mmmMonday! on Wednesday (Pickled Beets 101)

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, fluffin' the nest, Yum for the Tum

Hey Sweet Dirt Roaders! How are you? We are good…doin’ good. Life has been crazy…and summer has been super busy. Busy is good though. I missed mmmMonday! this week…because of some of the busy in our lives. Sooooo….since I was canning our beets from the garden yesterday and sharing on Instagram…I thought that I would bring a little mmmMonday to Wednesday this week. Are you down with that? I knew that you would be. You are flexible that way. 😉

Sooo…here I was laboring away in my farmhouse kitchen…and what to my wondering eyes did appear? My momma. How awesome is that? I know…pretty awesome. She came just in time. Plus, she brought our little cousin…to swim with my little one….so it was a win/win all the way around. She can peel beets like nobody’s business. Even hanging way over the sink…right Mom? 😉 AND…getting to visit with your mom…while you are having to work….makes it go super fast. I love you Momma….you are an amazing person. Thank you for teaching me the joy and satisfaction of raising a garden and putting up food for your family. I hope that your new wax pot worked and I hope that you are enjoying all of the goodies that I sent you home with. Plan that vacation….and get back up here….PRONTO…please. 😉

Okay…so….here is my “famous” pickled beet recipe…for all of you that want to know. It’s a little hodge-podge. Our friend Connie gave it to me a few years back…and I tweaked it (of course) to my own taste…..so…well….I hope that you enjoy.

Connie and Kelli’s “famous” Pickled Beets

3 gallons of beets

4 c. of sugar

4 c. of vinegar

4 c. of water

about 1 tsp. of allspice

sea salt (to taste)

Directions:

Cover beets with water in canner and boil until skins loosen. Drain and let cool. Peel beets and place back in (washed) canner. Add vinegar, water, sugar, allspice and sea salt (a couple of pinches) and taste. Just kind of go by your own judgement and tweak it to the way that you think they should taste. I don’t like them really spiced. Maybe you do. Just go wild. 😉 I love the way that the salt balances out the sweet. Cook them until they boil and then ladle them into hot jars. Seal…and wait for the popping sound to start. (My favorite part of canning.)

If you have questions about all of the steps to canning I will be happy to answer. Just leave me a comment. Canning is an art…and actually for me a heritage. It has been passed down from my grandmothers…to my mom and now to me. Even though it is a lot of work…canning is one of my favorite things about summer. There is a certain feeling in your kitchen and home…when you are preserving. Maybe it’s the essence of the Proverbs 31 woman….in the room. Whatever it is…it makes me thankful for this country life that I am blessed to live.

Smiles!

Needin’ to scratch that junkin’ itch!

07 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by Kelli in sCoRiN' some JuNkItY JuNk

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Do you ever…like…go for a while without doing something that you love and then all of the sudden, it dawns on you…that you miss it?

I haven’t been junkin’ for a while. That’s totally fine because we have been super busy and I have been loving all of the time with the kids. It’s just that I have been having these daydreams about enamelware.

As if that wasn’t bad enough…my friend Lynette…found this super cool antique egg box…and she rescued it from the trash! Can you believe it? That is like a dream come true for a junker!

So…in the near future, I may have to scratch the ol’ junkin’ itch. I have a hankerin’ for some enamelware with the blue lip. It’s my favorite.

Have a wonderful day, Dirt Roaders! I hope that you find a wonderful FREE treasure…just like Lynette.

Celebrating America!

04 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Kelli in heart and soul

≈ 4 Comments

I am thankful for freedom. I am thankful for freedom in Christ and freedom in this country. When I think about others that do not have these freedoms…it doesn’t make me feel prideful…I feel humbled.

When I think about the men and women that have and are sacrificing for us….and for our children…thankfulness wells up within my heart.

When I think about the burden that our forefathers carried so that we could be free…I am amazed. When I hear the lyrics “and the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air…gave proof through the night….that our flag was still there,” I feel a patriotic pride and a gratitude that I cannot explain.

I would love to be one of those people that walk up to our servicemen and women and tell them thank you. You want to know why I don’t? Because when I think about it….I feel sobs threatening to emerge. I don’t just see them…and their service to their country…but I see their wives and husbands and children that also join in on their sacrifice. Instead…I give them the biggest (probably watery) smile that I can. I don’t ever want them to feel that I don’t appreciate them. I do.

