What a wonderful time of year. I am sure everyone is busy harvesting their gardens. We have plenty of cucumbers, squash, green beans, onions. I tried my hand at garlic this year, I love the fresh garlic. Being able to walk out to the garden and get what I need is wonderful. My chiles are about two weeks behind. Hopefully I will get a good crop starting the first of September. I get goosebumps just thinking about the smell of chiles roasting. We got several boxes of fresh Colorado peaches this weekend. My goodness, I think I go to bed with visions of peaches in my head. They are so good.

Jam and jelly and more jam is where I seem to be this week. First it was strawberry, now peach. The grapes should be ready to harvest in about a week then hopefully plums will be ready the week after that. There is nothing to compare to homemade jam and jelly. I feel like it is opening summertime in every jar.

When I was younger, my grandmother, mother, sisters and I would make jam and jelly. We would make homemade bread every time we made jam or jelly. There is nothing like that combination. Even though my grandmother and mother have passed away and my sisters do not live close by, I feel like they are here with me every time I make jam. It is like a trip down memory lane. My husband and sons get the reward of my trip.

I hope you are enjoying this time of year as much as I am.

We extended our time off to include last week also. We came back with a new attitude and totally refreshed and caught up on everything on August the 10th. It took some time, but we went through every closet and drawer in the house. I can't believe we keep so much stuff! We filled a dumpster! All the clothes and shoes that were too small and in good shape went to a clothes and school supply giveaway sponsored by our church.

The only thing I do not give away is cowboy boots. Over the years, we have kids and even adults that come to visit that do not have or wear boots. They decide to ride horses with my kids(or me) on the spur of the moment, but don't have any boots. We have a good selection of used boots in the closet. Problem solved!

We also got all the school supplies we need for school. With two high schoolers, it varies with the class loads. I have a senior this year. Does this mean I am getting old? I have already had one graduate, so I guess so. Oh well, I just hope I get to grow old gracefully.

We also had everyone's eyes checked. All good. We did change one from glasses to contacts. That way he gets to show off his gorgeous eyes to the "ladies". We were very fortunate to only need a few pairs of new jeans and two pairs of tennis shoes and two pairs of football cleats. I got off very lightly compared to past years.

Good luck with all of your back to school endeavors. I have been there and know how it goes.

We are taking a break for the next week. We need to catch up on some things at home, go to a few doctor appointments, get new glasses, etc. I will be back, hopefully totally refreshed and ready for action on August the 3rd. I am not sure how I will handle being away for that amount of time, but I guess we'll see.

See you on the 3rd!

We have had a week of high temperatures in the triple digits. For all of you that don't understand, 100+ temperatures. There have been some severe thunderstorms coming across our country. This is a picture I took of a thunderstorm at sunset. Luckily, we have not had much hail. My garden is just going good, I would hate to lose anything to hail damage. The storms have been very spotty, so some people are getting some, others not much. We have not gotten much, as you can see by the grass.

It is Friday!! We are ready for the weekend. Everyone needs a little time off now and then. We can go the country and relax in the peace and quiet. That is if the kids and animals will keep it down! Somebody is gonna have to shut up the rooster that crows at least fifty times a day if we are going to have any peace! Have a great weekend yourself!

Apparently my husband thought I was giving away too many of his secrets. Writing about his hand mixed steak rub was just going too far. Maybe he thinks he will make his secret rub and sell it across the U.S. So you are not going to get his secret recipe for steak rub. I can tell you that it had a lot of different seasonings in it. It was very flavorful and not hot.

Anyhoo, back to the farm. We will move along. Everyone has a basic hot roll recipe, so I won't bore you with another one.

This last weekend we had some friends that came to visit that like to camp. We have the perfect place to camp. There is a stand of mulberry trees that have been there since the homestead days. There are some large tree stumps underneath that are used for seating. We have dug a nice fire pit surrounded by rocks. We can then put a grate over the rocks and cook most anything. This time we had a campfire breakfast. We made biscuits with sausage gravy and scrambled eggs. I did cheat and make the biscuits at home. I took them along in disposable pans covered with aluminum foil. That way I could heat them up on the edge of the grate and not have the cooking time of a dutch oven. I always make gravy over the campfire with canned milk. I don't have to worry about carrying milk in the cooler. Just make sure you have some water.

