Oh Dam

We just spent the last seven days in Las Vegas which would lead one to believe that I have a lot of things to blog about except that as you know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Just kidding...

I do have a lot to say, I also have a ton of pictures to sort through and share so I will spread this out over several post so that I have time to get other things done, like laundry...

We went to the Hoover Dam one day.

As you may, or may not know, a by-pass is being built to "decrease the potential for accidents, and to decrease the bottleneck to the interstate." As we approached the dam, I got a view of this little 234 million dollar construction project. I can safely say that I will never, and I mean never use the by-pass no matter how "safe" it's supposed to be.

Do you know how high that is? When finished, the 1,905-foot span bridge will be 890 feet over the river!
Go here to see a picture of what it's going to look like when it's completed.

Here is a statue of a high-scalers who's job was to climb down canyon walls on ropes and remove loose and weakened rocks along the canyon walls where the dam walls would join together.

There are two liberty statues that have developed a green patina. The toes, however, are very shiny and looking new. We were told that the toes are polished as a result of people rubbing the them for good luck and good fortune.

Here are a couple of pictures on the Lake Mead side of the dam. Notice the white line on the lower part of the rocks, that is the water mark, a sign of the water level changes in the reservoir, which is due to the drought.

I took this picture over the edge of the dam. I couldn't actually look at it because I was getting dizzy so I just pointed and shot.

Here is the Arizona Nevada state line. I'm sure I've stood in two states at once but this just seemed much cooler than that.

I will try and sort through more pictures soon. Look forward to seeing Red Rock Canyon and The Valley of Fire very soon.

A Spirited Child

We were so excited to be bring home this sweet little baby boy. He was perfect, ten toes, ten fingers; everything about him was just what we’d always hoped for. As a baby he had one ear infection after another which resulted in tubes and eventually speech therapy. It wasn’t that he was sick a lot or that he was a problem baby, he was just different than our daughter, besides I wasn’t supposed to compare him to his sister much less anyone else. A wise late night TV host once said, “It’s an exhibition not a competition” so I try to keep that in mind everyday.
There were so many days that I feel defeated. When he was two I’d jokingly call my husband and ask him to bring home a priest for the exorcism. We have tried a number of different discipline techniques all of which seemed to fail. He’s winning.
If it’s not one issue it’s another. Right now he has a very short temper, I’m never sure what going to cause his frustration, but the outcome will be bad. He will yell, slam doors, spitting and refuse to follow directions. He’s even disappeared before; I found him hiding under a table at church when he got upset over something small. He’s gotten into arguments with his friends, not listened to adults, like his grandparents, it’s all so overwhelming. Then he turns on the charm. He can be the sweetest most loving, affectionate child you’d ever hope to meet, who is this Dr, Jekyll Mr. Hyde living in my house?

Other small issues that stand out are his fear of thunder, his sensitivity to pain (he seems to overreact to getting a scratch), a past episode of grunt-like ticks, and problems in learning to read. He loves video games, but it is impossible to get him to get off. When he does get off, his face is flush and he’s behavior is out of control. Every other day is “…the worst day of my life” because things don’t go exactly his way. He eats constantly; He can eat as much a grown man at dinner and come back thirty minutes later ready for something else. He’s not shy one bit, once he climbed up on a stage and participated in a magic show even though he wasn’t call on stage.
We need help. I love this child with all my heart and soul. What can we do to save him from himself?

Last Night's Storm

Hello all, As you may have heard our little town was hit by a tornado last night. It touched down about 1 1/2 miles (as the crow flies) from our house. That tornado also hit a trailer park and two neighborhoods in our area. Friends from church, including our pastor, and homeschool friends have had damage to their homes. The other storms that passed through last night and the ones going through today are bringing a lot a rain that we just don't need. Part of our neighborhood is under water and one road, 1/4 mile from our house, is under water (see picture below). My favorite husband drove into work, a trip that usually takes 20 minutes, took 1 12 hours this morning. He reported back to me that an area north of here is flooded and that part of the highway is closed in Little Rock. I haven't been out, and don't intend to go at this point, but when we do venture out I will try and post pictures.

Added at 5:30 pm

Good Morning

Look what we woke up to this morning!

and our poor trees were just starting to bud.

The kids were only slightly impressed.

We're off to make molasses-snow candy. Check out my kitchen blog later for the recipe.

The Versatile Suburban Farm Boy

Is this not the sweetest face you have ever seen?

Seven years ago this little bugger started pulling on my heart strings.

He's had moments that a struck fear in my heart.

