Will It Snow at Your House? Know Your Elevation!

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have had a wet and windy winter so far, and the season has just begun. As it happens, snow is falling in my area this morning, and local weather forecasters are saying that we are almost guaranteed to see some snow if we live above about 500 feet in elevation.

Here's my nod to "just in case." (Because the power usually goes off!)

So how do you know if you're destined for the white stuff, or if you will dodge the next snow storm? It's easy enough to find out because there are websites that will tell you just what the elevation is right where you live:

www.veloroutes.org

or

www.whatismyelevation.com

You can actually type in your street address along with the city/state/etc. where you reside and these nifty websites will spit out your elevation in feet or meters, depending on your preference.

Give it a try and see if you should batten down the hatches and prepare for blizzard conditions! And if you like to can food, these websites are handy for finding out if you need to increase your processing time in order to safely can your food. But no matter what, this information is just plain fun to know.

Enjoy!

Handspun Mittens

It's cold around here and that means I get to wear my fingerless gloves, regular gloves, and mittens--all hand knit, of course!

But probably my favorite pair are these:

The yarns are handspun (for the knitting as well as the embroidery.) After completing the knitting, I slightly fulled the mittens to smooth out the stitching as well as to add warmth. Next, I added the embroidery. (Embroidered freehand.) Even more fun, the dying was done using cake frosting decorating gels. The colors are saturated, which is what I was going for. Nothing like a bright and cheery pair of mittens to see me through the long winter!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. May you have a peaceful day. :)

Blessings,
Georgia

Link to Amish Reader Guest Blog Post--Leftover Ham Pie

Brrrr! This morning was another frigid one. Winter has definitely come, and when the days are short and cold, hearty fare just tastes good.

I was asked to do a guest blog post for AmishReader.com and want to share the link with you. It's a recipe for ham pie that has potatoes, onions, and apples in it. The ingredients work well together, and if you are using leftover ham that might otherwise go to waste, it's a frugal dish as well. (Which, of course, always makes me happy!)

Here is the link: http://www.amishreader.com/2015/11/23/thanksgiving-leftovers-recipe-ham-potato-apple-pie/

I suggest you give it a try!

Stay warm. And stay well fed!

Blessings,
Georgia

Creamy Lime Jello Salad

The recipe I'm going to share with you today is a good one. We have made this molded Jell-O salad since I was a kid...which is approximately when the earth was still flat. :)

It's a great Jell-O salad to make for holiday feasts such as Thanksgiving. But really, anytime of the year is a good time to make it.

Our Molded Jell-O Salad

(Yes, I know that's a weird name, but that's what we always called it...as in, "Are we going to have our molded Jell-O salad for Thanksgiving this year?")

1 small package lime Jell-O
1 small package cream cheese
1 cup hot water
3/4 cup pineapple juice from canned pineapple (see next ingredient)
1 small can pineapple tidbits, drained but save the juice
1/4-1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 T. vinegar
2 T. sugar
1/4-1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 pint cream, whipped

Dissolve Jell-O in 1 cup hot water; add 3/4 cup pineapple juice. (If you need to, you can add some cold water to make a total of 3/4 cup.) Add cream cheese and beat on low with electric mixer until frothy and cream cheese is broken up completely. Add the vinegar, sugar, and walnuts and stir to mix well. Set in the refrigerator until it begins to set. Fold in the whipped cream and chill until completely set, for several hours.

You can serve it plain or add some sweetened whipped cream on top.

Yum!

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken with Carrots

I'm not a fan of slow cookers (aka Crock Pots). Never have been. So why am I sharing a slow cooker recipe? Well, it's because of my neighbors.

But first a little digression. I moved into "town" about 5 years ago. By "town," I mean a small berg of about 2500 folks. But having raised my sons in the country, this was a mighty big adjustment for me. I was a bit nervous about having neighbors all around, and I wondered if they would be nice. I didn't hold out too much hope because after all, I was about to move into the big, bad "city." But I was absolutely, 100 percent wrong I'm glad to say. Since I have been here I have been repeatedly touched and amazed by the kindnesses shown me.

One neighbor--a 40-some-odd-year-old man, who looks like a very well muscled and kind of scary bear--has turned out to be a gem. He has stepped in to help me so many times that I now fondly call him my angel in disguise. (And whenever I do, he always gets embarrassed, but it's true!) Just this week he popped over to take measurements for a new door that I need as my old one is broken and needs to be replaced. (Now that's a story in itself! My home was recently burglarized while I was on a trip to California but the young man who burgled me realized--when he turned on my computer that he had stolen and saw my name on the opening screen--that he knew who I was from when he was a kid. He actually came back and returned all of the things he stole from me. He told my sons--who had shown up because another kind neighbor had driven to one of my son's homes to say that something was wrong at my house--that he felt bad because he remembered me from years ago and I had always been kind to him. My sons invited him in while they waited for the sheriff to show up, and the repentant burglar came in willingly. Amazing!)

Another neighbor is helping me to remodel my bathroom. He's retired and says he loves to remodel bathrooms. Ha! I find that hard to believe, but he solemnly swears this is so. And yet another neighbor showed up at my door this morning and informed me that he was here to cut the two trees I recently got cut down into firewood-sized pieces, and he promptly did just that.

As you can imagine, I've been making lots of cookies as thank you gifts lately.