Sausage Gravy

2 lbs. pork sausage, mild or hot
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cans evaporated milk
2 cans water
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage in deep skillet breaking up all large pieces. Do not drain fat. Add flour to sausage and fat in skillet. Cook until all sausage is coated with flour. Add milk and water. Bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over split hot biscuits.

Enjoy!

For the seafood boil, we put about 1/2 cup of Old Bay Seasoning in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil. Add smoked sausage, about 1/4 lb per person, and boil for 15 minutes. The sausage will help flavor your water. We added two small new potatoes per person and boiled for another 25 minutes. Then we added an ear of sweet corn per person, broken in half, and boiled another 15 minutes. Then we added easy peel shrimp, 1/2 lb per person, and boiled 5 minutes. The trick is to make sure everything else is cooked before adding the shrimp. They do not take long and will turn to rubber if overcooked. We then dipped a strainer into the water and removed all the contents and served large trays in the middle of each table. You could add any kind of seafood you would like. We served with butter, cocktail sauce, tartar sauce and ketchup (mainly for the kids that don't like cocktail sauce).

We covered our tables with newspaper for easy cleanup.

Enjoy!

Dessert is first this week. I am behind. I am posting the recipe for a flag cake. That is sooo last weekend. I'll try to move forward.

Flag Cake

1 1 lb. pound cake
1 6 oz pkg red gelatin of your chosen flavor (cherry, strawberry, mixed fruit, etc.)
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
16 oz. Cool Whip
1 container fresh strawberries
1 container fresh blueberries

Dissolve gelatin in 1 1/2 cups of hot water. Add 1 1/2 cups cold water. Place in refrigerator until partially set. Spray a 14 x 10 x 3 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Slice pound cake into 1/2 inch slices. Lay in a single layer in bottom of pan. Pour gelatin over the top of the pound cake. Refrigerate until set. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the top of the firm gelatin layer. Refrigerate until serving time. Right before serving make a square out of blueberries on the top left hand corner of cake. Slice strawberries in half and make stripes for your flag out of the strawberry halves. Cut into 24 squares to serve.

Enjoy!

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I just wanted to tell you how great the seafood boil went at our house on Saturday night. Before the thunderstorm hit, that is. It was one of the best picnics we have ever had. We had about 25 people over. We had enough food for about 50, of course. We served cajun rubbed steaks, shrimp, smoked sausages, potatoes, corn, hot rolls, handheld peach pies and flag cake. We will go one recipe at a time this week. So, the best first, dessert.

Handheld peach pies

2 cans sliced peaches, drained
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
2 9 inch prepared pie crusts

Finely chop peaches. Mix with marshmallows into peaches. Mix sugar and cinnamon together. Add 2 teaspoons to peach mixture. Roll out pie crusts. Cut each pie crust into 6 triangles. Spoon a small amount of peach mixture onto each triangle. Dip finger into water. Run along edges of pie crust triangles. Fold each triangle over. You can either leave the top open and fold back to reveal filling or completely cover all filling. Use a fork to seal edges of triangle. Sprinkle with more sugar/cinnamon. Place on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Makes 12 pies.

Enjoy!

I can't believe the Fourth of July is already here again. I collect cookbooks and one of them was written by Paula Deen. Of course we have different things available here than she does in the South. Be that as is may, we have decided to do something different for our family get together over the weekend. How about a Low-Country Boil. We thought that sounded like a lot of fun. Sausage, shrimp, potatoes and corn. We will still make homemade ice cream and handheld peach pies. It would not be a summer holiday without the kids making ice cream. It keeps them out of trouble. We have one of the old fashioned hand crank versions of ice cream maker. They all get involved and then get to eat the fruits of their labor. It is a win-win for everyone. Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

In My Cookie Jar this week are Gingersnaps. These are great to have in the morning with coffee. Or in the afternoon with milk. Or, gosh, just about anytime.

