Spring Days

Last Sunday after church, Kinsey came over to ride with Jewel.

Beautiful afternoon for a walk.

Monday. Decided it was time for a school update, as this is how many days look around here. And - - - it's quiet. I do like that.

I rode with Jewel again - didn't get near as sore this time. A pillow may or may not have helped some

😬 

😅

Always great to have cutest here. Tori just taught him to give Brandi a treat. Brandi's waiting so patiently. Incidentally - Jason loves Brandi. So cute to see his excitement over her. Lucy says, "Want to go to Grandma's?" No response from Jason. She says, "Want to go see Brandi?" Jason: "Woof woof!" Maybe I should start barking😏

So glad he seems to like animals.

I missed his smiles, but they were there - - -

Josh does so good with his little nephews... more so than his niece maybe; but considering he's surrounded by females most of the time, it's understandable that he would have more fun with little boys when he gets a chance.

Busy baking day on Tuesday

😋

Also did some sewing. Seems like it rained most of the day.

Dad went to check out Jesse's progress after U. Jerry's men were there a couple days. The stairs look so much better.

A few cutests came over for awhile. 

Yep they're still cutest even with their polka dots...

Finally a nice Wednesday so Clay could get a ride on Diamond!

Wonderful luncheon Friday with some really lovely ladies. Such a treat.

Thanks again Mom for hosting us!

And that's a wrap for this week.

Thanks for reading!

Smoothie Time

This recipe to remember isn't really a recipe. It's more like instructions. And it's been in my draft folder since October, so it's quite time to get it posted. And for the record. You don't need a kit or a packet or a specific recipe to make a smoothie. Years ago I was at a shower and someone was telling everyone about a really delicious smoothie kit that she bought and it was so easy. I sat there thinking, "Smoothie kit? What in the world is that?" Eventually someone asked me if I ever made smoothies, and so I told them yes, quite often; and I've never even heard of a kit. To each their own. I'm sure a smoothie kit makes a delicious smoothie, but you definitely don't need a smoothie kit to make a delicious smoothie. 

Anyway.

So here you have it: delicious nutritious smoothies that are pretty muchly straight fruit. If you don't count the Whip topping which turns a plain homemade smoothie into an amazing healthy(-ish) gourmet dessert.

😋😋😋 

This was yesterday's smoothie. It was as delicious as it looks.

Today I remembered to take px before I mixed one up.

First off - equipment and ingredients. Our main base is strawberries. Applesauce also is essential; something about the pectin thickens up the smoothie. Any kind of yogurt. We usually use Aldi raspberry flavored. It adds the "smooth." A smoothie without yogurt has a grainy-ish texture that we don't love. A couple bananas for sweetness. The bowl is from a bag of frozen fruit that I keep stocking as grapes get mushy and pears aren't prime. Overripe bananas? Freeze them. Dried up wrinkly blueberries and cuties? Freeze them. Mushy muskmelon, watery watermelon? Freeze them. All good. Basically any fruit that my family rejects as being past its prime (whether it is or not): freeze it for smoothies. I've also frozen leftover fruit salads and smoothied them. I've even been known to open a can of pineapple (drained well) and throw it in. The possibilities are endless.

Most important piece of equipment:

 Do Not Try this recipe without the lid on the blender. My blender, Vitamix, is powerful enough to crush ice; Idk how other blenders work as I've had this as long as I've made smoothies.

Partially thaw fruit. We don't care for room temperature smoothies. Not at all. Cold is best. Fill blender 3/4 full. 

I added a few more strawberries and a little more applesauce to fill blender pitcher completely. And threw in a sprinkling of sugar just for good measure. This of course isn't necessary but sure doesn't hurt anything.

Blend on high until mixture makes a nice vortex (is swirling nicely) and all colors are blended.

That's it. Top with Whip and enjoy. 

This was today's smoothie. A few more blueberries made it a little more purple than pink. Man it was good.

And it's gone already😖

Not to worry though - I can make another one tomorrow 😄

And I probably will!

 

Paula's Pork Loin

Way back when Jesse and Lucy announced their engagement, we had this delicious pork loin at Marv&Paula's. It was a hit with all of us. Now, Paula's recipe likely doesn't say "Paula's Pork Loin," but if I tell kids we're having pork loin for supper they look at me like I have two heads. Hence, the name. Designate this delicious meal as Paula's Pork Loin, and their eyes light up. That, they know. And I'm so glad she served us this meal, because it's a little out of my experience and I don't think I would've ever tried it cold turkey. It intimidated me a little at first (yeah I'm a wimp) but I'm glad I stuck it out and tried it anyway. It's not hard at all... and omy so delicious. We have it often, and leftovers don't last long.

Ok so I found the recipe as Paula gave it to me - it's officially called Rubbed & Grilled Pork Loin. And the original recipe calls for grilling the loin over indirect heat for 70-90 minutes; the recipe as I got it from Paula is how I do it and is what I'll share here. I prefer Paula's method. Obviously.

Ingredients

One 4# boneless pork loin

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons onion salt

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

Brush oil over all sides of loin. Set aside. Meanwhile, stir together dry rub seasonings. Rub over pork to cover. Marinade 8 hours or overnight. 

Preheat grill to about 400d. Sear loin a few minutes on each side, just enough to make nice grill marks and cook the outside (so the juices stay inside). Transfer to a baking dish (9x13); bake in 300d oven for about an hour to an hour and a half, until internal temperature on an oven thermometer reads 145d F. Remove from oven; slice and serve immediately. Or, slice and wrap in foil; keep warm in roaster set at 150-200d. This recipe makes 10 servings.

As you can see, I do two loins to ensure leftovers for my family. Omy the carrying on if there aren't leftovers. 

So this is first thing in the morning - ready to sit in the seasonings all day.

And this is after it's been grilled and baked. There is some juice, but not much; I think the moistness of this roast is what makes it so good. After it's sliced, pour the juice back over it.

And this is a slice ready to be devoured, covered in delicious Root Beer Sauce. Root Beer Sauce? Root Beer, really? Really. Another one of those recipes I wouldn't have tried to make except that I had it first at Marv & Paula's. It has some zip but not too much. Some of our kids like Sweet Baby Ray's, and some like our standard homemade barbeque sauce; hey, whatever works. It's all good. 

Root Beer Sauce

1 cup root beer

1 cup ketchup

2/3 cup molasses

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan; boil for 5-10 minutes or to desired sauce thickness, stirring constantly.

PS - serve with party potatoes for best results.

Another Work Day at Jesse&Lucy's

After dropping off lunch at Jesse's on Saturday morning, we zipped over to Echo's; Sarah and Jewel rode with Echo to check out the Schmidgall kids' garage sale. Sarah took these px of Jasper. Too cute not to share.

😍

Such a happy little chap 💗

A good crew got a lot done.

Some of the crew enjoyed the beautiful day😁

Some of us checked out the playhouse.

Up goes the beam.

Patching the hole where the chimney came out.

Climbing because he can.

😖

Beautiful day for a picnic.

You thought that was a pipe destined for the scrap pile, didn't you? Well, it's not. It's a clothesline for Kiowa's laundry😄

Tiring out the little crowd.

Climbing because he can - and because this tree needed a swing.

More roof patching. Thankful for safety.

Next px are from girls. Taken before lunch, I think, but owell.

It may look like we're hauling big sticks to the fire, but that's not so. We were hunting deer and bear. We got quite a few. Flint's a pretty good shot with that rifle of his.

And that's about all I got this time around. Was a very productive day on the house even though it looks like most of my day was spent with kids. What of it? Isn't that what grandmas are supposed to do???

😊😊😊😊😊