Sunday Roping

This morning brought about another day of roping. I sent Tim out to the ranch ahead of me because I was being lazy. I didn't get up in time, I wanted a shower, and I had a few errands that needed to be run. Tim graciously took Stephan with him. (Actually, Tim was going to take Isaiah, but the green eyed monster of jealousy attacked Stephan, and he wormed his way into the truck instead.)

When I arrived at the ranch arena, it was lunch time. Yeah, my second favorite meal of the day! After lunch, I took the boys for a walk, and admired the trees. We finally made it back to the arena to watch Tim for a little while. While the guys were resting in between ropings, Tim put Stephan up on "Jake." Jake is not normally a kid horse, but he has been an angel with Stephan.

Let me give you a little background on young Stephan. When he arrived at our house, he had never seen a horse in real life. He was terrified of them, and wouldn't go near the pasture or corrals. We were fine with this.

A few weeks ago (see post: Life in the Fast Lane) Stephan rode for the first time. Today, was no exception. He wanted to be on "his horse" the entire day. So, when Tim was resting, Stephan was riding. When Tim needed to bring cattle up, Stephan rode with him. It is so exciting to see him overcome his fears, and embrace the lifestyle that he has been placed in. Stephan is often found wearing Tim's cowboy hat, and of course he wears his own boots most of the time. (Yep, even with shorts. It is a lovely sight...)

Pork...the other white meat.

(Larry ~ this post is full of food pictures and recipes. Go back to work.)

Ashley raises show cattle and then sells them at the FFA auction every May. Sadly for me, Tim and Ashley are meat and taters people. Neither of them are overly picky, but if we have beef in our freezer there isn't a reason to purchase meat at the supermarket. (With the cost of groceries right now why would I add to my bill?)

I enjoy grilled chicken, and occasionally buy chicken breasts to grill, but for the most part, we eat beef. This past summer, we bought a pig from the FFA auction. (Actually it was our second year buying a pig - I just didn't know anything the first year.) This year, I was more selective with my cuts when I was talking to the processing plant. So, when I reached into my freezer with my eyes closed (I do that to surprise myself with what I'm going to have to create for dinner.) I pulled out a pork tenderloin. I've never cooked or eaten a pork tenderloin. Sounds like fun.

The first recipe I tried was a pecan crusted tenderloin. It needs to be fried, so I was a bit hesitant. (I don't like to fry my meat, but it was a new recipe and I wanted to try it. In order to fry meat you usually have to touch it. The actual touching of meat grosses me out immensely. I don't buy a whole roasting chicken because I have to touch it with my hands, and then I can't eat it. It makes my stomach roll. OOhh - way off topic.) The pork turned out really good. We had it for lunch today, and the leftovers were equally good.

Then tonight (Sunday), I fixed the other tenderloin (there were 2 in the package). I simply roasted it. (I had to buy a roasting pan! I've been married for 16 years and I finally bought my first roasting pan. I was so excited. It worked great by the way.) Here are the recipes with instructions, my commentary, and pictures! (I love pictures. We went on a picture walk today. More on that later.)

Pecan Crusted Pork Tenderloin
I found this recipe online. (I know, I'm suppose to be going through my cookbooks...) By Diana Rattray, About.com
Pork tenderloin is coated with a mixture of chopped pecans, bread crumbs, and seasonings.
INGREDIENTS:
1 to 1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules or base

(I actually used twice the amount of bread crumbs and pecans as was suggested.)

(I didn't have bread crumbs available so I substituted stuffing mix. I just put it into a Ziploc baggie, and pounded it with my mallet until it was a bit smaller.)

(I also don't use veggie oil ~ I use olive oil in all of my recipes. The one shown in the photo is mild enough to use all of the time.)
PREPARATION:
With a sharp knife cut tenderloins into 1/4-inch slices. With a meat mallet gently pound each slice to about 1/8-inch thickness.