Gingersnaps

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
4 Tablespoons molasses
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger

Mix shortening, sugar, egg and molasses well. Add remaining ingredients. make into balls the size of walnuts. Dip tops in sugar. Place on cookie sheet sugar side up. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Enjoy!

Who has more roasts in the freezer than me? I have got to get a handle on this problem. An easy solution is USE MORE ROAST. Duh! Why didn't I think of that?

We are having several of my sons' friends over this weekend. Me thinks me has an idea. BBQ sandwiches. Perfect for a bunch of teenage boys. Put the roast in a crockpot for about 8 hours. Shred the meat. Put barbeque sauce on meat. Place on a bun. Tada! Barbeque sandwiches. Add pickles, onions, baked beans, chips and drinks. Sounds like a plan to me.

Enjoy!

I am trying to be more health conscious. This means adding more whole grains, fruits and vegetables to our diet. This is hard for me, since I have been cooking and baking the same way since I was in grade school. The easiest way I have found is to substitute half of the all-purpose flour in my recipes with whole wheat flour. It has worked well in my breads, biscuits and rolls. I'm going to start with cookies and see how that goes. Then, I'll start on desserts. Baby steps, that's what I'm taking. With fruit in season, it isn't hard to add. Vegetables are pretty easy, also. I seem to get stuck on salad too often, but have been making salad with varying lettuces or spinach and toppings.

With the large garden we grow every year, we usually have fresh vegetables about the first of July. I can hardly wait until it begins producing. We always put the extra, canning and making pickles. Each year we learn how much we eat fresh, how much we need canned or frozen and plant accordingly. It never comes out exactly right, but I like to think I am constantly working to make it come out even.

I had so many bar cookies left from last week's branding, I didn't make cookies this week. I made pie instead! This is an easy pie to make ahead and refrigerate.

Easy Cheesy Pie

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 8 oz. container Cool Whip
1 can pie filling of your choice
1 graham cracker crust

Make sure cream cheese is a room temperature. Mix cream cheese and sugar in mixing bowl until sugar is dissolved. Fold Cool Whip by hand into cream cheese mixture. Spread into graham cracker crust. Chill for 2-3 hours. Put pie filling on top. Refrigerate until serving. Serves 8. Refrigerate leftovers. This is great with cherry, blueberry, strawberry or peach pie filling. If you use peach pie filling, chop the peaches so the pie will be easier to cut. I usually make two pies, use one large can of pie filling and use half the can on each pie.

Enjoy!

I got caught up this morning reading a lot of different blogs. I think I could read blogs all morning and not get anything else accomplished. There is so much information out there, and I keep thinking that I could be missing something if I don't read another blog, then another blog, then another blog... Anyhoo, after all that, someone will still have to make lunch, then dinner, and the cycle gets repeated, daily. When I am under time constraints, I have a tendency to make recipes with ground beef. By adding a few ingredients that I usually have on hand, I can have lunch or dinner on the table in a flash. Here is one of my standby recipes. It makes a great lunch, especially for summertime in the heat.

Taco Salad

2 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can, 15 1/2 oz. Ranch Style Beans
1 small bag tortilla or corn chips or 1 box taco shells, crushed
1 head lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, chopped

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Garnish with guacamole, sour cream and hot sauce. Serve with additional chips.

You can also make your own chips out of corn tortillas. Since I live in the country, I am the reigning queen of substitutions. Cut your tortillas into 8 equal triangles. Fry in oil until light brown on one side, turn and brown other side. Remove to drain on paper towels. Lightly salt. This picture is with homemade chips.

Enjoy!

Branding

The branding went well this last weekend. It is not uncommon for us to have extra "hands" that help. We had one extra this weekend. His name is Mike. We had a lot of fun. We even had him branding with the iron. I thought you might enjoy the video of his first brand. My youngest son was pushing the calves down the alley, my middle son is running the head gate and squeeze chute and my husband's uncle is supervising. I was in charge of ear tagging and shots, but you missed it because I had to run the camera. Next time, I'll have to have everyone dress the cowboy part. It's hard to get them out of their caps and t-shirts. Enjoy!