He informed us one day that he was going to be the next crocodile hunter.

Much to our relief, he decide he'd rather be a chef.

Of course he's the one who talked us into getting the chickens in the first place.

He also has a green thumb.

He's learning to play the violin.

In other words his just the all around perfect kid.



Mississippi mud bath and all.

my kitchen

I'm posting my recipes on a different site now. Come on over to my kitchen and try out some of my dishes or share one of your own.

Chicken Pasta Toss

Oh, you are not going to believe this one. I have really gone and out done myself this time. This is so simple and doesn't take any time at all to make. All you need is:

Cubed chicken breast,

minced garlic,

some butter to saute with,

salt,

dried thyme,

onion powder,

white and black pepper,

spaghetti,

heavy whipping cream,

Parmesan cheese, parsley and

a dash of cayenne.

Don't forget that cooking is an art so feel free to add whatever else you think will be good. I ended up adding mushrooms at the last minute and it worked out wonderfully. Also remember that I don't measure so I can only estimate what I used. Sorry...

While the spaghetti was cooking, I melted the butter and added about a tsp of crush garlic. Then I seasoned the chicken with the peppers, salt, and onion powder. After sauteing the chicken for about 3-5 minutes I added the thyme and mushrooms. I then added in about 1 -1 1/2 cups of cream, parsley, cayenne and 1/2 a cup or so of Parmesan cheese, cooking it until the cream thickened up. I turned the heat down and added the pasta, tossing it until it was covered with sauce.

I am so sorry you can't taste this. Oh, it was so wonderful! You just have to try it, it's really not that hard and it only took about 30-40 minutes to cook.

The Suburban Farmer Girl

Good morning, the girls are getting anxious to see Ladybug.

Here she is getting the food ready.

There's nothing cuter that a Ladybug in jammies and galoshes.

Having to get fresh water is her least favorite part of taking care of the chickens.

She has to go all the way down to the well and pump the water by hand.

Then she has to carry that 50 pound bucket of water back to the barn which is 3 miles away and up hill to boot.

After she get the chickens feed and watered she's just exhausted.

But she never forget to look the gate.

Then the chickens are free to eat and drink and poop!

Don't you wish you had some of your own?

Dinner

This is about as simple as it gets, here are the ingredients.

Rice mix, orange roughy, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and onion salt

I cheated and used a box rice mix.

If you don't like orange roughy you can use flounder or red snapper.




But doesn't that look too good too pass up?

I just mixed the salt, pepper, paprika, and onion salt together. Then I sprinkled the fish while the olive oil heated up in the skillet. Don't ask for measurements, I don't believe in measuring anything. Just use more of what you like and less of what you don't like, that's my philosophy. The original recipe called for dill, but I don't use dill, that's a whole 'nother story.

Here's the rice cooking,

yum! Are you getting hungry yet?



Since I can't eat at Out Back Steakhouse salad every night my next favorite salad is a baby leaf with feta cheese, Greek black olives, croutons and this wonderful vinaigrette by Brianna



Doesn't that look good?

It fast, easy and taste good too, what's better than that? I know eating out, but I'm talking about eating at home people. You really should try this one. Let me know if you make this, I want to hear how it turns out.

Fish Friday

For those of us who have no foresight and give up fried food for Lent then agree not to eat beef, pork or chicken on Fridays get left with having to come up with more creative meals. As I've said before I'm not very creative in the kitchen. Last Friday I took Ladybug to a concert. Guess what I had for dinner? Nothing. The only food they had at the concert was hot dogs and hamburgers. Fortunately, I had a late lunch of Pioneer Woman's Spicy Shrimp. Tonight I am going to try my hand at Orange Roughy and Rice a recipe I found in a magazine. Come back tomorrow and see how it turned out!

Bayou Chicken

I think of cooking as an art and baking as more of a science so, when I cook I don't measure and I change ingredients to suite my self. I seem to screw up almost every time I try baking. Apparently, I'm an artist not a scientist.
Sunday I made chicken piccata tossed with bow-tie pasta. It called for penne rigate, but alas I did not have any in the cupboard. Sorry, I neglected to take a picture. It was devoured before I could find a camera.

Tonight I decide to try a bayou chicken pasta Yum yum people! I decided to share a picture and the recipe with you since it was a winner with everyone at my house.

Now doesn't that look good!