In a shallow bowl or on waxed paper, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk the eggs and water. In another shallow bowl or on waxed paper, combine bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.
Dip the tenderloin pieces into flour mixture, then into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb and pecan mixture, coating well.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook tenderloin pieces, 1/3 or 1/2 at a time, until lightly browned on both sides and cooked through. Add more oil as necessary.
Place browned tenderloin on a warm platter or tray and keep warm while cooking remaining pieces.

(I put mine in the oven at the lowest setting to keep them hot.)

Add the 3/4 cup water and chicken bouillon granules to the drippings in the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits; continue to boil for 1 minute. Pour over pork.

(I did something wrong with the gravy. I thought it was gross, but Tim said it tasted fine.)

Serves 4. (Served way more than 4 at our house...)

I made garlic mashed potatoes and corn to serve with the pecan medallions. Everything was yummie!

Roasted Tenderloin

(OK - the original recipe is Tenderloin with Peppers, but I didn't have peppers in the house tonight. Oops - slight variation. No biggie ~ unless you are trying to look up the recipe. The pepper gravy sounded really good. We will have to try it next time.)

1 Tbsp veggie oil (not me ~ I used EVOO ~ Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 clove garlic, crushed (I minced mine)

1 tsp dried basil (my addition ~ basil is not in the original recipe)

1 pork tenderloin ( about 1 pound)

Mix oil, thyme, basil, and garlic; brush over pork tenderloin. Place on rack in shallow roasting pan. (I added 1 Tbsp of water to the pan. I don't know why - the recipe didn't call for it, but it just seemed like a good idea. Remember, I've never roasted anything before.)

Insert thermometer horizontally so tip is in center of thickest part of pork. Roast uncovered in 325 degree oven until thermometer registers 170 degrees. (I only went to 160 degrees.) It will take about 1 hour.

Serve with rice and salad. Again, this meal was yummie!

This recipe came from my collection of cookbooks, Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 6th Ed. (1986)

Not being a "pork person," I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of both of these meals. The roasted tenderloin is a healthy way to eat pork, and it was very moist. It was probably my favorite, and while it was baking/roasting/cooking (whatever) it filled the house with the aroma of fresh garlic. (I love garlic.)

Try one ~ or both! ~ and let me know what you think.

The Chickens Are Here!!!

The chickens are here! The chickens are here!

Yeah!!!!!

Do you feel my excitement? And guess what? I was the first one to see them! Not Tim, not Ashley, ME!!!!

OK - enough gloating. I'm so lucky that Tim was working in town. I had one baby in the walker, one baby in bed, and Stephan was still eating breakfast when I got the phone call from the post office. "You're chickens are here to be picked up ASAP." Yikes! Do I wake up the baby? Do I make the chickens wait? I called Tim frantic ~ what do I do? He grudgingly went to pick them up for me. Thank you, Tim! :) (He loves me!)

Previously: Ashley emailed me from IN to give me very specific instructions on how to take care of her baby hens. Hmmm... since they don't lay eggs yet, are they hens? I'm thinking not, but heck if I remember what she called them. OH - pullets.

Anyway ~ she said take them to her room and blah blah whatever - the letter was lengthy and detailed. (Those of you who know Ashley are all nodding your heads going, "uh, huh..." I walked into her room to find the half dog house that she wants the chicks to stay in. Do you see how close they are to her bead? Do you know that even baby chicks still smell like hens and roosters? Do you know that poultry (live poultry) carry diseases? My clear thinking teenage must not.

When Tim brought them home I took them into Ashley's room to open them. There were (and still are) 16 little chicks! Then I read the directions and took them to the garage. (Actually, they went to the barn (too cold), then the chicken coup (too cold), and finally to the garage (a little chilly, but it will be ok). When I'm folding my laundry, I can hear their little voices just chirping, chirping. It is so sweet. I wonder why I held out on the chickens so long? They are adorable, and little, and sweet, and they sound so darn cute! I'm in love.

I immediately called Ashley and held the phone up to the chirping ~ and then I gloated to her. Heehee, I'm so awful. She was all gushy and said, "I want to be there.".... Too bad ~ so sad.

Since she has the good camera, and I have sucky camera, the picts are not great, but here they are...

This is my favorite chicky. I think I will name her... Cordelia.

