You know I like my chicken fried...

...Cold beer on a Friday night. A pair of jeans that fit just right and the radio up...

Yep, we fried our first chicken - and it was delicious!

Until next time...

Freezing and Canning

Thursday, I did another batch (15 dozen ears) of sweet corn for the freezer
I hope the 40 quarts I have put up will last us until next summer! I am thinking about trying to freeze some on the ear. Has anyone ever done this? What are your thoughts about the taste?

Friday (my birthday) I made a carrot cake and canned 5 pints of carrots (yes, I pulled a LOT of carrots from the garden Thursday evening). Apparently, Reba thought it was boring work, so she fell asleep on the kitchen floor...

Yep, that's her big toe right by her mouth...I bet you can't do that!

Until next time...

Momma's Birthday!

Today is my Momma's Birthday. Since I cannot spend it with her I wanted to make sure I sent her a Birthday Greeting. I love and miss you, see you soon. It sure was fun talking with you last night.

Love, Dallas

Reba's Standing Progress

As I mentioned before, Reba pulled herself up to a standing position the other night. I have had the camera close waiting for her to do it again. She was close to doing it again on Friday night, but this is all the farther she made it ~
And then, tonight, she realized there were things on the end table that interested her (i.e. the remote and newspaper)!

She was just so proud of herself

I have a video, but it is not wanting to upload, and I'm ready for bed...so it will have to wait

Until next time...

Recipe Time: Zucchini Pie

I have talked before about my zucchini pies, and I thought I would finally share the recipe. Remember - it looks and tastes just like an apple pie!

·8 cups zucchini (extra large zucchini are preferred b/c they're firmer)
·1 1/2 cups apple juice (may use water)
·1 1/4 cups sugar; divided
·1 1/2 Tablespoons flour
·1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
·1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
·2 Tablespoons lemon juice
·1 to 2 Tablespoons butter
·dough for a double pie crust (9 inch)

1. Peel, wash and slice zucchini lengthwise. Remove seeds (I then sliced the zucchini lengthwise again, so I had 4 sections of zucchini b/c mine were extra, EXTRA large zucchinis!)

2. Slice like apples

3. Add juice (or water) and bring zucchini to a boil in a large saucepan. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender.

4. Cool and drain well.

5. Combine zucchini with 1 cup sugar, flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon and lemon juice.

6. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of sugar and a little flour over the bottom of an unbaked 9 inch pie crust.

7. Add zucchini mixture and sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons sugar; dot with butter.

8. Cover with top pie crust and flute to seal edges. Cut slits into top of crust for steam to escape. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes.

9. Best served warm with a couple scoops of ice cream!

I used more like 8-10 cups of zucchini for my pies, but I have 9 1/2 inch pie plates so this helps to make a thicker pie.

I was also inspired to post this recipe, because I found another zucchini pie recipe that I am going to have to try soon...you can check it out here.

Sweet Corn!

I had a busy day...it started last night when Doug and I picked over 10 dozen ears of sweet corn Then, Doug helped shuck a couple dozen ears before leaving for work, I finished shucking the rest before Reba got up

I filled up a couple trash bags with the husks

I then had to take a break to feed Reba and find her some toys

Then, the ears were ready for a washing

Next, came the blanching and cooling

Yes, I had corn everywhere!

It was then time for lunch, so I took another break. Reba then chilled in her highchair for a while

Reba went down for a nap, so I got busy cutting the corn off the cobs

My weapon of choice for cutting off the corn - my electric knife!

Look at all that beautiful corn

Now, what to do with those empty cobs...they'll wait until Doug gets off work :)

Finally, it was time to back and seal up the sweetness!

When it was all done, I had 17 bags of corn to put in the freezer. Yumm-o!

Whew, that wore me out ... how about you?

Until next time...

Exciting News!

Reba pulled herself up to a standing position last night!

Sorry, I don't have a picture...but I have the camera within arm's reach for when she does it again.

Looks like Doug and I will be lowering her crib mattress very, very soon.

Until next time...

Just some photos...

I saw this today, and realized I never posted it. We went to Mick and Kathy's (Reba's godparents' house) one evening for a cookout. Dallas loved their tree swing.

This is Reba's new favorite toy...she constantly has it in her mouth!
It is a farmer that goes with one of Dallas' tractors

Such a sweet little face...you can also see her two bottom teeth fairly well.

I know you can't hear the giggles, but I'm sure you can imagine them...

and the source of the giggles? Daddy tickling!

Until next time...

For Pa Bergman

Reba had to do this one solo - remember Dallas is in Indiana. I'm sure he is having a wonderful time helping Pa celebrate his special day.

Until next time...

Reba ~ 8 months old

My little girl is growing up - and I'm getting worse at taking pictures and documenting her first year...but here she is at 8 months old:Changed just a little bit...eh?

Here is a little of what Reba has been up to:
She is constantly on the move (exhibit A & B: trying to get her "month" picture)

She is beginning to pull herself up
She has this new crazy move while playing on the floor - sticking her rear end up in the air

She can sit herself up
She has started to click her tongue and smack her lips

She smiles and giggles A LOT

She has tried more new foods: bananas, apple sauce, carrots, green beans, and peaches
She babbles non-stop
She is working on more teeth

That's all I can think of right now...so I'm off to bed - just like this angel

Until next time...

Fun Friday Foto

Reba found a new friend in the kitchen trashcan. She will sit and talk and talk to her sweet little friend. It is so cute.

Until next time...

{sad face}

I just got finished putting Dallas in the car with Gram Bergman. He is on his way to Indiana to get spoiled with the grandparents for TWO weeks! I'm sure he will have lots of fun, and I'm sure will get lots of pictures once he returns...but I'm gonna miss the guy.

Thank goodness I still have Reba to love on and keep me busy.

Until next time...

Garden Goodness

My first cutting of broccoli
My second pulling of carrots (this was a few days ago, I pulled more than double this today)

My second mess of green beans (again, this was the other day, I picked this much again today...puts me up to 13 quarts of green beans canned thus far)

My first picking of zucchinis...I see some zucchini pie in our near future :)

A few cucumbers...I wish I had more so I could make some pickles. Why don't they all come on at the same time?

I had a very busy day today - thanks to Gram Bergman. She is here visiting and watched/played with the kids while I worked in the garden and around the house! I was able to do 5 loads of laundry this morning, pick/break/can green beans, and pull/blanch/freeze carrots just to name a few things.

Also...last night, Doug and I butchered our 9 chickens! Ths was the main reason for Gram coming. She entertained the kiddos and kept them inside while Doug and I worked. We started about 5 p.m. and finished about 9:30 last night. It was quite an experience, but we learned a lot and got it done. I decided not to take pictures because (frankly) I didn't think you would want to see them, and I really didn't want to capture those "memories". Dallas didn't say anything today about the "cluck-clucks". Let's see how long it takes before he realizes they are gone...

Until next time...

Photo Round-Up

This was the only picture I took of Miss Reba at her baptism party...as you can tell, she enjoyed a nice nap during the party! Dallas enjoyed the pie and ice cream that was the dessert for the party.

Reba hanging with Pa-paw and Ma-maw before they had to head back to Indiana

Dallas having fun on his pedal tractor

This is Dallas' new past time activity (notice the hat backwards...that's new from the weekend too)

Dallas loves to help feed Reba. (As you can tell, Reba doesn't mind who feeds her as long as she gets the food!)

Reba found some new "toys"...she loved the clinging sounds they made

And, lastly, Reba has started on carrots (that I made from last year's garden crop).

She ate the whole bowl...even if she did give me this face!

Until next time...