After the Blizzard

We had the blizzard with 50-60 mph winds for most of the day yesterday and through the night but woke up to bright sun and a temp. of zero this morning. The only real drift we have is this one at our front steps! I think ours all blew south! Bill's mom though has a 5' drift all along the south side (front) of her house! Bill is there moving snow now.

Our normally burgundy porch swing is all white.







The screened porch has some snow in it but you can see that the field beyond is pretty bare. The wind just really blows it out here in the open. Yesterday all of the screens of the porch and our other windows on every side had snow plastered on them.



I made thumbprint cookies last night. They were kind of a pain to make with rolling into balls, rolling in egg white and then nuts. We decided they're much better without the nuts so that would save a lot of time and mess. Will make a note on my recipe. This is one that I have maybe never made but had them years ago and thought they were good.

Hay & Straw

I had a request for the Hay & Straw recipe I mentioned making a few days ago so here it is. Easy and leftovers heat up in the microwave well.

HAY & STRAW

1 package (16 oz.) linguine
2 cups julienned fully cooked ham
1 T. butter
3 cups frozen peas
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Cook linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute ham in butter for 3 minutes. Add peas, heat through.

Drain linguine; toss with ham mixture, Parmesan cheese and cream. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings

** Like Pioneer Woman, I substituted the Kraft grated Parmesan for shredded since our little grocery just has the basics. I also kind of cut this recipe in half for just the 2 of us. And I always add some pepper to most things. This would also be good with some garlic.

Dec. 2010 Blizzard

We're having a cozy day at home today! We've been in a blizzard warning since 6 am and it's until 6 am tomorrow. When we got up, it was still 35 degrees and nothing happening but about 10:00 it started. At least we didn't get a lot of ice first.

Glad that Diane got most of the mail delivered and home before visibility got as bad as it is now. She said the paved roads were slick. We've heard the plows have been taken off the roads.

Bill has been home today (bored, but he still has a cold so it's good for him!). I made chili for lunch and have wrapped gifts. May make caramels and toffee.

Wondering if we'll have church tomorrow and Lacey's Christmas program. Kind of doubt it. So many things in winter get canceled here. We really have to get out and go and do things the rest of the year when we can. You hate to make winter travel plans since we're so far from any airport.

I made this ham, Swiss cheese & broccoli ring for lunch yesterday (Pampered Chef recipe) - something different and fun.

Not Much Happening Here

There's really not much going on here to write about - or take pictures of. It's still mostly white outside with snow on the way Saturday. But, I did see 40 degrees at lunch time today so took advantage of the nice day and grilled hamburgers. Appreciated the deck Bill built this summer to put the grill on!

I've been trying new recipes lately. I've always cut out recipes from magazines and now Bill's farm papers, but usually just make my old standbys. I've decided that now that I have a great kitchen and someone to cook for that I should try more new recipes! And because winter's kind of boring.

One recipe I recently tried was called Hay & Straw. It was linguine, ham strips, peas, Parmesan cheese and cream. We liked it and it was quick and easy. Also made split pea soup another day. Will leave out the barley next time.

Today I made Pioneer Woman's Chex party mix recipe except I didn't have Tabasco. She uses fresh minced garlic which is different from the original recipe.

Bill and Tim bought a new trailer and Bill picked it up today. By the way, Bill now has THE COLD.

I had a dr. appointment in Humboldt Tues. and finished my Christmas shopping while there. Bill bought his adult Kemna Christmas gift today so I think we're done shopping! Now to wrap (and make our Christmas cards).

Christmas Time

It's starting to feel a little more like Christmas. Friday night we went to the Firemen's Christmas Party at The Beachhouse in Humboldt.

We were going to have some helpers on Sun. so Saturday night Bill brought up the Christmas tree - not his favorite thing to do. He really can't complain too much though. This tree is in just 3 sections and has the lights already on it. The branches just fall into place and need fluffing (my job).

Lacey was a good helper. We did what everybody does and put the ornaments that weren't our favorites on the back. With every one she would ask me "pretty or not pretty"?

We also made a Christmas treat. I don't know what they're called but you put peanut butter between 2 Ritz crackers and then dip them in white chocolate. For more fun, we added sprinkles to the top.

When Diane was little, we always made cut out cookies. One time she dumped over a whole jar of sprinkles that went everywhere on the carpeted dining room floor! She was pretty worried about it but I told her it wasn't a big deal (while saying to myself "great, what a mess"). We will probably neither one forget that but I bet the people that live in that house now still find some around the edges!

It's still white out from past snow and there have been flakes flying around most of the day today. Our temp. got down to 3 last night.

Snow

The above blog header is the picture outside today. The snow was coming down pretty good when we got up but has stopped now.

Yesterday I made this loaf of bread. This time I tried a bread machine mix. It was Krusteaz brand, Honey Wheat Berry. I had to add quite a bit of flour but it turned out fine. Also made spaghetti sauce. Like to have it in the freezer.

We've both been doing misc. stuff the past few days. Bill's working on farming bookwork. I got our medical and charitable entries caught up in Excel for taxes and some Stampin' Up! paperwork for taxes done.

We ran the dehumidifier in the basement all last winter but seems like the humidity is finally down to a normal level now. Upstairs has gotten really dry so I brought the humidifier upstairs and got it going yesterday.

I've gotten out some of the Christmas decorations. Will be doing the tree Sunday with Lacey's help.