Okay. So back to my chicken recipe. Yet another neighbor is a young husband and father. The family is on a tight budget and the dad recently knocked on my door and asked if I could teach him how to make homemade from scratch macaroni and cheese. While I was at their house cooking and teaching, he mentioned that he'd love some slow cooker recipes if I had any good ones. Well, I don't. But I started thinking that I could come up with a few for them. To wit:

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken

* You can halve this recipe no problem, which would make it a good choice for smaller families.

2 cans cream of chicken soup (or you can use cream of mushroom soup)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. Dijon-style mustard
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
8 large carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
hot cooked noodles or hot cooked rice
Parmesan cheese, grated

Mix together the soup, water, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and garlic powder until well blended. Now add the carrots and chicken and mix again. Place everything but the noodles or rice and Parmesan cheese into the slow cooker. Cook on high for about 7 hours, or on low for about 8-9 hours.

To serve, ladle chicken, carrots, and sauce over noodles or rice. Add Parmesan cheese if desired and dig it. Yum!

I'll no doubt be posting several more slow cooker recipes in the near future, but in the meantime, happy eating!

Blessings to you and yours,
Georgia

Super Easy Dinner!

Recently, I was extremely busy but needed to make dinner. What I came up with satisfied us. It was cheap, easy, and tasty, which are pluses in my book any day!

Hamburger Patties and Gravy

1 lb. hamburger (more or less)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 - 2 cans water
1 package dry beef gravy mix
salt, pepper, and seasonings to taste (optional)
Cooked mashed potatoes or noodles

Make patties using the hamburger meat to which you've added salt, pepper, and any seasonings you desire. You can also include a bit of finely diced onion.

Brown the hamburger patties in an oven-proof pot. I use my cast iron and that works super well.

While hamburger patties are browning, mix together the cream of mushroom soup, water, and beef gravy mix. When the hamburger patties have been browned on both sides, pour the soup mixture over the top. Cover the pot with a lid and place in a preheated 350 degree oven; bake until the meat is done and the gravy is bubbling hot. I let mine bake for about 45 minutes with no ill effect--no burning--but it could be because I was using cast iron.

Dish up the hamburger and ladle the gravy over the mashed potatoes or noodles. Serve.

In the photo above, you'll notice the spinach soufflé. It's actually Stouffer's Spinach Soufflé Side Dish. You can find it in the frozen food section of your grocery store. It's good! In fact, I sometimes thaw it out (something you don't need to do if you're baking it in the container it comes in--just follow directions) and stuff large button mushrooms with it. I add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and bake them until the soufflé is done, about 45 minutes.

Well, there you have it. I think of this as a semi-cheater's meal because of the canned soup and dry gravy mix. I don't usually go that route, but like I said, I was in a tearing big hurry. And it's still an inexpensive meal, even with the packaged goods, so I thought it was worth sharing.

Hope all is well with you and your loved ones. The hot summer weather and drought conditions have finally broken around here. We have had several rain fronts move through, and today is no different. We are scheduled to have rain for the next week, and I'm glad for it. I just hope our reservoirs fill back up to capacity. (Without, of course, raining so much that flooding becomes a concern.)

Enjoy the weather!
Georgia

German Runzas Recipe

I had lots of cabbage. Lots and lots of cabbage. There's just so much sauerkraut you can make before you rebel. So I decided to make German Runzas, which are cabbage and meat stuffed buns. They're easy and delicious. And keep in mind that you can actually add anything you want (even no cabbage if that's your druthers!) and make stuffed buns that will tickle your taste buds.

Runzas with a dollop of sour cream

German Runzas

4 cups shredded green cabbage
1/2 - 1 lb. hamburger
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup green or red bell pepper (or a combination)
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds (optional)
bread dough, enough for 2-3 loaves (see note below for an easy workaround)

Brown the hamburger; only drain off fat if there's a lot. Some fat is good because it soaks into the buns while baking. Add the cabbage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent and the hamburger is cooked, about 5 minutes more. Add salt, pepper, and caraway seeds (if using) to taste. Add a spritz of water or broth so the filling isn't bone dry. (Although this isn't absolutely necessary, I like to do that.)

Runza filling

Now turn your attention to the bread dough.

NOTE: You can actually buy bread dough or even pizza dough at the grocery store if you don't have the time to make your own. But you do need to use a yeast-raised bread dough of some kind. (Not biscuit dough.)

Pull off small hunks of dough and pat or roll them out. You want the dough to be on the thin side, but not so thin that it tears when you add the meat mixture. Mine end up being about 5 inches on each side. Place a spoonful of the meat mixture in the middle of the dough square and wrap the dough around the meat mixture. Seal the edges so it's a little round packet. Place seam-side-down on a greased cookie sheet--although I use my silicon baking mats and I think they make better runzas because the bottoms don't get too brown. But suit yourself.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the runzas in the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 375 degrees and bake for about 25-30 minutes. (The time will vary depending on how big and how thick your runza buns are, so check them after about 20 minutes.)

Plate them up and serve them with sour cream. Yum!

Talk about simple. And tasty. And filling. And cheap. Some of my favorite attributes for meal-getting.

Be creative. Really, you could make just about any kind of stuffed bun, so use what you have on hand and enjoy the adventure.

Blessings to you and yours. I hope you are enjoying the cooler days of autumn. The leaves are changing color and it's a beautiful sight to behold. I love this time of year!

Georgia