   I have become fearless when it comes to paint....as I tell my husband.....IT IS ONLY PAINT.  YOU CAN PAINT OVER IT IF IT IS G...

This post is about the cooking part.....LOL LOL. I love to cook.....in fact I probably am one of the few women in the area where I live that ACTUALLY does cook. Wanted to share  two incredibly simple recipes with you today. This one uses a crock pot.  Here goes: Small pork tenderloin  (I usually buy a large one at Costco and cut it in thirds and cook one third at a time..freeze the rest for later use) One small can green chili enchilada sauce (mild or hot) to your taste one-half large onion...sliced Garlic , salt and pepper....that's it..... Place sliced onion in bottom of crock pot Place tenderloin on top Salt and pepper to taste add garlic Pour can of green enchilada sauce over the whole thing. Cook on high for approximately 5-6 hours. When done shred meat to be used in burros.  Or  over-chips...corn...not potato.  I often top the whole mess with cheese and salsa and sour cream. Couldn't be easier. ...

I have never attempted to make jam.  I actually don't know why because it is actually pretty easy.  Perhaps I didn't because I thought it involved canning jars and all that came with THAT.  (?:   This is jam made from Pluots.  Don't know what a Pluots is? Well neither did I until this summer while shopping at my local Costco.  A Pluot is a cross between a plum and apricot (I think)...at least that is what the name sounds like.  This wonderful fruit hails from France and is a summer delight. I had some that were getting ripe and needed to use them so I found a jam recipe somewhere on the net.  Here it is in all its simplicity: 4 parts cut up fruit 3 parts granulated sugar 3 tlbs. of lemon juice  When I made mine I had to figure out by actually measuring the fruit in a one cup measure....did the same with the sugar. Add all the above ingredients in a deep sided pot...heat until temp comes to 221 degrees...I s...

Here is how it looked from our balcony two days ago........here is what it looks like today...... Had a nice rain overnight and now low clouds with an overcast sky. I always think these low, low clouds look like Santa's eyebrows....makes me smile!  Anyway...... On these kind of days...I like to make my clean out the refrigerator soup.... I'm sure each of you has a recipe for this but here is mine: One large chicken breast boiled in water used to make broth for soup and meat used in soup. Two Johnsonville Brats....I fry these in a pan and cut them up in pieces before adding to my stock. Here is what I used today as I had these things on hand... Diced chicken and Brats Piece of kale Two organic carrots Diced onion to taste Garlic to taste Sweet potato left over from last night  One small can of beans....any kind...I used navy....since they were what I had on hand You can also add a can of diced tomatoes if desired....I didn...

I've always had a love affair with blueberries.....and now since you can buy organic and a HUGE amount at Costco....I enjoy them even more. Here is an easy summer recipe for Blueberry Clafouti... a simple dessert to keep on hand anytime..... Preheat oven to 350 degrees 1 1/2 pints blueberries washed and drained 4 eggs 1 cup sugar 1cup milk (lowfat is fine) 1 tsp. vanilla 3/4 cup of flour pinch salt powdered sugar Spread blueberries in an 8X10 pan crack eggs in bowl and wisk add sugar and wisk till pale yellow add milk and vanilla...wisk gently add flour...wisk again add salt Pour mixture over blueberries bake about 45 minutes or until center is not soft to touch Cool before cutting and spread with powdered sugar before serving. YUMMMM...... Photo:  Better Photo

I really don't make many pies....and I am not so sure you could really classify this as one...but here is something I whipped up from items in my fridge that I wanted to use up. Fat free cool whip Reduced fat sour cream Peaches or strawberries if you have them on hand and crumbs from the bottom of the cookie jar Smash crumbs in a baggie...... Mis sour cream and cool whip together....to taste....as sweet....or not so sweet as you desire Spread crumbs in the bottom of your pie plate cover with whatever fruit you have chosen (I had to use peaches because ...... I had them on hand.....and my soul mate cannot eat strawberries) Cover the whole thing with cool whip/sour cream mixture...... Then top with some of the remaining cookie crumb mixture. I might sprinkle some nuts on top before I serve this.....and I'm not sure if it will be more like a pudding rather than an actual piece of pie....but I think it will be yummy......