Tasty Tuesday and a Winner!

Hello and Happy Tuesday to you! I LOVE Tasty Tuesday because I enjoy cooking and sharing recipes! Wait till you see today's recipe...my, oh my!!!

But, first things first! The winner of last week's drawing (see post HERE)...drum roll please...is Margarita! Margarita, I will be sending the card set out to you this week:) I truly hope you like them!

Now, one more thing before I share the recipe! Yesterday was our "fast" day (we eat one 500 calorie meal around noon on our fast days) so hubby decided beets would taste good along with some homemade whole wheat bread and avocado. Well, this is what he brought in...

This beet was 3 1/2 pounds!!! One beet was a meal! You might think that a beet this big couldn't possibly taste good but it was amazing! So sweet and tender. Our beets and carrots are gigantic this year! Hubby says it has to do with Ironite and Compost! Guess he knows what he's talking about:) He likes to garden as much as I like to cook!

Last week I wanted to make zucchini bread for potluck so I Googled "best zucchini bread recipe" and saw this one for Paula Deen's Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread! I hope you like it as much as we do!

The zucchini bread looks a little dry in the picture but it was so moist and yummy!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
by Paula Deen
Makes 2 very delicious loaves

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon orange zest
Whipped cream, for serving
Zucchini ribbons, for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 minutes (mine took 60 minutes), or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool. Chill before slicing. Serve with whipped cream and ribbons of zucchini.

I plan to work this recipe over a little to make it vegan and use less oil so will keep you posted on my redux!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Kat

Five Things Friday

I like to do a Five Things Friday occasionally so I can catch you up on things that don't warrant a whole post! Fun for me especially since I tend to be a little ADD anyway:)

1. Our Rocky still isn't home. The ad came out in the paper yesterday. We are still hopeful but each day makes it less probable. I had no idea when my son brought him home nearly 2 1/2 years ago that I would grow so attached! I was really sad the other day and was sitting in my chair reading when I felt something patting my arm. Magee, our least affectionate cat was lying on the side tab and patting my arm. He did this for about 15 minutes! So sweet:)
2. My 60th birthday is looming on the horizon...4 more days! My daughter has some things up her sleeve but not sure what! She did promise me it wasn't a surprise party because I hate surprise parties! Maybe she got some ideas off Pinterest. 
3. I am loving my new Franklin Planner! It has already helped me to be more organized and get more done. I tend to forget less when I write it down. Organizing on paper helps my brain to organize better. I have tried several e-Planners but they didn't work for me. I really need paper and pen.
4. Eating out of the garden is so yummy! I can't believe how much better homegrown vegetables and fruit taste. We have been thinning the beets and eating the little beets with the greens...sooo good! I can make a full salad with items from the garden. The green beans will be on in about a week.
5. Hubby and I are doing a version of the Intermittent Fasting Diet for health and to try to lose a little bit of weight. We chose to do the "fasting" on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, eating 500 calories for me and 600 calories for him--one meal only, middle of the day. The other 4 days, we eat normal; no restrictions. We drink a lot of water, especially on our "fasting" days and try to exercise as well. I plan to add Oil Pulling on Monday for healthy teeth and gums.

Well, just a little bit of what's going on in my head...scary place:) Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by. I will be back on Sunday (I hope) for the Sunday Night Chit-Chat!

Kat

Happy Homemaker Monday

Woo Hoo! It's time for Happy Homemaker Monday!!! For those new to my blog, Monday is the day I link up with Sandra (and others) over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom! I really look forward to participating with these ladies on Mondays. I am waayyy past the "stay at home mom" stage and I truly admire moms like Sandra and Carla who are so creative and excel (imho) in the parenting realm. Parenting today is sooo much more difficult than it was when I did it. I watch my daughter with my granddaughter and am awed by the whole experience.

Well, I could wax eloquent on parenting for days but so as not to bore you to tears, let's get on with Happy Homemaker Monday, shall we?!!!

As I look outside my window:::
It's 85 degrees at 10:00 am so I'm thinking HOT today! Time to put the air conditioner in the window, I'm thinkin'. The sky couldn't be bluer and everything is beautiful, green and blooming outside! When I look out my livingroom window, I see Mt. Hood in the distance...beautiful!

Right now I am::: 
Drinking some water (fast day), typing this post and...

Thinking and pondering:::
Thinking about what else I can do to try to get our Rocky back. We called the Kennel (the owner is also one of our neighbors), Sheriff's office, two local veterinarians, placed an ad in the local paper, listed him as lost on the PetLink website (he's chipped). I will most likely make some posters today to put up in the surrounding towns.

On my bedside table:::
Books that need to be read; hand lotion; pens and pencils and my iPod.

On my tv this week:::
Two more episodes of Royal Pains! Then I think I need a break:) Binge watching on Netflix is really hard on me:)))

Listening to:::
The washing machine doing it's thing!
 
On the menu for this week:::
No menu. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I prepare and eat a 500 calorie meal midday. It's part of my intermittent fasting program.