Start with:

1 lb of linguine

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 TBS butter

1 TBS olive oil

1 1/2 lb skinless chicken cut into 1-in pcs (I didn't measure)

2 TBS seasoning salt (I used Tony Chachere's)

1 cup finely chopped onion (I used much less and added onion powder mixed with Tonys)

1 TBS chopped habanero pepper

1 TBS minced garlic (once again I didn't measure, but I love garlic)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup reserved pasta water (I used chicken broth)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (didn't measure)

2 TBS chopped parsley (didn't measure)

As I was cooking the pasta (al dente) I took the butter and the olive oil and heated it in a skillet adding the chicken that was sprinkled with onion power, Tony's and salt. I let that cook until it was brown on both sides then took it out and set aside while I sauteed the onion (this is where you can add the habanera if you like) I added the garlic and then stared adding the cream , the chicken, the chicken broth, parsley and Parmesan cheese (the recipe calls for adding the parsley, green onions and Parmesan at the very end) I let the cream reduce then added the linguine (this is where you can add your tomatoes)

If you try this recipe let me know how it turns out and what you did to make it your own.

In the Kitchen

I've been trying to broaden my dinner repertory. I usually make tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, chicken and rice casserole, poppy seed chicken casserole, hamburgers, country fried steak, chili, beef stew, red beans and rice blah blah blah.

So last week I tried out some of Pioneer Woman's recipes. I made her chicken spaghetti and the spicy shrimp.

It's not the first time I made something of her. At Christmas I made her French muffins. They were devoured in no time flat. So I knew whatever I made of hers, it would be good.

This week I've ventured out again. I think of cooking as an art and baking as more of a science so when I cook I don't measure and I change ingredients to suite myself. I seem to screw up almost everytime I try baking. Apparently, I'm an artist not a scientist.

Sunday I make chicken piccata tossed with bow-tie pasta. It called for penne rigate, but alas I did not have any in the cupboard. Sorry I neglected to take a picture. It was devoured before I could find a camera.

Tonight I decide to try a bayou chicken pasta Yum yum people! I decided to share a picture and the recipe with you since it was a winner even with the short people.

Now doesn't that look good!

Start with:

1 lb of linguine 1/4 cup kosher salt ( I didn't even get close to using that much) 2 TBS butter 1 TBS olive oil 1 1/2 lb skinless chicken cut into 1-in pcs (I didn't measure) 2 TBS seasoning salt (I used Tony Chachere's) 1 cup finely chopped onion (I used much less and added onion powder mixed with Tonys) 1 TBS chopped habanero pepper (I didn't use because of the little people) 1 TBS minced garlic (once again I didn't measure, but I love garlic) 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1 cup diced tomatoes (I don't have a garden in the winter so, no tomatoes) 1/2 cup reserved pasta water (I used chicken broth) 1/2 cup chopped green onions (no garden, no onions) 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (didn't measure) 2 TBS chopped parsley (didn't measure)

As I was cooking the pasta (al dente, of course) I took the butter and the olive oil and heated it in a skillet adding the chicken that was sprinkled with onion power, tony's and salt. I let that cook until it was brown on both sides then took it out and set aside while I sauteed the onion (this is where you can add the habanera if you like) I added the garlic and then stared adding the cream , the chicken, the chicken broth, parsley and parmesan cheese (the recipe calls for adding the parsley, green onions and parmesan at the very end but I hate to follow directions) I let the cream reduce then added the linguine (this is where you can add your tomatoes)

If you try this recipe let me know how it turns out and what you did to make it your own.

February 2, 2008

Well, today is Groundhogs Day and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. According to legend there will be six more weeks of winter. I hope that means we will get some snow! Yea Phil!



Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. It used to be one of my favorites. I thought it would be great to do a day over and over until you could get it right. Today is not one of those days. In fact, I can't think of a day that I would want to do over. I am very content with my life. Is there a day in your life that you'd like to live over?

oh shit!

I've been working on a post that I had planned on publishing this morning except I spent the past hour and a half cleaning out the chickens coop. We had been using straw in a deep bedding method, but with all the rain, water had started to creep in the edges of the coop and the straw has gotten wet. Our coop is well ventilated, but wet poopy straw is bad, very bad.
As I was raking up the stuff I actually had to leave and start heaving. For those of you who don't have chickens, may I recommend you find a friend or neighbor with chickens and ask them if you can clean out their chicken coop. This is an experience everyone should get to enjoy.
Oh, by the way I forgot to mention that it was 65 degrees at 7:30 this morning so I was working up quite a sweat that just added to the excitement of sliding around in mud, 6 inches of straw and chicken shit!
I replaced the straw with rice hulls, about 4 cubic feet to be exact. The coop looks so nice and smells so much better. I'm off to soak in a bath. Have a pleasant day all.