Saying Farewell to 2011

Can't believe it's December 30 already! Where has the year gone? It's been a year of ups and downs in the area. With snow and bitter cold the first few months of the year, flooding on the Missouri River and now drought conditions, it's been one for the books! We had a brown Christmas this year--after a blizzard two years ago and snow and ice on Christmas last year, it was nice not to have to worry about traveling, etc. Christmas Day it was almost 55 degrees here! So far we haven't had any snow--it doesn't hurt my feelings any to see bare ground!
Sorry, it's been so long since I've posted here. Work and other responsibilities have a way of taking priority over posting on my blog. Am hoping that things will slow down now that the holidays are over and I can have more time to get things done that I want to do!
Wishing all of you blessings in 2012!

Birthdays

The kids surprised me with an early 50th birthday bash last night--I was speechless when we walked in and saw everyone there! The girls outdid themselves with all the food and the decorations! Can't believe I didn't catch on to what they were doing yesterday--guess they were glad that I spent the afternoon mowing so they could be sneaky and get everything ready!

No 50th birthday is complete without a hat, pin and glasses!!

The cake was amazing and the frosting was wonderful! The prunes were optional!!

Bowling Party

We had our bowling party last night--lots of good food and fun! Decided that we're getting old as the party was over before midnight!

Brad, our bowling team's sponsor, cooking steaks for all of us

Wayne and Larry--talking farming!

Some of the food

And more food

I made cheezy hashbrowns, cowboy beans, veggie salad and better than sex brownies to take last night--must have been good as I didn't have any leftovers to bring home!

Hashbrowns for a Crowd

7 pounds shredded hashbrowns, slightly thawed

1 onion, minced fine

36 ounces sour cream

1 family size can cream of mushroom soup

3 tablespoons garlic powder

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl (I used my 13 quart stainless steel) dump in your hashbrowns and add remaining ingredients. Stir til combined. Spread in a giant lasagna or steam table pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover with foil. Bake for 2 hours at 350, then turn oven down to 275 until serving time. Easily serves 40 people or 25 hungry men!

Better than Sex Brownies

2 family size (9x13 pan size) brownie mix

1 cup chopped pecans

3 large Symphony bars

Oil, eggs and water as called for on brownie mix

Mix one box of brownie mix as directed on package; add in 1/2 cup chopped pecans; spread in a 9x13 pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Unwrap the candy bars and lay them on batter. Mix the other box of brownie mix as directed on package; add in 1/2 cup chopped pecans; spread over the top of candy bars. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting and serving.

Veggie Salad

1 head of cauliflower, broken into small flowerettes

1 bunch broccoli, chopped

2 medium cucumbers, peeled, quartered and sliced

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup sugar

1 cup cider vinegar (dark)

1 cup canola oil

1 cup creamy cucumber ranch dressing

Put chopped vegetables in large bowl. Whisk together sugar and dark vinegar; whisk in oil until blended. Gradually whisk in cucumber ranch dressing until combined and pour over veggie. Stir well. Refrigerate until serving.

Baseball, baseball and more baseball!!

Spent the last three days at the State "B" 13-14 VFW Teener tournament. The team Zane plays for hosted the tournament this year, so only had 20 miles to drive.

Zane meditating before he gets up to bat in the game against Flandreau

Connecting for a 2 RBI single in the game against Ethan

It was a long hot weekend--temps were in the 90's with the heat index in the 105-110 range! I was sure glad to get home to the air conditioning!

How Hot Is It?

Temps have been in the upper 90's to low 100's with the heat index in the 105-115 range since last week--this cartoon pretty much sums up the weather in South Dakota lately!

Bucket Dill Pickles

Today's project--making a batch of bucket dills. Mom's cucumbers are starting to produce and the dill is taking over the garden so it's time to make pickles!

Here's the recipe:


8 cups water (I use Nursery water as our tap water makes the pickles mushy)
2 cups white vinegar (Heinz)
1/3 cup canning/pickling salt
About 30 medium sized cucumbers
1 bulb of garlic, peeled and separated into "toes"
2 dried red peppers
About 15 heads of dill
Wash cucumbers. In a 5 quart ice cream bucket put 1 layer of dill, 1 layer of quartered cucumbers and 2 "toes" of garlic; repeat layers ending with a layer of dill until bucket is full. Put the red peppers in along the side of the bucket.
In large kettle, mix water, vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool 10 minutes and then pour over cucumber mixture. Put lid on bucket and let stand 1 hour. I usually set the bucket on a couple of layers of paper towel before I pour on the brine, as it may run over when the lid is put on. After 1 hour, put in refrigerator for 5 days. Do not open the lid until the 5 days are up!
After the 5 days, they are ready to eat. At this point, I usually pack them into clean quart jars with the dill and garlic and then fill with brine from the bucket and put on the lids and rings. Must be stored in refrigerator. Makes about 5 quarts.

It's Already July!

July 4th Fireworks in Springfield

Boy, am I behind on posting to my blog! Hard to believe that July 4th has come and gone! Have been busy with ballgames and work. It's been hotter than heck here--the dog days of summer are upon us! Temps have been in the 90's with about 80% humidity!
Spent this last weekend at softball tournaments. Tabor's 14 & under team won their conference end of the season tournament. My niece, Raquel and nephew, Christopher, were the coaches for Tabor.
Here are a some of the photos from the tournament.

Raquel receiving the championship trophy

Happy bunch of girls!

Brad and Jackie Adams and Krista and Rich (my  sister-in-law and brother) watching the games

Raquel taking a snooze and my mom watching the games

What every well-dressed coach wears for a ball game--Raquel making a fashion statement!

 Mom's garden is starting to produce like crazy with all the hot weather we've been having. She pickled beets last week. We've had a couple of meals of string beans and tomorrow I'm going to start putting up pickles--after I run Zane to baseball practice!
His season is winding down--Region tournaments are in Colome July 22-24 and State is in Scotland at the end of the month!