I also took some with my phone and recorded the sound then texted them to her so she could listen to them all night. It will be good night time music for her. Not as good as Taylor Swift probably, but... who knows. She's an animal lover.

Ashley update: She has changed her ringtone to the one of the chicks chirping. My little chick is so funny!

We miss you Ashley. I'm having fun with the chicks! Oh - and daddy put a towel under the side door of the garage so there isn't a draft. He likes them too. ;)

My Girl is Gone...AGAIN!!!

Yep, Ashley has flown the coup, again. This time she has traveled to Indiana for the FFA National Convention. What the heck? She just goes and goes now.

With her, she took my camera. That leaves the sucky digital here at the house. I hate the sucky camera, thus the name, sucky camera. More about that later, but that is one reason there aren't any pictures posted.

So last night I was at Bunco. (It's a dice game for women. No men allowed.) My phone rang, and because it was Ashley, I answered. All I could hear was a bunch of loud noise, screaming, and music. She took me to the Taylor Swift concert. :) She loves me. It was so cool ~ she said, "Mom, I thought you might want to hear some of the concert so I'm holding the phone out for you." Awesome huh? She's a good kid. No, she's a great kid!

Gummies, please...

"Oh, Take my picture Mommy."
The deal for today was that Tim would come home at noon so I could go to The Big City to get my hair done. Ashley said she wanted to go with me, so we decided to shop and have a late lunch in the city. Off we went. I had already fed the babies, and Tim was in the process of feeding Stephan when we left. There was much negotiating going on... Funny, how at 2 they learn the art of negotiation. Ashley and I enjoyed a quick trip of shopping and eating before heading to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for frozen bananas. Have you had one? They are great!

I called Tim when we headed home so he could start getting the dinner preparations going. I arrived home to the twins in bed (yeah!), dinner almost ready, and Stephan had already been fed. I grabbed a glass of wine and sat at the table to talk with Tim. He likes my hair by the way. Stephan crawls up into Tim's lap, and I ask him about his dinner. He said he had gummies.
"Gummies!"In fact, that was all he could talk about. He wanted gummies. You have to see these photos. I'm thankful that I keep my camera nearby. (Even if I'm the only one who uses it... hint~ hint~ Tim.) For those of you worried that my trustworthy husband fed our 2 year old gummies for dinner ~ have no fear. He did not. Tim is very responsible ~ Stephan had chicken, applesauce, and M&M's.
"Oh! I had CHICKEN!"
He finally fessed up to eating real food.

"I love you Mommy. Have gummies, please?"

Do you see how cute he is? He is good at manipulation!

"Please.... gummies, or I will perish.."

"Ughh..."

Mama's Got A New Do...again...

Yep, I traveled to the big city to get my hair done. It happens every 6-8 weeks, and I love it. What is it about getting your hair done that just makes your toes curl? Is it the massage during the shampoo? Is it the truly decadent feeling you get from being pampered? Is it that you really have to just give up the control that you normally possess and relax? I don't know. I just know that I LOVE getting my hair done.

I travel a great distance to get my hair done, and a pay a great amount of money. In my defense, I have grey hair and have had gray hair since I was in high school. (Grey or gray? I need a dictionary. Which grey/gray is it?) I also have naturally curly hair which is not easy to cut. That being said, Tim likes it better when I'm happy so he doesn't care. We have the don't ask don't tell philosophy in our household. If you really, truly don't want to know the answer just keep your mouth shut!

My stylist is awesome. I sit in the chair, he says, "What are we going to do with your hair today?" I reply, "My hair? It is your hair, ******." He laughs and says, "OK. It is always fun to experiment with your hair, Robyn." Good, because I'm going to sit in your chair for the next hour and a half and talk about my children and ask questions about yours. Anyway, ****** is great with hair, and I never have to worry about what I'm going to look like when I walk out. He always make me look classy! One think that Ashley has noticed, my hair keeps getting shorter. Hmmm... is shorter hair easier to color? Is ****** trying to pull a fast one on me? He once commented that he was trying to make me look younger. Does short hair make you look younger? If your hair length makes you look younger...can it make you look thinner? I want to look thinner. Maybe I will ask him next time... So, because you didn't ask, and I don't care what you think (Larry) I will post my "new do" photos. All one of them because that is all I could get Tim to take! OK - he took two and I had to promise to post the first. (I'm so embarrassed.)