I hope that you have a wonderful July 4th, Dirt Roaders. I hope that you pause a minute or several to think about how blessed that we are to live in a free country. We are blessed beyond measure. That makes me want to give and give and give. I plan on enjoying my family today…I hope that you do to!

May God continue to bless America….land of the free…and the home of the brave!

p.s. Thank you for being patient with me…while I updated some things and worked on the blog. I’m so glad to be back. It gave me a couple of days to ponder my love of blogging…and to get out of my rut. 😉 Let’s do this “thang.”

mmmMonday! Too tired to cook!

01 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, Yum for the Tum

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Okay….am I the only one that ever feels this way? We have been nutty-busy lately. Matter of fact I am blogging from my phone…yet once again…because I need to head to town in second.

I really need to figure out what we are eating tonight. I’m thinking that no matter how yummy ice cream is….it’s not meant for a meal.

Do you guys have a go-to meal for times like these? If it were winter I might throw on a pot of chili….but the Mr. doesn’t dig soup and chili in the summer. I can understand that.

Sometimes on nights like this we have breakfast for supper. I enjoy it. When I was a kid….I hated it! Things change. 😉

Part of the reason for my dilema…is….I need to go grocery shopping. Ahhh….now we know….what all this wee-wahhhing is about! 😉

(Hey…at least it’s chocolate!)

Have a wonderful day…Sweet Dirt Roadies. I promise…a meatier post…next time. Sorry….that was lame. 😉 Now….go forth and cook a feast…..I think we might have a PB n J!

Smiles!

Instagram….the addiction….

28 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, everyday stuff, fluffin' the nest, Simply...living, Yum for the Tum

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Are you crazy about Instagram? I mean how fun is that? I know….pretty fun. Today…I have a ton of craziness going on…but I don’t want to leave you hanging over the weekend….so I’m doing one of my handy dandy phone posts. I thought that I would share a few Instagram pics to brighten your Friday. Hey…it’s Friday…and we can do what we want, right? Well…..okay then! 😉

Have a wonderful weekend, Dirt Roaders….and join me on Instagram….if you dare. 😉

Smiles!

Kelli

Something borrowed….something blue…

26 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in Culinary Style, fluffin' the nest, Yum for the Tum

≈ 6 Comments

Aren’t wedding showers fun? Good food…good friends…a chance to laugh your guts out.

If you are the person that gets the honor of throwing the shower, it’s so fun to decorate…because the whole time you have the guest of honor in mind. My sweet friend and fellow foodie Amanda threw this shower for our friend/cousin Danna. I offered our place, along the dirt road, for the party shack.

The chicken salad recipe from mmmMonday! was for the shower. If you missed that recipe…you can find it here. It was delish, along with all of the other food that we had. Of course…we HAD to have food. I mean…what fun would that be…if we didn’t? 😉

(A big” thank you” and “I love you” to my Mr. Thank you for listening to my huge chalkboard idea…and then digging around in your scraps (except the board that was intended for a shelf) and making my idea come to life. I love you more than words…can say.)

You wanna hear something crazy? The day before the wedding shower…our air went out on our main level. Thank the good Lord that it’s still working upstairs, so we have somewhere to go and cool off. (I’m waiting on the guy to come and fix it today.) Our gals are troopers though. We didn’t let a little stuffiness keep us from partying!

Saturday morning, it was quiet at the Farmhouse. I had beans that needed breaking…matter of fact I have some waiting on me now…but I couldn’t resist some quiet shots before the shower.

Isn’t it exciting, getting together and celebrating with friends? I love entertaining here. We have a very kid-friendly farmhouse…so it’ all good…and we can just concentrate on having a good time.

I hope that you have a wonderful day, Dirt Road Sweeties. I hope that your a/c is cranked and you are feeling thankful for it…after reading this post. Thank you for coming by and checking out a few pictures from the shower. After all…if you didn’t…I would be blogging…in vain. 🙂

Smiles!

mmmMonday! Sister T.’s Chicken Salad

24 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in Yum for the Tum

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Hey guys! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. Welcome back! As you know it’s mmmMonday! I think that we might have talked about a chicken salad recipe before. This one is just a tad different and something to be filed back that you will pull out…quite often!

Our pastor’s wife introduced me to this type of chicken salad years ago. She is a whiz in the kitchen and I am very thankful for that. Down through the years she has been one of the “moms” that I have interrogated in the culinary department. You know…when you are trying to make something…and you dial them up…and ask all of the ins and outs? These gals were foodies before we ever knew what a foodie was. They were just trying to feed their families the good stuff.