We have come to the end of another week. I will be making the following cookies to put in My Cookie Jar early. We are branding again this weekend, so I need something portable to take along for dessert. I can make two pans and have enough to fill my cookie jar. That's a bonus for me!

Congo Bars

2/3 cup shortening
2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

In a saucepan, melt shortening over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar. Cool slightly. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add gradually with eggs to shortening mixture. Stir in vanilla, chips and nuts. This batter will be very stiff. Spread into a greased and floured 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cut into squares while warm.

Enjoy!

I am so excited. I just received my cookie plate from Nestle. Now I have to decide who to give cookies to. There are several people in my life that could use a little bit of chocolate lovin'.

If you don't know what I am talking about, Nestle did a promotion to receive a cookie plate. The requirements were UPC symbols from Nestle Toll House Morsels. You sign the plate, fill with cookies, visit Pleasesendcookies.com to share your story about the plate, and send it to someone. You can keep up with where the plate went after you sent it. Hopefully, it keeps going for a long time. I think it will be very interesting to see where it ends up going.

Obviously, I will have Chocolate Chip Cookies in My Cookie Jar this week.

Enjoy!

We have started our branding season. We always brand on Saturday, since that is the day most of our help is available. They always enjoy a day in the country after a long(or in this case, short) work week. After dealing with people, it is great to work with animals. There is no talking back!

After gathering the cattle on horseback from the pasture, they are driven into a set of corrals. We then separate the cows from their calves.

We have one person running the head gate, one on the squeeze part of the chute, one person branding, one person doing innoculations and ear tagging. When we have extras, we split up the work. Even the youngsters get in on the fun. The boys take turns bringing the calves one at a time up the narrow alleyway to the chute. I am sure that if and when we get girls into the family or somebody finally has daughters they will get in on that action, too.

Somewhere around noon to 1 o'clock we break for lunch. This year we had brisket sandwiches, baked beans and chips. Of course no picnic is complete without iced tea and lemonade. Then we have brownies for dessert.

The brisket was covered with Claude's Brisket Sauce and baked in a 300 degree oven for about 4 hours and then turned up to 325 degrees for another 4 hours. This was a very large brisket. It probably weighed a good 15 pounds or so. I didn't think of weighing it. Of course when you have your beef processed, it doesn't come with weight stickers. You would have to adjust your cooking time for a smaller brisket. We then sliced it and poured pan juices over the meat. We served with barbeque sauce, cheese, sliced onion, pickle, tomato and lettuce leaves. It makes the best sandwiches and the recipe is so easy.

Enjoy!

Living in the middle of cattle country causes me to cook with a lot of beef. I seem to use the hamburger from the meat we have processed faster than any other cut. I mix in steak, roast, ribs, brisket and stew meat. I seem to have a lot of roast left. So, I have resolved to make the effort to use more roast. This is a great way I have found to use a roast, without always making a pot roast. In fact, I would call it an Easy Peasy way to use a roast!

Roast Beef Burritos

1 Beef Arm or Chuck Roast, 4-5 lbs.
1 Can (15 oz.) Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chiles
1 Packet Fajita Seasoning
12 Flour Tortillas
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream
Hot Sauce

Place Roast in crock pot. Pour can of Rotel over the top of roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until roast is tender. Take the roast from the crock pot and shred. Discard any fat or bones. Skim any fat from drippings left in crock pot. Return shredded roast to crock pot. Add fajita seasoning and stir. Serve on Flour tortillas. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream and hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Wow! What a great time of year to have an extra day off! I get so much accomplished with an extra day. It sure helps to have the kids out of school. Adding two extra pairs of hands makes the work go by much faster. My two teenage sons are at the perfect age to be a great deal of help. One of their favorite cookies is in My Cookie Jar this week. They are perfect for bribing teenagers! They enjoy being paid in cookies and milk!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup raisins

Mix butter, sugars, milk, egg and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture. Mix well. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!