Tim's first attempt at photographing my hair... hmm... a little higher please....

The advantage to actually contributing to the blog is that I can resize the photo. No, nothing is ever really fair, but I do keep my word...

This first attempt is revenge for the "butt" shot he found. Who knew that he occasionally perused my blog? I had no idea the man even knew what a blog was. He is becoming a computer nerd. OK - far from it, but he can turn it on, email, use attachments, and he is darn good at finding the games.

Tim's second attempt at photographing my hair.

The rest are simply fun photos that Ashley took. I pitched a major hissy fit the other day because I don't have any photos of me with my children. I'm always behind the camera. Tim's mom, bless her, has taken a few photos and she printed them for me to keep. Maybe I'll scan them and post them... Enjoy my Friday night photos...

Another One of THOSE Nights...

Here at our house...chaos often reigns. I ride roughshod with my handy dandy color coded calendar, a cell phone, and my plethora of cookbooks.

Tonight was another of THOSE nights... the ones where everyone is in a different direction. Tim was coaching volleyball in one town, Ashley was playing volleyball in another town, and I, being Supermom, had to coordinate everyone' schedule, get the kids home ~ fed ~ bathed, dinner for us, Tim off to his school board meeting (yep, after coaching and bringing Stephan home), and try to find time to blog and unwind.

I'm attempting to downsize my cookbooks, because Isaiah has taken to pulling them off of the shelf and scattering them to every corner of the house. So - I already had a plan for a new recipe tonight... remember the color coded calendar?... The recipe that I used was so easy and simple that it is ridiculous. You should all try it. The one I made for breakfast was pretty awesome too. I'll post that at the end.

I'm scattered all over my blog ~ do you see the bits and pieces of my ADHD mind? (Thus, the reason for a color coded calendar. Organization is key to not losing my mind.)

OK - first cookbooks. My goal is to go through every single recipe and try it. If I like - I highlight it and note any changes I want to make. If I don't like it - I put a big black X on it. Easy, right? Then, when I'm done with the book or magazine, I go through and type each recipe. The recipe is then neatly printed onto an index card and filed. Very simple, and it helps me stay organized. The added benefit is I get rid of a lot of my recipe book/magazine/clippings/cards mess. The shelves are full, the box on top is filled with recipes shoved in there, I have a drawer with more recipes shoved in there, and a file box that I just found 20 minutes ago under a cabinet with recipe magazines. Yikes. This adventure might take a few months ~ or years.

Next, the reason I mentioned my crazy day is to show you that I don't sit around eating bon-bons all day...Thanks, Larry. The next two recipes were done with four kids in the house and on a time limit. The first one uses ground beef. We are seldom without ground beef. (Not because it is cheap, but because we raise our own beef and always have too much ground.) I'm always trying new ways to make ground beef better... I'm still trying, but this recipe was so quick/easy/good that it didn't matter.

MEAL IN ONE CASSEROLE

1 lb ground beef

3 med. unpeeled potatoes, thinly sliced

1 med. onion, sliced and separated into rings

1 cup frozen peas

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a skillet over medium heat, cook beef until no longer pink; drain (I highly suggest rinsing your beef as well). Place potatoes in a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Top with beef and onion. Place peas in the center; arrange mushrooms around the peas. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and sesame seeds; drizzle with butter. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

I didn't have canned mushrooms so I used fresh (because that was what was in the fridge!) and fresh is better anyway!

I couldn't find the sesame seeds until after I baked the dish - but we didn't miss them.

Overall, I really liked the flavor of this dish. It isn't one I would make for company, but I will make it again on a quick night. Please note - it takes an hour to bake. Just the perfect time for giving two nine month old babies their baths and bottles!

This next recipe is a favorite of mine (for now)...

