On My Mind Today

Roast Beef Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Spinach Salad with Nectarines & Raspberries

Cherry Refrigerator Cookies

Cherry Refrigerator Cookies
A very festive cookie, especially if you use both the red and green candied cherries.

1 c Unsalted Margarine
1/2 c Sugar
1/2 c Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 t Vanilla
2 3/4 c Flour
1 t Sodium Free Baking Powder
1/4 t Sodium Free Baking Soda
1/8 t Cinnamon
1 c Candied Cherries, Chopped
1/2 c Walnuts, Chopped

Cream margarine and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir together dry ingredients and add to mixture. Stir in cherries and nuts. Form into rolls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and chill overnight. Slice 1/4 inch thick. Place on baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 60 Servings

Per Serving:
85 Calories
1 g Protein
4 g Total Fat
1 g Saturated Fat
1 g Polyunsaturated Fat
2 g Monounsaturated Fat
12 g Carbohydrates
0.2 g Fiber
4 mg Sodium
34 mg Potassium
0 mg Cholesterol

Praise God for our country!

Hello friends! I couldn't believe it had been a whole week since I posted last -- shame on me! And I said I'd do better this summer!

Did you all have a good Independence Day weekend? My family and I didn't do anything very special, because Heather and Dan are sick with a bad cold. 

We did watch a patriotic musical on TV, and despite the off-and-on drizzle that had made us pessimistically stay home, our town did hold their fireworks right on time. I can't tell you how proud I felt when I heard those deep booms reverberating across the soybean field. I love our country so much. I love her history, her legacy, her heroes and her ordinary people. When I hear the fireworks, their muffled booms speak of our hard-fought freedom, the names of all the men and women who have laid down their lives in battles like Lexington, Yorktown, New Orleans, Gettysburg, Meuse-Argonne, Bastogne, and Iwo Jima. They remind me of ordinary people, each from different places with different accents and different customs, but every one American. They speak of rocky New England coasts, Southeastern sunshine, Midwestern fields, and Western mountains. Father in Heaven, thank You for our beautiful country and the mercy You have shown her! May we, Your people, seek Your face every day that You may keep our country strong!

Today was a good day; Dad and John went to church while Mom and I stayed home with the sick ones (and Nick). I finished my homework for the week -- yes, I know, finishing school on Sunday afternoon again. I'm irresponsible, I guess.  

I also worked on my second sweater for the Knits for Kids program. My camera batteries are dead, so I have no pictures, but it's looking really beautiful. The bottom border is garter stitch; the body will be in bee stitch (here is a picture), and then the yoke and sleeves will once again be garter stitch. I'm using Red Heart Super Saver yarn in the color "Ocean," so the sweater has beautiful waves of turquoise, lilac, and blue all over it. I hope some little guy or girl likes it!

Other than that, I haven't done much lately ... today I practiced an offertory for church next week, and helped Mom put up 6 pints of strawberry jam after dinner. It wasn't as productive a day as I would have hoped, but not too bad. I hope to get up earlier and work harder tomorrow. Do you ever get to the end of a day and feel like you could have gotten so much more done, if you'd only tried harder? That's my one deviation from a Type B personality; I feel like that every day. My mom works all day long and gets a million things done, and I only get three or four major things done every day; and I look at myself and think, "How on earth do I think I'm ever going to get married and run a house?!?" I think I need to work faster and more efficiently.

Well, this post is looking so long that nobody will probably read it, so I'll sign off for now. I hope you all have a wonderful evening and a great week ahead! 

Love in Christ,
Vicki
2 Chronicles 7:14

Happy Independence Day!

We spent the day around the farm.  Amber and her family arrived sometime shortly after midnight.  Rich and Madison help them set up their camper and gave the boys a short tour of the barn before they all headed to bed.

After everyone was up this am, Amber and I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some needed items.  I made chicken stock and roasted another 4 birds so I'll be canning tomorrow.

It rained off and on  most of the day but that didn't stop us from building a fire and roasting hot dogs.  We also set up our gazebo so we can dine bug free outside.