So without further ado….

Sister T.’s Chicken Salad

(This may or may not have been tweaked…by me…but this is the jist. Also..I am not putting measurements…and I will explain that in a minute.)

chicken, cooked, cooled and diced

grapes, sliced

celery, chopped

onion, diced

pecans, chopped

mayo

seasoned salt

garlic powder

freshly cracked pepper

Directions: Mix all ingredients in large bowl….stir and serve on rolls or with crackers. (Chilling and making a day ahead…is wonderful. The flavors meld and make it yumalicious!)

Okay…I know that seems lacking…but this is the reason why. You can make this in small batches or large. You can use a whole, boiled chicken, deboned, or you can use boneless, skinless, chicken breasts. Whatever you use…just eyeball it and add as much or as little as you want. Also…for the seasonings…do the same. Give it a few dashes of seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper…and then taste. 😉 (A bunch.)

I hope that you have a wonderful mmmMonday! Dirt Roaders. May the love of God…come down in your little (or big) kitchen and inspire you to feed your family…the good stuff.

Smiles!

p.s. A big “thank you” to Adrianne and Amber for letting me photograph their sandwiches while they were partying. 😉

Summertime!

21 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in everyday stuff, heart and soul, Simply...living

≈ 2 Comments

It’s here! Are you ready? At this moment…there is a guy in our back yard digging a hole for our new…old…swimming pool. Did I lose you on that one? We purchased it used. Yes…now it makes sense. It seems appropriate though, on the first day of summer.

Do you have lots of plans for this summer? We are actually having a little staycation this week. Do you love those? I do. I love having time to just enjoy being together. Our kids are little hermits…so they do well with it. (Okay…they really aren’t hermits…but staying at home doesn’t bother them. I love that.)

Last night, around dusk, we went out on the porch and just…enjoyed. We sang several songs. It was so fun. I wondered if our neighbors could hear us. Sound carries through these Ozark hills. If they did…they heard us lifting praises up to our Lord. That thought, makes me happy.

Whatever you do this summer, Dirt Roaders, I suggest that you take time to just “be still.” It’s a therapy like no other. It’s in these times that we are still…that we hear that precious, still small Voice.

Three Smiles for Summer! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Clean laundry room? You didn’t miss it.

19 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in everyday stuff, fluffin' the nest, Simply...living

≈ 2 Comments

Have you ever read that sign…”My house was clean yesterday…sorry you missed it.” Maybe you have one. Well thankfully…yesterday, when I had the itch to revamp the laundry room, I had the good sense to snap a few quick shots with my phone.

Today….my laundry room isn’t dirty…but I’ve been doing laundry…”to beat the band” so everyone’s stacks are on the table. Plus, I have swimmers coming in and out from the pool. So…even though these are cell phone shots…you can be there…yesterday. You are welcome. 😉

See that metal rack? I had a love/hate relationship with it. I loved the extra storage…but I didn’t actually like to see all of the stuff.
Enter: duck cloth
I had just enough downstairs in my craft area for a little curtain. Ahhhh….much better. Plus I love the “farmhousey” that it adds. All love now. No hate. No hate…is good. I’m glad we had this talk. 😉

Of course, I couldn’t resist adding a little pretty to the functional. You guys know how I roll by now. The pressure cooker was my Nanny’s. She is the one that inspired me to start canning in the first place. (She had already inspired my mom.) When she gave it to me it felt as though she was passing the baton. She is precious. I am honored.

Thanks for hanging out in my laundry room with me, Dirt Roaders. At this farmhouse laundry room…you can find anything from soggy swimming clothes to chicken poop tracked in…so cleaning it is never optional.

Smiles!

Just because I love you!

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by Kelli in everyday stuff, heart and soul, RaMbLiNgs

≈ 2 Comments

I don’t always post each day. I know. You knew that.

Truth is…sometimes I just have to live the life that you see in the pictures.

I miss you when I’m gone though. I love to try to inspire you with beautiful things.

I love to remind all of us about the grace of God and how beautiful this world is that He made.

So…today…nothing close to rocket science. Just some beauty that you have probably seen before. It’s to tide you over until my next post…just in case you are waiting. If you are…bless your soul…thank you for riding along on this dirt road journey with us.

Smiles!