The Blossoms are Coming! The Blossoms are Coming!

Note: This is 7:00 am and I am not wearing make up. I still have "fuzzy face". :)

[photos courtesy of our eldest, April 2008]

And we get the pleasure of freezing our heinies off to view them in all their splendor.

Dang it was cold last year!

A Different Way to do Recipes [AKA "This Was Fun"]

This is my recipe - done up at Smilebox. I did a trial period. I won't be renewing, but for now it was fun. The biscuits are actually good [even for humans LOL] and the pup loves them. Yes that is Spottie in the picture. Hit play and it will show the recipe clearly. Mute your computer if you don't want to hear a lil' jazz. :)

Make a Smilebox recipe

Wednesday Recipe

Well, there seemed to be a bit of confusion on yesterday's posts [please see two previous] as one of my tadpoles thought I posted the pic' of bean soup as some kind of joke to replicate our dog's misfortune. Not true, but in hindsight it is completely hysterical because, yep!, that pretty much represents what ended up on the couch, the Dad and the blanket.

Not much of a promise for today's recipe, but?

Without further detail, I will provide the easiest recipe to one of our family's most favorite soups. With Easter fast approaching this soup is a perfect use for the leftover bits of meat and the bone from the spiral sliced hams everyone is going to be consuming. Enjoy.

Ham and Bean Soup

1 Ham bone from a spiral or bone in ham shank [cleaned, but a little meat still attached is okay]

1 cup diced ham***

1 lb. dry navy beans

4 stalks of celery, diced

1/2 onion, diced

pepper to taste

water

[Please note I have a 6 qt. crockpot. I don't know if it needs to be adjusted for a smaller one.]

1. 
   
   Rinse and clean beans. Place in a large pot, covered with water. Bring to a boil and boil for two minutes.


2. 
   
   Turn off heat. Cover and let sit for two hours. [You may also use the overnight method.]


3. 
   
   Drain beans. Place ham bone in crockpot. Pour in vegetables. Pour in drained beans.


4. 
   
   Fill crockpot with water within two inches of the lip. The bone won't be covered but the veggies/beans will float!


5. 
   
   Sprinkle liberally with pepper. Go to town. Lots of pepper. I usually make 2 or 3 passes.


6. 
   
   Cover. Turn to high and cook for 4-5 hours or until the water is completely absorbed.


7. 
   
   Remove ham bone. Let cool. Take any meat off the bone and add along with your diced ham back into the crockpot. [Honestly I can never get all the ham off the bone so I usually just use what is on it for the soup and don't worry about an extra cup. If you like it hammier - then use the cup of diced ham***]


8. 
   
   While the lid is still off use a wood spoon to gently stir the ham in and mash some of the beans against the side of the crockpot to give it a thicker consistency.


9. 
   
   Let it heat through [about 1/2 hour]

Serve with crescent rolls [my next post!] and enjoy. Great reheated.

Soup's on Honey!

This should more then make up for your morning, right?

Love you and see you soon!

I Hate to Say It....

"No. I am not. No. Not looking at you. Nope."

She is guilty. You will see why in a moment.

Pooldad works two different shifts. Either he has to be to work at 7:30 am or he arrives around 11:30 am. Today was the late shift.

--

On late shift days he usually sleeps in, but today he had to make a run to the grocery store at 7 am to pick up milk for breakfast.

--

With the kids off to school by 8 am I told him he should go back to bed for a few hours and we could have coffee later, before he left. No. He didn't want to do that.

--

I asked him if he wanted some coffee now. No. He just wanted to read the paper. He waved me off sweetly, saying he was fine. Then I noticed he was falling asleep on the sofa.

--

Go to bed now I repeated. No, no...he wanted to stay up and keep me company.

--

sigh. fine. whatever.

--

There he was, on the sofa, intermittently snoozing and reading the paper when suddenly the dog, who was curled up next to him on the sofa decided that it was a good time to throw up. Yep! Lovely Spot barfed. Twice. All over the sofa, our favorite afghan and Pooldad.

--

Picture it. [You know you can] The frantic jumping up, cursing, moaning, cleaning and finally the mumbling under his breath about how "we can never have anything nice in this house between the damn dogs and the kids....".

--

I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist. You know I did it, don't you?

--

I just looked at him lovingly and said "I told you to go back to bed y'know."

--

Yah, 14 years of togetherness surprises me too sometimes.
--

And how was your morning so far?

I Am Ready

[creative envelope art for a swap by skippymom]

• For a vacation
• For warm weather
• For the sand
• For the sound of the ocean
• For the smell of the surf
• For tourist traps
• For cheesy souvenirs
• For local flavor
• For a road trip
• For fresh caught seafood
• For a view that doesn't include an elementary school or townhomes
• For roadside stands selling fresh corn and tomatoes
• To take a break from the here and now - if only for a weekend

What are you ready for?

Any Ideas....

...about how to get Sharpie marker off of my dog?

Because, I, um...well....I decorated the dog for St. Patricks Day. It is what sahms do. Trust me.

Needless to say she has a very well represented shamrock on her tummy and an Irish flag on her chest [the white hair was quite handy :).]

So, suggestions? Because as hard as my family is going to laugh about this - the salient fact is tomorrow isn't St. Patricks Day and she is going to look stupid.

What?