We headed out to watch the fireworks in a neighboring town which made for another late night as we forgot to get the chores done before we left so April had to be milked once we got back home which was about 11 p.m.   Seth was soo cute... he kept telling me "I have a goat to milk when we get back."

Well, I better check on the barn, make sure everything is done and then it's off to bed for me.  GoodNight!
Carol

Here they come!

My sister-in-law, Amber and her family left their home in Arkansas to come visit us in Minnesota about 11 am.  Last update we had, was they were still in Iowa (took a wrong turn) but would still be here tonight, probably after midnight.

Madison is so excited.  She has been watching the clock and making phone calls to see where they are and how much longer it will be.  She's still up and waiting with Dad for them to arrive.

We will be meeting Amber's new husband, Craig, for the first time and his 2 boys.  I think is excited to have some kids to play with here.

Well, I'm heading to bed.  I'll see the family in the morning.
Carol

Dealing with Moles in the Garden

Moles are such a huge nuisance in my garden. They dig tunnels all through and wreak havoc with my veggies, uprooting them and such.  The watering we do sometimes ends up down the mole hole instead of the plant roots.  I was getting very tired of fighting them for another year.  So I started doing a little research on how to get them out of my garden.  Poison was my first thought..  but I didn’t want that stuff in my garden.  Traps are effective but expensive. So I looked for more affordable remedies.  I came up with one that is easy to do.   You make a mixture of castor oil and Joy dish soap (2:1 ratio).  You add a few tablespoons of this mixture to a gallon of water and pour it down their holes. 

I have been doing this with some success.  The reason it can work is that moles have a heightened sense of smell and can’t stand the smell of castor oil.  They also don’t like the feel of it on them.  After a couple of applications some of the holes were not bothered any more but I still had some.  So the next time I put in more of the castor oil mix into my gallon of water and made the applications a little stronger.  I had been using 2 to 3T tablespoons per gallon..  so I doubled that.  Well I am happy to say that yesterday while in the garden I saw that all my mole holes had not been disturbed again..  so success maybe?  We will see.     

If my pesky mole just makes holes in other areas of the garden I will try another solution I read the other day and that is bubble gum.  You drop pieces of bubble gum (or Juicy Fruit I also read they like) into their holes.  The reviews I read said this was effective and will end the problem permanently!  I guess their digestive systems can’t handle gum..  they are eaters not chewers.. haa.. haa.  So if castor oil does not solve the problem..  I will try bubble gum.   

Just thought I would share this bit of mole info for anyone else battling them in their gardens this summer..  

Trucking Around

Patriotic Fruit Pizza

Patriotic Fruit Pizza

1 (16 1/2 oz.) pkg. refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 C of sugar, divided
2 T of cornstarch
1/2 C of orange juice
1/4 C of lemon juice
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1 T of milk
1 t orange peel, grated
2/3 C of heavy whipping cream
1 apple, peeled and sliced thin
1 1/2 C of fresh strawberries, halved
1 C seedless dark purple grapes, halved
1 banana, sliced thin
1 C of fresh raspberries
1/2 C of fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the cookie dough and let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Carefully spread the dough onto an ungreased pizza pan. Bake the dough 15 minutes or until a golden brown. Remove and allow the dough to cool on the pan.

Dump half of the sugar into a small saucepan. Add the cornstarch and toss slightly to combine. Pour the orange and lemon juice into the mixture.

Place the pan over medium heat bringing the mixture to a steady boil.
Continue boiling for 2 minutes stirring constantly then remove the pan from the heat, setting aside to cool. Cube the cream cheese and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour the milk over the cream cheese. Add the orange peel and the remaining sugar. Beat the mixture until blended together well and smooth.

Place the whipping cream into a small mixing bowl. Beat the whipping cream until soft peaks begin to form. Fold the whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture until blended in well. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust. Place the apple slices around the outside edge of the crust.

Next layer the strawberry halves around the crust. Circle the halved grapes on next. Add the bananas to the ring. Place the raspberries onto the crust next. Finish the ring with the blueberries. Spread the reserved glaze evenly over the all the fruit. Place covered in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or until chilled.

Makes 12 servings

Preparation Time: approximately 30 minutes