Banana Split Muffins

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (We use King Arthur's Whole Wheat flour)

1 cup sugar (or slightly less)

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (or slightly more)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (not sure if they were walnuts, but they were chopped and in the freezer)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup mayonnaise

6 maraschino cherries, halved (I didn't use these - didn't have them in the house - don't like them)

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, chocolate chips, walnuts, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine bananas and mayonnaise. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Press a cherry half, cut side down, into the top of each muffin. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

First of all, this was so easy to make. When the boys woke me up at 5:30 this morning I decided to start baking. It took no time at all to whip these up. The clean up is minimal and I'm still eating the muffins. Stephan and I each had 2 for breakfast, and I had one for dessert. I love them! I will never have a banana thrown away again. They will be used in this muffin!

Both of these recipes came from the Taste of Home's Quick Cooking magazine. This was the Nov/Dec 1999 issue...

Stephan ...

Just a quick snapshot of Stephan eating his chicken/artichoke/pesto pizza. This is for you three doubting toms that emailed and said I was lying! Some kids really do like artichoke hearts. Silly you...

What the Heck Happened to the Bathroom...

I was searching for my blowdryer this morning when I realized that it must be in Ashley's bathroom. I didn't think anything of it ~ until I walked into her bathroom! What the Heck?!!! First of all, we call it "her" bathroom because it used to be hers. Now, it belongs to Ashley, all the boys, and the guests. (We don't have very many guests anymore ~ the twins scare them away.)

Note the ELECTRICAL CORD in the sink.

Do horses like to bathe? (OK - yep, in our house anything plastic goes into the tub, but so do our real equine animals ~ like to bathe ~ not necessarily in the sink...)

Clothes on the floor...towels on the floor...towels sitting on the countertop that should hav been put away 2 days ago...drawers left open (what's up with that?)...I didn't look, but I hope the toilet was flushed (you never know when you have a 2 year old if he flushes or not!)... the chaos and madness was overwhelming.

Let me remind you ~ I'm not a neat freak, but the sight of this bathroom this morning about had me seeing red. Tim definately needs to get going on this remodel project. The kids need their own bathrooms so I can have a decent looking guest bathroom.

Uugghhh.....men!

Most of you know that our daughter does not attend school in our town. She goes to high school in a nearby town ~ about 30 miles down the highway. Each afternoon I have to go to the school to pick her up after volleyball practice (30 minutes one way). On my way home, I get the phone call. The one from my husband that goes, "um...I have an Ag. Advisory Board meeting tonight. I have to leave in 45 minutes." Yeah - OK. It's not like the school is 10 minutes up the road!!!! By the time I get home, I'm rushing to get dinner made. Thankfully, my frustrating husband is not afraid of "women's work." He had fed and bathed both of the twins. Great. One chore down... I quickly decided what to make for dinner. I came up with my own standby for quick nights: Chicken/Artichoke/Pesto Pizza. This is literally the easiest dinner in the world to make. It is good and healthy. (Well, if you go easy on the cheese ~ which we don't.)

What is needed:

Pesto sauce. Mine is purchased already prepared.

Boboli pizza crust.

Mozzarella cheese

Shredded (or chopped) Chicken (The photo has chopped chicken, but we used shredded chicken tonight and it was better ~plus we got to use up leftover chicken!)

Artichoke hearts (yep, I keep those in my cupboard as well)

Heat the oven. Spread the pesto sauce on the crust. Sprinkle on the cheese, chicken, and artichoke hearts. Bake for 10 minutes. While the pizza is baking, chop some veggies for a salad an voila. You have an easy, quick meal.

The next dilemma I thought I would have was getting Stephan (our 2 year old) to eat the pizza. I didn't exactly tell him what was on it. Just that it was pizza. I also thought I picked all the artichoke hearts off his slice. Oops - when he bit into one he declared, "I no like this pizza." Ironically, he opted to finish the pizza versus the pb&j backup for those who choose not to eat what mom makes for dinner.

Wow - dad is off at his meeting, all the kids are bathed, they are now in slumber land, and I'm off for a hot bubble bath.