On my to do list:::
Laundry
Clean off my desk

Stamping order

Tax stuff (trying to keep up)

Make and send Thank You cards to hubby's customers

Work on projects for next Stamping Club (July 16)Vacuum and mop

Dust

Happening this week:::I am hoping to have a super low-key week! We'll see how that goes! However, Hubby's birthday is on Friday and we are going to brunch on Sunday! Hubby doesn't like a big deal made out of his birthday so brunch on Sunday will likely be it!

What I am creating:::
Still working on the baby afghan...

I had three strips finished before leaving for my daughter's on Thursday but left those home. I made three more while riding in the car so need to join all six together today. I love the bold colors with the soft pink.

My simple pleasure:::
Sitting with an ice cold beverage in hand...just thinking.

Homemaking tips::: 
To clean Glass Shower Doors: Put a teaspoon liquid dish soap (I use Dawn) into Dishwand (the kind with the sponge and scrubby part), add one drop of Jet Dry, fill with water leaving a little space at the top. Tip wand back and forth to mix then scrub away! I also use this on the walls of the shower stall.

Looking around the house:::
I just got back last night from being gone for 4 days. Hubby is good at doing dishes but nothing else was done so need to do the floors, dust, clean off the dining room table, do laundry unpack my bags...maybe I'll just take a nap!

From the camera:::

My daughter's mother-in-law makes these super yummy tofu skin pockets filled with a slightly sweetened rice. I LOVE THESE!!! The missing ones? I probably ate them all myself! She also made Spam Sushie (pictured behind) and I was told it was delish! Being a vegetarian, I passed on those.

Praying for...
Our precious Rocky to be found...hopefully alive and well.
Bible verse, Devotional:::
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 
--I Corinthians 10:13

Well, that's it for this Monday! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Kat

Happy Homemaker Monday

I have a few extra minutes so thought I would pop on with Happy Homemaker Monday! Thank you for being so patient with my sporadic blogging till July 1. I look forward to getting back to some regular blogging again!

Sandra, our weekly host for Happy Homemaker Monday, just finished moving! I hate to move and so admire how she was able to move, keep her family running AND blog about the process!!! She is amazing!!! You can check up on what she's doing at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. 

Let's get started...

As I look outside my window:::
We have a cloud cover today with a light breeze. The temperature is a very comfortable 84 degrees (F). Our garden is amazing and the flowers are beautiful! I am so blessed to live where I do.

Right now I am::: 
Taking a break from laundry and housework by blogging and drinking a glass of iced tea.  

Thinking and pondering:::
I have been thinking about card ideas. No surprise, right?!!! I need to make 3 Thank You cards, 1 Birthday card, 2 swap cards and 3 Design Team Projects this week. Ideas are running through my head but I need to start putting them on paper!

On my bedside table:::
Books, books and more books! I could make a Jenga Puzzle out of the books! Also a stack of napkins; I am a napkin hoarder! So, what are the napkins doing in my bedroom? Good question! Our TV is in the bedroom so I often eat my lunch in the bedroom and put the gently used napkin on the beside table to reuse. The problem is that the next day I get another napkin. You see the problem, right?!!!    

On my tv this week:::
We have been watching Royal Pains on Netflix.

Listening to:::
The wind just picked up; no longer gentle! Also Rocky is snoring beside me.

On the menu for this week:::
No menu:( Hubby and I are experimenting with Intermittent Fasting. The method we chose is 3 days a week of 500 calories (hubby 600 calories). On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we eat one meal about noon with 500/600 calories and that's it till the next day. On the other 4 days we just eat normal. We just started our 2nd week.
 
On my to do list:::
Laundry--nearly finished
Cards--listed above
Purging clothes that I no longer need or want

Happening this week:::
Monday - Laundry; work on cards
Tuesday - Finish cards; get them ready to mail or upload
Wednesday - Laundry; sort stamping orders
Thursday - Deliver stamping orders; Chiropractor appointment
Friday - Clean house

What I am creating:::
I am making a baby afghan for a baby girl to be born in October!

My simple pleasure:::
Picking berries--any kind of berries. I have been picking a lot of raspberries. I'm hoping we can go to pick blueberries this week. I really enjoy picking berries:)   

Homemaking tips::: 
I wanted to start making my own foaming hand soap so we were looking online for a good pump that wouldn't stick or quit working in a short time. The more I read the more I realized the best pump already has soap in it...Method! So we bought enough containers of Method Foaming Hand Soap. I will have to wait till the containers are empty to make my own but thought it was interesting that you can't purchase a better pump dispenser. 
Looking around the house:::
It looks pretty good around here. The dogs are lying on the floor at my feet; the cat is on the back of my chair.  

From the camera:::

The Clematis is beautiful this year!

Prayer List:::

• Baby in NICU; baby and mother both need prayer
• My relationship with my extended family
• Daughter and family while on vacation
• Friend traveling from Washington to Missouri

Bible verse, Devotional:::
"To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." Proverbs 21:3

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

Well, that's it for today! I hope all is well in your world!

Kat